Xianxia Online

While Zheng Kuang's mouth hung agape, on the other hand, the eyes of the two girls seated at the same table at him lit up.

"Junior brother! He's actually one of the two finalists!"

"Huh… as a mere Core Formation stage cultivator… he might actually be…"

As Qing Lili trailed off, Xuan and Li Shu glanced around at their newfound audience in slight surprise.

"… Hm, this is unexpected."

"Indeed. I must say, contrary to public opinion, most poets actually detest performing in front of an audience."

As far as Xuan recalled from past Immortal Feasts held here, the final fight was never held inside the VIP chamber as well, so… what made this time different?

He soon received his answer, however, as the sound of running footsteps could be heard from the direction of the back kitchen, followed by a familiar voice.

"Xuan!"

Xuan turned just in time to see an incredibly beautiful woman rushing towards him, easily parting the Qi barrier with a swipe of her elegant hands and diving face-first into his arms. She had long pink hair bundled up into two loose ponytails and a body voluptuous enough to make any man lust and any woman jealous, paired with a seemingly impossibly beautiful face.

Without a doubt, this was her—Xuan's wife, Immortal Fairy Huo Fei.

"Huo Fei…"

Caught slightly off-guard by this sudden entrance, Xuan was unsure of what to do for a moment as he stared down in awe at the girl who'd just wrapped herself around his body.

"Immortal Fairy Huo Fei, please restrain yourself—"

The servants who came out rushing after her were far too late, and by the time they arrived on scene, she was already busy rubbing her face against Xuan's chest and sniffing it for some reason.

"Mm… this is the scent of you alright…"

"Seriously… still acting like a little girl, huh?" Xuan chuckled softly before rubbing her head and stroking his fingers through her neatly tied pink hair.

"Hmph… you disappear for a whole year without saying anything at all, and then suddenly show up again here… can't I be allowed to be spoiled for a bit?"

"Yes, yes… that is… my fault. I'll spoil you all you want later, but for now…"

Xuan looked around at the awestruck crowd, all staring at the two of them.

"… Everyone's staring."

"Eh? Oh—a-ahem."

Quickly recomposing herself, Huo Fei cleared her throat and backed away from Xuan slightly, returning to her normal self and not the childish side she showed only to her husband. This did little to settle the crowd, however, who'd already seen everything and were now in an uproar.

"Immortal Fairy Huo Fei! No way, it's actually Immortal Fairy Huo Fei!"

"She's hugging that Core Formation stage cultivator like they are lovers?! What's happening?!"

"Ahh… I finally get to see her renowned beauty for myself, and she truly lives up to the rumors… but to think she is already taken, and by such a weak man like that… dammit! Who is he?!"

Naturally, the crowd was confused. To them, Huo Fei was still single—the two had never gone public with their relationship like so, since Xuan always preferred to remain anonymous and hidden.

"What are you all yelling about?" Huo Fei snapped, shooting cold glares at everyone present. "This man is my husband. Is there a problem?"

"Haha, t-this must be a joke," Zheng Kuang said aloud, pointing at Xuan. "Y-You, a mere Core Formation stage cultivator, is the revered Immortal Fairy Huo Fei's husband? In your dreams!"

"… Who's that?" Huo Fei asked Xuan, lifting an eyebrow.

Xuan blinked as he followed his wife's finger to see who she was talking about. When his gaze settled on Zheng Kuang's body, he blinked again, completely nonchalantly.

"Oh, him. Just a stray dog."

"Dammit, who're you calling a dog?!"

Zheng Kuang, infuriated, leaped out of his seat and dashed towards Xuan with his Qi channeled, but before he could even get within range for Xuan to do anything in defense, he was blasted away by a powerful fireball straight in the abdomen, slamming him back into the wall.

"Agh!"

Naturally, the source of the attack was Huo Fei, who gave a snort before turning back to Xuan.

"So? How did you come to know of this 'dog'?"

"We were supposed to come here together as a group of four," Xuan explained, looking at the table where Zhi Ruo and Qing Lili were, both stunned silent. "But unfortunately, he only had three VIP tickets, so I volunteered to go to the bottom."

