Against Heaven's Will

"Actually, they had a conflict with Trade Union experts. They tried to escape through the Safe Zone barrier but the boy called Liu Xuefeng, only cracked it with his strike, unable to go through," Elder Yang explained, causing Miss Liu's purple eyes to narrow. 

If they couldn't even break the Safe Zone barrier, they were for sure not qualified to be her father's disciples. What worried her the most was the fact they had the tokens. There was no way they could have gotten them. 

"They were caught by the Trade Union's experts and the battle broke out," Elder Yang continued, not aware of her own battle in her mind. "From what I have gathered, the two just ascended yesterday and were still in the Pseudo-God Stage but Miss Liu should know that already." 

"Yes, I know," Miss Liu agreed blindly, her art of bullshitting mastered to perfection. "It doesn't matter they just ascended. What matters is their potential. I immediately noticed they were special the moment I saw them." 

Elder Yang nodded in awe. 

"Miss Liu indeed has an eye for talent. Those two seem special indeed. I didn't see the full battle yet but from what I have heard, they were not only heavily outnumbered by the Trade Union experts but also City Guards who came to arrest them as well. They were facing a few Immortal Stage Cultivators from which one even had a Four Elemental Core, yet they still came out on top." 

"Huh?" Miss Liu and Mia got surprised at the same time. "Go on. Tell me the details." 

She would understand if they beat another peak God Stage Cultivators but to even defeat Immortal Stage experts? Just after ascending to Heaven Realm? It was definitely a sign of geniuses. 

"The woman that accompanied him seemed to be a support, boosting his strength with her arts but even with that, I'm sure he would have won anyway on his own. He used a powerful Forbidden Art, creating a giant vine that destroyed everything on its way. No matter what Trade Union did, the vine absorbed all their attacks and killed them all with just one slap. Even when they tried to escape, the vine chased after them, killing them one by one," Elder Yang described excitedly. "Only those who kneeled on the ground were spared." 

This time the two girls were in shock, calling out at the same time. 

"Judgment Vine!" 

"Oh, Miss Liu knows it?" Elder Yang asked in surprise. 

"Was the vine stuck in one place, unable to move its base while that Xuefeng was controlling it?" Miss Liu questioned without replying. 

"I think that was the case," Elder Yang nodded. "Is it really a Forbidden Art?" 

"Yes. Father was teaching me about various Forbidden Arts that once dominated the Heaven Realm. I still remember most of them," Miss Liu replied. "To think he knew that Forbidden Art and didn't tell me?"

"Hehe," Elder Yang giggled. "Maybe he was too scared to reveal it, knowing it was a Forbidden Art, but after being cornered by Trade Union, he had to use it to escape." 

"Maybe," Miss Liu agreed lightly, her mind already thinking on how to exploit this information. "What happened next?"

"Well, after defeating the Trade Union's experts, he collected all the loot from the corpses and distributed most of it to the public. He even apologized for imparting them with his conflict. Only then did he use the Judgment Vine to break through the Safe Zone barrier, leaving right after," Elder Yang finished, pulling out a projector from his Storage Ring. "I have a short video if Miss Liu wants to see them once again." 

Miss Liu's eyes brightened. 

"Give it to me," Miss Liu said hurriedly as she grabbed her projector from Elder Yang's palm. She could no longer hide her interest. 

Not only did he have the Forbidden Art but wasn't greedy, one thing she hated the most. She received the known look from Mai, one that showed her worry but Miss Liu just smiled. 

She swiftly activated the projector and a scene of two young adults displaying her father's tokens played out. Miss Liu's gaze immediately fell on Xuefeng's body, checking him out. 

'An elf?' Miss Liu was pleasantly surprised. 'White hair, smart golden eyes, pointy ears, and such smooth skin… Not bad.' 

Then, she saw the woman standing by Xuefeng's side. She already expected her to be a beauty and indeed wasn't disappointed. 

"Those are indeed Sect Master Liu's Personal Disciple Tokens," Mia pointed out, pulling Miss Liu out of her thoughts. She completely ignored the scene, focusing on inspecting their looks first.

"Yes, yes. Those are the tokens I gave them," Miss Liu added with a nod. "Do you maybe know their full names, so we can register them? I forgot to ask them earlier." 

Miss Liu went so far already so there was no way she could avoid continuing her lie. She was bothered earlier, but now she didn't even mind it. The guy indeed looked interesting. She didn't return the projector when the scene ended but instead kept it without permission.

