Mei Kongxu's whisper was so low that it didn't reach his ears, but the forlorn light in her eyes as she sat down again caused one of Li Yang's eyebrows to rise ever so slightly. He lazily slumped down into the seat next to her and placed his hands behind his head, crossing his legs as two people entered the stone stage to start the sparring matches.

He only looked at the ongoing match with one eye, casting a few glances at the girl sitting next to him. He had to admit that the fiancee that his father had found for him was quite a bit prettier than he originally expected, her pitch-black eyes were so dark and deep that they seemed to pull on your soul, her white and silky hair making it look as if she was constantly surrounded by falling snow.

If he had a complaint then it would be the forlorn light in her eyes and the fact that she seemed too serious. Even now, despite looking directly at the ongoing fight, she wasn't actually looking at it. Her gaze seemed to peer directly through the surroundings and into the distance, her shoulders somewhat lowered as if she was carrying a heavy burden. If he had to give a description of his future wife based on just this initial greeting then it would have to be beautiful but boring. But since she was to be his future wife he couldn't exactly judge her based on just the initial greeting, his chin gesturing towards the sparring stage as he retained his cheeky smile.

"How about you and I engage in a small game? We'll bet on who wins the various sparring matches, the winner gets to ask a question of the loser. We're supposed to be husband and wife in the future so we might as well try to learn a bit more about each other, even if we may not end up interacting much in the future."

Marriage was not something involving just one person, it needed two people to be accomplished. And looking at this Mei Kongxu it was abundantly clear that they might not have much to do with each other even after they got married. And if her personality was just like the first impression Li Yang got of her then that would suit him just fine, he couldn't be bothered to waste time on someone boring. Mei Kongxu's gaze moved slightly, focusing on Li Yang for a split second as she refused.

"I don't really see a need for that, it's not like I have any other questions I want to ask you."

Mei Kongxu moved her gaze away from Li Yang again in a disinterested manner, but Li Yang simply maintained his cheeky grin, nodding backwards to motion towards the source of the faint pressure both of them were feeling.

"Oh, is Fairy Sister Kongxu scared that she'll lose and have to tell me all her embarrassing secrets? Don't worry, I'm a certified gentleman, I won't ask you any questions that might cause a tingling down below. Besides, with the bigshots watching us, we have to at least pretend a little, no?"

Mei Kongxu's eyebrows twitched slightly under Li Yang's teasing and rather shameless words, her pupils flickering slightly as she cast a stealthy glance at the seating area high above them. She moved her pupils back onto the two young men fighting on the stage, pointing at a grey-haired youth from the Deepsea King sect, Li Yang not missing a beat as he pointed at the black-haired youth from the World-rending Behemoth sect.

"That boy from your sect will win, he's commanding the flow of the battle and hogs all the initiative for himself. He should win within another two minutes."

"Hah, Song Yongju winning? Dream on, that bastard lets everything get to his head, give him an inch and he'll take a mile and then some, especially in a setting like this, you can even see traces of it already. He'll get cocky soon enough, that kiddo from your sect will then crush him, probably using his legs since he seems to be trying to hide the fact that his legs are his strongest point."

Mei Kongxu's eyebrows twitched once again when Li Yang so casually pointed out the fact that the youth from her sect had been trying to hide by using only his upper body during the entire fight. And sure enough, after the battle dragged on for another minute, the grey-haired Song Yongju started taunting his opponent while showing off to the audience, an action that swiftly earned him a fierce kick to the side of the head while he was flaunting.

The force of the kick went straight into his ear and ravaged his centre of balance, resulting in Song Yongju collapsing to the ground and leaving him defenceless against his opponents continued rush of attacks. The corners of Li Yang's lips remained raised throughout the entire fight, his head tilting fractally as he glanced at Mei Kongxu.

"It's fine to be carefree and lazy, or probably distant and cold in your case, but if you let your eyes go so bad that you can't even properly see what's in front of you then you're just asking to get beat. A win for my brilliant eyes and a loss for Fairy Sister Kongxu's nearsighted eyes. So, what exactly is it that you're looking for with those distant eyes of yours?"

Mei Kongxu moved her gaze away from the fight, and for the first time since the initial greeting, she looked directly at Li Yang and locked eyes with him. She studied his crimson eyes as if she was trying to understand his true nature, turning her gaze away again as two new fighters stepped into the stage.

"A tyrant, I'm looking for a tyrant. I'm looking for the greatest tyrant so that I can force him to uphold the promise he already broke once. In this fight, Bai Piugan from my sect will win."

