Zhou Yan removed the Illusory God Mask, a bright smile on his face, and asked Leng Yue, "Teacher Leng Yue, what brings you here? This isn't the way back to the academy."
Leng Yue also removed her mask, revealing a stunning, enchanting face.
"Who were those people? Why did they want to kill you?" Leng Yue didn't answer Zhou Yan's question, instead asking him in return.
"How would I know who they are? They tracked me from the trade fair and outside. I figured they weren't good people. They're dead anyway, so why bother finding out who they were?" Zhou Yan replied.
Leng Yue heard this and asked, "It must be because you revealed too many things that tempted them at the trade fair, otherwise, they wouldn't have risked coming here to attack you."
"It wasn't much, just a few hundred cultivation techniques and skills, then some materials were traded, and a few buildings and items were purchased."
Zhou Yan shrugged, answering nonchalantly.
Leng Yue immediately asked with curiosity, "What was the quality of those items?"
"The hundreds of cultivation techniques were all S-grade or above, the materials were six-star or above, and the buildings were also S-grade or above. I also traded for two spirit artifacts. That's not much, is it?" Zhou Yan said casually, then looked at Leng Yue innocently.
After hearing this, Leng Yue's eyes turned into an expression of exasperation, the kind known as a 'byakugan' in some contexts. Whether Zhou Yan could understand it was up to his own perception.
Zhou Yan was also somewhat helpless. Those items truly weren't that precious to him, especially since the only item of R-grade quality was a single prop.
In his eyes, anything not of R-grade quality wasn't truly a treasure, just something decent.
Following this, Leng Yue said, "You know, I really want to beat you up right now and then rob you blind."
Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Actually, I have a better idea. Would you like to know?"
"What idea?" Leng Yue asked, suddenly curious.
"You can pledge yourself to me! That way, we'll be family, and I'll naturally give you whatever you want, won't I?" Zhou Yan said boldly.
Leng Yue's eyes again adopted the 'byakugan' attack mode. However, to Zhou Yan, this expression was quite endearing.
After all, Leng Yue wasn't just his teacher; she was also a beauty. A good person like himself liked seeing beautiful women look at him helplessly.
He wouldn't speak so casually to anyone else, but with Teacher Leng Yue, he never truly saw her as just a teacher.
"Didn't see many treasures above R-grade at the trade fair this time, did you?" Leng Yue suddenly smiled, a captivating, world-shattering smile that even drew Zhou Yan's attention. Don't misunderstand; it was pure admiration, not malicious intent.
"That's true. Logically, at a trade fair like this, to not see a single treasure above R-grade is quite baffling." Zhou Yan was genuinely confused, and even Ye Bufan didn't know the reason.
Leng Yue smiled at this and said, "Because items of R-grade quality and above are in the advanced section of the trade fair. Where you were was the regular section, so naturally, you wouldn't see many top-tier items."
"There's such a thing? That's such a shame. I was hoping to trade for some top-tier treasures. Truly disappointing." Zhou Yan was indeed disappointed. In the regular section, even spirit artifacts were rarely seen.
"Next time, teacher will take you to the advanced trade fair. There are many top-tier treasures there, definitely including what you need. It's a shame I didn't have many good items to trade this time, what a pity."
Leng Yue sighed, thinking of the numerous treasures there and the missed opportunities due to not having top-tier items to trade.
"Teacher, you're too good to me. How should I repay you? Perhaps I can pledge myself to you." Zhou Yan was truly happy.
"Alright," Leng Yue suddenly replied.
Zhou Yan was surprised; he hadn't expected Leng Yue to respond like that.
However, Leng Yue's lips curved slightly, and then she said, "You wish."
"Everyone appreciates beauty. Why think of ugly things when you can think of beautiful ones? I don't have that kind of hobby." Even though Zhou Yan said this, Leng Yue felt he was indirectly complimenting her.
"You young man, with your silver tongue, you must have deceived quite a few girls. This trick is a bit too green to fool your teacher," Leng Yue said languidly as she reclined on the seat, her mood seemingly quite good.
Zhou Yan immediately asked, "Then how can one deal with a beauty like you, Teacher?"
"Scram!"
Leng Yue replied irritably.
"Scram into your heart? I don't mind." Zhou Yan seized the opportunity, leaving Leng Yue speechless. This boy was too good with his sweet talk.
...
...
Zhou Yan stretched. This battle had once again increased his combat experience. He then asked, "Elder Tai Shang Wang Yixian is so powerful! Can you tell me more about him? I'm very curious."
Speaking of this, Leng Yue's expression turned reverent. "Actually, I don't know much either. I only recently became a teacher, and I learned most things from my own mentor."
Zhou Yan was very surprised upon hearing this, "So Teacher Leng Yue is also teaching students for the first time."
This explained why Leng Yue didn't have much of a teacher's demeanor and could joke with him so much. It seemed Leng Yue wasn't very old.
"I transitioned from a true disciple to a teacher. Guiding you newcomers is more than enough," Leng Yue replied.
This meant Leng Yue was in the same cohort as Wei Ning and Wei Yu. However, Leng Yue's strength was clearly much greater than those two sisters. Perhaps Leng Yue's talent was superior, or she had stayed among the true disciples for a longer time.
Seeing Zhou Yan's expression, Leng Yue seemed to understand what he was thinking. "Speaking of which, your luck is indeed not good, to have incurred the wrath of junior sisters Wei Ning and Wei Yu. If I hadn't stopped my biased master, you would have likely received a thorough beating."
Zhou Yan was surprised to learn this; those two sisters and Leng Yue's master were the same person.
Zhou Yan suddenly realized he was quite fortunate, with many people secretly helping him from behind the scenes.
"Your master is so protective, and what happened with me was an accident, not intentional. You know that." Zhou Yan quickly explained.
"It's precisely because of that that I stopped my master. Otherwise, do you think I would have bothered with you?" Leng Yue looked at Zhou Yan and continued, "If not for this, with the charm of my two junior sisters, they would have long since actively sought someone to teach you a lesson."
Zhou Yan was deeply moved and looked at Leng Yue seriously. "You really could consider pledging yourself to me. That way, I can repay your kindness."
Leng Yue's 'byakugan' attack began again.
Afterward, Leng Yue told him a few stories about Wang Yixian, each one grand enough to fill a million-word novel for posterity.
Zhou Yan couldn't help but sigh, thinking that to live life, one must strive to be like Wang Yixian.
Upon returning to the academy, Leng Yue told Zhou Yan to go back on his own. Zhou Yan spread his Yin-Yang wings and returned to his residence.