Compared to the Wang family and the Su family, the Chen family, the most powerful of the three major families, currently has a much smaller number of members.
Apart from Ling Xueyan and her daughter, there are only three others: Shen Siying, the backbone of the Chen family; Wang Yuqi, the aunt of Chen Xi and also the younger cousin of Wang Yue; and Chen Yao, Wang Yuqiâs daughter.
By the time Wang Yue and the others arrived, the other five members of the Chen family were already waiting for them.
Having just heard the stories about his maternal grandmother from his aunt, Wang Yue paid close attention to Shen Siying. But no matter how he looked at her, she seemed like an entirely ordinary person.
Of course, by "ordinary" he didnât mean her appearanceânone of the women from the three major families was a beauty; both in terms of looks and figure, Shen Siying was no less attractive than Ling Xueyan.
What Wang Yue meant by "ordinary" was Shen Siyingâs temperament. She didnât seem to differ much from his grandmother, Liu Ruoshi, and was even less serious than her; she simply looked like a kind, gentle neighborly aunt.
Yet who would have thought that such a woman, who resembled a neighborly aunt, was actually the number one expert in Jinling, a superpowerful individual at the seventh level of the Gui Zhen realm? It was clear that she hid her true abilities very well.
"Yue, youâve come. How was your sea voyage?" Shen Siying asked with a smile.
"Hello, Grandma Shen," Wang Yue replied respectfully, then added, "The sea was really fun, and by chance, I managed to obtain some wonderful items. My grandmother asked me to bring some of them over."
With that, he took out some pre-packaged fish from his space ring and handed them to her.
"Mutated Yangtze River knifefish... I havenât eaten that in a long time," Shen Siying said, her eyes lighting up with nostalgia.
Her uncle had once secretly brought them some exquisite delicacies when her parents were still alive, including this mutated Yangtze River knifefish.
"Just a small gift from me," Wang Yue said with a smile, then turned to Wang Yuqi beside him and said, "Younger cousin."
"Hmph!" Wang Yuqi looked quite similar to her sister, Chen Yao, but instead of being warm and friendly towards her nephew, she gave a snort and turned her head away.
Wang Yue was already accustomed to this behavior from his younger cousin and asked with a wry smile, "Younger cousin, what have I done to offend you?"
"Itâs because my mom is envious that you have such an excellent training method, but you wonât teach it to me as your younger cousin," Chen Yao explained.
Wang Yuqi immediately retorted to her daughter, "Nonsense! I donât care about that at all!"
Wang Yue could only shake his head with a sigh. His younger cousin was the youngest in her fatherâs generation, and everyone doted on her.
As a result, instead of developing a gentle personality, she developed an arrogant attitude similar to that of Chen Ping.
Just how arrogant was she? Take her daughterâs name, for example. There were so many possible characters to choose from, but she insisted on using the same character as her sisterâs name.
Clearly, she did so because of the strong bond between the two sisters, but she stubbornly claimed that she chose that name to outshine her sister.
Speaking of Chen Ping, Wang Yue turned his attention to the little girl standing beside him and called out, "Hey, Chen Ku."
"I told you my name isnât âChen Kuâ!" Chen Ping flew into a rage; like a frenzied little wild cat, she started to flail her arms and claws in an attempt to attack Wang Yue.
Chen Yao grabbed Chen Ping by the back of her neck and lifted her, as if she were holding a kitten, and shouted, "Enough, stop making a fuss!"
Chen Xi then complained to Wang Yue, "Can you please stop bullying Xiao Ping like this?"
"As you command, my dear wife," Wang Yue said with a smile.
Chen Xiâs face turned red with embarrassment, and she said in a teasing manner, "What are you talking about? Donât be so shameless."
Chen Chen laughed and said, "Thatâs true. Whatâs there to be ashamed of between a young couple?"
"Itâs not you Iâm referring to," Chen Xi replied irritably.
"Well, if you can do it, then give him to me. Iâd be more than happy to take him," Chen Chen said with a grin.
Chen Xi was taken abackâhow could her sister start making such jokes?
