Battle Through the Heavens: Beauties Abound Starting with Yunlan and Her Disciples

159: Section 159Nalan Yanran grew anxious, nearly drawing her sword to point it at Xiao Yan. If not for the sake of her pride, if not for her pride...

Nalan Yanran clenched her fists tightly. Looking at Xiao Yan’s appearance, she whispered to herself, ”I...”

Xiao Yan opened her mouth, the bitterness rising in her throat even more astringent than medicinal dregs.

It seemed she had been overthinking things. ”I’m sorry.”

Yun Xiancheng took a step forward and, under everyone’s gaze, actually took both Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran’s hands directly.

”You two... you should let me explain exactly what happened.” Yun Xiancheng took a deep breath and said to Xiao Yan:

”First of all, we are here to annul the ridiculous matter of the arranged marriage, which goes against natural principles and human relations.” Yun Xiancheng briefly explained the history of the older generation of the Nalan Family and the Xiao Family to Xiao Yan.

”Secondly... we also sincerely want you to... become our junior sister. Do not belittle yourself.” Yun Xiancheng used his Dou Qi to probe Xiao Yan’s hand and spoke:

”I have discovered a strange suction hidden within your meridians. It seems to be some kind of unawakened Innate Body.”

This was a lie; the truth was that a certain Dou Zun inside the ring was absorbing her Dou Qi. However, an explanation was needed for outsiders.

Why had Xiao Yan lost all her Dou Qi for three years? Because her constitution was special.

”Your Dou Qi hasn’t vanished; rather, it has merged into your body. This is actually a sign of an Innate Body awakening. Once it awakens, you will be even more talented than before.” Just as he finished speaking, Xiao Yan saw her reflection in the tea—the peacock blue wide-sleeved dress was prepared by Xiao Mei, and the hairpins were inserted by Xiao Mei.

Nothing on her entire body belonged to her. At this moment, she...

...had dim eyes and lacked confidence.

The repeated blows had scattered much of her initial spirit, making her look somewhat haggard.

The genius of the Xiao Family from three years ago had lost much of her edge during those three years of hardship. She had faced too much malice.

But today, he said that she still had hope, a future, and would even surpass her state from three years ago.

Is this true? I must be dreaming.

The young girl suspected this was all fake, nothing more than a beautiful dream she was having while lying bruised and battered, unconscious in the wood shed.

But when she raised her eyes and met Yun Xiancheng’s smiling gaze, those doubts suddenly dissolved like morning mist before her mother’s grave. [Xiao Yan favorability +20, current favorability 45/100]

The system prompts kept popping up. Although Yun Xiancheng wasn’t clear on Xiao Yan’s internal struggle, he knew he was on the right path.

”The Cloud Mist Sect is not a charity house.” The First Elder suddenly spoke, his withered fingers crushing the carvings on the chair’s back. ”Even if Xiao Yan has some Innate Body, a 15-year-old at the Third Stage of Dou Qi...”

A sudden clap of thunder exploded, cutting off the rest of his words.

Yun Xiancheng flicked his sleeves and stood up, looking down at the Xiao Family First Elder. His Realm was that of a Nine-Star Douzhe, while the Xiao Family Elder was a Great Dou Master. The gap between them was quite large.

But at this moment, Yun Xiancheng’s aura surged continuously, momentarily overshadowing the Xiao Family Elder’s presence, causing the wrinkles on the elder’s face to tremble involuntarily.

He was like a raging lion, gathering its strength.

Xiao Mei, who was sitting obediently like a good girl, showed an expression of terror and fear on her face.

The First Elder was of her grandfather’s generation. Usually, if the First Elder showed such an expression, it meant he was about to get angry, and when he got angry, someone was bound to be punished.

For a young girl of the family like her, the thing she feared most was seeing her elders enraged.

Even though she hadn’t made a mistake, the punished Xiao Family disciples were like nightmares, turning into chains that bound the girl’s body.

