Fearless

Jade Spring Mountain, Green Bamboo Lodge.

"Chen Heng, by decision of the lineage, this Azure Profound Golden Token is bestowed upon you."

Chen Xingyun's voice was cool and clear, like jade striking jade, yet carried an authority that brooked no question.

She stood in the courtyard, her moon-white robe fluttering lightly in the mountain wind. Her gaze was like lightning as she looked directly at the youth she had seen in recorded images, who now appeared even more composed in person.

Chen Heng bowed and accepted the dark-gold token with both hands. It was the size of an infant's palm, cool and weighty to the touch, with mysterious Dao patterns flowing across it. "Thank you, Elder Xingyun. Thank you, Lineage, for this generous reward."

His voice was calm, without much wild delight—only a steady composure that made it seem perfectly natural.

That calmness brought an almost imperceptible flicker of approval to Chen Xingyun's eyes.

"There is no need to thank me. You earned it with your own ability."

Chen Xingyun's tone softened slightly. "Two years from now, the Azure Profound Sect will open its gates to accept disciples. With this token, you may enter the Outer Sect directly without undergoing assessment."

"Before then, cultivate diligently and raise your cultivation. Do not neglect the art of refining artifacts. The Azure Profound Sect's artifact Dao inheritance is vast and profound. This skill may become something you rely upon on your path of cultivation, especially when establishing yourself within the sect."

"This nephew understands," Chen Heng replied. By the seniority among Chen Family cultivators, he should have addressed Chen Xingyun as Clan Aunt.

Yet he understood that opportunities had always been reserved only for those who were prepared.

This Azure Profound Golden Token was merely a pass into the Azure Profound Sect. How he would compete and cultivate within the sect afterward would be where the true trial began.

"You have a Three Year Pact with Luo Yuyan of the Luo Family?"

A smile suddenly touched Chen Xingyun's lips as she changed the subject, exposing the challenge letter that had never been publicly announced.

Their correspondence had all been delivered through their respective lineages, and neither side had deliberately concealed it.

The upper echelons of both lineages had in fact long known of their Three Year Pact.

"Yes." Chen Heng admitted it openly. "Two years from now, we will fight again on the Azure Profound Sect's Duelling Stage."

"Hehe, interesting." Chen Xingyun's lips curved into an ambiguous smile.

"That Luo Yuyan has already entered Venerable Hanfeng's tutelage on Soaring Peak. As far as I know, her injuries have healed, and she is now cultivating bitterly in Soaring Peak's hidden grounds. Her progress has been extremely swift, and she has already broken through to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining."

"Moreover, Martial Uncle Hanfeng is personally refining a sword embryo tailored for her."

"Once that sword is completed, its might will be beyond comparison with that former Leaf in the Wind."

There was a hint of pressure in her words, as though she were testing him. "Martial Uncle Hanfeng is known for protecting his own. He places immense importance on this newly accepted beloved disciple."

"The open and covert struggles among the disciples of Azure Profound's various peaks are even more commonplace than daily meals."

"Do you know how much is entangled behind what appears to be a fair battle on that Duelling Stage?"

Chen Heng's expression did not change. Yet in the depths of those abyss-black eyes, something sharper seemed to settle and gather.

"This nephew only knows that no matter what support my opponent has, or what their background may be," he said clearly, neither servile nor overbearing.

"The staff in my hand is my support; the enemy in my eyes is the target I will shatter."

"Luo Yuyan challenged me to this battle to sweep away the obstacle in her heart. I accepted not only to keep my word, but also to seek the Dao! Whether she is a Violet Palace Venerable's disciple or possesses a future natal flying sword—"

"Those things... will only make the secrets and the second half of the Water Fire Defense Scripture I gain after defeating her all the more valuable." He paused briefly, his words brimming with powerful confidence.

"As for the strife within the sect, from the day I set foot upon the road of cultivation, contention for the Great Dao has been the norm!"

"Whatever hardships and dangers lie ahead, I simply fear none of them."

"I fear none of them?" Chen Xingyun repeated those four words, staring at Chen Heng as if she wanted to see through every part of him.

Silence spread through the little bamboo courtyard, broken only by the rustling of bamboo leaves beneath the mountain wind.

After several breaths, she suddenly threw back her head and laughed. Her laughter was bright and uninhibited, carrying the rumbling force of thunder and stirring the spiritual energy in the courtyard.

"Good! 'I fear none of them'!"

Chen Xingyun's laughter subsided, but her gaze became even sharper, even carrying a trace of satisfaction. "Such resolve, such pride, such edge—this is the bearing a disciple of my Chen Clan should possess! Luo Yuyan wishes to sweep away the obstacle in her heart?"

"Then I would like to see how that obstacle in her heart crumbles beneath your staff! And if there are frictions within the sect, my lineage of Lightning Roar Peak is no easy target either!"

This blunt and forceful support took Chen Heng by surprise.

