The matter of Chen Bowen from the academy being rejected by Su Rong did not cause much disturbance. In everyone’s eyes, Su Rong was high and aloof like a white swan, so it was normal for her to reject any man.
Of course, the duel between Sha State and Yao State also arrived as scheduled, and the entire Yao City was buzzing with excitement over it.
Ye Chu knew nothing about all this. He stayed in Bai Xuan’s residence, studying the Red Fiend manuscript every day, spending time with Bai Xuan while taking care of Yao Yao. Life was comfortable, so pleasant that he almost forgot to return and had no desire to leave.
“Ye Chu! Something big has happened!” Just as Ye Chu had settled into a rocking chair and opened the Red Fiend manuscript, Liang Shan shouted urgently as he ran over, panting heavily. What surprised Ye Chu was that Pang Shao was following behind him as well.
“What big thing happened? Did both of you catch a venereal disease?” Seeing that the two looked perfectly fine, Ye Chu could not help laughing.
Liang Shan shook his head. “Come with us. You will know when you get there.”
Pang Shao and Liang Shan walked forward, one on each side, pulling Ye Chu up from the rocking chair and dragging him outside.
“Fine, I will walk myself.” Ye Chu shook off their hands. “If I stay too close to you two, people will think I am the same kind of scoundrel as you.”
“…” Liang Shan and Pang Shao walked beside Ye Chu. Hearing this, their feet slipped and they nearly fell to the ground. “Everyone in Yao City knows exactly who the real scoundrel is. We even feel that standing beside you ruins our reputation.”
“That is because the world is muddied while I alone remain pure. People cannot understand my excellence, so they can only insult me with words. That is fundamentally different from you two.” Ye Chu laughed. “But seeing how anxious you both are, what exactly happened?”
“The Su Rong you secretly love is about to be taken away by someone else.” Liang Shan said. “You are still sitting at home. By the time it happens, you will not even have a place to cry.”
“Oh?” Ye Chu laughed. “In Yao City, who would dare snatch her away?”
As the king’s adopted daughter, who would have the courage to do such a thing?
Liang Shan said, “The cultivators from Sha State proposed that this duel be wagered with a city and Su Rong. The king actually agreed.”
Pang Shao also spoke excitedly at this moment. “I realised something too. The one who beat me up last time was also a cultivator from Sha State. Those maidservants were really something. Why not go take part and win one back?”
Hearing their words, Ye Chu finally understood what was going on. He rolled his eyes and said, “What are you worried about? It is not like Yao City has no cultivators. Isn’t Chen Bowen quite strong?”
Seeing that Ye Chu was about to turn back home, Liang Shan quickly grabbed him. “You cannot let Chen Bowen take all the glory alone. You are not weak either. You defeated Ding Kaiwei. Let them see how powerful you are too, and show off for those of us who used to follow you.”
“No interest,” Ye Chu said.
Pang Shao hurriedly grabbed Ye Chu as well. “Come on. I do not even know who this Chen Bowen you mentioned is. But the cultivator who beat me before was not weak. Are you sure Yao City is completely safe? If Sha State dared to come, they must have some ability. Even if you do not want to participate, you can at least go watch. Besides, I heard Su Rong is the woman of your dreams. Can you really stand by and watch your dream woman get taken away?”
Pang Shao had learned from Liang Shan that Ye Chu secretly loved Su Rong. When he first heard the news, he mocked him quite a bit. He thought that must have been the reason Ye Chu saved Zhang Su’er before.
“Besides, how could such a beauty be taken by those barbarians from Sha State? The three of us are all more handsome than them. Especially you. If you do not show up at the duel arena, how will people know that such a handsome man exists in this world?” Pang Shao said. He knew what would work on Ye Chu, even though saying it made him feel sick.
Ye Chu actually agreed deeply with that statement. Who in this world could be more handsome and charming than him?
“You make a good point. Then I will go take a look with you.” Ye Chu could not refuse now anyway. The two of them were dragging him along on either side, determined to pull him to the city tower.
