Shun Long was baffled by the Elders' decision to not approach him just yet and try to take him as a personal disciple, especially considering the fighting prowess that he had showed during the fourth test and his immortal-grade bloodline that he had also revealed!
At the same time, he also managed to guess another thing that caused his eyes to widen in realization
''If even the inner court Elders of the sect need to be wary of the powers that are under the sect's influence and don't want to favor any of them blatantly, then the strength behind those powers is definitely nothing to scoff at! Even if those clans and families can't match the strength of the entire Holy sect, they are definitely strong enough to rival the power of some inner court Elders, otherwise the Elders wouldn't be so wary to accept disciples of those powers in the first place!''
As he came to this conclusion, Shun Long stared at the 2 young women next to him, only to hear Dong Ai's mocking voice resound in his ears at the same time
''Hehe, since you haven't gotten picked by an Elder like your wife, it can only mean that you are a weakling, or at the very least, not someone who deserves the Elders' attention. I am curious what junior sister Mei sees in you. Maybe she will leave you now that she became apprenticed to master and won't look to carry a dead weight with her any longer. Hehehe, how tragic would it be to have such a beautiful wife only to have her leave you in the end!''
Shun Long understood that Dong Ai's spiteful words were only trying to create a chasm between himself and Liu Mei, as her venomous tongue tried to put the seeds of doubt in his heart.
However, what Dong Ai didn't know was that it was useless to try and shake Shun Long's confidence in the first place.
Putting aside the fact that Dong Ai was simply unaware of his talent and real strength, even if he was a weakling and a 'dead weight', Shun Long was still certain that Liu Mei wouldn't leave him even if that was the case.
If Liu Mei was really someone like that, both himself and Little Black would have realized that long before they met Dong Ai.
Spending the last 4 years of his life with Liu Mei and going through countless life and death experiences, wasn't something that Dong Ai could simply come and destroy with her ignorant words.
Shun Long simply shot Dong Ai a mocking look in response, making her narrow her eyes in the process as she looked at him.
As for Wei Yaling, although she heard this as well, she wasn't going to get into a fight with her junior sister over her insulting Shun Long.
Even though Shun Long was Liu Mei's husband, it wasn't worth getting into a fight with her junior sister for his sake to begin with.
And yet, the mocking look on Shun Long's face only caused an evil smirk to form itself on Dong Ai's lips as she then continued
''Do you really think that junior sister would be willing to be with you just because of your barely-passable face? Hehe, although I don't want to admit it, junior sister Mei is indeed extremely beautiful. Do yourself a favor and give up on her and walk away. Now that she is a disciple of an inner court Elder, you two don't belong in the same world anymore. Hehe, perhaps some powerful senior brother will be interested in her and take her as his wife instead!''
At that moment, Shun Long's eyes suddenly narrowed as he stared at the woman in front of him with a cold gaze, before he shook his head and responded in a frosty, yet mocking tone
''Don't judge everyone by your own low standards and don't try to provoke me either, otherwise the moment that I step into the late stages of the Nascent Soul... I will squash you like a bug.''
Wei Yaling's eyes widened at Shun Long's arrogant words that held no hints of politeness even when he was facing a personal disciple of an inner court Elder inside her own master's residence, while Dong Ai suddenly burst out laughing as she said mockingly
''HAHAHAHA! You, an early rank 3 Nascent Soul stage rookie will squash me like a bug? I wonder how you even managed to pass the sect's test with such a trash cultivation level in the first place! By the time you step into the late stages of the Nascent Soul, I may have even reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage instead. Fool! I don't even put an idiot like you in my eyes in the first place!''
Wei Yaling also shook her head as she realized that Shun Long's words that were obviously 'trying to gain back some face' in her eyes, were actually nothing more than a joke in reality.
He had obviously sensed Dong Ai's cultivation at the early rank 8 of the Nascent Soul, and yet he still dared to say something like that.
''Just from the fact that junior sister Ai is a personal disciple of an inner Elder should have made him realize the difference between them from the beginning. Challenging someone like junior sister Ai is no different than courting death. Hmph, I suppose he is really counting on junior sister Mei's strength in the end.''
As she came to this conclusion, Wei Yaling simply closed her eyes, not bothering to care about the 2 of them any longer.
And yet, Shun Long simply refused to entertain Dong Ai either, as he turned his gaze towards the luxurious mansion in the end.
Although Shun Long was originally not going to respond to Dong Ai -even though she was obviously trying to provoke him- since he didn't want to worsen Liu Mei's relationship with this senior sister of his, it was obvious that Dong Ai didn't care about Liu Mei at all and only had feelings of jealousy towards her, from the moment that Liu Mei received her master's pendant.
Elder Xuan kicking them out from the room and only allowing Liu Mei to stay inside as she shared her information regarding the Dao of Death with her, only made the negative feelings in Dong Ai's heart unable to find an outlet, as she immediately set her sights on Shun Long and decided to make him her target and force him to leave Liu Mei.
Time passed like this as absolute silence filled Shun Long's and the 2 women's surroundings, until an hour later, a white-robed Elder Xuan along with Liu Mei finally appeared in front of the mansion's gates.