Chapter 7: Bing Yun Fairy Palace
"Destroyed by someone?" Xiao Che's brows twitched violently. From childhood to adulthood, everything he had heard from his grandfather or from outside rumors was that his profound veins were naturally crippled. Even he himself, only after today's 'rebirth' carrying the memories of the Holy Doctor's successor, suddenly realized that his defective profound veins were definitely not congenital.
Yet Xia Qingyue spoke out in one sentence that his destroyed profound veins were not congenital, but rather injured by external force after birth.
No one in the Xiao Sect had ever seen this truth, but Xia Qingyue saw it clearly in just a few breaths.
This woman…
"Correct." Xia Qingyue lowered her eyelashes slightly and said softly, "Moreover, since it was a severe injury sustained during infancy, and it's possible that your family didn't notice it at the time and never performed any repair or treatment, as your body grew, the crippling of the profound veins became fully formed… there is absolutely no possibility of repair!"
She said the last sentence with utmost confidence and determination. If an adult's profound veins are damaged, it causes a massive leakage of profound energy, but there are still multiple methods of repair. However, if an infant's profound veins are crippled during the early growth stage, then the profound veins will develop on the basis of that crippling, becoming more thoroughly crippled. By Xiao Che's current age, the condition is essentially fixed, making repair fundamentally impossible.
Xiao Che's expression remained unchanged, and he said flatly, "That's not necessarily true."
Xia Qingyue glanced at him lightly. "It seems you have been thinking about repairing your profound veins all along?"
"I will definitely repair them." Xiao Che replied expressionlessly.
Xia Qingyue looked at him deeply. In his gaze, she saw not only pride and confidence but also a deeply hidden coldness. She sighed faintly in her heart and said softly, "…The Tian Xuan Continent is vast, with countless talented and extraordinary individuals. Perhaps there truly does exist a unique person capable of repairing your profound veins. I shouldn't have made such a definitive assertion just now. Consider it my ignorance."
These words significantly improved Xiao Che's impression of Xia Qingyue. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "The icy profound energy you used earlier—what was that about? I've never heard of anyone in Liuyun City being able to use that kind of profound energy. Your master shouldn't be from Liuyun City, right? …Of course, this might be your secret, and you can choose not to say."
Xia Qingyue remained silent for a long time. Just as Xiao Che thought she wouldn't speak, she said calmly, "Ice Cloud Art."
"Ice Cloud Art?" The name made Xiao Che start slightly, a vague sense of familiarity arising in his heart. When he suddenly recalled the concept that this name represented, his expression changed drastically, and the words slipped out uncontrollably: "Bing Yun Fairy Palace!?!"
Xia Qingyue's beautiful eyes shifted slightly, looking at Xiao Che with some surprise. When he shouted the words "Bing Yun Fairy Palace," Xiao Che had clearly lost emotional control, but to her, he still seemed too calm. Even if the City Lord of Liuyun City suddenly heard this name, he would be so shocked his whole body would go limp and his legs would tremble. She said lightly, "My master is indeed from the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, and I can be considered a disciple of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace… This matter is known only to my father in all of Liuyun City. You are the second person to know. I am telling you this because, at least in name, you are already my husband—consider it my most basic respect to you."
"…" Xiao Che's heart could not calm down for a long time in shock. The four words "Bing Yun Fairy Palace" exploded like a huge bomb in his heart. This was because it was one of the four most powerful sects of the Cang Feng Empire, a sacred place longed for and dreamed of by all profound practitioners in the empire, and a transcendent existence that even the imperial family of the Cang Feng Empire had to pay tribute to every year!
Tian Jian Villa, Bing Yun Fairy Palace, Xiao Sect, Fen Tian Gate.
The Cang Feng Empire was the smallest among the seven nations of the Tian Xuan Continent and had the lowest overall strength, but it had never been swallowed by other countries. A large part of the reason was these four great sects. The great powers might not fear the court strength of the Cang Feng Empire, but they could not ignore these four great sects.
The strength of these four great sects was beyond doubt. Their recruitment of disciples was extremely strict, focusing not on background but on talent. Almost all profound practitioners in the Cang Feng Empire dreamed day and night of entering these four great sects. If one could enter even one of them, even as the lowest-level disciple, the entire family would be honored, even dogs and chickens would ascend to heaven. The court would treat them as honored guests, even granting them noble titles and fiefs.
And in this tiny Liuyun City, no one had ever been said to have entered these four great sects, nor had anyone dared to dream of it. To the former Xiao Che, the names of these four great sects were thunderous in his ears, but they were like celestial palaces in the sky, never daring to hope for a chance to touch them… Yet unexpectedly, this woman he had just married was actually a disciple of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, the second-ranked among the four great sects, just behind Tian Jian Villa!
Xiao Che calmed down as quickly as possible and then asked, "Since you are a disciple of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, why hasn't the Xia family made this public? With your status, the Xia family could easily walk sideways in Liuyun City without anyone daring to provoke you. All the wealthy and noble families, including the City Lord's clan, would come to curry favor, and the Xia family's development speed would increase several times over."
"Because of you." Xia Qingyue replied.
