Chapter 192: An Extremely Headache-Inducing Matter
It had to be said, Chen Xi'er's words did indeed remind her, calming the irritable Huang Yanchen down slightly.
Huang Yanchen's steps were light, carrying a faint, subtle fragrance as she walked to the edge of the Seven Spiritual Medicine Spring Pool, gazing at Zhang Ruochen who was healing his injuries within the pool.
She did not immediately wake him from the pool but instead waited quietly by the side, carefully observing Zhang Ruochen.
Undeniably, in the hurricane cultivation chamber, he had truly been severely injured.
"Tap, tap!"
Chen Xi'er followed in from outside, standing opposite Huang Yanchen, and laughed, "Cousin, I really don't understand. With your exceptionally high standards, have you truly fallen for Zhang Ruochen?"
Huang Yanchen held her sword in her hands, standing tall and graceful, like a pure and holy goddess from a painting, her face devoid of any emotion. She said, "It's best you don't meddle in matters between Zhang Ruochen and me. Otherwise, don't blame me for falling out with you."
Chen Xi'er chuckled, "Hehe! Cousin, you're making things really difficult for me. After all, Zhang Ruochen is so outstanding; I'm quite tempted myself. How about we compete fairly?"
"Fair competition? That's impossible," Huang Yanchen said.
"Are you not confident in yourself?" Chen Xi'er seemed to provoke as she thrust out her chest, revealing a full curve from her bosom to her waist.
Huang Yanchen squinted her eyes, staring at Chen Xi'er, and said, "In the thirty-six commanderies of the Demon Ridge, there are countless men more outstanding than Zhang Ruochen. Why must you compete with me for him?"
Chen Xi'er pressed her glossy lips together and smiled, "Since there are countless men more outstanding than Zhang Ruochen, why can't you, cousin, give him up to me, your younger cousin?"
Huang Yanchen's gaze hardened, no longer suppressing the anger within her, and said, "Fine! If you can block ten of my sword strikes with your bare hands, I'll give you a chance to compete."
"Shua!"
The sword in Huang Yanchen's hand automatically flew out of its sheath, transforming into a streak of blue precious light, dragging a long sword aura as it shot toward Chen Xi'er, aiming for her chest.
Chen Xi'er chuckled lightly, twisted her delicate body, and leaped up, soaring over seven zhang high, dodging Huang Yanchen's first strike.
Huang Yanchen's cultivation had reached the mid-stage of the Earth Extreme Realm, her speed faster than before, exceeding one hundred meters per second. Like a phantom, she charged forward, gripping the sword hilt and slashing it upward toward the midair.
"Sword Rain Light Song!"
The sword energy formed a massive net of swords, attacking Chen Xi'er from below.
Chen Xi'er's cultivation was on par with Huang Yanchen's, but the difference was that Huang Yanchen had an advantage in speed, her true qi containing a strong wind-element power.
Although Huang Yanchen's sword technique was sharp and imposing, carrying an unstoppable momentum, Chen Xi'er's true qi contained wood-element power, making her slightly inferior in combat but highly talented in alchemy. Thus, Chen Xi'er was not just a martial artist but also a second-rank alchemist.
"Green Wood Shield Armor."
Green true qi surged from Chen Xi'er's palms, condensing into a one-meter-long green shield armor in front of her.
"Boom!"
The powerful sword energy shattered the shield armor.
Taking this opportunity, Chen Xi'er leaped backward, landing on the top of a nearby maple tree.
Her body seemed weightless, standing on just a single maple leaf, yet her figure hovered in midair without descending.
"Hua!"
Huang Yanchen released her true qi, forming a massive true qi vortex. Blades of wind flew within the vortex, like countless invisible sharp swords.
"Slash!"
Pointing her battle sword, countless wind blades slashed toward Chen Xi'er, tearing through everything in their path and instantly shredding the maple tree into wood chips.
Chen Xi'er leaped into the air, arcing toward a distant lake surface.
"Great Wind Rising!"
Huang Yanchen chased after her at even greater speed, swinging her sword. The powerful sword energy churned up a massive wave on the lake, surging toward Chen Xi'er.
"I have to leave now!"
In the Seven Spiritual Medicine Spring Pool, Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes and sighed softly. Taking advantage of the moment Huang Yanchen and Chen Xi'er were fighting, he immediately climbed out of the pool. Without changing his clothes, he quietly slipped away from Chen Xi'er's cultivation secret mansion.
Zhang Ruochen was indeed extremely exhausted, and his injuries were severe, but when Huang Yanchen arrived at the Seven Spiritual Medicine Spring Pool, he had woken up immediately.
Because his spiritual power was strong, even when sleeping soundly, he would wake up the moment someone approached.
In other words, he had actually been awake for a while and had heard the conversation between Huang Yanchen and Chen Xi'er.
It was because he heard their conversation that Zhang Ruochen chose to pretend to be asleep.
"Could Senior Sister Huang have regretted our fake engagement? That shouldn't be. Something must be wrong. With her proud nature, how could she possibly take a liking to me?" Zhang Ruochen shook his head slightly. He wasn't happy about Huang Yanchen's words; instead, he found it extremely headache-inducing.
"And what's going on with Senior Sister Chen? I've only met her twice."
Zhang Ruochen turned to look. Huang Yanchen was still fighting Chen Xi'er, and the entire cultivation secret mansion was shattered, with even a pavilion reduced to rubble by the sword energy.
Fortunately, he had slipped away while they were fighting; otherwise, he wouldn't know how to resolve this situation.
