Chapter 646 - 442: Aftermath of the Battle

Nangong Meng had her own reasons for approaching Fang Qingyuan this way. She had her eye on the Five Elements Escape Technique he had just displayed.

In the Cultivation Realm, there was a great deal of research on escape techniques. However, a supreme secret art like an escape technique wasn’t something one could master through diligent practice alone. This sort of thing depended on innate talent.

And what determined such talent? Bloodline. Just as the rumors said, a prerequisite for learning the Five Elements Escape Technique was that each of the cultivator’s Five Elements Spirit Roots had to reach the quality of an Earth Spirit Root. Only then would they be qualified to comprehend it.

A cultivator with a single Spirit Root of Earth Spirit Root quality would already be considered a direct disciple of a Golden Core Clan. For a cultivator to have all five of their Spirit Roots reach that level... such an individual was an absolutely rare existence in the Cultivation Realm, as scarce as a phoenix feather.

Even with the Nangong Family’s power, they couldn’t find an Immortal Seedling born with a Five Elements Spirit Root entirely of Earth Tier quality. They had no shortage of individuals with a single Celestial Spirit Root, but one with all five elements at Earth Tier? They truly had none.

There was a belief in the Cultivation Realm that a cultivator’s Spirit Root aptitude was hereditary. Although this view had not been officially acknowledged by the Great Zhou Academy, many people were firm believers.

Evidently, Nangong Meng was a proponent of this view. By personally offering one of her family’s female cultivators to Fang Qingyuan, she was clearly making a play for his bloodline.

Fang Qingyuan was somewhat worried by Nangong Meng’s intentions. He really had no desire to provoke another Divinity Transformation Clan, nor did he want to spend the rest of his life in a battle of wits with a wife from the Nangong Family.

Besides, Fang Qingyuan was a prideful man. He couldn’t help but think, ’Back when I was just a nobody hauling cargo, no female cultivator would throw herself at me. But the moment I became a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and the Vice Master of the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect, plenty of patriarchs from minor families were eager to marry their daughters to me. And now that I’m a Golden Core Cultivator? It’s even more ridiculous. Clans and sects are everywhere, practically kneeling and begging me to accept their women.’

’So, instead of dwelling on these maybes, I’d be better off focusing on my cultivation and raising my strength. At my current Fifth-Layer Golden Core, I have Huo Yao’Er of the Huo Family ready to throw herself at me. If I wait until I reach the Nascent Soul Realm... well, couldn’t I set my sights on Nangong Meng herself?’

’When it comes to looks and presence, Nangong Meng is the most captivating flower of the Nangong Family. If I’m going to marry, I should marry the most beautiful. That’s how a real man should be.’

Having completed this train of thought, Fang Qingyuan’s gaze toward Nangong Meng became slightly audacious. But as a cultivator of the Heart-Nature Dao, how could Nangong Meng possibly fail to perceive what was on his mind?

Nangong Meng looked at Fang Qingyuan with a wry smile and directly called him out on his little thoughts. "You’re quite ambitious. But at your age, with your cultivation level and talent, you can certainly look forward to Nascent Soul, barring any accidents. Alright, I won’t take up any more of your time. Go and enjoy the fruits of your victory."

After Nangong Meng vanished, Fang Qingyuan was still mulling over her words. ’She said I could "look forward to Nascent Soul"... did she mean the Nascent Soul Realm, or a Nascent Soul female cultivator?’

’And even though she saw what I was thinking, she didn’t fly into a rage. She didn’t act like I was some toad lusting after swan meat. That has to mean she doesn’t hate me.’

’And when a man she doesn’t hate shows his interest, a woman should feel happy, right? Even if there’s a huge gap in their strength.’

Fang Qingyuan was no master of romance, so he could only secretly speculate about Nangong Meng’s thoughts. ’Logically, the female cultivators in this world aren’t as worldly as the women from my past life,’ he mused. ’But Nascent Soul female cultivators have lived for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Even if they’ve spent their lives in secluded cultivation, ignoring worldly affairs, there’s no way they’re naive and innocent.’

’I’m only about one hundred and forty years old. In their eyes, am I like a three- or four-year-old boy from my past life telling a woman in her twenties that he’s going to marry her someday? Is it the same kind of thing?’

’Hah, women!’

...

Some rejoiced while others despaired; the reactions of the onlookers reflected the full spectrum of human nature. Among them, quite a few were genuinely cheering for Fang Qingyuan.

After Nangong Meng was driven away by Fang Qingyuan’s shamelessness, Qiqi, leading the Bear Beast faction, and Liu Xun, with the Qingyuan Sect contingent, spontaneously gathered around Fang Qingyuan.

Surrounded by the crowd, Fang Qingyuan quietly looked up and saw Lechuan’s retreating figure in the distance.

After a brief moment of distraction, Fang Qingyuan heard Liu Xun excitedly report their winnings:

"Sect Leader, this time we won fifteen thousand top-grade Spirit Stones! That’s twenty years of net profit for us! And it’s not just us—many of the sects in the Qingyuan Alliance struck it rich with us. Each of them made at least a thousand top-grade stones."

It was no wonder Liu Xun was so excited. To earn such a huge sum, how many Spirit Wines and insect beasts would the Qingyuan Sect have to sell? And now it had all come to them so easily, in less than an hour. It was faster than robbing a Golden Core Sect.

Furthermore, those fifteen thousand top-grade Spirit Stones went into the sect’s treasury. Cultivators of Liu Xun’s status had also used their own money to bet on Fang Qingyuan’s victory. Of course, Fang Qingyuan had no interest in knowing exactly how much they had personally won.

Listening to Liu Xun’s report, Fang Qingyuan merely offered a faint smile. Clearly, everything had gone according to his plan. It was just a shame that something like this could only be done once. The next time he arranged a duel with another Golden Core Cultivator, they would know his true combat strength and wouldn’t let him take such an advantage. In the future, the payout odds for his victory would surely be very low.