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Chapter 230 I Don't Want to Marry You

Ji You was much slower than Yan Shu. When he returned to the courtyard, he heard a continuous stream of string and bamboo music coming from the far east of the east courtyard.

It was a private banquet.

For many families of cultivators, the Gathering of Immortals Banquet at Xianxian Garden was merely a public banquet for them to meet or make contact with each other, but in reality, very few people actually ate at the Gathering of Immortals Banquet.

According to Gongshu Chou, who was still a young man fifteen years ago, the real places for drinking and merrymaking were the private banquets held by the major aristocratic families.

He Lingxiu and the others must have all gone to a private banquet, as the house was completely dark and quiet, as if no one lived there.

Ji You returned to her house, opened the window, and looked outside.

The moonlight was exceptionally bright tonight, making the courtyard very bright.

He stood by the window gazing at the small building across the street. A short while later, he saw a woman in a bright red nightgown flash by, and then the young appraiser appeared at the second-floor window.

Her long hair was still wet, and her beautiful face was as tender as a lotus emerging from water. She gave Ji You a murderous look that made the green bamboo in front of her rustle. Then she turned around and went into the house, picked up a small porcelain basin and hid it in a corner.

This girl was perfectly fine when she went back, so what did she do to upset her?

Ji You stood by the window, pondering for a long time. He remembered that it shouldn't be in the last few days, so, still puzzled, he turned around and went inside, flicking his finger to light the oil lamp.

As the candlelight flickered and burned, half of the darkness beside the documents was dispelled. It was in this dim light that Ji You noticed a memorial on his desk.

He paused for a moment, then walked to the desk, picked up the document, and unfolded it to find that it contained the list of participants for the upcoming Heavenly Dao Assembly's Profound Realm duel.

Wen Siyuan was specifically in charge of the Ji You duel, so this report should have been delivered by him.

He was penniless and had no habit of locking the door when he went out. Besides, facing the powerful strength of cultivators, even if he locked the door, it wouldn't make much difference. Wen Siyuan must have noticed he wasn't there, so he left this report on the table.

Ji You carefully examined the folded document by the light of the lamp, his eyes constantly scanning the unfolded paper. Before long, he had read through the entire contents of the folded document.

Actually, the list doesn't contain much information; it's just that the names are overwhelming. In summary, there are probably only two key points.

First, the format of the Heavenly Dao Tournament is a six-to-one elimination round.

Many cultivators participated in the Tongxuan Realm duel. There were a total of 360 people from immortal sects and aristocratic families, who were divided into 60 groups of six.

Within each group, a two-into-one format is used, with opponents determined by drawing lots. The three winners advance to the second round of the group, continuing the two-into-one format. Some players will receive a bye and will face off in a final substitution match.

The winner among these ten will then compete against the other fifty-nine participants in a two-into-one elimination round.

The second key point is about Ji You's own duel. His first match is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. His opponent is named Tang Jingming, a cultivator from a prominent family in Zhongzhou, who has no particular reputation.

In addition, he specifically looked at the other people in the group, and there were basically no outstanding ones, let alone anyone who had been specifically introduced by Ding Yao.

Yan Hao, the person he was specifically trying to get to sleep, was placed in another group of ten.

Because of their high ranking in their group, there will be a match between Yan Hao and someone else tomorrow morning.

The competition format for the Fusion Realm is roughly similar to that for the Profound Realm; they follow the same basic process.

Ji You finished reading the memorial in his hand, then closed it and placed it on the desk, deciding to begin his cultivation.

But it wasn't to deal with rivals; it was mainly so that I could marry whomever I wanted without fear of anyone finding out.

However, just as he had set up the prayer mat and decided to enter a meditative state, a series of footsteps suddenly sounded in the courtyard of the Heavenly Academy.

Ji You opened her eyes slightly and heard footsteps slowly approaching.

Not long after, a series of knocks sounded on the door. Ji You got up and got out of bed. He then opened the door from inside the room and saw He Lingxiu standing outside.

"Senior Sister He, it's so late, is there something you need?"

"I had a small banquet with a few close friends and other fellow disciples at the pavilion in the garden. I saw that my junior brother had returned early, so I came to ask if you would like to come and have a drink with us."

As He Lingxiu spoke, she pointed to the Tingxiang Pavilion to the east of the East Courtyard, which was the place Ji You had seen when he first entered the courtyard.

Ji You looked at He Lingxiu and couldn't help but smile.

He Lingxiu couldn't help but look at him with a half-smile: "Junior brother, what are you laughing at?"

