26: Shen Guyan (original name)

"Grandpa, stop joking, she's my own sister!"

Shen Guyan almost jumped; this old man was actually trying to play matchmaker on his own head.

"Hmph, those drawbacks of close Bloodlines among ordinary people don't apply in today's Spirit Master's world." Old Master Shen snorted. "Then, which Family's girl has caught your eye, kid?"

"Grandpa, I'm only six years old!" Shen Guyan quickly used his age as a shield.

"What's wrong with being six?" Old Master Shen blew at his beard. "Back in my day, when I was six, I even peeked at..."

Seeing that this old rogue was about to spill his ridiculous past, Shen Guyan quickly stood up and waved his hands to interrupt: "Grandpa, I'm still young, don't you worry about this!"

"Fine, marriage is no trivial matter. If you fancy a girl in the future, remember to bring her home early." Seeing this, Old Master Shen stopped insisting; after all, Shen Guyan was only six years old now.

"Grandpa, your grandson has one more request." Shen Guyan suddenly spoke up.

"Speak." Old Master Shen leaned lazily against the grand tutor chair.

"Grandpa, your grandson wants to change his name to Shen Guyan." Shen Guyan took a deep breath and said.

"Shen Guyan?" Old Master Shen frowned. "Does this name have any special meaning?"

"A name is just a label. You can still continue to call your grandson Xiao Yu, but I want to use the name Shen Guyan externally."

"Give me your reason." Old Master Shen's eyes narrowed slightly. In Shen Guyan's generation, names were derived from the Douluo humans' yearning for the vast starry sky: Star, Moon, Light, and Sun. As for Shen Guyan, the most pampered direct descendant and youngest grandson, the character 'Yu' was chosen to encompass everything.

"'Gu' represents independence and solitude, implying a personality that doesn't just follow the crowd. 'Yan' is a migratory bird, symbolizing grand ambitions. A lone wild goose does not drink or peck, its cries echoing for its flock. This name is a metaphor for your grandson's resilient and independent character, harboring expectations for a cool temperament, an independent personality, or lofty ambitions." Shen Guyan explained.

"You certainly have outstanding literary talent." Old Master Shen chuckled.

Shen Guyan just gave a 'hehe' laugh: "If Grandpa agrees, I am willing to hand over a set of sword techniques I happened to learn to the Family."

"The set you used against those people?" Old Master Shen couldn't help but recall Shen Guyan's continuous and unending sword style, a sharp light flashing in his cloudy eyes.

"Perform it once for me to see."

"Okay."

Shen Guyan stood firm and bowed before grasping the canglang sword in his hand.

"A speck of Sword Intent, a thousand misty rivers; two sleeves of white clouds, ten thousand ren away. Where is the hero's shadow lost? The jade halls of the celestial palace are empty and desolate."

Shen Guyan chanted under his breath, brandishing the longsword and dancing with it right in front of Old Master Shen.

The intent precedes the sword; the fast sword leaves no trace.

A simple style, the Triple Falls of the Cloud Terrace, perfectly presented the intent of the Taibai Sword Dao.

"Good!"

Old Master Shen cheered repeatedly. This kind of sword technique was unheard of on the continent; it was clean, decisive, and lacked any flowery fluff. Every strike was aimed solely at the enemy's weaknesses.

Shen Guyan smiled slightly, sheathing his sword and standing still. "Grandpa, how does it feel?"

"Superb craftsmanship, elegant and expressive! It truly is a fine sword technique." Old Master Shen was not stingy with his praise, complimenting Shen Guyan repeatedly.

"Since you have decided, Grandpa won't interfere with your freedom to choose a name. From today on, your name is Shen Guyan."

"Thank you, Grandpa!" Shen Guyan was overjoyed; his original name was finally going to shine its light in this World again.

"Alright, you may go. Remember to transcribe a complete copy of the sword manual for me."

Old Master Shen seemed tired, waving his hand to signal Shen Guyan to leave.

"Yes, Grandpa."

Seeing that he had finally secured the result he wanted, Shen Guyan breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew.

Inside the room, Old Master Shen stared blankly at the scattered Puppet parts on the floor, lost in thought.

"Legend has it that the secret techniques of the Tang Sect ancestor, Tang San, came from another World. Could it be that Xiao Yu is also..."

——

Early the next morning, Old Master Shen grandly announced to the entire Shen Family that his grandson's name was changed from Shen Yu to Shen Guyan.

Shen Guyan was unaware of Old Master Shen's swift and decisive actions; he still had to go to the academy for school as usual today.

It was still Shen Yue who took Shen Guyan out, but this time the mode of transport had changed to a Mecha.

As a child of a great Family, Shen Guyan was naturally long accustomed to Mechas, but traveling like this was truly eye-catching, making it difficult for Shen Guyan to adapt for a moment.

Along the way, Shen Guyan could clearly sense that his sister Shen Yue had become much quieter, and the way she looked at him occasionally had become somewhat complicated.

Clever as he was, how could he not guess what Old Master Shen had said to Shen Yue? But how was he supposed to explain this?

Sister, stop it, you're twenty years older than me... The moment they arrived at the academy, Shen Guyan immediately jumped out of the Mecha in a sorry state and dove into the teaching building as if escaping, leaving behind a Shen Yue with a complicated gaze.

Everything was as usual, except Hong Ying was still in the hospital; she probably wouldn't be able to come to class for the next few days.

Shen Guyan went to his seat by the window in the last row; the reason he sat here was entirely Hong Ying's arrangement. He didn't need to listen to those basic Spirit Master theory classes at all. Rather than wasting time on them, it was better to sit in the back and Cultivate in solitary meditation.

"A transfer student is joining our class today. Everyone, please give her a warm welcome."

Just as Shen Guyan was about to close his eyes, the substitute teacher led a girl onto the podium.

Shen Guyan originally had no interest in this, but his Mask Spirit became restless at that moment.

What's going on?

Shen Guyan's heart stirred; he immediately suppressed his Spirit and looked up at the podium.

It was a girl wearing white trousers and a white top. She looked about the same age as the students in the class. She wasn't particularly beautiful, only fair-looking. She had long black hair and black eyes. Her figure was above average for her age, yet very well-proportioned. Her large eyes were especially bright and spirited.

As she walked, her steps seemed to have a special rhythm, and there was a strange aura about her.

When he looked at the girl, she seemed to inadvertently look in his direction as well. Their eyes met, and the girl's gaze flickered slightly.

This girl's gaze is very sharp... Shen Guyan thought to himself.

"My name is Gu Yue." The girl's self-introduction was very brief.

This made the substitute teacher a bit embarrassed. "Student Gu Yue... is there anything else you want to say?"

Gu Yue's gaze remained fixed on Shen Guyan. She pointed to the empty seat next to him: "Teacher, I want to sit there."