Not strong enough to see it?
Gu Fengyao felt a bit puzzled. If we're talking about cultivation level, wasn't Chen Chang'an the one with the lowest realm?
Wait, no—when it came to actual strength, Chen Chang'an was indeed formidable, comparable to a Great Emperor.
"It's the Flower of True Spirit."
"Your strength isn't sufficient yet, so you can't see it," Chen Chang'an said with a smile.
Flower of True Spirit?
What was that?
Among those present, only Chen Chang'an, Gu Fenghua, and Da Huang knew what the Flower of True Spirit truly was.
Da Huang hadn’t paid attention at first, so he hadn’t noticed, but after Chen Chang'an pointed it out, he spotted it as well.
Yet Da Huang had no idea this was one of Mu Yunyao’s habits.
"Young Master, what is the Flower of True Spirit?" Gu Xian'er asked curiously.
"When one reaches the Great Emperor realm, the spiritual energy within the body undergoes a transformation," Chen Chang'an explained.
"It shifts from ordinary spiritual energy to True Spirit energy."
"And this so-called Flower of True Spirit is nothing more than a flower condensed from True Spirit energy."
"If you don’t observe carefully, even a Great Emperor might miss it."
Hearing Chen Chang'an’s words, Gu Fenghua nodded in agreement. Mu Yunyao had stayed here for so long, yet Gu Fenghua had never noticed it before.
Of course, a big reason was that Gu Fenghua didn’t dare pay too much attention to Mu Yunyao—lest he get beaten up.
Having followed Mu Yunyao for so many years, Chen Chang'an was well aware of this habit of hers.
Whenever she stood in one place for a long time, she would unconsciously use True Spirit energy to form a Flower of True Spirit, idly toying with it between her fingers.
In truth, the Flower of True Spirit didn’t last very long, but Mu Yunyao’s strength was simply too overwhelming—her True Spirit energy was incredibly potent.
Even after she had left, the Flower of True Spirit remained, though it had grown faint. Still, those with sufficient strength could spot it if they looked closely.
This wasn’t some fatal flaw, so Chen Chang'an had never bothered to mention it. Besides, even if he had, it wouldn’t have made a difference.
"It’s normal that they can’t see it, but you… why can you?"
Gu Fenghua found it strange. Chen Chang'an’s cultivation was only at the Nascent Divinity Realm’s first layer, and Gu Fenghua was confident that Chen Chang'an couldn’t possibly hide his true level from him.
How could a Nascent Divinity cultivator see the Flower of True Spirit? And one that was already on the verge of dissipating, no less? It was truly bizarre.
Chen Chang'an glanced at Gu Fenghua but didn’t answer the question.
Back when he had no cultivation at all, he could still see it. Mu Yunyao had once speculated that it might be because Chen Chang'an’s soul was unusually powerful.
Whether that was the case or not, even Mu Yunyao didn’t know. But no matter how strange the things that happened around Chen Chang'an were, she found them normal.
After all… the very existence of this disciple of hers was the strangest thing of all.
"Why did my master come looking for you?"
"Did you really summon me here just because of the bead?"
Chen Chang'an had always suspected that his master, Mu Yunyao, often followed him in secret, so she likely knew about the matter of the fetal beads.
Because of this, he worried that Gu Fenghua didn’t actually possess a fetal bead—that instead, Mu Yunyao had leaked the information and tricked him into coming.
But he couldn’t understand what his master’s intentions were in doing so.
"Your master came to me for one simple reason—the bead you seek."
"That item is indeed in the Gu family’s possession."
"I don’t know how your master learned of this, though."
"Of course, aside from the bead, there’s one other matter."
Hearing that the bead was truly with the Gu family, Chen Chang'an relaxed slightly. But Gu Fenghua’s next words left him stunned.
Another matter?
"What is it?" Chen Chang'an asked.
"Well…"
Gu Fenghua hesitated, then glanced toward Gu Fengyao.
Gu Fengyao was equally baffled—why was the family ancestor looking at her like that?
"Your master arranged a marriage for you."
"Gu Fengyao is your fiancée."
"What?"
"WHAT?!"
Gu Fenghua’s words left both Chen Chang'an and Gu Fengyao utterly dumbfounded.
This… was way too sudden!
Besides, Chen Chang'an refused to believe his master would do something like this—arranging a marriage out of nowhere?
What was she thinking?
If Chen Chang'an was shocked, Gu Fengyao was even more stunned.
