Chapter 62 – Lan Xuero
New Moon Profound Palace occupied a vast expanse, with a magnificent Main Hall at its center, and innumerable architecture that stretched as far as the eye could see. Yun Che followed Xia Yuanba towards his living accommodations. Along the way, he met many New Moon Profound Palace disciples, all of whom were under the age of twenty. There was the occasional fifteen and sixteen year-old, and of those in this age group, most were of the Elementary Profound Realm. Along the way, there were many people that greeted them; after all, between his age and size, even if they wanted to ignore him it would be hard.
“How many disciples are there in New Moon Profound Palace right now?” Yun Che asked.
“The last time I checked, there were more than three thousand disciples.” Xia Yuanba thoughtfully said, “New Moon Profound Palace recruits disciples within the age of fifteen to eighteen. Most of them generally stay until they reach twenty years old before departing. An awful lot of them will join Blue Wind’s official force in the future.
“However, Brother-in-law, do you really plan on participating in tonight’s banquet?” Xia Yuanba asked somewhat worriedly.
“To have the opportunity of possibly being able to catch a glimpse of almost all of New Moon City’s top powers all in one go, of course I have to go.” Yun Che took a sideways glance at him: “Yuanba, it seems as if you don’t want to go to this banquet. Is there a problem?”
“Even though it’s not exactly a problem, but…. but….” Xia Yuanba hesitated for a moment, and then said with a bit of indignance: “Some time ago, I heard that when last generation’s Palace Chief was newly appointed, they also sent out many invitations for a banquet. During that banquet however, the invited disciples from the other sects used the excuse of exchanging pointers to challenge our disciples of the same age. There were ten matches, and we of New Moon Profound Palace lost all ten times; thus humiliating the old Palace Chief, and turning the new one into a laughingstock for a long time.
“Heh-heh, that was obviously the machinations of those sects to cause the newly-appointed Palace Chief to lose prestige, and let him know who was the real boss of New Moon City.” Yun Che said while laughing.
“That’s right.” Xia Yuanba nodded, and helplessly said: “I heard the same thing happened to the Palace Chief from two generations ago as well. He could not avoid inviting them to the celebration, otherwise, he would’ve been laughed at and ridiculed, and lose every bit of face left. If we attend the banquet, chances are that we’ll be challenged by them… Losing to them doesn’t matter, but those people very often have malicious intent and use a heavy hand. The last time, there were two senior brothers that were beaten until they couldn’t fully recover from their injuries, and the Palace Chief had no other choice but to swallow his words and endure the humiliation.
“New Moon Profound Palace attracts a numerous amount of disciples every year; is their strength really that bad?” Yun Che asked as he knitted his brow．
“Of course, it’s not that our New Moon Profound Palace’s strength that’s lacking; it’s just, just that those schools are just too strong. Even though New Moon Profound Palace has the backing of the Imperial Family, those sects possess long history, many sect secrets, resources, and techniques that have been passed down for many generations. All of these are not something that New Moon Profound Palace can compare to. Even if they’re recruiting for outer sect disciples, the cutoff threshold is much more higher than ours. Furthermore, people that enter into sects with the Imperial Family’s backing, generally plan on giving their lives up to the Imperial Family. After all, the establishment of the Imperial Family’s sect was originally intended to attract talented people to join the Imperial Forces. However, those people with great talents are usually proud and arrogant. Their desire to join the large sects greatly overweigh that of joining the Imperial Forces, so the average power of the New Moon Profound Palace’s disciples, when compared to the small and middle-sized sects, can be considered to be better, but if compared to those large sects, can not even begin to match up to them.”
The situation explained by Xia Yuanba was in fact, quite normal. Even Yun Che himself, although added into the New Moon Profound Palace for other reasons, was merely looking for opportunities and had never once thought about serving the Imperial Family. He thought for a moment, and then asked: “In New Moon City, what are the sects that have more power than New Moon Profound Palace?”
