Origin Court: Accepting Disciples With A System

In his eyes, Cardinal Lin gained a favorable impression due to what the other party did to Saint Prince Huang just to save Lan Mingyue from this beast. He had to admit that this Saint Prince Huang was very strong at his peak, based on how solid his foundation was—but that was all there was to it. 

"Where's your father?" Yang Lujia directly asked her. "Yueyue, you don't have to hesitate. Saving him should be prioritized now. Set aside your emotions towards him. I know how you hate him so much, but what if he really died? Won't you regret it?"

Lan Mingyue tactfully zipped her mouth and pointed at the room where his father was held inside. 

Yang Lujia merely nodded and looked at the expression of Lan Mingyue's father, the clan's patriarch who stood above the other two families of this Sacred City. He held his forehead and examined him from the inside. 

"How convenient?" Yang Lujia was surprised when he saw his condition. "Could it be that father already predicted this to happen?"

He never believed in coincidences and this was certainly one of those instances where he would doubt this belief of his. 

Thinking about how his father managed to create such a grand formation and even made him feel suffocated inside during those tests. One of the tests he had passed through was overwhelming a poison with flames. 

Lan Mingyue was standing beside him, kind of fidgety with his father's illness. Deep in her bones, she felt some regrets during the times she went out to spend time for herself and not with her father. 

But he cheated. She just couldn't take it in so easily. That was something that her old fragile heart would never be able to forget. 

"Can you cure him, big brother?" Lan Mingyue was back to her childish self. 

In front of everyone, she was heartless and as cold as ice. Even Saint Prince Huang could not move her. Despite his dashing appearance and the likes, this lady was not even moved a bit. She was like a stone hit by a clump of cotton. However, this beauty that had been plaguing men's hearts for quite a long time was very timid in front of this young man.

"Of course," Yang Lujia said, smiling. 

Lan Mingyue was overjoyed in her heart, but she concealed it. Moreover, it wasn't necessary for her to be 'too happy'. She was only doing this act because she was worried about her mother's deteriorating condition. She was not faring well at the moment and had also fallen sick after their confrontation with the grand elder. 

Thus, she only sighed and looked at Yang Lujia gratefully. At the same time, she found it strange. She really sensed her presence from this young man, but this young man's face was outrageously handsome, and when she first laid her eyes on him, she thought she saw an immortal, a heavenly figure that nobody could condemn but could only be worshipped. 

Dum Gai… Yang Lujia… 

They were different names. But the same person. 

Recalling how his name was structured… Dum Gai… she must be really the dumb one for that. Never in her life did she recall anyone she encountered with that name. However, parents could be exotic or strange in that they would give names to their children like that. That was probably the reason why she overlooked his name back then. 

But to actually know now that his name went by as Yang Lujia, she blushed and didn't know why it sounded handsome, especially when it came from his lips specifically. She was a stone-hearted woman, but not anymore in front of this young man. 

'What's wrong with me?'

"He was actually poisoned by a peculiar flower. However, you don't have to worry about that. I am more than capable to expel that poison. Moreover, if you're wondering if this is now my real face, you got it right, it is," Yang Lujia said. "Also, don't look at me with firm eyes while blushing. It's very unusual of you."

Seeing the stern expression on Yang Lujia's face, she was stunned momentarily and thought, 'Does he not like me at all? Why? Am I that ugly?'

Hell, if she was ugly, Saint Prince Huang wouldn't be attracted to her—that would probably be everyone's reply if they heard her thoughts about the matter. 

"I am not a romantic person neither did I feel any romance with anyone. That goes the same with you. If you developed something in your heart towards me, erase that now."

Just as she was about to speak, Yang Lujia immediately interrupted her. "No buts. If you're wondering why I am helping you like this and all that I did in the past—you just resembled someone that I do not exactly hold dear but someone who brought terror to me. Over time, although I did not like her treatment back then, the kind of mental torture that she gave me back then, became a pleasure to me. Talk about sadism. Haha."

To ease off the atmosphere, Yang Lujia joked about it and looked at the lady's stunned expression. He then shook his head and proceeded with eliminating the poison inside the Lan Clan's patriarch's body. 'I think a small amount of my flame will do. My flame is very violent, not like the gentle Life-Flame that my father comprehended.'

Yang Lujia did this for an hour and later found out that the eyes of the lady beside him had turned gray. It was as if she lost all her life and forgotten how to breathe. Nevertheless, he did not just mind her at all. It was normal. This lady probably had not yet been rejected by a man, so it proved to be unusual on her part. 

However, he still felt the urge to tell her something. "You don't really have to remove your feelings for me. Just know your boundaries. Anything more than friends… that's not acceptable for me."

Yes, to him, romance was nothing but an additional weakness to him. It had always been like this in the past and his father in the past was the one who taught him like this. The latter interfered with what happened in the past—making him almost forget every emotion he had—that he had turned sinister—killing some of his relatives and some friends just to get everything that he wanted. Over time, in his stay here in this world, he realized that he had been too busy becoming like his father. 

He forgot who he was. He forgot who he was living for. 

Was it just only to surpass his father back then?

Or was it because of his pride?

Regardless, that feeling was still there and it could not be overshadowed by any feeling like romance and stuff. It was still there and he was actually aware of its existence. He just did not know how to control it. Coming into this fantasy-filled world, a cultivation world at that, he realized that there was something in him that he could not control. It had to be known that being aware of something would not always be tantamount to having the knowledge of how to expel that something. 

In fact, what he was aiming for, for now, was still the same as before. He could not extricate it. The feeling of wanting to surpass somebody—like his father—especially that face and voice—they were actually very much the same as the previous one. 

Helplessly sighing, Lan Mingyue shook her head. "No. You are not in any way obligated to feel anything for me. I guess it was just me being obvious about it. Moreover, that's not what's important right now. Have you already expelled the poison from 'his' body?"

"Yes."

"Then, why did I not see anything poisonous?"

"I said I'm going to eliminate it. Not expel. Therefore, I burned it with my flames."

"I see," Lan Mingyue replied. "When is he going to wake up, though?"

"I think he'll wake up tomorrow or the day after. I still need to stabilize his body and his cultivation level that had regressed because of the poison," he replied. "Anyhow, although this may be offensive to you, but do you really not want to talk to him after he wakes up?"

"No. It's still the same. I don't have the power yet to stand in front of him. Not because I'm weak, but because the feeling of hatred is still here," she replied, pointing at her chest. "Also, although I have feelings for you, you do not need to persuade me. Even you can't do that."

"I know. I am not intending to. I was just asking," he retorted, looking out into the window of the room. "Anyway, I still have some matters to attend to. I'd like to meet this Saint Prince Huang who had the audacity to threaten you when he's not even in his own territory. To say the least, he's a clown on that matter."