On the high platform, the Lord of Yunqi City finally struggled to regain a sliver of his senses from the boundless fear and confusion. He scrambled to his feet, his back soaked in cold sweat and icy cold.
Who knows if Master Lingxiao truly "cared for the sect" and voluntarily withdrew his divine sense!
What if... what if it isn't?!
Doesn't that mean that right now, in his small Yunqi City, there is a terrifying being of unknown origin who can erase the divine sense of a Mahayana cultivator with a mere wave of their hand?!
What is this big shot's purpose?!
Are you protecting your own?!
He wanted to come and watch his disciple participate in the newcomer competition, but instead witnessed Master Lingxiao's exceptionally favoritism and was worried that his own child would be wronged?!
The Lord of Yunqi City felt his scalp tingle and dared not think any further. He practically lunged to the edge of the platform, wishing he could stuff all these hot potatoes into the secret realm the next second: "The semi-finals of the Newcomer Competition will begin immediately, with the following rules."
"The semi-finals will be held in the Riftwind Valley, a secret realm a hundred miles west of the city. In this secret realm, a new type of Foundation Establishment stage monster called the 'Steel Feather Chicken' has recently emerged."
"Although this beast is not of high cultivation level, its feathers are as hard as iron, its claws and beak are sharp, and it is extremely fast, making it quite troublesome."
"You must enter the valley to hunt this beast and take its crystal core. You have three days to complete this task. The top four cultivators who obtain the most crystal cores will advance to the finals."
The rules were simple and straightforward. After reading them aloud, the City Lord of Yunqi skipped even the symbolic words of encouragement and just hoped that the group of people would disappear as soon as possible.
As the crowd dispersed and began preparing to enter the secret realm, Xie Linyuan's gaze naturally fell on Shen Zhaozhao, and his hand with distinct knuckles reached out to her with perfect ease.
Shen Zhaozhao looked completely bewildered: "What?"
Xie Linyuan blinked his captivating peach blossom eyes, his long eyelashes fluttering, making him appear exceptionally innocent and matter-of-fact: "Usually when Qianqiu and Jingrui go to explore the secret realm, I would go to Zuifeng Tower, order a pot of Nine-Turn Spirit-Nourishing Tea, and a few plates of exquisite jade marrow pastries, and wait for them to come out."
Drunken Wind Pavilion?!
The teahouse is famous throughout Lingzhou, and it seems like it has branches in every city. Its only characteristic is that it is "expensive".
An extremely ominous premonition instantly gripped Shen Zhaozhao, and the corner of her mouth twitched violently: "...So what?"
Xie Linyuan frowned slightly, as if Shen Zhaozhao had asked an extremely foolish question: "Where are the spirit stones?"
Shen Zhaozhao: "!!!"
Shen Zhaozhao's pupils dilated instantly, her eyes revealing a shock that seemed to say, "Who's barking like a dog?": "No, you go out without any money?!"
"Besides, how dare you ask a sword cultivator for spirit stones?!"
How could you say such a thing?!
"Don't you have a conscience?!"
Xie Linyuan was visibly taken aback by her sudden question.
An extremely unfamiliar sense of unease, like a stumbling pebble, suddenly and unexpectedly plunged into Xie Linyuan's usually indifferent heart.
What's the meaning?
Could it be that my place in her heart is less than those few broken stones?
That's utterly absurd.
How could he possibly lose to those few broken stones?
Xie Linyuan's beautiful eyes narrowed dangerously as he scraped inch by inch over the spirit stone bag that Shen Zhaozhao was tightly protecting.
Oh.
The more he looked, the more he felt that there were countless smug faces in the bag, laughing silently and making the most despicable provocations against him.
What gives them the right?
Because they're hard?
He wanted to see whether those broken stones held a more important place in her heart than himself.
No one knew what was going on in Xie Linyuan's noble mind. After a moment of silence, he slowly raised his eyes, his eyes filled with a misty haze, and even his tone became cautious, carrying a hint of being disliked.
"...Usually, it's Qianqiu and Jingrui who bring these things; I... don't have this habit..."
"...If you really don't want to give it, then...forget it."
Shen Zhaozhao's heart pounded with alarm at his sudden change of expression. Just as she was about to speak, Xie Linyuan added in a low voice, "The Riftwind Valley Secret Realm is protected by the laws of Heaven, and those with cultivation levels above the Foundation Establishment stage cannot enter..."
"The sun is so strong now, and you're going to be gone for three days..."
As he spoke, he raised one hand with remarkable ease, using the wide sleeve embroidered with intricate cloud patterns to lightly shield his forehead.
The man's already dazzlingly fair skin appeared even more fragile and almost transparent under the shadow of his sleeves, as if he could melt away in the sunlight at any moment.
Xie Linyuan's voice grew even softer, almost ethereal, "I... will wait for you here..."
Shen Zhaozhao: "???"
Pei Lang: "???"
Pei Lang gasped sharply, as if the sight of this "peerless beauty being treated cruelly" had pierced his heart!
He grabbed the still bewildered Shen Zhaozhao, pointed at the stunning figure under the tree radiating an aura of "the whole world is bullying me," his eyes reddening: "Shen Zhaozhao! Are you even human?! Pay up! Hurry up!"
"Look at him! Look at your sect leader! He's so handsome! How can you bear to let him stand under the blazing sun?! Huh?!"
Pei Lang became more and more agitated as he spoke, his eyes practically overflowing with heartache: "And this trip will last a full three days! Don't you know how expensive Liuyun Peak is?! Give us more, don't wrong our sect leader!!"
"Here, I'll share half of the 100 high-grade spirit stones you won for me earlier, don't be stingy!"
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
