My Celestial Ascension

"Ah, I feel so full after trying so many unique dishes!" Lily rubbed her now slightly bulging stomach. She had indulged in more street food than she could handle, unable to resist the delicious variety.

With Yuan's abundant supply of Spirit Stones, they had no problem paying for all the food. The flavors were so exquisite that it was worth every penny.

"Aren't you a lady? You should have shown some restraint instead of devouring everything like a ravenous pig," Anna scolded, giving Lily a stern look. She disapproved of Lily's unladylike behavior.

Lily, face flushed with embarrassment, retorted, "Come on, Mom Anna, you can't blame me! The food was too delicious to resist!" She turned her head, pouting.

"Whatever. From now on, remember to behave like a proper lady," Anna insisted with a serious tone.

Fang Xiaoyan chuckled softly at their banter. "Fufu~ It seems the outside world doesn't have food like this, does it? No wonder you all seemed so surprised by the cuisine here."

"You're right," Anna nodded, glancing at the chopsticks in her hand. "We don't have food like this, and I'm still struggling to use these…what do you call them? Sticks?"

"We call them chopsticks," Fang Xiaoyan replied with a smile. "Once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to do many things with chopsticks, not just eating."

Before they could continue, a voice interrupted from behind.

"Well, well, if it isn't Lady Fang Xiaoyan enjoying the local street food. Haha!"

Yuan immediately sensed the unfamiliar presence and turned around to see a man approaching, a smirk plastered on his face.

"Chen Ping, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the brothel by now?" Fang Xiaoyan's expression turned icy as a murderous aura radiated from her, surrounding her like a golden flame.

"Haha~ Calm down, Lady Fang Xiaoyan, no need to get angry so quickly," Chen Ping replied, trying to maintain his composure despite the fear clawing at him. He couldn't afford to look scared in front of her. "Since you're in my city, how could I not come to greet you personally?"

"Save your empty words," Fang Xiaoyan snapped, her eyes narrowing. "Didn't I tell you before not to approach me? Do I need to remind you what happens when people ignore my warnings?" Golden flames flickered around her hand, emphasizing her threat.

One of Chen Ping's friends quickly stepped forward, attempting to diffuse the situation with a sly smile. "Lady Fang, our young master is here out of love and respect. He sincerely wishes for you to be his Dao companion. Isn't that something to be happy about rather than angry?"

The other friend chimed in, nodding eagerly. "Yes, Lady Fang! Our young master only wants to express his sincere feelings. You should be honored by his attention!"

Yuan and his wives were stunned by their audacity. How could these men speak so boldly in front of someone as powerful as Fang Xiaoyan? And Chen Ping, of all people, daring to think he was worthy of becoming her Dao companion?

Chen Ping smiled, trying to play it cool. "They're right, Lady Fang. I hope you'll consider my proposal. Together, we can rule this city."

Fang Xiaoyan's expression grew even colder.

"Consider it?" She sneered. "You think a lowly human like you is worthy of being my Dao companion? You're delusional."

Her scathing words left Chen Ping and his friends speechless. They stood frozen, faces filled with disbelief and shame.

"Fufuahhhh!"

Yuan and his wives couldn't hold back their laughter, bursting into fits of amusement at the stunned expressions on the men's faces. Even Fang Xiaoyan allowed herself a smile.

Chen Ping and his two friends snapped their attention to Yuan, narrowing their eyes.

For a brief moment, they were entranced by the beauty of the women, but that changed the instant they laid eyes on Yuan.

Yuan was strikingly handsome, far beyond anyone they had ever seen, and he was clearly close to the women surrounding him. The sight made their jealousy flare uncontrollably.

'Who is this handsome bastard?! And what is he doing with Fang Xiaoyan and her friends?! And he even dared to laugh at me! This is unforgivable!' Chen Ping cried inwardly, feeling incredibly frustrated.

However, he couldn't show such emotions in front of Fang Xiaoyan. Since Yuan was with them, he understood that Yuan had some sort of connection with Fang Xiaoyan and the Fang Family.

'Whoever he is, I can't act without thinking. Doing so would only make Fang Xiaoyan even angrier at me, and eventually, she'll hate me... I have to figure out who he is before making any move,' Chen Ping thought, calming himself down after taking a deep breath.

