Chapter 64: Main Hall

As Yun Che spoke, Xia Yuanba’s mouth gaped wide, his eyes almost bulging out in shock. Murong Ye’s eyes narrowed, and his gaze turned cold and derisive as he subtly sneered. Lan Xueruo, however, showed no trace of anger. She smiled charmingly, “What an interesting junior brother. It seems life won’t be so boring from now on. Well, I should get going. I have a banquet this evening, and there might be a tough fight. We need to go to the Medicine Hall to prepare some useful pills. See you later!”

“Goodbye, Senior Sister.”

Lan Xueruo gave Yun Che a playful wink with her left eye, smiled, and departed, a faint, lingering scent of her perfume drifting away with her. Although Yun Che’s words had a touch of flirtation, they clearly didn’t displease Lan Xueruo. Instead, they deepened her impression of him, ensuring she wouldn’t simply forget him the moment she turned away.

Yun Che turned his head to gaze intently at her graceful retreating figure, with undisguised admiration. A beauty that could captivate a nation, a noble and extraordinary demeanor, yet without arrogance, instead so gentle and warm-hearted. She truly was a girl a man would find hard to resist. However, her background was clearly not simple either.

A hand clapped unceremoniously onto Yun Che’s shoulder. Yun Che turned around and saw Murong Ye glaring coldly at him. He immediately offered a faint smile. “Senior Brother Murong, how can I help you? Speaking of which, aren’t you with Senior Sister Xueruo?”

Lan Xueruo had walked quite a distance without once turning back to call Murong Ye, as if she hadn’t even noticed he wasn’t following. It seemed their relationship was completely different from what he initially thought. It was likely a one-sided infatuation on Murong Ye’s part.

Murong Ye’s eyes narrowed further, and a disdainful sneer appeared on his face. His gaze was like that of someone looking down on a lowly subordinate. “You’re Yun Che, right? Junior Brother Yun, I don’t care how you managed to get into our class, but as your senior brother, there are a few things I need to warn you about. Since you’re in Class One, you’d better learn what to do and what not to do. Don’t come crying to me later if you run into trouble because I didn’t warn you. Also, remember this clearly: stay away from Lan Xueruo. The farther, the better. If I see you talking to her like that again, I have plenty of ways to make sure you’re expelled from New Moon Profound Palace. Hmph!”

Having said that, he cast a sinister glance at Yun Che and Xia Yuanba and quickly strode off in the direction Lan Xueruo had gone. He knew Xia Yuanba was merely the son of a merchant from a remote small town. Therefore, his brother-in-law must also be an insignificant figure with no background, so he had no qualms about lecturing them.

Yun Che cast a casual sideways glance at his retreating back and sneered, “That man acts like his eyes are on top of his head.”

“He’s always like this; I’m used to it,” Xia Yuanba said, looking exasperated and helpless. Normally, he wouldn’t care about Murong Ye’s condescending behavior towards him, but this time, it was a clear threat to Yun Che, which filled him with anger. However, considering Murong Ye’s strength and family background, he couldn’t act on his anger. Otherwise, he himself would be fine, as he had the Vice Palace Master supporting him, but Yun Che might genuinely be unable to remain in New Moon Profound Palace.

“It seems this Murong Ye has quite a significant background,” Yun Che murmured.

Seeing that Yun Che didn’t seem angry, Xia Yuanba felt a little relieved and whispered, “His father is the City Lord of New Moon City! Not only that, his profound cultivation talent is quite astonishing. He’s only nineteen this year, but he’s already at the eighth level of the Nascent Profound Realm! I heard he’s even close to breaking through to the ninth level recently. No one in the entire New Moon Profound Palace dares to provoke him.”

“The City Lord’s son? Heh, I see,” Yun Che chuckled softly. Then he suddenly asked, “He’s pursuing Lan Xueruo, isn’t he?”

“Uh-huh. Senior Sister Xueruo is both beautiful and gentle, and there are many senior brothers who like her. However, she and Senior Brother Murong are widely considered a couple, and no one dares to contend with Senior Brother Murong for her. So, all the senior brothers who like Senior Sister Xueruo have always been afraid to get too close to her.” Xia Yuanba then added in a strange tone, “Brother-in-law, you’re the first person I’ve ever seen dare to speak to Senior Sister Xueruo like that. In the future, you really need to be careful of Murong Ye. Although he’s very powerful, he’s also very narrow-minded.”

“I can tell,” Yun Che said, shrugging his shoulders, but looking completely unconcerned. He then turned and asked, “Yuanba, where does this Lan Xueruo come from? It’s clear her family background is extraordinary. Why would she come to New Moon Profound Palace?”

Xia Yuanba shook his head. “I don’t know either. All I know is that she seems to be Elder Sikong’s distant relative, and she entered the Profound Hall at the same time as me during the public recruitment half a year ago. As for where she’s from, she’s never mentioned it. However, Senior Sister Xueruo is very powerful. She’s eighteen this year and already at the eighth level of the Nascent Profound Realm, making her the most talented person in this batch at New Moon Profound Palace, even stronger than Senior Brother Murong.”

Both were at the eighth level of the Nascent Profound Realm, but Murong Ye was nineteen while Lan Xueruo was eighteen. Clearly, Lan Xueruo surpassed Murong Ye in talent.

