Chapter 491: Chapter 491

"Third Young Master, you are at least at the mid Foundation Establishment stage. Bullying a low-level cultivator like me who hasn't even broken through to Mid-stage Qi Refining yet, isn't that a bit too much?"

In the early morning, An Ning, wearing a simple and fitted smoke-green long dress, was coldly wiping the longsword in her hand. She frowned at the purple-clothed man who had arrived uninvited, clearly not wanting to engage with him.

It had been several months since her meridians were completely repaired.

An Ning had also roughly understood the general situation of the Xie Family. A thousand-year-old aristocratic family, and in the cultivation world at that. Not to mention anything else, the family's descendants were bound to be numerous.

The current head of the family was named Xie Chuan, courtesy name Mubai. He had four sons and one daughter under him, all born from his official wife. Apart from the Second Young Master Xie who unfortunately met with an accident while out training in his early years, the others were all quite renowned.

Of course, one couldn't exclude the influence of their family background. After all, as one of the established old families in Jiangzhou, their foundation was not to be underestimated. The family head's younger brother was even one of the mountain-guarding elders of the Azure Cloud Sect.

That Third Elder from before, despite being somewhat unrestrained and always making a fuss, was also a top-tier medical master in the current cultivation world, highly respected.

With such a deeply rooted family, although not enough to confront the Xuanming Sect head-on, they still had some confidence. No wonder that Fourth Young Master Xie dared to take the risk to rescue someone.

Fortunately, during this period, as An Ning's body recovered, the old man from before had also been very tactful and no longer frequently took her pulse.

After confirming that no matter who came, they could no longer find any evidence belonging to the original owner, she then began to focus on cultivating again.

There was no other way. The original owner's injuries were simply too severe. Even after repairing them, the spiritual veins were not as good as before. If she didn't have the formulas and even elixirs for strengthening tendons and meridians from her previous world, the situation would be even worse than it is now.

Thankfully, An Ning didn't have much experience in many things, but her experience in "restarting cultivation" was more than sufficient!

It's just... probably because her progress was too fast!

Glancing at Xie Xuan, who was smiling particularly gently not far away, An Ning couldn't help but think to herself, it must be hard for him. Despite handling all those clan affairs every day, it still didn't stop this Third Young Master's steps of probing.

Tsk, annoying intuitive types.

Slash, chop, thrust...

Acting as if this person wasn't there, An Ning continued to swing the longsword in her hand as if no one was watching, mostly just performing basic sword stances. After lying in bed for so long, what needed recovery wasn't just her cultivation and spiritual energy, but also the body's own adaptability.

No matter how urgent, she had to build a solid foundation and take it slow.

As if accustomed to it, Xie Xuan wasn't annoyed either. His thin lips still maintained a smiling curve:

"Miss Shen, you flatter me. I absolutely have no intention of using my cultivation to bully you."

"It must be quite dull for you to practice swordsmanship alone, Miss Shen. How about I suppress my cultivation and serve as your sparring partner..."

Only after these words did An Ning stop her sword and turn her head to give this person a rare, serious look.

The cultivation world naturally had few ugly people. From what she usually saw, the several young masters of the Xie Family each had their own distinctive grace. The Eldest Young Master was as gentle as jade, his demeanor refined and cultured. That Xiao Si from before was even more free-spirited and elegant, possessing a natural air of clarity.

As for the one before her, An Ning's evaluation was: beautiful indeed, but just a fox wearing human skin.

And a fox destined to die young at that!

Putting away the longsword in her hand, An Ning quickly turned her head and smiled:

"Third Young Master seems quite confident?"

Hearing the implied meaning in her words, Xie Xuan's eyes flickered slightly, but the smile at the corner of his mouth seemed to become even more sincere. He took out his longsword first, raised his hand, and made an inviting gesture:

"How dare I? Please, Miss Shen, do not hesitate to instruct me!"

However, a quarter of an hour later...

