Lianshan Xin suspected this woman was seducing him, and he had evidence.
Yet, having a healthy dose of self-awareness, he also knew another truth: she was merely having a flare-up of her condition and harbored no genuine feelings for him whatsoever.
Naturally, Lianshan Xin had even fewer feelings for Zeng Ningbing.
Marrying a princess was a viable path, so Lianshan Xin cared a great deal about princesses—he just didn't care who the princess actually was.
Zeng Ningbing had simply broadened her own prospects for the moment.
Whether he would pave that road further for her depended on whether she and the Golden Scale Alliance backing her were willing to pay more.
With that in mind, Lianshan Xin took the initiative to extend an invitation. "Miss Zeng, how about taking a walk with me around the academy?"
Even though his innate ability had not yet triggered, Lianshan Xin was unwilling to give up on his academy background checks.
His burning desire for advancement was not something a single princess could satisfy.
"Of course. Stay right here and don't wander off. Give me a quarter of an hour; I need to go back and change my clothes."
Having just been thrashed twice by Lianshan Xin, Zeng Ningbing was looking rather disheveled.
Beautiful women were especially burdened by their public image.
Considering she had even cultivated the Double Heavens of Ice and Fire, Lianshan Xin figured he ought to give her that much face.
Thus, Lianshan Xin offered, "I'll walk you back to the student dormitories and wait outside for you."
"All right," Zeng Ningbing agreed without wasting words.
She had been in such a rush to explain herself to Lianshan Xin earlier, but now that she realized how disheveled she looked, all she wanted was to change as quickly as possible.
This was true even though the Nine Heavens had cleared the surrounding area, leaving hardly any students around to watch.
In her haste to return to the dormitories, Zeng Ningbing even resorted to using qinggong.
To her surprise, Lianshan Xin almost failed to keep up with her.
"You haven't cultivated qinggong?"
Lianshan Xin shrugged. "Haven't had the time yet. Catching up won't take long, though—I might not even need to."
The Dragon-Subduing Immortal Art was a comprehensive cultivation method that encompassed everything from foundational arts to lethal combat techniques, and even divine abilities waiting to be developed.
Before Qi Shiyun had even reached the Grandmaster realm, she could already fly through the air, possessing some of a Grandmaster's abilities ahead of time—and she was only cultivating the castrated Dragon-Supporting Immortal Art.
Much less Lianshan Xin; he had no need to go out of his way to learn qinggong.
Of course, that was the tactful way to put it.
The plain truth was that Lianshan Xin had barely scratched the surface of the Dragon-Subduing Immortal Art and had lacked the time to study it systematically.
His plan was to cultivate the Dragon-Subduing Immortal Art properly once classes started tomorrow and everyone began learning martial arts together.
Until then, his priority was to catch a few more Demon Cult fiends and rack up merits to secure a firm footing in the Nine Heavens, cementing his reputation as the Chosen Son of Heaven.
Lianshan Xin was very clear about his circumstances: unless he could match Qi Shiyun's strength within a day or two, his greatest reliance right now was certainly not raw power, but his Heavenly Eye.
Zeng Ningbing naturally did not know his full background, but at this moment, she chose to believe his earlier words.
"Are you truly cultivating immortality? Which lineage of the Nine Heavens favored you?"
"Heaven's Chosen." Lianshan Xin did not hide it.
Zeng Ningbing's delicate body shuddered, and her footsteps ground to a halt. "Heaven's Chosen?"
"That's right, Heaven's Chosen."
Zeng Ningbing pressed her red lips together. "Lianshan Xin, I suddenly feel that perhaps we aren't so suitable for each other after all."
Far from taking offense, Lianshan Xin was amused by her reaction. "It seems you've heard of our lineage's reputation as well."
Its formidable name certainly preceded it.
Zeng Ningbing nodded.
At that, Lianshan Xin continued with a faint smile, "So, are you preparing to kill me now?"
Zeng Ningbing shuddered once more.
