Chapter 118: What the Ice Orchid Means
Yu Nianzhen opened his eyes and looked at Jiang Yue across from him.
It was already the second morning after the purification ritual, but the other was still in a deep meditative state.
’He seems to have realised something..., an epiphany, maybe?’ He thought.
However, there was no way to tell until Jiang Yue came out of the meditative state.
After looking at him for another moment, Yu Nianzhen stood up.
He checked the defence array to make sure it was still in place and then left the tent to look around.
"Fellow Daoist Yu, I was just looking for you." A voice called from his right.
The voice belonged to Wang Xue’er, and the young woman was rushing toward him.
"Fellow Daoist Wang, is there something?"
Wang Xue’er paused and looked at Yu Nianzhen.
They had known each other for more than a month, but she never got around to delivering her master’s message.
One of the reasons she couldn’t was that they never got a break since they met.
At first, it was the Corpse Yin sect cultivator. After that, they kept encountering situations with the Death Flower Ascension Front.
The second reason was that they didn’t have a chance to be alone.
Since they met, they were either with Jiang Yue, Bai Ruyue, or Xuan Ke.
Although Wang Xue’er knew there were no secrets between Yu Nianzhen and Jiang Yue, this was her master’s business.
She had promised discretion, and she meant to keep her promise.
Who Yu Nianzhen told after she delivered the message was not her business.
"Fellow Daoist Yu, I have been meaning to talk to you."
"Alright."
Yu Nianzhen had long been expecting this conversation.
Now that she wanted to talk, he didn’t beat around the bush and directly followed Wang Xue’er to the adjacent tent.
They entered the tent and sat across from each other.
When they were both seated, Wang Xue’er removed a pot from her storage ring and poured two cups of tea.
"Have some tea."
"Thank you."
Yu Nianzhen took the offered cup and took a sip.
In his previous life, old man Yu was keen on tea.
Although Yu Nianzhen didn’t particularly enjoy tea, he had accompanied the old man to drink tea frequently.
When he came to the Cangxing world, Yu Nianzhen had taken after his master and preferred wine over tea.
Drinking tea like this was rare, and he was surprised to find that he liked the tea offered by Wang Xue’er.
"This is good tea." He said.
"It is made from the three-petal ice leaf grown in our Ice Palace region. If fellow Daoist Yu likes it, I will give you a few kilogrammes to take back."
"This Yu will thank you in advance." Yu Nianzhen said and cupped his hands.
"There is no need for that."
She removed a large wooden box from her storage ring and placed it in front of Yu Nianzhen.
The box was sealed, but from looking at it, Yu Nianzhen guessed the box could hold at least five kilogrammes of tea leaves.
"I will thank you again."
Yu Nianzhen put the box away and looked at Wang Xue’er.
"Fellow Daoist Yu, please trouble you to bring my master’s message to your master."
Wang Xue’er removed another package from her storage ring.
This package contained a sealed letter and a small white jade bottle.
"Master?"
"My master is Ice Fairy, Bing Lan. Fellow Daoist Yu should have heard of her."
Yu Nianzhen had indeed heard the name from his master.
Back when master Yang revealed he had a fiancée, he also mentioned the fiancée’s name.
This name was none other than Bing Lan.
When he knew the letter and bottle were from his master’s fiancée, Yu Nianzhen didn’t dare to take them casually.
Although his master said he was ready to give up on the marriage, Yu Nianzhen was his disciple of five years.
He had learned to read the man, and he knew his master was reluctant.
No matter what master Yang said, he had long recognised the intended and was reluctant to give up now.
Unfortunately, he was unwilling, but strength was king.
The only way to justify his unwillingness was to have enough strength to fight for the woman he liked, but master Yang was weak now.
He couldn’t properly fight for her, and he worried he would drag her down even if they married.
"Can fellow Daoist Wang tell me what is happening in the Ice palace?" Yu Nianzhen asked without picking up the items.
When she heard the question, Wang Xue’er sighed and took a sip of tea.
"You may have heard the rumours about the birthday conference?" She finally asked.
"It is said that the palace master’s birthday will also be an engagement conference."
"This is true. It’s been more than fifteen years since master Yang was injured. Our Ice palace elders don’t expect master Yang to recover and want to take this chance to change my master’s marriage partner."
Yu Nianzhen clenched his hands, but his face was expressionless.
"What does your master mean?" He asked and looked Wang Xue’er in the eye.
"My master means for you to fight."
Yu Nianzhen was shocked when he heard that.
He looked at the young woman and prompted her to continue speaking.
"The first day of the conference will be the palace master’s birthday banquet, and the following six days will be a martial arts tournament."
"I have heard of this."
"My master means for you to enter and win that tournament."
Yu Nianzhen frowned when he heard that.
The information he had was too vague, which made him a little frustrated.
"My master is currently at the origin tempering realm, and master Yang’s realm fell to the peak of the origin tempering realm."
"The Ice Palace has decided that those eligible for the tournament must at least be at the origin tempering realm. If those above the origin tempering realm want to participate, they can only do so through representatives."
When he heard that, Yu Nianzhen felt his heart skip a beat.
If his master was an ordinary origin tempering realm cultivator, he could easily participate in this competition.
Unfortunately, his master was injured, and his body couldn’t stand the strain of continuous fighting.
Most importantly, his master couldn’t afford to lose this face.
As the former strongest in the Cangxing world, asking Yang Xu to compete with those he used to think of as juniors was humiliating.
Although his master would think it worth it if he liked his fiancée enough, Yu Nianzhen couldn’t see it.
However, he may have no choice in the matter.
At the moment, he was only at the peak of the origin forging realm.
Even if he encountered numerous opportunities and cultivated non-stop for the next ten years, he would barely make it to the first level of the origin tempering realm before the conference started.
Asking him to compete with other origin tempering realm cultivators could only be seen as a bad joke.
"Your master still wishes to marry my master?" Yu Nianzhen asked as he tried to organise his thoughts.
Although he was reluctant to entrust his master’s fate to other people, Yu Nianzhen was not optimistic about his realm.
With these thoughts in mind, Yu Nianzhen could only engage in small talk as he tried to figure things out.
"That is what my master wants." Wang Xue’er confirmed.
In the beginning, the palace master’s birthday was meant to be just a birthday.
However, Ice Fairy Bing Lan refused the Ice Palace’s arrangements to change her fiancé.
After several months of back and forth, both the ice palace and Bing Lan had to take a step back.
The Ice palace agreed not to make any decisions for the time being, and Bing Lan agreed to the tournament in ten years.
After that decision, Bing Lan wanted to represent herself in the tournament. She was confident in her strength and wanted to decide her own fate.
Unfortunately, her suggestion was overruled.
Although the Ice Palace master loved her, the elders were not willing to let her join the tournament.
This was because they feared she would win the tournament.
Their careful calculations would come to nought at that time, and the engagement with Yang Xu would stand.
The elders didn’t want to see this outcome.
"I see."
Yu Nianzhen was encouraged to know his master’s fiancée still had him in her heart.
If this was the case, he was willing to do his best to ensure they got the ending they deserved.
When he thought this, his eyes narrowed and a stubborn determination formed in his heart.
If possible, he would like to advance quickly in the next ten years.
However, cultivating the origin tempering realm was vastly different from the lower realms.
Other than accumulating qi, a cultivator needed to refine a treasure at each level.
These treasures gave characteristics to the origin, and it was impossible to rush this realm.
Even the genius Bing Lan had been stuck in the origin tempering realm for several hundred years.
This was not because she lacked talent, but because she couldn’t find the treasures needed to temper her origin.