"Is Miss Qiu here too? I was just saying that Senior Sister Xiao really has great perseverance."

"Junior brother is indeed very clever. Alright, then I won't hide it from you anymore. Miss Qiu is indeed a guest in the waterside pavilion."

In fact, He Lingxiu originally wanted Ji You and Qiu Hanyue, the young lady of the Qiu family, to meet at the Gathering of Immortals. With so many people around, the two of them wouldn't feel too awkward. However, after she found Qiu Hanyue, she couldn't find Ji You when she turned around to look for him.

She also asked Shi Junhao and Xiao Hanyan to keep a close eye on Ji You, unaware that Ji You was having a meal in the private courtyard where no one else was allowed to enter.

So He Lingxiu planned to arrange for the two to meet at a private banquet, which is why she came under the cover of night.

Earlier, when they were sitting in the courtyard, Yu Shiliu had made a rebellious guess about the relationship between Ji You and the young master of Lingjian Mountain. He Lingxiu thought there was some truth to what she said, but she didn't believe it.

It's utterly absurd to group two people of such vastly different social standing together like this.

However, Gongshu Chou's boasting on behalf of Ji You only strengthened He Lingxiu's resolve to win Ji You over.

Qiu Hanyue was quite pretty, petite and charming. He Lingxiu felt that with Ji You's reputation as a fiancée all over the mountain, it was impossible for him to be making trouble out of thin air. She thought he was just tight-lipped, but he would change his mind once he met her.

Ji You leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, and looked at He Lingxiu: "Since Senior Sister He is so determined to recommend her, Miss Qiu must be a very good woman. However, I really don't have that idea."

"Junior brother is really stubborn..."

"I know that my senior sister means well. If you ever need my help in the future, I will definitely not refuse."

In fact, for men in Qingyun Tianxia, ​​the position of principal wife is something they really need to consider carefully, because it concerns the future of the family and the continuation of the main bloodline.

However, many people never have any concerns about taking concubines, because it is simply a matter of mutual benefit.

Just like her father, who had eight concubines, but only two or three of them were actually kept in his own courtyard and lived with him day and night.

He Lingxiu really didn't understand why Ji You was clenching her teeth so tightly, when Yuan Caiwei was so well-behaved.

As she was pondering, she suddenly heard the sound of splashing water coming from the opposite courtyard, so she glanced back. When she turned back, Ji You was already standing very upright.

He Lingxiu didn't pay much attention and sighed, "Junior brother is really stubborn. I've never seen anyone so cautious about taking a concubine."

"This is a matter of life and death for me."

"?"

Ji You raised her eyes slightly and saw a beautiful figure flash past.

He Lingxiu actually had a temper. After being rejected so many times, she felt she was losing face, so she turned around and left without saying anything more.

Following the night, she returned to Tingxiang Pavilion. As soon as she sat down, she noticed that someone was missing from the table. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was Qiu Hanyue who had left.

She frowned slightly, then picked up her glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Just then, she suddenly frowned and looked into the distance. At the same time, Shi Junhao, Xiao Hanyan, Chai Ze, and the remaining Tongxuan Realm cultivators also noticed the anomaly and looked in all directions.

At the same moment, Ji You, who was standing in front of the house, also looked up.

At that moment, his eyes shone with a rich gold as he gazed into the distance under the night sky, trying to capture the flow of spiritual energy.

There are people trying to break through, and more than one.

After the Heavenly Academy selected the participants for the Heavenly Dao Assembly, Steward Qin of the Headquarters specially summoned them together. In addition to talking about some matters that required special attention, he also talked about another matter that made everyone frown.

He said that even if someone breaks through a level during the entire competition, the competition will continue according to the existing list after the list is issued.

Therefore, many people, in order to increase their win rate, will not break through their cultivation level when they should, but instead desperately suppress their cultivation level before the competition, and then quickly break through after the list is released.

Don't underestimate the difference of just one step. After breaking through the Profound Realm, you enter the Dao Fusion Realm, which are two completely different realms with a world of difference in strength.

And tonight, quite a few people have already begun to secretly rush into battle.

Because of the path they cultivate, the techniques they receive, and their own aptitude, cultivators at the same level already have different combat strengths. Now, if some of them successfully break through to a higher level, it will bring even more unpredictable variables to the Heavenly Dao Assembly's battle.

Ji You withdrew his gaze, the golden light in his eyes began to fade, and then returned to the house, closed the doors and windows, and began to refine his body.

The next morning, there was no sunrise or morning light; instead, a strong wind kept blowing, making the window frames rattle.

