'Just kill that idiot! He cheats on you at every turn!! How can you call yourself a cultivator?! What is so good with him anyway?! Even his hair is blue!!'
The latest chapter of the "I Got Betrayed by Celestials, Was Cast out From Heavens, but by Using My Peerless Blacksmith Skills I Will Get Everything Back. Celestials, Feel My Wrath! Heavens, Bow Before Me! I Am the Peerless Divine Blacksmith God!" featured yet another disappointing apology from Yu Xian, the main character. The pitiful female lead accepted his apology with tears, yet again.
'Ugh. How many wives is this guy going to get?!?! What's the point?! Someone should just turn him into a eunuch!!!'
Reading that spiritual jade rectangle had become Wen Jiayi's daily routine about 5 years ago. She had tried to destroy it many times, but her efforts couldn't even scratch it. A primordial era artifact was truly something else.
Wen Jiayi threw the jade rectangle away. The satisfying crunching sound from the wall was her only consolation from today's chapter. A few minutes later she picked up the jade slip and carefully hid it inside her storage ring. She didn't hate the story, she just hated the main character's unfaithfulness. 13 wives in 1888 chapters! Clearly, the only solution was castration with a dull knife.
Although she liked to complain, she still enjoyed the story very much. The experience it offered was unique. It wasn't even a novel. It relied on stylized images with texts embedded in floating bubbles. Compared to the art that Wen Jiayi could produce, the images could only be considered pitifully primitive. However, they still had their own charm, and on the whole, gave a sense of consistency.
Wen Jiayi gave the name of 'Graphic Novel' to this unique medium.
*Sigh* 'I'll just cultivate until tomorrow...'
The graphic novel jade rectangle followed its rules to a maddening degree. Only one chapter could be read per day and the next chapter wouldn't unlock unless the previous one was read. She couldn't 'stockpile' chapters. She couldn't use her servants either. As far as she understood from the 'license' agreement, the jade slip was 'soulbound' to her, and if she released that bind, the jade rectangle would reset and the graphic novel would start over.
Little Jiayi, why don't you join this old man for a cup of tea. There is something we need to discuss…|
The mildly annoyed mood of Wen Jiayi turned into pure anger after hearing that particular phrasing her father used. She used her spiritual sense to locate the culprit.
"You even dare to use that same courtyard?!"
There was a story and a promise behind her reaction.
Wen Jiayi compressed her spiritual power and sent it to the direction of her father. The power of the Immortal Realm was nothing to scoff at, Wen Jiayi wasn't an ordinary Immortal Realm expert either. The surroundings between her cultivation chambers and the courtyard chosen by her father immediately vaporized. Not even the reinforced protection array could save the Wen palace.
The blood-curdling screams in the distance were automatically filtered by Wen Jiayi. She was long used to these matters before even reaching 3rd stage of the Qi Condensation realm. Cries of some servants didn't matter to her.
The destructiveness of Wen Jiayi's Poison Qi was a gruesome sight to behold, even by the standards of the Wen family. Any attack done by her would naturally be imbued by her Poison Qi unless she put in an extra effort not to. At this moment, she couldn't be bothered by such trivialities.
Of course, neither her Poison Qi nor the Immortal Realm level attack could harm her father. Perhaps if she could inject the Poison Qi directly into his father's bloodstream, then it may have some effect.
In any case, Wen Jiayi was only making a point by fulfilling her promise.
Wen Yahui's face inadvertently twitched after seeing the aftermath. He could've stopped his daughter, but that would've only made things worse.
Sit.|
Her father's nonchalant behavior only served to further enrage Wen Jiayi. She started to condense her spiritual power again, but this time her father forcibly dispersed her attack.
Sit.|
"Or what, are you going to make me?"
Wen Jiayi spoke with a dangerous tone. She was far away from that accursed courtyard, but her father was a higher being, he could hear her even if he didn't want to.
*Sigh*. When did this old man ever make you do anything? Come, this is important for you.|
"Is it important for me, or the family?"
