After Crossdressing and Provoking Long AoTian

Rongzhou, Cloudmarsh Sect.

This sect had always considered rainmaking its sacred duty. Though situated in Rongzhou’s arid climate, its grounds were enveloped in a fine, misty drizzle, lending the place a distinctive charm.

That charm was soon shattered by a scream.

“Young Sect Master, disaster! Chi Yantian is attacking the sect!”

“What?!” Kong Shanyu cried out. Flustered, he sprang forward with one hand pressed against the precious jade on his forehead. Strangely, he looked rather guilty. “W-why is he here? None of you tipped him off, did you?”

“No, absolutely not!” Sifeng and Siyu shook their heads repeatedly. “We wouldn’t dare tip him off, Young Master. He brought a weapon and looks much more threatening than usual. Those two cultivators we met before are with him too. He might truly be furious...”

The two hesitated before quietly urging, “Perhaps we should find the sect master first. It isn’t too late to confess.”

“I haven’t even done anything yet!” Kong Shanyu stiffened his neck. “I only made plans! I...”

His pupils abruptly widened, and he pointed into the sky in terror. “He’s here!”

Chi Yantian rode through the air on his Blazing Rhinoceros. He tipped his chin at Kong Shanyu and asked, “Kid, where’s your father? I’m looking for him.”

For once, Kong Shanyu did not have time to get angry about being called a kid. His gaze darted about as he tried to change the subject. “Y-you... Um...”

Chi Yantian gave him a strange look. “What’s wrong with him? It’s only been a few days. How did he forget how to speak?”

“Who forgot how to speak?” Kong Shanyu gathered his courage and raised his head. “H-how much do you know?”

Chi Yantian looked perplexed and was about to answer when Ye Chenyan stopped him.

Ye Chenyan gave Kong Shanyu a faint, knowing smile. “Why don’t you guess how much we know?”

Kong Shanyu swallowed. “Did you see the portraits?”

Yu Qingtang studied their guilty faces. He suspected that this brat had been planning yet another prank against Chi Yantian, so he joined Ye Chenyan’s bluff. Nodding as if he knew everything, he gave a confident hum.

“Confess and receive leniency. Resist and face severity. You’d better tell us everything.”

Kong Shanyu’s eyes widened in horror. “Y-you even know who I sent them to?”

“We know some of the names, but perhaps not all.” Ye Chenyan smiled inscrutably. “Why don’t we compare lists?”

Kong Shanyu’s face turned deathly pale. Trembling as though preparing to end his own life on the spot, he closed his eyes and asked, “What are you going to do?”

Yu Qingtang and Ye Chenyan exchanged a glance.

Ye Chenyan arched a brow. “That depends on how well you behave.”

Yu Qingtang spoke gently. “If you give us a complete confession without leaving anything out, perhaps we won’t tell your father.”

“I-I...” Kong Shanyu turned his head away, his face so pale that he looked ready to cry. “If you already know, why are you still asking me? All I did was draw his portraits and have them delivered to the major sects throughout the Nine Provinces to seek eligible female cultivators!”

“Huh?” Yu Qingtang stared at him in astonishment. “You’re trying to be his matchmaker?”

Ye Chenyan’s expression became strange. “Does that count as a bad thing?”

Chi Yantian stroked his chin thoughtfully. “It counts as a troublesome thing.”

“Didn’t the holy maiden say before that he was hopelessly dense and refused to find a partner? So I thought...” Kong Shanyu stole a glance at Chi Yantian. “Perhaps he’s afraid.”

Chi Yantian’s mouth fell open. “What? Afraid of whom?”

“His wife!” Kong Shanyu nodded with absolute certainty. “My father said that even the greatest hero under heaven can fall before a beauty! Plenty of heroes can decide the life and death of the Nine Provinces with a single word, yet they don’t dare utter a sound when their wives scold them!”

He pointed righteously at Chi Yantian. “He must be afraid! That’s why he pretends to have no interest in romance!”

