Ye Nü finished her practice, and the awkward sensations on Xu Xian's body immediately vanished. He sat down opposite Ye Wen and sighed, "Since Senior Brother went to that Martial Arts Assembly..." these increasingly bizarre ideas kept popping up!

He had long been familiar with the Purple Qi Heavenly Net technique and generally understood its theory, but he hadn't practiced it due to a lack of interest. The aura of the Purple Qi Heavenly Net was not originally like this; it was supposed to be an outwardly projected burst of energy. But with Ye Wen's modification, it was as if the original theory had been overturned, transforming into a continuous emanation of the Purple Qi Heavenly Net energy, centered on the self, thereby affecting everyone in the surrounding area. At this current stage, "Ye Wen’s cultivation is likely difficult to distinguish between friend and foe."

Ye Wen casually poured a cup of hot tea for Xu Xian as well, smiling, "It’s a pity that without reaching the Great Perfection stage of the Innate Realm..." circulating the energy like this is genuinely hard to bear. Otherwise, with my Body-Protecting Sword Qi and this Purple Qi Heavenly Net field, who could even come near me?" By then, the area within a one-zhang radius in all directions—front, back, left, and right—would be enveloped by his energy field. Anyone entering this range would be restricted, with their full strength reduced to maybe eight-tenths of its power." If the opponent was stronger than Ye Wen, it would be better, but against an equal foe, affected by this field...

What’s more, Ye Wen's Body-Protecting Sword Qi was gradually becoming proficient. By then, without moving his body, anyone who got close would be attacked by that sword energy—coming unseen and leaving without a trace. It would be utterly impossible to discern where the sword energy originated from, and who would dare rashly rush before him?

If they kept their distance, the Purple Heaven Dragon Qi Sword could then exert its maximum power.

"Oh my, thinking about it carefully, my fighting style is becoming increasingly shameless!"

Gently scratching his cheek, Ye Wen realized he had first made himself incredibly safe, and then started poking people from far away with sword energy. This style of fighting, in today's martial world, was probably unique.

"Hmm... no, that Nine Sword Immortal uses a similar approach! The circular energy shield he used at the Martial Arts Assembly was probably the Jade Cave Sect's ultimate technique, the Revolving Circular Barrier."

Chen Yizhong had only mentioned the name of this technique to him but hadn't elaborated, as Chen Yizhong hadn't actually seen it either. The day Ye Wen saw that constantly spinning circular shield, he deduced it was this wondrous skill.

"Just looking at it suggests it's an extremely powerful defensive technique... combined with the Nine Sword Immortal's skill in commanding nine flying swords, it truly has both offense and defense!" Furthermore, the Nine Sword Immortal displayed astonishing lightness skill that day—the sight of him taking one step and vanishing was truly terrifying.

He chatted with Xu Xian for a while longer, inquiring about the progress of his relationship with Rongrong. A few days prior, Old Master Xu finally learned that his youngest son had refused the marriage bestowed by the Emperor, claiming he was already engaged. Startled, he questioned Old Madam Xu, only to find she knew nothing either, so he sent someone to summon Xu Xian home for a detailed account.

Upon hearing that Huang Rongrong came from a bandit background, although the Old Master said nothing, his expression was quite grim. Old Madam Xu also commented, "Refusing the royal marriage isn't much of an issue; it’s correct for us to involve ourselves less in royal affairs. It’s just that this Miss Huang..."

In the end, the Old Master decided to meet her first. As it turned out, Xu Xian brought Huang Rongrong home to meet them a few days ago. Ye Wen had been so busy these past few days that he forgot to ask how it went.

He saw Xu Xian sigh and say, "Nothing!"

Looking at him like that, the outcome probably wasn't good. But Huang Rongrong hadn't been seen around these past few days; perhaps she was struck by some blow? He figured he could ask his junior sister later to find out the situation.

They chatted about other things for a while longer, learning that although Xu Xian had mastered the Celestial Heart Lotus Ring, its power was considerable, but it consumed true essence heavily and couldn't be used for long periods. Fortunately, his Governing and Conception Vessels were already clear, and his true essence flowed endlessly, meaning he only needed a short recovery time after using it for a while.

Ye Wen didn't have this problem. As for the speed of true essence recovery with Innate Purple Qi, there was currently no cultivation method more potent than his. Relying on the subtlety of his technique, he could freely unleash the Purple Lotus Force.

As for Ning Ruxue, her mutated Azure Lotus Formless Sword Qi had no such troubles at all. Ning Ruxue disliked the term Body-Shattering as unrefined, so she renamed it directly. Since the sword qi was azure, she called it Azure Lotus Formless Sword Qi.