Her answer couldn't be called very thorough or proper, but she had answered the question so Li Yang couldn't say anything about it. He also noticed that her eyes glimmered slightly when she spoke about the tyrant, a stark contrast to the forlorn and distant light she had shown so far. He turned his gaze onto the two people entering the stage, his eyes roaming over the two people for a bit before he helplessly shrugged his shoulders, even calling out to the fighters.

"Yup, Lagu Sanye doesn't stand a chance in this fight, poor bastard just went on to embarrass himself. Oy, Slowpoke Sansan, don't lose so badly that you throw away our face! Do it gracefully, gracefully I tell you!"

Lagu Sanye winced visibly after Li Yang called out, turning his head and casting a vicious glare at Li Yang, who felt a slight increase on the pressure on him as his father's gaze undoubtedly landed on him. But Li Yang didn't care one bit about either of those things, leaning back in his seat and motioning towards Mei Kongxu.

"A win for your fast tongue and a loss for my bad luck, your turn to ask."

Mei Kongxu glanced at Li Yang, who didn't seem bothered in the slightest by having to admit his loss, but didn't speak up right away. She waited for the fight to actually end in her expected victory, Li Yang muttering a quiet 'oh, so diligent.' Only when her victory was assured did she state her question, her glancing gaze lingering on Li Yang's face.

"I'll throw your question back at you. Why are you sharpening your eyes despite acting lazy and carefree, what are you looking for?"

Everyone who sharpened their gaze to the point of learning some people's strong points after just a bit of inspection was obviously aiming for something, they didn't do something like that without purpose. But faced with Mei Kongxu's passing interest in his goal, Li Yang simply chuckled.

"What I'm looking for? Easy, some fun. Don't you think this world is just too serious and boring? Everyone here and there keeps going on and on about how you have to be serious to amount to anything, they toss away everything fun to focus, terrified that they'll never amount to anything. Doesn't that just sound like absolute horseshit? So I'll have fun, I'll be carefree and cheeky, cocky to the extreme as I ascend to the peak. And once I stand there and look down at all you boring and serious people, I will laugh at you and your condemnation, laugh at your foolish and narrow-minded beliefs."

Disdainful and boundless arrogance, that was the only thing Mei Kongxu could see within the depths of Li Yang's crimson pupils. Arrogance to overshadow the whole world and then laugh at it, arrogance that wouldn't falter even if it were to be faced with the full might of the heavens themselves. Facing that arrogance, even Mei Kongxu's eyes flickered slightly. Li Yang turned his gaze onto the stage and pointed at the two people that entered it, cheekily declaring who would win the next match, as if the previous glimmer of arrogance had been nothing more than an illusion.

"Lil Yongi will be the one to win the next match. Oy, Lil Yongi, I've bet on you just now, so don't you dare lose, otherwise, I'll be forced to spank you a few times!"

The one who entered the stage now was exactly the person Li Yang had met after the previous meeting with his father, it was Li Jueyong. The black-eyed and blue-haired Li Jueyong looked incomparably serious, his expression only faltering for a short second when Li Yang called out. Mei Kongxu also looked at the two fighters, placing her bet on Li Jueyong's opponent, Ping Shisui.

The fight quietly started with only a single word from the judge, Li Jueyong and the girl from the World-rending Behemoth sect dashing at each other and engaging in a fierce melee. Li Jueyong specialized in using his legs to attack, mixing in the law of wind to drastically increase the power of his kicks.

Li Jueyong was a diligent cultivator who had barely rested a single day ever since he started cultivating, allowing him to carve his sixth Law Rune at the age of 12. It might be considered somewhat slow compared to the geniuses of the 98 sects on this planet that were ranked higher than the Deepsea King sect, but it was an achievement he got without using any resources, it was all his effort and his diligence.

But in the face of superior strength, that diligence and effort were both rendered worthless. A minute and a half after the battle started, Li Jueyong was crushed beneath the feet of his opponent, his head trampled into the stone stage and knocking him out cold, the opponent's simple judgment ringing in his ears before he lost consciousness.

"Not good enough, you should work a bit harder before you find me for a rematch."

Li Jueyong was carried out of the stage on a stretcher, one of Li Yang's eyebrows raising in surprise at the unexpected loss. But in the end, he nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders and motion towards Mei Kongxu.

"Heh, a win for your side and a loss for my overconfidence in the shorty, your turn to ask a question."

Mei Kongxu's eyebrow rose slightly at Li Yang's calmness, she had expected at least a bit of his carefreeness to vanish after his own younger brother got beaten so summarily. But her interest in Li Yang was only fleeting so she didn't take it to heart, casually picking another question and receiving a swift response.

