Chapter Twenty-Four: "Oda Oda Oda..."

"Come, my descendants, begin the Poison Run! Strive for my power!" The colossal dragon soul drifting in the sky dissipated, its overwhelming pressure vanishing in an instant, leaving Jiang Lin and the others still in a daze.

"Zone shrinking? Poison Run? This ancient dragon soul can't have transmigrated here, could it? Damn. A true old-timer..." Jiang Lin was startled, feeling an odd sense of kinship, like meeting a fellow countryman in a foreign land.

"One hour from now, the first zone shrinking will commence. All cultivators, please prepare. For the duration of the trial, flying is forbidden. Furthermore, to ensure fairness, all cultivators within the secret realm will soon be randomly placed at the outermost edge, right at the boundary of the poison zone."

There was no time to process what had happened; a tremendous voice echoed through the entire Misty Maze Secret Realm.

In a flash, with a resounding thud, Jiang Lin and his companions felt their bodies grow heavy and plummeted straight to the ground.

"Ah..."

"Ouch..."

"Damn."

Jiang Lin hit the ground first; then Lin Qingwan and Cai Xie landed right atop him, nearly crushing his waist.

"Young Master Jiang, what should we do now?"

"Jiang Lin, just stick with me. As long as I’m here, no one will harm a hair on your head!"

"Let’s not talk for now… Could you both please get off me first…"

...

Just as the three managed to climb to their feet, the sound of many footsteps approached swiftly from not far away. At once, they pressed their backs together, alert and prepared.

Within this secret realm, regardless of one's cultivation, all were now equal—each reduced to the early stage of the Cave Abode Realm. Even if Jiang Lin and his party were stronger than most at this stage, facing a siege would still be taxing.

As Jiang Lin and Lin Qingwan gripped their life-bound flying swords, bracing for battle, the world suddenly spun. Jiang Lin’s vision blurred.

His eyes closed and opened again, and only then did Jiang Lin realize that he was no longer in the same spot, but in an unfamiliar forest.

"Miss Cai Xie? Senior Sister Lin?"

He glanced around; aside from a small wooden hut, there was no one in sight. It seemed he’d been teleported.

Sitting on the steps of the hut, Jiang Lin rested his sword across his knees, debating whether to simply end his own trial here and leave this troublesome place. After all, unless something unexpected happened, the first place would surely go to Senior Sister Lin—the protagonist, after all, with all the buffs.

Moreover, Senior Sister Lin seemed to have resolved her inner conflict and probably wouldn’t trouble him anymore. Comparatively, if the system got involved, that would be the real headache.

But on second thought, even if he couldn’t win first place, there was still value in lying low and picking up supplies. If luck favored him, perhaps he could complete next year’s Shuangzhu Peak quota ahead of time.

And what if Senior Sister still held a grudge against him?

If he could make it to the final round and help Senior Sister defeat the others… Even though, with her protagonist’s aura, she’d probably still win the dragon soul without his help, this was nevertheless a rare chance to do her a great favor! This way, she would have no reason to seek him out on Shuangzhu Peak ever again!

"Heh heh heh..."

Jiang Lin chuckled foolishly at the thought of protecting his senior sister valiantly in the finals, wiping a bit of drool from his mouth.

No sooner thought than done! Jiang Lin made up his mind: aside from Senior Sister, everyone else was his enemy! Anyone who dared stand in her way was his mortal foe!

He stood up, confidence swelling. The priority now was to sneak into the final round and reunite with Senior Sister Lin!

To win, one must first survive!

Glancing at the hut behind him, Jiang Lin felt it was quite suitable—best to lie low for now and make a move when the zone began to shrink.

Having settled on a plan, just as Jiang Lin was about to step into the hut for a rest, suddenly, a massive bear came hurtling through the air...

Bang!

The giant black bear crashed down atop the hut, splintering it to pieces; fragments of wood scattered into Jiang Lin’s hair...

"Roar!!!"

The great bear climbed to its feet and let out an earth-shaking roar at Jiang Lin.

Just as Jiang Lin turned to face the beast, a shadow burst from the underbrush.

A gust of wind whipped past his ear. Before Jiang Lin could react, that figure had already closed in on the black bear.

"Ora ora ora..."

"Oda oda oda..."

The slender figure before him fought the bear bare-handed, growing fiercer with each exchange, her entire being seemingly immersed in the martial path.

Boom!

At last, the black bear’s eyes rolled back and it collapsed to the ground.

...

"Little Lin... where are you... Little Lin Lin... Little Lin Lin..."

High atop a cliff, Jiang Yun Ni—using the alias Cai Xie—called out, but not a soul heard her.

After half an hour, her voice hoarse, the girl slumped down, hugging her knees and pouting as the cool wind brushed her cheeks.

"No! I must find Little Lin Lin!"

Who cares about dragon souls or fateful opportunities? In just a week, Little Lin Lin will turn eighteen. All I want is to appear before him on his birthday, at my most beautiful, give him a surprise, and then practice 'Sun and Moon Dual Cultivation' with him!

She looked at the secret recipe passed down through generations of sect leaders—Spring Breeze Leaves No Trace—clutched in her hand, then stood and marched determinedly down the mountain.

...

"Xue Li, are you all right?"

"I'm fine... Sister Sword Spirit..."

Following the brook, the girl hurried toward her destination, though her mind was clearly elsewhere.

The sword spirit within her sighed softly. Ever since that man had saved her life one night, the young lady had harbored a faint affection for him.

Especially after being kissed—though she’d been angry, her anger was tinged with shyness.

Perhaps Xue Li herself hadn’t realized, but she had thrown herself even more earnestly into her cultivation lately. Subconsciously, she believed that once she had avenged her sect, she would seek out that man.

But who could have guessed that, before the Misty Maze Secret Realm’s gates, he would tear off his mask—and it turned out to be Jiang Lin! That same Jiang Lin, the infamous flower thief!

And then, as he lay dying, Jiang Lin had even confessed to Lin Qingwan of Dragon Gate Sect.

In the end, Lin Qingwan and another girl had rescued him from the crowd, entering the secret realm together.

Since ancient times, nothing wounds deeper than love.

Fortunately, this young lady hadn’t fallen too deep; still, it would take some time to recover her peace of mind.

"Xue Li, actually, about Jiang Lin..."

"Sister Sword Spirit, say no more! He saved my life, but he also took liberties with me. We are done—from now on, he and I are strangers. It’s just..."

"Just what?"

"I just want to see him one more time! To ask him, what was in his heart when he saved me that night? And what was in his heart when he took advantage of me?"

Clutching her sword’s scabbard tightly, the veiled girl raised her head, gazing deeply into the distance...