Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The truth was that being a qualified shield wasn't easy.

Seeing Lei Xiaoyu's eyes widen with excitement, Qin Yu had a flash of regret. Should he reconsider this?

Before he could think of a reason to decline, he was carried off by Lei Xiaoyu. Then, an incomparably tedious and bothersome journey began.

He thought about retreating several times but in the end he was defeated by Lei Xiaoyu's earnest expression. Finally, he simply closed his eyes and went with the flow.

The clothes were fortunately fine.

An expressionless old woman reached out and felt Qin Yu up several times, measuring him. She spoke with Lei Xiaoyu in hushed whispers. Then she turned back to Qin Yu and nodded, indicating that they were finished.

The boots were also custom made. Qin Yu really couldn't bear this. He held back a slim man who was trying to grab his feet and told him that he would measure them himself.

Qin Yu originally believed that hairstyling would be the most complicated. It was only later that he discovered he was wrong. The real trouble came when bathing.

Qin Yu promised that he had never taken such a complex bath in his life before. He had actually spent half a day in the process.

If he wasn't feeling guilty he would have gone crazy. And it was only for Lei Xiaoyu. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't have accompanied them in this game.

Qin Yu, who had never felt a day pass so slowly before, put on his newly crafted boots and robes as well as the accessories prepared for him by Lei Xiaoyu. When he stood in front of the mirror he finally understood why some female cultivators wasted so much time grooming themselves.

At the beginning, Qin Yu has a general handsomeness to him. As his cultivation improved, he was constantly fine-tuned, becoming increasingly perfect. And the most important thing was that after he achieved the Ancient race's Undying Body, every action and movement he made released a masculine charm.

In addition, there was the sun and moon force field in his soul space, which gave him the qualifications to transcend the material world. Even if this aura was hidden, it caused tremendous changes to his temperament.

This temperament wasn't obvious to begin with, but after Lei Xiaoyu's handiwork, it was clearly enlarged.

And the most important factor of all was his self-confidence.

Even though he faced Lei Qianjun in Roc City, Qin Yu was still confident he could retreat unscathed. Because of this, his back was tall and straight like a tree, his eyes calm and firm, raising his handsome factor by a near infinite degree.

In brief, he was unbelievably handsome and dashing!

If there was a little more decoration added, the young fellow in the mirror would be so breathtaking that he would blow up the room.

Qin Yu subconsciously rubbed his chin. Several maids beside him were mesmerized, their hearts beginning to quicken.

Lei Xiaoyu bit her lips and muttered, "If I knew this earlier I wouldn't have made you look so handsome. When you arrive at the banquet, I wonder what kinds of birds and bees will be attracted over."

But after hesitating again and again, she put away the idea of making Qin Yu look a bit uglier. She thought that since she was Lei Xiaoyu, who would dare to try and fight her for a man in her own house?

…

Lei Jinyun's banquet proceeded as scheduled. With his precious status as the eldest son, he was able to utilize the full resources of the City Lord Mansion. Whether it was location or scale, everything was top class.

All of the invited guests had arrived earlier, dressed in their best regalia. This was a form of respect to the eldest son.

Of course, there were many people who had more than this thought on their minds. For instance, several beautiful and handsome young elites were gathered in the hall and happily chatting amongst themselves.

This wasn't flattery. The youths that had the qualifications to be invited to today's banquet were all genuine dragons and phoenixes.

Whether it was their background, status, talent, or moral character, they were all outstanding examples. As they chatted together, they were an eye-catching group.

Lei Jinyun arrived with his wife Gu Wan. His eyes scanned the group of youths and brightened. He nodded, commending them.

He suddenly understood the exquisiteness of today's banquet. Even if he didn't do anything, as long as Lei Xiaoyu and Qin Yu appeared, conflicts would arise by themselves.

If a disturbance occurred, then as the person holding the banquet, he would have the chance to guide things in the direction he wanted them to develop.

Lei Jinyun raised a glass and drank together with the several elite youths. He smiled and happily conversed with them, drawing attention from all around.

