Chapter 026

“Sword Sovereign, you…”

The moment Lu Zhaohe saw him, he was stunned for a moment, then looked at Zhaoxue.

When Zhaoxue saw Jiang Lingfeng, the heavy tension in her heart immediately eased. She called out in grievance, “Senior Martial Uncle,” then grabbed Jiang Lingfeng’s wrist to steady herself and stood up.

“How are you?”

Jiang Lingfeng asked her quietly.

Zhaoxue shook her head, clutching his clothes as she stepped behind him, lowering her head and softly saying, “I’m fine.”

Seeing the girl’s trust and reliance on the man, and how she rejected his help but held tightly to Jiang Lingfeng’s sleeve, Lu Zhaohe suddenly felt a strange irritation.

He clicked his tongue, and the smile at the corner of his mouth gradually faded.

…annoying.

A hand rested on his shoulder.

“Zhaohuo.”

Lu Zhaoshuang spoke.

Lu Zhaohe rolled his eyes, crossed his arms, silently retreated behind Lu Zhaoshuang, and turned his face aside.

“To run into you here is truly an honor,” Lu Zhaoshuang glanced at the girl who was warily watching him, then averted his gaze.

“My younger brother is impolite and has offended your fellow disciple…”

“I apologize on his behalf.”

Although he said this, he didn’t even lower his head, and there was no trace of remorse in his tone.

However, such words were said only out of respect for Jiang Lingfeng’s status.

Zhaoxue knew she couldn’t push these two any further.

…But since they had saved her before, she wouldn’t make a fuss about it.

Hmph.

She tugged lightly at Jiang Lingfeng’s clothes.

He shifted his gaze slightly and caught the expression on her face out of the corner of his eye.

He obviously understood what she was thinking.

“No problem.”

Jiang Lingfeng slowly lowered his sword.

Since Zhaoxue didn’t want to cause any more trouble, he wouldn’t say anything further.

Just as they were about to leave, that voice sounded again behind her, as if suddenly remembering something:

“I just recalled that after parting ways in Yucheng, Zhaohuo helped you break the formation and then left ahead. I wonder how things went for you later at the old residence?”

Jiang Lingfeng paused in his steps.

…What is he doing!? Coming to make small talk at a time like this!?

Zhaoxue was speechless and just wanted to leave quickly.

Turning her head back, she happened to meet the gaze Lu Zhaohe sent from behind Lu Zhaoshuang.

He even dared to sneak a look at her! That bad boy.

Zhaoxue hid behind Jiang Lingfeng and shot him a glare.

Lu Zhaohe was stunned.

He didn’t expect the girl to dare glare at him under such circumstances, and instantly got angry, raising an eyebrow and glaring back.

Zhaoxue was speechless. After sticking her tongue out and making a funny face at him, she hid again behind Jiang Lingfeng’s shadow, blocking Lu Zhaohe’s line of sight.

Jiang Lingfeng didn’t notice the silent exchange between the two. He answered, “The master of the old residence was a humanoid demon with considerable cultivation and strong power. I battled with him for a long time, nearly beheading him with my sword. Unfortunately, due to some negligence on my part, he managed to escape by cutting off his tail.”

“So there was such a twist,”

Lu Zhaoshuang seemed indifferent to the details. He just nodded, pondered for a moment, then asked, “I heard that operation rescued a large number of innocent hostages. The Sword Sovereign and your sect members all took part. — However, that day, I didn’t seem to see the young lady who was behind you…”

“— This young lady,”

His gaze shifted back to Zhaoxue.

Hearing this, Zhaoxue felt a buzzing in her head, then suddenly understood why Lu Zhaoshuang was asking.

“She is my junior sister in the sect,”

Jiang Lingfeng answered calmly, “I planned to take her with me to the Hidden Sword Sect on this trip. Although she hasn’t formally taken the apprentice ceremony, everyone agreed to let her address us according to sect customs ahead of time.”

“I see,”

Lu Zhaoshuang lowered his eyelids, looking at the indigo corner of clothing peeking from the shadow, nodding as if understanding something,

“Then she must be an exceptionally talented prodigy for the Sword Sovereign to look at her differently, and even — despite her not having any spiritual power in her meridians right now — to have accepted her into the sect early without the consent of the sect’s peak leaders, elders, and sect master.”

“…”

The atmosphere grew heavy.

Upon hearing this, Zhaoxue’s heart involuntarily sank.

What did Lu Zhaoshuang mean by that? Was he mocking her background or probing her identity?

No matter what, since he already saw that she was a powerless nobody, saying such things in front of her was really harsh.

Zhaoxue clenched her sleeve tightly.

…No need for him to emphasize it, she already knew she was a powerless loser.

But her thoughts were interrupted by Jiang Lingfeng.

The silence was broken first.

“This has nothing to do with you.”

It was the first time Zhaoxue heard Jiang Lingfeng speak in such a cold tone. She looked up in surprise.

— She saw the man furrow his brows, his lips pressed down with displeasure and even some disgust. His aura subtly changed. His voice sounded calm at first, but deep within it hid coldness, impatience, and even suppressed anger.

“Fellow Daoist Lu, you have overstepped.”

Hearing this, Lu Zhaoshuang finally took a step back.

He waved his hand, naturally stepping down from his stance. “What you said makes sense. My words were inappropriate and caused you trouble. I hope you won’t take this matter to heart. If you encounter any difficulties next time, come to us. Zhaohuo and I would be happy to help again.”

