Chapter 395: At Most Nine People

Shangguan Huanling bolted a long way, only dressed once sure no one was chasing her.

As she fled, her body was lit up like a neon sign, and her speed was blazing fast, so there was no risk of flashing anyone.

"Pfft!"

"Crazy woman, can’t argue, so she throws hands!"

Shangguan Huanling was both pissed and somewhat full of herself.

She had previously heard Yue Hongling and Bai Qiulan talk about how scary Shen Xitong was with a razor mouth, which made her nervous about encountering this person.

But now that she had faced her, big deal—not!

Just someone who turned to violence when words didn’t work—just like everyone else.

Just hotter, that’s all.

"This time, Brother Lu Ye didn’t immediately attack me like before. Does that mean he’s getting closer to forgiving me?"

"Maybe in a little while, Brother Lu Ye will be willing to let it go for good?"

That idea had Shangguan Huanling psyched.

Back it is!

In truth, she could sense that although Shen Xitong had intended to attack her, there was no real killing intent.

She didn’t even need to run.

But over the years, fleeing had become a habit.

At the slightest sign of trouble—whether there was killing intent or not, whether the attack was directed at her or not—she would just bolt.

Second nature by now.

She returned to Tianmen Star—yes, she had hauled ass clear outta the star system in one go.

"Huanling, are you alright? Not hurt? What happened?"

On her way back, she ran into Sun Ruowei, who had come looking for her, along with Lin Chuyue.

While Lu Ye was in seclusion, Lin Chuyue and Sun Ruowei had clicked right away, like they’d known each other forever.

"Spill it—what went down?"

Shangguan Huanling, of course, told the truth.

"I ran into Shen Xitong. She said some word-salad nonsense to me, then got angry and swung at me, so I ran!" Shangguan Huanling answered honestly.

Shen Xitong...

Sun Ruowei naturally knew Shen Xitong—she was her partner in crime!

She was the rumormonger, and Shen Xitong was the drama monarch!

Wait—she’s dishing dirt on the queen bee?

This...

This pumped Sun Ruowei up even more!

"What gibberish? What did she say? Spill the tea!" Sun Ruowei asked excitedly.

"Boom!"

A thunderous boom suddenly echoed between heaven and earth.

Tribulation Lightning struck out of nowhere.

Normally, cultivators would immediately become vigilant upon seeing such lightning, as it serves as a warning to stop whatever they're doing, or face severe consequences.

But Shangguan Huanling was clueless about such warnings.

Blissfully unaware, she word-vomited the whole play-by-play.

"Hey, sister, chill! Chill!"

"Hey, strike her! Strike her!"

"Hey, sister, I was wrong, I was wrong, I'll strike..."

"Boom!"

A genuine Tribulation Lightning bolt crashed down upon Shangguan Huanling.

The lightning was incredibly fast. Shangguan Huanling was hit before she could blink.

However, the power of this Tribulation Lightning was too weak. It barely singed her, leaving just a sooty smudge on her body.

Shangguan Huanling blinked in confusion???

A glowing shield flickered around her—a no-brainer shield Sister Bai drilled into her.

The lightning couldn’t scratch her, much less breach the shield.

But the puny lightning kept zapping her stubbornly. Regardless of whether it caused any damage, it stubbornly struck Shangguan Huanling again and again, like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

Sun Ruowei and Lin Chuyue stifled grins as they listened to the whole story.

Being sane people, they totally got the nature of Shen Xitong’s *attack* on Shangguan Huanling.

But Shangguan Huanling had no intention of engaging in a one-on-one fight with Shen Xitong.

Her brain had just one track:

When’s the dual cultivation happening?

Block her, and she’d just nod—*you go ahead, I’ll join later*.

Ask if she messed up, and she’d say yes—then demand when dual cultivation would start.

Shangguan Huanling was clearly *starved* for dual cultivation, having gone so long without it.

Lin Chuyue’s face cycled through emotions, after a beat, finally, she bit out a question.

"What's the most people you've ever... you know... been with at once?"

Shangguan Huanling blinked in surprise.

Maximum?

There's just nine of us total—the eight of them plus Lu Ye.

"All nine of us, obviously!"

Lin Chuyue...

Sun Ruowei...

"But how does Lu Ye handle all that..."

Shangguan Huanling thought for a moment, about to explain.

"Alright, alright, stop! I have no interest in this!" Sun Ruowei hurriedly stopped the airhead Shangguan.

"But I..." Lin Chuyue was genuinely curious, though too shy to say it straight.

Shangguan Huanling caught her drift and eyed Lin Chuyue suspiciously.

"Wait, you wanna get with him too? Don't even dream about it—you probably don’t meet Lu Ye’s standards."

Shangguan Huanling wasn’t lying.

Because Lu Ye was super picky about looks when choosing women.

When she saw Shen Xitong, she just knew she was one of Lu Ye's girls. But with Lin Chuyue, she didn’t think so—because looks really did matter here.

Lu Ye wouldn't even look twice.

Lu Ye could be a training buddy with Lin Chuyue, but never a main squeeze.

Lin Chuyue's jaw dropped.

"Are you saying I'm not pretty?"

Shangguan Huanling smirked triumphantly, "You're okay, but I'm way hotter!"

"But I’m smarter than you!"

"So what? Still not as pretty as me!"

Brains never mattered in front of Lu Ye—otherwise, how could she have become one of his main squeezes?

Lin Chuyue saw red.

Goddammit, she was actually getting dissed by this bimbo.

Yet she couldn’t help feeling a little dejected, because Shangguan Huanling was right. While her looks were outstanding, they weren't exactly drop-dead gorgeous.

Hold up—she wasn't even trying to become Lu Ye’s main squeeze! Big deal if she wasn't a perfect ten?

In this world, just because a man and a woman hung out together didn’t automatically make them main squeezes. Training buddies make the best long-term friends, got it?

"I'm going to find Brother Lu Ye! He's almost forgiven me now, so I need to remind him I exist more often!"

Shangguan Huanling became cheerful and skipped off toward the Celestial Gate Hall.

Lu Ye had also cooled off by now.

Whether Shangguan Huanling realized her faults or not had nothing to do with him. The Path of Annihilation was currently Lu Ye's strongest Dao. His previous Celestial Lord Fist, which destroyed the Mingfo Temple, contained the power of the Path of Annihilation.

No point wasting the Path of Annihilation on Shangguan Huanling.

But he had a different plan.