Chapter 445 Unkind Invitation
"Bang, bang, bang!"

"Come in!"

Following Luo Tianjin's response, the door opened and Liu Xunyi, with a puzzled look on his face, walked into the room cautiously.

At this moment, it was late at night. Mount Hua was quiet and the villa was pitch black. Only Luo Tianjin's room was still dimly lit.

"I've met the master of the palace."

When he got closer, Liu Xunyi bowed to Luo Tianjin respectfully. He looked closely and found that Luo Tianjin, who was sitting behind the desk, had a look of fatigue on his face.

In the past, Luo Tianjin was always full of energy and vigor, but it was rare to see him looking so tired tonight.

"sit."

Luo Tianjin glanced at the chair beside him and said nonchalantly, "Is it possible that I disturbed your sweet dream by looking for you so late at night?"

"Thank you, Lord!" Liu Xunyi did not shirk his responsibility and turned to sit down. "To be honest, I was just chatting with Brother Qin in the room and hadn't rested yet."

"You did a good job in getting Qin Ku to join the Xianwang Mansion." Luo Tianjin praised, "If we can keep him in the lower three gates to take care of him, the mansion will have one more person from now on, which will be like adding wings to a tiger, and icing on the cake."

"Brother Qin has an unruly and cynical personality. Whether we can keep him... depends on God's will."

The "God's will" mentioned by Liu Xunyi actually refers to whether Luo Tianjin can seize the position of leader of the martial arts world.

Luo Tianjin knew the answer very well, but he didn't point it out. He just smiled slightly as a response.

"Master, why did you call me here so late? What do you want me to do?"

"Since Xuan'er's accident, I have been restless and have no time to look after other things. It's rare that I have free time tonight, so I want to chat with you." Luo Tianjin said with a smile, "How is the 'Lovesickness and Soul-Breaking Sword' that your master taught you doing these days?"

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi's expression changed, and he said seriously: "Disciple will obey Master's orders and practice diligently, and will not slack off in the slightest."

"Practice a few moves for me to see."

"Yes!"

Before he finished speaking, Liu Xunyi had already unsheathed his sword and began to dance slowly in the not-so-spacious room. Finally, at Luo Tianjin's vague nod, he held the sword horizontally and began to dance wildly.

Sword shadows overlapped, and the silver dragon snorkeled, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes advancing, sometimes retreating. In Liu Xunyi's hand, the Wuji Sword was sometimes like a dragon emerging from the sea, with a strong aura. Sometimes it was like a breeze blowing through the clouds, quiet and silent.

Liu Xunyi's body was like a fox, flying up and down. The Wuji sword seemed to have a soul, sometimes it was as fast as a gust of wind, sweeping across the world, and sometimes it was as hidden as a ghost, flashing by.

Every move was executed with ease, with the sound of "bang bang" and the sound of "buzz hum" of swords coming one after another.

Countless times, the tip of Liu Xunyi's sword was only inches away from Luo Tianjin's eyelids, but from beginning to end, Luo Tianjin had been as steady as a rock, sitting quietly behind the desk without moving, letting the sword rush and the sword energy surge, but he didn't even blink, still looking calm and watching with a composed smile.

"then!"

Suddenly, Luo Tianjin snapped his fingers, and a sharp force of energy immediately lifted the slightly swaying candle flame high into the air. The wick was as small as a bean, leaving a string of light and shadow in the air, and shot towards Liu Xunyi as fast as lightning.

As the candle wick flew, the half-burnt candle on the table was extinguished in an instant, and the room became extremely dark. Only a fingernail-sized "firefly" passed by in the air, swaying and dying in the void.

At the critical moment, Liu Xunyi's eyes suddenly moved, he tapped his feet lightly, and leaped out. The sword flew out in the air like lightning, and a silver light flashed, crossing with the red fire core.

With a soft "ding" sound, the slowly burning candle wick fell steadily on the tip of the sword.

"Take it again!"

