Chapter 114: You Mom Is Calling You Home for Dinner

Snowflakes fell, but instead of melting into water upon touching the ground as they usually would, they gathered around Chu Chuyan. Slowly, they formed an ice-sculpted lotus that enveloped her entire graceful form.

On the main stage, Sang Hong, seated in the central position, nodded slightly. "I've long heard of Miss Chu's genius," he remarked. "Seeing her today, she is indeed extraordinary. To be able to wield elemental energy to such an extent at her age is truly remarkable."

Behind him, Sang Qian's eyes burned with fervent admiration. He thought, "Though Zheng Dan is beautiful, she's still a notch below Chu Chuyan. If I could possess this woman, I'd probably wake up laughing from my dreams."

In the past, he wouldn't have dared to even dream of it, but upon learning that Chu Chuyan had chosen Zuan—a man inferior to him in every aspect—as her husband, he suddenly felt that even celestial maidens were no longer so unattainable.

Especially after learning some of his father's plans, he mused that when the Chu family inevitably fell from grace and she was no longer a high-ranking duke's daughter, he might actually have a chance to win her affection.

The only slight complication was that Shi Kun also seemed to be interested in her...

Unaware of his son's inner thoughts, Sang Hong turned to speak with Jiang Luofu, who was seated beside him. "I imagine Miss Chu's achievements today owe much to Headmaster Jiang's guidance, don't they?"

Despite consciously reminding himself, his peripheral vision couldn't help but drift towards her legs—long, straight, and perfectly proportioned; truly a masterpiece. Especially the way they looked encased in stockings, he thought, 'This woman is truly a temptress!'

Jiang Luofu smiled faintly. "Chu Chuyan's achievements are primarily due to her extraordinary talent and high comprehension," she said. "The school merely provided a little guidance."

"Headmaster Jiang, you're too modest," Sang Hong replied. Sang Hong wasn't particularly drawn to women, yet the legs of the woman beside him were so beautiful that even with his renowned self-control, he couldn't help but steal a few extra glances.

On the arena, Wu Di's aura had reached its peak. The flaming blade in his hand, a dozen meters long, descended with terrifying momentum, striking heavily against the ice lotus.

Ice and fire are incompatible; upon contact, the outer petals of the ice lotus melted instantly from the flaming blade, which then proceeded directly towards Chu Chuyan, positioned at the lotus's core.

"Miss Chu, be careful!"

"Fairy Chu, watch out!"

Chu Chuyan was exceptionally beautiful. Even though they knew they had no personal connection to her, seeing her in danger, the men watching in the training ground couldn't help but shout out warnings.

Zuan was immediately displeased. "I'm the one concerned here, and I'm not even worried. Why are you all so worked up?"

The thought of other men desiring his wife irked him greatly. And when he was displeased, he decided to make more people displeased. So, he stood up and loudly cheered, "Go, wife! Go, wife! Go, wife!"

His voice was so loud, it was as if he wanted to make sure everyone knew the woman on stage was his wife.

As expected, the instant he began to shout, countless murderous glares converged on him.

"Is this the guy who's Miss Chu's husband? He looks quite ordinary to me."

"More than just ordinary, he's known as the city's famous good-for-nothing."

"How unjust is heaven, that such a person can marry my goddess!"

"Damn him!"

On the main platform, Shi Kun instantly crushed the armrest of his chair. He had long regarded Chu Chuyan as his exclusive possession, and now, having to watch another man call her his wife, the feeling was indescribable. He felt as if a green haze had settled over his head.

"Shameless, utterly shameless! No wonder he could write such shameless stories." Ji Dengtu, who was currently weaving through the crowd to take advantage of various situations, couldn't help but shake his head. "I must find a chance to ask him about the rest of the plot. Did that protagonist named Wang ever change later on? Huh, why am I concerned about someone named Wang? I didn't accidentally put myself in his shoes, did I? Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"

Zuan watched the massive influx of "rage points" into his system. He thought, "Is having a beautiful wife truly joyful? The pleasure is beyond your wildest imagination, hahaha!"

Chu Chuyan, who had been battling Wu Di on the arena for a long time without showing any change in expression to his provocations, now heard Zuan's loud shouts. A blush briefly flashed across her exquisite face. "This guy truly is..."