Gu Wan stood by her husband, gracefully smiling. Lei Jinyun was the most powerful competitor for the future throne. As for these young people, they each represented the formidable factions that stood behind them.

If both sides stood together, even if there wasn't any substantial exchange of information, this in itself was a kind of signal. And this signal would be released through this banquet today so that all interested parties would know it.

Then, this would lead to subtle influences that would strengthen Lei Jinyun's status and position…this was a momentum that could be borrowed.

Of course, today was only the start. The genuine climax had not yet arrived. She would help Lei Jinyun make his voice known and fully establish her own status.

But what happened next proved that the climax of today's banquet would arrive much earlier than the hostess expected.

When Lei Xiaoyu and Qin Yu appeared at the entrance to the hall, all eyes that fell on them froze for a moment.

Qin Yu's heaven-exploding appearance had been described before. So, when the female cultivators in the hall saw him, their eyes inevitably brightened.

But even more appealing was Lei Xiaoyu. She was beautiful to begin with, and now with so much energy and effort spent preparing, she was even more dazzling and radiant, like a pearl shining in the sunlight. In particular, she wore a red dress that was tailored and perfectly decorated in a way that accentuated her noble demeanor and revealed a sense of happiness.

That's right, this was happiness.

Everyone looked back to Qin Yu. He wore a black shirt base with silver robes patterned with clouds. His aura unexpectedly matched with Lei Xiaoyu. Although there was some distance between the two, as long as one wasn't blind, they would know that these two people were a couple.

The young elites that gathered together and were calmly and freely talking amongst themselves suddenly frowned. Why did they carefully dress up today and appear at this banquet on full display? Although no one said it, everyone knew the reason.

The City Lord Mansion's little princess was the most beloved daughter of Lei Qianjun. While she was a woman and couldn't ascend to the throne in the future, she would still be incomparably honored. If they could marry such a woman, not only would the honor and wealth of their families be secure but their own statuses would rise by several levels.

But now, before they did anything, this scene appeared in front of them. What was the meaning of this?

Was this a demonstration or were they showing off?

As they looked at Qin Yu, their cold eyes filled with dark intent!

They didn't believe that this could be Lei Xiaoyu's idea. They believed that Qin Yu was deliberately doing this as a warning for them to stop pursuing her.

Hum hum!

Interesting, how interesting!

Some time ago, Lei Qianjun also gave Qin Yu a similar judgment, But in the eyes of these elite youths, the meaning of 'interesting' was clearly different.

However, even though they coldly sneered inwardly, it was all inwardly. When Lei Xiaoyu and Qin Yu entered the stage, their momentum was too great. No one dared to do anything for a time.

The atmosphere in the hall changed from warm to quiet.

Lei Jinyun frowned. As the host of today's banquet, if he were to be outdone by Lei Xiaoyu on the floor, he would become a joke once news of it spread.

He restrained his mood and smiled as he stepped forward. "Little sister, is this the friend you brought home? He really is a handsome and intelligent young man!"

Handsome and intelligent; these really were words of praise. But in this situation, these words had a different meaning as they fell into the ears of others.

For instance, he was someone who relied on his face to eat. Or to be more direct…a little gigolo!

Many eyes glanced at Lei Jinyun's affectionate smile, thinking that today's banquet really wasn't as simple as it seemed.

The elite youths with slightly unnatural expressions started to calm down. They smiled and looked over with condescending expressions.

The atmosphere in the hall changed once more.

Gu Wan released Lei Jinyun's arm. She smiled and walked forward in welcome. "Little sister, you finally arrived. I have several close friends that I wanted to introduce you to. Hurry and come with me."

As she spoke she bowed towards Qin Yu. "Sir Qin, talented young elites have gathered from all over. You might as well come and greet them. Perhaps they can be of help in the future."

In such a situation, after Gu Wan expressed her position, it was impossible for Lei Xiaoyu to refuse her. Even if she wasn't happy with her sister-in-law's actions, she couldn't allow outsiders to see disharmony within the Lei Family.

