Time flowed eastward like water. In the blink of an eye, three years passed.

  Su Chen was now twenty-two. Whenever he recalled the scene from the grand martial competition, his head throbbed with pain.

  He still had no idea which bastard had spread the rumors, twisting them more and more outrageously.

  What began as "he beat Nangong Meng to tears on the arena" had somehow evolved into "he toyed with her heart and then abandoned her."

  Countless versions circulated. If he ever found the culprit behind the gossip, he would hang them up and give them a proper whipping.

  Plenty of Nangong Meng's admirers had come looking for trouble over the years, but those were minor annoyances. After all, he was still a seed-level talent of Soaring Clouds Martial Academy.

  Yet… three years had gone by, and his cultivation remained stuck at the peak of the ninth layer of Spirit Gathering. Even with the azure Spirit Vein Fruit awarded by the palace during the grand competition, he estimated it would take another year or two to step into the Spirit Vein Realm.

  Meanwhile, every other top-ten prodigy from that same generation had already broken through to Spirit Vein—except him.

  In the end, his talent simply could not compare to theirs. Even Nangong Meng, whom he had once defeated so easily, had reportedly entered the Spirit Vein Realm several months earlier—and with a blue-grade Spirit Vein at that. Blue-grade Spirit Veins were exceedingly rare in the Heavenly Wind Kingdom.

  For some reason, Su Chen suddenly thought of Nangong Meng—not out of longing, but because of the words he had spoken three years ago. Back then, it had been nothing more than casual bravado, a line that felt fitting in the moment.

  Surely… Nangong Meng had not taken it seriously?

  Su Chen pondered the matter because tomorrow marked the end of his long courtship with Wang Bailu. Tomorrow was their wedding day. He could not afford any mishaps. He turned to head back to the residence. A flash of striking purple caught his eye.

  Su Chen said nothing. He lowered his head, stared at his toes, and quickened his pace.

  Suddenly, a chill settled against his neck. An ice-blue longsword rested there, pressing lightly but unmistakably.

  Su Chen stiffened and slowly raised his head. A flawless face stared down at him coldly. One slender hand held the sword steady against his throat. Of all the things to fear, this one had come true.

  Su Chen forced a dry laugh. "Miss Nangong, long time no see."

  Nangong Meng said nothing. She simply gazed at him with icy detachment, the look sending a shiver down his spine.

  Su Chen fished out a red wedding invitation and offered it with both hands. "Miss Nangong, tomorrow is my wedding day. I would be honored if you would attend and witness the occasion. Please do me the favor."

  Nangong Meng accepted the invitation. A faint spark of light flickered across her palm, and the paper turned to ash in an instant.

  "Jiang Chen," she said, her voice colder than ten-thousand-year frost, "do you still remember the words you once spoke?"

  Of course, he remembered. But admitting it now was out of the question. He feigned innocence. "Miss Nangong, what exactly did I say that you've kept in mind all this time?"

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  Nangong Meng thought this man was utterly shameless.

  He clearly knew, yet he pretended ignorance, hoping to muddle through.

  "Jiang Chen, I challenge you! If you refuse, I will castrate you."

  Her words were ice. Su Chen did not doubt for a second that she meant them. He swallowed the retort that had risen to his lips. This concerned the safety of his most precious brother. Su Chen had always been a man who valued brotherhood deeply.

  Damn it. Was he really going to back down from this little demoness?

  Su Chen attacked.

  Su Chen got beaten.

  His face ended up bruised and swollen in patches. Despite those delicate, tender hands, her strikes landed without mercy. No matter what techniques or tricks Su Chen tried, she gave him no quarter.

  He could not fathom the mindset of all those men in the Heavenly Wind Kingdom who claimed they would gladly let Nangong Meng beat them once, even if it cost them ten years of life. Pure masochists.

  When Su Chen finally struggled to his feet, battered and disheveled, Nangong Meng had already vanished. In her place lay a small jade bottle. Beneath it, carved into the ground with sword marks, a crooked word:

  "Settled."

  Su Chen thought that even if his family's big yellow dog scrambled across the paper, the tracks it left would look better than this handwriting.

  Such a beautiful girl, yet she turned out to be petty, violent, and—worst of all—completely illiterate. The characters she wrote were simply hideous.

  After venting a little, Su Chen stepped forward curiously and opened the jade bottle. Inside lay a single third-grade pill—a healing pill, no less.

  "A beating in exchange for a third-grade pill… seems like a pretty good deal," he muttered, feeling a bit better about the whole thing.

  She was a generous petty-minded person. A careful violent maniac. Pity she was illiterate.

  When Su Chen returned home, he ran into his father, Jiang Li, who stared at him in surprise. "Chen'er, how did you end up covered in so many injuries?"

  Su Chen looked up and answered dully, "I fell."

  Jiang Li clearly didn't buy it. How could a fall leave fist-shaped bruises?

  Seeing his father about to press further and investigate, Su Chen gave in helplessly. "On the way back, I met a senior who needed a sparring partner to test a new technique. He gave me a third-grade pill in return."

  Jiang Li remained full of suspicion, but when Su Chen produced the pill, though questions still swirled in his mind, he reluctantly accepted the explanation.

  "Get beaten up, take some superficial injuries, and walk away with a third-grade pill? How come I've never met such a generous senior?"

  Jiang Li mulled it over and decided the thrashing had actually been quite worthwhile. If only Su Chen could run into that kind of senior a few more times.

  Su Chen: "…"

  …

  The next day, every trace of Su Chen's injuries had vanished.

  On the wedding day, the hall was packed with distinguished guests. Crowds poured into Northwind City.

  There were senior brothers and sisters Su Chen had known at Soaring Clouds Martial Mansion—some who had already graduated and even set aside important missions to attend—along with his teacher Jiang Xiangyang and even the vice headmaster of the mansion.

  Younger disciples from the Spirit Sword Sect were present, together with Wang Bailu's elders.

  Li Ming and the rest of his old troublemaking friends showed up too—several of them former top-ten prodigies from the Dao Seeking Conference.

  Jiang Li was stunned by the scene. Among the guests were people of such lofty status that even he had to look up to them. And all of them treated his son with surprising courtesy. It felt strangely unfamiliar.

  Old Master Wang, meanwhile, grinned so widely his face seemed ready to split. He was convinced this marriage was the wisest decision he had ever made.

  Su Chen's potential went far beyond what anyone yet realized, and the Wang family would rise along with him.

  Joy filled the day. For the first time, Su Chen actually felt drunk. Thinking of his best friend Li Ming, who had already passed out face-down on the table, Su Chen silently added one word:

  "Loser."

  Moonlight hung soft and hazy—perfect for a wedding night.

  Su Chen figured Wang Bailu must have been waiting for him quite a while. Today, he was the husband; she was the wife. This world would remember that he had existed.

  When he reached Wang Bailu's door and looked up, he noticed the dark clouds that had veiled the moon earlier had drifted away. The moonlight now poured down, exceptionally clear, bright, and round. Far off, on a tall building that stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the moon, he thought he glimpsed a purple figure.

  Su Chen blinked. The purple silhouette vanished.

  "Must be the wine playing tricks on me," he told himself.

  "Husband…"

  A soft, gentle call floated out from inside the room.

  Su Chen hesitated no longer. He pushed open the door and stepped inside.