Chapter 1

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, in Wuzhou, Dongning Prefecture.

At the main gate of the ‘Jinghu Dao Academy’, one of the eight major academies in Dongning Prefecture, a young man with a sword at his waist walked out of the academy.

“Senior Brother Meng.”

“Senior Brother Meng, good.”

“Greetings, Senior Brother Meng.”

The surrounding fellow disciples were quite enthusiastic.

Young Meng Chuan nodded slightly at these junior brothers and sisters. In fact, many of these ‘junior brothers and sisters’ were older than him, but the rule at Jinghu Dao Academy was that the capable came first. He had entered the ‘Shanshui Tower’ of Jinghu Dao Academy two years ago. The Shanshui Tower had twenty-two disciples, who were also the strongest twenty-two in the academy, admired and aspired to by many junior brothers and sisters. Among them, ‘Senior Brother Meng’ was particularly respected because he occasionally gave them guidance, while other senior brothers and sisters in the Shanshui Tower were too lazy to waste time on others.

“Young Master, Young Master.” Suddenly, a familiar voice came from the side.

A green-clad girl ran over, and Meng Chuan smiled when he saw her: “Lüzhu, why are you here?”

“My young miss wants to invite Young Master to go play on Dong Mountain. There was a heavy snow last night, and the snow-covered Dong Mountain is very beautiful,” the green-clad girl said with a smile.

“Go to Dong Mountain to play?” Meng Chuan frowned and said, “Dong Mountain is too far. It will take a whole day to get there and back, and we might have to spend the night there.”

The green-clad girl smiled, “My family has a villa on Dong Mountain where we can stay overnight.”

Meng Chuan shook his head, “Go back and tell Qingping that the Yuyang Palace Demon-Slaying Festival is just over a month away. I need to focus on cultivation to prepare, so I can’t accompany her.”

“This...” The green-clad girl hesitated.

“Just tell her directly,” Meng Chuan instructed, “And tell Qingping to spend more time cultivating instead of always thinking about going out to play.”

“Yes.” The green-clad girl could only obediently agree and return to report.

Meng Chuan shook his head slightly.

He was a bit troubled by Yun Qingping, whom he had been betrothed to since childhood.

...

Jinghu Dao Academy was built on the east bank of Jinghu Lake, and on the west bank were many mansions, including the ‘Meng Mansion.’

“Young Master.” Two guards at the mansion gate were quite respectful when they saw Meng Chuan.

“Is my father in the mansion?” Meng Chuan asked.

“Just now, someone from the ancestral home came, and Lord Father immediately rushed over,” the guard said.

Meng Chuan nodded thoughtfully and entered the mansion.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!” Soon, he could faintly hear the sound of arrows, and Meng Chuan followed the sound to the training ground.

On the training ground, a red-clad girl was drawing her bow and shooting arrows. Each arrow instantly flew through dozens of feet and hit the target, with each subsequent arrow hitting the shaft of the previous one.

Meng Chuan watched her practice from the side.

Her name was Liu Qiuyue, the only daughter of his father’s life-and-death brother, Liu Ye Bai.

When he was eight years old...

Liu Ye Bai brought his daughter to the Meng Mansion and settled there.

Qiuyue and he were very similar, both having lost their mothers at a young age. From a young age, Qiuyue practiced cultivation with him, and they continued to do so until now, developing a deep bond.

“Ah Chuan, you’re back.” The red-clad girl’s eyes lit up when she saw Meng Chuan, “Shooting at these targets is so boring. Come, come, come, be my target. If I hadn’t been waiting for you, I would have gone to the academy’s archery range long ago, which is much larger than this one.”

“Alright, I’ll be your target.”

Meng Chuan smiled and walked to the center of the training ground.

The red-clad girl changed her quiver, and the arrows were all without arrowheads. She looked at Meng Chuan with shining eyes, “Ah Chuan, be careful, don’t get beaten up again.”

“You be careful too, this time I’m going to break your Seven-Star Arrow.” Meng Chuan focused.

The red-clad girl giggled, and her fingers moved like a blur, drawing and shooting arrows in quick succession, seemingly without needing to aim.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!! Arrow after arrow was shot. Each time she drew an arrow from her quiver, drew the bow, and shot, it was as natural as breathing for a normal person. The arrows were incredibly fast and powerful.

“Puff, puff, puff.” Meng Chuan’s sword was already out of its scabbard.

The sword moved in arcs, forming a protective field in front of him, blocking every arrow that came his way.