When Ye Chu arrived at the city tower, the place was already packed with people. Pang Shao used his large body to squeeze forward continuously before finally reaching the front row.
After reaching the front, many people already recognised Pang Shao and voluntarily made way for him, allowing Ye Chu and the others to walk forward without obstruction.
“Ye Chu!” As Pang Shao continued pushing forward and was about to reach the very front, a voice sounded beside Ye Chu’s ear, making him turn his head. He saw Prime Minister Su Zhengping waving at him, signalling him to come over.
Seeing that Pang Shao had already started squeezing toward where the women were gathered, Ye Chu looked down on him with disdain and did not stop him. Instead, he brought Liang Shan and walked toward Su Zhengping.
There were quite a few familiar faces where Su Zhengping stood. Su Rong and Zhang Su’er were naturally there, and even Chen Bowen was standing there. What surprised Ye Chu the most was that his eldest and second elder brothers from the Ye family of Yao City, Ye Tian and Ye Chao, were also present. Even his uncle Ye Li was standing beside Su Zhengping.
When Ye Li saw Ye Chu, his brows slightly furrowed and a trace of disgust appeared in his eyes. This made Ye Chu stop in his tracks just as he was about to go forward to greet him. He smiled faintly. Since the other party disliked him, there was no need for him to go up and make things awkward.
Only Ye Tian nodded to Ye Chu in greeting. Although his gaze was not particularly warm, at least he did not pretend not to recognise him.
Seeing Ye Tian take the initiative to greet him, Ye Chu was also somewhat surprised, and a trace of warmth rose in his heart. He had to admit that although Ye Tian did not have much interaction with him, when they were in the Ye family before, he had fulfilled his duty as the eldest brother. Whenever he obtained something good, he would leave a portion for his two younger brothers. Even though he was frustrated that Ye Chu failed to live up to expectations and rarely spoke to him, whenever there was something good, Ye Chu’s share was never missing.
“I did not expect you to come and join the excitement as well,” Su Zhengping said with a smile as he looked at Ye Chu. “What, interested in going up and fighting a few rounds?”
Su Zhengping knew that Ye Chu had reached the Transformation Intent Realm and was a fairly capable cultivator. If he could contribute to the kingdom, their chances would increase somewhat.
“I was purely dragged here to watch the excitement. I have no interest at all in going on stage to fight,” Ye Chu said with a smile. His gaze could not help drifting toward Su Rong. “I heard you are the wager for this duel. Are you not afraid that if Yao State loses, you will be taken away to become a bandit’s wife?”
“Yao State will not lose,” Su Rong said. “The cultivators of Yao State will definitely beat them all down.”
“Confidence is a good thing. But I forgot to tell you something. Pang Shao fought with a cultivator from Sha State before this, and he lost. He was beaten until his face was bruised and swollen.” Ye Chu reminded them, making them restrain some of their confidence.
Sure enough, when these words were spoken, the expressions of Su Zhengping and Ye Li changed slightly. Su Zhengping stared at Ye Chu and said, “Is that true?”
“Do you think I have any reason to lie to you?” Ye Chu shrugged.
Su Zhengping’s expression turned serious. Although he did not know Pang Shao’s strength clearly, he knew it was not weak. From the information he had received, Pang Shao had once gone to the Thirty Six Caves to snatch a bandit’s wife. It was said that he did not rely on his family background at that time, but went together with a group of young people.
Since Pang Shao dared to go and returned safely, his strength definitely could not be underestimated. Yet he had lost to a cultivator from Sha State. Could it be that some powerful figure had appeared among the younger generation of cultivators in Sha State?
However, according to the information he had received, the strongest among Sha State’s younger generation was only at the fifth level of the Transformation Intent Realm. None had even reached the upper level of that realm.
Su Zhengping composed himself and looked at Chen Bowen and Ye Tian. “You two must not underestimate the enemy. When you go on stage later, act with caution.”