Chapter 31 Just Friends 31
Although Yan Xiao and his companion arrived earlier and the entrance test for the Tai Chu Sect had not yet begun, this was, after all, an illusionary trial. There was no reason for those who arrived early to wait idly. There must be another way to enter the Tai Chu Sect.
With that in mind, Yan Shuoyun and Xiao Hanzhou haven't been idle these past few days.
However, this time, the two, who were acting separately, unexpectedly bumped into each other again in the eastern suburbs outside the town.
Yan Shuoyun had received a proclamation from the town ordering the extermination of demonic beasts, while Xiao Hanzhou had come to investigate after hearing that something was amiss in the eastern suburbs. Of the two, although Yan Shuoyun seemed to be more adept at dealing with people, Xiao Hanzhou, due to his early experiences, had his own methods for quickly gathering information in an unfamiliar environment.
This unexpected encounter gave them both a pretty good idea of what was likely one of the tests for getting into the Taichu Sect ahead of schedule.
The two of them didn't know if there were any quota restrictions, but the opportunities in the secret realm were always given to the capable, and neither of them was willing to give way; they each relied on their own abilities.
However, the reality was not as easy as they thought.
That was a Nascent Soul stage demon beast.
Yan Shuoyun, who was the first to discover it, could only smile wryly.
What is the concept of the Nascent Soul stage? In this era of declining spiritual energy, even a top sect like the Xuanqing Sect has only five Nascent Soul stage cultivators, each of whom is a patriarch who oversees the sect. But here, a Nascent Soul stage demon beast is merely a tool used to test new disciples.
Yan Shuoyun dodged the bear demon's sharp claws, his face seemingly showing a sigh, but his eyes were extremely bright.
—I really want to see that era ten thousand years ago, a time when talents emerged in great numbers and great changes occurred.
However eager he was to try, Yan Shuoyun had no intention of risking his life. In this situation, he was forced to join forces with Xiao Hanzhou.
However, the two people who had never cooperated or had any chemistry were forced to join forces, and the result was that "1+1 is far less than 2".
Yan Shuoyun narrowly dodged the sword that grazed his face, but he was extremely suspicious that Xiao Hanzhou was trying to kill him. Of course, he had also "accidentally" missed a few times before, so the two of them had evened things out.
...
Fortunately, although 1+1 is less than 2, it is not less than 1.
After both of them were badly injured, and Xiao Hanzhou's final sword strike nearly strung Yan Shuoyun and the bear demon together, the two finally achieved a pyrrhic victory.
As Yan and Xiao had predicted, they encountered disciples of the Taichu Sect who had come from afar.
Coincidentally, it was Zhao Zhixin who arrived, having accepted the sect's mission.
Most of the towns at the foot of the sect's mountain are under its protection. Liuke Town is located at the foot of the Taichu Sect's mountain. The fact that there were demonic beasts causing trouble in the town was naturally reported to the Taichu Sect. Zhao Zhixin came here after receiving this mission.
But to my surprise, there were already people there.
The two combatants were both at the Golden Core stage, struggling against the Nascent Soul stage bear demon. Zhao Zhixin's junior brother immediately wanted to help, but Zhao Zhixin stopped him. He could see that the battle between the two and the bear demon was at a crucial moment, and intervening now would likely backfire. In his opinion, although the two were in bad shape, they might not necessarily lose.
Just as Zhao Zhixin had predicted, the two Golden Core cultivators over there won.
However, the two who had been watching the fight seemed to be deep in thought. The junior brother whispered, "Senior Brother Zhao, I observed that the swordsman's swordsmanship, and it seems to have some connection with our sect."
Zhao Zhixin also realized it.
However, such things happen frequently. Often, an elder, while traveling, would spot a promising talent, offer a few words of guidance, or even impulsively take on a disciple. Then, due to other commitments, they couldn't bring the disciple back to the sect, only sending the disciple with a token to return first. Zhao Zhixin knew of an elder in the sect who was particularly fond of taking on disciples. Having traveled for a century, he had accumulated enough disciples to fill three peaks, prompting the sect leader to issue a special warning. Only then did the elder tone it down, preventing a constant stream of visitors over the years.
However, as Zhao Zhixin looked at the swordsman's swordsmanship, he thought of someone else.
Is it... the Sword Master?
But I've never heard of the Sword Master taking on any disciples outside.
Zhao Zhixin quickly suppressed his doubts. The sword techniques of Taichu all originated from the same source, so it was possible that this disciple just happened to have some similarities with the sword intent of the Sword Master...
As Zhao Zhixin was thinking this, he looked up and saw Yan Shuoyun's face.
Zhao Zhixin: "..."
He seems to have seen this face somewhere before.
The junior brother behind him happened to be one of those who had accompanied Zhao Zhixin on the patrol of Hancang Peak that day. His reaction was far less calm than Zhao Zhixin's. He immediately gasped and looked astonished.
Yan Shuoyun and Yan Er don't actually look particularly alike, after all, they are of different genders and have an age difference. If Yan Er really looked like her brother, that would be a real tragedy for the little girl. However, the two siblings' eyebrows and eyes are extremely similar, so similar that anyone who has seen them can immediately recognize their blood relationship.
Actually, Zhao Zhixin and his companion had only met Yan Er once, but the events of that day were so unforgettable, and then the Sword Master caused such a commotion. They would probably never forget what they witnessed that day. Therefore, they recognized Yan Shuoyun at a glance.
