Wu Fengtian reached Yang Wei, grabbing his wrist and trying to pull him along.

“Senior Brother Yang! There’s big trouble! Run while you still can, you might still make it!”

Naturally, Wu Fengtian’s physical strength didn’t budge Yang Wei in the slightest.

Huo Zhenwei and Jin Tianyu, equally desperate to flee, jogged on the spot, waiting for Yang Wei to start moving.

“What are you doing?” asked Yang Wei, easily breaking Wu Fengtian’s grip. “Explain clearly.” He refused to leave without getting a better grasp the situation.

Wu Fengtian pointed at the endless crowd of disciples and shouted, “If you don’t run now, you’ll seriously be in danger!”

Yang Wei folded his arms and elegantly raised an eyebrow.

“Danger?”

He looked at Tianyi on his shoulder and then back at the three. Both he and Tianyi burst out laughing. The idea that he could be in danger was too funny. Had the three before him not been his close friends, he would’ve taken their words as disrespect.

Before Yang Wei could respond further, a huge, bald disciple stepped out from the crowd of men behind him.

Taking a deep breath, the disciple shouted, “While it may be foolish to fight the Fate Defying Elder, rumors among my sect brothers and sisters claim that your cultivation is not all it seems! This lowly disciple challenges you!”

Yang Wei slowly turned to look at the disciple. “Eeh?”

Truly, the individual before him had yet to comprehend the immensity of heaven and earth.

The disciple boldly continued, “I am a disciple of the Blue Dragon School, a small sect under this great sect of ours! Like everyone here, I am demanding Big Sister Mu Lin’s hand in marriage, so that I may no longer be a virgin and finally experience the warmth of a dao companion!”

Yang Wei continued to fan himself with the elegance of a peacock, barely acknowledging the shortsighted disciple before him. But he didn’t want this nonsense to persist. He softly spoke, “Begone. I have no interest in weaklings with jade stalks the size of fingers, and neither does Lin’er.” He shooed him away with a casual gesture of his fan.

This enraged the disciple.

Grrr~!

Instantly, his water spiritual Qi burst out with great force, breaking the ground beneath him.

Jin Tianyu’s eyebrows shot up. “What…? How’s that guy already at the 9th level of Spirit Gathering?” He was eager to improve and it showed in his fierce stare.

The disciple unsheathed his sword and lunged at Yang Wei with wind-breaking speed.

Yang Wei, however, continued to calmly fan himself while his opponent crossed half the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

But what happened next was even faster.

No one knew how or when it happened, but all they saw was a flash of red light. In the next instant, the attacking disciple crashed into a building, his body pierced by six blazing-hot blood swords.

Yang Wei hadn’t moved a muscle. He was just peacefully fanning himself, seemingly unaware of the disciple skewered by blood swords a few meters away. He opened an eye to look at the shocked disciples.

Alright, I just defeated someone who’s in a cultivation realm below mine in just a fraction of a second. That should make it clear to them that they’re outmatched, right? They’re not foolish enough to keep trying to fight me… I hope.

He closed said eye again and smiled proudly.

“They could never be that stupid, hah~”

Much to Yang Wei’s disappointment, all the disciples lunged at him, their weapons and fists glowing with spiritual energy.

“I’ll kill him myself!” one shouted.

“No, I’ll be the one to crush the Fate Defying Elder and win the heart of the beautiful Mu Lin!” another yelled.

“No, I will, you fools!” they argued.

Each of them believed they could truly defeat Yang Wei.

Their real plan was to tire him out, hoping one of them would eventually get lucky and take him down.

Before they could advance further, Yang Wei, Wu Fengtian, and Huo Zhenwei vanished, disappearing faster than the wind.

“What──?!”

The confused disciples looked around, even checking among themselves to see if Yang Wei was hiding in their midst.

“FIND HIM!” one commanded. Find adventures at empire

On-the-spot, the disciples scattered across the numerous mountains of the Celestial Serpent Sect in search of the Fate Defying Elder.

…

Spirit Harmony Peak and many other peaks were empty; every male disciple with a functioning jade stalk between their legs was now searching for Yang Wei, hoping to secure a marriage with Mu Lin by defeating her top suitor.

Some Spirit Gathering Daoist masters knew it would take luck from the heavens to stand a chance against the Fate Defying Elder, but even Core Formation Daoist masters were interested in marrying the sought-after beauty.

