Choices

"Let's go, Lil' Xi."

Zhou Yan felt empty and had no intention of exposing his powers in the Complex of Treasures. Hence he was unwilling to linger any longer.

Since there were zero emotions in his words and all the feelings he placed into his words were not reciprocated. Thus, he saw no reason in keeping any ties with these people.

"Yes, brother Zhou Yan, let's go."

Gu Xi was incredibly compassionate in an attempt to melt Zhou Yan's frozen heart with the warmth of her love and limitless sympathy.

When they left, they paid absolutely no mind to even glance at the faces of these people. Thus, they left this place of wealth and luxury under the grand sendoff by that lady in purple.

At the same moment, there was a young lady in red, leading a man that was carrying a huge black sword on his back into the Complex of Treasures.

As the lady in red walked in, the lady in purple, along with other women in purple, instantly welcomed them into the inner plaza with a gracious bow. The maidens cheered in unison, "Praise to the great Elder Guardian!"

"Yes, carry on with your work. I will be escorting and tending to the needs of the new Lord of the Yang family, Yang Qingtan. Do what you were ordered to!"

The instant the lady in red spoke, the entire inner chambers of the complex burst into endless cheers as the environment became significantly livelier.

As of the current moment, everyone was excited to meet Yang Qingtan!

That man was not even older than thirty years old, and the progress of his training had reached the peak of the first rank in the realm of the Blade's Menace. In addition to his combat prowess, it was no secret that he would be able to challenge any strong opponents head-on who were in the third rank within the realm of the Blade's Menace!

This man was now the most respected and praised.

This man was a true natural genius of the Blade's Menace realm!

"I didn't expect it's actually Yang Qingtan!"

"He actually got into the Chambers of Prestigious Guests. Well, it's only fitting, given his ties to the Complex of Treasures…"

"He is actually so elegant! It's completely out of my expectations. To think I've imagined him to have a back of a tiger and a waist of a bear…"

"The one and only legend of the Yang family, Yang Qingtan. He's even more exceptional in person than I'd imagine…"

…

Although there were not many people in the main chamber, the instant Yang Qingtan made his presence known, he immediately became the main topic of discussion amongst the folks that were present.

"It is a pleasant surprise for Lord Yang to be here." The Lord of the Xie family, who stood next to Xiao Lan, who remained silent before this greeted Yang Qingtan as he humbled himself before him.

"It is my greatest honor to be graced by the grandeur of the Lord of the Yang family," Xiao Lan said in a humble tone.

However, Yang Qingtan was not even interested in their discussions. Even more so, he was not even interested in the words of the Lord of the Xie family and Xiao Lan. He barely even glanced at them.

His glance drifted past Gu Xi, Xiao Chaner, and Xiao Liner, and his gaze landed on Zhou Yan.

It was a gaze filled to the brim with the intense pressure of the Blade's Menace. However, there was zero intent to kill coming from that gaze. It was done to gain the attention of someone that possessed a similar nature to him.

"Zhou Yan of the Zhou family?"

There was a hint of surprise from the deepest depths of Yang Qingtan's eyes. He questioned with a cold tone.

"Indeed, and you must be Yang Qingtan of the Yang family?"

Zhou Yan stared at that man. He was perhaps about 1.9 meters tall. He also happened to have a broad shoulder as he carried a sizable pitch-black sword on his back. His back was almost entirely covered by the sword.

"Indeed, I am! You are exceptional! I shall wait for you! Work hard on your journey!"

Yang Qingtan had a low-pitched voice that sounded slightly coarse. The tone of his voice sounded slightly weighted. It sounded a little penetrative at the same time.

"Worry not! Whatever that you are capable of, I would be too!"

Even though Zhou Yan's reply was cold, Yang Qingtan had grown a significant reputation in his heart.

This man was emanating an intensely dense aura of Blade's Menace. However, not a single person was able to grasp even the slightest hint from him.

Hence, he had finally known the real reason behind why Gu Xi's father went out of his way to defend this man. Since by interacting with him for a short and brief moment, Zhou Yan knew he was never the type to harm Gu Yan with such a brutal method!

"Hopefully so," Yang Qingtan replied.

After he replied, he proceeded to casually turn around and walk toward the direction of the main hall.

At this moment, the lady in red who stood beside Yang Qingtan glanced over at Zhou Yan curiously as if she was puzzled by why such a person would be valued so highly by Yang Qingtan.

As the Elder Guardian of the Complex of Treasures, no news would be unheard by her and she was aware of everything about Zhou Yan. As a result, she was confused by Yang Qingtan's refusal to acknowledge the Lord of the Xie family and Xiao Lan but had instead fully acknowledged and greeted useless trash with respect.

She had plenty of questions in her heart, and most probably all the scholars who had spectated this exchange would too. However, she never probed further.

...

When Zhou Yan left, the entire Complex of Treasures returned to its much peaceful state. The environment never changed due to Zhou Yan's absence.

Both Xiao Chaner and Xiao Liner were slightly depressed now. However, Xiao Lan's entire expression was extremely bitter.

"This young man, Yang Qingtan, who in the world does he think he is? Greeting a useless trash with respect and having the audacity to ignore our presence! I am utterly furious!" Xiao Lan exclaimed.

"Cease your anger, sister Lan, the glory of the Yang family has not faded away yet. Just allow them to be as arrogant as they want for now," the Lord of the Xie family, Xie Xikun replied with a cold chuckle.

"The main reason for him greeting that trash was perhaps the assumption of that trash being on par or close to his power level, having the ability to infuse and condense the ocean of Qi and unleash his full potential! However, he was completely oblivious to the fact that Zhou Yan was already a useless piece of trash. This meant there is no way for him to even compare to his full potential, right?"