One of these two people bears a slight resemblance to the Sword Intent and the Sword Master, while the other is clearly related to the little girl who is accompanied by the Sword Master's "old friend."
Zhao Zhixin instantly imagined no fewer than ten possibilities, but considering that it was the Sword Master, he immediately suppressed all his guesses.
Zhao Zhixin took a deep breath.
Regardless, we must bring the person back to the sect first.
Ren Yi originally thought that finding the system would help him understand the current situation, but after he met up with the alt account controlled by the system, he found that it was of no use.
According to the system, when they left the world, they encountered a spacetime turbulence and were forced to return to the small world. In the process, the system also lost most of its database, and now only a core program remains.
If we were to translate that into a human, it would be a state of "amnesia plus severe injury," with each person suffering a similar level of misery.
After learning about the situation, Ren Yi remained silent for a while.
The two aliases stared at each other, forced to accept the painful reality that they would still be completely in the dark.
However, finding the system wasn't a complete waste. At least Ren Yi finally understood what was causing the unease he had been feeling earlier—this was an illusion.
However, this also brings a new problem: the core of the illusion is a smaller, disguised form, and this illusion is also superimposed on a seal. The illusion array, clearly added later, doesn't draw power from the seal itself, but rather from the energy of the sealed entity. In other words, this illusion array and the seal together suppress the entity below, and are continuously weakening its power.
Even from Ren Yi's perspective, having experienced so many worlds, this design is incredibly ingenious. The cultivator who conceived of adding such an illusion array to the seal must have been a truly brilliant individual.
But now a problem has arisen.
According to the system, they no longer had any story missions, and after Ren Yi reunited with the system, they could leave the world and go find the fragments of the system that had been scattered to other worlds. However, now that the alternate account was playing such an important role, Ren Yi dared not move easily.
Meanwhile, the amnesiac Yitong had no idea what lay beneath the seal, but the energy within it alone told him it was no ordinary being. If they simply left, and the seal broke, they might drag an entire small world down with them.
Ren Yi hasn't gone to such extremes.
Although the safety level of an employee's soul is higher than that of a small world under the "Special Management Regulations of the Transmigration Bureau", Ren Yi's current situation is definitely within the scope of the special exception. Even if his departure causes the small world to collapse, he will most likely not be punished when he returns.
However, the situation hasn't reached the point of having to choose between the two options yet, and Ren Yi doesn't want to give up just like that.
After all, he worked so hard on the missions to bring peace to the small world. Now that he's just leaving, it might feel good, but doesn't that mean all his work over the past few days was for nothing?!
This is not enough!
Even without Ren Yi recalling that heartbreaking mission experience, in his current state of amnesia, just imagining himself taking on two different identities, finally stabilizing the world, only to find that all his efforts were in vain, makes his mind buzz.
Therefore, Ren Yi needs to resolve the issues of the illusion and the seal before he can leave.
Actually, it's not that difficult. According to Ren Yi's initial plan, as long as the array core is transferred from the alternate account to his natal sword "Frost Condensation," and then a new owner is found for Frost Condensation, the current problem can be solved.
This process is certainly not as easy as it sounds, but for Ren Yi, it's just a matter of how much time it takes. The biggest problem lies with Ning Shuang's "new master."
For the sake of stability, the best candidate for this new master is the chosen one of this world.
However, since both individuals are currently suffering from amnesia, no one can be certain who the chosen one truly is.
Ren Yi initially guessed that it was Yan Er, who was beside him, but considering that the story was already over, if the chosen one was Yan Er, their ages would not match up. Of course, there were also small worlds where the chosen one had not grown up by the end of the story, but such cases were very rare.
To be on the safe side, Ren Yi decided to wait and observe first.
Transferring the array's core to Frost Condensation will also take some time. According to Yan'er, the two of them accidentally fell into the secret realm, and most of the people who entered the secret realm for trials have not yet arrived. By the time he has finished his preliminary preparations, most of the people who entered the secret realm should have arrived. Once there are more people, the Chosen One should be easy to identify—the one who is the most impressive and has the most extraordinary aura in the crowd.
Yan'er returned just as the two people using pseudonyms were discussing their next steps.
Even before Yan Er knocked on the door, Ren Yi had already sensed who was coming and immediately called out, "Come in."
However, when Yan'er pushed open the door, she froze. She hadn't expected there to be another person in the room. She stood there for a moment, her expression stiffening.
After a long while, as if she had just come to her senses, she gave a stiff and reserved bow, saying, "This junior greets the Sword Master."
Ren Yi: "..."
Ren Yi sighed deeply in his heart and gestured to the alternate account now controlled by the system.
The latter understood, nodded slightly to Yan'er at the door, and got up to leave. Only after the figure of the Sword Master's alt account completely disappeared from sight did Yan'er seem to breathe a sigh of relief, and her whole body went limp.
Ren Yi?
To be honest, Ren Yi couldn't understand it.
He was certain that he had not treated anyone differently. Both the large and small accounts looked at him with the same gentle expression. At most, the small Sword Master account was slightly expressionless, so the expression was a little less pronounced, but it was still a friendly attitude to anyone.
So, why is Yan'er so nervous in front of the trumpet? Is she shy?
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