Zhao Yanran's gaze swept past Chen Yang and landed on Lin Yang standing beside him.
In recent days, Lin Yang had indeed not set foot in her Jade Bamboo Lodge.
This left her feeling somewhat confused, with a faint undercurrent of unease.
After all.
She was still counting on Lin Yang's mysterious music to aid her cultivation and advance her progress in the Jade Ripple Art.
Now, seeing him suddenly appear and stand on Chen Yang's side, squaring off against Yang Tianming, the sense of betrayal in Zhao Yanran's heart grew even stronger.
She suppressed her fury toward Chen Yang and tried to make her voice sound soft and gentle, laced with a hint of grievance, as she spoke to Lin Yang:
"Senior Brother Lin… have I been neglecting you lately, leaving you displeased, so that you…"
Her words trailed off, but the meaning was clear — she was trying to frame Lin Yang's actions as a lovers' quarrel.
Yang Tianming, standing beside her, heard Zhao Yanran speak to Lin Yang in such a way. His brow instinctively furrowed slightly, and an indescribable bitterness swept through his heart.
But he quickly drew a deep breath.
He forcibly smoothed out that flicker of emotion and restored his usual composed and haughty demeanor.
However.
Lin Yang simply gave a light shake of his head. The half-smiling expression on his face remained unchanged, and his tone was so flat that no emotional undercurrent could be detected:
"Neglect? Not at all."
He swayed the folding fan in his hand and looked at Zhao Yanran with clear, untroubled eyes:
"I simply feel that what Junior Brother Chen said just now made more sense. So I'm standing on his side. That's all there is to it — Junior Sister Zhao need not read too much into it."
Zhao Yanran's expression shifted at his blunt, distancing words, as if she had been caught off guard.
She hadn't expected Lin Yang to be so utterly dismissive of her feelings.
Yang Tianming's expression darkened in an instant as well.
He watched Lin Yang's utterly indifferent manner.
Then he glanced at the visibly displeased Zhao Yanran beside him.
His mind turned, and in his self-righteous way he arrived at what he believed was a perfectly reasonable explanation. His voice carried a trace of suppressed anger and knowing contempt:
"Lin Yang! I understand now! You jumped out today and opposed me at every turn — could it be… that you're trying to use this to compete with me and claim Yanran's heart for yourself?!"
Lin Yang visibly froze at those words.
Even his habitual languid expression stiffened for an instant.
He blinked, seemingly at a loss for words, then muttered under his breath in an extremely low voice:
"…That Li Yan fellow actually got one thing right before he was crippled — this guy… his head really is full of nothing but that sort of thing…"
The last few words were too muffled to make out clearly, but they were certainly not complimentary.
Their exchange had also drawn a wave of hushed discussion from the disciples below the platform.
"Come to think of it, when Senior Sister Zhao was afflicted by the Passion Gu back then, she took Senior Brother Yang, Senior Brother Lin, and Senior Brother Li from Crimson Glow Peak as cultivation partners to jointly dispel it — that caused quite a stir throughout the sect at the time…"
"Indeed — three exceptionally talented inner disciples sharing one person. Quite a few female disciples were green with envy!"
"To think that today we'd actually get to see Senior Brother Yang and Senior Brother Lin come to blows over Senior Sister Zhao…"
Though these murmurs were quiet, they reached Chen Yang's ears with perfect clarity.
The sense of humiliation rooted in his past was stirred up once more, and his gaze grew several degrees colder.
Yang Tianming, seeing that Lin Yang had not immediately refuted him, became even more convinced of his own conjecture. He let out a cold snort, his fighting spirit surging:
"Fine! If you want to compete, then I'll deal with you first, and then have a proper exchange with this Junior Brother Chen!"
Upon hearing this, the chill in Lin Yang's expression deepened noticeably.
Those eyes, always half-lidded, opened fully, flashing a sharp gleam:
"Deal with me? Ha… Senior Brother Yang, I may only be at the eighth level of the Qi Refinement Realm, but do you truly believe that your cultivation at the ninth level of the Qi Refinement Realm guarantees you victory over me?"