Ji You opened her eyes from the bed at this moment, and there was a pile of dead mosquitoes scattered around her.

These mosquitoes were probably attracted by their own body heat, but trapped by the surrounding scent. They couldn't bite, and they couldn't escape, so they died in frustration.

He got out of bed and heard a commotion. He looked outside and saw that He Lingxiu, Xiao Hanyan and others had also gotten up and gone out, heading towards the outside of Rusheng Garden.

Some of them were going to participate in today's match, while others had people they were following who were going to participate in the match, and they all had to rush to the venue.

Ji You closed the window, then took a shower, and after washing up, tied her hair up with a crown. After breakfast, she also went out.

Ji You didn't have any matches today, but he did have some people he was particularly focused on trying to get to sleep. Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu both advised him to be cautious, and Ji You didn't want to be too overconfident, so he decided to keep an eye on things, at least to have a general idea of ​​what to expect.

At this moment, Ji Hanfei thought of Yan Shuyi and couldn't help but glance at the opposite side.

He slept for about two hours after practicing his body last night, and had a few dreams, which were a one-man show by Yan Shuyi, and they were a bit tragic.

He actually had pretty good control over his lust, but the kiss in the bamboo forest was probably a bit too intense, which triggered Meng.

But it doesn't matter, no one knows anyway.

Ji You stepped outside, and as soon as she entered the courtyard, she felt a cool breeze on her face.

There aren't many opportunities to feel coolness in the summer, which means it's likely to rain today.

Ji You looked up and could already see dark clouds gathering in the sky.

Shouldn't Instructor Cao and the others have arrived today?

He was reluctant to spend the money, so I could understand why he didn't come a couple of days ago. But the Heavenly Dao Tournament was about to start, so it shouldn't be postponed any longer.

In addition, there is the Immortal Emperor Long. His family's participating disciples have already arrived. I glimpsed a few of them at yesterday's gathering of immortals banquet, but neither he nor the head of the Bai family came. I don't know what delayed them.

Ji You slightly adjusted her clothes and stepped into the courtyard.

At this moment, two young women were sitting in the courtyard, right in front of the stone table where they usually drank tea and chatted. One was wearing a light blue, wide-sleeved fairy dress, and the other was wearing a floral silk robe. They were both about seventeen or eighteen years old and looked somewhat immature.

Upon seeing these two people, Ji You felt somewhat puzzled.

Because the residents of Rusheng Academy are either disciples of Tianshu Academy or Lingjian Mountain, and he had never seen these two women before. Moreover, the competition has already started today, so no one should come to visit again.

As Ji You entered the courtyard, the two young women stood up and, after hesitating for a moment, walked towards him.

Seeing this, Ji You realized that the two people had come to find her.

But Ji You didn't recognize them. The two looked completely unfamiliar to her, and she was certain they were complete strangers.

Because of the lessons learned from Fang Ruoming and Fang Ruoyao, Ji You searched her memory for people she knew, but found no familiar faces.

Just then, the two women walked up to him and stopped. Then the woman in the light blue, wide-sleeved fairy dress spoke.

"Are you Ji You?"

"Yes, may I ask who you are, young lady?"

"I am Qiu Hanyue."

Upon hearing this name, Ji You instantly understood that this was the Miss Qiu whom He Lingxiu had been trying to introduce to her.

He hadn't planned to meet this Miss Qiu at the Juxian Banquet or the Rusheng Garden Private Banquet. He had also made it clear to He Lingxiu last night that they shouldn't have any further contact. But after all that, they ended up meeting in the end.

Ji You came to her senses: "I wonder what brings Miss Qiu here to see me?"

"Ji You, I don't want to marry you."

Qiu Hanyue looked at him and said in a slightly cold voice, "I don't want to marry into Fengzhou, and I don't want people to say that I married a hermit cultivator from the countryside. Can you please leave me alone?"

This Miss Qiu is a proper young lady from a powerful immortal sect. Although the Qiu family is not very influential, she has lived a life of luxury since childhood, and the people she grew up with are all descendants of prominent immortal sects.

Therefore, in her world, she always believed that she would eventually marry a decent descendant of a celestial sect.

He doesn't have to be a prodigy with exceptional talent, nor a powerful figure who stirs up trouble, but as long as he's good-looking and from a similar social class, that's good enough for her.

But to his surprise, a while ago, the fairy from the He family came to their house and wanted to arrange a marriage for her.

The Qiu family was originally dependent on the He family and the Zuoqiu family, so the father readily agreed.