Her shy reaction instantly infuriated Wu Di. "I said so much, and you didn't react at all, but now you're blushing?" he fumed. "How dare you get distracted while fighting me?"

Sensing his rage, the enormous flaming blade instantly surged, pressing down several more feet onto the ice lotus, as if intent on cleaving it completely in two.

Seeing this, the surrounding onlookers gasped in astonishment. However, Wu Di frowned, sensing something unusual: the blade's descent was becoming increasingly slow.

Chu Chuyan stood serenely in the center of the ice lotus, gazing up at the flaming blade above her, utterly devoid of expression. Fine snowflakes continued to drift around her, and the two sides seemed to have reached a stalemate.

"Look!" someone suddenly exclaimed, noticing something unusual.

Everyone followed his pointing finger and looked closely. The flames on the blade, at some point, had stopped flickering, and a layer of white mist had appeared on its surface.

The entire flaming blade quickly froze over at a visible rate. In the end, even Wu Di, suspended in the air, was frozen into an ice sculpture.

Zuan swallowed hard. He thought, "My wife is so formidable; what if she commits domestic violence against me in the future? No, I must quickly increase my strength. Otherwise, if my 'little brother' gets frozen into an ice sculpture, who will I cry to?"

"Elemental energy can be frozen?" The disciples from the smaller and medium-sized families in the arena were utterly stunned. Even the prominent figures seated on the main stage were visibly moved.

"As expected of the woman I chose!" Shi Kun's face broke into a smug smile, as if she had brought him great honor.

The Wu and Yuan families, among others, wore grim expressions. After all, the Chu family possessing such a genius was a significant disadvantage for their own clans.

City Lord Xie Yi secretly sighed. He thought, "What a pity. Such an astonishingly talented woman, and yet she rejected the marriage proposal from the Qi Royal family."

Sang Hong's eyes, however, gleamed with calculation. He thought, "Fortunately, Chu Chuyan is a woman. If Chu Zhongtian had such a formidable son, all our plans would be impossible."

Everyone assumed Chu Chuyan had won the match. Even Chu Chuyan herself began to say, "I concede... Huh?"

She had intended to retract her elemental energy and unfreeze her opponent, but she suddenly noticed something unusual. Looking up at the ice sculpture in the air, she watched as the outer ice shell cracked inch by inch, finally crumbling into a cloud of white powder. Wu Di landed back on the ground, his entire body glowing with a faint luminescence, as if enveloped by a transparent film.

"Sixth Rank!"

Everyone in the arena was stunned. The elemental protective film was a unique mark of a Sixth Rank practitioner, capable of deflecting lower-grade elemental attacks.

"How could they have a Sixth Rank practitioner?!" Qin Wanru suddenly stood up, her face full of disbelief.

Chu Zhongtian's gaze, sharp as lightning, shot towards the Wu family. "Duke Yangquan, what is the meaning of this?" he demanded. He knew, of course, that the Yuan family lacked the resources for this; the opponent must be from the Wu family.

Wu Wei smiled faintly. "Duke Mingyue, I'm afraid I don't understand your words," he said. "This is a match between your Chu family and the Yuan family; why are you asking me?"

Chu Zhongtian snorted. "You and I both know exactly what's happening."

Wu Wei said, "It's just a Sixth Rank practitioner, Duke Mingyue. Why make such a fuss? I don't recall the family tournament rules prohibiting Sixth Rank participants, do I, Governor?"

Sang Hong nodded. "Indeed, there is no such rule."

Chu Zhongtian frowned. While it was true there was no such rule, the family tournaments were meant to select disciples from each family, primarily focusing on the younger generation. How could a young disciple possibly possess Sixth Rank cultivation?

Even Chu Chuyan, with her astonishing talent, was only at the peak of the Fifth Rank. Could it be that this unknown Wu Di, opposite her, had even greater potential?

Wu Wei chuckled heartily. "Duke Mingyue, your daughter isn't the only genius in this world. The situation is quite clear now. Why not have your daughter concede early? Otherwise, if she gets hurt, it wouldn't be good."

