Are There Only Demonesses Left in the Cultivation Realm?

"That is precisely the case. That is why we are asking for your opinion. If you were to confirm this matter, Hanyi would merely have been acting first and reporting later."

Qiu Yuehan understood the three True Masters’ stances.

Hanyi Master and Han Qiu Master were in favor of expelling Xia Lianxue, but Han Ze Master felt there was still room for discussion. That was why they had come to ask Qiu Yuehan. As a fellow Miao Yu True Inheritor and an involved party, her words were naturally of utmost importance.

Qiu Yuehan shook her head. "Junior Sister grew up in the palace and has always treated others with kindness. Her being tainted by the Desire Demon this time might have been due to other reasons. Since her cultivation has already been destroyed, there’s no need to strip her of her disciple status. After all, Miao Yu Palace is her home."

A smile appeared on Han Ze Master’s face. "No matter what, Xia Lianxue is the child Han Shui Master left behind. Since you’ve said as much, we will handle it this way. We will strip Xia Lianxue of her True Inheritor status and demote her to an ordinary disciple."

Hanyi Master’s expression soured, but she still didn’t speak.

More than Xia Lianxue, Qiu Yuehan suspected Hanyi Master. But it was impossible for Qiu Yuehan to question Hanyi Master directly.

So, Qiu Yuehan asked softly, "What if Junior Sister manages to restore her cultivation and returns?"

Han Qiu Master finally spoke his first words: "We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Restoring one’s Realm sounded easy, but in reality, it was so difficult that you might not see a single case in a decade. This was especially true for former geniuses who had fallen from grace. Their state of mind would be shattered, leaving them with no hope of cultivating again in this lifetime.

Han Ze Master added, "Yuehan, you may go. Regulate your breathing and rest well. The Dao discussion is about to begin."

So the three True Masters had already tacitly assumed that Xia Lianxue would not be coming back.

Only Qiu Yuehan thought to herself,

’With an old monster like that by her side, Junior Sister’s return is probably already on the schedule.’

「 ~~~~~~~~~~ 」

"Young Master, are we still going back to the palace?"

This "Junior Sister" that Qiu Yuehan was so sure of actually wasn’t very keen on returning to the palace.

Her mindset had undergone a small change.

Lu Changyuan said, "Of course we’re going back. If you don’t go back, how will you beat Qiu Yuehan?"

The Fairy bit her lip, her thoughts elsewhere.

When Hanyi Master had bound her and left her for dead, it was Lu Changyuan who saved her. Now, her recovery to the Fifth Realm’s power was also entirely thanks to the opportunity Lu Changyuan had won for her with a single sword strike that sundered the heavens.

This debt of gratitude was just getting bigger and bigger.

A debt for saving one’s life should be repaid with one’s own head. So what about a debt for saving one’s life *plus* a debt for returning one to the Dao Realm?

It seemed like this favor could never be repaid.

When she first met Lu Changyuan, Xia Lianxue was only in the Fourth Realm. Back then, she thought Lu Changyuan was a mere mortal. Now she was in the Fifth Realm, yet when she looked at Lu Changyuan again, she felt as if she were a head shorter than before.

Not even ten days had passed. How had things come to this?

Xia Lianxue couldn’t figure it out.

But she wasn’t going to keep thinking about it.

There were many things in this world that one simply couldn’t understand. Sometimes, it was better to be a little muddle-headed.

Oh.

Even that was something the Young Master had taught her.

"In that case, before Eldest Brother returns, you, Fourth Brother, shall take the throne in his stead."

Inside the resplendent golden palace, Su Youwan spoke with a calm demeanor.

The incident at Liuqing Lake was over, and Upper Jade Capital needed time to return to its former peace. But now, the thousand-year-old Glazed Dynasty was without an Emperor.

The old Emperor had passed away, and the Second Prince was nowhere to be found. Acting on the thought that they were, in a way, acquainted with the descendants of an old friend, Lu Changyuan had brought Xia Lianxue along to the Imperial Palace. He hadn’t expected to walk in on Su Youwan arranging the succession to the throne.

This Fourth Prince, Su Luoqiu, had certainly lucked out.

’Never mind whether the Crown Prince can even return. Even if he does, would Su Luoqiu really give up the throne?’

Su Youwan, still blindfolded, turned her head toward Lu Changyuan. "Young Master Lu, about the marriage..."

Before Su Youwan could finish, Lu Changyuan immediately said, "It doesn’t count."

