Chapter 57

A gray monkey darted back and forth in the shadows, occasionally breaking off flower buds and sometimes leaping into the vines. A gray male eagle flew from the wall to the roof, playing to its heart's content.

Pitter-patter!

Li Chen sat in the wicker chair, his right hand unconsciously tapping the stone table, producing a faint, irregular sound. Since waking up, he had been sitting there for the whole morning.

His hair covered his eyes, making it hard to discern his thoughts, but his calm demeanor filled the courtyard with a sense of oppression.

"Among the three, Qiu Qianyi is the strongest, Li Yueqing is second, and Zhang Chulong is the weakest. With my current cultivation, I can at most match Zhang Chulong, perhaps slightly stronger, but not by much.

The top priority is to break through to the True Refinement Realm as soon as possible; otherwise, if they join forces, I will be at a disadvantage!"

He murmured softly, savoring the names of the few people, all of whom had some connection to him and held deep grudges.

While deep in thought, he suddenly looked up at the courtyard entrance.

The little monkey and Lei Peng, seeing the visitor, quickly leaped to Li Chen's side, eyeing the newcomer warily.

Thump, thump, thump!

Scattered footsteps sounded, and five or six figures appeared at the courtyard gate.

"Senior Brother Pang, Senior Brother Liu!"

Seeing the visitors, Li Chen stood up and greeted them with a smile.

He was not surprised that they had found out where he lived.

"You can't call me that, you can't call me that. You are now someone who can match Senior Brother Zhang in a fight. How can we dare to call you Senior Brother in front of you?"

The visitor was the one who had fought alongside him against the wolf pack in the Ancient Cang Mountains. The speaker was Liu Ziqing, whose cultivation had reached the eighth level of Inner Breath after a year.

"Ha ha!"

Everyone laughed heartily, clearly relieved that Li Chen had not become aloof due to his enhanced cultivation.

"Junior Brother Li, Junior Sister Ziyun is in seclusion, breaking through to the True Refinement Realm. She couldn't come, so she asked me to congratulate you on her behalf!"

Pang Wenshan and the others sat down, looking somewhat nostalgic.

"In seclusion, breaking through? Could it be that—"

Li Chen was somewhat surprised, as he had seen her just the other day, but then he thought of something.

"Yang Haotian, truly a rare genius of our Xuan Yun Sect, breaking through the shackles at just fourteen years old to become a True Refinement Realm martial artist. His future prospects are boundless.

Some even predict that he will become a Star Sea Realm Grandmaster, a level that no one in the Xuan Yun Sect has reached in countless years!"

Pang Wenshan said with a serious expression.

"A fourteen-year-old True Refinement Realm martial artist!"

Li Chen nodded, the proud figure he had seen that day flashing through his mind.

Yang Haotian, in terms of talent, was indeed a top-notch genius. Even Chu Ziyun, who had equally outstanding talent, seemed to be a notch below him.

"Ha ha, Junior Brother Li, don't underestimate Junior Sister Ziyun. I heard her say that although Yang Haotian's progress is fast, his foundation may not be solid, which will inevitably affect his future progress. Once Junior Sister Ziyun breaks through, she may not be his match!"

Pang Wenshan smiled shyly, as if he had read Li Chen's thoughts.

Everyone knew that since the outer sect, Pang Wenshan had had a crush on Chu Ziyun, but unfortunately, it was a one-sided affection.

"Ha ha!"

Li Chen nodded with a smile, but in his heart, he did not entirely agree with him.

With such talent, how could the sect elders not be aware of this? They must have prepared a perfect plan to ensure his breakthrough without any worries.

Squeak! Squeak!

Two sharp cries sounded, drawing Li Chen's attention to the courtyard gate. He saw three exceptionally beautiful figures approaching together.

Everyone turned to look, and their expressions changed upon seeing the visitors.

