RHRFS 01

Chapter – 01

Senior Sister, You’re Very Beautiful, But I Refuse.

Today, an earth-shattering event occurred in the Dragon Roar Sect.
An Lingran, the dignified Primordial Saintess, had actually confessed her feelings to her junior apprentice brother!

This was simply too bizarre. She was the sect’s once-in-a-century prodigious saintess, renowned across the myriad cultivation realms as the “number one ice-cold beauty,” An Lingran…
How could someone with such peerless talent, an ethereal lotus-like bearing, and a nature so aloof and cold ever take a liking to an utterly ordinary junior apprentice brother?

Yet, reality proved otherwise—

“Heqiu, junior brother, this senior sister was shallow before. I’ve come today to apologize.”
“Now that you’ve comprehended that seventh-grade cultivation technique, according to the agreement between us, in the future… I suppose it wouldn’t be impossible for us to become cultivation partners…”

Her cold, fair cheeks flushed pink. Her teeth lightly grazed her lower lip. Her jade-like fingers clenched tightly, and her delicate frame trembled ever so slightly.
It was unimaginable—that ethereal, untouchable ice-cold saintess, who seemed to have no worldly desires, could one day reveal such a shy and tender expression. This was clearly the mark of someone falling into the depths of love!

Witnessing this, the disciples present were not only stunned into silence but also filled with admiration for Heqiu, the one being confessed to.
How on earth had that kid managed to make the Primordial Saintess, who had rejected countless suitors, take the initiative to confess so bashfully?

Ordinary disciples wouldn’t even dare to dream of such a blessing!
Just imagining that one day their affection might be graciously accepted by the Saintess was enough to send them into ecstasy, feeling as though they had reached the pinnacle of life.
But this Heqiu had surpassed all mortal understanding tenfold! He had turned the tables and made the Saintess confess to *him*!

Formidable, truly formidable.
Thinking this, the onlookers shook their heads and sighed, dripping with envy.

Yet, what was even more shocking was—
“Sorry, Senior Sister Lingran, what did you just say? I didn’t quite catch that…”

The junior apprentice brother, Heqiu, not only didn’t accept the Saintess’s confession but even played dumb in front of everyone!
“Senior Sister said according to the agreement, but I don’t recall us ever making any such agreement.”

“The, the agreement, of course, is…”
An Lingran’s breathtakingly beautiful face flushed again, her gaze tinged with a hint of grievance and reproach.
*Goodness, back then he was so eager to marry me, and now he’s pretending to be clueless. It seems my little junior brother still hasn’t forgiven me and wants to embarrass me in front of everyone…*
Ah, but she supposed she couldn’t blame him.

“The so-called agreement—naturally, it refers to our betrothal.”
An Lingran had made up her mind. After all, he was soon to be her fiancé. There was no point hiding it from outsiders.

However, the young man still looked utterly baffled.
“*Nani?* There’s such a thing?”
“No, no, Senior Sister, please stop teasing your junior brother, alright? I truly don’t recall any betrothal…”

His demeanor was evasive, his gaze sincere—he didn’t seem to be joking. More like he suspected the Saintess was just making up some betrothal story because she coveted his body.

An Lingran: ???

Junior apprentice brother Heqiu had rejected the Primordial Saintess—twice!

“Heqiu, junior brother, this is no time for jokes. I’ve already reflected on my past mistakes…”
“I’m not joking, though.”
“You… you truly don’t know about the betrothal?”
“Truly!”
“This…”

Staring at Heqiu’s innocent expression, An Lingran stood frozen in place, her crimson lips parting slightly, unable to speak for a long while.
*Little junior brother… seems to be serious?*

Wait, hold on.
If little junior brother truly knew nothing of the betrothal and had never been angry with her…
Connecting the dots, a certain suspicion surfaced in An Lingran’s mind, sending her blood pressure soaring as a blush of shame spread across her cheeks.

Could it be that this entire situation—
Had all been nothing but her own wishful thinking from the very start?!

Neglected details suddenly clicked into place, and An Lingran stood there, petrified.

—

**Half a month earlier**

Snow Chant Peak, Primordial Saint Pavilion.

Early this morning, the silver-haired Primordial Saintess sat in meditation here, her cold, peerlessly beautiful brows faintly creased with displeasure.
Within the sect, everyone knew of Saintess An Lingran’s aloof and prideful nature. Few could ever provoke her, and even fewer worldly matters could disturb her cultivation mindset.

