Never Absent

Early in the morning, some family's rooster crowed the dawn.

Without the city's clamor, without the exhaust of cars, the slightly damp air was refreshingly crisp, and the dew on the grass blades hung suspended, not yet fallen.

Sitting in the courtyard, Jiang Lin looked at the newspapers he had just bought from the Newspaper Boy, including the Black Tortoise City Official Daily, as well as papers from the Black Tortoise City Penguin Highlights Department and the NG Department.

Every newspaper described Lin Qingwan's majestic Nascent Soul Sword Strike.

Some papers had even started guessing whether Lin Qingwan would squeeze into second or third place on the next Rising Tides List.

After all, she was the second genius in Wutong Province in centuries to reach the Nascent Soul Realm First Stage before the age of twenty!

As for the Rising Tides List First Place... to be honest, Jiang Lin had only heard of them, but never seen them. Even what he'd heard was just vague rumors.

Titles like: Millennium Number One (very talented!), Cannot Tell if Male or Female (gender unknown), Decisive in Killing (extremely ruthless)—basically, they were just incredibly impressive.

Jiang Lin looked somewhat melancholy at the setting sun on the horizon.

The system said Senior Sister Lin would break through during actual combat, then come to hate the demonic cult, and finally kill him N times before scattering his ashes and ascending. But now?

Senior Sister Lin had inexplicably resolved her heart knot and broken through two realms in a row. Logically, this should have deviated from the system's prophecy, so why did he still feel uneasy?

And the system only prophesied once, then ignored everything afterward. Even if the situation changed, the system wouldn't give another prophecy prompt. Jiang Lin had no way of knowing whether the prophecy still counted.

"Forget it, I'll just follow the original plan. To be safe, I'll settle things in the Bewildering Secret Realm this time!"

Yesterday, a total of over a hundred thousand cultivators took the qualification test, and only five thousand passed. Both Jiang Lin and Fang Chaoqun made it through. In another hour, the Bewildering Secret Realm would open.

As for the special products of the Bewildering Secret Realm, Jiang Lin didn't hold out much hope. After all, Senior Sister Lin was the protagonist—treasures would basically stick to her. He could just pick up scraps on the side.

Using his free time, Jiang Lin practiced the Return My Beauty Fist in the courtyard according to the manual, but he was only going through the motions, not truly training. After all, he hadn't even started as a Martial Warrior.

"Brother Jiang, your fist stance looks quite refined."

Half an hour later, Fang Chaoqun walked out of his room.

"Brother Fang knows boxing?"

Jiang Lin put away his stance and looked at Fang Chaoqun, who had just woken up, somewhat surprised. In his memory, Fang Chaoqun was also a Cave Mansion Realm cultivator like himself.

"Haha, to be honest with Brother Jiang, although my cultivation talent can't compare to yours and I've been stuck at the Cave Mansion Realm for years, I'm also a Martial Warrior Fourth Realm. I learned a bit of boxing, but I couldn't stand the hardship and gave up. I've never seen Brother Jiang's fist style before—does it have a name?"

"Return My Beauty Fist."

"Huh?"

"To be honest with Brother Fang, this fist is called the Return My Beauty Fist, created by a talented scholar named Tang Bohu. The fist technique flows like the wind, emphasizing speed like lightning. Although ordinary boxing doesn't hit the face, this Return My Beauty Fist specializes in striking the opponent's face, and it also has the effects of beautifying the skin and detoxifying."

"...Forgive my ignorance, but... does this fist technique have any killing power?"

"No." Jiang Lin answered so bluntly that Fang Chaoqun didn't know what to say.

But that was the truth. The Return My Beauty Fist really had no offensive power at all. The manual simply said: "Beautification, detoxification, and skin nourishment." At its peak, it could even perform plastic surgery...

"There's actually such a fist technique in the world... Brother Jiang... why practice it?"

"Sigh, more skills don't weigh you down. If I can't make it in the future, I can open a Beauty Salon or something—it'd be a good backup."

"Beauty Salon?"

"Ahem, it's a type of shop from my Hometown. Enough of that—it's getting late, Brother Fang. Let's head to Black Tortoise Plaza."

"Sorry, Brother Jiang, but I'm afraid I can't go with you this time. My Female Cousin is undercover in a sect, stirring up their relationships."

"Oh?"

"It's like this: the sect's Senior Brother likes the Third Junior Sister, but the Third Junior Sister likes the Second Senior Sister, and the Second Senior Sister likes the Fourth Junior Brother, but the Fourth Junior Brother likes the Senior Brother. My Female Cousin has played a crucial role in making the Third Junior Sister fall for her instead."

"..."

"Then I'll step in as her cousin, coordinate with her, and disrupt their Dao hearts. That way, our performance metrics will skyrocket. So, Brother Jiang, I'm really sorry."

"No problem, no problem."

Jiang Lin's head hurt from listening.

"Actually, I have my own things to do. Even if I entered the Bewildering Secret Realm, I'd have to part ways with Brother Fang. The only difference is whether we separate here or at Black Tortoise City Square. Since that's the case, I'll take my leave first."

"Go slowly, Brother Jiang. I'll introduce my Female Cousin to you sometime."

"No, no! I prefer pure love. Farewell, Brother Fang!"

Jiang Lin's Natal Flying Sword shot out from between his brows. After the miniature sword enlarged, he stepped onto it and flew straight to Black Tortoise Plaza.

At Black Tortoise Plaza, half of the five thousand qualified candidates had already arrived. Jiang Lin, wearing a false face, leaned against a wall.

As the crowd grew, his heart beat faster and faster. He kept a constant watch on the movements of the Dragon Gate Sect, ready to dodge at any moment. Even though he was wearing a fake face, he'd been recognized while crossdressing, let alone now that Senior Sister Lin was at the Nascent Soul Realm.

Before the hour of Si arrived, all qualified entrants for the Bewildering Secret Realm had gathered. Jiang Lin spotted Fang Chaoqun and his Female Cousin—the same clean-faced girl he'd Porcelain bumped with on the street—mixed in with other sects.

He even saw Chen Jia, who kept getting hit on and then punching people flying with one blow...

The Dragon Gate Sect arrived last. As soon as Lin Qingwan landed, her gaze began sweeping through the crowd. Jiang Lin quickly turned his back. Fortunately, Lin Qingwan was soon swarmed by some female fans.

At the hour of Si, the Black Tortoise City Female City Lord appeared on the city wall, her face veiled.

Though her features were hidden, her voluptuous figure made all the male cultivators swallow hard, while the Female Cultivators looked down at themselves and felt inferior...

"Welcome, everyone, to this Sect Grand Tournament." A crisp voice, as pleasant as silver bells, rang across the entire plaza. "Without further ado, you should all have received your Life-Saving Talismans yesterday. Finally, I wish you all a fruitful treasure hunt!"

"Thank you, City Lord!"

The crowd bowed and thanked in unison.

As the words faded, the twisted entrance to the secret realm suddenly opened in the air, like a spatial rift.

But just as everyone was about to fly toward the twisted gate, the system's voice—though it might be late—would never be absent...