# Chapter 268: Mingguang Half-Saint
Walking out of Huang Yanchen's cultivation residence, Zhang Ruochen let out a long breath. He looked back once, his mood still unable to calm down.
In the darkness, a petite and beautiful young girl walked out. Her bare, jade-white feet stepped three inches above the ground, making not a single sound as she approached behind Zhang Ruochen. "Zhang Ruochen, you didn't just reject Chen-jie, and now that you're out, you're already regretting it, are you?"
Zhang Ruochen seemed to have long known that Duanmu Xingling was nearby, showing no surprise at all. "You were eavesdropping the whole time?"
"Not at all? I was just passing by, and accidentally overheard your conversation. Honestly, I never thought Chen-jie would lower herself so much to reveal her feelings to you. The key thing is, you actually had the heart to reject her! What should I say about you?"
"There are some things you simply don't understand," Zhang Ruochen said.
"Tch! Keep pretending! Which one of you men doesn't wish for a crowd of beautiful wives and concubines? With Chen-jie's beauty, family background, and talent, in what way is she not worthy of you? I think you have another motive. You know Chen-jie has a strong personality—the harder something is to get, the more she wants it. You're not playing hard to get, are you?"
"You're overthinking it," Zhang Ruochen said.
However, Duanmu Xingling's words did remind Zhang Ruochen. Huang Yanchen indeed had a strong personality; she probably wouldn't give up so easily.
The main thing was, at the very end, Zhang Ruochen had agreed not to bring up the matter of breaking off the engagement again. Wasn't that giving her hope?
Damn it.
He had said the wrong thing again.
Duanmu Xingling thrust out her full chest, outlining a captivating curve. With her small hands behind her back and a charming smile on her face, she leaned in: "I really want to know, who is that woman who has taken over your heart? It couldn't really be me, could it?"
"Do you think that's possible?"
Zhang Ruochen patted Duanmu Xingling on the shoulder, saying ruthlessly, "Don't overthink it. It's not you."
Duanmu Xingling felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her. She was very deflated and sighed, "I knew it. It couldn't be me. Your standards are too high. You haven't taken a liking to Luo-shijie, have you?"
"Don't make wild guesses. If Luo-shijie finds out, wouldn't the misunderstanding blow up?" Zhang Ruochen said.
"I can't be bothered to guess!"
Duanmu Xingling crossed her arms in front of her chest and snorted coldly. "Zhang Ruochen, do you know, you're really pathetic! If I were you, I would have taken the opportunity to push Chen-jie to the ground, cooked the rice while it's hot, and taken care of her first. From then on, she would naturally listen to you obediently. Given Chen-jie's state just now, she definitely wouldn't have resisted. What a pity! The Chen-jie who was delivered to your doorstep, you let her slip away!"
Zhang Ruochen was a bit speechless. "Am I that kind of person?"
"What's the big deal? Anyway, she's your fiancée. She'll be yours sooner or later."
Duanmu Xingling laughed. "You have to understand, an iceberg beauty like Chen-jie doesn't show that shy, girlish side just anytime. You missed this chance. If you want to push her down in the future, it'll be more than ten times harder."
"Whether she and I can end up together in the future is still an unknown," Zhang Ruochen said. He didn't want to continue this topic with Duanmu Xingling and asked, "That little girl I had sent over, she's staying at your residence now, right?"
Duanmu Xingling lowered her voice. "Your illegitimate daughter?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Where did your mind go? She's the disciple I took in. Her talent is very good. She's a martial arts prodigy."
"Of course I know she's a martial arts prodigy. A Thousand Bone Constitution is rare in any era. I don't know what kind of luck you stumbled into to discover her," Duanmu Xingling said.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "So you noticed too! Where is she now?"
"How would I know?" Duanmu Xingling said irritably.
"How could you not know?"
Duanmu Xingling said, "That little girl, as soon as she was brought to the cultivation residence, was targeted by Xiao Hei. That cat must have eaten something wrong. It was incredibly gentle and affectionate with that little girl. Not long ago, Xiao Hei took that little girl and left Demon Martial City, only leaving a letter saying he was taking her to participate in a special ritual to help her awaken her Divine Martial Mark."
"You just stood by and let Bingxue be taken away by a cat?" Zhang Ruochen said. "Duanmu-shijie, I always thought you were a very careful person. How could you let a cat do whatever it wanted?"
"Blame me?"
Duanmu Xingling said angrily, "You know better than I do how cunning that cat is! Besides, after you came back, you only cared about Chen-jie and Bingxue, but you didn't care about me, your shijie."
"Has shijie encountered something unpleasant?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Duanmu Xingling sighed. "Right! My boyfriend got engaged to my best friend. How could I be happy?"
Zhang Ruochen knew Duanmu Xingling wasn't really angry, just joking. "Duanmu-shijie is referring to Chen Ruo? So he's the one who upset you. How about shijie comes to my cultivation residence? I recently obtained a treasure. Seeing this treasure might make you feel better."
"What treasure?"
"Come, and you'll find out!"
