Return Plum with Peach
1653 Words
Over there, Immortal Lord Yueci sighed inwardly, feeling that the title Sword Fanatic was truly well-deserved.
Those who knew understood that Yunhua True Person simply had an unalterable obsessive nature.
Those who didn't know...
↑ Chu Ran happened to belong to the group that didn't know.
When Yunhua True Person, with a stern expression and sharp tone, ordered him to draw his sword, he was completely dumbfounded.
A rare look of confusion appeared in his elegant, dark eyes. He looked at Yunhua True Person before him and asked, "Why draw my sword?"
Yunhua True Person looked at him with a solemn expression and answered without hesitation, "This humble Daoist wishes to have a match with you."
"!!!!" Chu Ran.
*Holy crap!?*
*What did I just hear?*
Chu Ran was instantly stupefied. He stared wide-eyed at Yunhua True Person before him, speechless for a long moment.
After a long while, he asked hesitantly, "What did you say just now? Have a match with... with whom?"
"A match with you!" Yunhua True Person said with a majestic air. "Don't waste time. Draw your sword!"
"..." Chu Ran.
*Draw your sister!*
*I'm only at the third level of Qi Refinement, delicate and frail. You're a proper True Person at the late stage of Golden Core.*
*It's a total power crush, okay?*
The latter completely overwhelms the former...
Chu Ran had no doubt that even if he struck Yunhua True Person with his sword, he wouldn't even scratch his skin.
Due to the suppression of cultivation realms, with Chu Ran's cultivation being too low, he couldn't breach his defense.
He had really seen it all now.
*Lived long enough to see this!*
Chu Ran looked at the majestic and inviolable Yunhua True Person before him with an utterly weary expression, his tone conveying a sense of helplessness. "True Person, my cultivation is at Qi Refinement..."
So, *please let me go!*
Stop messing around, True Person.
Upon hearing this, Yunhua True Person seemed to pause for a moment, then immediately said, "That's fine. This humble Daoist will suppress his cultivation to be the same as yours."
"..." Chu Ran.
*How determined are you!*
*I underestimated you.*
Chu Ran stood in place for a long time, head lowered, his elegant face expressionless. His jet-black hair hung down to his waist, long and dark, like that of a woman. A youth of fourteen, right at the age where gender is ambiguous, as delicate and radiant as a flower in bloom.
His features were elegantly beautiful, the innate clarity and spiritual aura between his brows showing heaven's favor, like the precious flowers and jade trees in the heavenly palace.
Seeing him remain silent, Yunhua True Person standing before him felt his heart tense. *Would he agree?*
*I truly am imposing on him*, Yunhua True Person thought. Even if he suppressed his cultivation, his realm remained. Centuries of combat experience and instinct gave him an advantage over this youth by who knows how much.
*It would be perfectly reasonable for him to refuse*, Yunhua thought secretly.
**Within the Biyou Palace**
The Shangqing Heavenly Venerable, who had been sneakily peeping at Chu Ran for a while now, watched the elegant youth in the Void Mirror with lowered head, silent.
His gaze rested on Chu Ran's handsome, beautiful face. A look of admiration flashed in his eyes. *This youth has exceptional looks.* Not inferior to his peacock disciple, the Phoenix Clan Prince whose splendid beauty had dazzled the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, hailed as the number one beauty.
One was splendidly beautiful, the other elegantly refined.
The former was the noble son of the phoenix, the latter like an unsheathed, coolly sharp long sword.
The sword light was clear and splendid, like moonlight on autumn water.
Looking at the youth's elegant face, the Shangqing Heavenly Venerable felt his heart stir a little.
He had always been fond of beautiful things. Young men with outstanding appearances were pleasing to the eye. Looking at all the Shangqing Heavenly Venerable's disciples, regardless of other qualities, they all shared one characteristic: *they were good-looking.*
Each one more handsome than the last, the most outstanding being the Phoenix Clan Prince, Peacock.
It was said that once, the Shangqing Heavenly Venerable passed by a spiritual mountain and saw five-colored divine light shooting into the sky, illuminating half the sky with dazzling splendor.
He performed a divination, laughed heartily, and said, "So it's this venerable one's disciple being born."
It turned out that within this spiritual mountain, the son of the phoenix was born, naturally accompanied by five-colored divine light.
The Shangqing Heavenly Venerable then took the newly hatched phoenix chick as his disciple, carefully instructing him.
↑ The above is the version circulated throughout the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
The actual situation was this: When the Shangqing Heavenly Venerable and the Xuantian Daoist Venerable passed by a spiritual mountain, they saw five-colored divine light shooting up from within. Curious, they entered the mountain to investigate.
