Chapter 86: Well-Rounded

“So the Gu Clan already knows about our relationship and has silently given their approval?” Su Chen said as his head rested in Gu Qingluo’s lap.

“That’s right!” Gu Qingluo giggled. “You’re quite lucky. We were able to resolve all the issues once the Beast Race attacked. If the Lightning Snake had come just half a year earlier, you might not have had an opportunity to show off.”

“Oh, then I would’ve given up on everything and taken you far, far away. I trust that the Gu Clan wouldn’t have had any spare energy to stop us at that point in time.”

Gu Qingluo hit him as she rolled her eyes, but she suddenly noticed that Su Chen seemed to be spacing out and didn’t want to talk.

“How come you don’t seem happy?” she asked.

“Of course I am.” Su Chen squeezed out a smile.

How could he be happy?

The matter with Zhu Xianyao hadn’t been resolved yet.

He had expended a ton of effort to settle matters on the Gu Clan’s side, but had yet to take care of the issue with Zhu Xianyao.

Su Chen didn’t know what would happen if he were to bring up the matter with Zhu Xianyao now. The dust hasn’t settled yet, so perhaps it’s best to wait, he thought to himself.

Su Chen knew that he was being a bit selfish and unfair to Gu Qingluo, but he didn’t want to give up on either Gu Qingluo or Zhu Xianyao. As such, this was his only course of action.

Was this also called not giving up?

Dammit!

Su Chen cursed himself.

Major issues aside, he was still a selfish person on the inside.

He felt so conflicted.

On one hand, he was a saint responsible for improving the quality of tens of thousands of peoples’ lives. On the other, he was a selfish person.

But this was just human nature, wasn’t it?

This wasn’t really a conflict; it was just the coexistence and relationship between morals and innate human nature.

Saving tens of thousands of civilians was a matter of morality, the basic foundation of being a human. Doing things for personal profit, on the other hand, was instinctive, a manifestation of a lifeform’s advanced development.

Since the two of them coexisted, it often seemed like they were fighting against one another.

Oh, what was the point of thinking about this right now?

There was no need to feel so gloomy with such a happy occasion at hand.

He opened his eyes and glanced at Gu Qingluo. “So in a few days you and I will officially be engaged?”

“What? Are you not happy about it?” Gu Qingluo asked.

“No, I just want some of the benefits of being someone’s fiancé,” Su Chen laughed.

“What benefits?” Gu Qingluo asked foolishly.

When she acted silly, she seemed a bit like Night Demon.

Su Chen puckered his lips.

Gu Qingluo understood and shot him a hostile glance.

Su Chen didn’t get the kiss he had been waiting for and felt a little disappointed. However, he uncharacteristically didn’t pester her any further.

This was all because the matter of Zhu Xianyao was affecting his mood.

Gu Qingluo didn’t know this. When she saw him like this, she felt like he was unhappy. She thought for a moment, then lowered her head and kissed him gently.

The kiss was as quick as lightning, and Su Chen didn’t even have time to react. Gu Qingluo blushed fiercely. “You happy now?”

“Just touching a bit isn’t enough,” Su Chen said.

“Then what do you want?” Gu Qingluo

“Deeper......” Su Chen said softly. The shadow of Zhu Xianyao in his heart began to fade away as he relaxed, and even his tone became a little more lewd.

“Oh, deeper, huh......” Gu Qingluo chuckled.

Suddenly, Su Chen felt a sudden pain in his midsection. He yelled, “OW!”

He sat up immediately.

Gu Qingluo had jabbed his midsection, leaving behind a large purple bruise.

Gu Qingluo laughed. “How about it? Is that deep enough for you? Do you want it deeper?”

“...... No need.” Su Chen’s expression sank and he rolled over to the other side of the bed, giving her the cold shoulder.

Upon seeing him like this, Gu Qingluo said softly, “Hey, are you angry?”

“I’m not,” Su Chen said lazily.

“I can tell you’re angry just by the tone of your voice. You miser, I was just joking around,” Gu Qingluo said as she prodded him.

Su Chen ignored her.

Gu Qingluo scooted closer to him but was caught off-guard when Su Chen suddenly turned around and embraced her.

“AH!” Gu Qingluo cried out.

Su Chen’s face leaned into hers. “If you won’t give it to me, I’ll take it myself.

Gu Qingluo felt intoxicated by this deep kiss......

In the following days, Gu Qingluo and Su Chen walked around all the time as a couple. They were quite well-known by the bystanders.

Apart from the final barrier, which hadn’t been broken yet, everything that could have happened had happened.

Of course, they weren’t spending all their time infatuated with each other.

In his free time, Su Chen would still take care of the businesses he owned, but he no longer had any interest in them. As such, he was in the process of handing over the reins to the Gu Clan’s subordinates.

Most Bloodline Nobility Clans didn’t run their businesses on their own. Having been around for so long, many of them had a whole group of talented subordinates under their command, as well as a bunch of trustworthy members of the junior generation. After deciding what direction the businesses would develop in, these people would take over the reins and handle all of the practical arrangements.

As for the important individuals in the clan, the more ambitious ones would continue cultivating, while the others would intoxicate themselves with mortal pleasures.

Su Chen was the same. These past few days, he was passing on his businesses so that he could open up more time for his own cultivation and research.

After the battle with the beast race, Su Chen had discovered that he was not the same as before.

His aura had become thicker, and Origin Energy flowed much more freely in his body. It was as if a bottleneck had been shattered in his cultivation, causing his strength to increase by leaps and bounds. Even without the microscopic eye, it was possible to tell that his cultivation had increased. His battle sense had also improved; whereas before, he would rely on schemes to do battle, he had now developed some battle instincts as well.

This was what Gu Xuanmian had told him while they were sparring.

Gu Xuanmian was a Light Shaking Realm cultivator with seven Lotus Platforms. Even though Su Chen was strong enough to deal with Light Shaking Realm cultivators now, he could only win against the weakest ones.

As such, when sparring with Gu Xuanmian, his only fate was to become a punching bag.

Even so, Gu Xuanmian praised him constantly.

Any Light Shaking Realm cultivator with Seven Lotus Platforms would do the same if they saw a Yang Opening Realm kid with the ability to exchange around twenty blows or so with them, and even have enough spare energy to launch some counterattacks.

As such, Gu Xuanmian gave him a few special pointers related to battle.

Shi Kaihuang was a good instructor, but he only taught people how to fish; he didn’t actually give them any fish.

Gu Xuanmian was more common. He wasn’t as farsighted as Shi Kaihuang, so what he taught was just straight-up combat skills. These wouldn’t increase Su Chen’s latent strength, but they were still beneficial in raising Su Chen’s ability to fight during a real battle, causing his combat strength to once again surge.

Perhaps it was because his foundation was so solid, but Su Chen could sense his strength increasing even in just the span of a few short days.

His mastery over his skills increased, both in terms of the power he was able to unleash as well as his adaptability in using them.

Good days always passed by quickly. In the blink of an eye, six days had passed.

Tomorrow was the day of the wedding.

A festive mood was present in the Gu Clan. The palace and courtyards were decorated with lanterns, and a wave of guests was pouring in. Even Swallow River City as a whole was swept up by the celebratory mood — news of how Su Chen had saved Swallow River City had spread far and wide. Every surviving civilian felt indebted to him.

The entire city was caught up in excitement for Su Chen.

But no one noticed a poisonous gaze directed at Su Chen from the shadows.