However, whether it should be called Formless Azure Lotus Sword or Azure Lotus Formless Sword was something the girl hadn't decided, constantly agonizing over it and even asking Huayi for advice. Huayi, however, felt neither name was very good, simply standing by without interjecting.

As a result, the matter was deferred, and there would be no resolution soon. Ye Wen couldn't be bothered to meddle; after all, the technique belonged to Ning Ruxue, so she could name it whatever she wanted. He even playfully suggested an idea: she should make the flying sword qi emit a melodious sound, and then she could name the technique the Song of the Azure Lotus Sword.

"Ah? Is that okay?" Unfortunately, Ning Ruxue was utterly ignorant of music, so she had no clue how to make her sword qi emit pleasing sounds: "If there’s a sound as soon as I launch it, wouldn't it alert people?" "It doesn't matter! The sound of air breaking when the sword qi is unleashed is already quite loud; experts will notice anyway. For sneak attacks, the sword qi is something you can manipulate as you wish; you can simply command it to be silent." Unaware that his casual suggestions were causing Ning Ruxue to fret endlessly, even forgetting to eat, all because she wanted to fully cultivate her Azure Lotus Sword Qi and add a complete ultimate technique to the Shu Shan Sect.

Meanwhile, Huayi's cultivation was also gradually recovering. Ye Wen had intended to give the Celestial Heart Lotus Ring directly to Huayi, asking if she wanted to cultivate this technique, or if she preferred another? After all, the Shu Shan Sect still held the Lesser Formless Art and the Eight Desolations Six Harmonies Only I Am Honored Technique for her to practice.

Unexpectedly, some time ago, he had summoned a Heavenly Demon Manual. This technique from the Yin Gui Sect was practically tailor-made for Hua Yi, and its power was even greater when combined with the sword weapons Huayi had started practicing.

Ye Wen taught Huayi the introductory section of the Heavenly Demon Manual but didn't closely supervise, telling her to comprehend it herself. He would continue teaching if she succeeded in mastering it. His excuse was that he had devised this technique based on Huayi’s condition, and although he knew how to cultivate it, he didn't know what the actual experience would be like, so success depended on her own efforts.

Huayi didn't mind; she was simply delighted that Ye Wen had created a cultivation method tailored to her circumstances. She praised him profusely and, in her excitement, gave Ye Wen a quick kiss on the cheek, leaving behind a wisp of fragrance before running off.

"Why only the cheek?"

Touching his cheek, Ye Wen was greatly displeased. He had intentionally waited until his junior sister was absent to pass the technique to Huayi, expecting at least to exchange a passionate kiss, but instead, he was sent away so lightly.

"What a loss!"

Now, he was even more unrestrained with Huayi, especially after living on the mountain for this period. Ye Wen had confirmed his feelings: "This woman is mine!" In his leisure time, he couldn't help but take advantage of Huayi verbally.

Spring turned to summer, and several months flew by. Huayi had mastered the fundamentals of the Heavenly Demon Manual. The speed wasn't particularly fast, but what pleased Ye Wen was that after practicing the Heavenly Demon Manual, Huayi grew even more alluring. Coupled with the practice of sword weapons, her clothes were always adorned with flowing ribbons, making her resemble a celestial maiden about to take flight.

This made Ning Ruxue quite unhappy. She found Aunt Zhao again to help her procure several sets of new clothes, which she changed daily, much to Ye Wen's visual delight. The only frustration was that since the technique wasn't fully mastered, he couldn't make a move on her.

"Alas! A miscalculation!"

The days passed by teasing Huayi, playing with his junior sister, and chatting idly with his junior brother, all while instructing his disciples. Concurrently, the inner sect of the Shu Shan Sect accepted two more disciples, both from the Nangong family. One was the girl seen near the Northern Sword Peak, Nangong Zixin, who was personally brought to Shu Shan by her uncle, Nangong Tinghai, to apologize and request that the Shu Shan Sect take her in and teach her well.

Nangong Zixin had likely been thoroughly disciplined before arriving; her expression was grim, and her eyes were slightly swollen and red, suggesting she had cried quite a bit.

Ye Wen knew the moment he saw her that the girl didn't genuinely wish to join the Shu Shan Sect. However, when disciples from established aristocratic families sought discipleship, the matter was rarely simple. Refusing might cause more trouble, so he accepted it as a form of interest exchange and moved on.

Moreover, the Shu Shan Sect had very few disciples, especially within the inner sect. Only Ye Wen's lineage had any real continuity; Ning Ruxue and Xu Xian hadn't properly taken on apprentices. In the end, Nangong Zixin was made a disciple under Ning Ruxue, forming an implicit alliance with the Nangong family.

"This is my son, Huang'er; he is thirteen this year. I hope Sect