Chapter 283: The Great Turmoil (Part 2)

For someone like Granny Nine-Heavens, doubting her on something so incredibly simple was a profound insult to her medical skills and character. She couldn't be bothered to say anything more and walked out, leaning on her crutch, leaving Chu Yueli and Ling Yuefeng utterly dumbfounded.

"Impossible... absolutely impossible. How could my sister... Huh? Sister, you... you're awake!"

In her bewilderment, Chu Yueli suddenly noticed Chu Yuechan on the bed had opened her eyes. She quickly rushed to the bedside. "Sister, are you alright? Is anything bothering you? Just now, Granny Nine-Heavens said... she said you're pregnant..."

Chu Yuechan's gaze was vacant, unresponsive to Chu Yueli's words. She had already awoken when Granny Nine-Heavens took her pulse and had heard everything that followed. Still in a daze, she slowly reached out and gently placed her hand on her lower abdomen.

This was a subconscious reaction almost all women had upon learning they were pregnant.

Her gaze and this gesture were an undeniable confirmation. Chu Yueli felt as though she'd been struck by lightning, her mind buzzing. Ling Yuefeng, meanwhile, stumbled a step backward, his entire body trembling as if a thunderbolt had struck from a clear sky.

"Sister... you..." Chu Yueli held her breath, her heart pounding as she stared at Chu Yuechan's hand resting on her lower abdomen.

"Don't ask anything!" Chu Yuechan took a sharp breath, her voice incredibly cold and firm. "Leave here immediately and return to Ice Cloud Immortal Palace!"

"Alright... alright!" Chu Yueli, her mind in turmoil, could only nod.

"Immortal Icechan... whose child is that... whose child are you carrying?!" Ling Yuefeng gasped, repeating the same question twice, clearly in utter disbelief. Given Granny Nine-Heavens' qualifications, there was no way she could be mistaken about such a matter. Combined with Chu Yuechan's reaction, he no longer needed to confirm her pregnancy. Now, he frantically needed to know whose child it was! Who on earth had managed to... Chu Yuechan...

He had once pursued Chu Yuechan relentlessly, humbling himself and losing all dignity for her, yet in the decades that followed, he never even saw her again. Though he eventually returned to the manor and married Xuanyuan Yufeng, a woman of astonishing background, Chu Yuechan's image had never faded from his heart.

Chu Yuechan had become an exquisitely beautiful, yet unattainable, dream in his heart.

This dream remained infinitely beautiful precisely because it was unattainable. He had believed that no one could ever realize it, and thus, his dream of Chu Yuechan would forever exist flawlessly in his heart.

But now, that dream was utterly shattered.

In his youth, he was widely regarded as the unparalleled top talent of the younger generation. Now, he was the undisputed ruler of the Azure Wind Empire's most powerful force, the foremost individual in the entire empire! To countless profound practitioners, he was an unapproachable, god-like figure; even emperors showed him immense respect. The most emotionally significant endeavor of his life had been his pursuit of Chu Yuechan, which ended in devastating failure. Initially, he harbored immense regret but not profound sorrow, as Ice Cloud Immortal Palace disciples traditionally never married, and he believed that if he couldn't win her over, no one in the Azure Wind Empire could. But now, he had heard with his own ears and seen with his own eyes that she was pregnant!

The shock of that moment was like profound thunder from the nine heavens striking his very core, shattering all his fantasies, aspirations, dignity, and pride.

Chu Yuechan didn't look at him, her voice as cold as ever. "This is my personal matter, Manor Master Ling, and none of your concern! This is my residence, and you shouldn't be here... Get out!"

Chu Yuechan's aloofness, her seemingly emotionless coldness, was all too familiar to Ling Yuefeng. He recalled her unusual reaction on the Sword-Wielding Platform, and an utterly absurd possibility surfaced in his mind. He blurted out, "Could it be... could it be you and Yun Che...? No! Impossible! Absolutely impossible... It can't possibly be true..."

The name "Yun Che" deeply stung Chu Yuechan's heart, causing a sudden burst of biting coldness to erupt from her. "Whose child I'm carrying is none of your concern! Get out immediately!"

Ling Yuefeng's heart trembled, overcome by a chilling sadness, his mind nearly paralyzed by the turmoil. He sighed deeply, turned, and departed with profound dejection. As he was about to step out the door, Chu Yueli urgently called out, "Manor Master Ling, what happened today concerns my sister's and the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace's reputation. Please, I beg you, keep it absolutely confidential!"