The contempt in his tone was completely undisguised.
He paused, then snapped the folding fan shut with a sharp crack and proposed a solution:
"How about this — you and I fight it out. As for the dispute between those two, they settle it themselves, and neither of us interferes. What do you say?"
Yang Tianming hesitated at that.
He instinctively turned to look at Zhao Yanran, seeking her opinion.
At this moment, the fury Zhao Yanran felt toward Chen Yang had long since overwhelmed everything else. She shot Chen Yang a venomous glare and said through gritted teeth:
"Fine! I'll teach him a lesson myself! I'll make him understand what he's dealing with!"
She was confident that her cultivation at the seventh level of the Qi Refinement Realm, combined with her refined Jade Ripple Art, was more than enough to crush Chen Yang.
Seeing Zhao Yanran's declaration, Yang Tianming gave a nod and said to Lin Yang:
"Very well. But Yanran, be careful."
His tone carried genuine concern.
Chen Yang stood to the side listening, his brow tightly knitted.
He had originally stepped forward solely to protect Liu Yiyi and Xiaochunhua's opportunity — his goal had been clear.
But Yang Tianming's sudden intervention had completely changed the nature of things. This had become an eruption of the long-simmering grudge between him and Yang Tianming, and he had no choice but to fight!
However.
The arrangement Lin Yang had just proposed, while it seemed to draw away the greatest threat — Yang Tianming…
He still felt unwilling!
He wanted to settle things directly with Yang Tianming once and for all.
He was about to speak up and say he still wanted to fight Yang Tianming, when Lin Yang beside him suddenly leaned slightly toward him.
In a voice only the two of them could hear, he warned in a rapid, low murmur:
"Brother Chen, hear me out — do not fight Yang Tianming right now!"
Chen Yang was taken aback and looked at Lin Yang in confusion.
He didn't understand why Lin Yang had stepped forward to help him.
Could it truly be as Yang Tianming claimed — that he was competing for Zhao Yanran's affections?
Nor did he understand why Lin Yang was trying to stop him from fighting Yang Tianming.
"I was able to beat Li Yan — why should I not be able to beat him?"
Chen Yang kept his voice low, his tone carrying defiance and resolve.
Lin Yang gave a slight shake of his head, his expression growing more serious:
"That's not how it works. Yang Tianming is nothing like Li Yan. Li Yan was just an ordinary cultivator with some talent — the kind you can find anywhere in the sect. But Yang Tianming… he's different."
He was vague, as though there was something he was reluctant to say outright.
Before Chen Yang could press him further, Lin Yang shifted his point and highlighted another crucial matter:
"Besides — right now, you have a Mind Monkey."
"Mind Monkey?"
Chen Yang was baffled again, completely at a loss for what the term meant.
Was it some kind of demon beast? Or a cultivation term?
Seeing his blank look, Lin Yang explained slowly:
"The Mind Monkey is not a physical creature. It refers to the restless little monkey inside your heart — leaping and scrambling about, leaving you unsettled, your mind cluttered with distractions. Greed, hatred, delusion, resentment, rage — all manner of emotions tangled together, making calm judgment impossible. This is the greatest taboo in a cultivator's battle!"
He gestured for Chen Yang to look:
"Don't believe me? Look at Yang Tianming's eyes."
Chen Yang followed his gaze. Yang Tianming's eyes were arrogant, carrying the scrutiny of someone looking down from on high.
But deep within that gaze was a sea of perfect calm.
Like the still depths of an ancient well, undisturbed by any ripple.
It seemed that no matter what situation he faced, he could maintain that composure — as though everything was already within his grasp.
"Do you see it?"
Lin Yang murmured:
"Arrogant he may be, but his eyes are steady and his heart is still. That is the state a cultivator must be in during battle! In the heat of combat, your eyes may hold killing intent, fighting spirit, all manner of emotions — but your mind must never waver, and your will must never scatter. Now look at yourself…"
As he spoke, Lin Yang produced — from seemingly nowhere — a small, palm-sized Bronze Mirror with cloud patterns carved along its edges, and held it out in front of Chen Yang.
