Zu An nearly burst out laughing upon hearing those words. 

Please, she’s my wife. I’ll hold her hand whenever I want to. What business is it of yours? Aren’t you too narcissistic? You actually want my wife to remain a maiden for your sake?

That obsession of yours is a mental disorder! Go and get yourself locked up in the asylum or something!

Chu Chuyan’s expression grew frosty. “It’s not your place to interfere in the affairs between my husband and myself.”

Even she, who was usually rather laid back, was getting angry at this situation too. What’s wrong with him? Even Zu An looks far more normal compared to him!

Shi Kun took a deep breath to calm himself before saying, “I thought of you as a fairy descended from heaven, and I was intending to pursue you slowly. However, it looks like my plan isn’t going to work out. If I continue taking my time about it, another man will only get to you before me.”

Off to the side, Qiao Xueying wanted to speak but felt a little hesitant. Young master, there’s actually no need for you to worry. Zu An is… But she found herself unable to say it, as she wouldn’t be able to justify why she had hidden this matter from him in the first place.

Zu An and Chu Chuyan also shot looks of astonishment toward Qiao Xueying. Clearly,  they hadn’t expected her to hide the fact that Zu An was impotent from Shi Kun.

Zu An nudged his wife and whispered softly, “See? Even though Snow keeps taunting me about that, she still cares a lot for my reputation.”

Chu Chuyan was also perplexed about the situation too. Could these two really be the… what was it he said… ‘loving, quarreling couple’ that he mentioned earlier?

Their intimate interaction further fanned the inferno of rage burning within Shi Kun’s heart. “I shall just skip the hassle and get straight to it. Right here ,right now, I shall kill Zu An and seal the deal with you!”

You have successfully trolled Shi Kun for 678 Rage points!

Chu Chuyan’s expression chilled even further. “So you were the culprit all along! You slotted Snow into the Chu clan and slipped so many of your lackeys into the academy, all to make me yours?” 

“Indeed! I was mesmerized by you at first sight, so I made many arrangements to make this happen over the years. Many women have offered themselves to me, but I never even spared a glance at them. Our relationship shall be perfect, built upon purity. Aren’t you impressed by the sheer devotion I hold for you?” Shi Kun looked at Chu Chuyan in anticipation.

At the same time, he felt greatly tilted as well. The goddess in his heart had just been sullied by another man’s hand, and he couldn’t help but wonder if they had even more intimate interactions over these few days. Just thinking of the possibility was enough to drive him insane.

He had put more than a decade of effort into this, just so that he could court the lady of his dreams. It was finally all within his grasp, and all that was left was for him to make a move. Yet, another man had actually gotten to her first! How could he possibly not be angered?

You have successfully trolled Shi Kun for 785 Rage points!

“You disgust me,” said Chu Chuyan with a deep frown.

“You!!”

Shi Kun had never ever conceived that, after all the sacrifices he had made, he would end up with such an outcome. His face turned so dark that it looked as though ink would begin to seep out of his pores. 

“Very well. Since you harbor no feelings for me, it looks like I’ll have to go about it by force. You might hate me at the start, but once your body is mine, you’ll eventually come to accept me and love me. Hahaha!”

“Shameless!” Chu Chuyan’s eyes were cold and hard. Unable to take anymore, she drew her sword and charged right toward Shi Kun.

However, Shi Kun was already prepared. He summoned four tornadoes around him as he stepped forward to meet Chu Chuyan’s attack.

It was said that, if one were to master the Shi clan’s Wind God Formula to the highest level, one would be able to summon nine devastating tornadoes that could bring about ruination. Even though he was only able to summon four at the moment, compared to those in his age group, he could easily be counted as one of the three most talented cultivators in the entire history of the Shi clan.

In an instant, the two of them began exchanging blows with one another, whipping up a raging snowstorm. The surrounding grass was covered in frost, and many of the trees in the area were battered down by the powerful wind.