"Because… me?" Xiao Che was stunned, then fell silent… Those three words had already made him understand the reason.
"Marrying you as the mere daughter of the Xia family has already caused an uproar throughout Liuyun City. If I were to marry you as a disciple of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, the uproar would not be limited to this small Liuyun City. It could cause many unforeseen consequences for both you and our Xia family. After all, the gap between you and me is far too vast." Xia Qingyue's voice was ethereal, her gaze clear. Even though she stood there quietly, she was dazzlingly radiant.
Xiao Che slowly exhaled. "Then why did you still marry me?"
"You know the reason very well in your heart… Because my life was saved by Uncle Xiao, and he, because of saving me, had no strength to resist when assassins attacked and perished. Also, on the day I was born, my father betrothed me to you. Whether it's to repay Uncle Xiao's kindness or to comply with my father's promise, I have no reason not to marry you."
Xia Qingyue lifted her eyes, her gaze as cold and clear as shimmering ice crystals. "The reason I told you that I belong to the Bing Yun Fairy Palace is also to let you know that to cultivate the Ice Cloud Art, one must first freeze the heart. The Bing Yun Fairy Palace accepts only women, and they are forbidden from ever being tainted by love and desire, nor can they develop such feelings. Although I have married you, I can never fall in love with anyone in this lifetime. This, you must understand."
“…Even if you weren't from the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, I don't believe you would fall in love with me.” Xiao Che gave a self-deprecating laugh.
Xia Qingyue slowly shook her head. “Perhaps you misunderstand. I am definitely not looking down on you, and I have never looked down on you… My master has also told me many times that no matter how high a person reaches, they should only look down, never look down on others. Besides, I am only at a certain stage myself. Although the Tian Xuan Continent reveres profound power above all, there are countless physicians, alchemists, and artifact craftsmen praised by the world. A crippled profound vein does not mean a life completely ruined.”
Xiao Che was deeply moved. In Liuyun City, only Xia Qingyue's beauty and talent were widely known. Perhaps no one knew that beneath her elegant appearance lay a state of mind that even most middle-aged people would find hard to match.
And she was only sixteen years old… In a few more years, her potential would be unimaginable. No wonder she was chosen by the Bing Yun Fairy Palace!
And such a woman—extraordinary in appearance, talent, and state of mind—had actually become his wife just like that. It still felt somewhat like a dream!
If not for the current him possessing the experiences and memories of two lifetimes, he would have been too inferior to even dare look her directly in the face.
"Thank you for telling me this…" Xiao Che said with a sigh, then his tone shifted, his gaze becoming focused. "Then, can you tell me what level your profound power is actually at now?"
At the age of sixteen, reaching the tenth level of the Initial Xuan Realm was astonishing talent enough to shake all of Liuyun City. But now, Xiao Che absolutely did not believe that Xia Qingyue was really only at the tenth level of the Initial Xuan Realm. Such talent, though unmatched in Liuyun City, was still not enough to catch the eye of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace.
This sudden question from Xiao Che made Xia Qingyue fall silent, without answering. But her silence already indicated that her strength was indeed beyond the tenth level of the Initial Xuan Realm.
"You should go make your toasts." Xia Qingyue averted her gaze and said slowly.
Just as her voice fell, footsteps approached from outside the door, followed by Xiao Hong's aged and calm voice: "Young master, it's time to go make the toasts."
"Uncle Hong, I'll be right there." Xiao Che replied, took one last look at Xia Qingyue, casually adjusted his clothes, and walked out of the room.
As soon as Xiao Che left, a bright icy radiance suddenly appeared in the room. Within that radiance, a snow-white figure materialized before Xia Qingyue in a dreamlike manner. Xia Qingyue stepped forward, slightly bowed her body, and called out gently and respectfully, "Master."
"Qingyue, you have achieved your wish. It is time for you to return to the Bing Yun Fairy Palace with me."
This voice was very soft and beautiful, ethereal like clouds, gentle like the wind, enough to melt even the coldest heart in the world.
Xia Qingyue, however, gently shook her head. "Master, Qingyue wishes to stay a little longer. Having just been married and then leaving immediately would surely cause him to suffer even more piercing ridicule. Please, Master, give me another month. I will find a way to leave that will hurt him the least and prevent others from continuing to harm him."
The woman in white looked at her calmly, and after a moment, slowly nodded with a slight smile. "Very well. Since I have already made an exception to let you become the first disciple of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace to marry in a hundred years, delaying another month is no problem."
"Thank you, Master, for your understanding." Xia Qingyue bowed again, hesitated, and said softly, "Master, is there truly no possibility of repairing his profound veins?"
The woman in white shook her head without any hesitation. "In this world, perhaps nothing is absolute… but at least in my view, it is impossible. Qingyue, you have a kind, compassionate, and grateful heart. That is very good. However, your master cannot help you this time."
[Note: Because I was in Wenzhou a few days ago, the manuscript was very tight. Recently, the update volume won't decrease, but the timing might be somewhat unstable. Allow me a few days to recover, and then I will update at a fixed time each day, so everyone won't have to wait without rhythm. Hmm…]