Wen Yahui glanced at the ruins of the Wen palace.
This palace was built by your great-great-grandfather about forty million years ago. Thousands of artists worked for centuries to create the work of art that you've destroyed. The materials were gathered from thousands of different worlds, countless life essences of great beasts and demons were used. It was said that as long as this palace stood tall, the Wen family would never falter.
How would you define this palace's worth?|
Wen Jiayi narrowed her eyes but still answered the question.
"It's worthless."
Wen Yahui nodded at his daughter. The palace was only a symbol. It didn't have any intrinsic value. The Wen family could construct a thousand more, they probably had thousands more already.
Wen Jiayi understood the message of her father and reluctantly teleported to the remains of the courtyard.
Good. You can still control your temper. This old man is impressed.|
Seeing his daughter's furious glare, Wen Yahui smiled.
Soon, you won't be the Wen family heir any longer. You will be the head instead. A long time ago this old man told you this day would come.|
He sighed with emotion as he continued.
Jiayi. The Wen family is too big. There are too many factions, too many interests. Your cultivation is still too low, and with your constitution, you will require many resources. You've heard all of this the last time we met here. Did you make any arrangements of your own?|
Wen Jiayi lightly shook her head and reluctantly sat down on a chair created by Wen Yahui.
The family exists to serve the head. Otherwise, why bother with dealing with those weaklings? But your constitution is unique. The resources you'll require will increase exponentially from this point on. Your uncles and aunts know this. Can you deal with that when I enter seclusion?|
"I wouldn't be here if I couldn't. I don't need the help of that wretched Shen family. It's a good thing that disgusting Shen Xing died before meeting me. I wouldn't have been so merciful. Don't have any ideas about the Shen's anymore. This will be your final warning."
Wen Yahui raised both his hands as if he were admitting his defeat.
I only asked you to think about it. The decision was always yours to make. You were never officially engaged. But that's all in the past now...|
"Hmph."
'Still arguing semantics?! Old fart, do you think I won't poison you?'
Ehm. This time though, the situation is different. No, no. We've cut our ties with the Shen's completely. The Long family was quite adamant on that one. Understandable, considering their circumstances, but their insistence wasn't ordinary. The engagement was nearly called-off just because I made some off-hand comments...|
The mention of the Long family successfully distracted Wen Jiayi. The heir of the Wen family would need to pay special attention to the movements of other ancient families.
'The Shen's are about to become the aggressors and the forces they're mobilizing are abnormal. This settles it. Something happened between those families. The Long family, or rather, their matriarch, would never care for war under normal circumstances.
Siding with the Shen's can become a pressure valve if the relationship with the Long's becomes undesirable. Good, at least the old fart still knows enough to leave some room for me.'
The only thing that worried Wen Jiayi was a single word that her father chose. Her pink eyes shook after realizing she nearly bit the bait.
"...Engagement?"
The official announcement was made yesterday. Thousands of families and sects sent their congratulations. Their good wishes and gifts were stored in the small treasury. Do check them out later. Especially that little black box.|
Father and daughter stared into each other's eyes. It was at that moment, Wen Yahui's intuition started ringing alarm bells. Fortunately, he was going into seclusion soon. She couldn't stay angry for more than a few thousand years. Surely...
"You…"
Wen Yahiu's previously relaxed tone suddenly turned cold. Carrot had to be accompanied by the stick.
I've given you 17 years to find your own opportunity. In that time, Shen Xing died twice. Do you expect me to leave the future of the family to chance? You were never a naive little girl, you should be able to understand this decision.|
Of course, Wen Jiayi understood, which was why she felt an immense disappointment in her father. She had superior talent, superior intellect, and superior beauty than all her so-called peers. Not even the Li family b#$%& was her match! Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to gain her father's trust. Completely subduing the external factions of the Wen family wasn't enough.
A jade slip appeared out of nowhere and hovered in front of Wen Jiayi.