Before Liu Xunyi could breathe a sigh of relief, Luo Tianjin suddenly slapped the table with his left palm, and a full cup of tea gushed out of the cup.

At the same time, Luo Tianjin swung his right hand, and the tea instantly turned into a densely interwoven water net, rushing towards the "dying struggle" of the fire core on the tip of the sword. Judging from the posture, he vowed to extinguish the last trace of fire.

"Well done!"

Liu Xunyi exclaimed in admiration, and at the same time, he pulled back the sword. The fire core quickly retreated along with the tip of the sword, barely avoiding the coverage of the water net.

However, unexpectedly, Luo Tianjin turned his hand and it became cloud, and turned it again and it became rain. A palm wind blew in his face, causing the tea that should have spilled all over the ground to suddenly disperse and "crackling" towards the fire core like a storm.

When Liu Xunyi tried to retreat, his body hit the door frame. The room was narrow and he had nowhere to retreat.

In a desperate situation, Liu Xunyi quickly calmed his mind, swept his eyes through the thousands of raindrops, and danced with the sword lightly, making the almost invisible fire core sway left and right, up and down in the "storm", allowing countless water drops to "crack" and hit the cold sword. The fire core still cleverly avoided all "sneak attacks" under Liu Xunyi's exquisite and swift swordsmanship, and was able to survive without being affected at all.

In the blink of an eye, under the escort of Liu Xunyi's sword, the fire core turned into a lightning-fast fire snake in the overwhelming "storm", weaving a thousand twists and turns of stunning fire lines in the void, and finally escaped safely.

"call!"

In the dimness, a light whistling sound came, and the sword pointed quickly, and the almost extinguished fire core flew out and landed squarely on the half-burnt candle. In a moment, the dark room gradually regained a little light.

"Use stillness to control movement, plan before making decisions. Be as still as a virgin, and as agile as a rabbit." Luo Tianjin's satisfied laugh came out slowly from behind the candlelight, "Good! Very good! Excellent! Xunyi, in just a few months, you have already practiced the 'Lovesickness and Soul-Breaking Sword' to such a level. Your master really didn't make a mistake in choosing you."

"Thank you for your praise, Lord. I am sorry to show off my skills in front of you!" Liu Xunyi sheathed his sword with a humble look on his face.

Luo Tianjin waved his hand to signal Liu Xunyi to sit down, and taught: "Life in the world is just like the fire core just now. Facing the storm is inevitable, but in the end, life and death is in your own hands. Sometimes, even if it has been annihilated, it can still be resurrected and the fire can be rekindled."

"The Lord has taught me, and I will keep it in mind."

"Xun Yi, how does your master treat you?"

Liu Xunyi frowned and answered carefully: "The Palace Master has been very kind to me, like a reborn parent."

"If the master asks you an unreasonable request, can you agree to it?"

Luo Tianjin's words made Liu Xunyi terrified. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, but since he couldn't guess Luo Tianjin's thoughts, he didn't dare to respond easily.

Luo Tianjin did not explain, but changed the subject and asked inexplicably: "Xun Yi, what do you think of Yulong Palace? What about Palace Master Ren?"

"This..." Liu Xunyi's heart moved, and he asked tentatively, "Why does the Palace Master ask this?"

"You know, Palace Master Ren admires you very much." Luo Tianjin said with a smile, "Just now, he praised you highly in front of me."

"Really?" Liu Xunyi was nervous inside, but on the surface he pretended to be calm and laughed dryly, "Palace Master Ren is too kind to a nobody like me."

"It's more than just a compliment, it's pure love." Luo Tianjin raised his eyebrows, looked at Liu Xunyi meaningfully, and asked with a smile, "Xunyi, if I send you to Yulong Palace, so that the Palace Master can appreciate you, your status in Yulong Palace will be higher than that in Xianwang Palace. What do you think?"

"What?" Liu Xunyi was shocked, his face suddenly changed, and he said hurriedly, "Palace Master, this is absolutely not allowed..."