"What would you do if a situation arose where you had to abandon one of your own desires? Would you abandon that desire to resolve the situation or would you struggle and lose just so that you could say you lost with pride?"

"Hah, what a pointless question, I'd do neither. I don't abandon what is mine, so if anyone wants me to give up something of mine then they will have to leave behind their lives. I'll struggle and win, maybe not in the first fight, maybe not in the second, but I'll fight as many times as it takes to come out on top with everything intact. Next battle, the kid from your sect is going to win, Hong Qing is a bit rash and doesn't bother thinking ahead."

Once again, Li Yang's eyes flashed with boundless and casual arrogance, as if it was engraved into his very bones. Mei Kongxu remained silent for a moment with one eyebrow raised, eventually pointing at the youth from the Deepsea King sect that stepped onto the stage.

"Liu Fangye doesn't have any stamina or strong attacks, he will lose to the girl from your sect."

The bets were placed and the battle started without any fanfare, both contestants unleashing all their skills for the audience. But Mei Kongxu was swiftly proven correct, the youth from her sect quickly starting to gasp for breath, not one of his attacks able to pierce Hong Qing's defence. He was quickly forced to concede, Li Yang clicking his tongue in an exaggerated manner.

"Man, Fairy Sister Kongxu is really doing her best to prevent me from asking you any tingling questions, you won't even give me a single win. But alright, a loss is a loss, one more question for you."

Li Yang had already lost three bets in a row yet his cheeky smile remained the same, as if nothing could even get close to budging it. Mei Kongxu once again turned her head to inspect his eyes, peering deeply into them while asking her question, and once again receiving a swift and carefree reply.

"What would you do if the mere presence of a close friend led to your slow and agonizing death? What would you do if you found out that one of your close friends was considered a walking disaster that brought ruin wherever they went? What would you do to them, aid them or aid those who want to protect the world?

"That's three questions, but since I'm a certified gentleman I'll respond to them. I wouldn't do anything to them. I'll die by staying close to them? I just gotta get stronger or find something to prevent myself from dying. They're a disaster and bring ruin? So what, just gotta find something to help them keep that ruin in check. People have learned stranger things so why not something like this? And I said it earlier, didn't I? I don't abandon what's mine, and that includes my friends. If anyone wants to lay a hand on them, no matter the reason, then I will leave nothing but corpses."

Casual and carefree arrogance that didn't care for anything, even Li Yang's posture was dripping with it as he spoke. If he decided to protect someone, then it didn't matter even if the world's strongest cultivator was against him, he would remain cocky and carefree while protecting them. Because it would be a choice he made, a choice he would stand behind. Mei Kongxu's eyes narrowed faintly as she looked deeply into Li Yang's eyes, her gaze eventually returning to its usual distant and forlorn state as she turned it back onto the stage.

New fighters entered the stage, Li Yang and Mei Kongxu continuing their betting matches and trading questions back and forth. Before long, a further 16 matches passed, the score of the betting ending up as nine wins for Li Yang and 11 wins for Mei Kongxu. The sparring matches were far from over so the betting should still go on for a while, but Li Yang stood up from his seat and stretched his entire body, raising his arms and using his hands to grab the opposite shoulder while stretching.

"Alright, I'm getting rather stiff, and the betting is getting too boring now that it's gone on for a while. How about we change things up a bit? We take turns going up on stage and challenging people, the one who wins the most matches gets to make a request of the winner. If I win, Fairy Sister Kongxu has to accompany me for a date through the city so that I can brag about my beautiful fiancee. What do you say? Scared you'll lose and end up falling for me when you see my excellent escorting skills?"

Mei Kongxu's eyebrows twitched again as Li Yang spoke, he simply didn't care for her lack of reaction and had kept teasing her throughout the entirety of the betting matches. She looked at him with a somewhat disinterested gaze, her eyes practically piercing through him before she gave a nonchalant nod of her head.

Li Yang grinned at her approval and then headed down to the stage, stepping onto it under the shocked gazes of the spectators. Li Yang had never taken part in these annual sparring matches before, using his young age as an excuse to not take part. Some had expected that he would get challenged now that he was above 15 and others could invoke the rite of passage, but none had expected that he would actually step onto the stage before getting challenged. Li Yang relished in the shocked gazes, his own gaze landing on Ping Shisui, the girl who beat Li Jueyong.

"The name was Fairy Sister Shisui, wasn't it? Sorry little beauty, but I'll have to ask you to come down here for a spanking, I'm the only one who's allowed to bully Lil Yongi."