An hour later.

Mu Chen laid with his back on the sofa, while Liu Fengying lied on top of him. The sofa was not wide and comfortable as a real bed but in some way, it was rather more intimate.

Mu Chen caressed Liu Fengying back, who stayed curled up on top of him, like a kitten. They had just been chatting with each other for some time now.

"Sister Mei did mention you had been doing a lot of physical training, but I didn't think your muscles will become so developed..." Liu Fengying muttered as she felt Mu Chen's chest with her hand, with some fascination. 

Cultivator's relied on their spiritual energy. Normally they wouldn't train their physical bodies. Many cultivators would even stop eating food completely since they could survive without eating food. So the build of the average cultivator was thin. Unlike Mu Chen, who had been training his physical body like crazy and had well-developed muscles.

"You should do physical training too, with a good diet. Don't just rely on magic arts. Didn't you see how Mu Yukong got knocked even though he was at Spirit Condensation?" Mu Chen squeezed Liu Fengying's butt causing her to yelp.

"Uh-huh," Liu Fengying nodded. She too was surprised when Mu Yukong was taken out in a single kick. Unless you were a cultivator who had been cultivating for decades, the strength of the physical body would only be slightly higher than the average mortal. Only those who had been cultivating for decades would have their bodies naturally nourished by spiritual energy and complete Tendon Transformation.

"There are some other benefits as well…" Mu Chen said.

"What other benefits?" Liu Fengying asked.

"Some positions are only possible if the physical fitness of both parties is top-notch…"

"Positions?" Liu Fengying tilted her head in confusion. But Mu Chen continued to look at her with a grin. Then it hit her.

"Shameless…" Liu Fengying hit him on the chest with her fist.

"Ha ha~~" Mu Chen laughed for a while, then he switched the topic. "You must be careful of Liu Dong. Don't trust him or give him any opportunity to get close by. If I am not mistaken, Liu Dong has joined this 'Big Brother's camp. I am not sure how many people of your Liu Clan have been roped in already. If you are not careful, you might end up falling into a trap." Mu Chen said seriously.

"That Liu Dong! I never thought Liu Dong would conspire with other people and in order to trap me! And I treated him like a brother!" Liu Fengying said in anger.

"Well...your Clan is matriarchal, maybe he feels he doesn't have any future within the clan? Anyways, just be careful. It's too bad we don't have any evidence against him..." Mu Chen said. Then he smacked on Liu Fengying's butt. "Get dressed!. Isn't the envoy about to arrive?"

Liu Fengying left Mu Chen reluctantly. Mu Chen himself was also reluctant, but he didn't want to push Liu Fengying too hard, since it had been her first time. If he did, she wouldn't be able to attend the event.

Both of them got dressed. Mu Chen wore the same clothes. However, Liu Fengying switched to a new dress. The previous one had become wrinkled. Fengying who like to dress pretty couldn't tolerate something like this.

Before leaving, Liu Fengying used her spiritual energy to clean up the mess that they had made.

Mu Chen and Liu Fengying walked out of the booth. Liu Fengying's gait was slightly uneven and she almost tripped on her own foot. Mu Chen grabbed her, preventing her from falling.

"Silly girl...just revolve your spiritual energy." Mu Chen said as he supported her.

"I...just want to remember this feeling…even if it is a bit painful..." Liu Fengying said in a voice low as a mosquito's as she leaned into Mu Chen's embrace.

Mu Chen couldn't help but want to slap himself, feeling guilty. He knew that for most girls, their first time was very significant. Zhou Mei had also been like that. In fact, she had even secretly stolen the bloodied bed sheet as a souvenir of some kind. Mu Chen had found it somewhat weird so he had pretended not to know, but he knew she was the one who stole it.

Liu Fengying liked to stay clean and pretty. So she didn't have any strange ideas like Zhou Mei. However, she still wanted to remember everything about their first time together. This also included the pain she was feeling from having her body broken. And the venue happened to be some private booth of a restaurant? Even Mu Chen felt embarrassed regarding his choice.

Mu Chen had never planned to eat Fengying in such a manner. Much of it stemmed from his own selfishness and desire. There were a lot of men pursuing Fengying. Just today, he ran into Fang Tianyi, Liu Dong, and Mu Yukong. Although they masked it well on the surface, Mu Chen could still see their burning desires towards Liu Fenying. Then there was also this 'Big Brother' character who seemed to be eyeing Fengying as well.

All of this made Mu Chen feel some pressure. Although he believed in Fenying's love for him, he ended up becoming impatient. Fortunately, Liu Fengying herself was also very eager and craving for intimacy and didn't care much about the location.

"Don't worry, we will have plenty of opportunities later…"  Mu Chen sighed as he tenderly kissed Liu Fengying's forehead. He made a silent promise to himself, to make it up to Fengying in future for this lack of consideration and oversight.

#

Mu Chen and Liu Fengying left the restaurant together. Their posture was very intimate as Mu Chen was holding Liu Fengying close to him with his hand around her waist. This way not only could he support her, this also camouflaged any peculiarity in her gait. As for whether other people would gossip about their relationship, Mu Chen didn't care about it.

