"Oh Da Oh Da Oh Da..."

"Come on, my juniors, start running from the poison! Fight for my power!"

The enormous dragon soul drifting in the sky dispersed, and the immense pressure vanished in an instant, while Jiang Lin and the others were still in a daze.

"Shrinking circle? Running from the poison? Did this ancient dragon soul transmigrate over here? Damn. An old-timer, huh..." Jiang Lin's heart jolted, feeling a kind of fellow-villager-meets-fellow-villager vibe.

"In one hour, the first shrinking circle will occur. All cultivators, please prepare. Flight is forbidden during this secret realm trial. Additionally, for the sake of fairness, all cultivators in the secret realm will soon be randomly teleported to the outermost edge of the realm, the border of the poison zone."

Without giving anyone time to process, a booming voice echoed throughout the Bewildering Secret Realm.

In an instant, with a bang, Jiang Lin and the others felt their bodies grow heavy and plummeted straight to the ground.

"Ah..."

"Ouch..."

"Damn."

Jiang Lin landed first, then Lin Qingwan and Cai Xie landed on top of him, one after the other. He nearly felt his waist snap clean in two.

"Young Master Jiang, what do we do now?"

"Jiang Lin, follow me. As long as I'm here, no one dares touch a single hair on your head!"

"Can you two... get off me first?"

Just as the three of them scrambled to their feet, rapid footsteps approached from not far away. They all focused their minds, standing back-to-back.

In this secret realm, no matter what your cultivation level was, everyone was equal now—everyone was at Early Cave Mansion Realm. Even if Jiang Lin and his group were stronger than others at the same stage, facing a siege would still be a pain.

Just as Jiang Lin and Lin Qingwan gripped their Natal Flying Swords to face the enemy, suddenly, the world spun. Jiang Lin's vision blurred.

He blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, he realized he was no longer where he had been. Instead, he was in a strange forest.

"Miss Cai Xie? Senior Sister Lin?"

He looked around. Aside from a small wooden house, there was no one. It seemed he had been teleported.

Sitting on the steps of the small wooden house, Jiang Lin laid his sword across his lap, wondering if he should just Disassembly by Force and leave this place of trouble. After all, barring any surprises, Senior Sister would definitely take first place. She was the protagonist, after all—she had buffs.

And it seemed Senior Sister had already resolved her inner conflict, so she probably wouldn't come after him anymore. By contrast, if the system got involved, that would be the real trouble.

But on second thought, even if he couldn't get first place, lying low and scavenging supplies wasn't bad either. If he got lucky, he might even be able to fulfill Twin Pearl Peak's performance targets for the year after next.

And what if Senior Sister still hated him?

What if he fought his way into the Final Circle and helped her defeat the others?

Sure, with her protagonist halo, she could probably get the Dragon Soul even without his help. But still, this was a chance to do her a favor! That way, no matter what, she wouldn't come looking for him at Twin Pearl Peak, right?!

"Hehehe..."

Grinning foolishly, Jiang Lin imagined himself standing tall and protecting Senior Sister in the final battle, then wiped the drool from his mouth.

Time to get to work!

Jiang Lin made up his mind! Everyone except Senior Sister was his enemy! Anyone who dared to stand in her way was as good as a murderer of his parents!

He stood up, full of confidence. The first priority was to sneak into the Final Circle and reunite with Senior Sister!

To win the chicken, you first have to hide!

He glanced back at the wooden house. It looked pretty good. He'd just hole up here for now and move when the circle shrank.

With a rough plan in mind, just as Jiang Lin was about to step into the house to rest, a massive bear came flying through the air...

"Boom..."

The huge black bear crashed into the small wooden house, smashing it to pieces. Wood chips flew and landed in Jiang Lin's hair...

"ROAR!!!"

The gray bear climbed to its feet and roared at Jiang Lin!

Just as Jiang Lin turned to face the gray bear, a figure burst out from the bushes.

A gust of wind swept past Jiang Lin's ear. Before he could react, the figure had already charged at the big black bear.

"Ula Ula Ula..."

"Ora ora ora ora..."

The slender figure before him was fighting the bear barehanded, growing fiercer with each blow, as if completely immersed in the martial arts!

"Boom..."

Finally, the black bear's eyes rolled white, and it collapsed to the ground...

"Little Lin... where are you... Little Linlin... Little Linlin..."

On a cliff, Jiang Yuni, who had taken the name Cai Xie, shouted loudly. But no one heard her.

Half an hour later, the girl was finally tired of shouting. She sat on the cliff, hugging her knees and letting the cool wind blow, pouting.

"No! I have to find Little Linlin!"

Dragon Soul, opportunity—I don't want any of that. Little Linlin is about to turn eighteen soon. All I want is to appear before him on his birthday night, looking my most beautiful, to give him a surprise, and then practice "Sun Moon Dual Cultivation" together with him!

Gripping the Sun Moon Sect's secret formula in her hand—Spring Breeze Leaves No Trace—the girl stood up and walked down the mountain, resolutely descending its slopes.

"Xueli, are you all right?"

"I'm fine... Elder Sister Sword Spirit..."

Walking along the stream, the girl hurried toward her destination, but her mind kept wandering.

The sword spirit within her body could not help but let out a soft sigh.

Ever since that man had risked his life to save her that night, this little lass had secretly developed a fondness for him.

Especially after being kissed—though Xueli was furious in her heart, it was a fury born of shyness.

Perhaps Xueli herself hadn't realized it, but lately she had been training more diligently. Deep in her subconscious, she felt that after avenging her sect, she would go find that man.

But what she never expected was that when that person tore off his disguise before the gates of the Bewildering Secret Realm, it turned out to be Jiang Lin! That Flower-Picking Thief, Jiang Lin!

And that Jiang Lin, at the moment of his death, had confessed his feelings to Lin Qingwan of the Dragon Gate Sect.

In the end, Lin Qingwan and another girl had even rescued him from the crowd and entered the secret realm together.

Since ancient times, the word "love" has wounded the deepest.

All one could say was that this little lass hadn't fallen too deeply—but even so, it would probably take a while for her to recover her peace of mind.

"Xueli, actually, that Jiang Lin..."

"Elder Sister Sword Spirit, there's no need to mention him anymore! He saved my life, but he also took liberties with me. We're even now. From this day on, he and I have no connection. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"Just that I want to see him one more time! To ask him what was in his heart when he saved me that night... and what was in his heart when he took liberties with me!"

Clutching the sword sheath in her hand, the girl in the bamboo hat lifted her head and gazed deeply into the distance...