At the Chen Family's side residence, at the Martial Arts Training Ground...
###
Wave after wave of fist wind shook the Martial Arts Training Ground. Inside, two women dressed in palace robes were trading punches.
###
The two women looked seventy to eighty percent alike, like biological sisters. Their fist intent flowed wildly around them, as though the moment they threw a punch, even the sky itself would be smashed open.
###
"Bang, bang, bang..."
###
One punch after another, both sides met each other's small fists head-on.
###
A Martial Warrior's sparring was not limited to fists. Kicks, Inch Punches, and palm thrusts were mixed in as well.
###
Every kick they threw stirred their beautiful, elegant palace robes. Unfortunately, the skirts were too long... each flash of leg vanished in an instant.
###
Even so, their exchanged punches carried a beauty unique to women amid the hard-edged force. Watching them practice their fists was practically a feast for the eyes.
###
"Ha!"
###
A girl who looked younger and more childish let out a delicate shout. Her little fist clenched tight, and she smashed it toward her mother's chest with the momentum of a dragon and tiger.
###
The girl's mother merely tilted her head slightly, looking almost adorably dazed, and casually deflected the girl's fist with the back of her fair hand. Then, with her other hand, she punched toward the girl's forehead.
###
Just as the fist was about to touch the girl's brow, both sides stopped. The girl closed her eyes as well.
###
"Ow... that hurt..."
###
The woman, who looked like she was in the bloom of youth yet was already a mother, flicked her daughter's forehead...
###
With a soft sigh, the woman took a handkerchief from her bosom and gently wiped the sweat from her daughter's brow. "Little Jia, tell Mother. What is the key to the Shattering God Fist?"
###
Pure and adorable, though as flat as a board, the girl—whose entire body below the neck seemed to consist of legs—lowered her eyes dejectedly and answered gloomily, "Even when facing an ancient god, the heart must remain on the fist, and only stop once the spirit is shattered."
###
The woman smiled gently and smoothed her daughter's slightly mussed long hair. "Then, was Little Jia's heart just now only on her fists?"
###
"No..." Chen Jia turned her head and replied softly...
###
"Then whose body was it on? Jiang Lin's?"
###
Hearing her mother's words, the girl's little face flushed slightly...
###
Mother Chen took her daughter's hand:
###
"Little Jia, Mother doesn't oppose you meeting Jiang Lin. Although that fellow has stolen girls' undergarments, sometimes gone around pretending to be injured for compensation, and recently even become Wutong Province's newest Flower-Picking Thief, Mother knows that his true nature is... um... well... probably not bad."
###
"Then why won't you..."
###
"Won't let you go help him?"
###
Looking at her daughter's pouting little mouth, Mother Chen smiled and pulled her into her arms, gently scraping the girl's pert nose with a finger.
###
"Little Jia, Jiang Lin is a man too. If a girl is too proactive, she'll get eaten up without a scrap left. Besides, even if I let you go over, what could you do? Fight in Jiang Lin's place? Where would that leave his pride?"
###
"That fellow doesn't care about pride."
###
In her mother's arms, the girl spoke gloomily, though her emotions had already settled considerably.
###
"All right, all right, don't be angry. Their match is over now, so you can go see that brat Jiang Lin. He's probably unbearably pleased with himself by now."
###
"It's already over. What would I go for? That idiot doesn't even remember me anymore."
###
"Eh? You really aren't going? But Mother heard that Jiang Lin bet on himself to win every match this time and made quite a bit of money. Tonight, he's even going to climb the Adult's Stairway at Spring Breeze Pavilion."
###
"The Adult's Stairway?"
###
In her mother's arms, the girl blinked her innocent, large eyes and stared at her mother with adorable confusion.
###
"The Adult's Stairway is, well..."
###
Mother Chen whispered into her daughter's ear. As she spoke, the girl's fair, collagen-filled little face gradually reddened, the flush spreading all the way to the roots of her ears.
###
"Mother, Little Jia... Little Jia is going back to her room to sleep..."
###
The girl quickly rose from her mother's arms, loosened her skirt sash, and hurried out of the Martial Arts Training Ground.
