Chapter 192: A Very Troubling Problem
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
It had to be said, Chen Xier’s words did help her to calm down a little.
Huang Yanchen’s steps were light and there was a light fragrance surrounding her. She walked to the seven spirits bath and saw Zhang Ruochen recovering inside.
She did not immediately wake him in the bath but rather examined him carefully in silence.
He had been heavily injured in the Hurricane Secret Practicing Room.
TAP! TAP!
Chen Xier had followed her in and stood opposite Huang Yanchen. She smiled and asked, “Cousin, I don’t understand. With your high standards, are you really in love with Zhang Ruochen?”
Huang Yanchen stood there with her sword clasped in her hand. She looked like a pure goddess in a painting. There was not a trace of emotion on her face when she spoke. “You’d better not interfere with my business with Zhang Ruochen. I’ve warned you, don’t blame me if I act against you.”
Chen Xier laughed. “Haha! You’ve put me in a difficult position. Zhang Ruochen is very talented, and my heart has also been moved by him. What do you say we fight for him fairly?”
“Fight fairly? That is not possible.” Huang Yanchen replied.
“You have so much confidence in yourself.” Chen Xier seemed to be trying to pick a fight. She was pushing out her chest, offering a glimpse of her full-bodied figure.
Huang Yanchen’s eyes narrowed and she glared at Chen Xier. “In the 36 commanderies of Omen Ridge, there are many men who are more talented than Zhang Ruochen. Why must you fight me for him?”
Chen Xier pursed her lips and smiled. “Since there are many men more talented than Zhang Ruochen, why can’t you just give him to me?”
Huang Yanchen’s gaze hardened. She stopped repressing the anger in her heart. “Fine! If you can stand, unarmed, against 10 strokes of my sword, then I will give you a fighting chance.”
CLASH!
The sword in Huang Yanchen’s hand flew out on its own. It dissolved into a streak of blue light and emitted a long streak of sword Qi. It flew towards Chen Xier’s chest.
Chen Xier laughed. She twisted her body and flew two meters up into the air, avoiding Huang Yanchen’s first strike.
Huang Yanchen’s cultivation had already reached the Mid Stage of the Earth Realm and she was faster than before. Her speed reached over 100 meters per second. She moved quickly to grasp the sword hilt and swung it in mid-air.
“Floating Cloud Sword Song!”
The sword Qi became a giant sword net rising up from the ground towards Chen Xier.
Chen Xier’s cultivation was almost on par with Huang Yanchen’s, however, Huang Yanchen had the advantage when it came to speed. Her Genuine Qi was strongly infused with the power of wind nature.
Huang Yanchen’s sword technique was energetic and carried with it a sense of invincibility.
Chen Xier’s Genuine Qi was infused with the power of wood nature and slightly inferior to Huang Yanchen’s, but had an advantage when it came to refining Pills. Thus, Chen Xier was not only a warrior but also a Second-Class alchemist.
“Green wooden shield.”
Green hued Genuine Qi flowed out from Chen Xier’s outstretched palms. It condensed into a green shield a meter across and protected her from the front.
BOOM!
The powerful sword Qi slammed into the shield and shattered it.
Chen Xier took this opportunity to leap backwards and landed atop a maple tree not too far away.
It was as if she was completely weightless. She stood only on a single leaf yet remained hovering in the air rather than plummeting to the ground.
SWISH!
Huang Yanchen released the Genuine Qi in her body and created a giant vortex of Genuine Qi. Within the vortex flew streaks of wind blade turning the vortex into a shapeless sword.
“Chop!”
Huang Yanchen pointed with her sword and streaks of Wind Blade sliced towards Chen Xier. Like a hot knife through butter, the wind blades chopped the tree into firewood.
Chen Xier leapt into the air again and arced towards the surface of a lake in the distance.
“Strong Wind Lifting the Clouds!”
Huang Yanchen increased her speed and whipped her sword around, creating a huge sword Qi which rippled across the lake and sent a giant wave surging towards Chen Xier.
“I have to leave now!”
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes in the seven spirits medicinal bath and let out a gentle sigh. While Huang Yanchen and Chen Xier were fighting, he climbed out of the bath and left Chen Xier’s practice building quietly.
Zhang Ruochen was still very tired and heavily injured, however, when Huang Yanchen arrived at the seven spirits bath he’d woken up instantly.
Since his Spiritual Power was very strong, he woke up immediately if anyone came near him while he was asleep.
He had woken some time ago and heard the entire conversation between Huang Yanchen and Chen Xier.
Overhearing their conversation, Zhang Ruochen had pretended to be asleep.
“Does senior sister apprentice Huang already regret our fake engagement? That shouldn’t be the case. I must be missing something. Given her proud personality, how could she possibly think I’m good enough for her?” Zhang Ruochen gently shook his head. He did not feel happy about what Huang Yanchen had said, rather, it gave him a headache.
“And what is the deal with senior sister apprentice Chen? We’ve only met twice.”
Zhang Ruochen turned around to have one last look and saw that Huang Yanchen was still fighting with Chen Xier. The entire practice building and grounds had been destroyed, and one of the towers had been shattered into debris by the sword Qi.
Luckily, he’d left while they were fighting, otherwise, he would have had no idea how he could resolve the issue.
Given Huang Yanchen’s personality, anything could happen.
