Anecdotes from the Journey Home

However, in Si Ming's view, no special moves were needed. Liu Qingqing had not yet fully unleashed the power of her Blood Spirit Clone. At least, she had only activated one or two tenths of her Beast King Origin, and was still far from her complete form. If she could unleash her full power, even a top-tier Spirit Transformation would have a hard time against her.

Liu Qingqing can now pretend to be a substitute user.

Si Ming withdrew his envious gaze and looked at the others sparring beside him. Ke Chajing and Hu Jixian's strength had undergone a qualitative transformation. After experiencing the dangers of the martial world, both of them had developed a killing intent in their battles, and their actual combat level had improved significantly. In addition, both of them had also made breakthroughs in their Internal Cultivation.

Chen Shimi learned the Nine Heavens Sword Finger from the Evil-Slaying Sword School. In addition to controlling flying swords, he also gained the ability to launch Sword Qi with his fingers, similar to the Six Meridians Divine Sword. His opponent, Hao Shuai, used the Golden Bell Cover he learned from the Glazed Temple to defend himself.

Ying Zhou was sparring with Nie Wanzhi in Buddhist School martial arts. He successfully resisted the senior monk's persuasion and did not shave his head to become a disciple. Both of them were registered as lay disciples.

Murong Wu didn't spar with anyone; he was clumsily practicing his punches, his movements slow and lacking any real power, like an old farmer tilling the land— Si Ming had passed on the Shennong's Three Fists to everyone, but only Murong Wu had grasped its essence.

Si Huaruo was sparring with Si Jingyu using the martial arts from the "Heavenly One River Diagram." Although her movements were clumsy and her moves were full of flaws, she could already see the extraordinary nature of this scripture, especially its perfect compatibility with the Si Clan's martial Cultivation Body. Si Huaruo translated the Internal Cultivation parts that she had already understood and relayed them to Si Jingyu and Si Shuiyun. As a result, the three of them made progress in their cultivation every day.

"Although this trip had its share of unexpected events, almost everyone gained something, so it was definitely worthwhile... By the way, why did we come to the Barbarian Continent in the first place?"

As Si Ming was pondering this, he heard Wu Xiu say impatiently, "What are you daydreaming about, brat? The formation is complete. Quickly gather everyone together."

"Will there be no more accidents this time?"

"Of course not, making the same mistake once is enough."

"Could this be setting the stage for a second accident?"

I'll kill you!

Chapter 613 Anecdotes of Returning Home

Si Ming's jinx didn't work. With the respectful escort of the Evil-Slaying Sword School Sect, the group safely passed through the time tunnel and returned to the Sea Continent. Their landing point was the same as the original teleportation point. Therefore, when everyone came out of the tunnel, they saw the same scene. Memories hidden deep in their minds surfaced, and they immediately felt the comfort of returning home.

"It's only been two months, but it feels like two years have passed..."

Hao Shuai's sigh expressed the common thoughts in everyone's minds.

"Better to be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of chaos. The martial arts world of the Barbarian Continent isn't quite chaotic yet; at least there are various Daoist Gate maintaining order. But it's still a world of swords and Baiyi. One wrong move, and you'll be sleeping with your head on one night and waking up with your head on the next. Only after experiencing war firsthand can you understand how precious peace is." Yuezheng Yao had a bit of a literary air about her, but actually, her journey had been relatively safe.

Hu Jixian said to Ke Chajing, "Now that you're back in Su State, you can go to the hospital to have the scars on your face removed."

Ke Chajing reached out and touched the scar on her face, saying, "I think it's okay to keep it. Isn't there a saying that 'scars are medals'?"

Hu Jixian said helplessly, "The original saying is that scars are a man's badge of honor. Why are you getting involved?"

"Hmph, as long as you're stronger than a man, you're qualified, aren't you? Or have you already grown tired of my face?"

Ke Chajing had no resistance to the Barbarian Continent. If she hadn't gone through this experience, she wouldn't have been able to master her family's secret technique, the Scarlet Refining Gold-Locking Hand. This martial art was originally honed by her ancestors in the world of swords and shadows. Since the world was at peace, no one in the Lineage had mastered it. Now, it has finally reappeared in her hands.

Absolutely not.

Even though Hu Jixian's eyes were narrowed and his expression unreadable, everyone could sense his helplessness at that moment.