“So I painted his portrait and sent it to female cultivators throughout the Nine Provinces. They’re all beautiful and exceptionally powerful. Ideally, I’ll find him a fierce beauty who can beat him once a day!”

The more Kong Shanyu spoke, the more excited he became. Perhaps he was already imagining the glorious sight of Chi Yantian being beaten by his wife.

Yu Qingtang fell silent. “That’s... awfully thoughtful of you.”

“Ahem.” Ye Chenyan smothered a laugh and draped an arm over Chi Yantian’s shoulder. After clearing his throat, he said, “I can see that this young brother has only your best interests at heart. If someone actually responds, then perhaps fate has brought you together. Why not meet her?”

“You want me to meet her?” Flames nearly burst from Chi Yantian’s nostrils. “Should I exchange a few moves with her and see whether she has the skill to fulfill his wish and beat me?”

Kong Shanyu hunched his shoulders and did not dare make a sound.

Siyu, however, noticed something odd. She lowered her voice and reminded Kong Shanyu, “Young Sect Master, it sounds as though... they didn’t know what you had done.”

“Huh?” Kong Shanyu looked stunned. “Weren’t you the ones who said he was here to make trouble for me?”

“We only saw him arrive in a hurry with a weapon...” Sifeng explained. “And some people have guilty consciences.”

Kong Shanyu slowly turned his head. “Then what are you actually here for?”

“I already told you. Summon your father.” Chi Yantian held up his Heavenly Fire Cult token. “I’m here to form an alliance.”

“An alliance?” Kong Shanyu looked bewildered. “Haven’t Cloudmarsh Sect and the Heavenly Fire Cult always been brother sects? Why would we need...”

“Not with me.” Chi Yantian pointed at Ye Chenyan. “With him.”

“It’s a little complicated. Just summon your father, and he’ll understand.”

Before long, a young man hurried over. He appeared to be in his early twenties and looked like a perfectly enlarged version of Kong Shanyu. Their blood relation was obvious at a glance.

“I am Kong Xian, sect master of Cloudmarsh Sect.” His gaze swept over the group, his expression inscrutable. “A young hero indeed. To have reached mid Out-of-Body at such a young age is extraordinary.”

Ye Chenyan laughed. “Sect Master, you’re extraordinary as well. You look so young, yet your son is already this big.”

“Heh.” The Cloudmarsh Sect master smiled elegantly. “You flatter me. My wife and I were childhood sweethearts, so we married and had this unruly boy early. He has caused all of you considerable trouble.”

Ye Chenyan turned toward Yu Qingtang.

Yu Qingtang raised the two kittens. “We have two.”

Ye Chenyan muffled a laugh. “I nearly forgot. I’m extraordinary too.”

He cupped his fist toward the Cloudmarsh Sect master. “I have come as the representative of Nanzhou’s Pleasure Sect in the hope of forming an alliance with Cloudmarsh Sect.”

“A heavenly calamity is approaching. We hope that all of us can stand united against our common enemy.”

Chi Yantian added, “My master has already instructed me to agree. Sect Master, I vouch for him in my capacity as the Heavenly Fire Cult’s holy son. You can trust him.”

“I naturally trust the holy son’s reputation.” Kong Xian nodded slightly. “However...”

His gaze flickered as he looked at Ye Chenyan. “Does this decision by the Heavenly Fire Cult suggest that the alliance will be led by Nanzhou’s Pleasure Sect?”

“Huh?” Chi Yantian looked astonished. “It means that too?”

Kong Xian laughed helplessly. “The holy son has always been straightforward, but I am obliged to ask.”

Ye Chenyan regarded him calmly. “It is merely an alliance. No one stands above or below another.”

Kong Xian narrowed his eyes in thought. No one rushed him.

Finally, he gave a small nod. “Do you intend to storm your way through every sect like this?”

Chi Yantian scratched his head. “We’re the ones asking them to form alliances. We can’t very well demand that they come to us.”

Kong Xian laughed. “In that case, why not remain here for a while? I will invite the sect masters in Rongzhou who maintain good relations with Cloudmarsh Sect. We can gather and discuss the matter together, saving you considerable effort.”

