Chapter 1576: The Storm After the Calm

"How come there are so many people around?"

Zhang Xuan had rushed all the way back to the Luo Clan, but before he even arrived at the main hall where the guests were hosted, he had already nearly fainted from shock.

He was only here to ask for Luo Ruoxin's marriage in hand—it was not even their marriage yet! He had thought that it would just be a small ceremony consisting mainly of his students, but that notion had swiftly been overthrown by the sight before him.

"Given the commotion that you've caused, it's a given that you would draw so many people here! As for those experts who have already gone into seclusion, I figure that they have come on Yang shi's account!" Sword Saint Meng said.

"Yang shi's account?"

"That's right! Grand Elder Huo Shiqing of the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters once received Yang shi's guidance, and the two of them are very close friends with one another. As for the Mystical Hands Gentleman, it's said that Yang shi once saved him from a treacherous predicament. I'm not too sure about Wu Qing, but for the Priest of the Calm Lake, it's said that he challenged Yang shi to a chess battle several hundred years ago, only to lose tragically. Eventually, he could only resign himself to becoming a guard for Yang shi's residence," Sword Saint Meng explained with a smile.

Those were confidential secrets, but due to the close relationship between the Zhang Clan and Yang shi, she was still aware of quite a few things.

Considering that most of them were seniors who had already retired from the secular world, who other than Yang shi could possibly have the ability to rally them together?

"I'll have to make sure to relay my thanks to Yang shi later on then," Zhang Xuan remarked as he shook his head with a bitter smile.

He had come to ask for Luo Ruoxin's hand in marriage, but it turned out to be something far larger than what he had thought it would be.

However, it was apparent that Yang shi was doing this for him too.

The more imposing the engagement ceremony was, the greater his influence would be. In the future, when he revealed his identity as the Celestial Master Teacher, his authority and prestige would be greater, too!

"Let's enter the main hall!" Sword Saint Meng said.

As soon as the two of them entered the main hall, Lu Chong and Zheng Yang swiftly rushed up to him.

"Teacher!"

They had also heard the news, and it had left them deeply worried and anxious.

"I've been to the scene, and with the culprit's strength, he could easily do away with Zhao Ya and the others if he wanted to. The fact that he chose to go through the trouble of kidnapping them instead means that they won't be in any danger for the time being!" Zhang Xuan reassured the two young men before him.

"However, we still mustn't let our guard down. Since the culprit has made the first move, we can anticipate more actions from him in the future. If I'm right, there's a good chance that the culprit might appear here today... So, prepare yourselves for battle at any moment!"

"Un!" Zheng Yang and Lu Chong traded glances before nodding simultaneously.

Zhao Ya and Wei Ruyan were by no means weaker than them, yet the culprit had still managed to kidnap them so easily. If the culprit went to the Luo Clan, they would really have to use everything at their disposal in order to prevent the culprit from getting away!

"Clan Head Zhang, I am the sect leader of the Lucid River Sect. It's really an honor to be able to witness the engagement between the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan..."

Shortly after Lu Chong and Zheng Yang walked away to make preparations, the others in the room swiftly swarmed over after confirming Zhang Xuan's identity.

"That's Zhang shi? He sure is an extraordinary young man!"

"Despite only being twenty this year, not only has he become the head of the Sanctum of Sages, all of his students are also powerhouses of the Master Teacher Continent. I really wonder how he managed to do this..."

"I heard that even the esteemed Yang shi has to call him Senior!"

"Given Yang shi's guidance and the fact that he possesses the purest bloodline in the Zhang Clan, it's no wonder he has achieved such heights at his young age!"

...

"Everyone, there's always time to get together and chat in the future. It wouldn't be good if we made the pair of soon-to-be-newlyweds miss their auspicious hour!" Luo Qingchen stepped forward and calmed the crowd down.

Be it for engagement or marriage, it was always best to pick out the most auspicious moment in order to bless the couple. Such traditions were exceptionally important for large clans with a long heritage such as the Luo Clan.

Knowing this, the crowd shared some pleasantries before swiftly opening a pathway into the main hall.

Zhang Xuan inwardly heaved a sigh of relief before following Luo Qingchen to the center of the main hall.

There were three chairs at the very center, and Sword Saint Xing and Yang shi were seated in two of them.

As for the last one, it was taken up by a rather imposing-looking middle-aged man. His facial features bore some semblance of Luo Xuanqing's, but they were a little deeper and more authoritative. Without a doubt, the middle-aged man was the little princess' father, as well as his future father-in-law.

Standing behind the middle-aged man was Luo Xuanqing and a demure young lady with a red veil concealing her appearance.

"Ruoxin..."

Zhang Xuan's body tensed up upon seeing the young lady, and indescribable joy surged through his body.

The several months that they had been apart from one another felt like several decades to him. There was no day or night when the young lady had not crossed his mind.

Zhang Xuan took in a deep breath to calm his agitation before forcefully turning his attention back to the discussion between the heads of the two clans, wanting to hear the details for the wedding.

However, his eyes still could not help but drift over to the young lady, and he swiftly noticed that something was amiss. Her physique... looks a little different?

