Mu Qi frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "I have a younger sister at home, sixteen years old, cultivating at the early Foundation Establishment stage. She is incredibly beautiful, capable of toppling cities and nations. If you fancy her, I will ask my father to grant your hand in marriage."
Bai Chen was momentarily speechless. He never expected Mu Qi to take it seriously and believe Xiao Man was lustful. After all, Xiao Man had many young women around her, all stunningly beautiful. If she were truly lustful, these women would surely not escape her clutches. Yet, she had not made a move on them, indicating she was not lustful, merely teasing Mu Qi.
"Don't believe him. His sister is skinny and ugly, like a paper cutout. She'll fall over with a gust of wind, not pretty at all," Yue Ran returned after washing the dishes, hearing Mu Qi offering his sister in marriage to Xiao Man. He quickly interjected.
"Just because you're blind doesn't mean everyone else is," Mu Qi snorted coldly. "Xiao Qin, what do you think?"
"Second Brother, I have a sister too, and she's much prettier than his sister..."
"Where did you get a sister? What, is she an illegitimate daughter your father had outside?"
Yue Ran suddenly erupted and lunged at Mu Qi. The guards beside Mu Qi immediately blocked Yue Ran, and the two engaged in combat.
Xiao Man glanced at them, then silently moved aside, as if disgusted by the dust kicked up by the fight, which might dirty her clothes.
Bai Chen wanted to mediate, but he couldn't stop Yue Ran. The only one who could stop him had already retreated to the side and was ignoring them. After a moment of contemplation, he gave up and went to meditate.
Mu Qi remained seated, his gaze fixed on Xiao Man. He had thought Xiao Man would help. To his surprise, Xiao Man acted as if she saw nothing. Weren't they friends?
"Go fight somewhere far away, don't affect us," Xiao Man said coolly.
Yue Ran immediately entangled the guard and moved further away. Mu Qi said nothing. Only after they had fought their way to a distance did he speak.
"You're not helping."
"He doesn't need help." Xiao Man's voice was calm and indifferent, as if victory was assured.
Mu Qi's handsome brows furrowed. "Are you so sure he can defeat Diao Han?"
"You have faith in your people, and I have faith in him." Xiao Man closed her eyes to recuperate. She should have advanced to the late Foundation Establishment stage, but her Hunyuan Heart Sutra had stagnated because she couldn't overcome her inner demons.
Elder Qin couldn't see Xiao Man's inner demons, only knew that she was blocked by them, and felt quite puzzled. In his opinion, Xiao Man didn't seem like someone who would be trapped by the past. Otherwise, she wouldn't have cultivated the Hunyuan Heart Sutra to the ninth level in such a short time.
"Girl, what is this level's inner demon?"
Xiao Man did not answer, merely letting herself sink into boundless tranquility, wanting to calm her emotions. The truth she had always believed was not the truth, and she couldn't overcome this hurdle in her heart no matter what.
Seeing Xiao Man lost in thought, Mu Qi stood up and sat down in front of her, also meditating. He believed that if he gave others what they wanted, they would become his friends. When he no longer wanted that friend, he wouldn't need to give them anything. As a result, he had no close friends to this day.
Bai Chen eyed Mu Qi with vigilance, secretly holding a Fire Thunder Pellet in his hand. If Mu Qi dared to do anything to harm Xiao Man, he would make him pay, even if he was from a noble family.
However, Mu Qi did nothing, merely meditating like Xiao Man.
Half an hour later, Xiao Man opened her eyes and looked in the direction of Yue Ran, a smile curving her lips. "It's done."
Mu Qi also opened his eyes, looking at Xiao Man in confusion. Done, what was done? Following Xiao Man's gaze, he saw that Yue Ran had actually advanced!
Mu Qi immediately understood. Yue Ran wanted someone to spar with. The technique Yue Ran practiced was different from theirs. His technique was to grow stronger with each battle, requiring constant combat against stronger opponents. This was also why he always had no friends, because he had fought them all away.
Diao Han was also somewhat taken aback, seemingly not expecting someone to advance during a fight. What was even more surprising was that Yue Ran had advanced to the Golden Core stage, his attack power soaring. Yet, he, as a cultivator at the late Golden Core stage, couldn't suppress him!
Diao Han no longer dared to hold back. Even though Yue Ran had a noble status, he didn't want to be beaten into a pulp. He immediately went all out to deal with Yue Ran.
Seeing him go all out, Yue Ran became even happier. He had never held back. Back home, his fellow disciples were all afraid of him, and even the elders were annoyed by him, constantly avoiding him. After all, given his special status, the elders sparring with him were only playing around and wouldn't truly exert themselves. This had caused his cultivation to stagnate, which was why he had ventured out to the Eastern Yue Forest alone for training.
"Second Brother, Third Brother he..."
"Advanced," Xiao Man said with a smile. Now that Yue Ran had advanced to the Golden Core stage, she couldn't defeat him. Although there was still some distance between him and Diao Han, a cultivator at the late Golden Core stage, it was not insurmountable. At least, it would take Diao Han considerable effort to defeat him.
"Diao Han, come back," Mu Qi's expression turned cold, and he immediately called Diao Han back. He didn't want to lose his guard to fulfill Yue Ran's training needs.
Upon hearing Mu Qi's command, Diao Han immediately dropped Yue Ran and returned to Mu Qi's side. "Young Master."
"Why aren't you fighting?"
"Why should my guard accompany you for practice?" Mu Qi scoffed. "If you want to use my guard for practice, fine. Pay up. One hundred spirit crystals."
Yue Ran sneered, "He's worth one hundred spirit crystals? You think too highly of him. One gold coin is the limit."
"One hundred spirit crystals, no bargaining."
Yue Ran sat beside Xiao Man. "Second Brother, I'm thirsty."
Xiao Man took a pot of water from her storage bag and handed it to Yue Ran. Yue Ran drank it haphazardly. After fighting with Diao Han, his depleted spiritual energy was instantly replenished. "Second Brother, what kind of water is this? Why does my spiritual energy recover so quickly after drinking it?"
"Just drink it, why ask so many questions?" Xiao Man replied nonchalantly.
Mu Qi didn't believe it at all. What kind of water could quickly restore spiritual energy? Yue Ran was clearly trying to trick him out of his spirit crystals again.
After taking a few sips, Yue Ran shook the water flask and reluctantly drank the rest. "Second Brother, I'm keeping the rest."
"Mm." Xiao Man stood up. "Let's go. Your realm is unstable after your recent promotion, you need to find someone to spar with."
Yue Ran's eyes lit up, and he quickly followed. "Who are we going to spar with?"
"Naturally, someone you can't defeat, and someone who will try to kill you with all their might."
The light in Yue Ran's eyes seemed to be about to erupt, and he nodded excitedly. Bai Chen followed behind with a look of utter despair. Based on his understanding of Xiao Man, this person was likely going to lead Yue Ran into another hornet's nest!