With Huang Yanchen's temperament, she was capable of anything.
Just as he stepped out of Chen Xi'er's cultivation secret mansion, Zhang Ruochen heard a series of silvery laughter behind him.
"You managed to escape alive from in there, which is more than I expected," Duanmu Xingling said as she walked out from a distance, a playful smile on her face, revealing two rows of white teeth.
Clearly, she had been waiting outside.
Seeing Duanmu Xingling, Zhang Ruochen felt as if he had found a savior. He said solemnly, "Senior Sister Duanmu, you've come at just the right time! I've gotten myself into big trouble. This time, you must help me."
Duanmu Xingling's eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief, and she smiled, "Oh, really? You went and provoked Chen Xi'er yourself, and now you realize the trouble is big?"
"Can you not say such sarcastic things? Besides, I never actively provoked her. I don't even know what happened! In fact, even with Senior Sister Huang, I've always kept my distance. I never imagined it would come to this," Zhang Ruochen said, his brow furrowed, his mind in chaos with no clue.
"Really?" Duanmu Xingling's eyes brightened slightly. "Do you really have no feelings for Sister Chen?"
"Really, none at all," Zhang Ruochen said solemnly.
"Alright! Since you're begging me so earnestly, I'll help you this once." Duanmu Xingling nodded lightly. "This isn't the place to talk. Let's go to my cultivation secret mansion first to lie low. If they chase after you, you won't be able to escape."
Arriving at Duanmu Xingling's cultivation secret mansion, Zhang Ruochen gradually calmed down.
Although Zhang Ruochen was clueless and naive when it came to emotions, practically a rookie, he quickly sorted out his thoughts.
"How do you plan to handle your relationship with Sister Chen? Although Sister Chen has always been cold and aloof, never revealing her true feelings to anyone, I can tell she has developed genuine feelings for you. If you really think she'll voluntarily call off the engagement after three years, you're sorely mistaken," Duanmu Xingling said with a squinting smile.
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly, still finding it hard to believe that Huang Yanchen could truly fall for him. He shook his head and said, "I think... Senior Sister Huang is not the type to easily develop feelings, let alone for me. She probably acted out of concern for her own face, which is why she stormed into Senior Sister Chen's cultivation secret mansion. After all, I am her nominal fiancé, and she doesn't want others to gossip."
Duanmu Xingling laughed, "Junior Brother, have you put all your energy into cultivation that you don't understand women at all? Do you think Sister Chen would have stormed into Chen Xi'er's cultivation secret mansion if she didn't care about you at all? Perhaps even she doesn't realize that she has developed very subtle feelings for you."
"Then what should I do now?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"What else can you do? Sister Chen and Chen Xi'er are both proud daughters of heaven in the Martial Market Academy. Countless people wish to gain their favor, and you don't even know how lucky you are."
"Senior Sister Duanmu, can you be serious?"
Duanmu Xingling became serious and said, "I think you should avoid seeing them for now and observe their attitudes slowly."
Zhang Ruochen nodded lightly. "Then I'll have to stay temporarily in your cultivation secret mansion. I hope you'll keep it a secret for me, Senior Sister."
"Easy," Duanmu Xingling said with a smile. "I just hope Sister Chen doesn't think I'm trying to butt in too. Hehe!"
For the next five days, Zhang Ruochen stayed in Duanmu Xingling's cultivation secret mansion. His injuries gradually healed, and his energy returned to a full state.
Zhang Ruochen purchased a large number of healing pills and once again entered the Saint Ascension Mountain, heading to the Earth-level hurricane cultivation chamber. He pushed aside the troubles from Huang Yanchen and Chen Xi'er, focusing solely on breaking through to the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Mysterious Extreme Realm.
Now, he urgently wanted to reach the Earth Extreme Realm. Once he did, he would have the ability to protect himself.
At that point, he wouldn't have to deliberately avoid Huang Yanchen and Chen Xi'er. He could simply accept tasks from the Martial Market Academy and go out to train. As long as he didn't see them, he wouldn't have to think about those headache-inducing matters.
Entering the hurricane cultivation secret mansion again, Zhang Ruochen was in even better condition, and his understanding of the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow had deepened.
"Hoo!"
Inside the cultivation chamber, fierce winds howled, with powerful gusts coming from all directions.
Zhang Ruochen worked hard to control his center of gravity, stepping through the wind and riding the gale. Like a series of afterimages, he constantly shifted positions within the wind.
"Bang!"
After holding on for a full forty seconds, Zhang Ruochen was struck by a sudden gust from above, crashing to the ground and landing in a daze.
Time passed quickly during cultivation.
Soon, half a month had gone by. Zhang Ruochen had made tremendous progress. On average, he only collided with the stone wall once per minute, about one hundred and twenty times per hour.
When Zhang Ruochen entered the hurricane cultivation chamber for the third time, his control over the wind was even stronger. In an hour, he collided with the stone wall at most ten times.
By the fourth time Zhang Ruochen entered the hurricane cultivation chamber, he could walk leisurely within the fierce winds without worrying about losing his center of gravity.
Three full months passed. Zhang Ruochen entered the hurricane chamber five times to cultivate, each session lasting half a month.
During the rest of the time, Zhang Ruochen spent almost all of it in Duanmu Xingling's cultivation secret mansion, either healing or contemplating his progress in the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow.
On the seventh day of Zhang Ruochen's sixth entry into the hurricane chamber, he finally mastered the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow to a great extent. His maximum burst speed reached eighty-one meters per second, successfully breaking through to the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Mysterious Extreme Realm.