Chapter 224 - 107: Second Spirit Core: Sea of Qi, Perfection! Celestial Phenomena Rotate

Chapter 224: Chapter 107: Second Spirit Core: Sea of Qi, Perfection! Celestial Phenomena Rotate

Those words made Xia He even more annoyed. "That’s not avoiding battle! Jiang Xuan is in seclusion."

As she spoke, she threw the Celestial Sea Business Alliance tabloid onto the ground and stomped on it fiercely a few times.

The reason for this was to sell more papers. In addition to recording information on the various prodigies, the tabloid also included all sorts of baseless evaluations.

And because Jiang Xuan had been focused on his Cultivation for the past month, paying no mind to trivial matters, challengers from outside had been repeatedly turned away by the people of Four Seasons Valley. This led to a rather unfavorable public evaluation of Jiang Xuan.

Many people started making snide remarks, calling Jiang Xuan a coward, timid, and the like.

Many people even wrote to the Celestial Sea Business Alliance, hoping they would lower Jiang Xuan’s ranking again.

In response, the people of the Celestial Sea Business Alliance... didn’t dare.

You have to understand, the Hidden Dragon List they created wasn’t just a simple ranking; there was betting involved.

Although Jiang Xuan hadn’t fought recently, that also meant—he had never been defeated!

More importantly, Zhong Ming’s words carried immense weight. He had ranked Jiang Xuan ninth, so the Celestial Sea Business Alliance had no choice but to consider his evaluation.

Furthermore, Chen Qianjun, whom Jiang Xuan had once defeated, had been on a good run lately. He had fought against many Cultivators and was now ranked fourteenth.

Su Xingying, ranked thirteenth, also held Jiang Xuan in extremely high regard.

Once, when someone insulted Jiang Xuan, calling him a coward, Su Xingying even stepped in and gave that person a brutal beating.

The existence of these three factors meant that even though Jiang Xuan hadn’t fought, his rank remained firmly fixed at fifteenth—the Celestial Sea Business Alliance simply didn’t dare to lower it any further.

However, the moment Su Xingying was mentioned, Zhen Youqing’s expression turned a little strange, while Xia He’s face instantly darkened, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

The reason for this was that as Jiang Xuan’s fame grew, his past had been completely dug up by others.

By now, many people knew that when Jiang Xuan was choosing his Dharma Vein, his first choice had been Star Sword Peak. But the people there didn’t recognize his talent and drove him away without even letting him take the trial. That was how Four Seasons Valley ended up with a steal.

What people delighted in talking about even more was how Star Sword Peak’s prodigy, Su Xingying, later met Jiang Xuan in the Martial Arts Arena by a twist of fate. After being defeated by him several times in a row, she grew to admire him.

Meanwhile, Four Seasons Valley also had the Valley Master’s daughter, Xia He, who had personally invited Jiang Xuan to join them.

This dramatic love triangle, with all its complex feelings and history, made the three of them the hottest topic of gossip among the new disciples, embellished and retold by countless people.

Xia He didn’t care about those rumors. What made her worried and look so upset was her fear that Su Xingying would steal Jiang Xuan away.

Especially since Su Xingying had come to Four Seasons Valley several times.

Although, she never went inside—not because she was stopped, but because she would linger outside the valley for a while before leaving on her own.

Because of this, Jiang Xuan, who was single-mindedly focused on his closed-door Cultivation and quietly improving himself, had no idea she had ever been there.

But with the girl chasing him all the way to their doorstep, Xia He was naturally anxious.

Seeing Xia He’s bad mood, Zhen Youqing waved her small fist and said indignantly, "Xia He, don’t be afraid! If that woman really shows up, I’ll help you deal with..."

Before she could finish, Zhen Youqing’s voice came to an abrupt halt, and she instinctively shrank back.

The reason was that on a small path not far away, a figure in white was standing quietly. It was none other than Su Xingying.

She gazed toward Four Seasons Valley, her eyes holding an indescribable trace of loneliness and sorrow.

Xia He saw her too.

This made her stop in her tracks, her gaze instantly turning wary as she stared fixedly at the other girl.

However, all she did was glare. In the end, she didn’t make a scene by going over to berate her or anything.

She even pulled back Zhen Youqing, who had mustered the courage to go and confront her.

"Don’t go."

On the other side, Su Xingying seemed to notice their gazes. She glanced at them from a distance without a word, and without entering the valley, she turned and quietly left.

Watching her receding figure, Zhen Youqing spoke to her best friend in exasperation, "Xia He, if you keep this up, your Jiang Xuan is really going to be stolen by that woman."

After saying this, Zhen Youqing noticed that not only had her best friend’s fighting spirit not been stirred, but she had become even more dejected.

This sight made Zhen Youqing’s heart sink, and she instantly understood something:

"You... You don’t actually believe what the tabloids say, do you? That it would be better for Jiang Xuan to go to Star Sword Peak?"

The tabloids sold by the Celestial Sea Business Alliance contained a lot of information.

Some of it claimed that with Jiang Xuan’s talent, even with a slightly inferior Spirit Root, he could have gone to an Upper Vein or one of the very top Middle Veins.

Among these, it was said that because of Su Xingying’s admiration, going to Star Sword Peak would be the most beneficial choice for his future development.

Many even asserted that if Jiang Xuan had entered Star Sword Peak back then and practiced its top-tier Cultivation Technique, he would now be firmly seated in the ninth position on the Hidden Dragon List.

Zhen Youqing could feel that her friend had been affected by these words.

Out of concern for her friend, she grabbed Xia He’s shoulders and shook them forcefully. "Xia He, pull yourself together! Stop letting your imagination run wild!"

"Brother Jiang Xuan really would have a better future at Star Sword Peak... Keeping him in Four Seasons Valley, am I... being too selfish?"

"...You—I’m so mad at you." Her best friend’s weakness left Zhen Youqing at a complete loss for words.