She glanced at Qin Yu and smiled, nodding, "Then I'll have to bother sister-in-law."

Qin Yu was speechless. It seemed that before he could even do his job as a shield, he was about to be made unemployed. However, he soon discovered that even though he left Lei Xiaoyu's side, he began to have an effect.

One, two, three…from all around, vague eyes glanced at him. There were some curious people, but also several female cultivators who were sizing him up.

But those with the strongest gazes came from the group of youths that had good looks and elegant demeanors. Were these the people Lei Xiaoyu spoke of, the ones that were annoying her? They weren't too bad!

No one imagined that right now, Qin Yu was still in the mood to comment on others.

To deal with a person, one didn't necessarily need to directly face them. Sometimes, neglecting them was the most powerful slap to the face. This was particularly true at today's lively banquet. So when Lei Xiaoyu was guided into a group of flattering women by Gu Wan, the eyes that scanned over Qin Yu started to withdraw one-by-one, each person continuing with their previous conversation.

There were several young misses in the crowd who were normally bold and unrestrained. On other days, they might be interested in learning more about Qin Yu, but today they all remained silent. No one who had the qualifications to come here today was stupid, nor did any of them lack self-control.

So, Qin Yu became an invisible person. He stood in the luxurious and lively banquet hall, but he didn't blend in with anything.

In truth, Qin Yu didn't care about these things at all. Because to him the process of dressing up had wasted an entire day. He was glad to have some quiet time to himself to ponder over some cultivation issues.

So he took a glass of wine and walked over to a corner of the hall. He took a seat there and remained silent.

While he thought, whenever he came across a problem he would furrow his eyebrows a little and take a sip.

Qin Yu's mind was focused on himself, but when this scene fell into the eyes of others, it had a different meaning.

Many people glanced at each other and revealed playful looks. But some others responded differently. Although they treated Qin Yu coldly and he couldn't be considered anything, he was still brought here by Lei Xiaoyu.

Treating him coldly was the same as ruining Lei Xiaoyu's honor. Although everyone still believed that Lei Jinyun was the likeliest to inherit the throne, there were no absolutes in life. It was best to be cautious. Why did they have to offend Lei Xiaoyu just because of some minor matters?

But before any of them could do anything, Lei Xiaoyu coldly interrupted the woman in front of her. "Sorry, but I must go."

Without caring for Gu Wan's stiff complexion, she returned to Qin Yu's side. She revealed an apologetic expression and said in a low voice, "Big Brother Qin, this banquet is boring. Let's leave first."

"Ah?" Qin Yu looked up at her. "Xiaoyu, what did you say?"

Lei Xiaoyu realized that Qin Yu really didn't hear her. She revealed a strange expression. "Big Brother Qin, what were you doing?"

Qin Yu stood up. "I've been thinking over some cultivation problems. In truth, I'm not too familiar with situations like today…mm, it's a waste of my time."

After enduring it, he finally spoke out the truth in his heart.

Lei Xiaoyu had no idea whether to laugh or to cry. As everyone watched, her face shook. She almost couldn't hold it in any longer…

In the end, Qin Yu had only been thinking about cultivation. From start to finish, he never paid attention to anything around him.

Although this situation wasn't too right, she couldn't help but smile. As she thought, this was her big brother Qin. If others knew, would they vomit blood in sorrow?

"What is it?"

Oh no. Hearing Qin Yu say this, she wanted to laugh. She held it in with effort and said, "I also think it's meaningless. How about we leave first?"

Qin Yu had no opinion about this. "Let's go."

The two people stood up and started walking away.

Lei Jinyun was placed in a difficult situation. Anyone watching would think that Lei Xiaoyu was expressing her dissatisfaction and not giving face to her big brother. If the two left like this, losing face was one thing, but all the preparations he made today would be meaningless.

"Xiaoyu!"

Lei Xiaoyu came to a stop, her eyes calm. "Big brother, what is it?"