The Lord of Lianyun City, Hu Lai, never knew that his name contained such ambiguity until today, when it was first brought up by Princess Hua Shao whom he met for the first time. Instantly, everyone at the table chuckled, and the audacious Su Li couldn't help but burst into laughter. This made Hu Lai of Lianyun City very embarrassed. Even though he was usually thick-skinned, his face turned red with embarrassment this time.

Betrothing his daughter in such a manner indeed seemed somewhat presumptuous, but it was also understandable for the Lianyun City Lord Hu Lai to act in this way. Hu Lai had no sons and only three daughters. He had long intended to find a son-in-law to live with them, but he had yet to find a suitable candidate,

because his criteria for a son-in-law were quite stringent. First, the candidate had to be a handsome young man, and secondly, someone with high cultivation and the ability to overpower ghost cultivators, capable of protecting his daughter and, in the future, succeeding him as City Lord to guard Lianyun City and deter ghost cultivators.

Such a person was indeed hard to come by. It could be said that they were something to encounter rather than to seek out.

After all, Hu Lai had searched for two years without finding one.

Wang Xiaoqiang undoubtedly seemed like a very suitable candidate. Meeting him today by chance, Hu Lai was reluctant to let the opportunity slip by, so he brought it up rather boldly.

He didn't expect Princess Hua Shao to intervene and disrupt the situation.

Seeing the Lianyun City Lord angry and ashamed, and Princess Hua Shao appearing as if she had not finished humiliating him, Wang Xiaoqiang stood up, picked up a cup of wine, and said to Hu Lai, "Lord Hu, let me toast to you. I appreciate your kind intentions… However, I, Wang Xiaoqiang, already have a spouse, and I fear I cannot dishonor your three daughters, so it's best not to mention this matter."

Upon hearing this, Lord Hu Lai expressed regret and disappointment, and dropped the subject, while his three daughters were also filled with regret.

After the meal, the students bid farewell to Lord Hu Lai and then boarded the Golden Leaf Flying Boat to return to Yueyang Academy.

Just as Wang Xiaoqiang leapt onto the Golden Leaf Flying Boat, he was unexpectedly pinched by Princess Hua Shao. Under the sudden pain, Wang Xiaoqiang instinctively let out a cry, only to have Princess Hua Shao cover his mouth with her jade-like hand,

Princess Hua Shao drew her red lips close to Wang Xiaoqiang's ear and whispered, in a voice only they could hear, "I didn't expect you to already have a wife, so from now on you should stop flirting with other women..."

Princess Hua Shao gave Wang Xiaoqiang a threatening look, and just as she was about to release his mouth, Wang Xiaoqiang said, "You, are you trying to murder your husband...?"

Princess Hua Shao's pretty face turned bright red, and just as she released her jade hand, she covered Wang Xiaoqiang's mouth again. Choked by the fragrant fingers, Wang Xiaoqiang rolled his eyes and muttered angrily, "Damn, it really smells nice!"

Wang Xiaoqiang's teasing words made Princess Hua Shao both shy and somewhat sweet. Princess Hua Shao got the upper hand with her hand, and Wang Xiaoqiang with his words. Their secret flirtation made the journey anything but lonely.

After a day and night of flying, the Golden Leaf Flying Boat finally returned to Yueyang Academy,

Old Master seemed to have long anticipated the return of these students at this very moment. As the Golden Leaf Flying Boat just descended over Yueyang Academy, Old Master led all the students of the academy to gather in the courtyard to welcome them.

The scene was grand and overwhelming, making the ten students feel a bit flattered.

Wang Xiaoqiang asked in surprise, "Hey? Senior Brother Fang, how did the Master know we would return at this time? Did you inform him?"

"Of course not," Fang Qiu replied. "Master is not only a cultivator and a Confucian scholar but also an astrologer. He was able to calculate our return at this moment..."

Wang Xiaoqiang had heard about astrologers from the mouths of the two women from the Yan family. He knew that astrologers were like folk fortune-tellers who could predict, but with the difference that fortune-tellers only divined for mortals, while astrologers did so for cultivators.

Upon hearing that Old Master was an astrologer, Wang Xiaoqiang became interested and secretly made up his mind to learn divination from Old Master.

"Everyone, take out the dragon tendons and show off your achievements," Fang Qiu smiled and instructed, then dismantled the Golden Leaf Flying Boat. He pulled the dragon tendons out from his storage ring.

The ten students flew down before the Golden Leaf Flying Boat was dismantled, each pulling out dragon tendons from their storage rings, beginning to "show off" their achievements.

Each dragon tendon was filled with the severed heads of ghost cultivators, packed densely, a terrifying sight.

However, the students below did not feel startled but rather felt a surge of enthusiasm and admiration, with a slew of compliments.

Of course, at this moment, the person receiving the most attention was Wang Xiaoqiang. Both of Wang Xiaoqiang's dragon tendons were filled with the heads of ghost cultivators, most of which were ghost generals, making him the top achiever among the ten students.

Nothing invites comparison more than results, and Wang Xiaoqiang's outstanding achievements did not particularly surprise people, although his achievements far surpassed Fang Qiu's, which aroused some curiosity.

It's worth noting that Wang Xiaoqiang's cultivation base was inferior to Fang Qiu's; he even lost to Fang Qiu during the academy's grand competition, which indicated his overall strength was no match for Fang Qiu.

Logically, his achievements shouldn't have surpassed Fang Qiu's, yet now, not only did his achievements surpass Fang Qiu's, but they also greatly exceeded them.

At this moment, Wang Xiaoqiang's reputation surpassed that of Senior Brother Fang Qiu, becoming the most notable figure for all the teachers and students of the academy.

The welcome ceremony was simple; after Old Master's speech, he invited leader Fang Qiu to speak. The achievements of the ten students were indeed astonishing, and Fang Qiu's ensuing narration left all the students gasping in amazement.

Fang Qiu recounted the entire experience of this training journey, describing how Wang Xiaoqiang single-handedly held off the formidable forces of the Ghost King, allowing the other students to benefit greatly during the sweep, detailing the battle with thousands of ghost soldiers, the abduction of Princess Hua Shao, the ten of them breaking into the Ghost King Sect to rescue her, the battle between Wang Xiaoqiang and the Ghost Spirit at the sacrificial altar, and the retreat of the Ghost Spirit, Ghost King, and elite ghost soldiers to the Netherworld...

As they listened, all the students below were dumbfounded, feeling as if they were hearing mythical tales, even Old Master was taken aback,

Old Master was indeed good at calculating, but not everything could be predicted. He hadn't expected these ten people to achieve such results on this training trip.

"Fang Qiu, everything you've told is true?" Old Master asked solemnly with a look of astonishment.

"Master, how dare I deceive you!" Fang Qiu replied.

"The Ghost Spirit is so strong, how could Wang Xiaoqiang possibly be his match?" Old Master muttered as he stared at Wang Xiaoqiang.

But Old Master didn't press further. While he was silently astonished, all the students below also fixed their gazes on Wang Xiaoqiang, their eyes shining brightly as if they had discovered gold, faces filled with awe, like looking at a hero, with eyes full of admiration.

Some female students even had heated glows in their eyes, looking fanatical, as if they were fans meeting an idol. Only one person was an exception.

This person was none other than Ann Miaoyi. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read on m.qidian.com.)

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