Chapter 1840: Chapter 1840 The Match
"Don’t be scared! I believe he is just trying to intimidate you!" He Lianqiang told He Lianxiu after they left the group.
"Why would he want to intimidate me?" He Lianxiu asked, felling confused.
"Ah, men... I understand them well. They need to project a sense of superiority when they are around women. You’re a princess with a higher status than him. If he cannot dominate you, how can he lead the family in the future? I think he just wants to assert his dominance," He Lianqiang explained.
"But I never want to repress him!" He Lianxiu defended.
"Men need to project domineering so they won’t get looked down. Although he lacks sophistication, he possesses strength. He could easily murder He Qianzhong. In addition to his strength and ability, he is rather attractive. I think he’s a good match for you!" He Lianqiang replied.
"Oh," He Lianxiu agreed and nodded her head.
Even though she was still queasy after seeing the horrific incident, she couldn’t help but feel jealous when she saw Ye Liuyun, Xuan Yuanling, and Xiao Yunfang laughing and chatting.
He Lianqiang went on, "You see, how could he attract the most beautiful women in the city if he wasn’t exceptional? Other people’s choices could be your clues, especially when you are unsure!"
He Lianxiu thought He Lianqiang’s statements made some sense.
"Shall we go back then?" she asked.
"What’s the rush? He is not going anywhere! Since we’ve walked away, we might as well greet the guests. Rushing back to him only shows your desperation." Lianqiang He proposed.
"But they look so happy in each other’s company. I’m afraid..."
He Lianqiang cut her off before she could finish her sentence, saying, "You should trust my ability to read people. There’s no lust in his eyes when he looks at them."
"Ye Liuyun is a true gentleman. Ordinary women don’t pique his interest. Even if he truly ends up marrying you and you become his concubine, he will not mistreat you." He Lianqiang confidently affirmed.
"Right!" He Lianxiu agreed noddingly.
He Lianxiu had always looked up and trusted He Lianqiang. Prince Liang was normally too busy to look after the two siblings, so He Lianqiang was the one who took care of her and guided her.
Despite his lack of dedication to his work, He Lianqiang had always dotted his sister and would do anything she asked for meticulously.
Getting to know one another and establishing rapport was typical at the beginning of the banquet as such.
Ye Liuyun was not interested in building rapport with others, yet he was approached by many.
While many young men took the initiative to approach Xuan Yuanling and Xiao Yunfang.
Then there were the bolder young ladies who approached Ye Liuyun for conversation.
Out of politeness, they would converse for a bit. For most of the time, they had entertained many who came approached them.
Ye Liuyun used his Divine Sense to survey the area and assessed that most of the people who moved around were rather weak.
The contenders, however, mostly remained seated quietly and were not known by many. Their strength, though, was notable.
Among their peers, they were considered outstanding. After assessing the people around him, Ye Liuyun was somewhat worried.
Because most of the people were not his opponents, if they truly fought. There were only five or six martial practitioners who had progressed to the fourth realm’s initial stage without considering their other strengths.
Even if Ye Liuyun considered heir other strengths, Ye Liuyun was confident he would win them if he put in a little effort.
Soon after, everyone sat down, and the waiters started bringing meals to the guests as the banquet officially started.
Following a few brief greetings, He Lianqiang and He Lianxiu announced the commencement of the banquet and gave the floor to the participating martial practitioners to introduce themselves.
The first to introduce themselves were the aristocratic princes of Regalty. In their speeches, they all exalted themselves and hinted about their influential family background.
"All of a sudden, I realized that you are the only young person in the Regalty worthy of being called a ’promising youth.’" Xuan Yuanling received Ye Liuyun’s telephatic message.
"Are you complimenting me?" Xuan Yuanling asked in return.
"I guess so! When compared to you, these people simply fall short!" Ye Liuyun laughingly added.
"You truly have a unique way of complimenting people! Well then, thank you, Commander Ye, for your praise!" Xuan Yuanling laughed in her reply.
Her words appeared teasing, but she was flattered by his compliment.
As Xiao Yunfang watched these contenders introduce themselves like clowns, she found it dull.
The introductory lesson quickly moved on to the more skilled martial practitioners. All of them merely stated their names before concluding. None of them were wasting time with unnecessary details.
When everyone had finished introducing themselves, Xuan Yuanling asked Ye Liuyun. "Can you manage them?"
"Of course!" Ye Liuyun confirmed. "That’s why I’m worried! What if I accidentally win the competition?!"
"Then you should concede early! Don’t tell me you feel ashamed to admit defeat just because you are a commander." Xuan Yanling intentionally asked.
"Obviously not! That’s just what I had in mind. To save time, I should surrender on the first round. I’m not interested in taking care of these privileged kids."
Ye Liuyun and Xuan Yuanling were having a telepathic conversation that was quite animated.
He Lianxiu was observing Ye Liuyun as well. She was envious of their occasional bursts of chuckle as she watched the two of them chat telepathically.
"He Lianqiang, look at them, they sure are having fun," she couldn’t help but complained to him.
He Lianqiang, however, casually consoled her. "They’re just friends chatting. If you want to, go and join them."
His entire focus was now on the youthful, privileged competitors who were provoking the other contender inside the stadium with pride. They even challenged those subdued martial artists with harsh remarks.
"He Lianqiang, we must still compete. Why don’t we get the party started with some practice?" One of the wealthy young contenders proposed the idea.
"Alright! Since you everyone are so enthusiastic, let’s start off with a round of friendship match!” He Lianqiang immediately consented.
The rich young contender clearly wanted to show off his own strength and went on the ring right away.
He was at the initial level of the third realm. He pointed at a martial practitioner who was eating and shouted, "You’ve never had such good food, have you? You can’t just eat so much for free. Come out and practice, help liven up the princess’s party."
Ye Liuyun chuckled discreetly, "This poor fellow, he picked the strongest one!"
That martial practitioner, like Ye Liuyun, had hidden his realm. He was, in fact, a strong warrior who achieved the initial fourth realm. Ye Liuyun took him seriously. He remembered him and knew that his name was Yu Xiaofeng, a team leader from the city guard.
He hadn’t given the princess a glimpse from the start to the finish, unlike other martial practitioners. It seemed that he didn’t care much about others but was here to enjoy the good food.
"No interest!"
The martial practitioner glanced at the rich young lad and replied indifferently, oblivious to his challenge.
"I suppose you’re just here to freeload?" The rich young lad kept provoking him, drawing laughter from the audiences.
But the martial practitioner didn’t bother about him and continued eating.
"Coward!" When the young man realized that his remarks would not incite the man, he was left with no other option. He shifted his focus to another potential opponent. Aside from Ye Liuyun, there was another young man who reached the initial level of the third realm.
He was forced to challenge that other young man since he dared not confront Ye Liuyun.