"Yes. As I said before, the man is called Liu Xuefeng while the woman is Xiao Tianshi. They introduced themselves to the public, so soon, everyone should know their names in the Water Land. It would be a shame for House of Dragons if they turned out to be impostors, so I had to confirm it with Miss Liu," Elder Yang replied. "I'm glad we have two more talented experts in our Sect." 

"Oh, right. He has the same last name as me, but I don't think we are related. Did you do a background check? Do you know anything about them? How about that girl? Are those two together?" Miss Liu questioned, getting a sudden glance from Mia. It was a clear warning not to get too invested, but Miss Liu brushed it off. She was just curious, that was all. 

Elder Yang scratched his head seeing her enthusiasm but still replied, "Actually, he called her his wife, so I'm sure they are together. If Miss Liu wants to listen, I do have some spicy information about them, especially that Liu Xuefeng." 

Clap. 

"Perfect," Miss Liu called out as she clasped her hands. "What about him?" 

The day didn't even start properly and it was getting better and better. First, it was her first meeting with a Phoenix, and now this. 

"I got to learn about this whole news from President Wu of the Trade Union as I attended his granddaughter's Celebration Party. He was naturally the first to be notified once his Experts were killed," Elder Yang began, catching her interested from the very first moment. 

"President Wu has a granddaughter? Is there some kind of connection between Xuefeng and her? It seems like Xuefeng has some conflict with the Trade Union," Miss Liu noticed. 

"Bullseye. Miss Wu announced she is married to Xuefeng and I think that was the reason President Wu sent experts after him. I don't want to speculate but I don't think the two like each other. When President Wu found out Xuefeng became Sect Master Liu's personal disciple, he asked me if I can confirm it. I guess President Wu will receive some bad news," Elder Yang explained while stroking his chin. 

"Wait, wait," Miss Liu froze, not expecting that. "So he has two wives…?"

"Oh, actually, he has three. There is another one called Queen Nuwa. She is the Queen of Forest Elves race and extreme beauty. Just based on her attitude, I can confirm she has the bearing of the Queen, so I wouldn't doubt it. Even her daughter seems to be a Master Tamer who apparently tamed a Celestial Dragon and a Phoenix." Elder Yang answered in a gossipy manner. "It seems they all ascended together so they must have met in the lower realm." 

"Oh!" Miss Liu exclaimed when Elder Yang mentioned a Phoenix. She was about to speak when Mia cut her off, ending the conversation. 

"If that is everything Elder Yang, we will excuse ourselves. Please perform your duties and register those two. We will do the rest once they arrive in the Sect. Thank you." 

She didn't give Miss Liu a chance and pulled her into the mansion, closing the door behind her. 

"Miss Liu," Mia said with her brows knitted while staring into her Miss' eyes. 

"What? Why are you looking at me like this?" Miss Liu asked with a playful smile, pretending she was innocent. 

"Because I know you very well. Whenever you are interested in something, you will go through fire to get it," Mia remarked. "You don't really plan to befriend them just so you can meet the Phoenix?"

"How did you know? I was going to do exactly that," Miss Liu replied with a shrug before swiftly running away from Mia. 

"Miss Liu!" Mia called out as she chased after her. 

Miss Liu didn't really plan to escape far so Mia quickly caught her, causing Miss Liu to laugh, "Haha, okay, meeting the Phoenix is not really my main goal. Aren't you also interested in meeting a man who stole the hearts of so many high profile beauties? How good of a man he has to be for them to willingly agree to share him? I'm just curious, okay?" 

"They are scammers. They found a way to forge Sect Master Liu's tokens. It's obvious we didn't give them any," Mia reasoned. 

"Right, so we need to go find them and investigate, isn't that right? It would be really bad if people found out that my father's tokens were fabricated. We need to either silence them or pull them to our side. Knowing he is President Wu's son-in-law, we can only do the latter," Miss Liu explained, entering into her spacious bathroom. 

She didn't mind Mia's presence and began stripping off her clothes, ready to take a morning shower. 

"…" 

Mia was lost for words, unable to refute her reasoning. 

"Go find out where he is right now. We will travel to the Water Land today," Miss Liu ordered, no longer acting playful. It was a serious command. 

"Yes, Miss Liu," Mia replied with a bow and left, having no other option. 

Miss Liu smiled and slid her nightgown to the floor, entering under an elegant wooden shower that began pouring hot water as soon as she approached it. When hot water splashed on her face, Miss Liu couldn't help but imagine Xuefeng's handsome face. 

'What do you have that made all of those beauties fall for you…?'