Chapter 538: Frost Sutra
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The exchange event was taking place in a large auditorium. By they arrived, many young people had already arrived in groups of their own.
Han Sen and Ji Yanran’s coming was not given too much attention. Ji Yanran wasn’t the only member of the Ji family, after all; nor was she a person of any particular outstanding renown.
Some people from the Ji family noticed her, however, and they came over to say hello. As they did, they made sure to observe Han Sen.
Ji Yanran then introduced Han Sen, and although she did not say it explicitly, her family acknowledged who he was to her, and why she had chosen to bring him.
Han Sen had thought it would simply be an exchange event between the Ji, Lin, Wang, and Xue families, and that the attendance could not be greater than a few hundred people. Needless to say, his expectations were blown out of the water when he saw that several thousand had shown up.
"Ji, Lin and Wang are the biggest families of recent times. You can find a trace of them in every nook of the Alliance, even if they are simply young people who are below forty. I’m not sure whether this auditorium will be able to host more than ten thousand." Ji Yanran noticed Han Sen’s confusion, and prepared to explain further.
"Aren’t the Xue considered a big family?" Han Sen’s heart jumped when he posed this question.
"The Xue family rarely go outside, and there aren’t many of them. Admittedly, the Qi Gong possessed by the Xue family exceeds that of other families, my own included."
Han Sen was curious, and wanted to learn more about the Xue family. Before he could ask anything, however, someone came over to speak with Ji Yanran and interrupted her.
Han Sen looked around and saw a table beside a podium on the stage, where a number of people had already gathered. One of the people there was Lin Feng.
"Yanran, that must be your boyfriend." A woman of similar age to Ji Yanran approached. She looked over Han Sen as she spoke.
The genes of the Ji family were strong. It was fair to say that each and every member of the family was pretty, and this woman was no exception. In fact, she looked quite beautiful. That being said, she didn’t look as fresh and spotless as Ji Yanran.
This woman was similar to Ji Yanran, in the way she held the arm of another young man who seemed to bear a close relation with her.
"Yes, Qing Qiu." Ji Yanran confessed to her. If she had brought Han Sen here, that meant that she had no intention of hiding his identity.
Ji Qing Qiu had only asked to make polite conversation; she had no real interest in Han Sen. Before Ji Yanran could even introduce him, Ji Qing Qiu had already begun introducing the man who was beside her. "Yanran, this is my boyfriend, Xue Yi Yang. Today he is here as a representative of the Xue family, who has come to talk about the Jade Heart Sutra."
While Ji Qing Qiu said this, her eyebrows were raised boisterously.
Ji Yanran politely greeted Xue Yi Yang, whereas Han Sen’s heart felt a slight tremor. Seeing Xue Yi Yang before him, Han Sen did his best to observe decorum and drew a comparison with Xue Long Yan.
Quickly, Han Sen felt disappointed. Even if they were from the same family, it was not as if they all had to look alike. Over time, Han Sen had also forgotten what Xue Long Yan looked like. It had been a few years, after all.
Ji Yanran then spoke to Ji Qing Qiu for a while, who continued to gush praise over how delightful and amazing Xue Yi Yang was while paying no attention to Han Sen. Ji Yanran felt displeased at her behavior, and thought of an excuse to leave them.
"My cousin’s urge to compete with me has never been quelled. Now she has a boyfriend from the Xue family, she is so full of herself," Ji Yanran quietly explained to Han Sen.
"Is that something to be proud of?" Han Sen feigned surprise as he asked this.
Ji Yanran pursed her lips and said, "I suppose it isn’t something to be particularly proud about, but if he can go on stage and talk about the sutra, he must be a figure of some importance in these four families."
Following this, Ji Yanran began saying unfavourable things about the people on stage. Then she quietly said, "Every time at an exchange event, each family will select a few specific people to give a speech up there. If you are selected to go up there, you must be the best-of-the-best of who that family can provide."
"Then you should go up there," Han Sen laughed.
Ji Yanran rolled her eyes then replied, "When my father was young, he was always up there discussing sutras. Unfortunately, I did not carry the flame of his talent. My qualifications aren’t particularly outstanding, thus I lack the necessities required to be chosen to go up there."
"Who said that? If I had a say, I’d be telling everyone that you were the most qualified to go up there. Once you were up there, you wouldn’t have to talk or speak. You could just sit there, and the people that saw you would see the true meaning of beauty. Then they would know the answer to everything. That would be better than making some boring speech, wouldn’t it?" Han Sen’s flirtation was strong.
Ji Yanran’s hands were squeezing Han Sen’s waist, as her face lit up with the light of a thousand smiles.
Ji Qing Qiu and Xue Yi Yang walked around for a bit, but then approached Ji Yanran once again. Ji Qing Qiu laughed and said, "Yanran, we are going up there to take a seat. Would you like to come along?"
"You two go without us - Han Sen and I will be fine down here," Ji Yanran smiled.
"I suppose it’s a good thing to be down here; at least you have the freedom to move about. Up there, you’re locked in place by the stares of a thousand people. It all feels rather awkward. If it wasn’t for Yi Yang, who has to make an important speech up there, I wouldn’t have to go either." Ji Qing Qui’s cocky, holier-than-thou face tarnished her seemingly pleasant words.
After that, Ji Qing Qiu looked at Han Sen and asked, "Oh yes, I forgot to ask - which family does your boyfriend come from?"
"Han Sen does not come from a Qi Gong family," Ji Yanran replied.
"Oh." Ji Qing Qiu quickly looked away and ignored Han Sen again. She spoke to Ji Yanran for a little while longer about other concerns, and then happily grabbed Xue Yi Yang’s arm as he led her up to the stage.
"You really can’t judge someone by the way they look. That Ji Qing Qiu is quite a beautiful woman, but her personality isn’t quite as pleasant," Han Sen said.
Ji Yanran laughed and said, "You cannot blame her. Ever since we were kids, all she has ever wanted is to compete with me. It’s difficult to find an accomplished man. I would be foolish to believe she wouldn’t want to show off her boyfriend and his status to me."
"By saying that, are you suggesting that I’m not accomplished?" Han Sen joked.
"In my heart, you’re not only accomplished, you’re flat-out the best. To the families present here, however, being selected to make a speech before everyone in attendance is quite the honor. It is a glorious thing for them." Ji Yanran laughed, and continued, "Besides, the Xue family always think highly of themselves. They believe themselves better than any other family. Did you not see Xue Yi Yang’s eyes rise to breach the stratosphere?"
"Because the four of our families come from the same bloodline, the Xue family likes to present themselves as the primary lineage. They also possess the most secrets and enigmas that outsiders to their blood can never be made privy to," Ji Yanran explained.
"What secrets?" Han Sen’s heart began to skip.
"The Frost Sutra," Ji Yanran replied.
Han Sen sighed in relief, having worried she might say Ice Skin.
Ji Yanran then quickly added, "But the Frost Sutra is not easy to learn. Only a few people in the entirety of recorded history have been able to practice what it teaches. The Xue family in recent times however have been trying to turn the Frost Sutra into a hypo geno art, so all of the family can learn it. I heard that they have been seeing results in the past few years, and that it has been modified into a hypo geno art called Ice Skin. But that said, no one has seen anyone from the Xue family cast it."
Han Sen’s heart jumped, and he thought, "So it is true - Xue Long Yan does indeed belong to this family."