Chapter 682 497 Chen Yan_2

"I have already spoken to him."

Lady Li lowered her eyes, first asked Chen Yan to step back, and then with a solemn expression and an anxious tone, she said:

"Can you see Yan'er's nature? He's not a creature of the shallow pond! I seldom bring him to see his uncle, precisely because of his nature... He's like... I don't know whom, becoming more cunning and ambitious by the day. If he cannot gain the trust of the Li Family soon, I fear he won't have a good end!"

"What?!"

Chen Mufeng raised his head in disbelief. He too once had youthful ambitions and thought his wife was exaggerating as he said in a soft voice:

"My Lady, why such concern? A teenager's ambition is common; it will pass with time..."

"You don't believe me?"

Chen Mufeng immediately closed his mouth and could only nod, agreeing:

"Then I'll bring him to see Chengliao right away."

Lady Li grabbed his arm and instructed:

"I've heard the Princely Heir is also a tough nut to crack. If you're going, you must personally accompany Yan'er to meet him, just in case."

He felt his wife was being overly cautious but nodded casually, hurrying out of the courtyard, taking Chen Yan with him, riding the wind all the way to the grand side hall. After waiting for half an hour, Li Chengliao finally returned.

As the two maneuvered through the corridors between the towers, Chen Yan, who was there for the first time, stared at the golden eaves and white jade steps of the terraces, his eyes widening with excitement.

Li Chengliao had just returned with his men from the boundary, their armor clashing, emitting a clanging sound of metal. Chen Yan and his father knelt beneath the stairs, the young man silently watching the eighteen stone steps at the head of the great hall, his eyes surreptitiously sweeping around as he inwardly exclaimed:

"What a commanding presence."

Thoughts flickered through his mind as he looked up at the man in the wolf fur above, Li Chengliao exuding no oppressive air, yet standing there without speaking still seemed impressive.

A surge of inspiration welled up in Chen Yan's heart:

"A true man... should stand above tens of thousands, domineering over peers with his cultivation level... to scheme and play with heaven and earth... What's the point of just cultivating from a book!"

Li Chengliao turned around with a smile, replying to Xu Gongming:

"The weather's eased up, and so has the harvest, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief."

He sat at the main seat, looking at Chen Mufeng and Chen Yan beside him, and spoke warmly:

"This must be Yan'er. I heard you've already broken through to the fourth layer of Fetal Breathing, truly a rare talent!"

The eighteen steps of the hall were not merely for show—they could effectively block the spiritual sense of an ordinary Qi Cultivator from penetrating; but that's not all, Chen Yan also knelt far enough to prevent Li Chengliao from probing him with spiritual sense.

'I've only just emerged from seclusion, yet he already knew!'

Li Chengliao went down the steps with a cheerful expression and slowly approached, lifting Chen Yan's hand. Seeing Chen Yan raise his head slightly and nod, he then turned back to Xu Gongming and others with a smile:

"At first glance, he looks like one of our own, with the eyes and brows strikingly similar!"

This statement clearly surprised everyone; Chen Yan himself was momentarily stunned upon hearing it. Unable to suppress a slight downturn of his lips and a proud raise of his eyebrows, his eyes sparkled with joy and pride, and his face, which had been calm, suddenly came to life with vigor.

The crowd around them laughed and offered their congratulations, but Li Chengliao, despite smiling on the surface, felt a shade of gloom arise in his heart.

'This expression... this expression... Good! Good!'

Though Chen Yan was precocious, he was no match for Li Chengliao, who had managed household affairs for many years. Aside from observing his properly shaped eyes and attentive glances, Li Chengliao also perceived a familiar air from the rebellious and ambitious angle of his eyebrows and downturned lips.

This rebellious and ambitious air was like an inadvertently pricked thorn in his hand, causing him to grit his teeth and wince, reminding him of a youth once rampaging across the sky with ashen flames, distorting even Li Chengliao's smile.

"He's a seed brimming with ambition."

Li Chengliao always trusted his instincts, just as he had instantly recognized Xu Xiao as out of the ordinary. Chen Yan also exuded a nascent, boundless ambition. Yet, it lacked a bit of arrogance, coupled with a bit of the Li Family members' cunning—perhaps even a touch of malice.

'His talent is simply too exceptional! If he were out in the world, he could surely stir up a storm... The Chen Family has truly produced a prodigy!'

