Chapter 45: Azure Cloud (23)

Fu Fengyan carried He Tingtong on his back, following his instructions to “hunt down” Yue Qianxun without a murmur of complaint. His face was wooden, devoid of any unnecessary expression. His dark eyes stared at the person, like a beast locking onto its prey, looking truly somewhat terrifying.

Yue Qianxun looked back, his scalp tingling instantly. He sprinted wildly ahead, not forgetting to complain, “He Tingtong, you’re cheating!”

Fu Fengyan followed unhurriedly. He Tingtong only needed to reach out his hand to poke the back of Yue Qianxun’s head. So he hugged Fu Fengyan’s neck and said with a smile, “Little Yue, run faster. If you run too slowly, I’ll make you treat us.”

Hearing this, Yue Qianxun stretched his neck and ran even more cheerfully.

He Tingtong threw his head back and laughed happily, but secretly transmitted his voice, “Did Brother Tan see what happened in the mystic realm?”

“Mn… how did you know?” Fu Fengyan’s eyes shifted, his voice very low, carrying a hint of grievance.

“Isn’t it obvious?” He Tingtong reached out and poked Yue Qianxun’s back again, successfully making the person in front speed up. “Just looking at the expression, one can tell there was a quarrel. The only loophole recently was when you used Sword Intent during the final trial.”

“Brother Tan interrogated you?”

“He suspects I possessed someone and infiltrated the academy with ulterior motives.” Fu Fengyan’s expression was wooden, faintly carrying a hint of despair. “I said I was with you, but he didn’t believe it either.”

He Tingtong nodded. “Being able to use Sword Intent at the Second Realm is indeed a bit outrageous.”

The basic cultivation methods of the Nine Provinces: First Realm entering the Dao, Second Realm controlling spirits. Usually, at this time, one could fly on a sword, but due to insufficient spiritual power, couldn’t fly for long. As for Sword Intent, it was something one could only possibly comprehend after reaching the Seventh Realm and achieving unity between human and sword.

Comprehending Sword Intent at the Second Realm, when spiritual veins weren’t even smooth, was absolutely impossible.

Fu Fengyan hung his head dejectedly. “It was my fault; I revealed a flaw.”

“The situation was urgent then. If you hadn’t used Sword Intent, it would have been up to me to find another way to handle it.” He Tingtong poked the back of Yue Qianxun’s head again. “Interrogating me or interrogating you makes no difference; one of us would have been exposed eventually.”

“But don’t worry,” He Tingtong said softly. “Although the Master of Guili Sword has a cold personality, he isn’t the type to be indiscriminate. Asking just now was at most to scare you.”

“If he brings this up again, just tell him the truth.”

Fu Fengyan looked blank. “Tell the truth? Is that okay?”

“For example?” They ran fast, having already exited the main gate and arrived at the market outside the academy. He Tingtong jumped off Fu Fengyan’s back, raising an eyebrow. “You can tell me first, and I’ll help you polish it.”

Fu Fengyan transmitted his voice slowly, “For example, he asked me what my cultivation level was, saying I was definitely above the Thirteenth Realm. But I am currently at the Nineteenth Realm. Is it not good to answer him directly?”

He Tingtong staggered, his voice cracking, “How much?!”

Yue Qianxun had just picked up a skewer of grilled meat and asked the price. Hearing He Tingtong’s voice break, he silently put the meat back.

Beside him, He Tingtong didn’t notice this small interlude. He heard Fu Fengyan’s voice transmission hesitate for a moment, then add, “Or maybe Twenty? I haven’t measured it for a long time.”

He Tingtong: “…”

Within the Nine Provinces, among all the major sects, the highest publicly recorded cultivation realm was the Fifteenth Realm, held by the current Alliance Leader of the Immortal Alliance, Perfected One of Hollow Void, Xu Yinyou. He Tingtong had seen many geniuses in his past lives—Demon Lords, Dao Lords, Sword Gods, and the like—but in the end, their limit was around the Fifteenth Realm. He had never seen anyone above the Fifteenth Realm.

