CHAPTER 159: YE CHEN SUFFERING FROM PANTS

Yu Xuan studied Lingluo for a long moment, his sharp gaze taking in her stance, her aura, her calmness.

’She’s grown a lot.’, he thought.

Though she looked carefree on the surface, his instincts whispered otherwise — if they ever fought seriously, she’d be no pushover. That punch she’d landed earlier wasn’t enough to injure him, but it had carried weight. Enough to sting. Enough to remind him that his big sister was no longer just "big" in name.

As he thought, the crowd around them began to thin. Most disciples weren’t foolish enough to linger. The shorty, however, showed no fear — after finishing her round of kicks at the Soul Nurturing disciples, she swaggered over toward the twitching Ye Chen.

Yu Xuan ignored her for now and turned back to Lingluo. His tone softened.

"Anyway... how have you been, Sister? Are you having a hard time here? If you are, I can always ask my master to request—"

"What are you talking about?" Lingluo cut him off with an exaggerated scoff. "Why would I be having a hard time? I already have a strong master! And did you know—" her face broke into a grin, "I’m now at peak stage Foundation Establishment! Hahaha!"

Her laughter was loud and proud, as if she had just announced she’d conquered the heavens.

Yu Xuan’s mouth twitched. "Can you stop boasting? I also noticed you didn’t use any sword techniques earlier. Don’t tell me they don’t even teach swords here—" His smile widened into a laugh.

That laugh was cut short by a sharp fist driving into his abdomen.

"Ugh—! Wait, wait, I’m sorry!" he said, dodging her attacks. He knew better than to tease her about swords. After all, their clan was famed for swordsmanship, and Lingluo had admired their father’s blade since childhood.

’Mom spoiled her too much.’ he thought with a sigh.

Straightening, Yu Xuan’s expression hardened. He pointed at the broken heap of Ye Chen.

"Sister. I need to know everything about this guy."

Lingluo immediately smacked him on the head.

"Do you think I’m some kind of information agent? How would I know every random fool I beat up?"

"What??" Yu Xuan stared at her, utterly dumbfounded. He had already heard several accounts about their encounter and expected something serious.

"I heard he challenged you to a death match," Yu Xuan pressed. "That’s no small matter."

Instead of answering, Lingluo clasped her hands behind her back and strolled forward. Yu Xuan followed, wary. Then, tilting her chin upward, she looked dramatically at the sky. Her eyes tried to turn deep, but it failed.

"I know I’m the most beautiful in the world. And every beauty has their struggles..." she sighed.

Yu Xuan nearly tripped.

"What are you even talking about?!" He had imagined countless possibilities — but boasting wasn’t one of them.

"Well, I don’t really remember him," Lingluo admitted.

"...What the fuck?" Yu Xuan cursed under his breath. Was all this chaos for nothing? Had he nearly killed and caused this trouble over some misunderstanding? Was the world playing a joke on him? Was his young Master aura failing?

Smack! Another sharp hit to his head.

"Language."

"Yes, yes," Yu Xuan grumbled, rubbing the sore spot. In all his cultivation battles, he had never been struck on the head as often as his sister managed to hit him in a single conversation. If the Devouring Demon heard this he would cough blood and call Yu Xuan shameless.

"Let me concentrate," Lingluo said, clutching her temples as if diving deep into her memories. She shushed him dramatically, then squinted, humming as though forcing her brain to work.

Finally — clap!

She slammed her palms together, face lighting up.

"Ah, yes! I remember now. That guy confessed to me in the middle of a crowd. So I beat him. A lot."

"That’s it?!" Yu Xuan exclaimed. "He didn’t mention a death match?!"

"Ah, nope!" she said brightly.

Yu Xuan dragged a hand down his face. Really? That was it?

Then it hit him — the name Ye Chen.

"Dammit!!!" Yu Xuan shouted, startling his sister. He had forgotten. Of course, that kind of name. The kind only a so-called protagonist would have. And protagonists never asked for permission — they just took it as granted.

His anger flared anew.

Meanwhile, instead of heading back toward the beaten Ye Chen, Mei, Xiu Ying, and the fuming shorty, both siblings had wandered in the opposite direction, completely ignoring everyone else.

"Hey! Where are you two going?!" the shorty yelled at them, clearly annoyed.

"Get back here!"

They froze mid-step. Then, in perfect unison, turned and strolled back as if nothing happened. It was almost comical — clearly, despite everything, the two siblings were very much alike.

When they reached, they saw Mei and Xiu Ying mostly healed, and Ye Chen sitting cross-legged in meditation, bloodied but trying to recover.

"You little bastard," the shorty snapped at Yu Xuan.

"You didn’t even spare anyone on your first day here! You’re even more notorious than Lingluo already! And who’s going to pay for the pills I used on him, huh? That cost me ninety five thousand sect points!"

Yu Xuan eyed the pint-sized fury pointing at him, he decided to crack a joke only he would understand, then pointed at the shorty and said:

"What’s with this sassy... lost child?"

"...HUH?!" The shorty’s eyes bulged. A vein visibly popped on her forehead as she took deep, shaky breaths to keep from exploding.

"Hah, show me your medallion," Yu Xuan said lazily.

The shorty smirked, certainly her status would crush him, she flashed her medallion.

Instead of admiring it, Yu Xuan casually scanned it, transferred one hundred thousand sect points, and flicked his wrist dismissively.

"There, I have transfered 100,000 Sect Points. Keep the change."

The shorty blinked her big eyes. Lingluo blinked her eyes. Mei and Xiu Ying blinked their eyes.

Even Ye Chen, who had just finished regenerating his eyes, opened them, blinked once... then promptly collapsed face-first with a thud.

He was suffering from PANTS — Protagonist Arrogance Neurological Trauma Syndrome.