That wealthy merchant was named Li Bincheng, the richest man in Yongdi City.
He arranged for Wen Li and Yao Dai to stay in a side courtyard of the Li Manor, entertaining them with lavish food and drink.
Watching Yao Dai tear through the feast on the table like a starved ghost, Wen Li, who was elegantly sipping tea, shook her head in disdain.
“Eat slowly. Do not be uncouth.”
Yao Dai blushed. The chicken drumstick in her mouth tasted so savory, but she had no choice but to take it out reluctantly before replying.
“Master, I haven't eaten anything good in year—”
Before she could finish, Wen Li set down her teacup with refined grace, yet her chopsticks moved so fast they blurred into afterimages as she snatched up dishes from the table.
Aside from being graceful, it was hardly any better than Yao Dai's display.
Yao Dai: “...”
Telling me to eat slowly... you're just afraid I'll snatch food from you!
Seeing dishes vanish before Wen Li in the blink of an eye, Yao Dai hurriedly used both eyes and hands to dive back in.
Within half a shichen.
Yao Dai: “Burp! Ah, that hits the spot.”
Wen Li: “Burp... The flavor was mediocre, barely acceptable.”
Master and disciple sat back-to-back, their bellies slightly protruding, utterly at ease with looks of pure contentment.
Plates were already stacked half a meter high on the table, terrifying the servants who came to clear the food.
If they kept eating like this, wouldn't rumors spread that the Li Manor had bloated two cultivators to death over a single meal?!
Had they not seen the two still moving, the servants would have truly gone to fetch the master of the house to check if they were still breathing.
After eating, the two had just stepped out into the courtyard for a stroll to aid digestion when someone came to invite them to the main hall.
They were the last to arrive. Upon entering, they saw quite a few cultivators of extraordinary bearing already seated—eight in total, six men and two women. Seeing that Wen Li was young and accompanied by a child, those cultivators paid her little mind.
On the contrary, the wealthy merchant Li Bincheng personally rose to welcome Wen Li and invite her to sit.
“Daoist Wen Li, please sit here. We are about to begin.”
Wen Li nodded faintly and took a seat.
Yao Dai had a seat as well. Though young, she kept her spine straight; Master had told her that when away from home, one's status was self-made, and one must never show weakness.
“Wen Li... Your name is Wen Li?”
“Could it be... that person?”
“Her?”
The moment Li Bincheng called out Wen Li's name, the expressions of the cultivators seated in the hall shifted drastically. Their sharp, stunned gazes shot toward Wen Li, a tremor of intense agitation rippling through their eyes.
It was as if they were trying to decipher something from her.
Their faces clearly held looks of anticipation and solemn reverence.
Young Yao Dai blinked in surprise, her eyes soon sparkling as her lips curved up. So what Master had said back when taking her in was true! She really was the top of the Aptitude Ranking, known to everyone in the cultivation world!
So imposing, so incredible!
She had truly hugged a golden thigh!
“This...”
Li Bincheng was thoroughly bewildered, having no idea why they reacted this way. Could there be past grudges between them?
That would complicate things.
Just as Li Bincheng was about to step forward to mediate—
“My name is indeed Wen Li, but there are many under heaven who share the same name. Fellow Daoists, please do not mistake me for someone else.”
Wen Li, the focus of everyone's scrutiny, merely uttered a calm remark without arrogance or servility, not even lifting her eyelashes.
Hearing this, the cultivators' expressions shifted repeatedly—some doubtful, some suspicious, and some relieved.
Looking at Wen Li's appearance, she seemed barely twenty.
Even if the number one on the Aptitude Ranking was a Tribulation Transcendence patriarch capable of reversing their youth, they would never sit here for a mere three thousand mid-grade spirit stones. What difference was that from begging?
Utterly impossible!
It had to be an accidental coincidence of sharing the same name.
“It seems we were mistaken.”
One young man in a brown robe offered an apologetic smile.
Another young man beside him in a purple robe frowned, his tone cold and solemn.
“Since you are a cultivator, do you not know the weight of this name? Observing your dim complexion and the gloom lingering between your brows, I fear you cannot bear the destiny this name carries. It would be best to change your name early on, lest your fate be fraught with misfortune.”
