He Yingying was furious.
Someone dared to go after her senior brother?
Dared to send an assassin to kill him?!
If she caught them, she’d twist their head right off!
Yet, alongside the fury, she was also surprised.
In a small city like Luoshui, a cultivator at the Essence Return Realm was already a top-tier expert—any family would treat such a person as an honored guest.
So why would someone of that level suddenly show up to assassinate her precious senior brother?
Could it be…
She thought of the Wan Yin Music Tournament earlier that day.
Was it related to that?
The Tianyin Sect?
He Yingying quickly shook her head, dismissing the thought.
If the Tianyin Sect really wanted to take revenge without caring about their reputation, they wouldn’t send just a Essence Return cultivator.
More likely, someone was simply jealous of how outstanding her senior brother was and wanted to eliminate him!
“Hmph!”
She gave a cold snort.
Whoever dared lay a finger on her senior brother—prepare to pay the price…
But right now, the most pressing issue was dealing with the assassin in front of them.
The black-clad man, frustrated by his repeated misses, now lashed out with greater fury.
His short sword flashed menacingly as his strikes grew fiercer.
Lin Wuming was startled.
He couldn’t afford to worry about his junior sister barging into his room—he scrambled to dodge left and right, evading the assassin’s attacks.
The assassin’s heart grew more and more alarmed.
This guy in front of him clearly had only Qi Condensation-level (凝气境) cultivation.
By all logic, he shouldn’t even be able to track his movements.
But here he was—after all this effort, the assassin hadn’t even grazed his opponent’s sleeve?
How could this be?!
No matter how much he didn’t want to believe it, no matter how much he increased his speed, Lin Wuming remained like a slippery fish—just barely dodging each time.
What he didn’t know… was that Lin Wuming himself was also surprised.
At first, his dodges were purely instinctive.
But after a few moves, he realized something strange—his movements and footwork were eerily similar to the dance steps that Granny Mu from the village had once taught him.
Once he began weaving in spiritual energy to reinforce those steps, he found something even more bizarre—the assassin’s rhythm seemed to be getting disrupted.
It was as if he was leading the enemy by the nose.
Almost like… he was playing with a monkey on a string.
Even He Yingying was stunned.
She wanted to jump in and help but didn’t even know how to intervene.
“Damn it! What a slippery brat!”
The black-clad assassin was completely fed up.
This was ridiculous.
He couldn’t even land a single hit—it was infuriating.
Furious, he turned his attention toward He Yingying.
“No!”
Lin Wuming’s eyes widened—he could already see what was coming.
The assassin threw his short blade straight at He Yingying.
He Yingying’s breath caught in her throat, but just in time, a flash of golden light gleamed in her eyes.
She leaned back with a swift motion and narrowly avoided the strike.
In one smooth flip, she stepped on the dagger, kicked it up, caught it midair, and charged the assassin.
She might be a noble daughter of the imperial family, born and raised in luxury—but that didn’t mean she didn’t know how to fight.
In fact, in this world of cultivation, fighting and cultivation were core subjects from an early age.
She had learned it all—technique, real combat, sparring drills.
She knew what she was doing.
“Hmph, courting death.”
Seeing her charge at him with the blade, the assassin sneered and extended his bare hand to block it directly.
He Yingying gritted her teeth and drove the blade hard toward him—striking his palm head-on.
But…
It was as if something invisible had blocked her.
The blade stopped just a few millimeters short of piercing his hand.
It wouldn’t go in at all.
“True essence…”
She bit her lip, her expression changing.
Essence Return Realm cultivators didn’t just use regular spiritual energy.
They refined it into true essence—a denser, more potent form of energy.
True essence was derived from spiritual energy but existed on a higher level, much like condensed spiritual energy.
It was vastly stronger, whether used for defense or attack.
That’s why a Essence Return Realm cultivator could absolutely crush someone in the Qi Condensation Realm.
He couldn’t touch that brat—but this little girl?
She was fair game.
The assassin casually blocked her blade with his hand, disarmed her, and released a surge of true essence.
Before He Yingying could react, she was blasted backward.
Stumbling, thrown off balance, she could barely regain her footing before the assassin closed in—blade in hand—and drove it straight for her forehead.
He Yingying wasn’t Essence Return Realm.
The enemy was much stronger.
If this hit landed, she’d be dead—no question.
“Junior Sister!!”
How could Lin Wuming just stand there and watch her die?
The moment the assassin blocked He Yingying’s strike, Lin Wuming had already predicted what would happen.
He lunged forward, wrapping his arms around her and shielding her with his own body.
The blade followed immediately, heading straight for his back.
His cultivation was even lower than hers.
Even if the hit wasn’t fatal, it could be devastating.
The assassin, realizing what Lin Wuming was doing, showed a flicker of smugness and disdain—like a hunter looking at a rabbit.
With a slight adjustment, he twisted the blade’s direction—to aim directly at Lin Wuming’s heart.
“Senior Brother!!”
He Yingying watched in horror.
Her mind went blank, as if her entire world were collapsing.
And yet… she could do nothing.
She could only watch, helplessly, as that blade inched closer to her senior brother’s vital spot.
Her pupils flashed gold.
In that moment, time itself seemed to slow.
Before her eyes, her senior brother’s face was still etched with urgency—but now softened with relief and gentleness as he held her close.
That look of pure affection and calm washed over her like a final warmth.
“No… don’t…”
Her face went pale.
Her lips trembled.
She didn’t want to see what came next.
Lin Wuming, though, was focused.
He knew neither of them could win in a head-on fight.
If they worked together, there might be a slim chance.
But if he died just to save her—then it was all meaningless.
Saving her was just the first step.
Yes, he had taken a gamble—but not a blind one.
He had a sliver of confidence: that both of them could survive this.
‘Can I dodge it?’
He didn’t know.
He couldn’t even tell how close the blade was.
Half a foot? An inch?
No idea.
All he could do was tense every muscle, hold his sister tightly, channel spiritual energy through his entire body—and run that strange, profound footwork through his mind.
He had no other choice.
No room for hesitation.
There would only be one chance…