Daqian Martial Saint

To be honest, it wasn’t without its perks. According to Lan Yingjun’s own proclamations, she would become a handmaiden or servant and bring a generous dowry. For others, the temptation would be considerable!

But... Chen Ping’an’s Cultivation was now well-established, and after successively slaying numerous Profound Light experts and Cao Yingxiong, his personal wealth was quite substantial.

Furthermore, his own Cultivation was Breaking Realm, so he had no need for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. What he truly yearned for were just two things. First were Divine Skills, the foundation for Cultivation and Breaking Realm. Second were Divine Weapons and Treasure Artifacts, items of external convenience.

Considering these two factors, the generous dowry Lan Yingjun advertised held limited appeal for him.

If it were offered to him for free, he would gladly accept. But the condition was that he had to marry her, which was undoubtedly asking too much.

Lost in thought, Chen Ping’an gave Lan Yingjun another good look.

Bright eyes and pearly teeth, a delicate, elegant nose, fair skin, and a flawless, exquisite face so delicate it seemed it could break with a touch. Accompanied by a faint, lotus-like fragrance and an overflowing youthful vigor, she was utterly breathtaking!

’Well, I could consider taking her as a handmaiden!’

Hearing Chen Ping’an’s response, Lan Yingjun appeared quite indignant.

"Chen Ping’an, I’ve heard of your reputation. Although you’re only ranked twenty-first on the Rising Star Chart, you possess the strength of someone in the top fifteen! As a prodigy, you should be forging ahead with keen determination. How can you retreat without a fight! You haven’t even crossed hands with me, yet you admit your inferiority and concede defeat. How could you!"

Lan Yingjun’s delicate nose twitched, her expression displeased.

"You’re right to scold me, Miss Lan." Chen Ping’an cupped his fist again. "However, I am currently injured and require rest. It is not suitable for me to fight these days."

"Injured?" Lan Yingjun looked at Chen Ping’an, her face full of suspicion.

"Indeed. I fought with someone a few days ago and was inadvertently injured!" Chen Ping’an said.

Injured! He was indeed injured!

When he killed Cao Yingxiong, he had inadvertently disturbed his Qi Blood!

A disturbance of Qi Blood naturally counted as an injury!

Lan Yingjun leaned down, bringing her face close, and took a light sniff.

The young woman’s faint, lotus-like scent filled his nostrils, but Chen Ping’an’s expression remained unchanged.

Lan Yingjun studied Chen Ping’an carefully for a long moment before straightening up.

"Boring!"

With that, she turned and left without a backward glance.

"Mother! Let’s go. This is boring."

Lan Yingjun walked to the top of the stairs, spoke to the motionless old woman, and then headed down by herself.

The old woman glanced at Chen Ping’an, then turned and followed her down the stairs.

With the light jingle of silver bells, the two figures vanished from everyone’s sight.

Only after the sound of the bells had completely faded did the silence on the third floor of Qingya Tower break, and a bit of clamor returned.

After a few brief exchanges, some people hurriedly departed!

Pseudo Grandmaster of the Five Poison Earth Fiend Palm, Lan Yingying, appears in Qingya Tower!

Her disciple, Little Five Poison Lan Yingjun, challenges Mang Blade Chen Ping’an face-to-face and is rejected!

Mang Blade Chen Ping’an claims injury and needs to recuperate, avoiding the battle!

It wouldn’t be long before similar news spread throughout Beicang Town.

「....」

"She really backed down when I said I wouldn’t fight!" Watching Lan Yingjun leave, Chen Ping’an smiled. "She’s quite principled!"

However...

Chen Ping’an looked toward the top of the stairs where the master of the Five Poison Earth Fiend Palm, Lan Yingying, had just been standing.

She looked like an ordinary old woman, but Chen Ping’an’s senses had detected a faint, almost imperceptible pressure from her.

’She’s far stronger than Cao Yingxiong! I wonder how she compares to me now?’

As Chen Ping’an thought this, he slowly stood up and spoke to Yuan Zutong.

"Let’s go."

With that, Chen Ping’an ignored the surrounding crowd and walked straight out.

"Yes, Sir." Yuan Zutong responded respectfully, following closely behind Chen Ping’an as they left together.

On the third floor of Qingya Tower, the crowd had varied reactions as they watched Chen Ping’an depart.

Once Chen Ping’an was gone, the previous whispers erupted into fervent discussion.

...

「Outside Qingya Tower.」

The young woman, Lan Yingjun, and the old woman, Lan Yingying, walked one after the other along the street. Lan Yingjun had her hands behind her back, her steps cheerful. As she skipped and hopped, the silver bells jingled softly.

