I Reborn on the Night I Divorced the Sword Deity, My Childhood Friend - Chapter 17

Meeting that piercing gaze, Shen Junyu did not flinch. He looked up and met it candidly.

As their eyes locked, a ripple resembling golden chains quietly emanated from the deep black pupils of those narrow phoenix eyes. This golden ripple acted like a bizarre vortex, threatening to swallow the soul of anyone who dared to look into it within a split second.

Seeing this strange change in Meng Xingyan’s eyes, Wen Su’s expression darkened. He moved instinctively to shield Shen Junyu.

Unexpectedly, just as he moved, a gentle and steady voice rang in his ear via sound transmission.

“I am fine.”

Just these three words instantly soothed the nameless fire rising in Wen Su’s heart. He steadied himself and cast an imperceptibly cold glance at Meng Xingyan on the stage, stepping back into place.

The staring contest lasted less than five breaths. From beginning to end, Shen Junyu’s glazed, gentle eyes remained clear as a mirror, showing no sign of disturbance.

Ultimately, it was Meng Xingyan who regained his composure first. His eyes flickered, and a smirk curled his lips as he raised his hands and gave a light clap. Immediately, demon generals stepped forward to drag the unconscious, white-haired cultivator off the stage. The ground, previously stained with blood, was wiped clean, and the large arena was refreshed in an instant.

Once everything was settled, Meng Xingyan looked at Shen Junyu again and smiled faintly. “This young gentleman has an excellent eye. I wonder if I might have the honor of competing against you for a couple of rounds?”

Shen Junyu remained calm and did not respond.

Seeing Shen Junyu unmoved, Meng Xingyan’s eyes dimmed for a moment, but he quickly smiled again. “The young gentleman’s mastery of divination is profound; perhaps my methods are beneath your notice. However, I am truly delighted to have found a worthy peer today. How about this: if you are willing to come up, you may take the prize whether you win or draw. And even if you lose, I will require no price from you.”

“What does the young gentleman think?”

Hearing this, Wen Su frowned, intending to warn Shen Junyu. But before he could, Shen Junyu offered a slight smile and accepted the invitation. “Since the Young Marquis is so hospitable, I, Wen, shall not decline.”

Wen Su: ?

Wait, ‘Wen’?

Before Wen Su could process this, Shen Junyu—amidst the gasps and suspicious whispers of the crowd—stepped onto the stage with practiced ease. Wen Su watched the elegant back of the white-clad figure. After a brief hesitation, he didn’t stop him. He had seen Shen Junyu handle the Witch-Blood Curse before and felt confident in his skill. Besides, if Meng Xingyan tried to play dirty, Wen Su had the means to make him regret it.

He decided to let Shen Junyu enjoy himself. However, he was still puzzled—why did Shen Junyu introduce himself with the surname Wen?

On the stage, Shen Junyu sat cross-legged on a white jade prayer mat opposite Meng Xingyan. Both were dressed in white, yet one was elegant and transcendent while the other was magnificent and haughty; their temperaments were worlds apart.

The audience below chattered incessantly. This time, the consensus was: Young Marquis Xingyan is definitely more handsome; this ‘Master Wen’ has the aura, but his physical features are rather average.

Meng Xingyan made a graceful gesture with his hand. “Master Wen, please.”

Before each of them lay a blank astral array disc. The competition involved each person drawing an original astral formation or runic seal on their disc and handing it to the opponent to solve.

Shen Junyu did not hesitate. He picked up the disc and began drawing. Seeing this, Meng Xingyan’s lips curled into an unreadable smirk as he also began his work.

One stick of incense later, Shen Junyu put down his completed disc and pushed it toward Meng Xingyan.

Meng Xingyan, who was still drawing, was stunned. His heart skipped a beat, and he glanced at Shen Junyu’s disc out of the corner of his eye. With just one look, his pupils contracted sharply. He quickly forced himself to focus and finished his own drawing.

The murmurs from the crowd grew louder, mostly questioning if the two were putting on an act. After all, how difficult was it to draw an astral array from scratch in such a short time? They suspected Shen Junyu was just a “shill” playing along for the Young Marquis.

Meng Xingyan heard these whispers and felt a surge of secret resentment, forcing himself to speed up. Even so, it took him another full incense stick of time to finish and push his disc toward Shen Junyu.

Then, both picked up the opponent’s disc to begin the decryption.

Having been outpaced by Shen Junyu earlier, the prideful Meng Xingyan dove into the decryption immediately. He failed to notice that Shen Junyu simply sat there quietly observing the disc without starting the process.

Initially, Meng Xingyan was full of confidence, breaking through the first two layers of traps Shen Junyu had set with ease. But when he reached the third layer, his face changed. His pupils dilated, sweat began to bead on his forehead, and his complexion turned pale.

Damn it! Shen Junyu had seen through his method. Shen Junyu had also hidden a Luck-Borrowing Array within the other formations; the faster one tried to solve it, the more demonic energy they would lose.

Realizing this, Meng Xingyan’s hands gripped the edge of the disc so hard his knuckles turned white. He refused to believe that he, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, could lose to a Golden Core stage brat in the same type of array.