Chen Yang stared at this gesture, inwardly speechless. Why on earth did Lin Yang carry a mirror around with him?
But he still instinctively looked into the polished surface.
And at that look.
He froze completely.
What the mirror reflected back was a pair of eyes laced with bloodshot veins!
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Deep within those pupils, flames of fury burned, intertwined with the unwillingness of humiliation, churning with a desperate, unyielding battle-lust.
And there was a trace of something else — a faint, hidden fear born of past wounds, something even he himself had not noticed…
All these fierce emotions were tangled together.
Making his gaze look frenzied, unstable — even faintly savage!
This…
This is me?
What has happened to me?!
Chen Yang's heart shook violently.
He had never so clearly examined his own state during a fight.
"Look inward — do you see it clearly now?"
Lin Yang's voice sounded at just the right moment, carrying a calm that seemed to see through everything:
"Fury scorching the heart, resentment coiling around the body, distractions swarming the mind — Wayward Horse and Mind Monkey running wild! This is your Mind Monkey at work! To face an opponent whose mind is steady and whose cultivation far surpasses yours in this state — how is that any different from throwing your life away?!"
Chen Yang stared at those unfamiliar eyes in the mirror.
Then he recalled the impulse he'd felt just moments ago — that reckless urge to fight Yang Tianming to the death no matter the cost…
A cold sweat broke out across his back.
Lin Yang was right.
His heart had indeed been in chaos just now!
Old grudges and new grievances had clouded his judgment!
He drew a deep breath and worked to suppress the turmoil within him. A flash of clarity crossed his eyes as he looked at Lin Yang:
"I… think I understand."
Then he asked urgently:
"Then when can I and Yang Tianming…"
Lin Yang, seeing that he had taken the words to heart, was about to reply, seemingly intending to name a time:
"Wait — three months from now, there will be…"
But before he could finish —
"What are you two whispering about?! Lin Yang, if you're going to challenge me, then make your move already — stop dawdling there and wasting everyone's time with your chatter!"
Yang Tianming had long since run out of patience. Seeing the two of them murmuring to each other, a nameless rage ignited in his chest. With a thunderous shout, he waited no longer — his figure surged forward and he hurled a fist!
Vast spiritual energy condensed at the tip of his fist, whipping up a fierce and overwhelming gust, like an enraged dragon bursting from the sea, driving straight at Lin Yang!
Lin Yang reacted with extraordinary speed.
The instant Yang Tianming moved, it was as though clouds had formed beneath his feet — his figure glided backward in an incredibly graceful and fluid motion, effortlessly sidestepping the ferocious blow.
At the same time.
He didn't forget to shoot Chen Yang a look that said, "Watch yourself."
Yang Tianming's strike missed, fueling his fury further.
Without breaking stride, he pressed on, pursuing Lin Yang.
One chasing, one retreating — one forceful, one yielding — the two instantly became entangled in a fierce exchange on the open ground below the platform.
Yang Tianming's attacks were sweeping and grand, overflowing with power.
Lin Yang's footwork, on the other hand, was uncanny and unpredictable — ghostlike — always managing to slip away at the last possible moment. Occasionally his folding fan would dart out, striking precisely at the gaps in Yang Tianming's offense and forcing him to fall back on defense, leaving him unable to do anything about Lin Yang for the time being.
At the same time.
Chen Yang's gaze shifted back to Zhao Yanran.
Their eyes met in midair, as though invisible sparks flew between them.
A cold light flashed in Zhao Yanran's eyes — and she struck first!
"Jade Ripple Art — Aqua Prison Bind!"
Her jade hands moved in a flurry, and the spiritual energy of the seventh level of the Qi Refinement Realm surged from within her, drawing in the moisture from the surrounding air!
In an instant.
Several transparent Aqua Prisons, condensed from pure water spiritual energy and shimmering with a pale blue radiance, appeared as if from nowhere on all sides, closing in around Chen Yang, wrapping and coiling toward him!
The speed was extraordinary — nearly sealing off every avenue of escape!
Chen Yang felt a sudden tightening all around him.