Wang Yue, on the other hand, silently rubbed his forehead; his older cousin was becoming increasingly bold.
Do women really become foolish when in love?
At that moment, Shen Siying finally snapped out of her reverie and said, "Stop standing outside; letâs go inside and sit down."
The group of eight entered the living room.
After Wang Yue was seated, Shen Siying took the ingredients he had brought and went to the kitchen, ready to instruct a dedicated chef to prepare the food.
Such behavior was quite uncharacteristic of her status as the number one expert in Jinling.
The other six women chatted with Wang Yue in the living room for a while, until Chen Yao suddenly stood up and said to him, "Xiao Yue, come with me; I have something to tell you."
The two left the living room and went to a secluded place. There, Chen Yao turned around, grabbed Wang Yue by the collar, and shouted, "You little rascal! If thereâs a good way to train, why donât you share it with us?"
"I canât decide that; itâs all arranged by our family," Wang Yue replied with a wry smile; he was already accustomed to this kind of behavior from his cousin.
Although Chen Yao was only eighteen years old, her "bad reputation" had long spread among the three major families.
Among her peers, she had the best relationship with Wang Yue, but she was much more domineering than himâshe was practically a bully. Wang Yue had grown up being "bullied" by her.
Before the age of twelve, he couldnât count how many times she had hit him; it wasnât until three years ago that her behavior began to soften.
Of course, this was only within their family; outside, she acted as a shield for her younger siblings and even her elder sisters. Anyone who dared to speak harshly to them would be beaten by Chen Yao.
In short, "Only I can bully my younger siblings; anyone who dares to touch them will be beaten to death!"
"What arrangements? How many people are left in the three major families now? Still needing to follow those rules..." Chen Yao pouted in dissatisfaction.
"Thereâs no choice; these are the unwritten rules among the various factions," Wang Yue explained.
"Unless we become strong enough to ignore these rules, we have to abide by them."
"Then youâd better get stronger quickly," Chen Yao said. "I heard youâve already reached the Guizhen realm; I believe it wonât be long before you become a De all or Chaotuo realm expert. Then, who will dare to tell us what to do?"
"Of course not, but arenât you afraid that once I get stronger, you wonât be able to bully me anymore?" Wang Yue laughed.
"No matter how strong you become, youâre still my brother; if I want to beat you, I can!" Chen Yao crossed her arms and said fiercely, "Believe it or not, Iâll beat you right now!"
"Okay, come on then; Iâm not afraid of you!" Wang Yue defied her, teasingly sticking out his finger at her.
"You little rascal, getting so bold now... Let me see how Iâll deal with you!" Chen Yao shouted and rushed forward, wrapping her arms around Wang Yueâs waist in an attempt to knock him over.
Wang Yue didnât back down; he steadied himself and, as Chen Yao ran out of strength, he caught her, pushed her away, and pinned her down, laughing triumphantly, "Hehe, Iâve grown up now; do you still think you can bully me like you used to?"
Although Chen Yao was pinned to the ground, she wasnât discouraged.
Taking advantage of Wang Yueâs moment of triumph, she quickly turned over and knocked him off herself, then mounted him, looking down at him and asking, "Do you admit defeat?"
"Not yet!"
Wang Yue roared, turned over again, and knocked Chen Yao off, then pounced on her once more.
The siblings struggled on the grassy ground in this way.
Thatâs exactly how they foughtâthey sealed away all their martial arts abilities, including their chi and physical strength, and fought in the most primitive manner.
One was a fifteen-year-old boy, and the other an eighteen-year-old girl. In terms of strength, Wang Yue had a gender advantage, but Chen Yao had more experience in this kind of fighting.
As a result, it was impossible to determine a winner; instead, their constant rolling covered their hair and clothes with grass.
When Wang Yue once again managed to pin Chen Yao down, she suddenly let out a cry and froze in place.
It turned out that after mounting her, Wang Yueâs hands ended up on her chest, one of them gripping one of her breasts.
Wang Yue seemed as shocked by his own unintentional action as Chen Yao; he forgot to let go immediately.