Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao
chapter-2968

The Cheng Clan was a major clan in Peaceful Leaf City. Not only did they have elites at the Immortal Palace Tier, they also had a super strong elite at fifth secret. That made them the number one clan in Peace Leaf City.

With a background like that, even if Cheng Sisi was any more mediocre, she could still easily get the chance to cultivate on the mountain. Moreover, she belonged to the main branch, and had an extraordinary natural talent for cultivation. As such, she was treated like a princess by everyone.

No one expected Cheng Sisi to be interested in Ling Duanyun. Even though she was only a little interested right now, some people were starting to feel restless already.

For example, Gou Li.

The Gou Clan was also an Immortal-Palace-Tier force, even though they were a little weaker than the Cheng Clan. The strongest person in their clan was a fourth secret.

Not to mention, even though Gou Li was also from the main branch, he had two older cousins, both of whom were more talented than he was. The clan was also more generous with these two when it came to cultivation resources. Thus, Gou Li was extremely attentive towards Cheng Sisi, and wanted to marry this little princess. That way, his position in the Gou Clan would skyrocket, and the Cheng Clan would also treat him well.

Now that Ling Duanyun and Cheng Sisi were getting closer, it was understandable for Gou Li to use underhanded tricks to lessen the chance of them meeting.

To Gou Li, even though Ling Duanyun was also the young master of the Ling Clan, their situation in recent years had been on the decline. As such, Ling Duanyun wouldn't have a lot of Star Stones on hand, and it would surely be painful for him to pay to cultivate on the mountain out of his own pocket.

Once or twice would be fine, but how would he be able to pay for it in the long run?

Gou Li's methods were cunning, but highly effective. Once the pair had fewer chances to meet, any emotion they shared would slowly fade away.

Ling Han and Ling Duanyun walked up the mountain, and saw many formations, most of which were occupied by people sitting cross-legged and cultivating. Throughout the journey, Ling Duanyun tried to find Cheng Sisi.

By the time they got up the mountain top, they saw a man and a woman talking. One of them was Gou Li.

The woman was dressed in a long green dress. She had light makeup on, which emphasized her originally beautiful face. She was relatively tall, not much shorter than Gou Li.

There was some haughtiness in her expression, as if she was a little princess.

Indeed, she was none other than the princess of the entire Peaceful Leaf City and the young mistress of the Cheng Clan's main branch, Cheng Sisi.

As soon as Ling Duanyun saw her, he immediately called out "Miss Cheng" and ran over, completely abandoning his ancestor. Ling Han shook his head as he watched how the brat placed all his attention on Cheng Sisi.

He quietly watched from the side.

Gou Li was not surprised to see Ling Duanyun. No matter how broke he was, he was surely still able to fork out a few Star Stones.

But even if he could once or twice, would he be able to do the same three or four times, or even eight to 10 times?

"Oh, it's you." Cheng Sisi glanced over at Ling Duanyun and nodded. "I was just about to find you and ask about the Autumn Wind Blowing Leaf technique."

"Sure thing." Ling Duanyun nodded enthusiastically, beaming brightly.

Ling Han simply watched to the side, and couldn't help but shake his head silently.

From the looks of it, it was just a one-sided love from Ling Duanyun. Even though he was extremely attentive towards her, it didn't seem like this Miss Cheng shared his sentiment.

It was probably because Cheng Sisi was usually cold to everyone else, so when she treated Ling Duanyun just a little bit nicer, it was enough for Gou Li to assume there was something going on between them. In truth, it was just a case of overthinking.

To Cheng Sisi, Ling Duanyun's background was simply too pitiful. He could be a playmate, but she would definitely not consider him as a lover at all.

Yes, there were some young elites who didn't have such a shallow perspective, but they simply numbered too few. Ling Han also didn't believe that this woman was one of them.

"Speaking of Autumn Wind Blowing Leaf, I also have some insights I would like to share. Why don't we discuss it together?" Gou Li said. He couldn't help but glance over at Ling Han as he kept feeling a strange chill when he saw this person.

'Strange, we've never met before. Why do I have this feeling?

'Is it because he has a naturally scary face?

'But who the hell is he?

'Why would someone like a Severing Mundane grand elder get the chills just because of someone's face?'

How strange.

"Then let's go together." Cheng Sisi didn't wait for Ling Duanyun's opinion, and made the choice for him.

Ling Han silently shook his head again. This woman really didn't care for Ling Duanyun at all. Otherwise, even if she didn't want to blatantly reject the offer, she would have at least hinted that Gou Li was not welcome.

Ling Duanyun fell for it completely. He didn't blame Cheng Sisi's actions, but simply thought that Gou Li was too oblivious to the situation.

The three of them started their discussion. The Autumn Wind Blowing Leaf was a sword technique that had many different forms. It was something the three of them had just learned and needed to fully master within a set amount of time.

Ling Duanyun and Gou Li had opposing views, and had a heated debate, demonstrating with the sword in their hands like two male peacocks battling it out.

Ling Han listened on, and couldn't help but yawn. He had already surpassed the range of mere techniques, so he naturally wasn't interested.

"You're wrong. This form should be an upwards swing from below, and not the other way around," Gou Li arrogantly claimed. "The way you're moving will cause the sword technique's strength to fall by 10%. Even though it's not much, it falls short of mastery."

"Bullsh*t. It should be a swing downwards." Ling Duanyun naturally didn't want to admit defeat in front of Gou Li.

The two of them argued back and forth, but were unwilling to relent. This was just a discussion on the sword technique, and not an actual battle to see who was stronger. Even if Gou Li was at the Severing Mundane Tier, he couldn't just send Ling Duanyun flying away with a slap.

"Then let's decide using the Cloud Heart Stone," Cheng Sisi quipped.

The Cloud Heart Stone was a special stone that would develop creases upon receiving any impact. The stronger the impact, the more layers would show. As such, it could be used to determine the strength of a technique.

They then took out two Cloud Heart Stones, and had Cheng Sisi be the demonstrator to avoid any cheating from any one side.

She first displayed the Autumn Wind Blowing Leaf technique according to Ling Duanyun's explanation, and landed her attack on the Cloud Heart Stone, leaving 11 layers on the stone. She then used Gou Li's explanation to launch the same technique, and caused 12 layers to appear on the Cloud Heart Stone.

Even though the difference was just one layer, it was Ling Duanyun's loss.

Gou Li immediately had an arrogant look on his face, and looked at Ling Duanyun with a delighted expression.

In truth, this was not his interpretation, but something taught to him by one of the elites in his clan.

Cheng Sisi couldn't help her disappointment. Her opinion of Ling Duanyun had changed because she thought he had his own thoughts in cultivation, which was why she was interested in him in the first place.

But if he couldn't even compare to Gou Li, then that simply meant her trust had been misplaced.

It was understandable. After all, he had come from a minor force of the Severing Mundane Tier. How could they possibly produce any talent worth mentioning?

She suddenly lost all interest and shook her head. "I'm going to go cultivate."

"Hold it!" Ling Han spoke up. His descendant just lost, so he naturally couldn't sit still. "You're all wrong."