Ling Yuefeng paused, then slowly nodded and exited.

After exiting the courtyard, Ling Yuefeng walked aimlessly for some time before his mind finally settled. He stopped, looked up at the sky, and silently sighed. He knew clearly that this event might be the most devastating blow of his life. It had shattered his most cherished fantasies and, for the first time, filled him with an overwhelming sense of defeat, and even an unspeakable humiliation.

"Hahahaha! How utterly laughable! You relentlessly pursued Chu Yuechan for over a decade, yet never even saw her face once. Decades passed, and you still couldn't forget her, yet she never once truly acknowledged you. Instead, she chose to be with a junior, and now she's pregnant! What a monumental joke! Ling Yuefeng, don't you feel utterly pathetic!?"

A harsh voice came from behind him. Ling Yuefeng turned, his face a mixture of surprise and anger, to see his wife, Xuanyuan Yufeng. He was astonished that his usually gentle wife would utter such jarring and unpleasant words, and the anger he had been desperately suppressing flared up several times over because of her remarks.

"Shut up!" Ling Yuefeng roared. "You were eavesdropping on us! This matter... this matter has nothing to do with me or with us! Her pregnancy might not be true, and any talk of Yun Che... is utter nonsense! Forget everything you heard, and don't tell anyone!"

After his outburst, Ling Yuefeng seemed to realize his tone was too harsh, but with anger still raging in his heart, he didn't want to say anything further. He snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Xuanyuan Yufeng's face turned purple, and she trembled with fury. "Ling Yuefeng... even now, you're still defending her! Your feelings for her... are truly... so deep! You've truly... done me justice!"

"You don't want this to be known... I will make sure it is! I'll make sure everyone in the world knows!"

Amidst her rage and resentment, Xuanyuan Yufeng suddenly saw Ling Yun approaching, his steps slow and his mind clearly elsewhere.

Her brow furrowed; she suppressed her anger and walked over. "Yun'er, what's wrong? You look so distressed."

"Mother..." Ling Yun greeted her, then smiled sadly. "Your son has been obsessed with swords since childhood, with no other distractions. I always thought I'd never fall in love with a woman. But recently, I've fallen for a girl, and I think of her day and night, unable to stop."

A mother knows her son best, and Xuanyuan Yufeng had long clearly perceived Ling Yun's unusual state. She sighed inwardly and comforted him, "The one you've fallen for must be Xia Qingyue, right? If you truly love her and won't marry anyone else, then in a few days, I'll go to the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace to propose for you! Who cares about their rule that Ice Cloud Immortal Palace disciples don't marry? My Yun'er deserves any woman! If the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace doesn't agree, I'll practically snatch her for you. I'll never let you be... hmph, as pathetic as your father!"

Ling Yun shook his head bitterly. "It's too late. She's already... married."

"What?" Xuanyuan Yufeng was startled. "How can that be? Women from the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace never marry! How could she be married?"

"Mother, do you remember that about a year ago, there was news from the Xiao Sect that a newly admitted female disciple from the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace had married in Floating Cloud City? At the time, nobody paid it much mind because she was just an ordinary new disciple. But now, your son knows that that disciple was Xia Qingyue. And the person she married... was Yun Che, who just perished. She wore mourning for him and even cut her hair, severing all her attachments for him. There's no longer any room in her heart for another."

Ling Yun closed his eyes in agony as he spoke. If he were a fickle person, this would merely be a temporary heartache that would soon fade. But for a sword fanatic, to fall in love even once was incredibly difficult. And often, in an entire lifetime, true love only happens once.

"So... that happened as well..." Watching Ling Yun, Xuanyuan Yufeng felt a pang of deep heartache. "Yun Che... it's Yun Che again. This Yun Che truly has extraordinary means... And the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, you weren't satisfied after harming my husband... now you've harmed my son as well..."

After the incident at the Sword-Wielding Platform, Ling Kun left Heaven's Sword Manor that evening, and the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace departed without a word to anyone. Early the next morning, the Azure Wind Imperial Family also left early, similarly without bidding anyone farewell. It wasn't a matter of ill manners, but rather that they had no heart to offer their farewells to Heaven's Sword Manor. Four individuals had arrived with brimming hope, and through Yun Che's sole effort, the name of the Azure Wind Imperial Family had resounded repeatedly on the ranking tournament battlefield. But upon their return, only two remained, bringing back honor stained with endless sorrow.