This is the information given to you by the Long family as proof of their sincerity.|
The spiritual energy inside the fragile-looking jade slip was abnormally active. Upon a cursory look, Wen Jiayi was sure that it was created by a true master. Someone far above the level of her father. She could tell thanks to living her whole life surrounded by higher beings.
17 years ago she had received a jade slip that supposedly had some information about Shen Xing. Calling it 'information' was already a stretch. The entire thing was filled with glamorous exploits of the Shen family. Not even Shen Xing himself, but his family! They acted as if the Wen family didn't know the rumors of how he could reincarnate with his memories intact. Reading the contents of that report was an exercise in frustration!
She fantasized about smashing the jade in front of her for a brief moment, but still sent her spiritual sense into it in the end.
'...
This... is certainly different...'
The thin jade slip started to chip away right after interacting with Wen Jiayi's spiritual sense. It was designed to be a single-use item, and considering the contents, Wen Jiayi wasn't surprised. Thankfully, her memory was perfect. Viewing the contents once was more than enough.
The first half of the contents were the background history of Han De's family, his sect, and detailed accounting of his life. The second half contained a detailed analysis of his cultivation, speculation about the arts he created, and speculation about the results of the Long 'family planning' program.
If Han De had read this report, he would've gaped at the horrifying lack of privacy that the cultivation idiot had endured. Everything he had done was recorded. How he searched for enlightened people, how he challenged potential MCs left and right in the name of keeping face, how he chased Chu Chen.
It was all there. Everything was there, except for three points.
Information about Han De's disciples was missing. Their existence and talent were acknowledged, but not even their names were disclosed. This report was only about Han De and Han De only.
The other two points that were missing were Han De's interaction with the cockroach, and his close encounters with the void beings.
Right before the end, there was a small section that contained the agreement between the Long and Wen families.
'All female children will join the Long family after birth? All male children's future mates will be managed by the Long family?!'
Wen Jiayi stared at her father with a bewildered expression. Wen Yahui chucked as a response.
The Long family fought hard for this deal. The benefits outweigh the disadvantages for us.|
Wen Yahui stared at the sky as if he was watching something. A moment later he shook his head.
I wouldn't have made this deal if it wasn't for your great-great-grandmother's wish. You can still back out without the Wen family suffering any penalties, I've made sure of that. The rest is up to you.|
Wen Yahui disappeared without any spiritual power fluctuations, leaving his daughter to her own thoughts.
This engagement was clearly disadvantageous for the Long family. Their only requirements were the clauses about the potential children, and cutting off all ties with the Shen family and all their allies. In return, they provided unconditional assistance and protection for Wen Jiayi and the Wen family under any circumstances.
'Are they looking down on the Wen family by making their 'protection' clause so broad? No, how could that old fart agree if that was the case? He cares more about his face than anything else. Not even the old hags' wishes could make him do it. Something is missing.'
The final section of the jade slate contained images of Han De. Marriage interview images were a personal taboo of Wen Jiayi. Under normal circumstances, anyone that knew a thing or two about her habits would know not to include any pictures. Especially naked ones. Wen Jiayi's Poison Qi wasn't something anyone could handle!
The images of Han De though, were surprisingly tasteful. Some of them were 'taken' while he was cultivating. Some while swinging his sword with a half-smile on his face. The most risqué one was taken in a bath, showing the lines of Han De's body in perfect light, while covering his private parts with steam.
'Every image seems to have a theme. Some show him as dependable, some as vulnerable. The Long family isn't a matriarchy for nothing. They know how to present their material.
Hmmm. His looks aren't bad either. I've seen far better-looking men though. This isn't enough to make me interested.'
Right after Wen Jiayi finished viewing the last picture, the jade slip disintegrated completely.
In the agreement, the Long family specifically told them they would agree to all challenges brought up by her. She was free to test Han De however she wished.
In the past, Wen Jiayi had put those demands against the Shen family because she knew the Shen family had no idea where Shen Xing was, and even if they did, they would find it demeaning to be tested by a woman. This was her way of lazily insulting the Shen's, but unexpectedly, the Long family preemptively agreed to everything. A troublesome development in the opposite way.