Chapter 1640: Luring a Tiger from Its Domain

Qiu Honglei rolled her eyes and replied, “It’s not as if he picked these lots for us. We picked them ourselves, so what could he have done?”

Yun Jianyue harrumphed. “Either way, there are more than enough ways to fix the results. I’m sure he saw that the big-boobed woman was injured and that fighting in her state would be disadvantageous, so he gave her a bye for more time to recover.”

“Master, why do you keep calling her ‘big-boobed woman’? You’re clearly not that small yourself,” Qiu Honglei replied with a strange expression. “Besides, I feel as if you’re a bit too nervous for no reason.”

Yun Jianyue was alarmed, but she quickly said, “Hmph, look at this heartless disciple of mine. Your master is clearly worrying for your sake, and yet you’re saying things like this.”

Qiu Honglei wrapped her arm around Yun Jianyue’s with a big smile, replying, “Master is the best~”

Yun Jianyue released a deep sigh and said, “In the future, you’ll find out that your master isn’t actually that great.”

Qiu Honglei was stunned. But she quickly said, “I don’t care. Master is definitely the one who’s been the best to me ever since I was little.”

The other disciples all glanced in their direction. This Peng Wuyan was clearly so ugly, and yet she was still trying to act cute and throw a tantrum? They really found it a bit hard to watch.

…

Now that the competition for the day had finished, all the sects returned to their temporary quarters. The sect seniors helped their disciples review the matches that had happened, going over what went well, what didn’t, and how to improve. However, representative disciples were given preferential treatment by their sect leaders or elders. They analyzed their opponents’ condition and put together battle plans.

As a judge, Zu An had much more leisure time. When he had some free time, he went directly to Jadefall Palace to reunite with Big Manman after such a long time. They still hadn’t had a proper conversation yet.

When he arrived at Jadefall Palace, the disciples at the entrance immediately became much more respectful when they saw him. After Zu An expressed his intentions, they didn’t stop him and let him enter.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Zu An chuckled in self-mockery. A few days prior, these disciples definitely wouldn’t have been so agreeable.

His arrival immediately created a disturbance. Many disciples came out to secretly observe him. After all, they were similar in age, to the extent that Zu An was younger than some of them, and yet he had been able to defeat a master rank cultivator at the power form stage! That was just way too shocking. Furthermore, Zu An had helped out Jadefall Palace, so most of them had a good impression of him.

The female disciples in particular were starry-eyed when they looked at him. Some of the more daring ones even tried to start a conversation, but they were quickly stopped by the ones around them.

“What are you doing?!”

“Can’t I just say hi?”

“Tsk, we all know what you’re really thinking. But he clearly came for junior sister Pei. Do you think you’re better than junior sister Pei?”

When they recalled Pei Mianman’s stunning features and domineering chest, the excited and high-spirited female disciples immediately felt as if they had been splashed with cold water. They completely gave up on their plans of talking to Zu An.

…

When he saw the discussions all around him, Zu An couldn't help but chuckle. Suddenly, a young man with a wild and arrogant expression blocked his path. He saw that it was Jadefall Palace’s representative disciple, Wan Guiyi, and asked, “Can I help you with something?”

This person always has his nose pointed at the sky; he’s not here to challenge me, right?

Wan Guiyi’s expression changed. In the end, he said with a conflicted expression, “Just how do you cultivate?”

That was what he just couldn't figure out. They were clearly similar in age, and he was the sect’s publicly acknowledged genius. In the past, he had thought that he was number one among his peers. He could never have imagined that the difference between him and Zu An would be so big.

“Guiyi, you must not treat Sir Zu with disrespect,” Wan Tongtian spoke up just then.

He had received a report from the disciples and quickly arrived to welcome Zu An. However, he just happened to see his son stop Zu An, which made him break out into a cold sweat. He knew what his son was like better than anyone else. Wan Guiyi loved to challenge strong individuals; things would become really troublesome if he said something wrong. That Zu An always had a smile on his face, but he was extremely ruthless when he took action. If Wan Guiyi got seriously injured from issuing a challenge, that would end up affecting his match later.

“Palace Lord Wan!” Zu An said, cupping his hands toward Wan Tongtian.

When he saw Zu An’s friendly expression, Wan Tongtian felt rather overwhelmed by favor, replying, “The favor Sir Zu showed us earlier will be remembered by this one.”

A few days prior, he had actually looked down a bit at this pretty face. He had thought that the court was simply becoming more and more corrupt, letting a youngster without any skill take on such an important position. Now, however, he just sighed at the court’s power. They really had a galaxy of talent under them! The gap between the court and the sects from the world of warriors was growing larger and larger.

…

The two exchanged some greetings, then Zu An left to find Pei Mianman. Before leaving, he stopped and replied to Wan Guiyi, “Maybe I’m just lucky?”

Wan Guiyi was stunned. What kind of a reply is this? Then were all my years of hard work a joke?

