Beautiful woman invites you

The voice was crisp and melodious, like pearls falling onto a jade plate, incredibly pleasant to the ear. However, it contained not a hint of emotion, sounding just like shards of ice.

Long Chen and Guo Ran turned their heads in shock, only to realize that at some point, Ye Zhiqiu had arrived beside them.

Ye Zhiqiu's actions drew everyone's attention; they all ceased their conversations and looked at her.

That Ye Zhiqiu would actually take the initiative to invite Long Chen left everyone looking completely incredulous.

One had to know that Ye Zhiqiu was famously cold and sparing with her words; she barely spoke to anyone, which was why she was known as the Ice Beauty.

Yet today, the Ice Beauty had acted completely out of character, taking the initiative to invite Long Chen. While this was shocking, it also stirred deep jealousy in everyone.

Looking at Long Chen's sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, his extraordinary handsomeness, many felt a sourness in their hearts, immediately thinking that the Ice Beauty had developed worldly desires.

Happiness had come too suddenly—at least that was the case for Guo Ran. He reacted immediately and hurriedly said, "I am with my boss, I wonder if…"

"You may," Ye Zhiqiu said indifferently, her expression devoid of any fluctuation.

Guo Ran was so excited he nearly jumped up. He grabbed the still-stunned Long Chen and said, "Boss, hurry up and thank Young Miss Zhiqiu!"

Long Chen finally reacted. He shook his head and said, "I appreciate your kindness, Young Miss Ye, but I am used to being free and unfettered. I fear I would cause you inconvenience, so I must apologize."

For a moment, everyone who heard this response was stunned. They looked at Long Chen as if he were an idiot; was this guy a fool?

Guo Ran was almost on the verge of tears. He desperately wanted to shout that he was willing—ten thousand times willing—but unfortunately, as an add-on, he had no right to speak. He was so anxious he nearly fainted.

Hearing Long Chen's reply, Ye Zhiqiu's expression remained unchanged. She nodded without saying anything, as if Long Chen's refusal had not exceeded her expectations.

"Then would Your Excellency consider joining my faction?"

Just then, a soft voice rang out. Tang Waner, as beautiful as a celestial sprite, approached and smiled gently at Long Chen.

The entire crowd was in an uproar. What kind of dogshit luck did this brat have? Why were both beauties working so hard to recruit him?

Lei Qianshang narrowed his eyes and looked coldly at Long Chen. Although he didn't speak, his eyes already showed signs of anger.

Qi Xin stood in the distance, watching the scene indifferently with a calm expression. However, no one noticed that his hands were clenched into tight fists.

Only Yue Zifeng watched Long Chen with furrowed brows, lost in thought.

"What? Are you unwilling?" Tang Waner tilted her head slightly, smiling with dimples, her beautiful eyes shimmering, causing one's heart to race wildly.

"Willing, willing, we are willing!" Before Long Chen could open his mouth, Guo Ran was already screaming frantically.

He had already missed one opportunity earlier, watching happiness slip away before his eyes. Now that it had returned, if he didn't seize this chance, Guo Ran felt he would commit suicide.

Tang Waner glanced indifferently at Guo Ran and shook her head, saying, "You are merely an add-on; your word doesn't count."

Guo Ran immediately wilted like a frost-bitten eggplant, though his eyes remained glued to Long Chen, the look of pleading in them evident.

Looking at the beauty before him, Long Chen couldn't help but feel his heart racing. There was a special aura about Tang Waner that was extremely alluring, and Long Chen was no exception.

However, for some reason, he always felt this woman was somewhat familiar, and furthermore, he constantly had an uneasy feeling in his heart.

In the end, Long Chen still shook his head. Guo Ran, waiting on the side, nearly fainted; he even had the urge to beat Long Chen up.

Shaking his head, Long Chen sighed and said, "I am willing."

However, after saying these three words, Long Chen's expression changed instantly. He looked at Tang Waner in shock; at this moment, a bewitching red light was just fading from her beautiful eyes.

"Heart-Bewitching Technique."

Long Chen was greatly alarmed. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, he had naturally blurted out those three words.

By the time he realized it, it was already too late. He hadn't expected Tang Waner to be proficient in Soul arts. Having no defenses, he had fallen for it instantly.

"Wow, that's great! Congratulations on joining our team," Tang Waner said excitedly, her beautiful eyes curving into crescents, looking exceptionally charming.

"Isn't that inappropriate?" Ye Zhiqiu, who had originally intended to leave, looked at Tang Waner and said indifferently. Clearly, she had seen through the trick.

"There's nothing inappropriate about it. Everyone saw it; he agreed himself to join my faction. Big Sister, you aren't going to fight me for him, are you?" Tang Waner said with a giggle.

Ye Zhiqiu looked at Tang Waner, then at Long Chen. She didn't say anything and left with her people.

Long Chen looked at the sly-looking Tang Waner and whispered, "You've gone too far. How could you use such a despicable method?"

Tang Waner, like a little fox that had stolen a chicken, was full of triumph in her beautiful eyes. She lowered her head, leaned closer to Long Chen, and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear:

"Brat, where did that arrogance go when you scolded me for having no sense of shame? Now that you've fallen into my hands, hehe…" Tang Waner's beautiful eyes were filled with the pleasure of revenge.

"So it was you!"

Long Chen nearly jumped up. He finally remembered. No wonder he always felt this woman was somewhat familiar.

It turned out she was the woman who had flown overhead and scolded Long Chen that day when he had flooded his powerful enemies at the bridge.