Behind Chu Chuyan, Zu An silently slipped out the Poisonous Prick, ready to launch a surprise attack on Shi Kun as soon as the latter revealed an opening. How could he possibly tolerate another man coveting his wife?

However, his plan was destined to never come to fruition, for Shi Kun’s lackeys weren’t fools. The two fourth rank and five third rank cultivators immediately charged toward Zu An. 

They had just seen with their own eyes just how much Shi Kun hated Zu An, and implicitly understood that they would be handsomely rewarded if they ended Zu An’s life with their own hands.

Unfortunately for them, Zu An was no pushover. He was already angry enough as things stood, and yet these lackeys had the temerity to stand in his way at a moment like this! With a flash of his sword, he ended the life of one of the third rank cultivators mercilessly. 

The remaining six lackeys immediately froze. 

To their horror, none of them had actually managed to see how Zu An landed that fatal blow earlier. His blade had clearly been aimed at Shi Kun, but for some inexplicable reason, it had twisted in an unnatural angle, and before they knew it, one of their comrades had already fallen. This eerie occurrence shattered the confidence they had in defeating Zu An, causing them to hesitate.

Qiao Xueying, who had been watching him all this while, was alarmed as well. She knew that Zu An had been playing the fool in the Chu clan all this while, but she never expected him to actually be skilled in such profound swordplay.

She suddenly thought about the incident back then, when Zu An had dragged her into the lake. She thought that it was due to her fear of water that had led to her rather easy defeat back then, but now that she thought back on it, Zu An’s unexpected strength probably played a huge role as well.

Just thinking about his hands pumping up and down on her chest made her face redden in embarrassment and fury.

He really is a despicable scoundrel through and through!

You have successfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 128 Rage points!

The other six lackeys had been intimidated by Zu An’s attack, but that alone wasn’t enough to stop them. Their initial plan was to confront Zu An head-on and take him down, but now, they chose to split up and encircle him instead.

No matter how powerful Zu An might be, there was only so much he could do when surrounded by six skilled cultivators. He could only try his best to use Sunflower Phantasm to dodge their attacks. It was fortunate that these cultivators were far weaker and less skilled than Jia Zhengjing and the others, or else he would have probably been dead by now.

Everyone knew in the back of their minds that the crux of the battle lay in the fight between Shi Kun and Chu Chuyan. If Shi Kun won, Zu An would definitely fall as well. If Chu Chuyan won, a bunch of third and fourth rank cultivators like them wouldn’t possibly dare to confront her.

All of a sudden, Shi Kun burst into laughter and said, “Chuyan, if you had been at your peak, I would probably have had about an equal chance of defeating you. In your current state, however, you don’t have a sliver of hope for victory!”

Using the Wind God Formula to augment his power, his sword battered down on her, forming countless after images as it struck, as though it was a storm ravaging a coastline.

Chu Chuyan ignored Shi Kun’s words and formed an ice barrier in front of her in order to deal with Shi Kun’s attack.

The swords crashed upon the ice barrier with a cacophony of jarring clanging sounds, and soon, cracks began forming on the surface of the ice barrier.

Shi Kun roared with laughter upon seeing the cracks, while Chu Chuyan’s frown deepened.

Eventually, the ice barrier succumbed, and Shi Kun morphed into a tornado and whirled forth. Everything that stood in his way, be they rocks or stones, were crushed into fine powder. Nothing could stand between him and Chu Chuyan anymore.

Chu Chuyan knew that she would be disadvantaged in a direct battle against Shi Kun in her current state, so she chose to kite him instead. She danced around the battlefield like a snow fairy within the storm.

Zu An was worried for Chu Chuyan after learning of her injuries, so he made sure to keep an eye out for her. He noticed that she was being forced back by the mini storm ravaging the area. While she hadn’t been struck yet, it seemed only a matter of time before this overwhelming force struck her.

His heart couldn’t help but tremble in worry. His momentary distraction caused him to suffer a few more wounds, but fortunately, he was still able to avoid any fatal injuries.