"I see. Then let’s leave it at that."

This Third Princess’s attitude toward the marriage arranged by her ancestor was rather inscrutable. You couldn’t say she was annoyed by it, as she kept bringing it up. But you couldn’t say she liked the idea either, since she remained expressionless every time she heard Lu Changyuan’s rejection.

Xia Lianxue instinctively asked, "What marriage?"

Lu Changyuan waved his hand. "It’s nothing."

"Young Master?"

Seeing that Xia Lianxue was determined to get to the bottom of it, Lu Changyuan said helplessly, "It was just a joke from that Noodle Granny."

Xia Lianxue was suddenly reminded of how Noodle Granny had wanted to marry her third daughter to Lu Changyuan the moment she saw them. Now that Xia Lianxue knew that the third daughter was Su Youwan, she couldn’t help but give Su Youwan a strange look.

’This Third Princess... is not wife material.’

Xia Lianxue concluded.

’She’s beautiful, sure, but one look and you can tell she’s been pampered her whole life. Marrying her would definitely be a pain.’

Thinking this, the look Xia Lianxue gave Su Youwan grew even stranger.

Lu Changyuan patted Xia Lianxue’s shoulder. "Marriage arrangements are unreliable things. I even had a fiancée once."

Su Youwan wasn’t surprised at all; Lu Changyuan had mentioned it to her once before. Xia Lianxue, however, was hearing this for the first time, and her pretty mouth fell slightly agape. "The Young Master has a fiancée?"

’It was a gift from when I was playing the game, apparently.’

Lu Changyuan vaguely remembered it was supposed to be compensation for him creating a character with no talent. So, the game gave him a fiancée.

’My original plan was to walk the path of the kept man.’

’Cultivating a few powerful female cultivation companions and then never having to work again for the rest of your life is one of the most envied shortcuts in the Cultivation Realm!’

"It was all a long time ago. I don’t even remember her name or what she looked like."

For some reason, Xia Lianxue started to stutter. "Th-th-that..."

Lu Changyuan smiled. "Back then, I was just a young physician. She was noticed by an Immortal, who said her talent was exceptional. The Immortal promised to take her as a direct disciple."

Su Youwan asked softly, "Did she go?"

"No." Lu Changyuan shook his head. "She cried and said she wouldn’t go. She said she only wanted to marry me, that all the Immortal Paths in the world weren’t worth a lifetime by my side. She wanted to stay with me."

Xia Lianxue froze, at a loss. She didn’t know what to say.

Lu Changyuan continued, "So I wiped her tears and told her to go with the Immortal back to the palace. If you have good talent, why wouldn’t you cultivate?"

’The "living off a woman" school of thought is a flavor of the Cultivation Realm that one simply must experience.’

’A pity I never got a taste.’

’Sigh.’

Su Youwan walked to Lu Changyuan’s side and looked at him. "Young Master Lu, you are truly heartless."

Lu Changyuan turned his back to her and looked at the sun outside the palace. The sun was nice today, its warm rays making one feel all soft and languid.

"Eternal life is probably more important than the worldly affairs of the Red Dust. I told her back then, once your cultivation is successful, you can bring some benefits my way. Who knows, I might even be able to step onto the Immortal Dao myself."

Although he couldn’t remember her name or face, he remembered the past events with perfect clarity.

’How strange.’

Seeing Lu Changyuan like this, Xia Lianxue felt an inexplicable tightness in her chest. She would rather see him with his roguish smile, up to no good. The Lu Changyuan just now didn’t seem human. He was like the unfeeling Celestial Dao.

"Young Master."

Xia Lianxue tugged on the corner of Lu Changyuan’s sleeve.

"What’s wrong?"

"Let’s go. It’s time to go back to the palace. Yes, back to the palace. Didn’t the Young Master want to see whether Senior Sister or I am stronger?"

A desire to escape sprouted in Xia Lianxue’s heart. She didn’t want to hear Lu Changyuan talk about any fiancée anymore. "I won’t lose!"

Lu Changyuan smiled and nodded. "Then let’s go."

This trip was to return to Miao Yu Palace and find the Drunken Red Simurgh to fix his Five Deficiencies Body. But for Lu Changyuan, it was far from being as simple as just returning to Miao Yu Palace.

After all, that fiancée of his from all those years ago had joined the Yuyue Immortal Palace. That was why Lu Changyuan’s memory of the Yuyue Immortal Palace’s clothes was so vivid.