The shockwaves alone were enough to drive Xiao Yuruo and Bai Ling back, their feet skidding across the earth as nearby peaks crumbled into dust. They watched in awe, feeling the terrifying gap between realms. The Golden Core and the Nascent Soul were supposedly neighbors, separated by a single step, but witnessing this clash made it clear: the difference was not linear. It was the difference between a candle and a star.
Boom!
The crimson blade of Crimson Oath held the heavens at bay, grinding against the silver fury of the lightning tribulation. But the Heavenly Dao was not so easily denied. With a final, earsplitting crack, the blade light shattered. The remaining bolt, diminished but still lethal, crashed down toward Han Lie’s crown.
Han Lie didn’t flinch. He swung his blade a second time—a casual, backhanded slash.
The residual lightning was annihilated instantly.
Silence returned to the Buried Immortal Mountain Range. The dark clouds dissolved, allowing warm sunlight to wash over the scarred landscape.
Han Lie stepped forward. He didn’t fly; he simply folded space, vanishing from the sky and reappearing directly in front of the two women.
“Meow—!”
Xiao Zi launched herself from behind Bai Ling’s legs, a black blur of fur that collided with Han Lie’s chest. He caught the nine-tailed cat instinctively, scratching behind her ears as he looked at the two stunned beauties.
“Saintess. Fairy Yuruo.” His voice was deep, resonating with a magnetic confidence. “Do you still recognize me?”
“The change is… drastic,” Xiao Yuruo admitted, a brilliant smile breaking across her face. The mountain breeze caught her long, dark hair, framing a face so ethereal it seemed to belong in a painting. She was the ‘One in a Thousand Years’ beauty of the Myriad Sword Pavilion—elegant, unworldly, capable of making fish sink and geese fall from the sky. “But I would know you anywhere.”
“Mhm!” Bai Ling nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling. “You’re not just younger, Brother Lie. You’re… incredibly handsome!”
Han Lie chuckled, accepting the compliment with a shrug.
They filled him in quickly. Five years had passed since the ruins collapsed. Thanks to the rewards from the 9,000th step, Bai Ling had broken through to Golden Core Perfection—a harvest that would make any sect disciple jealous.
He also learned that Zhao Batian and Li Qingyu had fled long ago.
“Smart of them,” Han Lie noted, a cold amusement in his eyes. “If they had stayed, this mountain range would have become their tomb.”
Even against Li Qingyu, a veteran Nascent Soul cultivator, Han Lie was confident he could crush her in five moves. As for Zhao Batian? He’d better pray he reached the Nascent Soul stage soon. Otherwise, their next meeting would be a boringly one-sided slaughter.
After a brief catch-up, it was time to part ways. They needed to report back to their respective sects.
“Daoist Han,” Xiao Yuruo said, pulling him aside. Her expression turned serious, a rare vulnerability in her eyes. “You haven’t forgotten your promise, have you?”
Han Lie blinked, feigning shock. “Fairy Yuruo, you wound me! How could I forget? Before I accompany you home, we just need to deal with sect politics first.”
Xiao Yuruo breathed a sigh of relief. For five years, she had ignored a dozen summons from the Myriad Sword Pavilion, refusing to leave his vigil. “True. I have delayed long enough.”
“Go back and report,” Han Lie said gently. “One month from now, meet me in Qingzhou City.”
“Where in Qingzhou?”
“The place where we first met.”
Xiao Yuruo’s cheeks flushed a lovely shade of pink. The Clear Breeze House. She hadn’t expected the domineering Han Lie to be so romantic.
“It’s a date,” she whispered.
With the plan set, Han Lie tore a rift in space. He stepped through with Bai Ling and Xiao Zi, and in a heartbeat, they were hovering above Qingzhou City. Xiao Yuruo bid them farewell and flew toward her sect, leaving Han Lie and Bai Ling alone.
“Brother Lie,” Bai Ling asked, looking down at the city. “Should we visit our parents?”
“Not yet,” Han Lie decided. “The Sect Leader is waiting. We can’t keep the Female Demon Head in the dark forever.”
The Heavenly Void Sect — Violet Heaven Palace
Standing before the majestic doors of the Violet Heaven Palace, Bai Ling hesitated. Her hands trembled slightly.
“Brother Lie… should I go in with you? I don’t know if the Sect Leader…”
“What are you afraid of?” Han Lie scoffed, grabbing her wrist firmly. “You are the Saintess. Walk with your head up.”
He led her inside.
“Reporting to the Sect Leader,” Han Lie announced, his voice echoing in the grand hall. “This old servant and the Saintess have returned from our training.”
“Enter.” The voice was lazy, imperious, and unmistakably hers.
Inside, Ye Qingxuan sat on the main throne, her chin resting in her hand. She looked bored, elegant, and dangerous. Her gaze swept over Han Lie, lingering on his new form.
From a dying old man to a rugged, powerful conqueror. Ye Qingxuan’s red lips curled into a subtle, satisfied smile.
Has this Palace’s nurturing finally succeeded?
“Thank you, Sect Leader, for this opportunity!” Bai Ling dropped to her knees, bowing deeply. “Thanks to your grace, I have reached Golden Core Perfection!”
“Golden Core Perfection,” Ye Qingxuan repeated flatly. Her beautiful eyes narrowed. “And that satisfies you?”
The temperature in the room dropped. Bai Ling froze, panic rising in her chest. She glanced at Han Lie.
He gave her a subtle nod. Stand your ground.
Bai Ling took a breath. “Reporting to the Sect Leader! Golden Core Perfection makes me a top-tier disciple, yes. But if you ask if I am satisfied… my answer is NO!”
Ye Qingxuan raised an eyebrow.
“Whether it was the humiliation I suffered at the Sun Moon Sect, or the dangers I faced with Old Man Han, I have learned one truth,” Bai Ling declared, her voice gaining strength. “Only the strong are free from bullying! Absolute power is the only absolute law!”
She looked Ye Qingxuan in the eye.
“Therefore, I am not satisfied! I want to prove the Dao of the Nascent Soul! I want to step into Soul Formation! I want to—”
She stopped, realizing she was shouting at the most dangerous woman in the world.
“You want to what?” Ye Qingxuan leaned forward, her aura pressing down on the girl like a mountain.
“I want to reach the peak!” Bai Ling shouted, trembling but defiant. “I want to be the strongest in the world!”
Silence stretched for a terrifying moment.
Then, Ye Qingxuan smiled. It wasn’t a mocking smile. It was genuine.
“Very good,” the Sect Leader purred. “Ambition is the first step. Do not disappoint me.”
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