Chu Chuyan was taking on a defensive position at the moment, but that didn’t mean that she had given up on the fight yet. Soon, the opportunity she was waiting for arrived, and she let out a cold snort. “Did you think that you were the only one capable of summoning a storm?”

Her sword moved about in a beautiful arc, reminiscent of a dance. A snowstorm swiftly began to build up around her before blowing forward in Shi Kun’s direction.

The two stormfronts collided with one another in a deafening collision, producing devastating blades of wind that rippled outward, ravaging everything that they touched. Grass, trees, and even boulders—all were sliced into two under their furious assault.

Sensing the terrifying shockwave heading in their direction, the other battling cultivators quickly retreated to seek cover. One of the early third rank cultivators wasn’t able to get away in time and wound up getting battered by the swirling ice shards, which smashed bloody holes in his body.

Zu An was appalled. The strength wielded by fifth rank cultivators was indeed far beyond his current means to deal with. It would appear that his triumph over Yuan Wendong had indeed been mostly due to the help of modern technology.

Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan and Shi Kun were standing in the heart of the storm, their silhouettes flickering here and there as they hurled blows at one another.

It was slowly becoming apparent that the windstorm was getting overwhelmed by the snowstorm, and it soon got to a point where everything in a twenty-meter radius around Chu Chuyan turned snowy white. Shi Kun’s hair, limbs, and the surface of his body were all coated in a layer of frost.

Even he was taken aback by this outcome. It’s easy to see why this woman was dubbed the most talented prodigy of Brightmoon City. Despite her current state, I’m still at a disadvantage against her in a direct clash.

“What are you dawdling over there for? Help out!” Shi Kun glared sharply at Qiao Xueying.

Now that he had attacked Chu Chuyan, there was nothing left to salvage. At this point, he couldn’t care about his pride or dignity anymore. Or rather, if Chu Chuyan and Zu An were to get out of here alive, both he and the entire Shi clan would be shamed!

Qiao Xueying was still deeply conflicted. She was unwilling to make a move against Chu Chuyan, but she couldn’t disobey the young master’s order either. Biting her lips, she eventually decided to charge toward Zu An instead.

The young master didn’t specify whom she should help anyway, so it was all the same if she went to deal with this hateful fellow.

Zu An clicked this tongue. This shrew just won’t give up, huh?

With a fifth rank cultivator joining the fray, the pressure on Zu An immediately intensified. But surprisingly—perhaps it was due to Qiao Xueying holding back, or perhaps her coordination with the other cultivators was poor—he found himself just barely able to hold on against such a powerful line-up.

On the other hand, Shi Kun frowned when he saw what she had chosen to do. It should have been obvious that he was telling Qiao Xueying to back him up, but she had attacked Zu An instead. Does she still feel a bond toward the Chu clan?

However, this wasn’t the time to be thinking about such matters. Right now, he had to focus his full attention on dealing with Chu Chuyan. In any case, as long as the others subdued Zu An’s quickly, they would be able to focus all their strength on dealing with Chu Chuyan.

Chu Chuyan noticed the situation over on Zu An’s side as well. Zu An was already in a bad position, having to deal with six cultivators simultaneously, and the addition of Snow into the line-up further worsened his plight.

This moment of agitation caused her face to suddenly turn unnaturally red. Immediately after that, she spurted out a mouth of fresh blood filled with ice fragments, causing her aura to weaken significantly.

Shi Kun was delighted. It looks like her injuries are finally acting up. Heh, there’s no way I can lose now!

He immediately moved in to pressure her, turning the tables significantly.

Zu An swiftly noticed Chu Chuyan’s unexpected difficulty. Considering the terrible position he was in too, it would only be a matter of time before they were both done in. So, he took a deep breath and shouted loudly, “Wait a moment! I’m friends with your young master!”

Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes. You’re friends with the young master? Hahaha! Why don’t you say that I’m in love with you instead? That would have been far more credible!

The other lackeys were fully intent on shrugging off Zu An’s remark and continuing their assault, but unexpectedly, Shi Kun shouted back, “Hold it right there! He’s indeed my friend!”