The chasm in seniority and strength made the girl terrified of such scenes. An intense sense of pressure weighed down on her, making it difficult to breathe.

The First Elder’s outburst was very sudden. Beside them, Xiao Zhan’s expression changed, and he was just about to exert his power to suppress the First Elder’s aura and prevent it from overwhelming the children.

”Are you questioning me?” Yun Xiancheng asked.

The Xiao Family Elder’s aura shattered abruptly, like glass.

It left the First Elder feeling as if he were in the middle of a storm of blades, leaving him shocked.

A Nine-Star Douzhe had actually suppressed his aura? Xiao Mei’s beautiful eyes stared intently at Yun Xiancheng’s back.

He had single-handedly blocked the pressure of a Great Dou Master for them. An elegant young master, standing up righteously for the beauties.

Xiao Mei covered her mouth, her heart racing wildly.

”Your Xiao Family is just a small family on the border. It’s one thing that you couldn’t teach my junior sister well... but you also forced her to do tedious family chores? Reducing her cultivation time?”

Yun Xiancheng’s words left the Xiao Family Elder with nowhere to hide his shame, especially since Yun Xiancheng was only a fourteen-year-old child. This loss of face made him feel resentful.

The First Elder was usually a senior who was used to being overbearing toward the younger generation. Seeing Yun Xiancheng so young yet so arrogant, his blood boiled, and he regained a bit of the fire from his youth.

”You are but an outsider; how do you know our Xiao Family’s internal affairs? You’re just a Nine-Star Douzhe, and we are right here...” The Xiao Family First Elder was just about to erupt.

However, he saw a cold light flash from the mysterious iron sword box held in Nalan Yanran’s arms. A trace of a Dou Huang’s pressure weighed down, turning the entire hall silent.

This was Yun Yun’s Dou Huang pressure; her sword intent was sealed within the sword box.

The elder slumped back into his chair, unable to make another move. Just as machine guns made nomadic people become good at singing and dancing...

...power could turn a fierce old man into a gentle one.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Mei witnessed everything, their eyes now sparkling as they looked at Yun Xiancheng, who had stood up to question the elder.

[Xiao Yan favorability +10, current favorability 55/100] [Xiao Mei favorability +20, current favorability 60/100] The thoughts of the two were entirely different.

For Xiao Yan, Yun Xiancheng standing up for the unfair treatment she had received over the past three years made her feel a surge of affection.

As for Xiao Mei, the young man questioning the old elder without losing his poise made her infatuated with his aura. ”I am willing, but I will not go to the Cloud Mist Sect!”

Xiao Yan said to Yun Xiancheng, ”I will cultivate on my own.”

The girl tightly held Yun Xiancheng’s hand:

”Three years from now, I want to have a duel with you. If I win, I will be your wife; if I lose, you will be my husband. How about it?”

The girl’s shocking wisdom left the entire hall silent for a moment. The first person to object was, of course, Nalan Yanran! ”Absolutely not!”

She was like a cat protecting its food, hissing frantically at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan withered quite a bit under that gaze, and the whip scars on her back suddenly throbbed with pain. She abruptly pulled her hand back: ”In that case, let’s just forget it...” ”I don’t think so.” Yun Xiancheng suddenly pinched her chin, his strength just right to make her look into his eyes.

Xiao Yan saw light dancing in those beautiful eyes, looking very much like the ever-burning lamps before her mother’s coffin. ”A Three-Year Agreement, how wonderful.”

The tassel sliding from Yun Xiancheng’s sleeve wrapped around Xiao Yan’s wrist bone, while the other end tied to Nalan Yanran’s wrist, forming a pair of triangular concentric knots. [Xiao Yan intimacy +20, current intimacy 20/100]

[Nalan Yanran intimacy +10, current favorability 70/100]

The moment the concentric knots were formed, notifications of the two girls’ intimacy increasing flashed through Yun Xiancheng’s mind.