She was actually old enough, just at the right age to experience first love, and had a vague sense of anticipation in her heart.

To her surprise, the man He Xianzi wanted her to marry was a rural cultivator from Fengzhou, who had never been from a prominent family before, and a descendant of a fallen landlord family in the mortal world.

She didn't want to marry into the poor and remote Fengzhou, and she didn't want to be gossiped about behind her back.

Did you know? Miss Qiu has married and moved to Fengzhou.

Miss Qiu's husband is a rural scholar from Fengzhou.

Marrying a woman far away is already a nerve-wracking thing, let alone marrying into such a situation.

If Qiu Hanyue were to hear her childhood friends talking about her like that in the future, she felt she would definitely not be able to bear it.

So last night, when she received He Xianzi's invitation to the banquet, she learned halfway through that He Xianzi was going to find Ji You, and she ran away without saying a word.

When she returned home, she learned that her father was furious and punished her by making her kneel for half the night, ordering her to go and apologize to Fairy He.

Her mind was in turmoil. She arrived at Rusheng Garden early this morning and happened to run into Fairy He, who was going to participate in the competition today. However, she found that the other party did not even look at her and left with a sullen face.

Actually, He Xianzi's anger was partly due to Ji You's lack of respect, not entirely because she left on her own.

In He Lingxiu's view, meeting someone doesn't mean he has to marry them immediately, but Ji You doesn't even agree to this request, which is really disrespectful to him.

This is actually a very normal thought. Anyone else would think the same way and would feel that Ji You is a bit too cold-hearted.

Little did she know that the person living in the building across the street was incredibly jealous, and someone no one could beat.

However, Qiu Hanyue was unaware of the intricacies of the situation. She assumed that He Lingxiu had invited Ji You over last night, only to find that Ji You had run away without a word, which was why she was so furious.

She knew the Qiu family's situation, and she also knew that the He family, as an upper-class family, was absolutely not to be offended.

But she just couldn't stand Fengzhou. She didn't want to marry into that supposedly poor and remote place, and she didn't want to be too ashamed to visit her family in the future.

So Qiu Hanyue came up with a plan and decided to bypass He Lingxiu and go directly to Ji You to persuade him to let her go.

Because she didn't know what kind of person Ji You was, or what her temperament was like, she called on her close friend Huang Rou, who was also a young lady from a prominent family, to bolster her courage.

After all, in this world of Qingyun, it's not uncommon for someone to be taken by another person just as they've started to consider marriage.

At this moment, Qiu Hanyue looked at Ji You, hoping to use the most resolute attitude and the harshest tone to make him give up his interest in her.

Ji You only just realized that He Lingxiu was not only forcing him to do things against his will, but also drawing salaries from both sides without working, making her even more cunning than him, a notorious bandit.

“I can understand Ms. Qiu’s thoughts.”

No, you don't understand.

Qiu Hanyue looked at him and said, "Your background is different from ours. You are not part of any aristocratic family, so you have no idea how difficult it is for me to accept this."

Upon hearing this, Ji You spoke up: "This matter will definitely not work out, because I clearly rejected Senior Sister He last night and made it clear that I will not marry you, Miss Qiu.

"?"

Qiu Hanyue was slightly taken aback upon hearing the voice, feeling somewhat unprepared.

She and Ji You had never met, so she naturally didn't know what he was thinking.

But since you know the other person wants to marry you, it's not surprising that your first thought is that the other person is interested in you.

Miss Qiu was beautiful and very confident in herself, so she never expected Ji You to have such an attitude.

Women are always like this; even if it's a man they don't know, they'll feel a little unhappy if he tells them, "I will never marry you."

Because in Miss Qiu's view, it should be that she looks down on the other party's family background, not that the other party looks down on her.

Even though she was unhappy, the result was in line with Miss Qiu's long-held wish, so her heart was at ease and the slight resentment was easily overshadowed by joy.

"So, is this a deal?"

"It's settled, Miss Qiu, please rest assured. If there's nothing else, let's end our conversation here."

"it is good……"

Watching Ji You leave, Miss Qiu instantly smiled and said, "That's wonderful, Rou'er. I don't have to marry a country bumpkin."

Huang Rou nodded: "I didn't expect her to be so easy to talk to."

"It was probably because my comment about 'hidden cultivation in the countryside' really hurt him. That was something I had planned to say before I came, because it was something he was most ashamed of."

"Since it's over, let's not dwell on it anymore. Let's go?"

"Ah."

Miss Qiu got her wish and left Rusheng Garden with her sisters.

(End of this chapter)