8: Chapter 8: A Long-Term Perspective

Luo Li was completely speechless.

The "little carp sister" Yuan Chen spoke of was actually over five hundred years old now.

Aside from over a thousand members of the Dragon Clan, the Azure Dragon Palace certainly had other races that relied on them.

The Golden Light Carp Yao was the race most inclined toward the Dragon Clan.

Because their advanced evolution state was the Dragon Clan.

Either a Low-grade Divine Beast like the Red Dragon, or a High-grade Divine Beast like the Golden Dragon.

Xue Lin was just an ordinary maid in the Azure Dragon Palace.

Aside from being beautiful, she had nothing particularly outstanding about her.

When Luo Li first married into the clan, she didn't have any other familiar people around her.

And at that time, Xue Lin happened to be assigned to Yuan Ji as a maid.

Given the typical nature of the Dragon Clan,

if she had been assigned to any other prince, she would have long since become a wife.

It was only by coming to Yuan Ji that she could live a normal life.

Later, a bored Luo Li met the low-status Xue Lin, and over time, they became good friends.

Luo Li didn't look down on her Yao Race identity either, and always treated her like a sister.

She had even promoted her directly to be her personal guard.

She was also willing to share some resources with her from time to time.

By now, she had already reached the Peak Nascent Soul Realm.

She hadn't expected her son to actually set his sights on her good sister.

"She is your aunt."

Hearing this, Yuan Chen was taken aback.

Is that so?

A cultivator's age was completely impossible to tell based on their appearance.

But every time he saw Xue Lin, she was wearing a light yellow dress and dressed very much like a young girl.

He had thought she was just a little maidservant taken in by his mother.

After pondering for two seconds, he looked at his mother tentatively.

"Then... has Aunt Xue Lin married yet?"

Luo Li shuddered. This kid still hadn't given up on the idea?

Her gaze instantly became dangerous.

"Why are you asking this?"

Yuan Chen shrugged and said casually,

"Nothing, just asking."

Luo Li sized him up seriously before finally saying,

"She hasn't, but I'm warning you, don't go making designs on Xue Lin."

Yuan Chen's eyes lit up.

Not married?

That's great!

Who cares about "aunt" or not?

It wasn't like she was Luo Li's biological sister.

As for age, that was even less of an issue.

He had already married the sixty-nine-year-old Ye Lingling.

Was there any difference between a fifty-year difference and a five-hundred-year difference?

"Mother, does Aunt Xue Lin not plan to find a partner?"

Hearing Yuan Chen's words, Luo Li was almost beside herself with anger.

After saying this, Yuan Chen didn't stop there, but said quite bluntly,

"I think I'm pretty good."

The moment his words fell, a ripple fluctuated in the space within a shadow to his left.

Yuan Chen looked over in confusion.

A yellow figure tumbled out.

The corners of Yuan Chen's mouth curled up.

"Sister Xue Lin, so you were here the whole time!"

Xue Lin looked at him quietly without saying a word.

But seeing the flush on her neck, one could tell that her heart was far from calm.

That made sense.

If she were calm, she wouldn't have failed to control her concealment and tumbled right out.

Yuan Chen didn't mind at all.

She had always had this cold and aloof temperament.

Moreover, as a shadow guard, she usually remained hidden in the dark.

Growing up, Yuan Chen had only caught a few fleeting glimpses of her in his mother's room.

As for speaking to her, those occasions were pitifully rare.

Yuan Ji and Luo Li looked at their son speechlessly.

He was just calling her "aunt" a moment ago, but changed his tune the second they met?

Luo Li looked at Xue Lin awkwardly.

"Xue Lin, don't mind him, Chen'er is just talking nonsense!"

"Mm."

Xue Lin nodded faintly and gave a soft hum.

Then, she vanished into the shadows once more.

"Chen'er, stop messing around."

After Xue Lin's figure disappeared, Luo Li said with a headache,

"Mother heard that the Moonlight Rabbit Clan has a Young Miss who is exquisitely beautiful and has decent talent."

"I will go ask in a few days to see if she is willing to marry in."

On Guxia Island, the Azure Dragon Clan was not the only major power.

There were a total of four families of Low-grade Divine Beasts like them.

Aside from the Azure Dragon Clan, there were also the Moonlight Rabbit Clan, the Void-Shattering Wolf Clan, and the Soul-Devouring Rat Clan.

Among them, the Azure Dragon Clan held a transcendent status.

The Dragon Clan was, after all, the most massive force within the Yao Race.

No race was willing to provoke them lightly.

And among them, the Moonlight Rabbits and the Void-Shattering Wolves were mortal enemies.

Over the years, both sides had sent many women over in order to win over the Azure Dragon Clan.

The Dragon Clan wasn't picky either and accepted them all.

But after accepting them, they did nothing else.

Neither the Moonlight Rabbits nor the Void-Shattering Wolves dared to say much, and they kept sending a steady stream of women from their clans.

Keeping the Dragon Clan neutral and not leaning toward the other side was already a good outcome for them.

Although Luo Li only said she would try, she was already seventy to eighty percent confident.

No matter what, Yuan Chen was the biological grandson of the Azure Dragon Clan's Clan Chief; his status was right there!

Yuan Chen nodded, sighed, and left the spot.

It seemed he couldn't win her over in the short term; he needed to make a long-term plan.

He wanted the little rabbit, and he wanted the little carp too!

Luo Li was indeed swift and decisive.

The very next day, she sent someone to deliver a letter to the Moonlight Rabbit Clan.

Inside the Moonlight Rabbit Great Hall.

The Grand Elder looked at the letter in his hand.

After a few minutes,

he looked up at the others.

"What is the letter from the Azure Dragon Palace about?"

Someone impatient couldn't help but ask.

The Grand Elder handed the letter to him and said slowly,

"It's from Yuan Ji's wife. She wants Yingying to marry her son."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone immediately chimed in,

"That's perfect."

"Just a few days ago, Lang Ba married his daughter to Yuan Da's son. I was worried this might work against us."

The others nodded in agreement.

After hesitating for a moment, the Third Elder said in a low voice,

"However, Yuan Ji's son is unable to Cultivate after all. I feel it would be more appropriate to marry her to Yuan Li's son."

Yuan Chen's father was the second child in the family.

Aside from his father, there was also his eldest uncle Yuan Da, and his third uncle Yuan Li.

And both of them had a son, each more than a hundred years older than Yuan Chen, and they faced no obstacles in their cultivation.

Hearing the Third Elder's words, the rabbits in the room also furrowed their brows.

Yue Ying was the Clan Chief's only daughter.

Once she married out, she would be gone.

It was fine for now.

But what about the future?

In the future, once Yuan Man's strength reaches the required level and he is transferred to the headquarters,

if a new Clan Chief were to be chosen,

how could Yuan Chen compete with the other two families?

The Wolf Clan had married their daughter to Yuan Da's son, Yuan Ping.

Once Yuan Ping took the position of the Azure Dragon Clan's Clan Chief and was swayed by some pillow talk,

how would their Moonlight Rabbit Clan have any way to survive!

The Grand Elder's scalp tingled.

But they no longer had a choice.

If they refused Luo Li now,

they would offend both factions of the Azure Dragon Clan at the same time.

Waving his hand, he said in a deep voice,

"Say no more, my mind is made up."

"Reply to Luo Li and say we agree to this marriage. They can come to propose at any time."

After the news was sent back,

Yuan Chen didn't hesitate either.

The very next day, he selected some betrothal gifts and went to propose.

On the ninth day, he married Yue Ying into his home.

During the bridal chamber night, Yuan Chen once again took out a pill and swallowed it.