“Ah Chuan, your sword skills are getting better, but you still need to use the Seven-Star Arrow.” The red-clad girl said with a smile while shooting, clearly finding it very easy.

“Whoosh!”

As soon as she finished speaking, a new arrow shot out, breaking the air with a sharp whistle.

“Here it comes!” Meng Chuan became even more serious.

“Puff, puff.”

Meng Chuan’s sword moved in arcs, blocking the arrows like a sphere. However, the Seven-Star Arrow was a powerful killing move that consumed a lot of true qi, and the speed of the arrows would increase.

By the sixth arrow, Meng Chuan’s sword missed, and he felt a pain in his chest, stumbling back. His chest was likely to bruise.

“I still couldn’t block it.” Meng Chuan shook his head helplessly.

“You can already block four of my five killing moves. Only the ‘Seven-Star Arrow’ remains.” The red-clad girl smiled, “That’s already very impressive. At the academy, no one at the Bone Washing stage can block my ‘Triple Phantom Arrow,’ but you can.”

“I’ve been blocking your arrows since I was little, so of course, I’m better than the others at the academy.” Meng Chuan shook his head, “These arrows don’t even have arrowheads. If they did, the speed would be even faster. With your five killing moves, I probably couldn’t block most of them.”

“Ah Chuan, haven’t you heard? At the same stage, no one can withstand a divine archer’s onslaught.” The red-clad girl said proudly.

“Qiuyue, in a real fight, I would have rushed to your side immediately.” Meng Chuan said with a huff.

“Divine archers always have guards.” The red-clad girl pouted, “My guards would block you, and then you would become my target. Maybe you’ll be my guard in the future!”

Meng Chuan laughed.

He knew how terrifying divine archers were. In any major force, top divine archers held very high status and were well-protected.

His younger sister, Qiuyue, was very talented in archery.

“Ah Chuan, did the dean call you today to talk about the Yuyang Palace Demon-Slaying Festival?” Liu Qiuyue asked.

“Yes, did your Liyang Dao Academy mention it?” Meng Chuan asked.

“Yes! Among the top ten Bone Washing disciples at our Liyang Dao Academy, I’m the only divine archer, so the dean directly gave me a spot.” Liu Qiuyue said, “In the Yuyang Palace Demon-Slaying Festival, dealing with demons is what divine archers are best at.”

Meng Chuan smiled, “Our Jinghu Dao Academy has three spots for the Bone Washing stage. I’m one of the top ten Bone Washing disciples, but I still need to compete for a spot. If I don’t get a spot, I won’t be qualified to go.”

“Then you’ll just have to work hard.” Liu Qiuyue laughed.

“Don’t be careless. At the Yuyang Palace Demon-Slaying Festival, don’t let the demons get close to you.” Meng Chuan said, “Let’s practice.”

With that, Meng Chuan suddenly lunged forward.

“Try to catch me.”

Liu Qiuyue immediately darted away, even turning around to shoot an arrow.

...

In another place, one of the five major demon families in Dongning Prefecture, the ‘Yun Family.’

Yun Qingping was serving tea to her father, Yun Fuan.

“Father, try this.” Yun Qingping flatteringly placed a cup of tea in front of her father. Suddenly, she saw the returning servant Lüzhu and her eyes lit up, calling out, “Lüzhu!”

Lüzhu could only obediently go over.

“What did Meng Chuan say?” Yun Qingping asked eagerly.

“Meng Chuan said that the Yuyang Palace Demon-Slaying Festival is just over a month away, and he needs to focus on cultivation to prepare, so he can’t accompany Miss to play on Dong Mountain,” Lüzhu said softly.

“Again?” Yun Qingping was annoyed, “He just knows about cultivation, cultivation, cultivation.”

“Meng Chuan also asked me to tell Miss to spend more time cultivating and not always think about going out to play,” Lüzhu added.

“He’s even telling me what to do?”

Yun Qingping became even more angry.

“I think Meng Chuan is right,” Yun Fuan, sitting there, sipped his tea and said, “You should focus on cultivation and not be so playful.”

“Father, Meng Chuan is like a block of wood.” Yun Qingping looked at Yun Fuan and couldn’t help but say, “When I was just a month old, you and the Meng family arranged a betrothal for me and Meng Chuan! But our personalities are completely different. I like to play and invite many friends to play with me. He likes cultivation, painting, and quiet. We don’t even get along when we talk. Just thinking about marrying him makes me want to go crazy.”

“You’re too restless, and it’s good to have someone who can keep you in line,” Yun Fuan laughed.

Yun Qingping went to her father’s side, hugging his arm and pouting, “Father, I beg you, go talk to the Meng family, talk to Uncle Meng, and cancel the betrothal.”