After speaking, he bowed to Jiang Lingfeng and, as if unconcerned by the earlier conflict, turned to leave with Lu Zhaohe.

The guy behind him even stuck out his tongue at Zhaoxue before leaving.

Zhaoxue: “…”

After the two had gone, she couldn’t help but weakly loosen her tight grip on her clothes.

She lowered her head.

Jiang Lingfeng’s voice came softly, “Earlier, were you hurt anywhere?”

He confirmed again if Zhaoxue was okay.

Zhaoxue shook her head.

“Hmm.” Jiang Lingfeng didn’t ask anything else. He only said, “I’ll take you to find Zhaoyang.”

He led Zhaoxue back the way they came. Zhaoyang was waiting at the original place.

“…Big sister.”

Zhaoxue ran over, hugged the woman, and buried her face in Zhaoyang’s arms.

Zhaoyang patted her back and said, “Your martial uncle and I just came back not long ago. When we saw you weren’t where you were supposed to be, we decided that I would stay at the spot while he went to find you.”

So the reason she didn’t see her big sister earlier was because they hadn’t returned yet.

If she had known she was waiting there too, none of the later events would have happened.

“Did something happen?” Zhaoyang asked when she saw her expression.

“No,” Zhaoxue shook her head. “I just almost got separated and felt a little scared. Fortunately, I saw martial uncle on the way.”

“That’s good.”

Zhaoyang stroked her hair.

“Big sister,”

Zhaoxue lifted her head from her embrace, nervously asking, “You’re not mad that I ran off, are you? You must have been worried when you saw I wasn’t there.”

“I’m not mad, and there won’t be a next time.”

Zhaoyang said, “Because I will never leave you alone at the spot again.”

Zhaoxue said nothing, but because of Zhaoyang’s words, she felt the knot in her heart slowly begin to calm.

After all, they were just two insignificant people who wouldn’t disturb her good mood.

—

After resting for a while, Zhaoyang said,

“We’ll be entering the secret realm soon. There’s about half a quarter of an hour left.”

She handed Zhaoxue a pill.

“This time, the secret realm will be open for two and a half days. The lowest level of cultivators allowed to enter is mid Qi Refining stage, and the highest limit is mid Golden Core stage. Zhaoxue, this pill can conceal your true aura.”

Zhaoxue took the pill and swallowed it. She then turned her head and carefully noticed a subtle change in Jiang Lingfeng’s aura.

“Your martial uncle has also suppressed his cultivation.”

Zhaoyang explained to her and then reminded her, “When we enter the secret realm, just stay behind me. Don’t be afraid—you won’t get hurt.”

Zhaoxue nodded in response. After a short while, cries of surprise rang out among the crowd, and the wind suddenly picked up fiercely.

“The secret realm entrance has opened!!” someone shouted loudly.

Zhaoxue nestled in Zhaoyang’s arms, using her wide sleeves to cover her face. She squinted, trying to catch a glimpse of what the entrance looked like, but all she could see was the dazzling light emitted from the huge array formation on the ground.

Although it was pitch black midnight, the massive array’s light on the ground illuminated everything as if it were broad daylight.

“Ugh—!!”

Zhaoxue only looked once before tears were forced out by the brightness, and she had to close her eyes.

A dizzy, weightless sensation washed over her. She didn’t know how much time passed, but when the ringing in her ears almost faded, she felt her balance return.

She began to fall downward, but the imagined pain never came. Zhaoyang caught her steadily.

Only then did Zhaoxue slowly dare to open her tightly shut eyes.

They were in a vast forest. Although visibility was low at night, the faint glow from some unknown creatures lit up the surroundings softly. Towering trees and winding vines surrounded her. Zhaoxue held onto the rough tree trunk as she climbed up. The cool, damp patches on the bark wet her clothes.

“Let’s rest for a while.”

Zhaoyang surveyed the environment behind her and said, “We’ll set out again early tomorrow morning.”

As she spoke, a talisman appeared in her palm and quickly caught fire. Surprisingly, though it was only a thin piece of paper, it burned for a long time without showing any sign of going out, and no ashes even fell.

Zhaoxue widened her eyes, watching as Zhaoyang manipulated her spiritual power to lift the talisman from below her palm. It spun and floated in the air, flickering faintly, providing a small warm space around them.

“Isn’t it amazing?” Zhaoyang smiled and said, “There are many types of talismans and many ways to use them. When we set out tomorrow, I’ll explain more on the way. For now, let’s just rest.”

Zhaoxue nodded.

Not only because she was truly a bit tired.

But also because the system’s excited voice was sounding in her mind.

【I can feel that the third male lead’s sword spirit is inside the Secret Realm, in the Hidden Sword Tomb!】

The system’s voice fluctuated as it quickly spoke in her mind,

【As the third male lead’s sword spirit, he was originally a soul trapped within the sword, nurtured by the thousand-year-old secret realm.】

【In the original story, he would become one of Zhaoyang’s fateful encounters, completely captivated by Zhaoyang’s sword stance, willingly becoming Zhaoyang’s sword spirit. Even after Zhaoyang perished in the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons, he still refused to accept anyone else as his master. But now, because you joined the story early, he hasn’t even met Zhaoyang yet!】

Although Zhaoxue obediently kept her eyes closed to pretend she was asleep, her heart was stirred into a storm.

Without the system needing to say more, she already knew what she had to do.

“So,”

Zhaoxue carefully stated in her mind, word by word, “to prevent the ending of total destruction and complete the mission…”

She absolutely would stop him from meeting her eldest sister.