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As these two words were announced, there was first silence, and then there was ardent applause.

Only Tang Jie sat in a daze on his seat, staring in shock at the young palace lord.

Shen Qingdan!

It was the real Shen Qingdan!

But wasn’t the Wandering Palace supposed to push out a fake?

Why had it suddenly used the real one?

Turning his head, he saw Xu Miaoran also staring in shock.

Their eyes met, and then Xu Miaoran moved her mouth. Tang Jie could clearly tell that she was saying, “Let’s see what you do about this!”

Panicking, Tang Jie stood up and said, “How could Tang Jie ever be virtuous or capable enough to match with the Wandering Palace’s golden child? Young Palace Lord, could you have said the wrong name?”

The venue instantly fell silent. Everyone looked at Tang Jie, even Xie Fengtang staring at him in shock.

The Wandering Palace Lord snorted, “Tang Jie, what do you mean by this? Is it that my daughter isn’t good enough for you?”

Tang Jie placed a fist in his hand and replied, “I would not dare. But Tang Jie is currently a servant student, and this lowly status does not match that of the young palace lord and may hinder her.”

“‘A servant student’?” The Wandering Palace Lord’s pitch rose. It was clear that she didn’t know that Tang Jie was actually a servant student.

Tang Jie saw a way out. He had just been trying to stall and lower his status, but seeing that it had worked, he quickly said, “Yes, my master is Wei Tianchong. Palace Lord may ask someone else if you do not believe me.”

The Wandering Palace Lord looked around and saw everyone nod, and even Xie Fengtang had nothing to say. It was clear that Tang Jie had not been lying, and she grimaced.

It was not proper for a groom to be another person’s servant. More importantly, the Wandering Palace would fall in status, and the Wei Clan would theoretically become the master.

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A mortal clan becoming the master of a cultivation organization? Others would be guffawing at the Wandering Palace’s expense if this got out.

The Wandering Palace Lord turned to the young palace lord and said, “Qing’er, I think we need to reconsider this.”

But surprisingly, the young palace lord replied, “My choice has already been announced to the world, so how can it be so easily changed? Even if he is marked down as a servant, that does not mean he cannot escape this status. So long as he works hard, there will be a solution.”

The Wandering Palace Lord considered these words.

She had also seen Tang Jie’s performance, and she had initially had no objections to her daughter’s choice. And by not using the fake, they avoided leaving an opening to exploit. The Thousand Passions Sect had already hinted that they knew of that matter and were going to threaten them over it for some advantages, which had only confirmed the Wandering Palace Lord’s decision to switch back in the real one. But she hadn’t expected that Tang Jie would be a servant student, putting her in a dilemma.

The Wandering Palace Lord said, “My Wandering Palace emphasizes talent, not background. There is no harm in being a servant student. As your master is present, we can simply have him relieve you of your servitude. If there is any loss suffered, my Wandering Palace can pay compensation.”

Wei Tianchong quickly said, “I don’t have a problem with it. Actually, I really haven’t been treating Tang Jie as a ser… Hey, why are you kicking me?”

Wei Tianchong grabbed his leg in pain while Tang Jie callously said, “Young Master, don’t talk nonsense. Did you forget about the oath I made to the lady?”

“‘Oath’? What oath?” Wei Tianchong said in surprise.

Shi Meng answered, “When the lady was selecting servant students. Young Master, you were unconscious at the time. In order to get into the academy, Tang Jie swore on his Heart Demon that he would not shed his status as a servant until Young Master shed your mortality, and that he would not leave the family register until Young Master reached Celestial Heart.”

Wei Tianchong finally remembered, and Tang Jie sighed in relief, mentally giving Shi Meng a thumbs-up for speaking up for him. These words carried more weight than if Tang Jie had explained it himself.

Sure enough, the Wandering Palace Lord grimaced. “How could he have made an oath like this?”

Since Tang Jie had a Heart Demon Oath, not even the Wandering Palace Lord could force the issue.

The Heart Demon Oath that had once bound Tang Jie had now saved him, and Tang Jie couldn’t help but sigh in relief. Bowing, he said, “How could a lowly servant student like me compare to a phoenix like the young palace lord? I presume that the Wandering Palace intends to join my Basking Moon Sect, thus allowing Tang Jie this immense kindness. In truth, besides Tang Jie, there was another person more suitable for the young palace lord: my young master.”

He pointed at Wei Tianchong, who froze as his chubby and dumbfounded face became the center of attention.

Tang Jie proudly said, “My young master is intelligent and gifted. He was born with a precocious nature, learning to read at three and studying martial arts at five…”

He began to make all sorts of exaggerated boasts about Wei Tianchong, turning Wei Tianchong into a genius not seen even once every three thousand years, exaggerating to an absolutely shameless level.