Xie Feng interrupted at that moment.

Intense feelings of envy fumed in his heart after he had seen Zhou Yan offer the gift of the Armor of Absolute Invincibility. He himself did not even have one in his possession, and useless trash like him was able to so casually afford three as a gift!

This made him exceedingly furious and jealous of the immense wealth Zhou Yan had access to.

Useless trash like Zhou Yan was unworthy of such wealth.

"Sister Lan, Xie Feng speaks the truth. Don't let yourself be bothered by this matter," said Xie Xikun.

Xiao Lan nodded and her mood brightened.

…

"I'm so sorry, brother Zhou Yan…"

Gu Xi, who was flying alongside Zhou Yan, apologized with an extremely remorseful tone.

"This has nothing to do with you, but I'll have to know. How much have you told them about my matters?"

Initially, Zhou Yan did not mind exposing his raw strength and powers. However, after knowing both the Zhou and Xiao family had formed such an alliance, he wished to keep his true potential hidden for some time.

"I've said nothing. Father told me they were not the same as they once were all those years ago. However, I was a little skeptical, and assumed it was the changes in personality with age... but after I returned from my master's sect, and all the matters that were going on with my family, I never had much contact with them.

"Since you were still in solitary confinement, I went out to search for them and told them that you were here and they've waited for you at my house.

"Regarding the matters which concerned you, I've told them nothing. I thought these things were only up to you to share. Never did I expect this thought alone has kept me from doing something that I would regret for the rest of my life."

Thus, it was only after Gu Xi, who explained everything that had happened beforehand, did Zhou Yan understand that his Uncle Gu Yan had already known all this time that the Xiao family had changed.

However, he assumed it was kept from him to shield him from the potential hurt he might feel, in addition to his dislike of gossiping behind a person's back.

Zhou Yan understood who Gu Yan truly was. Hence, he was able to clearly see through this entire incident.

"Yes, then that would be excellent. That means, in the next twenty days, I would temporarily be a useless piece of trash. I will now be able to use this time to practice the knowledge of the Blade's Menace that I've been recently enlightened by," lamented Zhou Yan.

"Blade's... Blade's Menace? Brother Zhou Yan, have you already been enlightened by the knowledge of the Blade's Menace?" Gu Xi responded with a shocking expression.

It shocked her that much that her entire body trembled.

"Yes indeed, I have been enlightened during my time spent in solitary confinement, but since it wasn't exactly the right time to speak of this news, I intended to share it at a much later time. Now it seems, I have indeed made the right choice, or else, if they had learned about it, I'd assume I would never be able to be at ease," lamented Zhou Yan once more.

"Sigh…"

Gu Xi let out a frantic sigh because the only thing she was unable to understand was that the purpose for both her sisters' training was to be with brother Zhou Yan since that was the promise they had made back then. However, after they had begun training, had they forgotten about their goals? Perhaps, they had gotten greedier and could no longer look up to the brother Zhou Yan from their memories?

Her sadness was not for Zhou Yan. Instead, it was directed at the choices both Xiao Chaner and Xiao Liner had made.

"Don't sigh, alright, I love how you look when you smile. Later, when we're back at the hidden chambers, can you put on your spiritual affinity armor for me to look at?"

Zhou Yan took a deep breath to clear his mind of the puzzling thoughts from earlier. He told Gu Xi with a smile.

"Alright."

Gu Xi's cheeks were slightly blushing when she thought about the romantic potential they had shared in the past. She now looked even more stunning and adorable.

…

The outer bounds of the Complex of Treasures, The City of Heavenly Prophecies.

"Hey, aren't those the infamous twin beauties of the Xiao family? How did they both possibly have the financial abilities to shop here, let alone the time and mood? Could it be that they're both selling their bodies?" a provocative voice yelled.

"Hahaha, it's possible. If they do not sell their bodies, how else do you think the Xiao family would regain their glory days?" Another mocking and provocative voice spoke while chuckling.

"You imbecile, ignorant scums. Both Liner and Chaner had become a pupil of the Sword's Master of Smelting, and they had received insurmountable support in training. How dare you people from the Xu family act so arrogantly?" 

Before Xiao Liner or Xiao Chaner had a chance to speak, Xie Feng stood up and glared at the two men sinisterly.

As he spoke, a dark ray of light formed in his hands. In an instant, two beams of Blade's Essence that emanated a cold and chilling aura were unleashed.

"Swoosh…"

The rays of the Blade's Essence shot out with immeasurable speed, and before both the fat and slender looking young men in grey robes could react, they were instantly decapitated.

Due to the sudden impact from that momentum, their lifeless heads shot up into the sky and spun around twice before hitting the ground.

It was only at this moment did both the gaping holes of their necks shot out a fountain of blood in unison.

Their blood-curdling shrieks of horror stopped. Their stiffened bodies collapsed onto the ground while twitching a couple of times.

"Did you see that sister? The ones who had insulted and bullied us, the lords of the Xu family, had thought so little of master Xie Feng. I believe you now realize that you would rather have a strong pillar of support behind you, and with that, you will never be bullied again. That alone is an irrefutable fact! Do you still think we've made the wrong choice?" Xiao Liner questioned with a smile.

Xiao Chaner had a complicated expression on her face. She sighed quietly and did not reply.

"Liner speaks the truth. That brat is a useless piece of trash, and still he acted so arrogantly. Not to mention, his audacity to pretend to act the way Zhou Wangchen used to. This fool does not know the horrors of death! It would be a miracle for people like him to survive!" Xiao Lan cackled repeatedly while she spoke.