He was so focused that he didn’t realize Shen Junyu hadn’t even begun to crack his disc yet.

The onlookers saw the contrast between the two and were amazed. Initially, they thought Shen Junyu was a fake, but now they believed he was a hidden master who had stepped out to slap Meng Xingyan’s face. It was a satisfying sight!

Suddenly, a change occurred. Unable to endure any longer, Meng Xingyan dropped the disc and coughed up a mouthful of blood. He quickly closed his eyes and began to circulate his energy to stabilize himself.

The crowd was shocked! Did Meng Xingyan lose?

But they soon realized Shen Junyu hadn’t even touched the Young Marquis’s array yet. The crowd’s expression shifted back to doubt—was this an act after all?

Finally, Meng Xingyan finished his meditation. Though some color returned to his handsome face, anyone could see he was significantly weakened. He stared at the sitting Shen Junyu for a long time before squeezing out a subtle, dark smile. “Master Wen is indeed a rare talent. I have lost.”

Shen Junyu put down the untouched disc. “The Young Marquis has not lost. Your array is extremely sophisticated, and I could not solve it either. This round is a draw.”

The crowd: “???”

Meng Xingyan was momentarily surprised. He looked at the disc Shen Junyu had set aside. After a long while, he gave a slight chuckle, and the gloom in his eyes dissipated significantly. Since Shen Junyu was tactful enough to save his face, he would accept the favor.

Meng Xingyan clapped his hands. A demon general appeared. “Bring Master Wen his prize. Prepare a carriage; I wish to invite Master Wen to the manor for a chat.”

Seeing this, the crowd’s expressions were complicated—most thought Shen Junyu was as good as dead. This is definitely a ‘Hongmen Banquet’ (a trap)!

Meng Xingyan looked at Shen Junyu with a smile that carried the weight of an overt plot. To everyone’s surprise, Shen Junyu nodded without hesitation. “In that case, I thank the Young Marquis.”

Wen Su, who was about to tell him to refuse via sound transmission: ?

He frowned discreetly. Fine, I’ll be there to back him up. But he couldn’t help but think Shen Junyu was sometimes far too naive.

Satisfied with the answer, Meng Xingyan stood up. “Master Wen, this way please.”

“Young Marquis, wait,” Shen Junyu said.

Meng Xingyan’s eyes darkened for a split second before returning to normal. “Is there something else?”

“I am traveling with my elder brother. Would the Marquis allow me to bring him along?”

Below the stage, Wen Su’s heart stirred.

“Your elder brother?” Meng Xingyan asked suspiciously.

Wen Su stepped out from the crowd. Meng Xingyan looked him over, seeing only a plain-looking young demonic cultivator in black with a Golden Core cultivation. He was about to dismiss him when his gaze fell upon Wen Su’s deep, sea-like black eyes. An inexplicable chill ran through his heart.

But the feeling vanished in the next second. Before him stood only the same unremarkable cultivator. Meng Xingyan dismissed the feeling—no matter how strange, he was just a Golden Core cultivator who could be crushed with a flick of a finger. He agreed to the request.

The carriage arrived. Meng Xingyan boarded the first one, while demon generals invited Shen Junyu and Wen Su into the second, slightly less grand carriage.

The two carriages, escorted by a large group of demon soldiers, slowly moved away. Beside Shen Junyu’s carriage, four Soul Transformation Realm demon generals rode along—nominally as guards, but effectively as jailers.

Inside the carriage, Wen Su and Shen Junyu sat opposite each other, communicating via sound transmission.

“Meng Xingyan is an extremely insidious person,” Wen Su said gravely. “You shouldn’t have agreed so quickly.”

“Don’t worry,” Shen Junyu replied. “I have my own plans.”

“?”

Shen Junyu explained patiently, “While Meng Xingyan’s methods aren’t honorable, the scale and structure of his array layout suggest he isn’t a petty person who acts solely out of spite. Furthermore, by not solving his array, I kept him in the dark about my true limits. He will be curious about what secret divination methods I possess. He is now more likely to try and recruit me than kill me.”

“Besides, if he truly wanted to kill me, why the grand display? He wouldn’t have bothered to let you come along either, would he?”

Wen Su listened and then raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize the eldest Young Master Shen had such schemes.”

Shen Junyu smiled faintly. “I don’t like to gamble, either. I simply feel that since Brother Wen and I have no foundation in the Demon Realm, it’s better to take a chance on this opportunity. We can carve out a good future for ourselves.”

He had realized after his rebirth how important it was to be powerful. A Golden Core cultivator might be able to roam free in a restricted secret realm, but against higher-level experts in the outside world, it wasn’t enough. He wouldn’t pass up any chance to climb higher.

He didn’t tell Wen Su all of this, but hearing the word “we” made Wen Su’s heart thump several times before it settled. He hadn’t expected Shen Junyu to be thinking about a future for both of them.

“Also, Brother Wen, you must remember,” Shen Junyu added. “I am now Wen Yu, and we are cousins. Don’t let it slip later.”

Wen Su finally smiled. “Don’t worry. I won’t hold you back.”