Wei Tianchong was dizzy, asking Shi Meng, “Is this me?”

Shi Meng sneered, “Is this even a human?”

Of course, Tang Jie wasn’t hoping that his words would deceive anyone, but this was the only way he could make the other side understand that he had no interest in her daughter. Whether it was in terms of status or emotions, they weren’t a match for each other, so it would be best for everyone if she withdrew.

Tang Jie had to do this to make his thoughts plain, even if he ended up offending the Wandering Palace.

Sure enough, the Wandering Palace Lord slowly turned angry as he went on, finally saying, “Who to choose is the Wandering Palace’s business. Your input is not required!”

She turned to her daughter to advise her, but the young palace lord said, “Young Master Tang, are you saying all this because you don’t want to marry me, or because you can’t marry me?”

Tang Jie was about to speak when Xie Fengtang chimed in, “Young Palace Lord, do not misunderstand. Tang Jie is saying all this for the Wandering Palace. If you asked him if he personally had any objections, how could he possibly not be willing?”

He gave Tang Jie a look.

Tang Jie mentally groaned.

The young palace lord’s choice wouldn’t just decide her lifelong partner, but also the allegiance of the Wandering Palace. But this was exactly why it really wasn’t up to Tang Jie. If Tang Jie really dared to say, “I don’t want to marry you! I just came here for the Stop Gate Banner!”, then he would be dead for sure, despite his new status as a provisional disciple.

Xie Fengtang was speaking up as a warning to Tang Jie to stop making excuses.

Fortunately, Tang Jie’s status was a real problem, and Tang Jie could only hope that the young palace lord would change her mind.

The young palace lord glanced at Tang Jie and suddenly removed her veil, revealing her delicate and beautiful face. It was none other than the girl he had met at the site of Shu Mingyang’s death, a natural beauty.

The crowd below sighed in wonder at the sight of her face. The young palace lord declared, “Since Young Master Tang is a registered servant and is temporarily bound by an oath, then we can first set down an engagement.”

“Huh?” Tang Jie was taken aback.

The young palace lord continued, “As cultivators, we spend many years in cultivation and care little about the passing of time. I sought a person of my age simply so that I could have a kindred spirit that I could grow old together with. In truth, given our ages, there is no need to rush for achievements. Since it is currently not convenient for Young Master Tang, then we can first set up an engagement contract. We can then hold the wedding once you are no longer a servant. Of course, once the engagement is set, the Wandering Palace will belong to Sageheart.”

“Nothing could be better!” Xie Fengtang clapped his hands and shouted upon hearing those last words.

He was only concerned about the Wandering Palace’s allegiance. When he first heard the young palace lord’s words, he initially thought that she was going to use this as a chance to delay, his face growing glum. But when he heard those last words, he sighed in relief. So long as the Wandering Palace joined Sageheart, he really didn’t care what happened with Tang Jie and the young palace lord.

When Xie Fengtang voiced his approval, Tang Jie knew that he was finished. The young palace lord’s proposal had left him no reason to refuse, nor did he have the right to refuse. He turned to Xu Miaoran, whose face had already turned into a sheet of ice.

The young palace lord smiled. “I have not yet heard Young Master Tang’s opinion.”

Tang Jie knew that she probably really was just asking to hear his opinion, but he still couldn’t help but break into a sweat. But as everyone was watching, he could only nod. “This… is perfect.”

His agreement was so pained that it seemed like someone was forcing his head down. Countless students privately grumbled, I’ll take it if you don’t want it!

The matter was ended there.

The students and masters from the various sects offered their congratulations. Many of them were envious of Tang Jie, but when they saw his sorrowful appearance, they secretly rejoiced, and their envy was somewhat reduced. On the contrary, they came up and gave him well wishes like “May husband and wife share loving affection,” “May you have marital bliss,” “May you have a blissful life,” and “May you have a son soon.”

Wei Tianchong giggled as he came up, and Tang Jie glared at him. “You also find this funny?”

Frightened, Wei Tianchong was unable to say any sort of congratulatory words. After a long while, he finally squeezed out, “Then I suppose… restrain your grief and accept your fate, I guess.”

“Pfft!” Peng Yaolong and Cai Junyang spat out their drinks.

Tang Jie’s face swelled into an eggplant.

After all the well-wishers had finally left, Tang Jie found some time to quickly walk over to Xu Miaoran.

Xu Miaoran saw him coming and turned to leave.

Tang Jie frantically grabbed her and said, “Miaoran, listen to me!”

