Chapter 36

Game players might have had low levels and no standout skills, but they made up for it with sheer numbers and instant mobilization. When it came to putting on a show, they created an overwhelming spectacle that looked incredibly impressive, instantly crushing Peacock Manor—who had dozens of entourages of their own—into utter irrelevance.

Squeezed by the throng, one of Peacock Manor’s young and impetuous suitors finally lost his patience. He stepped forward and declared loudly, “Manor Lord Ruan, you should know the reason we’ve brought Wangshu here today.”

“I’ve got a rough idea. The Righteous Path Fairy wants to call off the marriage.”

Ruan Xuezong humored him by turning his head to reply. No one could see his expression beneath the mask, but everyone caught the faint note of mockery and ridicule in his voice.

His words had barely landed when the players perked up, sensing the thick aroma of a main storyline quest. They instinctively cleared a path for him.

At the same time, their minds raced: No way? No way? Zongzong, you’re actually the legendary marriage-cancellation male lead?

Their faces remained stoic, but beneath their helmets, their avatars had already tabbed over to the forums. They unleashed passionate rants against the game planners and Peacock Manor while sharing the freshest intel on this main quest development, drawing hordes of spectators.

The suitor snorted coldly. “It’s not that Peacock Manor wants to call off the marriage. Wangshu has her own difficulties, ones she can’t share with outsiders. Besides, the children of the Rivers and Lakes don’t stand on ceremony. Forget all that outdated nonsense about parental orders and matchmakers—there’s no need to follow it. For a pair of Rivers and Lakes heroes to tie the knot, it all comes down to mutual affection. And as for a Rivers and Lakes beauty… she goes to the worthiest man…”

Evidently, this suitor considered himself that worthiest man. He drew a sword from its scabbard.

The players erupted in shock. “Holy shit, what a shameless bastard!” They jabbed fingers and jeered.

Clearly, the players saw this Peacock Manor suitor NPC’s provocation as nothing more than a scripted event. They crowded in with keen curiosity.

‘What kind of difficulties does she have? Foreshadowing for some later plot twist?’ One of the screen-recording players felt his curiosity ignite. He fired up a livestream channel, feeling like a groundhog scampering through a melon patch, desperate to uncover the truth.

【Jinling City Main Quest Update—Must Watch: After Sending a Seducer, Peacock Manor’s Righteous Path Fairy Now Dispatches a Suitor to Provoke, Claiming the Marriage Cancellation Has Hidden Reasons】

Netizens flooded the livestream in an instant.

This time, it was a flat-ground brawl, sparing them the streamer’s nauseating shaky cam.

Onlookers around them murmured among themselves. Good news never travels far, but bad news spreads a thousand li—and Peacock Manor’s marriage cancellation was racing through the city.

Jinling City had been buzzing lately to begin with. The moment Heart Washing Manor’s carriages rolled in, it was like oil hitting a sizzling wok or water coming to a furious boil—the excitement skyrocketed several notches. Teahouse storytellers suddenly had endless tales to spin.

Ruan Xuezong let out a cold laugh.

This marriage cancellation fiasco was the infamous highlight of his life as a background villain in his previous incarnation. Back then, he had been disfigured and crippled, stripped of his martial foundation, yet he still dragged his ravaged body to Peacock Manor’s birthday banquet. Halfway there, Qu Wangshu’s pack of suitors blocked his path.

Under the banner that he didn’t deserve the Righteous Path Fairy and that she belonged to the capable, they challenged him one after another. Ruan Xuezong lost every bout in humiliating fashion.

Calling off the marriage was whatever; he had no interest in an arranged betrothal anyway. He had simply assumed Peacock Manor’s arrogance would leave a lasting mark.

But then the plot twisted yet again. When Qu Wangshu, the Righteous Path Fairy, revealed her “difficulties,” the entire Rivers and Lakes forgave her. They praised her for her selfless endurance, lauded her chastity and fierce resolve—while the other party involved, Ruan Xuezong, came off as petty and vindictive, reduced to a laughingstock.

Ruan Xuezong found it a touch surprising, though—this life, with all his limbs intact, the suitor provocation event had still triggered. Was this some unskippable plot point from the original script?

He said nothing, his gaze inscrutable.

The instigating swordsman, Zhong Qing, mistook his silence for fear. He advanced a step, eyes blazing. “Please honor me with a match, Manor Lord Ruan. Your name has rung through Jinling these past days. Zhong here is dying to see whether Heart Washing Manor’s capture of the Plum-Breaking Four Bandits came from overwhelming numbers… or true prowess.”

The other suitors held their tongues, but their eyes burned with the same hot determination.

Enlightenment dawned on Ruan Xuezong. Ah, so that was it. This life, his body whole, he clearly wasn’t easy prey. But fame had its price—Jinling echoed with his tales. Among Qu Wangshu’s cadre of young suitors, the hot-blooded sorts weren’t few, and those itching to climb by stepping on him were plentiful.

“Then come at me.”

He spoke indifferently. This life, he could handle ten at once!

“Really?” Zhong Qing’s breath hitched.

Lest Ruan Xuezong change his mind, he whipped out his blade in a silver flash. The treasured sword’s icy edge nearly blinded the bystanders, drawing cries of alarm.

Even roadside onlookers, players included, could tell this suitor packed real skill—he wasn’t just for show. Ruan Xuezong had drawn a formidable foe!

The players’ hearts thumped wildly.

Zhong Qing clutched his sword, struggling to stay composed. His mind already painted the scene: Ruan Xuezong cut down by his blade, Zhong Qing ascending on his rival’s fame and claiming the beauty for himself.