The visitors were none other than the Li family's three sisters, led by Li Yueqing, who had threatened and taken many spirit stones and treasures from them that day.

"What a coincidence, you're all here!"

Li Yueqing was as arrogant as ever, her eyes sweeping over everyone with a proud look.

At her age of just thirty, with her initial True Refinement Realm cultivation, she indeed had the right to look down on everyone present, except for Li Chen.

"Are you here to return the spirit stones?"

Li Chen slowly stood up, his gaze unusually calm.

He himself found it hard to believe that he had once fantasized about how he would take revenge on these three sisters who made him grind his teeth in hatred, but now he felt no killing intent.

Even so, he did not want to let them bully his friends in front of him.

"He he, Junior Brother Li is truly smart. I am indeed here to return the spirit stones, but such valuable items wouldn't be carried on my person!"

Li Yueqing's expression changed slightly, but she quickly smiled coquettishly.

Li Yuehua and Li Yuerong, standing beside her, looked at Li Chen with complex expressions. The medicine slave who had once been at their mercy had grown into a genius they had to look up to.

"That's good. I'll come to collect them another day!"

Li Chen nodded, speaking earnestly.

"He he, that's great. Here's the thing, my ancestor has been thinking about the incident half a month ago. In half a month, it will be my ancestor's birthday. My two younger sisters were originally going home to prepare for it, but they inadvertently offended Junior Brother. My ancestor wants to invite Junior Brother to have a cup of water wine. What do you think?"

Li Yueqing laughed coquettishly, her movements graceful and alluring.

"Alright!"

Li Chen pondered for a moment and then agreed, as he had some matters to ask Li Kunfeng about.

"Junior Brother Li—"

Pang Wenshan's expression changed, but it was too late to stop him.

"Then I won't disturb your reunion!"

Li Yueqing smiled, her eyes lingering on the word 'reunion' with a hint of emphasis, whether intentional or not.

With that, she led the two women away gracefully.

"Come, come, come, let me treat you all to some wine!"

Seeing that they were about to try to dissuade him, Li Chen turned and entered the house, fetching the fine wine that He Kongming had cherished, to share with everyone.

Seeing this, they could not say more, but they silently resolved to do something.

"Is Li Chen, an inner disciple of Nanyun Peak, here?"

Just as everyone was about to drink, a stern voice suddenly rang out, filled with arrogance, even more so than Li Yueqing's.

"Disciple greets Senior Uncle Chen!"

Everyone was taken aback, not knowing who the visitor was, and turned to look. They saw that Inner Sect instructor Chen Chongsu was walking with someone.

"Li Chen, come over. This is Senior Brother Song Gongluo from the Main Sect. He has something to ask you!"

Chen Chongsu beckoned to Li Chen and introduced him.

"Li Chen greets Senior Uncle Song!"

Li Chen walked over and bowed.

"There's no need for such formality. With your talent, you will soon break through to the True Refinement Realm. Come with me to the Main Sect!"

Song Gongluo looked Li Chen up and down, his arrogance slightly diminished, and nodded.

"Senior Uncle, please forgive me. I have already entered the waiting hall and the hall of Master Zang, so I cannot follow Senior Uncle to the Main Sect."

Li Chen remained calm and spoke slowly.

"What?"

Song Gongluo seemed to have heard something unbelievable, but he quickly calmed down, looking at the unusually calm Li Chen and said coldly, "Have you thought this through? If you enter the Main Sect, not only will you have the best spiritual pills and treasures supplied by the sect, but if an elder takes you as a disciple, it will be a leap to the heavens!"

"Disciple has already taken two masters. If I were to renege, would that not violate the sect's rules?"

Li Chen remained unmoved.

"Humph, you don't know when you're being given a chance!"

Song Gongluo's lips twitched, and he coldly snorted, turning to leave.

Chen Chongsu looked at Li Chen with a sense of relief, as if he knew something, but then he hurriedly followed Song Gongluo, trying to soothe him.

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