White clouds drifted by as a flying sword cut through the air.
Aboard the sword, two young women sandwiched He Qiu between them like a hamburger, their chests pressed against his back, making any onlooker assume this was some new, extravagant way for a player to flaunt his affection.
They flew for the entire journey in this bizarre stance.
To describe it in two words: Preposterous.
—
Meanwhile, inside the Longyin Sect, it was not a peaceful day.
At the crack of dawn, the Primordial Saintess herself appeared in the attic where He Qiu lived.
The silver-haired woman sat silently by the window on the second floor, her beautiful eyes closed, as if waiting for something.
An Lingran had not returned to rest for the entire night; she had waited all night, only to find that her Junior Brother had not returned.
Every time she thought of the various possibilities regarding her Junior Brother, An Lingran felt a tightening in her chest, her willow brows knitting together as she felt an unbearable sense of unease.
She did not know why, but she felt so anxious now.
This strange sensation was like a wife keeping vigil, waiting for a husband who stayed out all night—or who might even be trying to back out of a wedding…
‘No, that’s a strange metaphor?’
‘Sigh, I have been acting stranger and stranger these past few days.’
Shaking her head, An Lingran let out a sigh, propping her hand against her forehead to regain her composure.
To be honest, because her heart was so restless, An Lingran had not closed her eyes all night, and she was feeling quite exhausted now.
“Yun Qing, I am tired; I want to go back and rest…”
She sat up, tucked a strand of silver hair behind her ear, and said, “Stay here. As soon as Junior Brother returns, remember to inform me immediately.”
She was just about to leave when the girl with deer antlers, who had been rolling around on the bed, stopped her.
“Wait! Ranran, I can sense that He Qiu has returned to the Sect!”
Yun Qing lowered her head slightly, her gaze earnest.
She felt a familiar trace of Spiritual Energy echoing in her chest; she could truly sense that He Qiu’s coordinates were constantly drawing closer.
In the attic, An Lingran also halted her steps.
“Junior Brother He Qiu is back?”
“Yes! He is in the direction of the Sect gate!”
“Good, I will go find him.”
Acting decisively, An Lingran put away her sword and turned to leave to wait for He Qiu.
But at that moment, Yun Qing chased after her, speaking anxiously:
“Then… then what about me? Can I come along too?”
“Does Yun Qing want to see my Junior Brother, too?”
“Ah…”
Yun Qing froze for a moment, then waved her hands in front of her chest to explain, “Yes, well, Brother He Qiu lent me a lot of Spiritual Energy, and my power is not easy to control; there are some precautions I still need to discuss with him!”
“…”
An Lingran paused, hesitated for a moment, and eventually shook her head.
“The Sect gate is crowded and full of prying eyes. It is not convenient for you to show yourself, Yun Qing. You should understand your own situation and it would be better to be careful.”
“Ugh, I see, alright…”
Yun Qing nodded reluctantly.
“Rest assured, once I am done talking with my Junior Brother, I will have him go to the forest to find you.”
“Mm, that’s great! It’s settled then~”
After finishing the conversation, An Lingran departed alone, flying her sword toward the Sect gate with a complex expression.
—
Longyin Sect, main gate.
Early this morning, countless disciples had gathered at the gate, anticipating something.
Because at dawn, several Righteous Path Cultivators had arrived in a flurry to deliver a message to the Sect Leader, and they were spotted by a disciple who had just woken up to relieve himself.
The news spread quickly, and soon every disciple knew.
Then, an Inner Disciple who had returned from participating in the hunt for Demon Cultivators the previous night revealed that the fugitive demon cultivators who had been causing such a stir in the Kyushu Celestial Dynasty had been captured, with ninety percent of them dead or wounded!
Most importantly, the hero who had captured the demon cultivators was said to be He Qiu, that same Junior Brother of the Inner Gate who had just shown his prowess at the Martial Arts Tournament a few days ago—Elder Xueyin’s newly accepted Progeny Disciple.
Once this news exploded, the disciples could no longer sit still, and they gathered at the gate early in the morning to see the truth for themselves.
“Hey, hey, have you heard? Junior Brother He Qiu went down the mountain all by himself, broke into the demon cultivators’ base in the middle of the night, fought one against ten, and battled them!”
“Of course I heard! And rumor has it that it wasn’t just one against ten; Junior Brother He Qiu fought one against one hundred! He battled the fugitive demon cultivators and almost captured the infamous Demon Sect Princess alive!”
“One against one hundred? Too small, your imagination is limited. I heard it was at least one against one thousand!”
“Holy crap, that’s preposterous! Is it for real…”
The crowd chatted away, incredibly lively.
Not long after, Elder Yude arrived on his sword and began to announce the truth to the disciples who had been waiting for so long.
“Ahem, everyone, please be quiet. Last night, two of our Inner Disciples went down the mountain and performed a great service. I am here to publicly commend them, and there will be significant rewards in the future…”
“Ahem, the matter is as follows—”
Elder Yude was neither hyperbolic nor dismissive; he reported the facts exactly as the Righteous Path Cultivators had told him that morning to the curious disciples.
For a moment, the crowd listened, mesmerized. Although He Qiu wasn’t as magical as they imagined—he hadn’t fought one against a thousand—it was still impressive that he had gone alone as a Junior Brother to face ten fugitive demon cultivators. His courage was worthy of praise.
In the distance, An Lingran listened in, using sound transmission to observe the scene. Her beautiful eyes widened, and she was shocked.
‘So, my Junior Brother wasn’t home last night because he had gone down the mountain for a secret mission?’
‘And the most unbelievable part is that he faced the fugitive demon cultivators all by himself, truly risking his life in battle, and ended up winning a hard-fought victory…’
‘At the Third Stage of the Spirit Realm, facing off against bloodthirsty demon terrorists—the courage of my Junior Brother could almost be described as insane!’
‘What if, what if something had happened to him?’
The more she thought about it, the more worried she became.
An Lingran bit her lip, her heart aching.
She could not understand why her father would let He Qiu go down the mountain in the middle of the night to execute such a dangerous secret mission.
‘Was Father not afraid that my Junior Brother would be in danger?’
No.
That’s not it…
‘Father is not an irresponsible person who would put his disciple in harm’s way. He isn’t foolish. He should know more about my Junior Brother’s background and peerless talent than I do. Besides, he was the first one to take a liking to Junior Brother as a future son-in-law…’
‘Perhaps…’
‘Perhaps Father was serious?’
‘Father simply trusted in He Qiu’s strength, which is why he felt at ease letting him go alone to face the demon cultivators.’
‘And the result shows that He Qiu completed the mission brilliantly, and you could even say he has made a name for himself once again!’
‘Could it be that my Junior Brother’s hidden strength is so deep that even dealing with the demon cultivators accompanying the Demon Sect Princess is no issue for him?’
‘Is that really possible?’
An Lingran had heard that the fugitive demon cultivators from last night were no minor figures; they were the direct subordinates of the Demon Sect Princess, her personal guard unit.
Each one had at least the strength of the Fifth Stage Spirit Realm—they were the elite of the elite among demon cultivators.
Most importantly, it was said that the notorious Demon Sect Princess, Zi Menghan, was present at the time…
Facing over ten demon cultivators at the Fifth Stage Spirit Realm, plus a Demon Sect Princess, even for someone like the Primordial Saintess An Lingran, it would be impossible to retreat unscathed.
‘Just how deep is the hidden strength of Junior Brother He Qiu?’
An Lingran’s body trembled slightly, her breathing unsteady from the shocking speculation.