As soon as he left the practice building, Zhang Ruochen heard a tinkling laugh from behind.
“I didn’t think you would be able to walk out of there alive.” Duanmu Xingling walked over. She smiled cheekily and revealed two rows of snow-white teeth.
She had obviously been waiting outside for a while.
Seeing Duanmu Xingling, Zhang Ruochen felt like she was his guardian angel. “Senior sister apprentice Duanmu, I’m so happy you’re here! I’ve really messed up this time. You have to help me.”
Duanmu Xingling smiled merrily, “Oh really? You bothered Chen Xier on purpose, and now you realize that it was a bad idea?”
“Can you not be sarcastic? Besides, I’ve never bothered her intentionally. I don’t understand what’s happening. Really, I only feel a distant admiration for everyone, including senior sister apprentice Huang. I had no idea things could develop to such an extent.” Zhang Ruochen frowned deeply. His mind was a mess and he was completely at a loss.
“Really?” Duanmu Xingling’s eyes lit up a little. She asked, “You don’t have feelings for Sister Chen?”
“I really don’t.” Zhang Ruochen replied solemnly.
“OK! Since you’re asking me so nicely, I’ll help you this time.” Duanmu Xingling nodded lightly. “This isn’t a good place to talk. Let’s go to my practice building to avoid this mess first. If they come chasing after you, you won’t be able to leave!”
Zhang Ruochen gradually calmed down as he approached Duanmu Xingling’s practice building.
Although he was a rookie and completely ignorant when it came to dealing with feelings, he managed to clear his mind quickly and organize his thoughts.
“What do you plan to do about your relationship with Sister Chen? Even though she always appears to be cold and never shares her emotions with others, I can see that she truly has feelings for you. If you really think she will voluntarily break off the engagement after three years, then you have another thing coming.” Duanmu Xingling laughed with crinkled eyes.
Zhang Ruochen frowned as he thought. He still didn’t believe Huang Yanchen could really have feelings for him. He shook his head and said, “I think… senior sister apprentice Huang is not someone who easily develops feelings for someone, much less for me. She could be acting in her own interest and to protect her reputation, that’s why she rushed to senior sister apprentice Chen’s practice building. After all, I am her fiancée by name, she wouldn’t want people to gossip.”
Duanmu Xingling laughed, “Junior brother apprentice, did you put all your attention into practicing? Do you really have no idea about women at all? If Sister Chen did not care for you, do you think she would rush to Chen Xier’s practice building? Perhaps she herself doesn’t even know how she feels about you.”
“What should I do?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
“What can be done? Sister Chen and Chen Xier are both God’s favored daughters of the School of the Martial Market. Do you know how many people want their favor? You don’t know how lucky you are.”
“Senior sister apprentice Duanmu, can you please take this seriously?”
Duanmu Xingling composed herself and became serious. “I think you should not see either of them for a while, and then observe their behavior.”
Zhang Ruochen nodded lightly. “I’ll just have to live here for a while. I hope you can keep this secret for me.”
“No problem.” Duanmu Xingling smiled. “As long as Sister Chen doesn’t misunderstand and think I’m trying to get in on this too, haha!”
For the next five days, Zhang Ruochen stayed in Duanmu Xingling’s practice building. The wounds on his body gradually healed and his spirits returned to their normal levels.
He bought a large number of healing Pills and once again made his way to Mount Saint Crossing and the Earth Stage Hurricane Secret Practicing Rooms. He put the issues with Huang Yanchen and Chen Xier aside and focused on quickly breaking into the Ultimate Realm of the Black Realm.
He was very eager to reach the Earth Realm. Once he achieved this, he would be able to protect himself.
When that time came, he wouldn’t have to hide from Huang Yanchen and Chen Xier. He would be able to accept missions from the School of the Martial Market and go train elsewhere. As long as he didn’t see them, he wouldn’t have to think about such things.
Zhang Ruochen performed much better in the Hurricane Secret Practicing Room this time and he gained a deeper level of understanding for Shadow of the Royal Wind Dragon.
WOOSH!
The wind raged in all directions in the Hurricane Secret Practicing Room.
Zhang Ruochen worked hard to control his center of gravity and began the paces in the wind. He was like a Shadow, constantly changing positions to utilize the wind power.
BOOM!
He lasted a full 40 seconds before he was caught off-guard by a sudden wind above him and slammed into the ground, completely shaken out of his bearings.
Time passed very quickly in the Practicing Room.
A fortnight passed very quickly, and Zhang Ruochen improved greatly. On average, he would hit the wall about once per minute, and about 120 times in two hours.
When he entered the Hurricane Secret Practicing Room for the third time, he was even better at controlling the wind power. He only hit the wall 10 times in two hours.
On his fourth visit to the Hurricane Secret Practicing Room, Zhang Ruochen could walk easily through the wind without the need to worry about losing his center of gravity.
After three months of practice, Zhang Ruochen had entered the Practicing Room five times and spent a fortnight inside each time.
He spent the rest of the time mostly in Duanmu Xingling’s practice building, either recovering or meditating on the developments of Shadow of the Royal Wind Dragon.
On the seventh day of his sixth visit to the Hurricane Secret Room, he finally reached the level of succeed with the Shadow of the Royal Wind Dragon. He was able to reach a speed of 81 meters per second and successfully broke into the Ultimate Realm of the Black Realm.
