Hearing Nalan Jia’s words, Wang Yuan’s expression stiffened.
The Wang Clan.
That was one of the two great clans of the Upper Realm.
Moreover, he was the heir apparent.
Over these years, no woman he pursued had ever been able to reject him.
Why?
Money.
Power.
Strength.
Tonight was the Lantern Festival. He had come out specifically to hunt for prey. Just earlier, he had spotted Nalan Jia.
At first sight, he smiled.
Such a beautiful woman was truly a gift from heaven to him, Wang Yuan.
But now, the woman before him had rejected him.
However, this only made him more interested.
For a man, a woman who offered a sense of conquest was far more enjoyable.
Rejected by Nalan Jia, Wang Yuan did not get angry. He smiled faintly. “Miss, I have no other intentions. I simply wish to get to know you. I…”
Ye Guan suddenly smiled. “She does not wish to know you.”
Wang Yuan turned to Ye Guan and smiled. “How may I address this young master?”
As a son of an aristocratic family, he naturally would not rashly make enemies without reason.
Because if he provoked someone he should not, not only would he suffer, but it might bring disaster to the Wang Clan.
Though the chances were slim.
He was still cautious.
If it was a son of a great clan, turn enmity into friendship. If not, stab him in the back.
Ye Guan looked at Wang Yuan and smiled. “Guess.”
Hearing this, Wang Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly, but his smile remained.
Ye Guan stared at him. “We do not wish to be disturbed further.”
With that, he pulled Nalan Jia and walked into the distance.
Wang Yuan suddenly smiled. “Interesting. Truly interesting. He actually dared to threaten me. Men, within half a shichen, I want all information on this person.”
Behind him, an elder quietly retreated.
A chill flashed in Wang Yuan’s eyes.
In the distance, Ye Guan and Nalan Jia walked hand in hand.
Nalan Jia did not let go.
Naturally, Ye Guan would not either.
It felt very natural.
Nalan Jia suddenly said, “I sensed your killing intent.”
Ye Guan nodded slightly. “If it were me, upon seeing a woman with a man by her side, I would not approach to strike up a conversation. Because that disrespects the woman and the man. Yet he did so.”
Nalan Jia turned to Ye Guan. “Would you actively approach a woman?”
Ye Guan thought for a moment, then said, “Probably not.”
Nalan Jia asked with interest, “Why?”
Ye Guan said calmly, “Work hard to grow stronger, earn more money, and women will approach you on their own.”
Nalan Jia was stunned briefly, then said, “That makes sense.”
With that, the two exchanged a smile.
Ye Guan suddenly said, “I feel he will not let this go easily.”
Nalan Jia smiled. “I feel the same.”
Ye Guan looked at her. “What do you think?”
Nalan Jia blinked. “I want to stroll outside the city. Will you accompany me?”
Ye Guan smiled. “Of course.”
With that, the two headed outside the city.
Their hands remained linked the entire time.
It seemed both had forgotten about it.
At that moment, Ye Guan suddenly stopped. He pulled Nalan Jia to a small stall nearby. He handed a purple crystal to the vendor, then took a butterfly hairpin.
The vendor looked at the purple crystal in his hand and grinned from ear to ear. He had struck it rich.
Ye Guan turned to Nalan Jia and smiled. “I will help you put it on.”
Nalan Jia blinked. “You do not ask if I like it?”
Ye Guan grinned. “First time giving a girl something like this. No experience… Um, do you like it?”
Nalan Jia smiled brightly. “Help me put it on.”
Ye Guan nodded. He stepped close to her. At this moment, they were very near, able to hear each other’s breathing.
Ye Guan gently inserted the hairpin into Nalan Jia’s hair. However, no matter how he looked, it seemed a bit off.
Nalan Jia smiled. “It is fine.”
Ye Guan hesitated, then said, “Alright.”
With that, the two held hands and walked towards the city outskirts.
Soon, they arrived outside the city. It was very quiet there. At that point, from deep in the grass nearby, a series of panting sounds emerged.
It was a woman’s voice.
The woman’s voice was urgent, breathless, and somewhat excited.
She babbled incoherently, “Yes. No. Yes. Yes, not there…”
It was unclear whether she wanted it or not.
Ye Guan and Nalan Jia fell silent.
The atmosphere suddenly became a bit improper.
Ye Guan suddenly said, “Let us walk over there.”
With that, he pulled Nalan Jia to the right.
After that little interlude, both became somewhat quiet.
Ye Guan looked at Nalan Jia. Under the moonlight, she was truly beautiful, refined and ethereal, stunningly so.
Ye Guan said softly, “Little Jia, you are truly beautiful.”
Nalan Jia blinked. “There are many beautiful women in the world.”
Ye Guan smiled lightly. “Their beauty is at most in my eyes. Your beauty is in my heart.”
Nalan Jia’s brows and eyes held shyness. “Say such sweet words ten more times, and I will not want to hear them anymore.”
Little Tower: “…”
Ye Guan smiled. He held Nalan Jia’s hand tightly.
At that moment, two sets of footsteps suddenly came from not far behind them.
The arrivals were none other than Wang Yuan, followed by an elder.
Wang Yuan looked at the pair and smiled faintly. “Interesting. You deliberately lured us out.”
Ye Guan and Nalan Jia turned to Wang Yuan. Nalan Jia stared at him. “Do you think you are very suave?”
Wang Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly. He smiled. “Miss, I simply wish to get to know you. Nothing else.”
Nalan Jia shook her head. “I do not wish to know you.”
Wang Yuan laughed heartily. “But I do wish to know you.”
With that, he suddenly looked at Ye Guan nearby. “I originally thought you were some great clan’s son, but unexpectedly, you are from Nanzhou. Tsk tsk… I must say, I somewhat admire you. Because you actually dared to threaten me. Truly courageous.”
Ye Guan glanced at Wang Yuan without speaking, because he had no need to talk to a dead man.
Wang Yuan’s smile gradually turned cold. “Have you thought about how you want to die?”
At that point, the elder behind Wang Yuan suddenly said gravely, “Young Master, these two are not simple.”
Wang Yuan’s brows furrowed. Just as he was about to speak, Nalan Jia’s right hand suddenly reached forward. In the next moment, space-time directly cracked before Wang Yuan. Then, a hand seized his throat.
Wang Yuan and the elder’s expressions changed dramatically.
Ye Guan was also stunned.
Space Manipulation Realm.
He had not expected Nalan Jia to have reached the Space Manipulation Realm.
This was outrageous.
Nalan Jia stared at the horrified Wang Yuan, a trace of disdain in her eyes. “Compared to my Little Guan, you are inferior by a hundred thousand li.”
With that, she abruptly exerted force with her right hand.
Crack.
Wang Yuan’s head was forcibly twisted off. Blood sprayed out.
At that instant, the elder nearby snapped back to his senses. He turned to flee. In the next moment, space-time cracked before him. A hand struck his throat.
Bang.
The elder’s expression stiffened. Then he fell straight down.
Nalan Jia opened her palm. The storage rings of the two flew into her hand. She glanced at them, then took out a thousand gold crystals and handed them to Ye Guan. “Half each.”
Ye Guan accepted the storage ring, then said, “Little Jia, you are in the Space Manipulation Realm?”
Nalan Jia smiled. “Surprised?”
Ye Guan nodded. “Very surprised.”
Nalan Jia smiled. “This is thanks to you.”
Ye Guan was puzzled.
Nalan Jia smiled. “Thanks to your immortal-grade cultivation method. Without it, I could not have advanced so quickly.”
Immortal-grade cultivation method.
Ye Guan suddenly understood. He had nearly forgotten about that immortal-grade method.
An immortal-grade cultivation method combined with Nalan Jia’s special physique was simply like cheating.
Nalan Jia smiled. “Let us go.”
Ye Guan nodded. “Alright.”
The two left.
Not long after they departed, an elder suddenly appeared at the scene. Upon seeing the corpses of Wang Yuan and the other elder, his expression darkened.