Nalan Yanran’s pupils contracted. She still remembered what her Senior Brother had said not long ago, that he wanted both her and Xiao Yan, these two fiancées, to serve him together.

At the time, she thought it was just bedroom talk, but looking at it now... it wasn’t. Her Senior Brother was serious!

”Three years from now, you two will have your match at the Cloud Mist Sect.”

Yun Xiancheng pulled the three of their wrists together. The three concentric knots were like three red flowers in a row. Wind-attribute Dou Qi turned into wind blades, severing the knots and leaving them on their respective wrists.

”If Xiao Yan wins...” His fingertips brushed over Xiao Yan’s fair fingers as he looked at Nalan Yanran, ”She will be your sister.” ”What if I lose?” Xiao Yan heard her own raspy voice.

It didn’t sound like a question, but more like the murmurs of a child hiding in her mother’s arms asking for candy.

Yun Xiancheng’s Dou Qi was still inside her body; that illusion of being wrapped in warm water was intoxicating. She hadn’t noticed it before.

But now, Xiao Yan also smelled the refreshing fragrance emanating from Yun Xiancheng’s body.

It smelled so good; she wanted to keep holding him and smelling it. Nalan Yanran suddenly gave a light laugh.

She untied her Phoenix-Riding Jade Pendant and pressed it onto the table; three cracks spread along with a rosy light:

”Fine! If I win, Xiao Yan will still be my sister, but you must accompany me for ten double-hours!” What a vicious Junior Sister!

Yun Xiancheng glared at Nalan Yanran.

Being a jealous woman is one thing, but she just claimed twenty hours for herself. She’s crazy.

Now he really had to help Xiao Yan. He had to give Nalan Yanran a harsh lesson and then enjoy the defeated Little Yan Ran.

Yan Ran shrank back slightly under his gaze. ”I won’t lose!”

Flames seemed to burn in Xiao Yan’s eyes.

At this moment, she sensed Yun Xiancheng’s support. She, who originally had little confidence, now became firm.

”Thirty years east, thirty years west, do not look down on a girl for being poor! I will definitely defeat you, so that Senior Brother won’t have to spend every day with only Senior Sister!” [main quest: Three-Year Agreement Unlocked]

[Xiao Yan favorability +20, current favorability 75/100]

[main quest Reward Obtained: host Realm increased—Breakthrough to Dou Master]

Surrounded by the two girls and smelling their fragrance, Yun Xiancheng crossed the limit of a Dou Practitioner and reached Dou Master. A fourteen-year-old Dou Master!

In a backwater place like the Northwest Continent, his future was indeed promising.

Yun Xiancheng’s eyes were bright and spirited. His path was now determined: by constantly dating beautiful girls, he could continuously grow stronger.

009 Medicine Lady!

The Xiao Family’s back mountain was shrouded in the mist of late spring, and the bluestone path was still damp with morning dew.

A few old pines by the cliff were gnarled and twisted, with pale golden sunset light floating between the branches. When Xiao Yan lifted her skirt and stepped onto the last stone step, the mountain wind suddenly whipped the ribbon tying her hair, fluttering loudly by her ear.

This Cloud-Viewing Platform, which had carried three years of hard cultivation, now seemed somewhat unfamiliar to her. The girl leaned against the damp rock wall, panting, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the patterns of the moss.

Although the Dou Qi flowing within her was still as thin as a silk thread, it was much more docile than before. She sat down on the boulder where she usually cultivated, her skirt piling up like snow as she brought her legs together, the jade pendant at her waist rising and falling gently with her breath.

The silhouette of the distant Magical Beast Mountain Range flickered in and out of the sea of clouds, like a crouching giant beast. Her gaze was still somewhat dazed.

”The words have been spoken, but how am I supposed to cultivate?”

The girl rubbed her head, a faint bitterness lingering in her mouth; she still had no idea. She looked at the concentric knot tied around her wrist.

