"Otherwise, what do you think I was doing while you were agonizing over love?"

An Zhengzheng found him ridiculous.

Zhou Xu said he loved her, but ignored her rejections, just like when she asked her clansmen for fairness and to learn the An family's martial arts, all her voices were disregarded.

His love for her was to ignore her desire to become a god and to constantly cause her trouble by working with her family.

Because of his affection, An Zhengzheng lost the right to decide whether a woman should inherit the family business, a right she had gained from An Mao.

Because of his affection, she had no choice but to leave her family in search of freedom, without any support, and she could no longer return home.

Because of his affection, the Hundred Women's Pavilion was punished, requiring her to take charge personally, and Siyue Gate could not return often.

It was clearly him who caused her trouble, yet in the end, it was An Zhengzheng who was condemned by the world as cold-hearted and heartless.

What a mess this world is.

"How can you improve so quickly when you're distracted by business..."

Zhou Xu was stunned.

An Zhengzheng laughed and said, "Otherwise, what do you think I did with the spirit stones I earned, besides continuing to invest them in the shop?"

She could buy the pills and talismans that her family had been reluctant to give her, and she could learn the cultivation techniques in the Siyue Sect's library.

She is no longer the daughter who had no resources.

“Zhou Xu, Zhou Xu, admit it, you never liked me or loved me.” She spoke slowly, “You’re just driven by possessiveness and a desire to conquer.”

"If you loved me, you wouldn't ignore my desire to become a god and hinder my cultivation. Your so-called love is nothing but to satisfy yourself."

She exposed Zhou Xu's facade and looked around at the people nearby who dared not speak.

"You publicly proclaimed your love for me to everyone, trying to make me realize how special I am to you, even arousing the envy and jealousy of the nuns."

"You think I'll find satisfaction in this, a sense of vanity that crushes other women, right? I've snatched the man they all crave, my life is now complete, a thousand times better than theirs, you think that's what I'll think, right?"

Zhou Xu's face turned pale. He parted his lips slightly for a moment, but said nothing.

Song Juan immediately remembered the words the An sisters had told her before.

"Is this what they called female competition before?" she asked Su Ying in a low voice.

Su Ying thought for a moment and nodded.

After listening to An Zhengzheng's words, she became much clearer. If An Zhengzheng hadn't been thinking clearly, she could have easily become immersed in this kind of vanity.

In Zhou Xu's vision, Sister Zhengzheng would receive the favor of an outstanding man without having to do anything, which would make the female cultivators around her sigh at her good fortune.

One could even give up cultivating the Tao.

If An Zhengzheng were the kind of female cultivator who wanted to gain without effort, was cunning and enjoyed fratricide, she would have agreed on a whim.

In the silence, An Zhengzheng took out a brand new magic bag.

In front of everyone, he put all the remaining gifts into the treasure bag one by one and threw it back to Zhou Xu.

Her tone was icy: "Don't bother me anymore. I won't pay for your desire to conquer and possess."

Zhou Xu felt extremely embarrassed, clutching the treasure bag in his hand, his tone bitter as he tried to defend himself.

"I didn't intend to conquer you..."

"No?" An Zhengzheng was almost laughing in exasperation when she saw that he was still so stubborn.

"Admit it, Zhou Xu. Ever since you failed to become the top scholar, I've been threatening you, so you inquired about me and challenged me. After losing the contest, you moved to another mountain to keep an eye on me and watch me."

An Zhengzheng wasn't so weak as to not notice Zhou Xu's gaze; she was simply more focused on herself.

Moreover, Zhou Xu's behavior wasn't out of line at the time, so she didn't interfere.

"Without the support of my family, I still won the trial. You finally panicked and even followed me to Ghost Ancient City. Because your proud skills, which far surpassed those of your peers, have been surpassed."

"impossible!"

A figure emerged from the crowd; it was Zhou Yu'er, who hadn't appeared before An Zhengzheng for a long time.

She glared at An Zhengzheng with hatred: "He even advised you not to get distracted by business. If he was really afraid of being surpassed by you, he wouldn't have done that."

"No way?" An Zhengzheng looked at Zhou Xu.

Zhou Xu felt guilty, and once again he dared not look at An Zhengzheng.

"You watched the whole beauty pageant from the audience that day, right? The Hundred Women Pavilion showcased the beauty of every woman. Those novel things, those innovative things that women love... how amazing is that? How could I possibly fail in business? So you became even more afraid."

"You're already upset that I lost to you in your strongest area and challenged your position. How can you watch me shine in business and entrepreneurship as well?"

That's why he specifically came to dissuade her from going into business, but she wouldn't listen. When they met again later, he even mocked her for being greedy for fame and fortune.

An Zhengzheng completely tore off his mask.

She looked directly at Zhou Xu: "You say you love me, you like me, but do you know what I like to do? What was my past like? What do I lack most right now? When is my birthday? Am I eating well, sleeping well, and resting well? And do you respect me?"

Zhou Xu was stumped by the question. He had never cared about these things, nor did he care about them at all.

Seeing his embarrassed expression, An Zhengzheng said, "The only way you can think of to beat me is to marry me, make me your vassal, give me the title of Zhou family's daughter-in-law, make me Zhou Anshi, and plan and strategize for you, and bear your children."

“Abandon the Way, give up business, and only manage household affairs in the inner quarters... It would be best to have children to wear down your spirit and energy, so that your brilliance can never be obscured again.”

"Cousin, say something! She's slandering you!" Zhou Yu'er was frantic; An Zhengzheng was defaming her cousin!

Zhou Xu remained silent.

Zhou Yu'er retorted angrily, "No matter what, it's you who caused my cousin to end up like this. If it weren't for you, he wouldn't be like this!"

“His abandonment of the Dao and return to cultivation has resulted in stagnation, which was never because of me, but because his own Dao heart was unstable.”

An Zhengzheng was really tired of carrying this heavy burden.

“Even without me, there would be Li Zhengzheng, Wang Zhengzheng, Zhang Zhengzheng… Anyone who surpasses him would be an obstacle to his Dao heart. It’s just that I am a woman, and he thinks he can surpass me by marrying me, making me regard my husband as heaven, and then submit to him.”

After saying this, An Zhengzheng didn't want to waste any more time and turned around to go back the way she came.

"I have returned the items. Please do not send these things to me again, and do not interfere with my cultivation."

"Girls of the guard team, let's go back and start the feast."