Standing atop a large pagoda on Grand Elder Peak was Mao Geming, a muscular man with long strawberry-blonde hair and striking green eyes like jade stones. He was a senior elder of the Sword Crane School, a middle-class sect unaffiliated with the Celestial Serpent Sect.

“Hmph. These inexperienced cultivators think they have a chance against the Fate Defying Elder,” he scoffed. “Only I, the dashingly handsome and ultimately beautiful Mao Geming, stand a chance!”

The man slicked his hair back and smiled, his teeth sparkling.

The female disciples around him stared up at him like he was a madman. And why wouldn’t they? He was standing on top of the building, laughing for nearly a minute. They couldn’t understand what was so funny. Instead of feeling any attraction toward him, they felt pity, thinking he had lost his mind.

“Let’s go, he looks crazy…”

“Indeed. This is why I say my heart belongs to Fate Defying Elder~ these other men are always so incompetent and strange.”

“Right? Let’s just go before we contract his madness.”

“Wise choice.”

━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━

Yang Wei sat at a table with the three mischievous men he had met at the beginning of this betrothal trial by fire. All of them wore disappointed expressions. Although they didn’t want to look this way, Huo Yue stood before them with her arms crossed and a stern look on her face.

It was rare for Yang Wei to see Huo Yue in such a bad mood, so he didn’t want to make it worse by acting casual about the situation.

Yang Wei noticed that Tianyi, the dragon, was now perched on Huo Yue’s shoulders instead of his. Clearly, Tianyi didn’t want to be associated with their group and chose to be with Huo Yue instead.

“You traitor… is this how you treat your father?” Yang Wei mumbled.

Tianyi whistled innocently, looking away.

Gritting his teeth, Yang Wei held out a hand and said, “You snake, face me like a man!”

Huo Yue glared at Yang Wei, then smiled at him. It wasn’t her usual innocent and pure smile; it was a more stern one.

“Husband~?” she called his name coldly.

“Yes… wife?” Yang Wei answered uncomfortably.

A soft, sweet chuckle escaped Huo Yue’s lips. “Tee-hee! I think we should focus on more important things than innocent Tianyi supposedly betraying you. Imagine if we already had children and something like this happened. Do you know what I’d do then?” she asked him.

Yang Wei knew that when it came to women, the key to survival was not to answer their questions directly, as it would only lead to more problems. He instinctively knew that any question a woman asked was likely a well-timed trap.

Keeping this in mind, he answered, “Uh, Yue’er… but we don’t have kids yet.” He laughed awkwardly afterward.

“Answer my question, Darling~” Huo Yue smiled more brightly at him.

Yang Wei looked at Jin Tianyu, who looked away.

He then looked at Huo Zhenwei, who stared down at the table.

Finally, he looked at Wu Fengtian, who didn’t even give him the courtesy of eye contact.

Bastards… he thought.

Yang Wei glanced back at Huo Yue and cleared his throat before responding, “Well, if we did have kids, it would cause quite a commotion for both you and them. Imagine trying to sleep with all those disciples making noise outside. I apologize for that.”

He didn’t try to justify himself or argue further. It seemed wiser to take the mature approach, a lesson he’d learned since his first argument with Mu Lin.

Huo Yue was taken aback by his sudden apology but didn’t make it easy for him. She folded her arms and coldly looked away, pouting. “Hmph. For a moment, it seemed like you didn’t want us to have kids,” she remarked, hoping to score some attention points.

Yang Wei stared at her seriously.

Ugh… Yue’er seems upset, and I get why. This sudden betrothal trial by fire thing makes her feel like she’s not measuring up, especially since it’s all about Lin’er. Normally, she’s not one to get jealous, but sometimes she wants more attention, being a woman and all. I just don’t want her to feel any less special than she really is.

Hrmm, I’ll fix this…

After a moment of contemplation, he stood up from his chair.

“Brother-in-law, where to?” Huo Zhenwei asked, noticing Yang Wei’s movement.

Adjusting his robes, Yang Wei retrieved his Fate Defying Fan and exited the hall they were in. “Don’t worry, Darling~ I’m going out to teach those disciples a lesson, not just for Lin’er’s sake but for yours too. I’ll bring back a few heads while I’m at it.”

Huo Yue’s cold demeanor immediately softened, and she panicked, “HUH?! Please, don’t actually kill anyone, Husband!” Her concern was now very clear.

Yang Wei turned back and gave her a reassuring thumbs up. “Don’t worry. I’ll just make them wish they were dead,” he said with a mischievous grin.

Huo Yue chuckled nervously in response to his assurance.

Somehow… that sounds worse.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep