Chapter 1: Meng Chuan and Yun Qingping

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, Wuzhou Prefecture, Dongning City.

At the main gate of Mirror Lake Dao Academy, one of the eight major academies in Dongning City, a young man with a saber at his waist walked out.

“Senior Brother Meng.”“Hello, Senior Brother Meng.”“Greetings, Senior Brother Meng.”

His fellow disciples greeted him warmly. The young man, Meng Chuan, nodded slightly to his junior disciples. In fact, many of these ‘junior disciples’ were older than him. However, Mirror Lake Dao Academy's rule was that the accomplished came first. Two years ago, he had already entered the 'Landscape Tower' of Mirror Lake Dao Academy. The twenty-two disciples of the Landscape Tower were also the strongest twenty-two in the academy, admired and looked up to by many junior disciples. Among them, 'Senior Brother Meng' was especially revered because he occasionally offered guidance, while other senior brothers and sisters from the Landscape Tower were reluctant to spend time on others.

“Young Master, Young Master!” A familiar voice suddenly called out from nearby.

A girl in green ran out from the side. Seeing her, Meng Chuan smiled, “Green Bamboo, why are you here?”

“My Young Mistress wishes to invite you to visit East Mountain,” the girl in green chuckled. “There was a heavy snowfall last night, and East Mountain is quite beautiful after the snow.”

“Visit East Mountain?” Meng Chuan frowned. “East Mountain is too far. We'd probably have to stay overnight and only return tomorrow.”

The green-clad girl smiled, “My Yun family happens to have a villa on East Mountain where you can stay overnight.”

Meng Chuan shook his head. “Go back and tell Qingping that the Jade Sun Palace Demon Slaying Grand Event is in just over a month. I need to focus on my cultivation to prepare and cannot accompany her.”

“But…” Green Bamboo hesitated.

“Just tell her directly when you go back,” Meng Chuan instructed. “And also, tell Qingping to spend more time on her cultivation and not always think about going out to play.”

“Yes, Young Master,” Green Bamboo dutifully replied, turning to report back.

Meng Chuan shook his head slightly. He found Yun Qingping, his childhood fiancée, somewhat troublesome.

Mirror Lake Dao Academy was built on the east bank of Mirror Lake. On the west bank were many residences, including the Meng Estate.

“Young Master,” two guards at the estate gate greeted Meng Chuan respectfully upon seeing him.

“Is my father in the estate?” Meng Chuan asked.

“Someone just came from the ancestral home, and the Master immediately rushed over,” the guard replied.

Meng Chuan nodded thoughtfully and entered the estate.

“Whish, whish, whish!!!” Soon, he vaguely heard the sound of arrows. Meng Chuan followed the sound and arrived at the training ground.

On the training ground, a girl in red was practicing archery. Arrow after arrow flew dozens of yards, hitting the targets consecutively. Each subsequent arrow even struck the shaft of the one before it. Meng Chuan watched her practice from the side.

Her name was Liu Qiyue, the only daughter of Liu Yebai, his father's sworn brother. When he was eight years old, Liu Yebai brought his daughter to the Meng Estate, and they had lived there ever since. Like him, Qiyue had lost her mother at a very young age. From childhood, Qiyue had trained alongside him, continuing to cultivate until now, and their bond was extremely deep.

“A-Chuan, you’re back!” The girl in red’s eyes lit up when she saw Meng Chuan. “Shooting these targets is so boring. Come on, be my target! If I wasn’t waiting for you, I would have gone to the academy to practice archery already; their archery range is much larger than this.”

“Alright, I’ll be your target,” Meng Chuan said with a smile, walking to the center of the training ground.

The girl in red changed her quiver to one with blunted arrows. Her eyes gleaming, she looked at Meng Chuan. “A-Chuan, be careful! Don’t let me bruise you all over again.”

“You be careful too,” Meng Chuan replied, his expression serious. “This time, I'm determined to break your Seven Star Consecutive Arrows.”

The girl in red giggled. Her fingers moved like phantoms, instantly drawing and releasing arrows as if she didn't even need to aim.

Whish, whish, whish!!! Arrow after arrow shot forth consecutively. Each time, she drew an arrow from her back quiver, drew the bow, and released, then repeated the process... it was as natural as breathing for an ordinary person. The arrows were astonishingly fast and powerful.

“Thud, thud, thud.” The saber at Meng Chuan’s waist was already unsheathed. His saber moved in arcs, subtly forming a defensive zone before him, blocking every arrow that came his way.

“A-Chuan, your saber technique is getting even better, but I still need to use my Seven Star Consecutive Arrows,” the girl in red said with a smile as she continued shooting, clearly finding it effortless.

“Whish!” The moment her words fell, the girl in red released another arrow. It tore through the air with a piercing shriek.

