“Hmm…”
“Where did you learn that move? Your form’s pretty standard~”
The girl, landing steadily, revealed a hint of surprise in her eyes, her hands still firmly controlling the array’s operation.
Hearing this, Shen Mu couldn’t help but feel a flicker of confusion.
Huh?
Isn’t that just a basic Iron Mountain Lean?
Wait!
Looking at the golden-haired girl before him, Shen Mu suddenly felt a spark of connection, as if their wavelengths had aligned for the first time.
“What do you mean by that?” he asked cautiously, testing the waters.
“Nothing much, just asking casually.”
“And…” The girl slowly spread her legs apart, a subtle smirk tugging at her lips, her eyes glinting with an irrepressible emotion. “I can do it too!”
Whoosh!
As soon as she spoke, she unleashed an Iron Mountain Lean, striking Shen Mu with even greater force than his own, sending him flying back!
“Damn…”
“This…”
Shen Mu, hurled backward, was filled with shock and disbelief.
“How’s that? My Kun Style Iron Mountain Lean isn’t any worse than yours, right?”
The girl’s words stunned him again, leaving Shen Mu, who had barely landed, speechless for a long moment.
***
“Hahaha! This kid’s pretty interesting.”
A graceful figure in white immortal robes stood atop the clouds of another spiritual peak, overlooking the area where Shen Mu was. She let out a few bell-like laughs.
[Qingling, I have something important to discuss with you.]
A cold female voice suddenly echoed in her mind, causing Luo Qingling’s expression to gradually settle.
“What is it?” she asked calmly.
[The young miss of the Lin Clan broke the isolation array you set up at the trial grounds, and now her whereabouts are unknown.]
“Unknown whereabouts?” Luo Qingling lowered her gaze, glancing again at the two figures facing off in the forest, her lips curving slightly.
“I don’t think so.”
***
“Kun Style…”
Catching the keyword, Shen Mu’s eyes lowered, and the spiritual sword in his hand dissipated, as if he had given up resisting.
“So you’re also…”
“A little black sheep, huh?”
At this moment, he raised his gaze, filled with complex emotions, and gained some clarity about the girl’s true identity.
“Looks like my instincts were spot-on.” The girl gave a radiant smile. “As expected, you’re not a native of this world.”
“Hmph.”
Shen Mu let out a soft snort, not letting his guard down just because he knew she came from the same homeland as him. “So? Why did you trespass on my sect’s territory?”
“No reason~ Just wandering around.”
“…Do you think I’d believe that?”
Although there’s a saying back in their homeland about fellow townsfolk meeting with tears in their eyes, in this situation, it was far more likely to be a case of fellow townsfolk meeting and stabbing each other in the back.
Until he fully understood her true intentions, he couldn’t afford to lower his guard.
“Seems like you’re quite the cautious one.” With a thought, the girl dissipated the golden array patterns in her hand.
Shen Mu immediately felt his body lighten, no longer bound by the restrictions beneath his feet.
“How’s that? Do you believe me now?”
“…”
Shen Mu took a small step back, his wariness undiminished.
“Hey~ I’ve gone this far, and you still don’t trust me?”
“What, are you walking the path of a mortal cultivator or something? So cautious.”
As she spoke, the girl took a step toward him…
“Stay back! Let me process this.”
Shen Mu quickly raised a hand to stop her advance, inwardly hoping his immortal master would hurry up and arrive.
***
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
Master, why haven’t you come yet…
By all accounts, with his immortal master’s cultivation level, she should have arrived instantly upon receiving his urgent message.
It’s been so long, and she still hasn’t shown up.
Could it be… she doesn’t care whether I live or die anymore?
The thought sent Shen Mu’s mood plummeting to rock bottom, his entire being deflated.
“Hey~ Are you misunderstanding something about me?”
“I was just teasing you earlier, no malice intended.”
Seeing his persistent wariness, the girl’s tone shifted from playful to earnest as she sincerely explained to her “fellow townsfolk.”
“…”
“What’s your name?”
After a long pause, Shen Mu adjusted his emotions and calmly asked the golden-haired girl.
“Shouldn’t you introduce yourself first before asking someone’s name?”
Shen Mu let out a soft chuckle, nodded slightly, and said frankly, “Shen Mu, miscellaneous four-spirit root, mid-stage Qi Refining, been in this world for two and a half years.”
“Damn… your cultivation timing is oddly precise,” the girl remarked.
“Enough with the comments, it’s just a coincidence.” Shen Mu shrugged helplessly.
“Now it’s your turn.”
“Lin Yuhe, late-stage Qi Refining, dual wind-fire spirit root, about two years behind you.”
Lin Yuhe.
When Shen Mu heard that name, his expression froze, and his mind went blank for a moment.
“…What did you say your name was?”
“Lin Yuhe,” the girl said, her brows furrowing slightly as she tilted her head in confusion.
Shen Mu’s gaze dulled as he slowly lowered his head…
“…”
“Never see you again!”
Whoosh!
Without any hesitation, he activated an escape talisman, as if he’d just encountered a deadly calamity, transforming into a streak of light and fleeing the scene.
At that moment, Lin Yuhe was utterly baffled, like a monk unable to comprehend the situation.
“Huh…?”
“What kind of person is this guy? He heard my real name and ran off that fast.”
[Haha… looks like he’s terrified of you, especially after hearing your name.]
“That doesn’t make sense, does it? I’m pretty sure this is the first time we’ve met.”
The girl was thoroughly perplexed.
Just then, a graceful figure with red and white hair, dressed in white immortal robes, slowly descended behind her…
***
Back at his courtyard hut.
Shen Mu rushed into his room in a frenzy, immediately starting to pack his belongings.
No way, he couldn’t stay in the Wind Spirit Immortal Sect anymore. He had to find a remote, sparsely populated area to hide!
After some thought… which place would be suitable?
Slap!
Shen Mu, having packed his things, slapped a hand-drawn map of the Nine Continents onto the table, carefully searching for a remote area suitable for a weak cultivator like himself to settle in.
“Northern Immortal Continent…”
No good, that’s the second continent the protagonist heads to after falling into trouble—too high a chance of running into them.
“Eastern Sacred Continent…”
Still no good. With his current strength, he couldn’t even cross the ten-thousand-mile chaotic zone beyond the Immortal Thunder Sea.
“Southern Ocean Continent…”
“Heavenly God Continent…”
“…”
“Argh~~ None of them work!”
Shen Mu collapsed onto the table in despair, his face a picture of defeated misery.
His strength was just too weak—barely better than a mortal, with poor innate talent. No matter where he went, it would be a struggle.
He couldn’t even escape properly.
“Sigh~”
“Am I really doomed to that tragic ending…”
Shen Mu’s arms hung limply off the table, his gaze vacant, completely numb.
Sucks to be weak after 2 years