Looking at the green longsword firmly pressed against his neck, just one step away from taking his life, Third Young Master Xie was rarely stunned for a moment. His handsome face was full of disbelief, as if he couldn't believe he had lost so completely.

In less than fifty moves, against an opponent who had just suffered severe injuries, whose cultivation had been restarted from scratch, and whose swordsmanship was clearly still rusty.

And he had previously boasted that his swordsmanship was unparalleled among the younger generation of his clan.

Before Xie Xuan could ponder how those ordinary sword techniques from before could have such power, the next moment, he heard the person before him smilingly withdraw her sword:

"My apologies. I'm too used to sparring with my master back in the mountain, and I almost couldn't hold back..."

Third Young Master Xie: "..."

"Miss Shen's heritage is indeed profound..."

Alright, now he was completely convinced. The person before him was definitely not that Third Miss Fu whom his fourth brother constantly pined for. With a complicated gaze, he looked at the person before him and soon clasped his hands:

"Earlier, I offended you in many ways. I hope..."

Unfortunately, before Xie Xuan could finish.

Second Elder Xie, sporting a head of white hair, hurriedly rushed over from not far away. Seeing the signs of a fight in the courtyard, he became so angry he couldn't catch his breath. His vision went dark, and he nearly fainted.

Coming to his senses, without saying a word, he randomly picked up a broken branch that had fallen during the fight and charged straight at his unlucky grand-nephew:

"You damned unlucky Third Brat, you good-for-nothing! You don't learn the good stuff, you just have to bully a young girl, right!"

"Bullying someone who just recovered from illness, you really had to show off, didn't you!"

Third Young Master Xie: "..."

No, Great-Uncle, at least take a look! Aren't the injuries on him enough? The other party didn't even have a corner of her clothes damaged. Who exactly is at a disadvantage here!

Despite Second Elder Xie's current pitiful appearance, in his early years he was one of the top swordsmanship masters in the clan, and a genuine peak Foundation Establishment cultivator at that. A small broken branch was actually wielded with layers of sword intent. Sharp sword energy mercilessly poked at the wounds on his grand-nephew before him!

Classic example of hitting where it hurts!

Before long, the Third Young Master Xie before him was already covered in bloodstains.

Even while dealing with him, Second Elder didn't forget to sincerely apologize to An Ning, who was watching the fight with great interest from the side:

"Raising such a good-for-nothing is the Xie Family's fault. Rest assured, young lady. Later, this old man will personally go to Mubai's place. I definitely won't let you suffer any grievance, Miss Shen."

In the end, he also ordered people to send generous gifts.

"Second Elder, you are too kind!"

Knowing what the other party wanted, An Ning didn't stand on ceremony either. A formula could solve the matter, and they were all top-grade spirit stones and spiritual medicines. Why not take them if they're offered?

She wanted to restore her cultivation as soon as possible!

After seeing off the endlessly thankful Second Elder and the nearly whipped-into-a-bloody-pulp Third Young Master Xie beside him, An Ning returned to her room. After confirming no one was around, she opened the system monitoring to routinely check on the Child of Destiny's safety.

However, the next second, she saw within the image, in a somewhat dilapidated small mountain village, a young man dressed in ordinary gray cloth clothes, looking just like a commoner, was earnestly instructing a child about three years old beside him:

"Yi'er, we cultivators must uphold justice and help the weak. That is the right path. Precisely because we possess great power, we must even more understand the difficulties of being weak."

"For example, these people before us. Sigh, if life wasn't truly unbearable, how would they reluctantly take this path?"

"Yi'er, you must remember, no matter when, life is always the most precious thing worth treasuring."

"Learn to be magnanimous to others and wield your sword for justice. This is also your mother's will..."

Looking at the pile of scattered farming tools on the ground and the group of villagers who had clearly kicked an iron plate, failed to rob, and were now continuously kneeling, crying, and begging for mercy.

In short, at this moment, the man before her seemed to be emitting a holy light of peerless excellence.

"Forget it, system. I'd better work hard and try to restore my cultivation sooner!"