“Swords know no mercy, Manor Lord Ruan—don’t fault me for my ruthlessness.” Restraint shattered; Zhong Qing lunged, stabbing straight for Ruan Xuezong’s heart.

Zhong Qing’s boldness stemmed from his heritage: Peerless Swordsmanship. Four years out from his master’s tutelage, he had bested countless swordsmen across the Rivers and Lakes, rising as a standout among his generation. His blade was swift and mighty.

Just like this thrust—thunder cracking open the skies, seas churning in fury—

No ordinary person could withstand such a ferocious strike.

Yet Ruan Xuezong merely slanted a glance his way and drawled coolly, “What pointless flash?” He thrust out a single palm with effortless grace, clamping around Zhong Qing’s throat. Only then did Zhong Qing taste true peril, life dangling by a thread—what a genuine expert felt like.

His sword clattered to the ground. Horror filled his eyes, his body frozen as if stunned senseless.

Players: “???”

One heartbeat they were on edge, the next this apparently badass swordsman was toast??

The livestream blew up:

“Oh ho, wind-up that long and he couldn’t last a minute? Total scrub.”

“I figured the planners would force a nerf on the MC for being too strong, but nope—plot subverted again.”

“Easy now, first one’s probably just the opener. Eyes on the next.”

Zhong Qing’s defeat didn’t end the challenges. The remaining suitors grew even more eager.

The second leaped onto the makeshift arena in fitted martial garb. He brandished his weapon: a long whip armored in dense scales and subtle barbs. A single lash would rip flesh to ribbons in excruciating agony.

A martial-arts-savvy onlooker piped up at once. “That’s the Python Whip from Changbai Mountain!”

“He’s White Snake Villa’s Young Master! Holy crap, even a big shot like that is mooning over the Righteous Path Fairy.”

Players whispered excitedly. “Holy shit, Python Whip—sounds savage as hell!”

“Ranged poke too—Zongzong’s gonna eat it hard!”

But their words had barely escaped when their cheeks burned from the slap of reality.

The young hero’s whip whipped through the air with fluid, unpredictable flair—impossible to track where the next strike would come from. Ruan Xuezong, however, stayed utterly blasé. “I told you, cut the fancy bullshit!”

A palm drifted forth light as a cloud, crashing down cold as frost. The whip’s eerie dance vanished into nothing.

It never reached Ruan Xuezong—instead rebounding to savage its master. The long barbs hooked in, shredding his clothes into tatters.

Players: “??? No way, sub-one-minute wipe again.”

“Scrub-tier, and he had the gall to show up?”

When the third challenger took the stage, any trace of arrogance had fled, replaced by wary caution. He cupped his fists toward Ruan Xuezong. “Manor Lord Ruan truly has the goods, but I’m no pushover…”

The streaming player jumped in with hype, camera rolling. “This third guy’s backstory is wild too. Boomerang specialist—you all know how it flies free from the hand and curves back to shave the enemy’s skull, depending on the wielder’s skill…”

He didn’t finish before the third man staggered back several paces, coughing up blood. Clutching his gore-smeared ear, he was hauled offstage by helpers.

The boomerang had flown true… back to its owner, backlash that nearly lopped off hair and ear alike.

Streamer: ???

Give a guy a chance to finish his lore dump!

The crowd gawked slack-jawed, feeling less like they were watching a duel and more like Ruan Xuezong’s noob-wrecking highlight reel.

The fourth stepped up. “Young Master Ruan, impressive stuff—the last ones were trash. My original creation, Death-Dealing Three Swords, is the martial world’s ultimate swordsmanship. This pinnacle killing art lets me discard even the scabbard for speed… Ah!” His monologue cut short as Ruan Xuezong flicked him airborne.

The fifth boasted, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I trained under an Eastern ninja, mastering shadowless, traceless arts. If I vanish mid-match, don’t lose your minds.”

No one panicked. His form blurred away after mere seconds, eliciting sharp intakes of breath. But when he tried sneaking from behind, a single “Peach Grove Phantom” flushed him out—crisp, clean, crowd-stunning.

The livestream ratings detonated.

Staring at the glaring crimson “Ten Consecutive Victories” on their screens, players fell utterly silent. Their throats choked on everything but “Zongzong’s unstoppable!”

Game forums exploded:

“Jinling City Main Quest Update,” “Ruan Xuezong Ten in a Row,” “This Guy’s Terrifying—Solos a Whole Squad,” “Push Heart Palm: PVP Godskill, Hard Counters Flashy Crap.” These tags rocketed to the top amid player-edited clips laced with pulse-pounding BGM, racking up insane shares and views.

No more challenges were needed. Even pure civilians could see Ruan Xuezong’s dominance—he had surged to the height of fame in one leap.

Casual onlookers swayed with excitement, cheering nonstop; the principals, however, wore darkening scowls. Qu Wangshu’s face grew rigid. She had never imagined her suitors would flop this hard—total dead weight!

Ruan Xuezong turned his head, standing calmly with hands clasped behind his back. “Miss Qu, you’ve sicced your suitors on me to force a wedding cancellation. I accept. But now, would you care to explain to everyone just what ‘difficulty’ Peacock Manor is hiding?”

Qu Wangshu’s mouth parted as if to speak, but under Ruan Xuezong’s cool, piercing glance from afar, a shiver ran through her. Dread knotted her gut, as if all her schemes and motives stood naked before that crystalline gaze.

She felt utterly stripped bare.