###
"Sigh... wife, you spoil Little Jia too much. Jiang Lin clearly isn't a good person. How can you let Little Jia associate with that fellow? Anyway, I refuse to allow it. If that brat Jiang Lin wants to marry my daughter, he'll have to get past my fists first."
###
After Chen Jia ran off, a middle-aged man slowly walked over.
###
"That's right. Jiang Lin really isn't a good person."
###
Mother Chen, whose youthful appearance had remained unchanged, smiled and turned around. At some point, she had a peony-patterned undergarment clutched in her hand.
###
"Her father, can you explain this peony undergarment?"
###
###
"Wife, relax. Everything's fine."
###
At an inn in a town belonging to the Sun Moon Sect, the Dragon Gate Sect Old Ancestor was using Mirror Flower Water Moon to make a video call with his wife.
###
"With my guidance, that brat Jiang Lin battled through five passes and slew six generals. Those old men were getting anxious—when the young ones couldn't win, they wanted the old ones to take the field. But guess what happened? I just stood there, and my kingly aura burst forth! They all cowered. Wife, you can rest easy. Just read the Wutong Province Daily tomorrow and you'll know. Remember to tell that little Qingwan girl not to worry."
###
"When are you coming back? Well... that's rather difficult. After all, that brat Jiang Lin insisted on dragging me out for a meal and having me stay a few more days. It wouldn't be right to refuse, would it..."
###
"What are you saying, wife? I absolutely am not studying foreign languages, absolutely not! Mm! I swear! Look, aren't I at an inn? I'm waiting for that brat Jiang Lin. You can put your mind completely at ease. You're so beautiful—how could I study foreign languages outside? My feelings for you are definitely..."
###
"Knock knock knock..."
###
Before the Dragon Gate Sect Old Ancestor could finish, a series of knocks came from outside the door. Immediately afterward came a coquettish female voice, as though it had absorbed a sponge full of water, so that it could be wrung out at any moment:
###
"Dear guest, the 'Sun Moon Sect Dialect Special Package' you ordered has arrived! Hurry up and open the door..."
###
###
"Who goes there!"
###
Outside the Sect Protecting Formation of the Sun Moon Sect, two men on duty stopped a woman wearing a veil-hat. Her figure, however, was exquisitely graceful.
###
"I have come to your esteemed sect without any intention of offending. I heard that the Western Six Sects of Wutong Province are challenging your sect's Jiang Lin. May I ask when it will begin?"
###
The two men on duty looked at the woman, then exchanged a glance. They immediately understood: Jiang Lin had incurred another romantic debt outside.
###
"Oh... miss, rest assured. Brother Jiang is perfectly fine. He's currently doing something important at Twin Pearl Peak. However, Brother Jiang is holding a victory banquet tonight. If you don't mind..."
###
The other man drove an elbow into him. "What banquet? This fellow's drunk. Miss, please don't take him seriously."
###
"Since he's safe, that is all that matters. Thank you both very much for telling me." The veiled woman tossed each of them a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone. "And please don't tell him that I came..."
###
With that, the veiled woman turned and left on her sword.
###
"For Jiang Lin, you forcibly broke through my restraints. Why aren't you going to see him now?" the girl's Sword Spirit asked softly as she flew into the distance.
###
"Since he's all right, that's enough." Beneath the veil, the girl, whose injuries had not yet healed, smiled gently.
###
"Sigh, you..."
###
The Sword Spirit let out a soft sigh...
###
Meanwhile, watching the slender and slightly forlorn back of the girl rapidly flying away, one of the men couldn't help shaking his head. "Why did you elbow me just now? I was only inviting that young lady on Brother Jiang's behalf."
###
"Inviting your ass!" The other man smacked him on the head. "Do you want Brother Jiang to get cut down by a Vegetable Knife tonight?"
###
"...That does sound rather reasonable... But what is Brother Jiang doing right now?"
###
"Who knows? I heard he was doing something major... Maybe he's healing his injuries."
###
###
At the same time, atop Twin Pearl Peak, screams like a slaughtered pig rang out...
Before you continue