The Aqua Prison had already reached him — ice-cold and bone-piercing, carrying a powerful binding force.
It crushed against his body with relentless pressure!
In just a single exchange, he seemed to have already been subdued by Zhao Yanran!
Yang Tianming, still locked in combat with Lin Yang below the platform, had been keeping one eye on this side the entire time.
Seeing Zhao Yanran trap Chen Yang with a single move, a trace of approval and satisfaction crossed his face, and he laughed aloud:
"Ha! Is that all he's got! Yanran, finish it quickly!"
With that, his attacks grew even fiercer as he tried to shake off Lin Yang's entanglement as fast as possible.
Meanwhile, Lin Yang — who had appeared to be doing nothing but dodging in a rather sorry state — had never once taken his peripheral vision off the battle on Chen Yang's side.
Seeing Chen Yang caught in the Aqua Prison, his previously relaxed expression paused ever so slightly, and a barely perceptible gravity flickered through his eyes.
On this side.
Zhao Yanran, seeing Chen Yang firmly trapped in her Aqua Prison and unable to move, felt a great sense of relief wash over her. The resentment she had been suppressing for so long surged to the surface.
She walked step by step toward Chen Yang, watching him struggle within the Aqua Prison, her tone carrying the condescension of someone delivering a lecture from above:
"Chen Yang, give up. I am now at the seventh level of the Qi Refinement Realm, and the Jade Ripple Art is the supreme technique of Jade Bamboo Peak — exquisite and profound. You are no match for me."
She looked at the still-defiant light in Chen Yang's eyes, recalled his earlier refusal and the way he had stood up for someone else, and the urge to "teach him a lesson" in her heart grew stronger and stronger.
She instinctively balled her hand into a fist, wanting to give him a hard hit.
But on second thought, a fist might be too heavy — what if she hurt him badly…
That thought flickered through her mind and vanished, and she unclenched her fist, letting it become an open palm instead.
She raised her hand high and looked at Chen Yang's face — familiar yet somehow strange — her heart a tangle of conflicting feelings.
She still cared about him deep down, had even gone out of her way to bring him Pills, and yet he didn't know what was good for him — refusing to accept her goodwill!
In the past, no matter what she said or wanted, hadn't Chen Yang always complied without question, nodding along to everything?
And now he dared to resist — even dared to oppose her for the sake of another woman!
She had to teach him a lesson!
Make him understand who was in charge!
However, just as her palm — charged with spiritual energy, poised to deliver a stinging slap — was about to land on Chen Yang's face, in that very instant —
Everything changed!
Chen Yang, who had been trapped in the Aqua Prison and appeared powerless to break free, suddenly erupted with a clear, ice-cold light in his eyes!
The frenzy and agitation from before vanished in a fleeting moment without a trace.
In their place was absolute calm and focus!
"Break!"
A low, thunderous shout tore from his throat. Qi and blood and spiritual energy surged madly into his right fist, and the power of the Nine Revolutions Body Tempering Art was unleashed without reservation!
The surface of his fist even began to faintly shimmer with a sheen of Spiritual Energy!
Crack! Crash!
The Aqua Prison, which had seemed impossibly resilient, shattered like fragile glass under this single punch that concentrated every ounce of his physical power — shattering with a resounding crash!
It dissolved into a cascade of water droplets flying in all directions!
At the same time.
Chen Yang's other hand shot out like lightning.
Five fingers like iron pincers — with pinpoint precision, he seized Zhao Yanran's descending wrist in an iron grip!
"Ah!"
A sharp pain shot through her wrist, as though her bones were about to be crushed.
Zhao Yanran was caught completely off guard. She cried out in pain, the color draining instantly from her face, her expression filled with shock and disbelief!
"You… you were faking it?!"
Only now did she realize.
Chen Yang's earlier struggling and apparent inability to break free had been entirely an act!
A ruse to lull her into complacency!
Then, a fierce gust of wind from a fist bore down on her face!
Without a moment's hesitation, Chen Yang's right fist — the one that had just shattered the Aqua Prison — drove straight toward Zhao Yanran's face without pause!