They encountered the two sons of the phoenix who had just hatched and entered the world. The eldest was the Peacock True King, the younger the Great Peng Honored Lord. Both had noble, powerful bloodlines and were born with Golden Immortal cultivation. In human form, they appeared as youths of fifteen or sixteen, with extraordinary appearances.
The Peacock True King had a splendidly beautiful, noble face; the Great Peng Honored Lord was heroic and handsome.
The Shangqing Heavenly Venerable, upon first seeing the Peacock True King, smiled at his splendidly beautiful face and said, "This venerable one sees your brows and eyes are extraordinary, indicating immense nobility and peerless talent. I wish to take you as my disciple. What do you think?"
"..." The Xuantian Daoist Venerable beside him.
*Damn it!*
*Getting tempted by looks again.*
When a Sage offers to take you as a disciple, only an i***t would refuse.
Although Peacock felt this Sage's gaze upon him was somewhat strange, he didn't overthink it. Having a Sage as a master was a tremendous opportunity.
So he immediately knelt and bowed without hesitation, saying, "Disciple Peacock pays respects to Master."
↑ Reality and rumors are always so different. That's right, the Shangqing Heavenly Venerable is a terminal-stage face-appreciation addict, utterly hopeless...
The first principle of the Shangqing Heavenly Venerable's disciple selection was looks. Those who didn't meet the first criterion were kindly asked to... *please leave.*
As for Chu Ran... that face of his, *tsk*... after all, he was once hailed as the "capital's famous young master whose radiance could rival the sun and moon."
The Shangqing Heavenly Venerable had been thoroughly impressed by him (by his face). Recalling the youth earlier, holding his sword aloft in the air, sealing the lightning tribulation with a single sword—his majestic figure—the Heavenly Venerable felt his heart stir a little more.
Once this thought arose, it could not be extinguished.
The Shangqing Heavenly Venerable looked at the youth in the Void Mirror and thought, *What choice will he make? Facing the challenge from a Golden Core True Person whose cultivation realm far surpasses his.*
**Tai Chi Plaza**
Yunhua True Person looked at the youth before him with lowered head, silent, secretly regretting his own recklessness.
So, he opened his mouth to say, "If you don't want to..."
"Why?" The youth raised his head, interrupting him. "Why do you choose to have a match with me?"
His eyes were dark and bright, like ink jade soaked in mountain spring water, fixed on Yunhua True Person's face. "I am merely a minor cultivator at the Qi Refinement level, unworthy of any stage."
Hearing this, Yunhua True Person frowned. Looking at him, he said in a heavy voice, "*You are strong.*"
"Your eyes, your fingers, your sword—they all tell me you are strong." Yunhua True Person said. "Although your cultivation is low, your comprehension of the sword path is by no means something an ordinary person can match!"
"I can feel there is *intent* in your sword, and there is a *sword* in your heart!" Yunhua True Person's gaze was sharp as he stared at him. "Do not belittle yourself. Cultivation is merely a matter of time, while sword path and sword intent require comprehension and talent."
"Given time, your cultivation will undoubtedly not be inferior to mine. I only have the advantage of age over you." Yunhua True Person said, then solemnly addressed Chu Ran, "*You are strong. I wish to have a match with you!*"
Hearing this, Chu Ran was inwardly surprised.
He never expected Yunhua True Person to hold him in such high regard.
This improved his impression of Yunhua True Person considerably, from *a suspected i***t/p*****t* → *a discerning, intelligent person.*
Thus—
Chu Ran curved his lips into a smile at Yunhua True Person. An amused expression appeared on his elegant face as he said in a clear, crisp voice, "*When someone gives you a plum, you should return a peach.*"
"Since you hold me in such high regard, how could I let you down?" Chu Ran said, raising his eyes to meet Yunhua True Person's. "*I ask for your guidance!*"
With that—
He flicked his long sleeve, and a flash of silvery, cold sword light appeared.
**Within the Biyou Palace**
Seeing this, the Shangqing Heavenly Venerable immediately curved his lips into a smile, his gaze fixed on the youth in the Void Mirror.
His heart was filled with pleasure. *You didn't disappoint me after all!*
He watched the youth in the mirror, standing tall and graceful with sword in hand, with a beaming smile. The youth was elegantly beautiful, like fine jade. Yet his brows and eyes were coolly sharp, his face majestic, his entire aura inviolable.
The joy in his heart was practically overflowing.
*How can there be a youth in this world who suits my preferences so perfectly?*
*Everywhere is adorable...*
*Simply irresistible!*
- Writer