He had sealed his relationship with Luo Ruoxin at the Qiu Wu Palace, but they had ended up parting from one another not too long after that. While the time spent together was extremely short, her beautiful physique was imprinted in the depths of his mind, never to be forgotten. While there was no flaw to be picked with the demure young lady beneath the red veil too, the differences were still apparent to him.

Could it be that she has not only disguised her appearance but her physique back then too?

He had indeed used the Eye of Insight on Luo Ruoxin before, and he was aware that she had disguised her appearance. However, as for her physique, he really had not paid too much heed to it. Could this be what her body truly looked like?

Just as Zhang Xuan's mind was wandering around the place, conflicted as to whether he should use his Spiritual Perception or Eye of Insight on the young lady to assuage the uncertainty in his mind, Sword Saint Xing's voice suddenly sounded ahead of him.

"Xuan-er, our opinion is that the marriage ceremony should be carried out as soon as possible after we return to our Zhang Clan. What's your view on the matter?"

"I have no objections to that!" Zhang Xuan hurriedly nodded.

Marrying Luo Ruoxin had been his greatest desire ever since he arrived on the Master Teacher Continent, and with the end point already in sight, how could he possibly back out at this moment?

"Great, it's settled then! I would like to thank our friends for coming all the way here for us, and I would like to formally invite every single one of you to the Zhang Clan to witness this joyous occasion for both our clans!" Sword Saint Xing laughed heartily.

"Of course, of course!"

"I wouldn't want to miss out on the wedding toast!"

The crowd quickly clasped their fists and replied.

Having decided on the procedures for the marriage ceremony, there was nothing else that needed discussion. Thus, Sword Saint Xing stood up from his seat and gestured grandly. "Great! Let's set off then!"

At this point, he realized that his son was still standing in a daze by the side, and he could not help but chuckle. "What are you spacing out for? Shouldn't you be leading your future wife to the bridal sedan chair?"

"Yes!"

Zhang Xuan shook himself out of his daze and hurriedly walked over to the young lady. Just as he was about to hold the young lady's hand, a huge commotion suddenly erupted outside, followed by deafening explosions.

"What's happening?" The head of the Luo Clan hurriedly stood up and looked outside.

One of the elders of the Luo Clan rushed over and reported, "Clan head, bad news! Two intruders are barging into our main hall, and our men aren't able to stop them..."

"So many experts have gathered here today to witness the marriage between the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan, yet there's still someone who is so brazen as to dare wreak havoc here? Very well, allow me to meet that person then!" The face of the head of the Luo Clan turned livid, and his eyes narrowed menacingly.

To dare stir trouble on such an important occasion, not to mention in the face of so many experts, were the intruders not too impertinent?

"It should be him..." Zhang Xuan quickly shot a glance over to Zheng Yang and the others, only to see that they had already prepared themselves.

Previously, he had already guessed that the culprit who had kidnapped Zhao Ya, Wei Ruyan, and Yuan Tao would appear at this important occasion in order to acquire the Celestial Amulets of Legacy from the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan, and considering the fuss that was happening at this moment, it seemed like his intuition was spot-on!

"Let's head over to take a look as well!" Unable to remain composed upon realizing that the culprit who had kidnapped his students was in the vicinity, Zhang Xuan quickly followed the head of the Luo Clan out.

As he reached the doorway of the main hall, he saw all of the elders of the Luo Clan and the experts who had charged out earlier being knocked back forcefully. Even with their strength combined, they were not a match for the intruders!

"Are they the ones who have kidnapped Zhao Ya?"

With such a thought in mind, Zhang Xuan turned his gaze toward the intruders and saw that the person who had made a move earlier was an adolescent boy, appearing to be only around thirteen to fourteen years old.

Standing behind the adolescent boy was a veiled young lady. While it was impossible to discern her appearance through the veil, it was apparent from her silhouette that she was a rare beauty.

"Her physique..." Zhang Xuan's body suddenly stiffened as a bad premonition arose in his heart.

Hu la!

At the same moment, the veil concealing the young lady's face slowly drifted to the ground, revealing a ravishing face that would leave any man frenzied over it.

"Firesource City, I opened my heart to you. Qiu Wu Palace, I swore my future to you... Zhang Xuan, you have promised to be with me no matter what the future holds, but why do I see you marrying another woman here?"

Many emotions rippled in the reddened eyes of the young lady—anger, indignation, sorrow, resentment...

"Y-you are Luo Ruoxin..."

As if a streak of lightning had flashed through his brain, Zhang Xuan's mind was plunged into chaos.

The young lady before him was none other than the person whom he had sworn to walk down the long journey of life with, Luo Ruoxin!

But if she was Luo Ruoxin... who could the little princess be?

Hurriedly turning around, Zhang Xuan saw the other young lady removing her red veil, revealing a breathtaking countenance that carried some semblance of someone he knew.

Zhang Xuan froze on the spot. "Qiqi..."It's a widespread Chinese superstition that there are certain days and hours that are more auspicious than the others, and this often influences the choice of date and time for one's marriage.For those who are unfamiliar with traditional Chinese wedding process, the groom usually first heads to the bride's family to fetch the bride and put her into a bridal sedan chair, which is basically a red carriage carried by men. The groom would lead to the bride back to the groom's family, where the marriage ceremony would be conducted.