Chapter Nineteen: Shangguan Yijing (Please add to your favorites and recommend)

The young girl strolled gracefully onto the stage. As soon as she steadied herself, a wave of exclamations erupted to Lu Zhe’s left. Turning his head, Lu Zhe saw that all those who had cried out were, like himself, the ones who had passed the assessment—and without exception, they were all men.

Lu Zhe sighed quietly, lowering his head, when suddenly he heard heavy, ragged breathing. He looked up and realized it was none other than Li Hu, who had his arm wrapped tightly around Lu Zhe’s shoulders. Lu Zhe noticed that, without realizing it, Li Hu had started to squeeze his arm with considerable force.

Lu Zhe studied Li Hu’s expression in silent disbelief. He nudged Li Hu with his elbow, but the latter showed no reaction at all. This surprised Lu Zhe—was this guy really so easily undone?

Rolling his eyes at Li Hu, Lu Zhe turned to look at Shangguan Yijing. At this moment, the girl, surrounded by adulation like a moon among the stars, was walking toward where he stood.

Li Hu let out a couple of goofy chuckles, wiped away the drool at the corner of his mouth, and turned to Lu Zhe. “Well? Isn’t she stunning?”

Lu Zhe rolled his eyes again, but nodded. Shangguan Yijing truly was beautiful. Lu Zhe even suspected that many of the men training at the Windrider Sect were there for her sake.

“A gentle beauty is every gentleman’s desire. Since ancient times, who hasn’t loved a fair maiden? No wonder Li Hu would give up his job at the docks for her… Even just catching a glimpse of her like this is worth the trip,” Lu Zhe mused to himself.

But as Lu Zhe pondered, Shangguan Yijing walked up to the two of them, giving them both a once-over. Frowning slightly, she seemed puzzled as to why these two were here.

“Move aside,” she said coldly.

Lu Zhe shrugged, dragging the drooling Li Hu out of the way. As they brushed past Shangguan Yijing, Lu Zhe caught a sidelong glance at her—and to his astonishment, she was looking back at him with a strange expression in her eyes.

Lu Zhe felt a flicker of doubt, but said nothing, pulling Li Hu toward the left side of the platform as Shangguan Yijing headed to the right, and thus their paths diverged.

Shangguan Yijing hadn’t intended to step onto the platform at all. It was only at her teacher’s insistence—to see if any of the new recruits caught her eye—that she had reluctantly come up. Yet no sooner had she ascended than she came face-to-face with Lu Zhe. She had glanced at him almost absentmindedly, but to her surprise, there was something subtly different about him.

“This boy is odd. Why does he seem to have a unique aura?” she wondered.

With a shake of her head, she brushed away such fanciful thoughts, chiding herself for overthinking.

Surrounded by her retinue, she made her way to the right side of the platform. There, she offered a respectful bow to the elderly man seated behind the table. The old man, who had been beaming since she had stepped onstage, now broke into an even wider smile as she approached.

“Come, come, let your Second Granduncle see if you’ve put on some weight,” he said jovially.

This was Shangguan Hong, the younger brother of Shangguan Yijing’s grandfather, making him her Second Granduncle.

Shangguan Hong and Shangguan He, Yijing’s grandfather, were brothers. As the younger son, Hong had not inherited the family leadership and had remained at the Windrider Sect, now serving as elder and chief examiner.

Shangguan Yijing smiled and approached, extending her delicate hands.

The old man took her hands in his, patting them affectionately. “Ah, our precious young lady has indeed grown plumper.”

A faint blush rose to Yijing’s cheeks. “Oh, Granduncle, you’re teasing me.”

Then, she asked, “Granduncle, how did this year’s recruitment go?”

Stroking his beard, the old man replied with a mild smile, “Not bad. Seven Spirit Masters; the rest are Spirit Disciples, most of them above five stars.”

Suddenly, Yijing lowered her voice and asked, “Granduncle, did anyone in particular catch your eye this year?”

With calm composure, the old man continued stroking his beard and nodded thoughtfully, “There is one who interests me.”

Yijing paused, a bit surprised. “Who?”

He pointed at Lu Zhe. “That one.”

Yijing followed his gesture, and when she realized he meant Lu Zhe, she was taken aback. “How many stars has he reached?”

“One,” the old man replied evenly.

“That’s not even enough for entry,” Yijing said, a little stunned.

The Windrider Sect always valued potential over rank, but there was a minimum threshold: only those above three-star Spirit Disciple and under twenty years old could be admitted. Thus, Yijing’s confusion.

“Quite right, he doesn’t meet the requirement,” the old man confirmed, as if deliberately testing her.