As the young mistress of the Gu family and a prodigy of her generation, Gu Fengyao had always believed her marriage was her own decision.
More importantly, cultivators weren’t in any rush to marry. With her talent, the most important thing was cultivation.
All the elders of the Gu family had taught her this. So why had a marriage been suddenly arranged for her—and to Chen Chang'an, no less?
Seeing the complicated expression on Chen Chang'an’s face, Gu Fengyao’s own expression darkened.
"Chen Chang'an, what’s with that look?"
"Am I not good enough to be your fiancée?"
"You should be celebrating in secret!" Gu Fengyao snapped.
"Xian'er, I really had no idea about this. You’ve got to believe me."
After retorting at Chen Chang'an, Gu Fengyao turned to Gu Xian'er to explain.
No matter how Gu Xian'er felt, Gu Fengyao genuinely considered her a friend—and it was obvious that Gu Xian'er had feelings for Chen Chang'an.
Now, she couldn’t shake the guilt of having stolen her friend’s man.
When Gu Xian'er first heard the news, her heart had indeed skipped a beat, but she quickly composed herself.
She knew her place—she was just a maid. Moreover, this was a marriage arranged by Chen Chang'an’s master.
She had no right or standing to object. All she could do was stay by Chen Chang'an’s side. That was enough.
"Is there no room for negotiation?"
"Is my master avoiding me because of this?" Chen Chang'an frowned.
"I… don’t know why your master refuses to see you."
"But she made it clear—this isn’t up for debate."
"Either you take both the bride and the bead, or you challenge me. If you win, you can take the bead as well."
Hearing this, Chen Chang'an froze. Defeat a peak Great Emperor?
Was this a joke?
Chen Chang'an was well aware of his current limits—there was no way he could win.
"Chen Chang'an has never bowed to coercion in his life."
"What I hate most is being threatened."
"Fine!"
"I accept!"
Huh?
Chen Chang'an’s abrupt about-face nearly gave Gu Fenghua a millennia-old backache.
After all that grand, defiant posturing, this was his conclusion?
Did he have no shame?
How could the peerless Female Emperor Mu Yunyao have taken in such a disciple?
No wonder she didn’t want to see him—who’d want to meet this guy often? He’d drive anyone to an early grave!
"Fengyao, from now on, you’re my fiancée. Aren’t you thrilled?"
Gu Fengyao stared blankly at Chen Chang'an’s suddenly cheerful face, completely at a loss.
This… since when did he become so shameless?
This guy barely acknowledged me along the way, and now he’s all smiles?
And I never even agreed—how did I suddenly become his fiancée?
"I…"
"Good, no need to say it. I know, I understand. Girls are shy, too embarrassed to admit it."
"I get it, no problem. We’ll take it slow."
Chen Chang'an cut Gu Fengyao off mid-sentence, then turned to Gu Fenghua.
"Old man, I’ve got a question for you."
"Oh? Ask away."
"Between you and my master, who’s the senior?"
"Of course, your master is the senior."
"Great. So, as my master’s disciple, who’s the senior between the two of us?"
"This…"
Chen Chang'an’s words left Gu Fenghua completely dumbfounded.
By seniority, Chen Chang'an actually outranked him?
Holy shit!
How did he forget about this?
"Good, seems like you’ve figured it out."
"Now, since Gu Fengyao is my fiancée, how should we address each other?"
"This… Can’t we just keep it separate?"
"Fine. From now on, you call me ‘Uncle,’ I’ll call you ‘Little Gu,’ Fengyao will call you ‘Ancestor,’ and you’ll call her ‘Auntie.’ How’s that?"
How’s that?
Right now, Gu Fenghua was staring at Chen Chang'an with the overwhelming urge to strangle him. Uncle? Who the hell are you calling ‘Uncle’?
And fucking ‘Auntie’?
Gu Fenghua turned to Gu Fengyao, his smile twisted into something downright sinister.
"Go on, I’ll call you ‘Auntie.’ Dare to answer?"
"Huh?"
"This… I—should I answer or not?"
"Little Gu?"
In her panic, Gu Fengyao somehow blurted out "Little Gu."
The moment those two words left her mouth, everyone noticed Gu Fenghua’s eyelid twitch violently.
The fury in his eyes was practically spilling over.
"Good, good."
"Very good."
"Gu Fengyao, you’ve got some nerve, huh?"
"Little Gu! How dare you speak to your Auntie like that? Apologize!"