"Why do you have the Maiden Sage Seal? Who are you?"
A disciple could not help but ask.
"My name is Chu Kuangren."
"Chu Kuangren?"
The disciples" expressions changed once again when they heard his name.
Chu Kuangren"s name was undoubtedly the most talked about person in Emperor Road right now.
Even the combined forces of outlawed sky-prides could not beat him, and he effortlessly dispelled the garrison attack from several archaic ancient orthodoxies. Just these two achievements alone would earn him a status whom no one in Emperor Road could compare.
"Please wait here for a moment. I"ll go and inform the Maiden Sage about your arrival right away."
One of the disciples grabbed hold of the Maiden Sage Seal and swiftly disappeared from his spot.
Chu Kuangren, on the other hand, did not look to be in any rush as he waited patiently.
Before long, a string of footsteps was heard from behind Chu Kuangren. Apart from that, there was also a heavy scent of alcoholic breath wafting in the air.
"This breath…"
Chu Kuangren looked behind him with an odd look on his face.
What he saw was that woman in red from the restaurant who had vowed to strangle him. With her face flushed, she staggered toward the mountain entrance while burping.
The smell of alcohol on her body made people subconsciously step back to distance themselves from her.
How much did she drink?
Chu Kuangren took two steps back.
Nevertheless, that woman in red had already noticed him, and she went up to drag him by his shoulder. She reached out her hand and caressed his chin, proclaiming somewhat drunkenly, "Hey, I never knew we had such a handsome-looking guy here in Seven Emotions Sect. Isn"t he better looking than Chu Kuangren?"
Chu Kuangren"s lips twitched, and he tried to break away from her, taking a couple of steps backward in the process.
"Hey, my handsome mister, I didn"t know you were quite a sheepish one. Which tribe are you from? Tell me, and your Sister, I, will take you under my wing from today onward."
The woman in red chuckled, seemingly amused by his struggle. As such, she latched on to him and started to tease him even more.
Her drunken look formed a stark contrast from her coquettish appearance back at the restaurant. There was a slightly more sluggish and amorous demeanor on her now.
"Senior Sister Chi Yue, this Brother is not from our sect. He"s here to look for the Maiden Sage."
"Here to look for my Senior Sister? Quit joking with me. Apart from that idiot from the Sword Tribe, who else would come here to look for my Senior Sister?"
The woman in red, Chi Yue, waved her hands dismissively at that disciple. She had an "are you kidding me" expression on her face.
"His name is Chu Kuangren," that disciple continued.
"What? Who? Would you mind repeating that?"
"Chu Kuangren." That disciple repeated once again.
Chi Yue then took a deep breath, after which she immediately circulated the spiritual power in her body to dispel the alcoholic scent all over her body.
As the alcohol evaporated into the air, Chi Yue"s gaze gleamed brighter. Her sloth-like behavior had vanished along with it, and she stared straight into Chu Kuangren"s eyes. With a scoff, she accused him, "It was you who tainted my Senior Sister"s reputation, right?!"
"I have nothing to do with that."
"How dare you ruin my Senior Sister"s good name? You deserve to be beaten!"
Chi Yue did not elaborate further before she lunged at Chu Kuangren and attempted to fight him. She raised her arm and punched out with a fist. With that, the spiritual power surged toward Chu Kuangren"s direction along with a waft of alcoholic scent.
The power of that attack was not great, as if she was just testing his capabilities.
Right when the fist energy was about to land onto Chu Kuangren"s body, his figure vanished from the scene.
Chi Yue"s punch landed on nothingness.
"Oh, spatial technique, huh? Interesting."
Chi Yue mobilized her spiritual thought, and in just a few moments, she had tracked down Chu Kuangren"s whereabouts, which was somewhere above her.
"Come again."
Another punch was thrown at her adversary. However, Chu Kuangren did not even blink twice before his figure once again disappeared from where he was standing.
"Such a fast dodger."
Chi Yue frowned slightly. This time, she mustered enough spiritual power that enabled her to unleash a powerful Daoist Rhyme within a short period of time. Suddenly, it surrounded the entire s.p.a.ce around Chu Kuangren.
"Heart Tearing Claw!"
As soon as those words got out, a compelling feeling of despair was already erupting from Chi Yue"s body. A claw grasped out at the s.p.a.ce in front of her, as though it was threatening to rip the fabric of s.p.a.ce apart.
