Never Absent

At the crack of dawn, a rooster from some household announced the morning.

There was no city noise, no exhaust fumes from cars. The slightly damp air was exceptionally fresh, and the dewdrops on the blades of grass hung there without falling.

Sitting in the courtyard, Jiang Lin looked at the newspapers he had just bought from the newsboy. Among them were the Black Tortoise City Official Daily, the Black Tortoise City Penguin Highlights Department's paper, the NG Department's paper, and others.

Every paper was filled with descriptions of Lin Qingwan's heroic display with her Nascent Soul Sword Strike.

Some newspapers had even begun speculating whether Lin Qingwan would squeeze into second or third place on the next Rising Tides List.

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

As for the first place on the Rising Tides List... to be honest, Jiang Lin had only heard of him and had never seen him. Even what he had heard amounted to little more than vague rumors.

Such as: Millennium Number One (an absolute genius!), Cannot Tell if Male or Female (gender unknown), decisive and ruthless (his attacks were brutally harsh), and so on. In any case, he was ridiculously awesome.

Jiang Lin gazed somewhat dejectedly at the setting sun on the horizon.

The system had said that Senior Sister Lin would break through during actual combat, come to hate the Demon Sect, and finally kill him countless times before scattering his ashes and ascending. So what about now?

Senior Sister Lin had inexplicably untied the knot in her heart and even broken through two realms in succession. By rights, she should have already deviated from the system's prophecy, so why did he still keep feeling uneasy?

Moreover, the system's prophecy only gave a prediction once, then washed its hands of everything. Even if circumstances changed, it would not issue another prediction. Jiang Lin had no idea whether the prophecy still counted.

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

Yesterday, more than a hundred thousand cultivators had taken the qualification test, and five thousand had passed. Jiang Lin and Fang Chaoqun had both made it through. In another hour, the Bewildering Secret Realm would open.

Jiang Lin did not hold out much hope for the Bewildering Secret Realm's special products. After all, Senior Sister Lin was the protagonist, and treasures would basically stick themselves to her. He would be content with picking up a few scraps along the roadside.

Making use of his free time, Jiang Lin practiced Return My Beauty Fist in the courtyard according to the manual, though he was only practicing the forms. It could not really be considered genuine boxing practice, since he had not even entered the Martial Warrior path yet.

"Brother Jiang, those boxing forms of yours look rather refined."

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

"Brother Fang knows boxing?"

Jiang Lin put away his forms and looked at Fang Chaoqun, who had just gotten out of bed, somewhat surprised. In his impression, Fang Chaoqun was a cultivator in the same Cave Mansion Realm as himself.

"Hahaha, to be honest, Brother Jiang, although my cultivation talent can't compare with yours and I've been stuck in the Cave Mansion Realm for many years, I'm also a Martial Warrior Fourth Realm. I learned a little boxing, but I couldn't stand the hardship and gave it up. I've never seen your boxing before. Does it have a name?"

"Return My Beauty Fist."

"Huh?"

"To be honest, Brother Fang, this fist technique is called Return My Beauty Fist. It was created by a talented scholar named Tang Bohu. Its movements are like the wind, emphasizing speed as fast as lightning. Although people say not to hit someone in the face, Return My Beauty Fist specializes in striking the opponent's face. It also has the effects of beautifying the face and detoxifying the body."

"...Please forgive my foolishness, but does this fist technique... have any offensive power?"

"No..." Jiang Lin answered with extreme decisiveness, so decisively that Fang Chaoqun did not know what to say.

But that was simply the truth. Return My Beauty Fist truly had not the slightest offensive power. The manual explicitly said, "beautifies the face and detoxifies the body." Once cultivated to its peak, it could even perform plastic surgery...

"There is actually such a fist technique in this world... Brother Jiang... why do you practice it?"

"Alas, having more skills never weighs you down. If I can't make a living later, opening a beauty salon or something would be pretty good too."

"A beauty salon?"

"Ahem, it's a kind of shop from my hometown. Enough about that. It's getting late, Brother Fang. Let's go to Black Tortoise Plaza."

"Sorry, Brother Jiang, but I'm afraid I can't travel with you this time. My cousin is undercover in a sect, sowing discord among them."

"Hm?"

"It's like this. The sect's Senior Brother likes the Third Junior Sister, but the Third Junior Sister likes the Second Senior Sister. The Second Senior Sister likes the Fourth Junior Brother, but the Fourth Junior Brother likes the Senior Brother. My cousin plays an extremely important role in the middle of it all—she even made the Third Junior Sister fall for her."

"..."

"When the time comes, I'll enter the fray as her male cousin and coordinate with her, throwing their dao hearts into chaos. Then my cousin and I can raise our performance to the next level. So, Brother Jiang, I'm truly sorry."

"It's fine, it's fine."

Jiang Lin's head hurt just listening to him.

"Actually, I have things of my own to take care of as well. Even if I enter the Bewildering Secret Realm, I'll 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 head out first."

"Take care, Brother Jiang. I'll introduce you to my younger sister later."

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

Jiang Lin's natal flying sword shot out from between his brows. After the tiny sword expanded, Jiang Lin stepped onto it and flew straight to Black Tortoise Plaza.

Half of the five thousand qualifiers had already arrived at Black Tortoise Plaza. Jiang Lin, wearing a false face, leaned against the wall.

As more and more people arrived, Jiang Lin's heart beat faster and faster. He kept a close eye on Dragon Gate Sect's movements so he could dodge away at any moment. Although he was wearing a fake face, even his disguise as a woman had been recognized, let alone by Senior Sister Lin, who had already reached the Nascent Soul Realm.

Before the Si hour had ended, everyone qualified to enter the Bewildering Secret Realm had arrived. Jiang Lin also spotted Fang Chaoqun and her cousin mixed in with another sect—the pretty girl who had joined them in staging that collision scam in the street.

Jiang Lin even saw Chen Jia, who was constantly being approached by people, only to punch them flying every time...

Dragon Gate Sect arrived last. The moment Lin Qingwan landed, her gaze began sweeping across the crowd. Jiang Lin hurriedly turned his back. Fortunately, Lin Qingwan was soon surrounded by a group of female fans.

As soon as the Si hour arrived, the Black Tortoise City Female City Lord appeared atop the city tower, a veil covering her head.

Although no one could see her face, her full and graceful figure made every male cultivator swallow hard. The female cultivators looked down at themselves, then ended up feeling inferior...

"Welcome, everyone, to this Sect Grand Tournament." A crisp, melodious voice like silver bells spread across the entire plaza. "I won't say much. Yesterday, you should all have received your Life-Saving Talismans. Finally, I hope you return from your treasure hunt with full loads!"

"Thank you, City Lord!"

Everyone bowed and voiced their thanks in unison.

The moment she finished speaking, a distorted Secret Realm gate abruptly opened in the air, like a door to a warped dimension.

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