At that time, Tang Waner had covered her face with her hands, so he couldn't see her features clearly. Furthermore, she was flying too fast, and Long Chen hadn't paid attention to her figure.

Also, because Tang Waner had been covering her face, her voice was muffled and filled with anger, so Long Chen only felt the voice was familiar but couldn't recall where he had heard it.

Now that Tang Waner had said this, Long Chen immediately remembered, and at the same time, an extremely ominous feeling arose in his heart; he was afraid he had fallen into a pit.

Just as Long Chen was about to speak, Tang Waner seemed to know what he was going to say and cut him off: "You have already agreed to join my faction. Unless I fail to obtain the Core Disciple quota, you absolutely cannot withdraw. If you force a withdrawal, it will be considered a violation, and you will be expelled from the branch courtyard!"

Long Chen was stunned. There was such a strange rule? Beside him, Guo Ran hurriedly said, "Boss, my ancestor, please stop causing trouble. It's rare for Young Miss Waner to think highly of us, so don't be ungrateful."

"Alright, now that you are in my camp, to put it plainly, you are my own people from now on. I won't treat you unfairly, you understand?" When Tang Waner said the word "unfairly," she deliberately winked.

In the eyes of outsiders, it seemed as if Tang Waner was flirting with Long Chen, making countless people green with envy.

"Alright, today all the quotas have been arranged. When I am assigned a base, there will definitely be a place for you. Keep it up, I believe in you." After saying this, Tang Waner smiled slightly, making people feel as if they were basking in a spring breeze, and walked away with a wisp of fragrance.

Long Chen looked at the sky in a daze. What kind of sin did I commit? How did I end up falling into the hands of this little girl?

Even taking a leak can lead to grievances; my luck is just too terrible. Long Chen felt he was extremely unlucky.

However, compared to Long Chen's self-pity, Guo Ran was radiant, as if he had been reborn.

"Boss, don't be like this. Do you know how many people want to beat you up with that expression?" Guo Ran glanced at the people who were jealous to the point of madness and whispered.

Long Chen ignored those gazes and asked, "Is what that girl said true? Once you choose to join a faction, you cannot withdraw?"

"It's true. The Xuantian Branch Courtyard has many rules, and they are very strange, so you need to learn more in the future, otherwise no one will be able to cover for you," Guo Ran said with a serious expression.

After speaking, he rummaged through his spatial ring for a while, found a scroll, and handed it to Long Chen, saying, "These are the 1,087 rules of the Xuantian Branch Courtyard. You should read them more, lest you step on a landmine."

Long Chen scanned through it and discovered that the Xuantian Branch Courtyard indeed had many rules. For example, after joining a faction, one could not withdraw; this was to test a Disciple's judgment and loyalty.

There were also rules that men and women could fall in love but could not consummate the relationship; in fights among peers, one could not take lives or cause disability, but one could challenge others at any time without punishment, and so on.

Various strange and bizarre rules left Long Chen dumbfounded. However, after reading them, he understood that this was to increase competitiveness among the Disciples.

This was also a form of elimination Law. If your cultivation was insufficient, you could only be bullied here. Amidst endless humiliation, you either erupted and rose up, or you collapsed and got kicked out.

Through these rules, Long Chen knew that most of them favored the strong. Therefore, if he wanted to live comfortably, he had to strive to become a strong person and stand above others.

Long Chen did not like standing on top of others, but he absolutely did not like being trampled underfoot. Seeing these things, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly; truly, as the saying goes, when one is in the Jianghu, one is not master of one's own fate.

Originally, Long Chen's biggest goal in joining the Xuantian Branch Courtyard was to collect medicinal herbs, hoping to use the Sect's channels to collect herbs for the Yuheng Pill.

After all, the larger the Sect and the more ancient its Legacy, the higher the probability of him obtaining precious medicinal herbs; otherwise, the opening of the second star of the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art would be indefinitely delayed.

It could be said that coming to the Xuantian Branch Courtyard was a stepping stone for Long Chen to cultivate the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art. Although he didn't know the Rank of the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art, he believed that it absolutely exceeded his imagination.

"Boss, let's go somewhere else. Being stared at by so many people, I always feel uneasy." Although Ye Zhiqiu and Tang Waner had both left, the majority of people were still in place.

These people were all staring intensely in this direction—specifically, at Long Chen—their eyes filled with jealousy and provocation, which made Guo Ran's heart palpitate.

Being hostilely watched by so many people, Guo Ran did not have Long Chen's composure; he felt as if needles were pricking his back, making him restless.

Long Chen didn't like being stared at by so many people either. He dusted off his bottom and led Xiao Xue away, but after walking only a few miles, they were blocked by someone.

"Brat, I'll give you a chance. Kneel and apologize to my brother, otherwise, bear the consequences."

Suddenly, a man stood in front of Long Chen and said coldly.

The man was burly with surging aura, his eyes fixed on Long Chen. Not far behind him, a black-and-blue person stood; it was precisely the brat who had been beaten up by Long Chen.

"Boss, be careful, he is one of Qi Xin's people. His cultivation is extremely powerful," Guo Ran whispered.

Long Chen glanced at that person, then at Qi Xin in the distance, who was surrounded like the moon by stars, a sneer appearing on his face.

"If you don't want to die, get lost. I'm not in a very good mood," Long Chen shook his head and said. He was indeed in a bad mood; no matter who fell into a pit, they wouldn't feel very good.

"It doesn't matter if you're in a bad mood; I'll beat you until you're in a good mood."

A cruel smile appeared on the man's face. He raised his fist high and smashed it down towards Long Chen; with one punch, he completely sealed off all of Long Chen's escape routes.