Five types of claw strength glided across the air, which then landed on Chu Kuangren!
"Oh, the feeling of grief." Chu Kuangren sensed an agonizing sorrow in this claw attack. It felt as if his heart and lungs were getting torn apart.
Clearly, this was a technique related to emotions.
Not only that, but he already felt slightly anguished just as his opponent was casting this technique.
This feeling told him that this technique his opponent cultivated was in the same cla.s.s as his own Heart Piercing Finger, Palm of Sorrow, and Raging G.o.ds Fist.
"It seems like I"ve made the right decision by coming here today."
Chu Kuangren thought to himself.
After that, a spatial fluctuation appeared in the air. Just like that, Chu Kuangren broke free from Chi Yue"s energy and disappeared from sight once again.
With Chi Yue"s cultivation level, she was still a far cry away from having the ability to trap him.
"What?! Where did he go?"
In a panic, Chi Yue desperately looked around to find any trace of Chu Kuangren.
"Here."
Just then, she heard Chu Kuangren"s voice from behind her.
She subconsciously threw out a slam as she turned around.
However, the moment it struck out, this slam was immediately shattered by a much more powerful force. As such, Chi Yue"s was sent stumbling backward.
Once Chi Yue had stabilized her own body, two fingers were already held to her throat. Extremely sharp sword qi flowed around those fingertips, slicing off a strand of her hair.
Chi Yue gulped nervously as beads of cold sweat formed on her forehead.
She knew very clearly that if Chu Kuangren wanted her dead, not only her hair but her brains would be sliced off.
"If you dare strike again, I"m going to have to use force."
Chu Kuangren said sternly.
Several Seven Emotions Sect disciples beside them were so alarmed that they fetched their weapons and prepared to charge forward to help Chi Yue.
"Stand down!"
Chi Yue, however, yelled at them to back off. "Are you guys dumb? Is there any use of you confronting him if I can"t beat him?"
Chu Kuangren put down his arm and said calmly, "I"m here to see someone, and I have no ill intentions. Whatever rumor you"ve heard from the outside world has got nothing to do with me."
"No matter what the truth is, you"ve tarnished my Senior Sister"s reputation."
Chu Yue remarked and then sized Chu Kuangren up. "He"s truly as good-looking as they say he is," she whispered to herself.
"Innocent people need not explain themselves. Whatever people say has no effect whatsoever on me. Chi Yue, you really shouldn"t pick on Brother Chu like that just because of unfounded rumors."
Just then, a soothing voice rang from behind the crowd.
Leng Ningyu was approaching them from the air before landing in front of them. Her temperament was extraordinary yet elegant, but her expression was as cool as ice.
"Senior Sister, you"re here! Look, I just wanted to seek justice for you."
"You"re being too much a nuisance. If Honorable Teacher finds out, she"ll surely punish you."
"Oh, don"t worry, I just need to hide behind you. Honorable Teacher would never bring herself to hit you."
Chi Yue said with a smile. There seemed to be a close kins.h.i.+p between her and Leng Ningyu.
Leng Ningyu looked rather speechless at Chi Yue"s mischievous antics, and it did not take long before she ignored her.
"Brother Chu, it"s good to see you again."
Leng Ningyu looked toward Chu Kuangren. However, her usual ice-cold gaze wavered a little.
Throughout the days after her return, images of Chu Kuangren would pop up randomly while she was cultivating. This made her puzzled as to why it kept happening.
They had only met each other twice. How could he have had such a long-lasting impression on her already?
Was it because he had saved her life before?
Chi Yue glanced at Leng Ningyu, then at Chu Kuangren with a confused expression etched on her face.
"Oh my, this does not look good at all."
Chi Yue almost bit her tongue upon realizing what was really going on.
"Sister Leng, I"m here as per your invitation."
Chu Kuangren nodded slightly before following Leng Ningyu into Seven Emotions Sect.
"Is he that Chu Kuangren who has recently made himself popular in Emperor Road? He really does look out of this world."
"Even so, besides having slightly better looks than me, I don"t see how special he is compared to the rest of us. Is he really capable of defeating the combined forces of outlawed sky-prides?"
"I wonder why he came to Seven Emotions Sect."
Along the way, many people were secretly observing Chu Kuangren. They all looked extremely intrigued by this visitor.