“Oh, let me think…” Xia Yuanba seriously thought for a moment, and then slowly answered: “In total there are seven; they are the Profound Heart Sect, Cloudy Sun Sect, Iron Spear Clan, Seven Deadly Sword Pavilion, and Stormy Profound Palace.” After pausing for a moment, Xia Yuanba’s voice became somewhat guarded: “These five sects have a history of over five hundred, or even a thousand years. In New Moon City, their influence is deeply engrained in the city and their overall strength is greater than that of New Moon Profound Palace. If not for the backing of the Imperial Family, then perhaps we may have already been suppressed and forced out. In addition to these five, there are two more giants that not even the Imperial Family would dare provoke… and they’re the branches of Xiao Sect and Burning Heaven Clan that are here in New Moon City! Although they’re merely branches, they still have the backing of the Xiao Sect and Burning Heaven Clan, making them the two immovable overlords of New Moon City.
“Branches of the Xiao Sect and Burning Heaven Clan?” Yun Che tapped his chin. He clearly knew in his heart that this was in name only. In reality, these disciples of the “Outer Sect” were those of the lowest talent that were not suitable to remain in the main sect, and nothing more. However, when all’s said and done, they were still the official “Outer Sect”, and were unlike the Xiao Clan who had been completely abandoned.
“However, our New Moon Profound Palace is of course, not so easily bullied.” Xiao Yuanba patted his chest with a face full of unwillingness and said: “Although New Moon Profound Palace lost dignity during that banquet five years ago, however that was five years ago! Our New Moon Profound Palace now, also have quite a lot of talents; and definitely would not be below those of the other sects… Ah, Brother-in-law look, that person over there is our senior brother Li Weihao. He’s seventeen this year, and has already reached the third level of the Nascent Profound Realm. I heard he’d also inherited his family’s Profound Arts, and is very powerful.
“That person over there in white clothing is even more powerful. I believe he was called Xu Aoran; he’s only eighteen years old, and is already at the fifth rank of the Nascent Profound Realm! Those two are in our Class One. However, the most formidable in our New Moon Profound Palace are not them, but Senior Brother Murong and Senior Sister Xueruo, who are publicly known as New Moon Profound Palace’s two biggest geniuses. The Elders will definitely bring them to tonight’s banquet. With them, it definitely won’t be a repeat of five years ago…
As he spoke up to this point, Xia Yuanba’s voice abruptly stopped, because in front of them, a young man in a white robe and a girl dressed in snow-white attire walked side by side in their direction. The man who appeared to be eighteen or nineteen had a tall build, elegant features, and a fascinating charm like that of jade. He was beautiful enough to make any sexually awakened girl who yearned for love, become completely infatuated.
And that girl beside him was even more so, beautiful enough to make one’s heart tremble. She seemed to also be eighteen or nineteen, with a pair of beautiful sparkling eyes, and cherry colored lips with the luster of a smooth seashell. Her elegant eyebrows were crescent shaped as well, but the most touching was the light smile that graced her lips that was as heartwarming as the smell of incense in a gentle breeze.
The two were like a perfect couple that had just stepped out of a painting; the moment they appeared, all the brilliance between heaven and earth was taken away. The youth continuously talked about something beside the girl and constantly watched her reaction from the side of his eyes, but the girl’s reaction did not change; while maintaining a constant warm smile the whole time, she did not say anything in reply. Although she was only gently striding onward, it would make one believe that they had seen a fairy dancing in a white dress. Above all, her beautiful and slender snow-white neck let her exude a noble and graceful aura that added to her charm, making one feel as if they were looking at an exalted princess that belonged in the Imperial Family.
“What a beautiful girl.” Yun Che admiringly exclaimed in his heart. Although her appearance was incomparable to Xia Qingyue’s, it definitely was one in ten thousand; a devastating beauty that could tip over cities and nations. Yet the noble air that wrapped around her like an indistinct haze was not something that Xia Qingyue could match. What amazed Yun Che the most was the touch of gentleness in her eyes and expression. Generally speaking, a girl that was beautiful to this extent would more or less carry a somewhat arrogant air; his wife Xia Qingyue, a prime example. Yet this girl had a gentle complexion; her gaze was as soft as water, and there wasn’t even the slightest hint of arrogance between her brows. The faint smile on the corner of her lips, was sufficient enough to almost completely melt one’s heart with just a single glance.
