Sword Momentum, Sword Intent, Sword Heart

Yu Jiuzhen steadied himself, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "It has been several months since we last met, Fellow Daoist Su. Your bearing has surpassed even what it once was."

That single sentence shattered the stifling silence.

The expressions of the Middle-aged Scholar and the others all grew complicated.

They had traveled alongside him all this way, and what was laughable—and lamentable—was that a godlike figure had been right beside them, yet they had not recognized him!

"You've all been busy setting up restriction formations. Could it be that they were specially prepared to deal with me?"

Su Yi's gaze swept toward the cultivators bustling about Cloud Heaven Divine Mountain in the distance.

"How would we dare?" Yu Jiuzhen said with a bitter smile. "To be honest with you, Fellow Daoist, we are repairing these restriction formations only because we fear that, should you and Lord Dongguo Feng come to blows, Cloud Heaven Divine Mountain might be caught in the aftermath."

Su Yi gave an "Oh" and said, "So, if I wish to take Miss Xinzhao away this time, I must first defeat this Dongguo Feng?"

Yu Jiuzhen hesitated before saying, "You may not know this, Fellow Daoist, but two days ago, Lord Dongguo Feng made his stance clear: if Xinzhao wished to leave, she could do so at any time, and no one would stop her. It was Xinzhao herself who chose to remain."

Su Yi was taken aback. "Why?"

Yu Jiuzhen sighed. "When this girl learned that Fellow Daoist Su had chosen to come and face this battle for her sake, how could she possibly choose to leave beforehand? In the end, it is because she worries about you, Fellow Daoist."

Su Yi could not help but laugh. "Very well. Go tell Dongguo Feng that I