Yet today, she had been broken.

The cause was a letter sent back by her father and master, An Daosheng.
In the letter, the usually revered Grand Elder of Snow Chant Peak excitedly told his daughter that he had taken on a new disciple during his travels. Between the lines, he showered the young disciple with affection, even going so far as to…
Ask An Lingran if she would be willing to become cultivation partners with this new junior apprentice brother?

*What!*
*How absurd!*

A stranger, a junior apprentice brother she had never even met—how could there be any talk of romantic bonds or dual cultivation partners?
She was the Primordial Saintess, a woman of status and dignity. An Lingran absolutely refused to accept her father’s frivolous arrangement.

So today, she sat in the Primordial Saint Pavilion, waiting for her old man to return and give her an explanation.

Outside the pavilion, a cool breeze swept by.
An Lingran raised an eyebrow and glanced northward.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Lingran.”
The white-bearded elder’s figure flew in from afar atop an ice sword. He landed lightly across from An Lingran, sat down with a cheerful smile, and downed a large cup of hot tea.
“So, have you thought it over, Lingran? I’ve given it careful consideration and feel that you’ve reached the age to discuss marriage—”
“Impossible.”

An Lingran’s expression turned cold.

The elder smiled awkwardly, then pulled a document from his sleeve and placed it on the table.
“Lingran, as your father, I understand how you feel… but your new junior apprentice brother has actually been betrothed to you since childhood!”
“…Since childhood? Betrothal?”
“If you don’t believe me, see for yourself.”

Frowning with suspicion, An Lingran cautiously took the marriage contract and opened it.

<Heqiu & An Lingran>

It was written clearly in black and white: the two had been arranged to marry before they were even born, by their respective fathers.
At the bottom of the contract were the blood seals of Snow Chant Elder An Daosheng and the groom’s parent—unmistakably genuine. At least An Daosheng’s blood seal was real, and the paper itself was aged, authentic.

“…”
Placing the contract back on the table, An Lingran felt a tumult of emotions.

Seeing this, An Daosheng revealed a relieved smile and comforted her:
“Lingran, I know this is hard to accept, but the facts are the facts. We are both a sect and a family line; promises made cannot be broken…”
“But—!”

Being suddenly informed that her future was already decided, An Lingran was now deeply vexed.
Breaking the promise would be unfilial and discourteous;
Keeping it meant spending the rest of her life with a stranger…
What a stomach-churning dilemma.

Yet this wasn’t even the crux of An Lingran’s confusion. By the norms of the cultivation world, with her father’s cultivation and status, he wouldn’t casually betroth his daughter to just anyone, nor would he make such a lighthearted decision about her marriage.
Perhaps her father had indeed sworn brotherhood with the groom’s father in his youth, and their families were close, leading to the arrangement.

But if the son of that family were merely a mortal, even without An Lingran saying so, An Daosheng would have used the sect’s influence to suppress the betrothal.
Yet not only had An Daosheng not done so, but he also seemed to be harboring a secret delight recently. This meant that her fiancé, the junior apprentice brother, indeed possessed something extraordinary!

And this “extraordinary” quality was enough to make An Daosheng eager to marry his daughter off.

It seemed things were not so simple after all…

Biting her silver teeth, after a final moment of hesitation, An Lingran sighed and finally set aside her resistance:
“Very well, this disciple understands.”

With that, she rose and left alone.

Walking along the forest path toward her junior apprentice brother’s quarters, An Lingran clenched her slender, pale fingers. Today, she would go see for herself just what kind of mysterious, extraordinary talent her fiancé—and junior apprentice brother—Heqiu truly was!

Though she couldn’t easily defy the betrothal arranged by their fathers, this wasn’t a situation where she could only resign herself to being wed.
If—just *if*—it was the man himself who felt unworthy of the woman and voluntarily renounced the engagement, then things would become much simpler!

That way, neither the sect’s reputation nor the elders’ involvement would be compromised.
An Lingran believed that with her dual spiritual veins, innate full spiritual power, and peerless talent, there were few in the entire Spirit Void Continent who could match her—let alone as a cultivation partner.

And so, An Lingran decided to take a gamble!
She would bet that she could force this obscure junior apprentice brother to back out before the betrothal’s deadline arrived!