He had originally thought that a sect prodigy like Chen Xingyun would place greater importance on weighing gains against losses.

Chen Xingyun changed the subject again, her tone turning admonitory. "However, do not underestimate your enemy. Cultivation realm is the foundation of all cultivation. The barriers between Mid Qi Refining and the later stages are as stern as fortified walls."

"Do not squander the remaining two years. Cultivation techniques must be practiced, and spells may be trained, but you are not permitted to rely again on mundane methods like that Blade-Hiding Staff!"

"True combat strength lies in one's own foundation, in adapting at the moment of battle, in climbing a hundred-foot pole and taking another step forward!"

"Do you understand?"

"This nephew will keep it firmly in mind. Thank you for your guidance, Aunt," Chen Heng answered solemnly.

"Mm."

Chen Xingyun nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping across the courtyard. "This residence of yours is rather secluded. The spiritual energy halfway up the mountain is passable, but ultimately limited. Why not cultivate at the summit?"

Hearing this, Chen Heng shook his head and said calmly, "This place is quite good. The spiritual energy at the summit is only somewhat richer, but there are more cultivators there as well. Why make an unnecessary move?"

After hearing this, Chen Xingyun was about to depart, but turned back and added, "On Jade Spring Mountain, it is fine for you to call me Aunt. But once you reach the Azure Profound Sect, do not call me that."

"It makes me sound old."

The two were aunt and nephew only according to the Chen Family cultivators' genealogy. In truth, their bloodlines had been separated by who knew how many generations.

Especially since Chen Heng was born of a concubine in a minor branch family.

After muttering softly, Chen Xingyun did not linger any longer and flew straight away from Green Bamboo Lodge.

Chen Heng watched that graceful figure depart and stood there for a long while.

Having lived two lives, he naturally had not been captivated by her beauty. Rather, he had been shaken by the cultivation realm of this nominally younger aunt.

She was a Foundation Establishment true cultivator who was not yet thirty and cultivated thunder arts.

Even in the Nascent Soul sect that was the Azure Profound Sect, she was an exceptionally rare seed of the Dao.

Barring unforeseen events, reaching the Violet Palace realm in the future was as certain as a nail hammered into a board. Moreover, she had a great chance of breaking through to the Golden Core realm.

As for whether she could condense a Nascent Soul, that would depend on her own fate and affinity.

Thinking this far, Chen Heng shook his head and slapped his cheek. He inwardly grumbled, I am only at Mid Qi Refining right now. Why have I started worrying about whether someone else can form a Nascent Soul?

Then—

He returned directly to the second floor of Green Bamboo Lodge. He had just entered the cultivation chamber and was about to begin cultivating.

When he heard Uncle Fu calling for him.

Chen Heng pushed open the bamboo window. The mountain wind swept in with a chill, making his blue robe billow slightly.

His cultivation at the peak of the fourth layer of Qi Refining had made his senses toward the outside world even keener.

"Uncle Fu, why did you call for me?"

Uncle Fu stood bowed in the courtyard, with a faint and barely perceptible urgency on his face.

He held a smooth jade box in his hands. Its lid was tightly shut, yet a light fragrance drifted from it, making it clear that it contained a freshly picked spiritual plant.

The old servant hurried forward several steps and raised the jade box with both hands. "Young Master, this is Frost Condensing Grass sent from the lineage's herb garden."

"The Seventh Elder said that this spirit herb is the finest-aged one. It has just passed three hundred years, and its water and ice attributes are pure. He instructed that you must accept it. Refining it will greatly aid in stabilizing your realm and attempting to break through to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining."

Uncle Fu paused, lowering his voice. "The Seventh Elder also said... this was Elder Xingyun's intention."

Sent by Chen Xingyun?

Chen Heng's gaze swept over the jade box.

Frost Condensing Grass was indeed a rare and precious spiritual medicine among first-rank high-grade herbs. It was especially suited for cultivators focused on water-element cultivation, or cultivators like him with both water and fire true essence. It could calm the mind and still the spirit, help solidify one's foundation, and improve cultivation efficiency. Its value was considerable.

The lineage's attitude—or rather, Chen Xingyun's favorable view of him—was self-evident.

Chen Heng did not decline. He raised a hand and drew the jade box over.

The box felt icy in his hand, with fine threads of cold air lingering around the seams of its lid. "Thank the Seventh Elder for me, and... thank Elder Xingyun as well." He no longer used the somewhat intimate form of address, "Aunt."

"Yes, Young Master." Seeing Chen Heng accept it, Uncle Fu let out a breath of relief, and a few more traces of joy appeared on his face. "If Young Master has no further orders, this old servant shall take his leave."

"Mm, go."

Green Bamboo Lodge returned to stillness. Only the roar of bamboo beyond the window and the distant sound of the waterfall could faintly be heard.

Chen Heng's gaze rested on the jade box, but his thoughts were not on the Frost Condensing Grass itself.