Ahead of the Meta

The next day. Lianshan Xin was still on a date with the Duke of Zhou's daughter when He Miaojun interrupted his dream. "Mother, why did you wake me so early?" Lianshan Xin grumbled, displeased. "Didn't I tell you last night that I wouldn't do morning practice today?" Before this, Lianshan Xin had always been disciplined. Ever since turning twelve, he had gotten up around seven every morning to practice martial arts, rain or shine. Now, however, he had decided to take his talents to the cultivation world. Moreover, Qi Shiyun had confirmed that he possessed an innate gift for cultivating immortality. So who would still get up at dawn to grind martial arts? Discipline was fine, but self-torture was unnecessary. He Miaojun's face was ruddy and radiant with joy, her complexion visibly far better than the day before. Last night, Lianshan Jingcheng had already compounded the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus into medicine and had her take it. With just one more month of careful convalescence, she would essentially make a full recovery. Good fortune brought high spirits. Her delight was plain to see. Rather than minding the impatience in her filial son's tone, she said with warm gratification, "Little Xin, you've really done your mother proud." "What happened?" "Matchmakers have come knocking to propose marriage." "Pfft." Lianshan Xin snapped fully awake in an instant. "I'm only eighteen!" "What's wrong with eighteen? Eighteen isn't early at all. Old Man Li's grandson down the street is your age, and his child is already a year old," He Miaojun said nonchalantly. Lianshan Xin had no retort for that. In ancient feudal times, people indeed married and had children young. Evidently, word of his recommendation to Bailudong Academy had spread, instantly turning him into a hot commodity. "Mother, don't go playing matchmaker haphazardly. With your son's looks, aptitude, and brilliance, I stand a good chance of marrying an imperial princess in the future," Lianshan Xin said guardedly. He Miaojun watched him boast with a chuckle, playing along: "Forget marrying a princess. By imperial court regulations, an imperial son-in-law can reach third rank at best, whereas my son is bound for the first rank." "Mother, you're right. My goal is to become a top general and chancellor, bringing glory to our ancestors. A princess isn't good enough for me." "Give you an inch and you take a mile." He Miaojun couldn't resist rapping him lightly on the head. "I turned away all those unreliable matchmakers for you." Lianshan Xin breathed a sigh of relief. Seeking advancement at Bailudong Academy carried risks; he had genuinely worried that He Miaojun and Lianshan Jingcheng might pressure him into fathering a child first just to ensure the family bloodline carried on. "Then why did you wake me, Mother? I was exhausted yesterday and need a good rest today." Although yesterday hadn't required him to lift a finger in physical combat, it had drained an immense amount of mental energy. He Miaojun replied, "Your sweetheart has come to see you." "Who?" Lianshan Xin froze. "Mother, don't talk nonsense. How could I have a sweetheart at my age? This is the age to focus solely on studying and training martial arts." "Dai Yueying is here." "Dai Yueying? Master Dai's daughter?" Lianshan Xin's brow furrowed. "What is she doing here?" Seeing her son's reaction, He Miaojun felt a bit puzzled. "Didn't the two of you almost get together before?" "Mother, I have to correct you. Back then, she was the one fond of me. Out of respect for her father being Master Dai, I just never explicitly turned her down." Lianshan Xin had naturally attended school in the past, and Master Dai was the instructor at his private academy. Dai Yueying was Master Dai's only daughter. In the past, she had been quite close to Lianshan Xin. Both He Miaojun and Lianshan Jingcheng had known about it and even assumed the two would eventually discuss marriage. Master Dai had passed the provincial examinations as a juren, so his family background was not beneath theirs, and both parents had been satisfied with Dai Yueying. Yet later, for some unknown reason, the two stopped seeing each other. Lianshan Xin had never explained, and He Miaojun and Lianshan Jingcheng had never pressed him, afraid of reopening a painful wound for their son. Hearing Lianshan Xin's explanation now, He Miaojun regarded him skeptically. "Really?" Lianshan Xin frowned. "Mother, do you really not know how outstanding your son is?" He Miaojun nodded. "With your plain, unremarkable looks, your below-average martial aptitude, and your middling academic performance, a stunning beauty and daughter of a juren fell for you on her own initiative? Son, I may be your mother, but your mother isn't an idiot." Lianshan Xin cleared his throat and explained, "Once, Kong Ningyuan treated me to a meal, and Dai Yueying happened to see it. Ever since then, she took a fancy to me." He Miaojun reached an epiphany. "I see! Put that way, it makes sense. Then why did the two of you stop seeing each other later?" "She deliberately got close to me, and out of respect for Master Dai, I didn't dare refuse. Once, she took the initiative to give me a martial arts manual." "The Falling Wild Geese Sword that you couldn't even grasp the basics of after half a month?" He Miaojun recalled. "Exactly. After that, she basically stopped visiting me." He Miaojun wore a strange expression. "Anyone with even a shred of talent in martial arts can master the basics of the Falling Wild Geese Sword in seven days at most. For Dai Yueying to wait half a month for you, she must have been quite patient." Lianshan Xin