Wen Li, the top of the Aptitude Ranking. No matter how many brilliant geniuses rose and fell on that ranking over the past ten thousand years, she alone remained unmoved, yet not a single person had ever seen her.
She was like an insurmountable peak towering over the heads of all cultivators, enigmatic and unfathomable.
When cultivators stepped onto the Dao, they were inevitably proud and conceited; scarcely any did not dream of surpassing her to prove their own talent. Yet only when they truly began cultivating did they realize just how terrifying and monstrous was the talent to achieve Foundation Establishment within a single month of entering the Dao.
Even the standout prodigies from the One Hall and Three Palaces would have to address her as a “genius” if they ever met her.
Unsurpassable and unseen, this figure had become a boundary stone in the hearts of most cultivators.
Or even a revered idol to gaze upon with admiration.
A bit like toxic solo stans.
Yao Dai was confused. Wasn't Master that Wen Li? Why didn't she admit it?
Sensing the faint hostility coming from that man, she couldn't resist wanting to speak up in defense, only for Wen Li to speak before she could.
“May I know your esteemed father's honorable name?”
The purple-robed man clasped his hands behind his back, looking proud.
“My father is Lin Erhe.”
“What a coincidence. From now on, I shall be called Lin Erhe.”
“...”
A dead silence fell over the hall.
Yao Dai, being young, couldn't help letting out a pfft, which erupted into loud laughter.
Instantly, the hall became even deadlier silent.
“Scoundrel! How dare you humiliate my father!”
The purple-robed cultivator turned green with rage. He slammed the table, jumped to his feet, drew his longsword, and thrust it straight toward Wen Li.
“Wait, wait, Daoist Lin, hold on! Daoist Wen Li spoke without thinking. Please quell your anger, Daoist Lin, and let it go for this old man's sake.”
Li Bincheng hurriedly intervened.
“You were the one who wanted me to change my name. Now that I actually did, you're displeased and even drawing a sword to stab me. Fellow Daoist, you certainly have quite the temper. If anyone should quell their anger, it ought to be me showing magnanimity and letting it pass. Master Li, I forgive his reckless tongue, so you needn't be put in an awkward position.”
Yet Wen Li showed no restraint whatsoever as she continued speaking.
Yao Dai followed her example, placing her hands on her hips to retort, pulling a maddening face.
“Exactly, exactly! Clearly, this purple sweet potato demon was the one who was rude first! What right does he have to meddle with my master's name? He even cursed my master with a short life—my master will live to a ripe old age of a hundred!”
“...”
The corner of Wen Li's mouth twitched. Having lived for ten thousand years, hearing someone wish her to live to a hundred was indeed truly a curse.
Yet her wonderfully filial disciple, Yao Dai, was still puffing out her chest with immense pride.
Wen Li had no choice but to reach out and pinch her mouth shut. “When adults quarrel, children shouldn't copy. Although this fellow Daoist is indeed draped in purple and wretched as a rat, you still mustn't speak so crudely. It offends decency.”
“...” Your words aren't any better!
Everyone else in the hall was rendered speechless by this master and disciple, who collaborated so seamlessly to mock him with thinly veiled insults.
Truly worthy of being master and disciple.
“Ah! Today, I will definitely beat both of you into rats!”
Driven completely mad with rage, the purple-robed cultivator swung his sword and lunged toward Wen Li to hack her down.
“As if I'd fear you! I am human, so how could I turn into a rat? If I actually became a rat, I'd really think quite highly of you.” Wen Li even looked rather expectant.
She scooped up Yao Dai and retreated behind the crowd.
“Hey! Swords have no eyes, watch out!”
“Ah, aim properly, don't hack the wrong person!”
Hiding behind the crowd, the two twisted their waists to the left one moment and dropped low to the right the next, dodging with outrageously flashy footwork. The cultivators caught in front wore horrified expressions, terrified the blade might pierce them instead.
“Hey! Hey!”
Careful not to poke them!
The crowd had no choice but to twist and sway left and right along with them, creating an utterly bizarre and comical spectacle.
“Hold on.”
Suddenly, the young cultivator in brown-and-gold Daoist robes who had spoken at the beginning made his move.
He merely reached out and squeezed the purple-robed cultivator's wrist, and the spiritual energy the man had been gathering was forced to disperse.
Rate on N.U.