The Three-Year Agreement was as heavy as a thousand tons, but right now, this body even found it difficult to hold a sword—could she really win as promised? ”Naturally, your dear Senior Brother will help you.”

The mountain wind suddenly brought a scent of agarwood, mixed with the fresh scent of the sun.

Before Xiao Yan could turn around, her hair was already being lightly toyed with by the newcomer’s fingertips. Yun Xiancheng’s voice was tinged with laughter, startling the girl so much she hurriedly stood up, her embroidered shoes slipping on the wet moss as she stumbled.

A warm palm reached out just in time to support her waist, and a black wide sleeve brushed past her flushed cheeks. Xiao Yan lowered her head, staring at the cloud patterns embroidered on his lapel, her ears burning intensely.

Such intimate behavior felt too stimulating for her, yet she greedily clung to the warmth coming from his palm. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, and her fingertips unconsciously twisted the tassels of the concentric knot.

“Se... Senior Brother, stop teasing me. Are you going to teach me the Cloud Mist Sect’s cultivation techniques?” The girl guessed that Yun Xiancheng must have come straight to find her after the meeting ended, and her heart felt sweet.

She spoke with a hint of shyness; clearly, calling him Senior Brother was still very stimulating for her.

Whether it was the current movement or the atmosphere, everything was very ambiguous. She could even smell that intoxicating fragrance on Yun Xiancheng’s body. She took a deep breath, greedily enjoying this wonderful moment. There was a sense of relaxation around him.

This was a feeling Xiao Yan had never experienced during those three years as a failure.

A golden light flickered in Yun Xiancheng’s eyes as he looked at the small whorl on the top of the girl’s head. The concentric knot flickered on her wrist, making her skin look even more porcelain-white. The smile at the corners of his lips deepened.

He lightly waved his wide sleeve to sweep a clean spot on the bluestone:

”No, you will have a better cultivation technique.”

Light sparkled in his eyes, and the girl’s information appeared before him. Xiao Yan.

Realm: Third Stage of Dou Qi.

favorability: 55/100 (During the Three-Year Agreement, your standing up for her deeply moved the girl. A seed has been planted, and the way she looks at you is already different.)

intimacy: 20/100 (The concentric knot made the girl’s heart flutter. She doesn’t feel any aversion to such behavior. On the contrary, she might even be craving such scenes.)

The girl’s favorability had risen to 55. If 0 was a stranger, 50 was roughly more than a friend but not quite a lover. ”What technique?”

Xiao Yan asked, staring blankly at his serious expression. But then she felt the mountain wind suddenly go still.

Yun Xiancheng gave a deep bow toward the ancient ring she was wearing, the tassels hanging from his jade crown sweeping over the moss on the stone: ”Since the senior has enjoyed three years of offerings, why not show yourself for a meeting?”

Xiao Yan was bewildered by this action. ”Huh, what’s wrong?”

She didn’t understand why her Senior Brother suddenly bowed.

A certain Dou Zun who had been stealing a small Dou Practitioner’s Dou Qi remained silent. It seemed she wanted to play dead.

However, the [side quest: Elixir’s Honey] flashing in Yun Xiancheng’s eyes made him certain that Elder Yao was definitely hiding in Xiao Yan’s ring.

”Old senior, I haven’t come with any ill intent. We are all reasonable people. You should have seen that during the marriage annulment earlier. On the contrary, you absorbed Yaner’s Dou Qi and made her suffer for three years. It wouldn’t be a problem to come out for some air and let Yaner get to know you, would it?”

”Hehe, young man, how did you know about me?”

From Xiao Yan’s ring, a crisp female voice like pine nuts falling on a jade plate was heard, revealing a strange superposition of childishness and majesty as it slowly drifted out.

”I have had amazing perception since I was a child, and I sensed your situation,” Yun Xiancheng explained.

How else could he know? It was the system plus the original plot’s knowledge.