Hao Shuai was gloating. Of all people to fall for, why did you have to pick on my tomboyish cousin? Didn't you see that even though I'm a guy who likes big breasts, I'm completely unmoved by her? Because what she has isn't a chest, but a fierce aura.

Si Ming comforted her via Secret Voice Transmission, saying, "Look on the bright side. With this scar, other men certainly won't dare to have any improper thoughts. No one will compete with you. Senior Sister Ke is keeping your chastity intact and promises not to make you jealous."

Hu Jixian, slightly annoyed, retorted, "Why don't you persuade the girls around you to 'remain chaste' for you?"

Si Ming laughed heartily, "Take one of my punches first, then we can talk about any unrealistic ideas."

Hu Jixian said, "Stop gloating. Quickly give me a suggestion, and I'll be your informant at school from now on."

Si Ming thought for a moment and said, "Actually, you're too caught up in the situation to see things clearly. If you just think about Senior Sister Ke's real purpose, it won't be hard to understand how to persuade her."

Hu Jixian was a clever man, and now that "One Leaf" was gone, he immediately realized the truth. He turned to Ke Chajing and said, "Keeping scars is useless. True masters won't lose their courage because of this, and they don't need such tricks against the weak."

Ke Chajing was taken aback, then said thoughtfully, "That makes sense, then let's remove it..."

However, before Hu Jixian his joy, she changed her mind again. "No, let's leave a faint line, both as a memento and a reminder, a constant reminder not to let our guard down, and to always remember that hardship breeds strength, while comfort leads to ruin."

Hu Jixian said, "Then you have to write it on someone else's face; you can't see it if you write it on your own face."

"That makes sense. I might as well write it on your face; that way I can see it every day."

Is this considered a confession of love?

But this was a bit too intense, Hu Jixian said he couldn't handle it, "Let's try a different method of self-reflection, like verbal reminders, saying it every time we meet..."

Leaving aside the couple's distorted display of affection, everyone agreed to meet again at school in the new semester, then said goodbye and went home.

Si Ming then asked Liu Qingqing about Xie Xiaomei's condition. After confirming that she was alright, he felt relieved of his last bit of worry.

He was initially worried that special cases like Xie Xiaomei's "resurrection" might be eliminated by the "suppression of all laws" of the Eternal Barrier. Later, he thought that demons and Ghostly Monsters were all the same kind. Since Demon Race and Monster Race could survive under the Eternal Barrier, there was no reason why ghosts couldn't. However, he still couldn't help but worry about the worst-case scenario. Fortunately, it didn't happen.

There were many people around, and Xie Xiaomei, who was afraid of strangers, naturally dared not come out. Therefore, Liu Qingqing was in charge of the body.

After seeing the others off, Si Ming, Murong Wu, and Ying Zhou returned to the orphanage. As soon as they stepped inside, they noticed that it was unusually quiet.

"Even if Murong Qing into seclusion to cultivate, Hongdou painted in the basement, and Yu Shuying tinkered with her gangster games, what about Yao Bilian? What is she, the dean, doing?" Si Ming asked doubtfully.

Murong Wu thought for a moment and reminded her, "During the day, Director Yao is probably sleeping, since nighttime is when she's active."

Si Ming thought about it and realized that this was quite likely, so he decided to look for it first. The group split up and took the opportunity to put down their luggage.

Si Ming went to the underground art studio. If nothing unexpected happened, Hongdou would probably stay there. However, when he knocked on the door, he found it was open. But he didn't pay any attention to it, since the door to the underground art studio wasn't locked and could be opened from either the inside or the outside.

Because it was thought that once Hongdou entered a painting state, she would ignore all external sounds, and wouldn't hear even if someone banged on the door with a hammer, the door to the basement studio was replaced with an unlocked door to prevent her from starving to death inside.

As soon as Si Ming pushed the door open, he felt a resistance. Something was blocking the door, but it wasn't heavy and he could push it open easily. Then he looked down and saw Hongdou lying on the ground, almost like a corpse.

"Could she have fainted from hunger again after not eating for so long?" Si Ming quickly squatted down to check on her, feeling puzzled. "That's not right. With Hongdou's current cultivation level, even if she hadn't eaten for two months, she would only be slightly weak, not faint from hunger."