“Here it comes!” Meng Chuan grew even more serious.

“Thud.” “Thud.” Meng Chuan’s saber moved in arcs, blocking the arrows like a spherical shield. However, the Seven Star Consecutive Arrows was a killing move that consumed a tremendous amount of true qi, and the arrows' speed would only increase.

By the sixth arrow, Meng Chuan's saber missed. He felt a sharp pain in his chest and involuntarily staggered. His chest was likely to be bruised.

“Still couldn't block it,” Meng Chuan said with a helpless shake of his head.

“Of my five killing moves, you can already block four; only the 'Seven Star Consecutive Arrows' remains,” the girl in red chuckled. “That's already very impressive. At the academy, no one at the Marrow Cleansing Realm could block my 'Triple Phantom Arrow,' but you can.”

“I've been blocking your arrows since childhood, so of course I'm stronger than your academy mates,” Meng Chuan shook his head. “These are still blunted arrows. If they had actual arrowheads, the arrows would be even faster. Of your five killing moves… I probably couldn't block most of them.”

“A-Chuan, haven’t you heard? At the same cultivation level, no one can withstand a Divine Archer's onslaught,” the girl in red said proudly.

“Qiyue… in a real life-or-death fight, I would have charged you immediately,” Meng Chuan snorted.

“Divine Archers always have guards,” the girl in red retorted with a pout. “My guards would block you, and then you’d become my target. Who knows, maybe in the future, you’ll be my guard!”

Meng Chuan smiled. He knew very well how formidable Divine Archers were; in any faction, top-tier Divine Archers held extremely high status and were exceptionally well-protected. His younger sister Qiyue was exceptionally talented in archery.

“A-Chuan, did your dean summon you today to talk about the Jade Sun Palace Demon Slaying Grand Event?” Liu Qiyue asked.

“Yes. I suppose your Blazing Sun Dao Academy also mentioned it?” Meng Chuan replied.

“They did! Among the ten Marrow Cleansing Realm disciples of my Blazing Sun Dao Academy, I am the only Divine Archer, so the dean directly allocated a spot to me,” Liu Qiyue said. “When dealing with demons at the Jade Sun Palace Demon Slaying Grand Event, Divine Archers are the most proficient.”

Meng Chuan chuckled, “Our Mirror Lake Dao Academy has three spots for the Marrow Cleansing Realm. Although I am one of the top ten Marrow Cleansing Realm disciples, I still have to compete for a spot. If I don't get one, I won't even be qualified to go.”

“Well, you'll have to work hard for it then,” Liu Qiyue chuckled mischievously.

“Don't be careless. At the Jade Sun Palace Demon Slaying Grand Event, when you face demons, make sure they don't get close to you,” Meng Chuan warned. “Let's practice a bit first.”

With that, Meng Chuan suddenly lunged forward.

“Catch me if you can!” Liu Qiyue immediately darted away, even turning back to shoot an arrow.

Elsewhere, at the Yun family estate, one of the five God-Demon families of Dongning City.

Yun Qingping was making tea for her father, Yun Fuan.

“Father, please try this,” Yun Qingping said sweetly, placing a cup of tea before him. Suddenly, she caught sight of her maid Green Bamboo returning from afar, and her eyes lit up. “Green Bamboo!” she called out.

Green Bamboo dutifully went over.

“Well? What did Meng Chuan say?” Yun Qingping eagerly asked.

“Young Master Meng said that the Jade Sun Palace Demon Slaying Grand Event is in just over a month, and he needs to focus on his cultivation to prepare, so he cannot accompany you, Young Mistress, to East Mountain,” Green Bamboo whispered.

“Not going again?” Yun Qingping grew annoyed. “All he knows is cultivation, cultivation, cultivation!”

“Young Master Meng also told me to tell you, Young Mistress, to spend more time on cultivation and not always think about going out to play,” Green Bamboo added.

“He's ordering me around now?” Yun Qingping became even more exasperated.

“I think Meng Chuan is absolutely right,” Yun Fuan said, sipping his tea contentedly. “You, girl, should cultivate properly and stop being so playful all the time.”

“Father, Meng Chuan is like a block of wood,” Yun Qingping complained, looking at Yun Fuan. “When I was just a month old, you arranged a childhood engagement between me and him! But our personalities are completely different. I love to play and invite many friends to join me. He, however, enjoys cultivation, painting, and quiet. When I talk to him, we never see eye to eye. The thought of marrying him someday is driving me crazy!”

“You’re just too boisterous, and it’s a good thing to have someone who can rein you in,” Yun Fuan chuckled.

Yun Qingping rushed to her father's side, hugging his arm and pleading, “Father, I beg you, please talk to the Meng family, talk to Uncle Meng, and dissolve this engagement.”