The terrifying force and icy killing intent contained within that fist made every hair on Zhao Yanran's body stand on end in an instant!
She was scared out of her wits, and almost purely on instinct, she wrenched her head to the side!
Whoosh!
The fist wind grazed past her ear, the force of it stinging her cheek, and several strands of her hair were sliced clean off!
She could feel it clearly — if that punch had landed squarely…
In an instant, boundless terror swallowed her whole!
"You…!"
Zhao Yanran was both shocked and furious. The Jade Ripple Art surged rapidly within her, and the skin on the wrist Chen Yang had seized instantly became impossibly slick — as though coated in an invisible film of oil and water — while a supple, vibrating force radiated outward!
Chen Yang felt his grip suddenly slip. That slick, oscillating force cleverly neutralized his hold, causing his five fingers to loosen involuntarily.
Seizing the opportunity, Zhao Yanran gave her wrist a sharp twist, and like a fish slipping free, she wrenched her wrist out of Chen Yang's grasp!
"Hm?"
Chen Yang stared at his now-empty hand, momentarily surprised.
This Jade Ripple Art truly had some tricks to it!
After breaking free, Zhao Yanran stumbled back several steps, patting her heaving chest with a face as pale as paper, her nerves still shattered.
In that split-second exchange, she had discovered to her horror that Chen Yang's spiritual energy was far denser than hers at the seventh level of the Qi Refinement Realm!
And his physical strength was shockingly immense!
This was nothing like the gentle — even somewhat timid — mortal husband she remembered.
What on earth had he been through?!
However.
Before she could think further, Chen Yang was already lunging at her again like a leopard!
Still the same simple, direct punch — no flourishes whatsoever — aimed straight at her face!
Zhao Yanran screamed in fright and scrambled to dodge to the side and back.
Boom!
Chen Yang's fist missed and slammed heavily into the ground where she had just been standing.
A dull impact rang out, and the solid stone-paved ground was smashed into a basin-sized crater, shards of stone flying in all directions!
At this, Zhao Yanran was completely terrified out of her wits!
She had always focused on advancing her cultivation realm and refining the Jade Ripple Art — when had she ever experienced such a deadly, relentless fight where every blow aimed for a vital point?
Chen Yang was genuinely trying to hurt her!
He hadn't held back even the slightest bit!
The boundless terror instantly shattered what little confidence and fighting spirit she had left.
She panicked.
Completely and utterly panicked!
There was only one thought in her mind:
I can't beat him! There's absolutely no way I can beat him!
She instinctively looked toward Yang Tianming's direction and cried out for help in a voice on the verge of tears:
"Yang Tianming! Come save me! I… I can't beat him!"
Yang Tianming, still locked in combat with Lin Yang, felt a sudden jolt of alarm in his chest when he heard Zhao Yanran's terror-filled cry for help. His offensive faltered, and he moved to break away and go to her aid.
However.
Lin Yang, who had appeared to be doing nothing but defending and evading with his uncanny footwork, seemed to transform into a completely different person at that very moment!
His figure shifted — and instead of retreating, he advanced, pressing forward.
The folding fan jabbed, deflected, blocked, and intercepted in a series of exquisitely precise moves, instantly sealing off every possible route Yang Tianming might take to come to the rescue!
"Your opponent is me, Senior Brother Yang."
Lin Yang's voice remained as flat as ever.
But those eyes were sharp as a hawk's, locked onto Yang Tianming without wavering.
Yang Tianming's heart lurched with urgency.
Only now did he truly realize that Lin Yang's strength was far from as simple as the eighth level of the Qi Refinement Realm suggested on the surface!
It wasn't that the gap in cultivation was so vast — rather, Lin Yang's footwork was too bizarre, and his fighting style was completely impossible to read!
Come to think of it, though they were both cultivation partners to Zhao Yanran and had interacted with each other a fair amount, he knew almost nothing about Lin Yang's background or true capabilities!
Now that they had actually crossed blows, he was beginning to sense that this person was hiding extraordinary depths — and was genuinely frightening!