Xu Miaoran continued walking without turning her head. “If you want to say that you don’t love her, I already know. Do you still remember what you said to Senior Brother Lan? I don’t want those words to come out of your mouth again.”

Tang Jie wanted to give himself a slap on the face, but he could only chase Xu Miaoran down, explaining, “Miaoran, the Wandering Palace has already joined Sageheart, but the engagement is far in the future. Trust me! I’ll find a way to solve this!”

Xu Miaoran stopped.

A female student walked by and glared at Tang Jie. She said to Xu Miaoran, “Miaoran, just ignore him. This Tang Jie isn’t some good person. He’s already the groom of the Wandering Palace, and now he’s coming to make trouble for you.”

“Right, right! And he even ruined Senior Brother Lan’s face. This is a humiliation to my Horizon Ocean Pavilion, and once today is past, we definitely have to seek justice for him!” another female student said.

Surprisingly, Xu Miaoran turned and said to her, “Scarring his face is ‘a humiliation to Horizon Ocean Pavilion’? When did Senior Brother Lan’s face become the face of Horizon Ocean Pavilion? Ji Miaoting, I know that you have a crush on Senior Brother Lan. It’s your business if you want to have a crush on Senior Brother Lan, and if you want to seek justice for Senior Brother Lan, seek Tang Jie yourself. Why use me as your shield? I don’t need you to give your opinion on my relationship with Tang Jie.”

“You!” The female student scowled. But Xu Miaoran had a special status, and this girl didn’t dare to anger her, so she could only stomp off in a huff. The other female student saw the situation and knew that attempts at provocation would have only the opposite effect, so she fell silent.

But all this made Xu Miaoran finally come to a stop, and when she looked at Tang Jie, she suddenly started laughing.

This sudden turn from anger to laughter left Tang Jie baffled. As he stared at Xu Miaoran in a daze, he heard Xu Miaoran gently say, “Actually, all your excuses proved your sincerity. Hearing you say all that in front of so many people, offending the Wandering Palace and the Basking Moon Sect, actually made me quite happy.”

She spoke those last words very softly, and Tang Jie was left stunned.

It turned out that she had understood what he was trying to do.

Xu Miaoran added, “But that doesn’t change the reality. This was all due to your carelessness, and it seems like I believed in all your promises in vain. You’re such a schemer normally, making everyone dance to your tune, but at a crucial moment like this, you just so happened to miscalculate. Truly, a pointless joke, and you made me lose face as well as you.” She gave Tang Jie a kick before saying, “I’m annoyed, so I don’t want to talk to you.”

“I’ll definitely take care of this matter. An engagement can be set, but it can also be removed!” Tang Jie solemnly said.

They were still at the venue and being watched by countless people. If it weren’t for common courtesy, these people would have been so close to the pair that their ears would have been pressed right up to their faces.

For Tang Jie to set an engagement with the Wandering Palace’s young palace lord and then immediately go to speak with a fiend woman of Horizon Ocean Pavilion was extremely disrespectful to the Wandering Palace. But the young palace lord didn’t seem angry. She had put her veil back on, preventing others from seeing her face, and whenever her exposed eyes took an occasional glance at Tang Jie, they were devoid of emotion.

Xu Miaoran was still listening to Tang Jie talk. She turned to look and saw that everyone else from Horizon Ocean Pavilion seemed to have no intention of waiting for her, the masters having already left. She whispered, “Let’s save anything else you have to say for later. I trust you, so don’t disappoint me.”

She stuffed a stack of message talismans into Tang Jie’s hand and left.

Once Xu Miaoran was gone, Tang Jie became absentminded, not even knowing how he had returned to his seat.

The celebrants gradually dispersed. Whether their intentions had been sincere or faked, they were ultimately just guests. Tang Jie found that all the other guests in the Wandering Palace had gone, even those of the Basking Moon Sect. And nobody had told him that they were going, leaving him here all by himself.

Tang Jie knew that this was intentional, creating an opportunity for him and the young palace lord—the engagement was set, but they hadn’t even had a proper conversation yet.

Before leaving, Xie Fengtang gave Tang Jie a sharp glare, a warning to Tang Jie. It appeared that if Tang Jie dared to say once he exited the hall that the engagement had been undone, he would be in for a nasty time.

Even the Wandering Palace delegation had few people left. The Wandering Palace Lord had already left, leaving only the young palace lord and four maids.

The two of them exchanged a glance, neither of them saying a word.

After a while, the young palace lord waved her hand. “All of you, withdraw.”

The four maids withdrew, and Shen Qingdan once more removed her veil. “Qingdan pays respects to her husband!”

Tang Jie coldly replied, “We’re only engaged, so I can’t be considered your husband yet. You don’t need to be so polite about it.”

Disrespectful from the start!