At that moment, a middle-aged man suddenly appeared.
This person was the current head of the Wang Clan, Wang Qi.
Wang Qi looked at Wang Yuan’s corpse before him. “Space Manipulation Realm.”
The elder nodded. “The killer is in the Space Manipulation Realm.”
He paused, then added, “I will investigate immediately.”
Wang Qi suddenly said, “Wait.”
The elder looked at Wang Qi. Wang Qi said calmly, “The Martial Examination is approaching. During this period, geniuses and monsters from various prefectures will arrive in Upper City one after another. This time, Upper City will be far from peaceful.”
He looked at the elder. “Since the opponent dared to kill someone from my Wang Clan, it proves they do not fear us.”
The elder said gravely, “The clan head’s meaning is?”
Wang Qi replied, “Investigate, but once found, do not act rashly.”
The elder nodded. “Understood.”
He hesitated, then looked at Wang Yuan. “These two…”
Wang Qi’s expression was calm. “Take them back to the Grand Elder. This is the result of his failure to discipline properly.”
The elder said gravely, “If the Grand Elder sees this, he may seek revenge at all costs…”
Wang Qi glanced at the elder. “Then let him.”
With that, he turned and left.
The elder fell silent.
Clearly, this clan head intended to borrow a knife to kill.
…
After Ye Guan and Nalan Jia returned to the Xiao Residence, they each went to their rooms.
Back in his room, Ye Guan sat cross-legged. He took out a pile of gold crystals, then activated the immortal-grade mental cultivation method.
Charging towards the Divine Soul Realm.
In fact, back at the Guanxuan Academy, he had already reached the peak of the Insightful Realm, only half a step from the Divine Soul Realm. However, he had not attempted the breakthrough then.
Because he wanted to reach the ultimate limit of a realm before advancing to the next.
Now, he felt the time was right.
Cultivation was expensive.
In no time, he had consumed over a thousand gold crystals.
This was mainly because the immortal-grade method was too heaven-defying.
Ye Guan’s aura surged wildly. At this moment, his divine soul was also greatly enhanced.
One shichen later, he had consumed three thousand gold crystals.
At this point, his aura had reached a peak.
Another half shichen passed. After consuming over two thousand more gold crystals, he suddenly opened his eyes. A breath of impure qi slowly drifted from his mouth.
At this moment, he was drenched in sweat, but his entire body felt incredibly refreshed.
Divine Soul Realm.
At this instant, he felt his spiritual sense exceptionally keen, able to clearly perceive an ant in the room.
Feeling this, the corners of Ye Guan’s mouth lifted slightly. Now, if he wielded his sword, its power would undoubtedly be far greater.
Because sword control was related to the strength of the divine soul.
If combined with sword intent, he now had full confidence in easily slaying a watered-down Space Manipulation Realm expert.
Because his sword was fast.
As if thinking of something, Ye Guan looked down at his storage ring. Inside, fewer than two thousand gold crystals remained.
Seeing this, Ye Guan smiled bitterly.
He had to admit, cultivation was truly too costly.
The higher one went, the more expensive it became.
Ordinary people simply could not afford to cultivate.
At that moment, Ye Guan suddenly said, “Tower Master, are you there?”
Little Tower replied, “What is it?”
Ye Guan hesitated, then said, “Well, are you free? I want to borrow some money from you.”
Little Tower said, “No money.”
Ye Guan said seriously, “I will borrow and repay.”
Little Tower replied, “I truly have no money. I am gravely injured now. Otherwise, I would have long opened the world inside here for you.”
Ye Guan thought for a moment, then said, “Do you have any treasures or the like? I can sell them for money to cultivate.”
Little Tower said, “No.”
Ye Guan was speechless.
Little Tower continued, “You can rob.”
Ye Guan was stunned.
Little Tower went on, “If you have psychological burdens, you can learn from… learn from a certain person. She has a technique called fishing enforcement. Using this to rob carries no psychological burden.”
…