Especially after ascension was cut off in the Nine Provinces, the expansion capacity of cultivators’ spiritual veins and elixir platforms was limited. Moreover, after the Tenth Realm, there were heart tribulations. With each realm broken through, the difficulty and danger multiplied. Qin Tan, a man of firm Dao heart, still needed to venture into the Hollow Void Mystic Realm and rely on Heart-Cleansing Pills for protection before daring to undergo tribulation, let alone those with unstable minds or hidden inner demons… A slight carelessness with the Consciousness Domain would lead to turbulence and damage, resulting in erosion by abominations and self-destruction.

Twenty Realms… No wonder Yue Qianxun in the previous life couldn’t last a few rounds under Fu Fengyan.

Fu Fengyan was still observing furtively on the side. He probably didn’t understand why He Tingtong showed such an expression, looking a bit nervous for a moment.

“Better not tell the truth.” He Tingtong pondered for a moment. “Just say you indeed concealed your cultivation, and your true cultivation is only at the Tenth Realm. There’s nothing improper about generating Sword Intent at the Tenth Realm. It was raining heavily in the mystic realm, and it was the last instant before exiting. The image on the Shadow Retention Stone was blurry; it’s possible Brother Tan just saw wrong for a moment.”

So Fu Fengyan nodded obediently. “Okay.”

Then he added, “I ran away secretly. If I get caught and taken back, it will be very difficult to come out again. If he asks about my family background…”

“Is the Fu clan’s family discipline really that strict?” He Tingtong was confused. “I see that Fu Baiyu is lazy and loose, not looking strictly disciplined at all.”

Fu Fengyan’s pupils trembled. On second thought, he indeed hadn’t covered his face from the start; it was normal for He Tingtong to see it. He just drooped his head listlessly. “My ‘Fu’ is different from his ‘Fu’.”

He Tingtong pondered for a moment. “It doesn’t matter. If you are honest, Qin Tan probably won’t dig to the bottom asking about your family background. If he asks, you just pretend it’s hard to speak about, or… cry at him.”

Fu Fengyan frowned. “He said he doesn’t buy that act.”

He Tingtong: “He probably won’t be moved for a short while, but if you cry for a bit longer, he’ll probably wish he could kick you far away.”

Seeing Fu Fengyan understand, He Tingtong turned to look at Yue Qianxun beside him. “No appetite? Why aren’t you choosing anything? Nothing you want to eat?”

Surrounded by a dazzling array of food, Yue Qianxun smelled the fragrance but didn’t look at anything, only staring at the floor and saying considerately, “Doesn’t quite suit my taste, let’s look further.”

“Then eat something light?” He Tingtong pointed to porridge stalls, sweet soups, wontons. “Eating too much at night causes indigestion, indeed not good.”

So Yue Qianxun ran to a small stall to save seats.

Qin Tan walked over from behind. He was born tall, dressed in green robes, standing out from the crowd like a crane among chickens, exceptionally eye-catching.

The street was bustling, mostly with students from the academy. Those with smaller courage only dared to steal glances, while the bolder ones were already eager to come over and strike up a conversation.

Qin Tan’s face was dark. Annoyed to no end, he got Su Tan out to work while he sank down to calm his mind.

As soon as Su Tan opened his eyes, a red-faced youth gathered in front of him. “Master of Guili Sword, traveling alone tonight? This humble cultivator is from the Song clan of Fancheng, having admired the Sword Master’s prestige for a long time. Could I… could I… have you write your name on my chest?”

With a whoosh, the youth pulled open his outer robe, revealing a snow-white inner lapel, eyes full of fanaticism. “Just write here. obtaining the Sword Master’s calligraphy, Song will die without regrets!”

Su Tan: “…”

He was startled in his heart, but on the surface, he could only coldly extend two fingers to close the person’s clothes, saying indifferently, “Busy with important matters, definitely next time.”

Then he lifted his leg, strode forward quickly, walked to the three little ones, grabbed one in each hand, lifted his chin to signal the other to follow, then squeezed through the crowd and ran away swiftly.