“Very well.” Ye Chenyan nodded and watched him leave.

Kong Shanyu had overheard the conversation but failed to grasp the full significance. All he understood was that they truly had not come to report his misdeeds, so he finally relaxed.

He then asked curiously, “You want to form an alliance with Cloudmarsh Sect?”

He frowned slightly. “Why didn’t Father agree immediately? If everyone under heaven formed an alliance, there would be no more pointless conflicts.”

“Maybe it’s an adult pride issue?” Yu Qingtang scratched his head. “Forming an alliance wouldn’t cause them any loss, but perhaps the request is so strange that it makes them suspicious.”

“Oh, right.” He curiously sidled up to Kong Shanyu. “Where are the portraits you drew for Brother Chi’s matchmaking? Let me see.”

“You didn’t deliberately make him ugly, did you?”

“No!” Kong Shanyu raised his head proudly. “I would never stoop to such a thing! I was even worried that if I made him ugly, the beauties wouldn’t want him!”

He swiftly pulled a portrait from inside his clothes, unfolded it, and showed it to Yu Qingtang. “Look. This one shows him as he usually appears, so he looks more relaxed.”

“Wow—” Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened. “It really does look like him!”

He held the portrait up and compared it with Chi Yantian. “Don’t worry, Brother Chi. He hasn’t embarrassed you. You look quite handsome.”

“And here’s one of him forging artifacts. Their artifact-refining office is so sweltering that no amount of rain clouds can lower the temperature. They generally work without shirts, just like their cult leader.”

“Wow—” Yu Qingtang chuckled. “I have no idea whether this one is accurate. I’ve never seen Brother Chi without his clothes...”

Ye Chenyan cleared his throat. “Ahem.”

Yu Qingtang raised a finger. “I’m merely curious. I don’t have evil thoughts about him.”

“Who could possibly have evil thoughts about our Brother Chi?”

Chi Yantian looked confused. “What evil thoughts? I’ve encountered plenty of bad people...”

Yu Qingtang regarded him benevolently. “Not that kind of bad person.”

Kong Shanyu’s eyes darted about. “Evil thoughts? Do you mean that sort of...”

Chi Yantian turned toward him. “If even I don’t understand, how could you? Children shouldn’t interrupt.”

Kong Shanyu flew into a rage and reached for the jade on his forehead. “I’ll fight you to the death!”

Sifeng and Siyu lunged forward to hold him down.

Chi Yantian folded his arms and watched with malicious delight. “Go ahead. Tear it off.”

“You’ve met Cult Leader Hongni. She was twelve when she lost her temper and tore off her jade to break through. She’s been stuck looking like that ever since. If she wants to look like an adult, she has to use an illusion. She’s already reached Integration, and she still hasn’t grown.”

“If you aren’t afraid, go ahead and tear it off.”

Kong Shanyu froze.

He slowly lowered his hand, conflict written across his face. “No. I-I still want to grow taller.”

Chi Yantian scoffed.

While they were noisily bickering, Ye Chenyan suddenly glanced toward the mountain gate.

Without any of them noticing, the mist around Cloudmarsh Sect had thickened. It now almost completely concealed the entire sect.

Someone had quietly activated the sect-protecting grand array.

He had known this trip would not go so smoothly. The only question was whether this was Kong Xian’s decision or someone else’s...

A maid drifted gracefully toward them and bowed. “Honored guests, thirteen sect masters of Rongzhou have arrived in response to our invitation. The sect master has ordered a banquet prepared and requests the pleasure of your company.”

Ye Chenyan withdrew his gaze and laughed. “Why not hold the banquet on your martial-practice platform? I suspect there’ll be a fight later, and it would be a shame to wreck the main hall.”

The maid’s gaze flickered, but her reply remained neither servile nor overbearing. “I will convey your suggestion to the sect master. Honored guests, please follow me.”

Ye Chenyan strode at the front of the group, his spear already in hand.

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