Xiao Yulong, at twenty years old, being at the third level of the Nascent Profound Realm, was already considered the top young talent in the Xiao Sect. Xia Qingyue, at sixteen, reaching the tenth level of the Elementary Profound Realm, was already hailed as the top genius in Flowing Cloud City, a rarity in a hundred years. However, both Murong Ye and Lan Xueruo clearly far outclassed Xia Qingyue, let alone Xiao Yulong. Moreover, young people of their caliber were probably not uncommon among the major sects in New Moon City. In comparison, Flowing Cloud City truly lived up to its name as a forgotten small town; its profound energy level was simply too far behind. Even his grandfather, Xiao Lie, who was the strongest in Flowing Cloud City at the tenth level of the Spirit Profound Realm, would likely only be considered upper-tier among his peers in New Moon City, not top-tier.

“Yuanba,” Yun Che’s expression grew serious. “There’s something very important I need to discuss with you.”

“Huh? What is it?” Xia Yuanba instantly grew nervous, seeing Yun Che’s expression.

“From now on, you’re not allowed to call me ‘brother-in-law’ anymore!” Yun Che stated sternly.

“Why not?” Xia Yuanba’s eyes widened.

Yun Che clapped Xia Yuanba on the shoulder, then glanced into the distance. “I heard Senior Sister Xueruo say that there are many beautiful girls in our class, right?”

“Well, I suppose so. But Senior Sister Xueruo is still the prettiest.”

Yun Che raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone righteous. “Since there are so many beauties in our class, if you keep calling me ‘brother-in-law,’ wouldn’t that expose the fact that I’m already married? How am I supposed to flirt with all those pretty senior and junior sisters then!”

“…” Xia Yuanba gaped, his brain freezing for a full three seconds before he weakly mumbled, “But, brother-in-law, you already have my sister. If you go after other girls… won’t that be a little…”

“No, no,” Yun Che waved his hand, speaking earnestly. “I just told Senior Sister Xueruo that you wouldn’t object to me finding others, and you personally agreed to it. Besides… it’s unknown if I’ll ever see your sister again in this lifetime.”

Yun Che gazed into the distance, his eyes growing profound. He mused, “A man’s ultimate pursuit in life is nothing more than two things: conquering the world and conquering women. Conquering the world is to achieve a sufficient height in life, while conquering women is to adorn the scenery of life. If one cannot conquer those they wish to conquer, even if they conquer the entire world, they will still be a lonely peak, surrounded by desolation. Yuanba, do you think your brother-in-law is right?”

“…” Although Xia Yuanba didn’t quite understand, he felt it sounded profound and impressive.

“Then, if I don’t call you ‘brother-in-law,’ what should I call you?” Because Yun Che and Xia Qingyue had been betrothed since childhood, Xia Yuanba had always called Yun Che ‘brother-in-law.’ Apart from that, his somewhat inflexible mind couldn’t immediately think of anything else to call him.

“Hmm, about that… you can call me ‘Big Brother,’ ‘Boss,’ ‘Brother Yun,’ ‘Brother Che,’ ‘Brother Yun Che,’ or just ‘Yun Che,’ ‘Senior Brother Yun’… just don’t call me ‘brother-in-law’ anymore.”

“Oh! Then I’ll call you ‘Boss’ from now on. Is that okay?”

“Yes.”

“Boss, Boss, Boss… Hmm, it still feels a bit strange. Oh, right, Senior Sister Xueruo just said she was going to the Medicine Hall to get some pills for the banquet this evening. Should we go too? Brother-in-law, since you just entered the Profound Hall, you can immediately claim a supply of pills from the Medicine Hall. You can claim them once a month.”

“…Don’t call me brother-in-law.”

“Ah, I forgot. I’ll definitely pay attention. So, brother-in-law, should we go to our living quarters first or the Medicine Hall?”

Yun Che followed Xia Yuanba to the Medicine Hall to claim his supply of pills, and as expected, they didn’t disappoint him. They were all low-grade Profound Recovery Pills and Profound Circulation Pills, with a purity of only about forty to fifty percent. Auxiliary pills of this quality were far inferior to those found in major sects, which explained why the average strength of New Moon Profound Palace never seemed to improve.

Sikong Han had arranged Yun Che’s living quarters adjacent to Xia Yuanba’s. Although the space was small, it was quite elegant and had almost everything one might need, proving much better than Yun Che had anticipated. After wandering for half a year, Yun Che finally had a place to settle down and sleep, filling him with a sense of relief.

Lying on the small bed, Yun Che quickly drifted off to sleep. For the past six months, he had slept outdoors and never stayed in an inn, nor had he enjoyed the comfort of a bed. This sleep was exceptionally comfortable and peaceful; he slept from noon until evening, only waking up when Xia Yuanba knocked on his door.

“Brother-in-law, are you awake yet? The banquet is about to begin. Are we still going?”

Knowing that something might happen at the banquet, Xia Yuanba inwardly hoped Yun Che wouldn’t attend, fearing he might be intentionally injured if challenged.

Yun Che opened his eyes and quickly got out of bed. “Of course we’re going! Wait for me; I’ll be ready in a moment!”

At the very center of New Moon Profound Palace lay a vast, sparse bamboo forest, within which stood a grand hall radiating an air of solemnity. This was the largest and most luxurious building in the entire New Moon Profound Palace, straightforwardly named the “Main Hall,” where important palace matters were typically conducted. The banquet for the new Palace Master’s inauguration was also to be held in this Main Hall.

When Yun Che and Xia Yuanba entered the Main Hall, there was less than fifteen minutes until the banquet was scheduled to begin. However, less than a fifth of the seats were occupied, and most of those present were internal members of the Profound Palace. This clearly wasn’t because the invited sects couldn’t arrive earlier, but rather that they were all proud of their status and unwilling to arrive promptly.

It was also a form of disrespect towards New Moon Profound Palace.