[Wedding Hall - Continued]
"Indeed, I am trash."
Fang Yuan's voice was calm, and he continued without hesitation.
"If you can't cultivate as you please and have to seclude for years just to get one percent stronger, then what is that? That's being trash. You're all trash. I'm trash. We're all trash compared to the real cultivators out there."
People were listening to him now, actually paying attention to what he was saying.
"There are people in this world who are way stronger than my master. They've lived for hundred thousand years. To them, this whole sect is just a game. They wander around, and the world doesn't even know they exist."
That reminded me of Minghe, a disciple I took in my last life. I had to kill her because the demonic nature took over and her mind couldn't handle it. I decided never to take another one after that.
"I realize I'm trash here, but you people think there's no one above you. If you ever meet those people, you'll pass out in one breath."
He walked forward and looked directly at the crowd.
"You people are only self-proclaimed geniuses."
The crowd went quiet. He had just called out all of them, the so-called geniuses and Holy Sons. No one expected that kind of boldness from someone like him. But something in his words made sense. They started nodding, some of them actually thinking about what he said for the first time.
One guest spoke up.
"Fang Yuan, where did you learn these techniques? People say the Peak Master never taught you."
"Master didn't teach me, but that doesn't mean I never learned."
Roxue stared at him from where she stood. Her eyes didn't leave him.
She's definitely wondering about me now.
Another guest asked.
"You must have put a lot of effort into learning the techniques by yourself, right?"
"Hmm."
I can't say I learned this from my past life. What do I even say to that?
"One."
"One what? A year? A decade?"
"No. One day."
The crowd erupted in disbelief. Cultivators took months to learn a single technique properly. This guy was saying he learned a master-level technique in one day.
"That's impossible."
"One day, no way."
"No way that's real."
What else should I say? That the Empress watches me like I'm on a leash? And now my real family wants me back for an actual marriage. This is getting complicated.
But people kept listening to him, kept getting swayed by what he was saying. An elder from the Golden Peak came up to him and put his hand on Fang Yuan's shoulder.
"We finally found a talented disciple. Even the Peak Master took five days to master her cultivation base, and you learned a master technique in one day by yourself."
The crowd started whispering again, but this time it was different.
"If he learned it in one day, then aren't we worse than trash?"
Fang Yuan waved his hand.
"Let's just focus on the wedding now."
The elder nodded and backed off.
"Yes, yes. Let's proceed."
The wedding ceremony started. They took their vows, and everything went smoothly. Fang Yuan played his part, looking respectful but confident next to the Empress.
These idiots. Their opinions changed in like five minutes.
The crowd cheered when the ceremony ended.
"If only we had met earlier, I would have married you!"
"They're a perfect couple!"
"A handsome man and a beautiful woman!"
Fang Yuan waved to the crowd and smiled.
I went from being trash to handsome just like that. Reputation really does follow power, doesn't it?
While the ceremony was happening, spies from other sects were sending messages back to their leaders. Every message said the same thing: The Empress married a genius. He's going to be a problem in a few years.
After the wedding ended, Fang Yuan went to his quarters. The ceremony was just for show anyway. He was still her disciple, still living under her watch.
[Fang Yuan's Quarters - Night]
Fang Yuan lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He was already thinking about his next move.
That bitch put spies on me. I can hear that maid walking around outside my door.
The maid kept making rounds, checking on him every few minutes. Her footsteps were obvious, and he could hear her stopping to listen sometimes.
He opened the door suddenly.
The maid jumped.
"Where are you going?"
"To see my wife. I can't wait."
"But the lady told you to—"
He slapped her across the face. Hard.
Her head snapped to the side and her eyes went wide with shock.
"Impudent. Is that how you answer your master?"
"You, you were just a worker too a few days ago."
"Right. I was. But not anymore."
The maid's face turned red. She was angry now, and she was trying to hold it in.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Villain Points Registered: 10
Higher anger from target = More points
"Don't tell me you'll attack me. I don't know about the Empress, but the elders definitely like me now after that speech. They wouldn't take your side."
The maid clenched her fists but didn't move. She was clearly scared.
"But I have to listen to her order or I'll be punished."
"Oh, is that so?"
He held his hand out to her.
She looked confused but took it after a moment. She held his arm as they walked together, one hand on his elbow and the other holding his hand.
She's being pretty gentle now. Maybe there's something going on in that head of hers.
They walked toward the main sect. A senior disciple saw them and stopped the maid.
"Don't you have work?"
"I'm taking care of Master here."
When the other disciples saw Fang Yuan, they immediately came over. The women especially seemed interested now.
"Aren't you the Peak Master's husband? You're so handsome!"
"I want to—"
"Don't. Ms. Roxue will tear you apart if you do anything."
They're all just bitches looking for whoever has power. If the situation was different, we'd be having fun. But I need to be careful with the Empress around.
A senior male disciple came from behind him and spoke with a mocking tone.
"Isn't this the Golden Peak Master's pretty boy?"
Other voices joined in.
"Wasn't he living in her house? I thought he'd be drained by now."
"Looking at him, it's only a matter of time before she uses him up."
"He actually thought the marriage was good for him. Poor bastard."
Fang Yuan turned around and looked at all of them.
"Your mouths are full of shit. Do you rinse them with shit too?"
One of the disciples got angry and stepped forward.
"You dare talk like that? You fell into a honey trap and now you're acting tough?"
"Control yourself. My wife told me yesterday that she likes how manly I am and wants me to stay that way. So if you keep angering me, I can use my rights as her husband. She'll deal with whoever causes problems for me."
That's a total lie, but they don't need to know.
The disciples froze. For regular cultivators, Roxue was basically a god. They couldn't even think about fighting her or going against her.
They stepped back immediately.
"You garbage. Is your dick only for show? Getting scared just from her name? What a weakling."
"Heh. Weaklings."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Villain Points Collected: 25
Current Total: 50/200
After that, Fang Yuan walked around the sect. He angered people, cursed at them, slapped anyone who disrespected him. Every time he did it, he ended the same way.
"If you don't like it, talk to my wife. She'll cover for me."
No one dared to do anything about it. Everyone knew better than to mess with the Empress, even if it meant letting her husband walk all over them.