Zhang Ruochen led Duanmu Xingling back to his cultivation residence. Entering the secluded cultivation chamber, he took a cylindrical metal box out of his Space Ring.
Opening the box, Zhang Ruochen took out a scroll painting.
Duanmu Xingling waited curiously to the side. When Zhang Ruochen slowly unrolled the painting, her eyes immediately lit up.
A powerful martial aura emanated from the scroll, giving the feeling that a world was being revealed, or that a Half-Saint was descending from the heavens.
"A Half-Saint Sacred Intent Painting."
Duanmu Xingling immediately rushed forward, her beautiful big eyes fixed tightly on the world within the scroll. "An original! It's actually an original! Only Half-Saint aristocratic clans could possess an original Half-Saint Sacred Intent Painting. Zhang Ruochen, how do you have one too?"
Zhang Ruochen looked at Duanmu Xingling with some curiosity. "I heard you were sent to the Martial Market Academy by a Half-Saint. You must be a junior from a Half-Saint aristocratic clan. You should have seen an original Half-Saint Sacred Intent Painting before. Why are you so surprised?"
"How do you know I was sent to the Martial Market Academy by a Half-Saint?" Duanmu Xingling asked.
"I heard it somewhere," Zhang Ruochen said, knowing he had let something slip and casually covered it up.
Duanmu Xingling was, of course, not a junior from some Half-Saint aristocratic clan. Since Zhang Ruochen thought so, she went along with it and sighed. "An original Half-Saint Sacred Intent Painting represents the martial inheritance of a Half-Saint. Even within a Half-Saint aristocratic clan, it's a top-tier treasure. It's not something you can see just anytime."
"That's true," Zhang Ruochen said.
Afraid that Zhang Ruochen would keep asking, Duanmu Xingling put on a strange smile. "You got an original Half-Saint Sacred Intent Painting, but instead of studying it with Chen-jie, you're studying it with me first. What exactly do you mean?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Huang-shijie is the princess of Thousand Water Commandery and the niece of the Martial Market Academy's Headmaster. If she wanted to, she could study an original Half-Saint Sacred Intent Painting anytime. But we don't have that advantage, so we should help and support each other."
Hearing Zhang Ruochen's words, Duanmu Xingling was deeply moved and also felt a bit guilty.
In truth, if Duanmu Xingling wanted to study a Half-Saint Sacred Intent Painting, given her identity, she could get an original anytime.
But Zhang Ruochen didn't know this. So, after obtaining the Half-Saint Sacred Intent Painting, he invited her to study it together, without any thought of hiding it for his own cultivation because of its value.
This showed that Zhang Ruochen truly considered her a friend and trusted her deeply.
Duanmu Xingling felt an impulse to tell Zhang Ruochen her identity, but she was afraid of scaring him off. In the end, she held back.
Seeing Duanmu Xingling's expression, Zhang Ruochen knew she must have something on her mind, perhaps a secret she was keeping from him.
"Elder sister Duanmu's background is probably more than just being a junior from a Half-Saint aristocratic clan."
Although Zhang Ruochen was a bit puzzled, he didn't ask.
Duanmu Xingling had her reasons for not revealing her secret. Just like Zhang Ruochen couldn't reveal his secret of being the son of Emperor Ming from eight hundred years ago.
Everyone has some difficulties and must keep some secrets that only they know.
Zhang Ruochen hung the Half-Saint Sacred Intent Painting on the stone wall.
On the scroll was painted a star, a bright moon, and a blazing sun, suspended in three different positions in the sky.
In the lower left corner was a line of small text: "Sun, Moon, and Star Chart — Left by Mingguang Half-Saint."
The pattern seemed very simple, but it contained extremely powerful spiritual will and martial mysteries.
Just by casually glancing at it, Zhang Ruochen felt as if he had merged into the world of the scroll.
Based on his analysis, by fully comprehending the "Star Pattern," his spiritual power could reach the eighteenth rank; by comprehending the "Moon Pattern," his spiritual power could reach the twenty-eighth rank; and by comprehending the "Sun Pattern," his spiritual power could reach the thirty-eighth rank.
"By using the Sun, Moon, and Star Chart, I can cultivate my spiritual power all the way to the thirty-eighth rank."
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged on the ground, releasing his spiritual power into the Half-Saint Sacred Intent Painting.
For three consecutive days, Zhang Ruochen and Duanmu Xingling stayed in the cultivation chamber, training and gradually improving their spiritual power.
Three days later, the two withdrew from the Half-Saint Sacred Intent Painting. Each had gained something and began to digest the fruits of their comprehension.
Duanmu Xingling left Zhang Ruochen's cultivation residence to go into seclusion. It seemed she had comprehended some martial essence from the Sun, Moon, and Star Chart.
An original Half-Saint Sacred Intent Painting contained not only the Half-Saint's spiritual will but also the Half-Saint's martial essence.
Zhang Ruochen comprehended some martial arts from the Sun, Moon, and Star Chart. He spent half a month digesting that martial power, which greatly elevated his martial cultivation.
Of course, after Duanmu Xingling left, Zhang Ruochen entered the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal. He cultivated there for half a month, while only five days passed in the outside world.