She had been frightened just a moment ago, and she was frightened again now.
The difference was that earlier, she had been terrified by the illustrious, blood-drenched record of the Heaven's Chosen lineage; this time, she was terrified by the suffocating killing intent rolling off Lianshan Xin.
When she had spoken of killing Lianshan Xin earlier, even she wasn't sure how much conviction lay behind her words.
Yet the moment Lianshan Xin spoke of wanting to kill her, she felt an unmistakable aura of slaughter crashing toward her.
"I'm going to change first."
Zeng Ningbing's thoughts were in utter disarray.
As the descendant of a high-ranking member of the Golden Scale Alliance, her understanding of the Nine Heavens went far deeper than that of outsiders. In the previous generation of the Heaven's Chosen lineage, only Qi Shiyun had survived out of thirty-six Chosen Sons of Heaven. Who wouldn't be terrified by a mortality rate like that?
Even Lianshan Xin had felt a chill in his heart when Heavenly Sword told him.
Naturally, Zeng Ningbing was frightened as well.
When she was unaware of Lianshan Xin's background, she had believed his innate talent alone made him a fine match for her.
Now, she felt his background was more than enough to turn her into an early widow.
Peculiar inclinations were one thing, but rationality was another.
The two did not conflict.
Lianshan Xin offered a friendly reminder: "Miss Zeng, I'll wait a quarter of an hour for you."
He would not wait a single second longer.
If blame had to be placed, it fell on his top patron.
And on Zeng Ningbing herself.
Through Zeng Ningbing, Lianshan Xin realized that his top patron's seed-sowing prowess likely far exceeded his imagination.
Consequently, the number of unrecognized princesses living out in the world was probably much larger than he had anticipated.
Moreover, there were likely quite a few princesses at court as well; Qi Shiyun had mentioned earlier that the princesses all envied her.
The word "all" meant there was more than one.
As a result, Zeng Ningbing was highly replaceable.
Once a domestic alternative became available, an asset lost its premium value.
Zeng Ningbing picked up on the veiled warning in Lianshan Xin's words and walked back toward her dormitory with heavy steps.
"Young sir, you shouldn't speak to Miss Zeng in such a manner."
No sooner had Zeng Ningbing left than Lianshan Xin heard an indignant voice speaking up on her behalf.
He turned his head and saw a young man and a young woman standing not far away.
Both were around his age and had likely come to Bailudong Academy to study as well.
However, their clothes did not resemble the attire of Great Yu, looking instead like foreign garments.
The one who had spoken up to champion justice was the man. The woman gently tugged his sleeve and reminded him in a low voice, "Brother, Royal Father said we must keep a low profile here in Jiangzhou, make friends, and avoid making enemies lightly."
The man lightly patted his sister's hand and consoled her, "Fret not, Sister. I am merely following Royal Father's instructions. That Miss Zeng just now—I've seen her portrait. She is the daughter of Elder Zeng from the Golden Scale Alliance."
"The daughter of Elder Zeng from the Golden Scale Alliance? The same Golden Scale Alliance that does business with Royal Father?"
"Indeed."
"Then she is truly a friend worth making."
The young woman stopped holding her brother back and joined him in righteous indignation.
"Young sir, since Miss Zeng has already rejected you, why must you pester her relentlessly?" the woman spoke up.
Evidently, they had noticed the tense atmosphere between Zeng Ningbing and Lianshan Xin, but had completely misinterpreted it, assuming Zeng Ningbing had simply turned down an unwanted suitor.
Lianshan Xin had no interest in humoring busybodies who leaped out of nowhere to play hero.
However, his sharp ears had caught the words "Royal Father" from the woman's lips.
"And who might you two be?"
The young man stepped forward with pride and declared his origins: "Mingren, of the Sakura Kingdom."
Lianshan Xin blinked, and then sheer delight washed over him. "So you're Sakura royalty!"
Royalty was wonderful; Lianshan Xin loved dealing with royalty the most.
Chapter 60