Since Liu Fengying didn't mind about exposing their relationship, would he still be a man if he continued to hide it?

Almost as soon as they stepped out of the restaurant, a middle-aged couple approached them. Both of them bowed respectfully towards them or rather Liu Fengying.

"Young Lady! We have been waiting for you! Lord Matriarch has already gone to the venue. The Envoy will be arriving soon. She had us bring you there." The man said to Liu Fengying as he scowled at Mu Chen in some dissatisfaction. Although he recognised Mu Chen, he didn't greet him. The woman however smiled and nodded towards Mu Chen. Mu Chen also nodded in response.

Mu Chen was familiar with the couple. They were Liu Fengying's protectors. As she was the current successor of the Clan, this was normal. However, as protectors, they will only interfere if it was a matter of life and death or if other experts targeted their Young Lady. They will not interfere in the struggles of the younger generation. Otherwise, they will just hide in the surroundings.

Liu Fengying looked at Mu Chen. She had wanted to go together with him. However now, she could only go with her protectors alone.

"You go! Besides, it wouldn't look proper if I arrived at the venue with Liu Clan's entourage instead of Mu Family's." Mu Chen said in a soft voice.

"Then...I will see you at the venue. Uncle, Auntie...let's go!" Liu Fengying was reluctant as she left Mu Chen's embrace.

"Miss, this way please." The couple guided Liu Fengying towards the carriage that had already been readied. 

Mu Chen watched as Liu Fengying walked with a rather stiff posture towards the carriage. Fortunately, it wasn't too far. The Auntie looked at Liu Fengying for a while, then suddenly looked at Mu Chen and winked as before she followed her inside the carriage. Mu Chen could've sworn she was laughing inside.

The Uncle took the driver's seat and the carriage soon disappeared out of Mu Chen's sight.

Mu Chen also turned as he made his way towards the venue. He didn't bother to go back to his own carriage since the destination was quite near. Going back to carriage would instead consume more time. Moreover, the carriage was fast but it couldn't go through the alleyways. Mu Chen could use the alleyways as a shortcut to drastically reduce the distance he needed to walk.

As before, Mu Chen hit the road. Mu Chen started navigating through the complex alleyways. His pace was brisk, but not too much-he would be able to maintain it for a long time without getting exhausted. But Mu Chen couldn't help but sigh. If he had his cultivation base he could've used his spiritual energy to revolve  a movement technique and rapidly reach his destination. 

At the thought of being able to restore his cultivation, Mu Chen's heartbeat sped up and his mood soared. He didn't want to miss this opportunity. The only shortcoming was Zhou Mei wasn't here. He didn't want her to miss this opportunity. Mu Chen had already made Liu Fengying send her a message. Whether she could make it on time, it would depend on her luck.

To avoid unnecessary complications the gathering spot had been decided outside the city in the direction from where the Envoy was coming. The Envoy himself will strictly abide by the rules of the city, which meant he won't fly directly into the city and would instead land outside. With so many people together, he would not miss.

Soon Mu Chen arrived at his destination. The time he took to reach the destination wasn't much more than what a carriage would have taken. 

What Mu Chen saw astounded him. It was a sea of people. While he was enjoying his sweet time with Fengying, cultivators had been gathering together. He had never seen so many cultivators banded together.

Majority of the cultivators were people under the age of twenty. They were accompanied by their Elders. Because they had been waiting for some time now, many of them had become bored and started chatting with each other. Not only all the talented cultivators of Falling Stones City had arrived, but those from the nearby cities had also arrived as well. So in a way, this was a great opportunity for both the younger and older generation to mix with each other and form connections.

There were also several who were opportunistic and had set up stalls for trading treasures and items.

For entertainment, an arena had been set up in the center where some of the younger generations were fighting, under the supervision of their Elders. While cultivators surrounding them cheered and placed their bets.

Mu Chen slipped into the crowd without anyone noticing him. 

The Mu Family, Liu Clan, Fang Family, Purple Clouds Manor, Ten Thousand Beast Sect…

All the families, especially the powerful ones, had set up their own camp with their banners on full display. This was an opportunity for them to show off their strength. They wouldn't miss it.

For sects, it was even more important to establish a strong reputation in order to attract more cultivators. Families or Clans didn't have to be so desperate, since they wouldn't accept outsiders easily. Even if they did, it would be usually through marriage. Even then, they would not miss such an opportunity, as it could act as a deterrent.

Mu Chen noticed the Mu Clan's camp but he didn't join them. Instead, he went to the side which had unknowingly become the camp of rogue cultivators. No one from the Mu Clan had bothered to inform him about the event. Even the news coming from outside had been blocked. If he went there, he might be instead forced to go back. 

Mu Chen found a vacant spot that was somewhat secluded due to the presence of boulders and took a seat and began meditating. Almost all the cultivators had their attention focused either on the arena or chatting with each other. So he was subject to some scrutiny, nobody really cared about a guy who wasn't even a Spirit Gathering realm.

Amidst the noisy backdrop, Mu Chen meditated with his sword across his lap. He had just been meditating for almost an hour, when…

"The Envoy is here!!" A loud and excited voice rang out.