Li Chengliao made a preliminary assessment of the child's temperament and smiled as he looked towards Chen Mufeng, asking:

"What do you think, do you plan to send him to accompany the Princely Heir? With such excellent talent, not focusing on cultivation... would that not be a waste?"

As he spoke these words, his eyes were on Chen Mufeng, but his Spiritual Sense clung tightly to Chen Yan, observing him slightly lift his head with a subtle contraction of his eyelids. Li Chengliao's heart stirred slightly as he listened to Chen Mufeng courteously speak:

"Fetal Breathing hardly needs to be cultivated every day! Each extraction and refinement of Spiritual Energy only takes a few hours; any more time spent is less effective. It's better for him to learn a thing or two at the Princely Heir's place…"

"Yan'er is still two years older; it's for Zhouwei to learn from him!"

Li Chengliao politely agreed with one sentence but had already decided, saying meaningfully:

"Yan'er, if you go down the corridor along the side, someone will lead you to the Princely Heir. I have already spoken to him and told him I would send a playmate over."

Chen Mufeng sensed that Li Chengliao meant for the two children to meet alone and paused, slightly stunned, but Li Chengliao smiled and said:

"I have some other matters to discuss with the Thousand Household!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Mufeng, who had already begun to waver, immediately halted his steps. Mulling over his wife's words, he could only let out a sigh, watching the child leave. Li Chengliao spoke:

"I remember that the Chen Clan has had a feud with the Xu Family for several generations; has there ever been a marriage alliance?"

"Of course not!"

Chen Mufeng replied, and Chen Yan hesitated for a moment, thinking that Li Chengliao preferred him not to listen and quickly followed the guard down, through the winding corridor all the way to the outside of the courtyard.

Looking at the white ground, with two golden doors slightly ajar at the entrance, he still felt somewhat disdainful.

Chen Yan had always been number one in talent since he was young, playing his peers like toys in his palm, easily manipulating them with just a few words. Why would he fear a child? He told himself:

"What of the Princely Heir? His talent is probably not even that high. I've heard he's only been practicing cultivation for two years at most, only able to cultivate the Fetal Breathing to the second layer of Chengming, which is nothing but child's play to handle."

"Moreover, being cooped up in this little courtyard every day, how could he have much ambition? With just a slight trick, I could make him completely subservient to me."

Chen Yan, cunning from a young age, wouldn't take a child four or five years younger than himself seriously. He simply thought that the Princely Heir would hardly recognize all his letters and sneered secretly.

He stepped into the courtyard, but suddenly, a bewitching fragrance wafted to his nose, intoxicating and enchanting. Chen Yan frowned, too young to recognize the scent, thinking to himself:

"I don't know what kind of incense this is, but the fragrance is appealing; I could take some back home with me."

In the inner courtyard stood an old ape, covered in white fur, with drooping eyes. Chen Yan, sharp-minded, would not underestimate it, thinking to himself:

"Nine times out of ten, this must be the Spiritual Beast tasked with protecting the Princely Heir, though I don't know its Cultivation Level."

Guessing that it was probably a Qi Cultivating Spiritual Beast, he paid his respects before entering, believing that he had stealthily gained its favor, proud in his heart.

Chen Yan pushed open the door and saw a boy dressed in gold and white kneeling in the courtyard, who appeared to be only eight or nine years old, his back of his head toward him.

Before Chen Yan could casually ask a question, he saw the Princely Heir suddenly turn his head to look back, his deep amber eyes, dark golden in hue, sternly fixed on him.

These were calm eyes, filled with disdainful scrutiny. He noticed the stance of his alert ears and the twist of his waist which was unexpectedly agile, resembling the soft yet fierce posture of a tiger or leopard.

Chen Yan took a step back in shock, but quickly his irritation turned to anger, and he quickly concealed his feelings, speaking in a cold voice:

"I have seen the Princely Heir."

Li Zhouwei calmly observed him for two breaths, his Golden Eyes growing even more terrifying and somber due to Chen Yan's tone. Without a word, Chen Yan quickly sensed his expression with the intuition of their kind, and a realization dawned on him.

'These are inhuman eyes, the sort that would never deign to glance at a commoner who wasn't kneeling before him. These eyes might be even more effective on women than men.'

A cold sneer rose in his heart, along with the anger of being scorned. Relying on his larger physique, he took a step forward, looking down from above, and answered:

"I have seen the Princely Heir."