Watching the vibrant young woman before her, a faint smile appeared on Lan Yingying’s face, a face etched with the marks of time.

Cultivators of the Five Poison Earth Fiend Palm, influenced by their training environment, are mostly sinister and venomous individuals. But this disciple of hers was so joyful, brimming with youthful girlishness. Such a Heart Nature was all the rarer!

Ever since she failed to break through the Pass to the Grandmaster Realm, her path on the Martial Dao had been severed. She had then poured all her energy into finding an heir to her legacy. Over the years, she had traveled to famous mountains and great rivers, her footprints covering various prefectures and territories, all to find a suitable successor.

The Five Poison Earth Fiend Palm—its Palm Power was sinister, strange, fierce, and followed the Tyrant Dao, possessing immense power! A single strike could often kill an enemy instantly! Back in the day, she had relied on this very Five Poison Earth Fiend Palm to make a great name for herself on the Dragon and Tiger Chart.

But correspondingly, the Five Poison Earth Fiend Palm was extremely difficult to master. Its Cultivation difficulty far surpassed that of any Divine Skill, and it demanded extremely high innate talent from the Cultivator.

Besides talent, it also required the Cultivator to possess an incredibly tough Heart Nature and willpower!

From inducing, spreading, and deepening the poison from shallow to deep; to nourishing with increasingly dense Earth Fiend; to condensing the Palm Power and giving the Earth Fiend form... the entire Cultivation process of the Five Poison Earth Fiend Palm was incredibly arduous!

If any step in the process went wrong, all previous efforts would be wasted!

Finding a suitable successor was by no means an easy task!

And Lan Yingjun... was the greatest Demon Fiend of a talent she had ever seen in her life!

Finding Ying’Er was truly a blessing from the heavens!

Her talent and Heart Nature were so astonishing that even with her vast experience, she was left shocked and amazed.

For years, she had poured almost all her energy into nurturing Lan Yingjun. And Lan Yingjun had never disappointed her. Today, with her supreme talent, she had become the pride of her master’s heart.

Now that she was entering the world, she believed that this disciple of hers would, like a pearl, radiate a brilliance that the world could hardly imagine.

Lan Yingjun walked ahead for a while without hearing her mother speak to her. Reaching a corner, she turned and called out to the old woman.

"Mother."

"Ying’Er." The old woman’s voice was not hoarse or aged at all, but rather held the magnetic quality of a middle-aged woman, completely belying her appearance.

Lan Yingjun’s delicate nose wrinkled. "He was lying just now! There wasn’t a trace of medicinal scent on him!"

Due to cultivating the Five Poison Earth Fiend Palm, Lan Yingjun had been familiar with all kinds of medicinal properties since childhood. Coupled with her exceptional talent, she had memorized the scents of almost all medicinal materials.

If Chen Ping’an were truly injured, his body should have carried the smell of a Healing Elixir or an External Medicine Powder. But just now, Lan Yingjun hadn’t smelled anything at all.

Obviously, he was lying!

Since he was lying, he clearly wanted to avoid the fight! That being the case, there was no point in her pestering him any further.

"I know." The old woman looked at Lan Yingjun with a gentle expression and nodded softly.

"Mother, why do you think he wouldn’t accept the challenge? I thought that since he’s a Loose Cultivator like me, having worked his way up from the bottom, he should have a heart that’s keen on advancing. Shouldn’t he cherish the opportunity to fight a peer? Through battle, one can absorb valuable experience and use it to improve oneself," Lan Yingjun said, puzzled.

"Perhaps he’s afraid of you? Or perhaps he has other concerns?" the old woman said with a smile.

"Then why did he lie?"

"Perhaps he didn’t want to damage his reputation! He’s different from you; he carries too many burdens. Being in the Garrison Commandant’s Office, apart from achievements, reputation is everything. If he lost, his prestige would plummet, which would likely affect his future!"

"But... is a career that important!?"

"Ying’Er, of course it isn’t important to you. But for some people, it’s their entire life!" the old woman said meaningfully.

"How boring! All that scheming and groveling! I really thought he’d be different!" Lan Yingjun’s lips curled in displeasure, but her expression quickly turned cheerful again. "Mother, help me ask around again, see if any other prodigies are coming! I want to challenge them!"

Seeing the young woman’s happy demeanor brightened the old woman’s mood as well. She stroked the girl’s forehead. "Alright, I’ll ask again."

"Mother, I’m already grown up! You can’t treat me like a child anymore," the young woman said coquettishly, taking a hurried step back.

"Alright, alright!" the old woman chuckled.

The old woman and the young girl, walking slowly, disappeared down the street.