"Oh, is that so… Jiapei, who is that dog again?"

An elderly woman walked up beside Huo Fei, and bowed her head. "That is Zheng Kuang of the Zheng family, Immortal Fairy."

"Mm, I see. And how many seats did you allocate to them?"

"Four, milady."

"Oh, really now…"

With a devious smile on her face, Huo Fei turned back to Zheng Kuang, who was now slowly getting back up from the floor, clutching his abdomen pain. Zhi Ruo and Qing Lili were both shocked to hear this news, and looked at him in shock.

"You said you only had three VIP spots…" Zhi Ruo muttered, still in a state of shock from everything that was going on.

"You purposely made Xuan go to the bottom so you could be alone with the two of us, huh?" Qing Lili snarled, folding her arms. "Scum…"

"W-Wait, listen to me explain—"

"I don't think there's a need for that, is there?" Huo Fei snorted, before clapping her hands together. "Servants, throw him out."

"Yes, Immortal Fairy."

Saying that, Jiapei and another female employee began walking towards Zheng Kuang ominously, powerful auras radiating from their bodies. If Xuan had to guess, they were either peak Origin Emperors or Saints being suppressed by the lack of World Qi in this realm. Zheng Kuang stood no chance, and could only crawl backwards with tears in his eyes as he pleaded for mercy.

"Wait, Immortal Fairy Huo Fei— please, I was wrong! I had eyes but failed to see, I didn't know little brother here was such a powerful figure!"

"Little brother?" Xuan chuckled. "If we're really talking about age… you should be calling me ancestor."

"Just hearing him say my name creeps me out," Huo Fei spat, a cold look of anger in her eyes, as the two servants took hold of Zheng Kuang's arms and began dragging him towards the door leading to the staircase. Huo Fei, noticing this, called out.

"Hold it. Where are you two taking him?"

"Down to the main entrance, milady," Jiapei said. "Is that not what you wanted…?"

"No, no. When I said 'throw him out', I meant it literally. Scum like him isn't worth the trouble of going all the way downstairs. Just toss him out the window."

The two servants glanced at one another for a moment, then nodded.

"Understood, milady."

"W-WHAT?! Wait, as powerful as your Tower of Flames is, my Zheng family is still a decently-sized power here in Inferno Cuisine City! If you were to kill me, my father will definitely-"

"If your father dares to step one foot into my restaurant, I'll toss him out too—the same way I'm doing to you," Huo Fei replied, cutting him off without any mercy, before looking at the servants. "Oh, and one more thing—make sure this height's enough to make him vomit up all the food he ate here—he doesn't deserve my cooking. If here doesn't work, feel free to try the roof."

"… Understood, milady."

As both Zheng Kuang's screams of protest and the crowd's distinct muttering of how scary she actually was were brilliantly ignored, Huo Fei turned back to Xuan with a beaming smile, and grabbed his hands.

"Now then—shall we go? I've prepared an entire feast for you in my office—don't let it become cold~"

"Hold on. The Arena of Fire is not quite over yet, is it?" Xuan replied with a return smile, turning to Li Shu, his supposed opponent. "This brother, you still want the Sealed World Pearl, correct? If that's the case, then let us fight for it."

"Haha, how can that be?" Li Shu replied with a soft laugh. "This brother is Immortal Fairy Huo Fei's husband, how can I stand a chance? If you still wish to exchange pointers, this Li will gladly accompany you, but the grand prize is already yours."

"In that case, just for formalities' sake, let us have our duel. We wouldn't want our audience here to be left without a show to watch, would we?"

"Yes, indeed. Although I despise performing in front of people, since we already have spectators, it is my duty to provide a good performance as a poet. My only concern is…"

He turned to Huo Fei, who blinked before giving a shrug.

"My husband can make his own decisions. If he wants to fight you, then he surely has a reason for it. I won't stop him."

Saying that, she walked out of the arena, and pulled out a nearby chair before sitting down in it. Xuan had so many questions he wanted to ask her, but before that, he needed to accomplish one of his main goals in participating in this event—a good fight.

And so, pointing the Scarlet Passion Sword at Li Shu, he tilted his head. Together, the two spoke.

"Let the performance begin."