When they left, Cang Yue was no longer crying. There was no sorrow, no tears, just a terrifying calm, as if her entire heart had departed with Yun Che, leaving behind only an emotionless shell. What comforted Qin Wushang was that she hadn't taken any drastic actions or spoken any extreme words, for she still had to return to protect her ailing father.

If her father eventually passed away, she would truly have nothing left to care for in this world.

However, what no one anticipated was that as the ranking tournament ended, and the stir caused by the names Yun Che and Xia Qingyue had yet to subside, an even greater commotion descended upon the Azure Wind Empire like a storm. This ignited an unprecedented uproar, making the name "Yun Che" a household word, known to everyone.

"...Immortal Ice Moon, Xia Qingyue, after emerging from the Heavenly Pool Secret Realm, has actually reached the King Profound Realm in her profound energy! That's right... it's truly the King Profound Realm; this has been confirmed by the Ten Great Sects! My heavens... I heard she's not only hailed as the most beautiful woman, but is also destined to be the undisputed, unparalleled strongest profound practitioner in the future of the Azure Wind Empire."

"I even suspect she's the incarnation of a celestial being; her beauty is simply incredible, and her talent and fortune are beyond description!"

"Have you heard?! Yun Che, on the very day he emerged from the Heavenly Pool Secret Realm, actually perished on the Sword Discussion Platform at Heaven's Sword Manor."

"Alas! Who doesn't know about this? To think he sacrificed himself for a supposed good-for-nothing who was only at the Elementary Profound Realm. Alas, heaven truly envies talent. Just when a super genius with no sect background finally appeared to bring us pride, he perished just like that. Who knows how many years it will be before another emerges."

"What?! Immortal Icechan from the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace is pregnant?! This, this, this..."

"That's right, this news is spreading everywhere. It supposedly came from Heaven's Sword Manor, so it can't be false. I also heard it's Immortal Icechan and Yun Che's child! They say that after Yun Che's accident on the Sword-Wielding Platform, Immortal Icechan went completely mad and even spat blood on the spot. If everyone weren't saying it, I wouldn't dare believe it!"

"And there's even more sensational news! Immortal Ice Moon, Xia Qingyue, was actually married at the age of sixteen, and the person she married was none other than Yun Che! The final match of the ranking tournament was, in fact, a duel between this very couple... This is absolutely true!"

"Last year, there was news that a female disciple from the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace broke tradition and married. Now, the Xiao Sect has fully confirmed that the disciple who married was named Xia Qingyue! And the person she married was Yun Che... It's said that at Heaven's Sword Manor, someone personally saw her wearing mourning for Yun Che."

"The most beautiful woman of yesteryear, and the most beautiful woman of today... one was impregnated by Yun Che, and the other is his wife! My goodness!"

"How many people harbored unrequited love for Immortal Icechan, Chu Yuechan, back then, including Heaven's Sword Manor Master Ling Yuefeng and Xiao Sect Master Xiao Juetian? Yet not a single one could earn so much as a glance from her, but Yun Che managed to bed her! And Immortal Ice Moon, who is even more beautiful than a Moon Palace fairy... Ahhh! I truly wish I could die in Yun Che's place!"

"And that's not all. Even our Azure Wind Imperial Family's only princess... Princess Cang Yue was won over by him! At Heaven's Sword Manor, anyone who wasn't blind could clearly see it. It's said that Fen Juecheng even tried to assassinate Yun Che in the Heavenly Pool Secret Realm because of this, but failed."

"This Yun Che is utterly unbelievable! It's as if even Heaven couldn't stand it anymore, which is why it eliminated him!"

"He was simply a human prodigy, a blight on mankind! Ahhh... why wasn't I Yun Che?!"

The name Yun Che caused an explosive sensation throughout the Azure Wind Empire. On almost any street in the city, one could walk ten steps and hear "Yun Che" mentioned at least seven or eight times. If he had merely perished, people would have deeply regretted and mourned him; some young profound practitioners, who admired him boundlessly, might even have wept uncontrollably. But with the added rumors about Princess Cang Yue, Immortal Icechan, and Immortal Ice Moon, the nature of the matter changed entirely. When people, especially men, spoke of him, their voices carried an unparalleled mix of reverence, envy, jealousy, shock, and indignation.

Meanwhile, beneath the Sword-Wielding Platform at Heaven's Sword Manor, in a dark space, Yun Che, who had been the focus of public discourse in the Azure Wind Empire and as silent as a corpse for several days, finally struggled to open his eyes.