Passing a restaurant halfway, someone suddenly shouted in surprise from the side, “Xiao He, you guys came out to play too!”

Getting closer, it was Zhang Duixue dressed in pink and white, and beside him, Xie Xuanxiao wrapped tightly in a cloak. The two stood side by side. Zhang Duixue held a lotus rolling lamp in his arms, looking at them in confusion. “Xiao He! Why are you in such a hurry?”

Seeing this group suddenly, Xie Xuanxiao’s brow furrowed imperceptibly, then relaxed in an instant. He greeted politely, “Fellow Daoists, what a coincidence.”

He Tingtong rushed over to cover his mouth, gesturing repeatedly, then under Xie Xuanxiao’s gaze filled with anger, rolled the person up to the restaurant and opened a private room.

A rolling lamp fell. Xie Xuanxiao bent down to pick it up, watching the few people rumbling upstairs, his face dark as water.

In a flash, a dark mass of people rushed over from the other end of the street, shouting “Master of Guili Sword” while searching the restaurants one by one. Holding the lamp, he stood at the door, half-lowering his eyes, and tossed a bag of spiritual beads onto the shopkeeper’s counter. “Close the door, book the whole place, don’t let anyone else in.”

Walking slowly upstairs, even through the door, he could hear Zhang Duixue’s overly excited shout, “Master of Guili Sword! Sword Venerable! Immortal Lord Qin Tan! I’ve liked you since I was little!”

He pulled open the door and saw that under the bright palace lantern, Zhang Duixue pulled open his lapel with a whoosh, pulling out the snow-white inner garment, outer robe hanging on the crook of his arm, cheeks flushed with excitement, repeating constantly, “Sign an autograph! Sign an autograph!”

Xie Xuanxiao: “…”

The Sword Sect’s Chief Disciple, top of the Azure Cloud list, one of the three talents of the Immortal Alliance, Immortal Lord Qin Tan (Su Tan) felt around but couldn’t find a brush. Xie Xuanxiao took out a jade brush from his storage spiritual tool and handed it over, his posture very low and respectful. “A-Xue has admired the Sword Master since childhood. This is very abrupt; hope the Sword Master doesn’t take offense.”

Su Tan took it, wrote the two characters “Qin Tan” on the snow-white lapel, barely maintaining a trace of aloofness, and nodded. “Since you entered the Sword Pavilion, you are this Seat’s student. Just an autograph, not abrupt.”

He put away the brush, not forgetting to give a pep talk. “This Seat never signs casually. Meeting here today counts as having a destiny with you. Signing is fine, but you must remember to be doubly diligent in cultivation in the future and not slack off.”

“Absolutely won’t slack off!” Zhang Duixue responded with full vigor, holding the clothes lovingly, so happy he was about to faint, nodding repeatedly, wishing he could take the clothes off and enshrine them.

Xie Xuanxiao’s ears hurt from the vibrating voice. Thinking that they would likely be separated more often than together in the future, he was even more unhappy.

He pulled out a chair and sat beside Zhang Duixue. Sweeping his gaze over He Tingtong and the other two who had already taken their seats, then looking at the composed and quite relaxed “Qin Tan,” he understood in his heart.

They knew each other.

No wonder these few little thieves targeted him as soon as they came. They must be seedlings selected and sent by the Sword Sect this year, changing identities to gain experience. That was why they were fearless, provoking him again and again.

If Qin Tan authorized it, then it was indeed hard to make a move.

He could only suppress the gloom in his heart and say magnanimously, “Today the flowers are good and the moon is round; why not have a small gathering? Xie will treat.”

He looked up again at He Tingtong sitting directly opposite him. “Offended you much during the final trial; hope Fellow Daoist He, Fellow Daoist Fu, and Fellow Daoist Yue can be magnanimous.”

Fu Fengyan didn’t even look up. “No need. You are heavily injured; you be magnanimous.”

Xie Xuanxiao: “…”