Are You Worthy?

In the guest room, Li Shenzhi sat cultivating above a small spirit-gathering array, a thin veil of spiritual mist coalescing around him. Suddenly, the instant Li Guanqi's terrifying sword intent surged straight into the clouds, Li Shenzhi snapped his eyes open. A sharp gleam flared deep in his gaze. The corner of his mouth curved up slightly before he slowly closed his eyes again. Li Guanqi's aura had already vanished, and he wouldn't be able to see him right now anyway, so he chose to simply continue cultivating. Song Zhi'ang watched Li Guanqi turn around. She parted her lips, but before she could utter a word, he had already walked away. An unconcealable look of disappointment filled the woman's beautiful eyes. Just then, another slender, voluptuous woman appeared in midair. Dressed in a peacock-green embroidered qipao, Song Yunshu fixed her gaze on Song Zhi'ang, asking with a cold, haughty expression, "Who are you?" Song Zhi'ang's brow furrowed. Seeing this woman of stunning, city-toppling beauty, her heart tightened. A trace of hostility crept into her eyes, and she retorted unceremoniously, "What does who I am have to do with you? Who are you?" Hearing that, Song Yunshu revealed a playful smile. Twirling a strand of hair around her finger, she teased with keen amusement, "Me? You don't even know who I am? I'm Brother Guanqi's little wife. How come I've never heard him mention you?" Blood rushed to Song Zhi'ang's face, flushing it crimson. Furiously about to fire back, she suddenly seemed to realize something. With a scornful smirk, her gaze drifted slightly down from Song Yunshu's face. Then she turned and sneered, "Impossible. He doesn't like small ones." Song Yunshu's expression turned thoroughly sour. Watching the retreating woman, she shouted, "Stop right there! Hmph! You think he'd like you?" Song Zhi'ang whipped her head around, glaring daggers at her. Crossing her arms over her chest, Song Yunshu lifted her chin proudly and looked at her. "You probably haven't met his Dao companion, Meng Wanshu, have you?" When "Dao companion" was spoken, Song Yunshu clearly noticed the woman before her tremble. Song Yunshu continued, "She is a true favored daughter of heaven. Even a woman like me can't help feeling jealous of her aloof elegance and breathtaking beauty. Her status is exalted beyond measure, and I hear she's about to break through to the Body Integration Realm. What do you have to compare?" Song Zhi'ang clenched her teeth, pursing her lips. Perhaps it was an illusion, but Song Yunshu felt the other woman's lips had lost some color. After a few breaths of stalemate, Song Zhi'ang said nothing. She merely cast a deep look at Song Yunshu, then turned to speak: "Even if he looks down on me, he'll never look at you. I can't compare, but you're not any better." Watching the woman walk away, Song Yunshu departed expressionlessly. But the moment she returned to her room, recalling Song Zhi'ang's words, she stomped her feet in sheer fury! "Aaargh! I hate that woman so much!" "How can her mouth be so vicious! Hmph! Small?! Where am I small?!" *Bang!* A hunched man looked with surprise at the woman who had slammed the door shut upon entering, his eyes full of worry. *Crash! Clatter! Clang!* "Aaargh! You vile woman!" "You think he'd ever look at you?! Not a chance!" "Do you have any idea how much I sacrificed just to see him?! You know nothing at all!" Listening to the woman's hysterical screaming inside the room, the man cautiously drew back the hand he had placed on the door. The heavily wrinkled man couldn't help letting out a sigh. Back then, when thugs had suspended him in midair at the tavern to force Song Zhi'ang to pay off his debts, he would have died long ago if not for Li Guanqi. Later, had it not been for the silver granted by the Great Xia Sword Sect to treat his illness, this battered frame of his would have perished as well. After so many years living in the Great Xia Sword Sect, surrounded by such rich spiritual energy, his body had grown much healthier. Yet the more he interacted with immortal cultivators, the more acutely he could sense Li Guanqi's terrifying might! Those lofty figures he saw on ordinary days wished they could bury their heads in the dirt when meeting Li Guanqi. Look at Lu Kangnian, the sect master of the Great Xia Sword Sect today. When traveling outside, any clan or power treated him with absolute deference. Yet when Lu Kangnian met Li Guanqi, he no longer chided him as he once had; his tone was almost entirely consultative. To call such a favored son of heaven a dragon among men was not an exaggeration in the slightest... Shuffling his feet, the man walked over to a table in the center of the courtyard, supported himself on a chair, and slowly sat down, letting out a long sigh. "Foolish child... How could people like us ever hope to cling to someone of his stature?" The moment his words fell, the sounds of smashing inside the room abruptly ceased. *Creak!* Her eyes bloodshot and her hair somewhat disheveled, Song Zhi'ang glared at her father and said in a chilling voice, "Father! Why am I not worthy? Even you think I don't deserve him?" The primal energy surging around Song Zhi'ang was violently intense. Step by step, she approached the man. Looking at the woman before him, Song Kangning suddenly felt she was a stranger. Was this still his gentle, sensible daughter? The inexplicable pressure bore down so heavily that he couldn't breathe. His face was as pale as paper, and cold sweat poured down his forehead like rain. "Daughter... I... I can't breathe..." Song Zhi'ang didn't realize in the slightest that her pressure was harming Song Kangning. Her mind was entirely consumed by her father's denial of her worth! Song Kangning's face flushed a deep purplish hue, nosebleed streaming down, before his eyes rolled back and he abruptly passed out. Only then did Song Zhi'ang snap back to her senses, the bloodshot redness in her eyes gradually fading. Seeing her father unconscious, she instantly panicked. Tears burst from her eyes as she frantically channeled primal energy to soothe Song Kangning's congested blood and Qi. *** Nowadays, spiritual mist drifted thick across the Great Xia Sword Sect, far richer than the thin spiritual energy of the outside world. Lately, the interior of the sect had grown exceedingly prosperous. A tall mountain near the sect's borders was gradually being converted into a mooring dock for flying ships. A cross-domain teleportation array was being constructed alongside it, with its other end connecting outside the Six Ancient Sacred Sects. Meanwhile, the cross-domain teleportation array for the Shenbao Domain was built inside Li Guanqi's pavilion within the domain realm. Xi Yunhuai had never dreamed that one day he would be able to use the materials for constructing cross-domain teleportation arrays without the slightest restraint! Inside the study, Li Guanqi listened to Lu Kangnian's account and the report from Guanyun Pavilion. His brows were tightly knitted. It seemed undercurrents were surging in the sect, and factions still existed. After all, having drifted outside for so long, these cultivators were all too familiar with worldly socializing, choosing sides, and forming cliques. Lu Kangnian said in a low voice, "Still, because of your presence, they are all lying low for now, and nothing shows on the surface. They remain fairly obedient to the orders I issue." Li Guanqi nodded and said softly, "Since they are obedient, leave them be for now. Right now the sect needs stability. In the short term, these returning people don't have a very strong sense of belonging to the sect. "At a time like this, it's best to avoid stirring up more trouble."