“No way!” Yun Fuan, drinking his tea, directly refused.

“Father!”

Yun Qingping was angry, “Why do you insist on making me marry him? When I was just a month old, you arranged a betrothal for me. How could you know what Meng Chuan would be like when he grew up? You didn’t even know, yet you forced me to marry him. You never considered my feelings. Don’t you think that’s unfair?”

“Meng Chuan is still quite good,” Yun Fuan said, “Among the young generation of the five major demon families in Dongning Prefecture, he’s one of the best.”

“So what if he’s good, I don’t like him!” Yun Qingping said angrily, “I don’t want to marry a so-called genius who can’t even talk to me.”

Yun Fuan gently put down his teacup, raised his eyelids, and coldly looked at his daughter.

Yun Qingping’s heart trembled.

But her pride made her raise her head and stare at her father!

“In the past six months, you’ve asked me to cancel the betrothal six times,” Yun Fuan said coldly, “It seems I’ve been too indulgent with you. Today, I’ll make things clear.”

Yun Qingping stared at her father.

Yun Fuan continued, “Your betrothal to Meng Chuan is not just about the two of you. It’s also about our Yun family and the Meng family! Our Yun family is one of the five major demon families, but we’ve only settled in Dongning Prefecture for a few decades, with only a few dozen members, and our roots are still shallow. The Meng family has been rooted in Dongning for over a thousand years, with over ten thousand members! Meng Chuan’s father, Meng Dajiang, will be the next head of the Meng family. You are the only girl in the third generation of our Yun family. If you marry Meng Chuan, the relationship between our Yun family and the Meng family will naturally improve greatly, which will greatly benefit our Yun family.”

“My grandfather has already cultivated into a demon.” Yun Qingping countered, “With my grandfather, no one can shake our Yun family! Since that’s the case, why can’t I live more freely?”

“Freely? Freely means you can marry whoever you want?” Yun Fuan said coldly.

“What, is that not allowed?” Yun Qingping raised her head, “For the sake of the family, must I sacrifice myself? Father, don’t you feel ashamed?”

“Shut up!”

Yun Fuan stood up in anger, pointing at his daughter, “Yun Qingping, you want to go out to play with a group of guards and servants. In the middle of winter, you want to eat fire dragon fish, and someone will risk their life to find it for you. You don’t put your heart into cultivation, but you still have a large number of treasures used on you, allowing you to reach the Bone Washing stage this year. I hired experts to give you one-on-one guidance, and because you are weak, I hired three Transcendent Realm guards to protect you in secret. Hiring three Transcendent Realm guards costs five hundred taels of silver a month, and there are other treasures given to you...”

“To achieve your so-called freedom, do you know how much the family has paid?” Yun Fuan stared at his daughter.

Yun Qingping was stunned.

She wasn’t stupid.

She quickly calculated and realized how astonishing the family’s investment in her was.

“You enjoy the benefits of the family, so you must bear the responsibilities!” Yun Fuan roared, “Just enjoy the benefits and do nothing? Dream on!”

“Also, I know there’s a young man at your academy named Zhang Chong, who has been quite attentive to you recently, right?” Yun Fuan sneered, “A minor branch of the Zhang family, he’s not worthy of marrying Yun Fuan’s daughter. He should look in the mirror and see who he is!”

“Father, I and Senior Brother Zhang...” Yun Qingping tried to explain.

“If I find out you’ve done anything improper, disgracing the face of our Yun family and the Meng family, not only will he die, but you too! I will clean the family!” Yun Fuan coldly looked at his frightened daughter, “Don’t blame me for being ruthless then.”

Yun Qingping felt a chill in her heart.

She had never seen this cold side of her father before. She was only fifteen years old.

“Daughter.” Yun Fuan’s expression softened, “Family marriages are like this. Even if he’s ugly and incompetent, you still have to marry him. When I married your mother, it was also arranged by your grandfather, and there was no choice! And to be honest, Meng Chuan has a good character, so you should be grateful.”

With that, Yun Fuan glanced at the trembling servant Lüzhu behind his daughter and instructed, “Lüzhu, watch over your young miss and don’t let her make mistakes.”

“Yes.” Lüzhu quickly responded.

Yun Fuan then left with his hands behind his back.

Yun Qingping stood there, staring at her father’s departing figure, thinking about the words, “Even you, I will clean the family. Don’t blame me for being ruthless then.” These words had a significant impact on Yun Qingping.

She realized that the world was different from what she had thought for so many years.

——

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