protested, "Mother, whose side are you on?" He Miaojun immediately switched stances. "Simply outrageous! That girl may have good looks, but she's vain and mercenary—hardly a good match. Son, if you take a wife, you must marry the kind of woman who will stand by you through thick and thin." "Naturally. If someone wants to be a general's wife, she should marry him while he's still a common soldier. Dai Yueying is too calculating. In truth, she's an ordinary person behaving normally, but I truly have no feelings for her." Lianshan Xin didn't actually hold a grudge against Dai Yueying. Vanity and ambition were normal human traits; he was vain and ambitious himself. However, he certainly wouldn't pursue any romantic relationship with Dai Yueying—especially when she was sidling up to him now. Was cultivating immortality not fun enough, or martial arts too easy? At this stage, women would only slow down his draw. "Mother, help me send her away." "You'd better go yourself. I'm not good at dealing with such matters. Besides, Master Dai is half a mentor to you, so you must save face for the girl." "All right, tell her to wait for me in the front courtyard for a bit." Lianshan Xin got up quickly and washed. A quarter of an hour later, he met Dai Yueying standing in the courtyard. Then, his eyes narrowed. Huh? Why did she seem different from before? Her figure was a bit more voluptuous than before, but that wasn't the point. The point was her temperament. Their eyes met. Lianshan Xin saw a pair of eyes brimming with unspoken affection. The ripples in her gaze were clearer than the waking surface of a morning stream, harboring a cool, emerald-tinted depth that nearly drew him in against his will. Giving his head a slight shake, Lianshan Xin shifted his gaze over the rest of Dai Yueying. The morning breeze gently brushed against her hair and the hem of her skirt. Her pale moon-white dress and soft green ribbons fluttered lazily, as though draped in a drifting mist of clouds, swaying gracefully with every movement. "You... seem to have gotten prettier?" Lianshan Xin wasn't teasing her; he was merely stating a fact. The Dai Yueying he had known before was a modest six out of ten at best, incapable of causing a single ripple in his heart. Yet the current Dai Yueying—though her facial features hadn't undergone any fundamental change—carried an aura far surpassing her past self. She could easily be called an eight out of ten, enough to stir a fleeting pang of lust in him. Could this be what people called a girl blossoming as she came of age, growing prettier with each passing day? Dai Yueying smiled gently and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, her voice soft and sweet. "During the days when Brother Xin ignored me, I've been working hard to become better too. You're not the only one secretly putting in effort, preparing to dazzle everyone." Lianshan Xin shuddered. "Speak normally. You're three months older than me—what's with this 'Brother Xin'?" Dai Yueying's smile stiffened slightly, and a flicker of astonishment darted across the depths of her eyes. The charm arts personally taught by Master actually failed to bewitch this guy? Could my charm technique still be unrefined? No, impossible. Even Master said I possess an innate charm physique. Then there was only one explanation: Lianshan Xin's Dao heart was like iron, completely unmoved by female charms! Having realized this, Dai Yueying looked at Lianshan Xin with a touch of newfound appreciation and respect—one point of each. The remaining ninety-eight points were pure composure. No matter how steadfast his willpower, he was still an eighteen-year-old youth who had never seen the world. Compared to someone like her, who had seen grand affairs and taken part in the struggle between the Demon Cult and the Nine Heavens as a Holy Maiden candidate, he still fell far short. "Brother Xin, are you angry that I neglected you before?" Dai Yueying took the initiative to ask. Lianshan Xin raised a thumb. "First, call me Lianshan Xin. Second, you didn't 'neglect' me—you ghosted me off a cliff. Third, I'm not angry." Dai Yueying could tell that Lianshan Xin truly wasn't angry. How could you not be angry? You're not even angry that I neglected you! That means you never felt the slightest flutter for me at all! Simply ungrateful and blind! And so, Dai Yueying grew angry. "Brother Xin, I was only busy with my studies before. Unlike you, I don't know Sixth Young Master Kong and can't receive his recommendation. Father told me to study and train diligently, and I wanted to test into Bailudong Academy too. That's why I didn't have time to look for you—I didn't deliberately neglect you." Lianshan Xin nodded casually. "Understood. Is there anything else?" Dai Yueying grew even angrier, her modest chest swelling by a full measure from indignation. "Brother Xin, can't we rekindle our past affinity?" Lianshan Xin laughed. "What past affinity did we ever have?" The two had never even held hands. Dai Yueying's composure faltered, unable to maintain her gentle demeanor as a flash of anger broke through. "But you accepted my gifts! I compiled Father's teaching syllabus for you, and I gave you Father's cherished Falling Wild Geese Sword manual! You accepted all of it—how can you say there is no affinity between us?" Lianshan Xin looked at her with genuine bewilderment. "I did accept your gifts, but accepting your gifts doesn't mean accepting you." Dai Yueying completely broke down. "Lianshan Xin, do you have no shame at all?!" Even people in our Demon Cult aren't this shameless! Lianshan Xin shook his head helplessly. Feudal society really didn't understand what it meant to be ahead of the meta.