Could it be that I am the cruel villain?

"Why are you two starting to collude now?"

"Those old men at the mountain gate badmouth your senior brother every day, but you guys still join in. Isn't your senior brother's character strong enough?"

"People call me the Immaculate Young Master. Since I joined, when have I ever coveted women?"

Even though lying on the bed, the slap still echoed thunderously. He spoke such words without any hint of guilt. Don't be fooled by Mr. Jiang lying here; his condition isn't as dire as imagined, just a bit exhausted and needs some time to recover.

Basically, after the fight yesterday and a good night's sleep at home, he's fine now; just some slight muscle soreness. However, the little princess teasing Jiang Feng is completely different.

Even though she has the strength to joke with Jiang Feng now, she's still quite weak till today.

Adrenaline is good stuff, but it's a bodily reaction triggered only when risking one's life. Liang Yu reached such a degree of exhaustion for the first time, unleashing this potential only when the body feels threatened.

This is why Jiang Feng forcibly interrupted; he's genuinely worried the kid might hurt herself. But he is different, he's...

Used to it.

In other words, this level hasn't yet triggered his body's protective mechanism, merely overextended his physical limits a bit, nothing a day's rest wouldn't fix. But Liang Yu truly got hurt; her slightly pale lips tell a story.

Blinking, Liang Yu hasn't spent enough time on the mountain yet, but Miss Lin clearly knows her well, so she whispered quietly, "Senior brother, um, Sister Su Yi mentioned some time ago you like purple bellybands, you even said purple has charm..."

The room suddenly plunged into deathly silence.

The little princess nearly tore up her notes, written throughout the night, but after reacting for two seconds, she laughed out loud, seemingly realizing her own loss of composure, quickly covering her mouth with a book.

Only one man was exposed mercilessly, remained silent.

Noticing the change in their senior brother's demeanor, the innocent girl continued to massage the muscular back diligently. Honestly speaking, this view rather resembled the Beauty and the Beast scenario.

If Jiang Feng could be described with one word now, it would be sturdy.

Nowadays he's entirely different from three years ago. Previously, he was rather slim and powerful, primarily muscle, now it's a mix, robust, especially his upper body, his shoulder and chest width noticeably increased, even his frame slightly bigger than before.

Lying on the bed in pajamas, the outline of his biceps could still be seen, sized almost as wide as his junior sister's thighs.

After such a long silence, finally the man reacted a little.

"..."

"Situations like yesterday couldn't be resolved anymore. For both the sect's leaders and myself to have some grace, I had to speak out personally."

Very swiftly changed the topic.

Getting caught about one's kink is extremely embarrassing, especially when even a little girl not yet grown could bring it up; after today, he'd have to seriously teach Sister Su Yi a lesson.

Break her spirit!

"Yun Xiyin is powerful, though I hadn't met her before, I heard she specializes in music, divine soul, and the Sunflower Water among the Five Elements. If it weren't for encountering me, she might have challenged the top four."

"She appears gentle, cordial, and friendly, seemingly without temper, but the calmer she is, the more prideful she holds within, unable to accept defeat."

"She doesn't deny, but persists, for those direct disciples, being outmatched by peers or even others in the same realm is acceptable — that's a matter of skills — a sparring always has wins and losses."

"But I'm different."

"Losing to me would mean denying her achievements of a decade or even decades of hard practice. As a chief, losing to a newly initiated disciple, who also leads in realm, is a disgrace to the entire mountain gate, something that'll be talked about a lifetime."

"Thus, she insists relentlessly, knowing injuries might arise, discomfort on both sides, but she still fights to withstand. In her place, I'd do the same; it's all about the mountain gate's dignity."

Kept nodding her head.

Sometimes she doubted whether their senior brother was truly around his apparent age, given how he precisely pinpoints the core of any matter, tapping into perspectives unheard of before.

Even Liang Yu listened earnestly; this was why she appeared here.

Because the sect gave the disciples two days to rest, naturally many came visiting the legendary Sword Immortal. Sect disciples certainly try hosting guests well, so Su Yi has been busy since yesterday.

Liang Yu is different; she volunteered in Jiang Feng's room not just to care for senior brother but also to attend lessons. Despite Jiang Feng's teachings being borderline torturous, senior brother genuinely held nothing back. These are solid skills.

"Voluntarily conceding is retreating to advance."

"Suppose I persisted with the Demon Burning Furnace, breaking her last Protective Spirit Energy; I'd surely win this battle, but as tales spread, it won't sound decent."

"Yun Xiyin, after all, is a woman, quite popular in the sect; further, pressing hard during sparring among peers would seem inferior, moreover, prolonged standoff inevitably leads to harm; look at yourself — you're the best example."

Suddenly turned head toward Liang Yu sitting by the window.

Both hesitated but quickly deciphered each other's intent in words — Jiang Feng meant that pushing further might have forced Yun Xiyin to defend the mountain gate's honor with might, concluding disastrously.

"I surrendered weighing the pros and cons."

"Honestly speaking, I wasn't sure how the sect would handle it either, girl, lower down a bit, yes, here, hmm~ comfortable."

Shrugged, signaled sister to lower slightly, then continued leisurely.

"Although at present, it seemed like conceding forfeits rank, actually discerning people knew I won this fight; even if she underestimated, the outcome remains unchanged."

"Using this, Swordmaster Peak's reputation stays intact, earned Sword Immortal good teaching, disciples full of martial virtues' name, also gave Yuzhu Peak face by not pushing their third-generation chief to the brink."

"Sect Master and elders remain accountable; worst case, they intervene forcibly stopping, ruling Yun Xiyin as lost, and the senior won't blame me either, as she never emphasizes victory."

"She values whether we showcase our abilities."

"Haven't you realized? This Nine Peaks Martial Meet's result isn't crucial, what matters is displaying talents to sect's high-ups; whatever shown — if acknowledged."

"Then, you're moldable material."

"That's the simplest truth, hence, I never consider"

Despite conceding in Martial Meet, ultimately announced results conformed to his expectations.

"Mm, that's natural, though"

According to sect rules, resting one more day post-Meet to recover, with designated elders visiting, confirming disciples' wellness."

"Following sequence orders,"

" "

Girl pouted, seeing her slightly sulky face reflected known

Still bears some side effects.

Since last event