And just as Yang Tianming was pinned down by Lin Yang and unable to break free, Chen Yang had already closed in on the panicked and helpless Zhao Yanran once more!
Zhao Yanran looked at the cold, merciless light in Chen Yang's eyes and felt her courage shatter completely. No longer caring about appearances or pride, she poured her spiritual energy into a frantic surge, planted both feet, and shoved off the ground with all her might!
Whoosh!
Her figure rose into the air, soaring to a height of several meters above the ground!
Hovering in the air, Zhao Yanran's nerves were still in turmoil. She hesitated inwardly, wondering whether she should beg for mercy.
Chen Yang simply stood where he was, head tilted back, staring up at her floating form with a somewhat dazed expression, his brow furrowed slightly — as though he was troubled by something?
Up on the platform.
Shen Hongmei watched this scene unfold. First she was startled, then something suddenly occurred to her, and her expression shifted. She thought to herself with a sinking feeling:
"Oh no! I… I've been so busy with sect affairs these past few days that I forgot about this foolish boy… he still doesn't know aerial flight!"
On the other side, Lin Yang — still trading blows with Yang Tianming — caught this scene from the corner of his eye as well.
He watched Chen Yang standing on the ground, head craned upward, apparently at a complete loss, and instantly guessed the crux of the problem. A deeply peculiar expression crossed his face, and he muttered to himself:
"He can't possibly… truly not have mastered even the most basic technique of aerial flight yet, can he?"
But Lin Yang's mind moved fast, and his reactions were even faster.
Almost the instant he identified Chen Yang's predicament, he seized a gap as he and Yang Tianming crossed paths, reached into his wide sleeve with his left hand, and then flung it sharply!
A strip of cloth that appeared perfectly ordinary — snow-white — shot out from his sleeve like a serpent uncoiling, flying with precision toward Chen Yang on the ground!
"Brother Chen! Catch it! Channel your spiritual energy into it, bind her with it, and pull her down!"
Lin Yang's voice rang out at the same time, carrying a note of urgency.
Chen Yang didn't fully understand.
But he had developed a strange, inexplicable trust in Lin Yang's judgment at this moment.
He instinctively reached out and caught the flying strip of cloth. The moment it touched his hand, he could feel it was remarkably tough — nothing like ordinary fabric.
Without hesitation, he immediately channeled his pure spiritual energy into it!
Hum!
The moment spiritual energy was infused, the surface of the seemingly ordinary white cloth lit up with a faint, barely perceptible spiritual glow, becoming even more supple and brimming with a life of its own!
Without a second thought, Chen Yang swung his arm and lashed the cloth out like a long whip, sending it coiling toward Zhao Yanran in the air — who had just allowed herself a brief moment of relief at being temporarily out of reach!
How could Zhao Yanran have ever experienced anything like this?
Her experience in combat was woefully thin, and her mind was still stuck on the confusion of the previous moment:
"Why isn't Chen Yang coming after me? Does he have some other scheme?"
It had never even occurred to her that he might attack in this manner!
By the time she reacted, she felt a sudden tightening around her ankle, and a tremendous pulling force struck without warning!
"Ah——!"
She cried out in alarm.
Her entire body instantly lost its balance. The cloth, now charged with spiritual energy, coiled tight around her ankle, and from several meters up in the air — head down, feet up — she was yanked down with brutal, irresistible force!
Thud!
A dull crash.
Zhao Yanran slammed squarely into the stone-paved ground, the impact so severe that stars burst before her eyes, her head spinning, her internal organs feeling as though they had shifted out of place, every bone in her body screaming with pain as though it had come apart.
She struggled to lift her head, her vision still blurry, and saw Chen Yang's tall figure already bearing down on her like a demon god.
A fist brimming with terrifying power was descending toward her face with a howling rush of wind — without a shred of mercy!
The shadow of fear engulfed her completely in an instant!
The extreme terror caused her to collapse entirely. No longer caring about dignity or pride, she threw both hands over her head, curled her body into a ball.
And in a voice cracking with sobs, she screamed her surrender — shrill and desperate:
"No! Chen Yang! Don't hit me! I was wrong! I know I was wrong!!"