Chu Chuyan knew that Xie Xiu was intentionally voicing out the doubt in everyone’s mind so as to give her an opportunity to explain herself lest it resulted in any complications afterward. “That’s because the Shi clan has prepared an artifact for Shi Kun in times to danger. He has a ring with the spirit of an ancient beast named ‘Devouring Kun’ sealed within it.”

“Devouring Kun?”

A huge commotion broke out upon hearing that name.

Some of the less knowledgeable students turned to those around them to enquire about it whereas the smarter students made used of this opportunity to flaunt their knowledge.

“Devouring Kun is an ancient beast that spans over a hundred meters in length. It can continuously evolve through devouring the body of its enemies. Even the weakest Devouring Kun could rival a ninth rank cultivator upon adulthood…”

The crowd gasped in shock upon hearing the explanation. They couldn’t help but wonder how such a massive beast could possibly float in the air.

Some of the students who were in the dungeon earlier also widened their eyes in realization. They recalled sensing a powerful pressure and a massive shadow in the sky at one point in time, just that it vanished soon after. It was a shocking encounter, but they didn’t think much of it since they thought that it was natural for anything to happen in the mysterious dungeon.

Not even in their wildest imagination could they have fathomed that it was released by Shi Kun. If that was really the case, the Shi clan’s ability to turn such a powerful being into their servant was truly frightening.

However, there was one thing that they were more curious about. They couldn’t fathom how Chu Chuyan could have escaped under the watch of such a terrifying being.

Hearing the doubts from the surrounding crowd, Chu Chuyan answered, “The Devouring Kun was just a soul fragment of its former self, so it’s much weaker than usual. Nevertheless, it’s still a being far beyond my means to deal with. Left with no choice, I could only resort to my forbidden art to subdue it. While I successfully destroyed the Devouring Kun’s soul fragment, it also resulted in the internal collapse of my ki meridians as well, turning me into a cripple.”

A huge commotion broke out upon hearing those words. They were astonished to learn that Chu Chuyan was even to defeat even a ninth rank ancient beast. As expected of the number one prodigy of our academy!

There were also some who wondered what Chu Chuyan’s forbidden art was to actually allow her, as a fifth rank cultivator, to defeat such a powerful opponent. Of course, they also understood that this was one of her greatest secrets, so there was no way she would reveal it to them.

However, most people were simply shocked to hear that her ki meridians had collapsed and she had turned into a cripple due to her forbidden art. One must know that Chu Chuyan had always been a lofty goddess in their eyes. Even if she was now married, it did little to mar her charms.

On top of that, there were news going around that Zu An and Chu Chuyan still hadn’t consummate their marriage yet. Those rumors were oddly convincing since no one thought that the Chu clan would really treat the good-for-nothing Zu An as their son-in-law…

… though the happenings at the Clan Tournament and the revelation of Zu An’s ‘strength’ had shaken the faith of those men.

Even so, Chu Chuyan still remained their dream lover.

So, the knowledge that Chu Chuyan’s ki meridians had collapsed left them infuriated. Many even started speaking up against the Shi clan.

Jiang Luofu was horrified as well. She immediately rushed over to Chu Chuyan’s side and grabbed her pulse to take a look, When she confirmed that her pulse was steady—in fact, it was stronger than ever—she heaved a sigh of relief.

“What a joke! Are you really trying to claim that you’ve been crippled when everyone has seen you fending against my attack earlier?” sneered Shi Lezhi.

Jiang Luofu also looked at Chu Chuyan doubtfully. Toward that, Chu Chuyan replied, “That’s because Zu An desperately did everything he could to save my life. He found and fed me an Evanescent Lotus, which eventually led to the recovery of my ki meridians.”

She was too embarrassed to dissect the exact process of how Zu An saved her life, so she could only vaguely attribute it to the Evanescent Lotus. Even so, her cheeks still began burning up.

“The Evanescent Lotus!”

Everyone exclaimed in shock! That was a legendary treasure which even a small petal could raise one’s cultivation by a step!

There were indeed rumors that there could be an Evanescent Lotus in the dungeon, and that was the ultimate treasure that many of them were aiming for too.

It was just a pity that none of them was able to find it despite combing through the dungeon. They thought that it was just a rumor, but who could have thought that it was really existent.

Everyone immediately began glaring at Zu An with complicated looks on their faces.

“Isn’t Zu An’s luck way too good? How can heaven be so unfair as to let him stumble upon a treasure of that caliber?”

“I’m more surprised to hear that Zu An was actually generous enough to give the Evanescent Lotus to Miss Chu instead. It looks like he’s going all-in this time around.”

“It’s no wonder why so many women stand steadfast for him. He does have some qualities that are deserving of their affection. At least, I don’t think that I’ll be able to do the same as he did.”

“I think that he’s far too reckless. Such a gift could touch a woman’s heart for a while, but as the gap between the two of them grow larger and larger, they would still inevitably drift apart in the end.”

“Yeah, I share the same thoughts too. Isn’t it much better for him to use it for himself? Once he becomes strong, he could have his free pick of ladies. Even Miss Chu would have a far higher opinion of him by then. In this world, it’s one’s strength that counts!”

…

In contrast to the logical analysis by those envious men, the women present stared at Zu An with shining eyes. A man who would give his all for the woman he loved; wasn’t this the love that they had been pursuing all their life?

Pei Mianman bemoaned the poor decision she had made. She should have insisted on tagging along with Zu An back then. If so, she could at least get a share of the loot. To make things worse, Zu An’s sacrifice had most likely won him Chu Chuyan’s heart, such that their ‘partnership’ was going to fall apart.

And most importantly of all, while she was a close friend to Chu Chuyan, she thought of the latter to be a rival too. She viewed herself to be inferior in no way to Chu Chuyan; in fact, she believed that her cultivation was a slight bit higher than that of Chu Chuyan’s.