"Don't be impatient! Just listen to me finish my words." Luo Tianjin waved his hand and said, "Right now, Xianwang Mansion and Yulong Palace are in the same boat. The two families are interdependent and loyal to each other. Even if I give you to Yulong Palace, you are still a member of Xianwang Mansion. What's more, doing so can show my sincerity in front of Palace Master Ren, and thus get Yulong Palace's full support. If you think about it carefully, it's actually not a bad idea."

"Master of the Palace!"

Liu Xunyi was horrified when he heard this. He could no longer sit still. He fell to his knees with a plop and pleaded with a face full of grievance: "I am willing to follow you till death, and I will serve you at your side even if I die. Please don't chase me away."

Seeing this, Luo Tianjin's eyes flashed with relief. He quickly stood up, personally helped Liu Xunyi up, and explained: "I am not driving you away, but sincerely asking you to help the Xianwang Mansion survive this catastrophe."

"This...what does this mean?" Liu Xunyi was confused and had no idea what was going on.

"Alas!" Facing the bewildered Liu Xunyi, Luo Tianjin could not help but let out a deep sigh and said bitterly, "To be honest, Ren Wuya has put forward a condition to me. If you want him to help me, you must give up your love and send you to Yulong Palace, and recognize him as your adopted ancestor. At the same time, I will also announce your marriage to Ningyu in public, so that Ren Wuya can feel at ease."

"What?" Liu Xunyi was dumbfounded and speechless.

"Xunyi, you also know the current situation of the Xianwang Mansion. If it is not a last resort, I will never take you as a hostage." Luo Tianjin's face was sincere, and a trace of guilt emerged in his eyes. "I just hate that Ren Wuya is too cunning and suspicious. If we can't appease his heart, he will never help us wholeheartedly. Xunyi, I know this matter is abrupt, but the martial arts conference is just around the corner, I really... I have no other good plan."

"But once this is accomplished, the relationship between the Palace Master and Ren Wuya will be completely confirmed. How will the Palace Master explain to the martial arts heroes then?"

"Since ancient times, victors have been kings and losers have been bandits. Instead of wasting my breath to explain to them, it is better to use the power of a high position to defeat them and convince them sincerely. If I cannot seize the position of Wulin leader, I will be guilty even if I am innocent in front of them, and no matter how much I say, it will be useless. If I seize the position of Wulin leader, I will be innocent even if I am guilty. Then, what I say will be the truth, and who dares to criticize me behind my back?"

"Palace Master, even if I agree to this, I'm afraid Ning Yu..."

"I know Yu'er's thoughts very well." When Luo Ningyu was mentioned, Luo Tianjin couldn't help but show tenderness on his face and smiled softly, "She loves you deeply."

"But……"

"No buts." Luo Tianjin interrupted, "We can plan for marriage later, but the martial arts conference cannot be delayed. Xunyi, your master promises you that when I become the leader of the martial arts world and fulfill my promise to Ren Wuya, I will definitely try to get you back and will never abandon you. Therefore, you only need to play along in front of Ren Wuya and make him feel at ease."

Liu Xunyi was surprised and asked, "Why me?"

"Because Ren Wuya has decided that you are my son-in-law. Once I fulfill my promise and help him gain a foothold in the Central Plains, I believe he will no longer hold on to you."

Having said this, Liu Xunyi has completely understood Luo Tianjin's intentions. He also knows that although this matter seems to be a discussion, Luo Tianjin has actually made up his mind already, and he cannot refuse this matter at all.

When you are in the arena, you have no choice. Thinking of this, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but feel bitter, but he could do nothing about it.

Seeing Liu Xunyi remained silent, Luo Tianjin couldn't help but feel anxious and said hesitantly: "Xunyi, this matter..."

"Master, there is no need to say more. I already know your intention. I... am willing to put the overall situation first and transfer to Yulong Palace and worship Ren Wuya as my ancestor."

……

(End of this chapter)