“Senior Brother Murong, Senior Sister Xueruo!”
At the same time that Yun Che was silently admiring this girl, Xia Yuanba had actually pulled him up to greet them.
Murong? Xueruo? Hm? Don’t tell me that these two were the ones that Yuanba had just mentioned… Yun Che thought in his heart.
“Junior Brother Xia, are you going back to rest?” Upon seeing Xia Yuanba, the girl smiled and greeted him. When her voice sounded, Yun Che immediately felt a sort of warm current slowly flow from his ears to the center of his heart, because this sound was extremely gentle and that beautiful; just simply listening to this sound brought about a feeling of inexplicable pleasure. When coming into close proximity with her gaze, it was even more understandable how her soft gaze and smile could intoxicate one’s heart.
At this point, the girl’s gaze fell upon Yun Che, and she curiously asked: “This is…”
“Hehe, this is my brother-in-law, he just entered our Profound Department today. He’s also in our Class One!” Xia Yuanba cheerfully said, “Brother-in-law, they’re the Senior Brother Murong Ye and Senior Sister Lan Xueruo that I had just mentioned earlier. They’re this generation’s strongest disciples within our New Moon Profound Palace.
Yun Che walked forward a step, his face wearing a polite smile, “Greetings Senior Brother and Senior Sister. This little brother is Yun Che, who has just entered the Profound Department. I request the two Seniors to look after me in the future.”
Murong slightly nodded his head, which was barely considered to be a reply. His gaze stopped on Yun Che for a moment, and then moved away as arrogance hung between his brows. There were also hidden traces of resentment, as he was obviously unhappy that they had disturbed he and Xueruo’s “two person world.”
“Oh? You also joined our Class One?” Lan Xueruo took a good look at Yun Che, and laughed gleefully: “You seem so young, yet you’re already at the first level of the Nascent Profound Realm. No wonder Elder Sikong snatched you into Class One. If the beauties in the class find out that such a handsome little junior had just entered, they’ll definitely be overjoyed. You need to be careful, little junior brother. Eh? That’s not right, Junior Brother Xia seemed to have referred to you as ‘brother-in-law’. Don’t tell me; you’re already married?”
Before Yun Che had the chance to reply, Xia Yuanba already answered before him: “That’s right. My brother-in-law is only sixteen this year, but he has already married my sister half a year ago.”
“Oh~~~ So little junior brother Yun is only sixteen years old. To marry this early, it seems the bride must have been really beautiful.” Lan Xueruo said, smiling.
“Ah haha…. Anyway, I’ll be in senior brother and senior sister’s care in the future.” Yun Che awkwardly smiled. Then his gaze suddenly changed as he spoke while smiling at Lan Xueruo: “I’m guessing that Senior Sister Xueruo is definitely not a native from around here, is that right?”
“Oh? How did you know?” Lan Xueruo asked as she blinked her beautiful eyes.
“Because the atmosphere in New Moon City is a bit restless and its spiritual aura is opaque. There should be no way that a graceful beauty like Senior Sister Xueruo was born here.”
Lan Xueruo was slightly stunned; then her pink lips curved up and while raising her eyebrows, she said: “Not only is Junior Brother Yun good looking and talented, but is also a smooth talker too. It’s a pity that you’re already married; otherwise, senior sister here may… hehehe.”
Lan Xueruo was clearly joking, but Murong Ye, who was standing by her side, fiercely glared at Yun Che.
However, Yun Che appeared as if he didn’t see that at all, and instead smiled at Lan Xueruo and said: “It doesn’t matter, my wife had guaranteed this to me before; she definitely wouldn’t object to me getting another wife.”