However, Chu Chuyan’s consumption of the Evanescent Lotus meant that her cultivation had at least risen by an entire rank, and the fact that she could stand her own against Shi Lezhi earlier hinted at just how powerful she had become.

In other words, Chu Chuyan had just taken a huge lead over her.

To make things worse, she knew that they were equal in terms of aptitude and resources. If she couldn’t encounter a huge fortuitous encounter herself, it was likely that she would never be able to catch up with Chu Chuyan her entire life.

The thought that she would always have Chu Chuyan towering over her for life made her feel incredibly irritated. She shot a glare at the culprit who landed her in such a state. It’s all his fault!

You have successfully trolled Pei Mianman for +666 Rage!

Meanwhile, Zheng Dan also had a complicated look on her face. She had been wondering all this while how Zu An managed to escape from the elaborate schemes Shi Kun had concocted to kill him, and her doubts had finally been answered.

I never thought that he would be such a sentimental man.

Unlike the others, from her very first encounter with Zu An, Zheng Dan could already tell that he wasn’t a good-for-nothing as the rumors put him out to be. She could sense an air of mystery looming around him, and this air of mystery was a fatal charm to her.

The knowledge that he carried such deep feelings for Chu Chuyan left her feeling a little wistful. She wondered if her fiancé, Sang Qian, would be able to do the same for her if they had been in the same position.

She soon shook her head as a bitter smile emerged on her lips.

Even Wu Qing couldn’t help but direct a look of admiration toward Zu An. It looks like I’ve misjudged his character all this while.

Only Jiang Luofu directed a bizarre glance at Zu An. She was one of the rare few who knew just how what the Evanescent Lotus meant to him. He was actually willing to make such a huge sacrifice to save his wife in name?

Sensing the gazes from the gossiping crowd around him, Shi Kun’s face turned livid as he turned to Shi Lezhi for help.

Shi Lezhi hadn’t lived so many years in vain, so it didn’t take long for him to figure out a solution. “Rubbish! In this entire world, who has ever heard of anyone with collapsed ki meridians recovering back to its original state? At the very most, the Evanescent Lotus should have only restored her mobility. She would have been weaker than an average human! Besides, the Evanescent Lotus is only known for its ability to raise a person’s cultivation; there are no records of it reconnecting one’s ki meridians. If you don’t believe me, you can look for Divine Physician Ji and ask him about it!”

The close acquaintances of the Shi clan quickly chirped in agreement too.

Jiang Luofu also frowned upon hearing those words. She didn’t recall the Evanescent Lotus being able to reconnect a person’s ki meridians either.

Shi Lezhi’s statement gave some inspiration to Shi Kun. He stood forward and spoke aloud, “Even though Divine Physician Ji isn’t here, his daughter, Ji Xiaoxi, is here. Everyone knows that Miss Ji has inherited her father’s legacy, so why don’t we get her to give her analysis on this matter?”

Everyone immediately turned her sights to Ji Xiaoxi.

Ji Xiaoxi was a shy person, and having so many eyes on her made her even more flustered. She found herself unable to say a word despite opening and closing her mouth repeatedly.

“Miss Ji, everyone knows that you aren’t able to lie. Your opinion represents the authority of your father as well, so I suggest that you think things through carefully before making your statement,” said Shi Kun grimly.

Zu An immediately protested angrily, “Hey, Shit Kun! Are you trying to threaten an eye-witness here?”

“Threaten? I’m just giving her a reminder lest a vile miscreant tries to blind her eyes!” Shi Kun harrumphed in response.

No matter how he racked his brain, he couldn’t figure out why, for a period of time, he actually thought of Zu An as his own friend. The matter made him feel so disgusted that he could puke.

The only one who wanted ot puke wasn’t just him though. Zu An was feeling utterly distressed that the 100,000 silver taels he had spent had gone down the drain just like that.

The same went for the 100,000 silver taels he had spent for Zhang Han too. It was not utterly useless there, but its effects weren’t so great as to be worth such a staggering sum. It looked like he would have think twice before using the ‘Befriending a Rich Man’ skill in the future since it was weaker than he had expected it to be.

Ji Xiaoxi fell silent for a moment. Perhaps it was due to Shi Kun’s words reminding her that this was a professional evaluation, her attitude suddenly grew solemn as she analyzed, “Based on what i know, there are no records of the Evanescent Lotus having the ability to reconnect one’s ki meridians.”

Shi Kun burst into laughter upon hearing those words. He turned to Chu Chuyan gleefully and said, “Do you hear that? Even Miss Ji has said so! It’s obvious that you’re spinning up a lie here!”

Chu Chuyan frowned. She had indeed lied on this matter, but there was no way she could bring herself to reveal the truth before such a huge crowd.

However, Ji Xiaoxi soon added, “However, even though there are no records of the Evanescent Lotus reconnecting one’s ki meridians, we can’t conclude that there isn’t such an effect. The Evanescent Lotus is simply too precious that no one would use it on a crippled person, so naturally, we wouldn’t have evidence of it. If what Miss Chu said is real, this would be a major breakthrough in the medical field, bringing a ray of hope to those who are crippled by their collapsed ki meridians.”

Chu Chuyan’s face heated up. It would really be disastrous if she really misled the patients all over the world due to the lie she had spouted.

She subconsciously shot a glance at Zu An as she made a mental note to clarify the matter with Ji Xiaoxi privately, telling her that it would be better for the patients with collapsed ki meridians to seek Zu An’s help instead.

Zu An seemed to understand the significance behind Chu Chuyan’s glance. Well, those male patients should stay as far away from me as possible, and if the female patients are beautiful, I guess I could at least give it a try…