“Don't even think about it!” Yun Fuan said, dismissing her outright as he sipped his tea.

“Father!” Yun Qingping fumed. “Why are you forcing me to marry him? Back then, I was just a month old and didn't understand anything, yet you arranged this marriage for me. How could you know what Meng Chuan would be like when he grew up? You knew nothing, yet you insisted I marry him. You never cared about my feelings at all. Don’t you think that’s too much?!”

“Meng Chuan is quite good,” Yun Fuan stated. “Among the younger generation of Dongning City's five God-Demon families, he is considered very capable.”

“What good is he if I don’t like him?!” Yun Qingping retorted angrily. “I don’t want to marry some so-called genius with whom I can’t even hold a conversation.”

Yun Fuan gently set down his teacup, lifting his eyelids to give his daughter a cold look. Yun Qingping's heart trembled. Yet, her inner pride made her lift her chin and stare back at her father.

“In the past six months, you have asked me to dissolve this engagement six times already,” Yun Fuan said icily. “It seems your father has spoiled you too much. Today, I will make things clear.”

Yun Qingping stared at her father.

Yun Fuan continued, “Your marriage with Meng Chuan is not just about the two of you. It's about our Yun family and the Meng family! Although our Yun family is one of the five God-Demon families, we have only settled in Dongning City for a few decades, with only dozens of clansmen. Our foundation is still shallow. The Meng family, however, is a God-Demon family rooted in Dongning for over a thousand years, with tens of thousands of clansmen! Meng Chuan’s father, Meng Dajiang, will be the next Meng clan head. As the only girl of our Yun family’s third generation, your marriage to Meng Chuan will naturally advance the relationship between our two families significantly. This will greatly benefit our Yun family.”

“Grandfather has already cultivated to become a God-Demon,” Yun Qingping countered. “With Grandfather present, no one can shake our Yun family! If that's the case, why can't I live more freely?”

“Freely? Does 'freely' mean marrying whomever you wish?” Yun Fuan said coldly.

“What, is that not allowed?” Yun Qingping challenged, raising her head. “Do I have to be sacrificed for the family? Father, don't you feel ashamed?”

“Silence!” Yun Fuan stood up in anger, pointing an infuriated finger at his daughter. “Yun Qingping, when you want to go out and play, you have throngs of guards and servants. When you wanted to eat a fire dragon fish in the dead of winter, people risked their lives to find it for you. Even though you don’t cultivate diligently, a vast amount of treasures have been used on you, allowing you to reach the Marrow Cleansing Realm this year. I hired experts to guide you one-on-one, and because you're weak, I hired three Transformation Realm guards to protect you secretly at all times. Hiring three Transformation Realm guards costs five hundred taels of silver a month, not to mention all the other treasures bestowed upon you…”

“For your so-called freedom and ease, do you know how much the family has paid?” Yun Fuan glared at his daughter.

Yun Qingping was stunned. She wasn't foolish. With a quick calculation, she realized just how astonishing the family’s investment in her was to maintain such a lifestyle.

“You’ve enjoyed all the family’s benefits, so you must bear your responsibilities!” Yun Fuan roared. “Only wanting to enjoy benefits and do nothing in return? Dream on!”

“Furthermore, I know there's a young man named Zhang Chong at your academy who's been quite attentive to you lately, hasn't he?” Yun Fuan sneered. “A mere branch member of the Zhang family, does he even deserve to marry my Yun Fuan’s daughter? He should look in a mirror and see what kind of person he is!”

“Father, Senior Brother Zhang and I haven’t…” Yun Qingping immediately tried to explain.

“If I find even the slightest transgression that stains the honor of my Yun family and the Meng family, not only will he die, but you too! I will cleanse the family of you!” Yun Fuan said coldly, looking at his somewhat frightened daughter. “Don’t blame me for being heartless then.”

Yun Qingping felt a chill in her heart. She had never seen her father this cold before, and she was only fifteen years old.

“My daughter,” Yun Fuan’s expression softened. “That’s how family alliances work. Even if he were ugly and incompetent, you would still have to marry him. Your mother and I were also matched by your grandfather himself; I had no choice either! Besides, Meng Chuan has a very good character. You should count yourself lucky.”

After speaking, Yun Fuan glanced at Green Bamboo, who was trembling behind his daughter, and instructed, “Green Bamboo, keep a close eye on your Young Mistress. Don’t let her make any mistakes.”

“Yes, Master,” Green Bamboo quickly replied.

Yun Fuan then clasped his hands behind his back and departed.

Yun Qingping stood there, blankly watching her father’s retreating figure. The words, “Even you, I will cleanse the family of. Don’t blame me for being heartless then,” truly had a profound impact on Yun Qingping. She felt that the world was not what she had imagined it to be for all these years.