He then turned to Fang Xiaoyan and asked, "Lady Fang Xiaoyan, might I ask who these people with you are? They look quite unfamiliar to me, especially this man." He glanced at Yuan with a cold, piercing stare.

As soon as he asked, an idea popped into Fang Xiaoyan's mind, and a smile appeared on her face. "This is Yuan, my soon-to-be husband. And those ladies beside him are his wives." Fang Xiaoyan responded with an affectionate smile toward Yuan.

Yuan was speechless upon hearing this and looked at Fang Xiaoyan with widened eyes. Did she just say that he was her future husband? Did he hear her right, or were his ears playing tricks on him?

As he turned to look at her face, he saw she was gazing at him with the same affectionate smile his wives often gave him, eyes filled with love and warmth.

'Is this for real?! But from the look on her face, she seems completely serious. She's not pretending…' Yuan thought, momentarily shocked.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping and his two friends were also dumbfounded by Fang Xiaoyan's words. They even forgot to blink for a moment.

'What did she just say?! He is her soon-to-be husband?! This can't be true! She must be lying!' Chen Ping couldn't believe what he'd heard.

Chen Ping looked at Fang Xiaoyan with a perplexed expression, as if he hadn't wanted to hear those words at all.

"You must be joking with me, Lady Fang Xiaoyan. There's no way you'd marry this bastard over me. After all, I'm the only one worthy of becoming your husband!" Chen Ping shot a murderous glare at Yuan, as if he intended to cut him into tiny pieces. But instead of the reaction he wanted, the opposite happened.

Yuan smirked before stepping closer to Fang Xiaoyan. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into an embrace. Then he looked at Chen Ping and, with a smug grin, said, "Xiaoyan is not lying. I'm Yuan, nice to meet you, Young Master of the Ping family. And yes, I'm Xiaoyan's future husband."

As Yuan introduced himself, still holding her by the waist, Fang Xiaoyan's face turned bright red. She buried her face into his chest, feeling utterly embarrassed.

"T-This is… impossible…" Chen Ping's friends murmured under their breath, seemingly in disbelief.

At the same time, Chen Ping was boiling with rage, feeling humiliated by Yuan and Fang Xiaoyan. Not only had she rejected his proposal, but she had also embarrassed him in front of his friends.

His fury reached the point where he wanted to kill Yuan and make him pay for the humiliation. He wanted Fang Xiaoyan to beg for mercy. Unfortunately, he wasn't strong enough to take on either Fang Xiaoyan or Yuan.

Despite Yuan being in the same cultivation realm as him, Chen Ping could sense a formidable aura that surpassed the Grandmaster realm, as if Yuan was hiding his true power and only showing a Spirit Master level of cultivation.

'Damn it! Why did this bastard have to show up?! If he weren't here, she would've accepted my proposal! This is all his fault!' Chen Ping glared at Yuan with hostility, as if he were looking at his mortal enemy.

Yuan ignored his gaze and turned his attention back to Fang Xiaoyan, whose face was still slightly flushed. He found her incredibly cute.

'She's so cute…' Yuan thought to himself.

"Now that your business here is done, leave us alone. We're here to enjoy the festival as a family, and we don't want any disturbances," Fang Xiaoyan said to Chen Ping with a stern look before sneering, clearly disgusted by him.

Chen Ping grew even more furious at her words, which cut into him like a hot knife. Each word stabbed at his pride.

'Damn it! One day, I'll repay this humiliation tenfold!' Chen Ping swore inwardly before leaving the scene with a defeated look, his two friends following behind.

'This is bad! Brother Chen is furious after that "bitch" humiliated him!' Chen Ping's friends thought, feeling scared.

As soon as Chen Ping and his friends left, Anna, Julie, and Sylvia hurried over to Fang Xiaoyan and pulled her aside, wide grins plastered on their faces.

"So, tell us honestly, do you really like our darling? No lies, okay?" Anna asked with a mischievous smirk.

Julie nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, spill it! And no excuses!"

"You don't need to be shy about it," Sylvia added with a smile, her excitement evident. "After all, we'll be sisters once you become Yuan's wife too."

Fang Xiaoyan was incredibly embarrassed by their questions. After a moment of silence, she finally nodded.

"Well… the thing is, I think I've fallen in love with him. He's so caring, gentle, and easygoing. I just love being around him…" Fang Xiaoyan shyly admitted.