Zu An didn’t realize that something he had said without much thought would make this youngster question life. Right now, the only thing on his mind was Big Manman.

When Pei Mianman saw him, she was happy and surprised. After all, she had even sent a message telling him to only come after some time had passed.

“Miss Pei, how is your recovery going?” Zu An asked. Because Elder Huo Ling was watching vigilantly nearby, he didn’t dare to act too familiar.

After all, Chu Chuyan and Yan Xuehen were both here too. The rumors about him and Chuyan had already created such a huge commotion; if people found out that he also had a relationship with Pei Mianman, the whole place could turn into a hellish battleground.

“Thank you, Sir Zu. I’ve recovered around sixty to seventy percent,” Pei Mianman replied politely. She knew that her master hated romantic talk the most, and was worried that Elder Huo would be hurt if she found out. Thus, with the two’s tacit teamwork, neither one of them exposed their real relationship.

“Only sixty to seventy percent?” Zu An replied. He couldn't help but frown. Even if she had two extra days to rest compared to the others, sixty to seventy percent was bad news against the other representative disciples.

Elder Huo Ling sighed and said, “Heavenly Sorrow’s Zhi Yin is still a respectable genius, after all. His final strike left Manman with a serious injury. The fact that we were able to get to where we are was already the best result after doing everything we could.”

It was only because Zu An had helped them before that she had such a good temper right now. If another male disciple had tried to approach Manman at any other time, they would already have been chased away.

Zu An said to Pei Mianman through ki, “Manman, I’ll come and help you at night.”

Pei Mianman’s face turned red. She quickly replied, “No, don’t! Master will still be here.”

Zu An frowned. That was a problem. If Elder Huo Ling and Manman were going to stick to each other that way, he really wouldn’t have any way of meeting her. However, he suddenly thought of something and asked, “Do you have Wan Tongtian or Elder Huo Ling’s handwriting?”

Pei Mianman was confused for a moment, but she replied, “I do. In the past, Palace Master Wan and master wrote some cultivation tips for important disciples like us.”

Zu An smiled and replied, “Then that makes things easy.”

He found a chance to distract Elder Huo Ling, then secretly received a small booklet from Pei Mianman. Afterward, he got up and bade them farewell. He left in a light and cheerful manner.

As Elder Huo Ling looked at him, she looked a bit confused, remarking, “Why do I feel that this Sir Zu is acting a bit strange?”

“I don’t think so. I think he’s quite a good person,” Pei Mianman replied with a guilty conscience.

“Hmph, that kid is probably just after your looks. You should stay some distance away from him in the future.” Elder Huo Ling suddenly harrumphed.

Pei Mianman grimaced inwardly before replying, “Master, but he helped me!”

“If he hadn’t helped you, do you think I would have let him even come that close to you?” Elder Huo Ling replied with a stiff expression. “That brat had a really treacherous smile on his face. He was probably thinking of something filthy.”

Pei Mianman’s face reddened. She thought to herself, My master clearly doesn’t have much relationship experience, so why is she so sharp?

“Just remember this. All men in this world are trash,” Elder Huo Ling said resentfully.

Pei Mianman wanted to say that there were still good men in this world. But knowing her master’s past, she didn’t want to anger her any further. She was really worried, thinking, If Zu An really is going to come at night, and my master finds out, what am I supposed to do…

…

Meanwhile, Zu An hurriedly returned to his own courtyard. He took out Wan Tongtian’s letter and began to copy its style.

‘Junior sister, in the past, accidents arose from many causes, and there were quite a few misunderstandings. I have always felt ill at ease, and have many things I wish to say to you… Let us meet under the willow tree under the moonlight by the edge of the heavenly lake after dark. Under the flowering tree, I will wait until we see one another…’

Then, he took out another letter.

‘Senior brother, at midnight, let us talk at the peak of the heavenly lake. There is something I want to tell you…’

Elder Huo Ling looked strict and unreasonable, but Zu An knew that those kinds of people only became that way because of hatred born of unrequited love. Inside, she was probably still like a young girl who definitely longed for love. As long as Wan Tongtian stepped back a bit, she would most likely accept him.

In contrast, Wan Tongtian was a bit more troublesome. After all, his child was already so big. If Zu An wrote in a way that was too romantic, firstly, that wouldn’t sound like Elder Huo Ling’s style at all, and secondly, Wan Tongtian could just refuse to go out of anger. He would be easier to convince with official business.

Zu An finished preparing everything. However, when he saw the two letters, he still couldn't help but shake his head. Even though he had learned how to draw from Yu Yanluo and made good progress, his writing was still lacking in maturity. It could be enough to fool normal people, but it was a stretch to think his forgery would convince two grandmasters.

Suddenly, Xie Daoyun gently called out by the entrance, “Big brother Zu, what are you busy with right now?”

Zu An’s eyes lit up. There’s a way!