It was commonly acknowledged that a Sixth Rank held an overwhelming advantage over a Fifth Rank. This wasn't dependent on individual ability, as the greatest elemental abilities of a Fifth Rank were virtually useless against a Sixth Rank's protective film. What was the point of fighting then?

Chu Zhongtian looked at his daughter in the arena. Just as he was about to speak, Chu Chuyan's clear, cold voice echoed from the platform: "It's not over yet. Why should I concede?"

At this moment, Shi Kun also couldn't help but speak. "Miss Chu, it's well-known that there's a world of difference between Fifth Rank and Sixth Rank. This is not a matter of fighting prowess, so don't push yourself. Conceding would not harm your reputation in the slightest."

He worried that if she insisted on fighting a higher-ranked opponent, she might accidentally sustain a scar on her perfect body, which would be a great pity. If she somehow disfigured herself, that would be even more unacceptable.

Chu Chuyan said calmly, "Thank you for your concern, Young Master Shi. I know my limits."

Yuan Zhengchu, the head of the Yuan family, chuckled heartily. "In that case, Wu Di, go ahead and have another match with Miss Chu. Just remember not to hurt her, alright?"

Wu Di smiled faintly. "Of course," he replied.

Chu Zhongtian knew his daughter's character and trusted she wouldn't act recklessly. Hearing her words, he agreed to continue the match, while secretly cautioning her, "If anything goes wrong, just concede. Don't injure yourself."

Chu Chuyan nodded, quietly observing Wu Di across from her.

Wu Di couldn't help but smile. "Miss Chu, you are indeed a genius, but there's a huge cultivation gap between us," he said. "Your Snowflower Divine Sword causes me no harm whatsoever. I don't see the point in you continuing this fight."

Chu Chuyan finally spoke her first words to him. "There is never anything absolute in this world," she stated.

As soon as she finished speaking, she transformed into an afterimage, her long sword gleaming with cold light as she attacked him from every angle.

Wu Di instantly understood her intention. Clearly, she knew elemental attacks couldn't harm him, so she abandoned them entirely, focusing all her strength on her swordsmanship, aiming to decide the victor with exquisite blade techniques.

"How naive," he thought. "You can't use elemental attacks, but I still can."

He stomped his foot on the ground, and two chains of fire emerged, coiling like agile snakes swiftly towards his opponent's feet.

Watching the chains entangle their target, he felt a pang of regret. Leaving burn scars on the feet of such a stunning beauty would be a terrible waste.

However, his expression suddenly changed when he realized that what was entangled was merely an illusion. He hastily brought his blade back to defend himself, and sure enough, Chu Chuyan had already appeared behind him.

The two exchanged several blows in an instant, and he secretly broke into a cold sweat. "Is this the power of a true genius?" he wondered. "I'm a whole rank above her, yet I'm fighting so hard. If we were at the same rank, wouldn't I have been defeated long ago?"

With that thought, he dared not show any pity or tenderness towards her. He focused all his attention, meeting her with his full concentration.

As a result, Chu Chuyan's pressure instantly became immense. Surrounded by blade shadows and flames, she narrowly dodged danger several times.

On the stage, Shi Kun suddenly sat upright, glaring coldly at Wu Di. He thought, "If you dare to leave any scar on my woman, I will make your life a living hell!"

"Game over, Miss Chu!" Wu Di declared. Worried that prolonged fighting might lead to unexpected changes, he no longer held back. Seizing an opportunity, the long blade in his hand suddenly transformed into a nearly thirty-meter-long flaming blade, which he then brought down on his opponent. This strike, in both size and momentum, was several times more powerful than his previous one, far exceeding the elemental energy of a Fifth Rank practitioner.

Even Chu Zhongtian stood up, ready to rush in and rescue his daughter at the slightest sign of trouble, not caring if they lost the tournament.

Just then, a teasing voice suddenly echoed from below the stage: "Wu Di, your mom is calling you home for dinner."

---

I had insomnia again last night, only falling asleep after 5 AM. Why do I feel like I'm entering old age prematurely...?

Also, this book will soon be available for purchase. Seeing only 3,400 total saves, I'm a bit nervous. Based on the usual collection-to-subscription ratio, I estimate only a few hundred subscriptions. Could this anxiety be causing my insomnia?