“Then why would you let him in?” Yijing was even more bewildered.

“When you brushed past him just now, did you sense anything unusual about him?” Shangguan Hong asked quietly.

Yijing nodded. Indeed, when she had walked by the boy, she felt he radiated something special that others lacked.

Seeing her confirmation, Shangguan Hong’s smile broadened. Rocking gently in his chair, he mused, “He’s a fine prospect. One day, he might become the foremost Spirit Lord of the entire Omega Empire. Hahaha…”

Yijing was dumbstruck—she could hardly believe her ears. Her Second Granduncle, who never praised anyone, was now lauding this boy to the heavens. This sparked a twinge of envy in the proud Yijing.

Shangguan Hong wasn’t chief examiner for nothing. Though his cultivation had stagnated at the Spirit Knight level, his discerning eye was legendary. Over the years, he had discovered countless talents for the Windrider Sect, earning the sect leader’s deep admiration. For this reason, he was quite proud and rarely praised others—even the exceptionally gifted Yijing herself had never received such compliments.

Yijing let out a soft huff and turned to look back.

Lu Zhe, meanwhile, was chatting happily with Li Hu, blissfully unaware of Yijing’s scrutiny. For some reason, the sight of his smiling face made her feel as if he were mocking her.

Irritated by his apparent indifference, she was about to speak when Shangguan Hong interjected, “That boy’s not bad. When we get back, I’ll speak with your grandfather—maybe he can become our family’s son-in-law.”

Yijing froze. Son-in-law? She was the only young woman in the Shangguan family, so he must mean she might marry him? Marry this penniless, powerless nobody? Yijing would rather die than accept that.

A girl always hopes to marry an extraordinary man—someone with grand ambitions and achievements. Raised with this belief, coupled with her illustrious background, exceptional talent, and stunning beauty, Yijing had turned down countless suitors, all of them outstanding. In this, she was much like Xue Linger.

Now, hearing that this boy might one day become her husband, and seeing her usually reserved granduncle lavish praise on him, her pride bristled all the more.

With a sudden turn, Yijing strode swiftly toward Lu Zhe. The platform was not large, so she reached his side in no time.

Lu Zhe was still engrossed in conversation with Li Hu, oblivious to her approach, until the commotion nearby drew his attention. He looked up to see people glancing his way, and as he turned, he was met with a sudden flash of white—Shangguan Yijing now stood before him.

Lu Zhe wondered, What is this beautiful heiress doing here?

Before he could speak, Li Hu, breathless and flustered, sprang to his feet, his face red as he blurted out, “I—I—I’m Li Hu. H-hello.”

Lu Zhe shook his head at his friend’s reaction—it was just like Li Hu to lose his composure around a girl.

Yijing barely glanced at Li Hu, nodding briefly, then fixed her gaze on Lu Zhe, who hadn’t spared her a glance.

Lu Zhe lounged with one leg crossed over the other, eyes forward, apparently unconcerned by her presence. This only fueled Yijing’s irritation.

She had grown up surrounded by admirers, never lacking men eager to curry her favor. It was only natural, she thought, to be treated with such deference. Yet now, this boy—one year her junior—seemed utterly indifferent, and she could hardly stand it.

She frowned and addressed him coldly, “Hey, what’s your name?”

Lu Zhe looked up at her, pointed at himself, and asked, “Me?”

She nodded impatiently.

Lu Zhe rose from his seat, towering half a head above her, and looked down slightly as he said, “I’m Lu Zhe. Is there something you need?”

Yijing hadn’t expected him to be so tall. She had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze. “Come with me,” she ordered.

At her words, Lu Zhe—and everyone nearby—froze in surprise. Li Hu, his face contorted with jealousy and envy, jabbed Lu Zhe with his elbow. “You lucky dog, not only do you have good fortune, you’ve got luck with the ladies too. You already have Ling’er and Fei’er, and now you want to compete with me?”

Lu Zhe was momentarily stunned, left at a loss. Ever since that assassination attempt on Old Liu a year ago, Xue Linger had frequently come looking for him at the docks—sometimes bringing him food, winter clothes, or cooling tea in summer. Each visit drew a stir from everyone. Worse yet, her younger sister Xue Fei’er had also taken to bringing him things. Lu Zhe was completely bewildered, and it even started to affect his work. Li Hu, for his part, never missed a chance to tease him about it. No wonder he would say such things now.

As Lu Zhe stood there, resigned, Yijing turned and called over her shoulder, “Hurry up.”

Escaping the wolfish looks of the crowd, Lu Zhe set off after her.