That was her?!
Xu Nianxue recognized Lin Qingyan at a glance, and waves of emotion surged through her heart.
Miss Xu was deeply grateful to the Female Centurion who had come to her aid the previous night.
She had planned to find an opportunity to befriend her before she left and expand her network.
But she never expected they would meet again in such an awkward situation.
"Hello."
Lin Qingyan gave a polite, slight nod.
Her gaze swept over Xu Nianxue's figure and features, which were in no way inferior to her own. Her brows knit faintly before she turned to look at Gu Cheng.
A rare flicker of emotion crossed her usually cool, placid eyes.
"She's a friend of mine from Yunzhou City. She's staying here while she recovers from an injury, and she's been freeloading meals for a few days, that's all."
Gu Cheng instantly understood the meaning in Lin Qingyan's eyes. He explained softly, then gave Xu Nianxue a "kind" glare.
He'd finally realized that Miss Xu's personality was just like a husky's.
For a while, she'd had the task of copying a manual to keep her occupied, so naturally, she'd behaved herself and followed instructions.
But the moment he stopped keeping her busy, she was back to stirring up trouble...
Gu Cheng unceremoniously sent the flighty young lady back to her room.
Then he led Lin Qingyan to the central hall and brewed a pot of hot tea.
They sat facing each other, saying nothing.
They had worked together for many days on Black Wind Mountain, but back then, they'd been on official business. This was their first time meeting privately like this.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the room felt a little strange.
"Lady Lin, what brings you here?"
Gu Cheng broke the silence first and poured her a cup of hot tea.
"Just call me Qingyan."
Lin Qingyan watched the wisps of steam curling up from her teacup, her voice as calm as still water.
"I came to thank you in person for saving me last night, and for avenging my father's murder earlier."
"..."
Gu Cheng's hand trembled slightly as he poured the tea.
He looked up at Lin Qingyan, a flash of surprise crossing his dark eyes.
Gu Cheng had thought he'd disguised himself quite well.
With the concealment of his secret art, Fox Shadow Traces, and his Spirit Refinement cultivation at the Ninth Level of the Mortal Breaking Realm, even a high-level Spirit Refinement Cultivator like Xu Nianxue, who was in the Mortal Breaking Realm, couldn't detect a single flaw.
Yet Lin Qingyan had seen right through his disguise.
But after a brief moment of surprise, he quickly composed himself.
"It was nothing. No need to thank me."
Gu Cheng calmly slid the teacup toward her, then asked, "There's something else I'm curious about. How did you figure it out?"
"..."
Lin Qingyan pressed her lips together and lowered her eyes, but didn't answer.
Seeing this, Gu Cheng understood. He nodded and didn't press her further.
They both had great secrets of their own. Digging too deeply into certain things would only spoil the tacit understanding between them.
"Gu Cheng, I heard you're about to head to Tianshui City to take the headquarters' examination?"
Lin Qingyan took a flawless white jade pendant from her robes and set it on the wooden table, gently pushing it toward him.
"I prepared a little 'gift' for you. Think of it as a parting present."
"Mm. Thank you."
Gu Cheng smiled and thanked her.
He picked up the jade pendant and examined it closely. Four small engraved characters were etched into its surface.
The characters coiled like swimming dragons, their strokes intricate and complex. He studied them for quite some time, but still couldn't make out what they meant.
A faint ripple of spiritual sense came from the pendant.
Unless Gu Cheng's spiritual sense had been tempered many times over, giving it strength far beyond that of cultivators at the same level, he might not have noticed the subtle anomaly.
"Is this a magical artifact?"
Gu Cheng was deeply curious.
He immediately held his breath and focused, pouring his spiritual sense into it.
In the next instant, he sensed an immense flood of written information from the pendant.
There was so much of it that it was several times more than the Crimson Palace Heavenly Thunder Incantation Xu Nianxue had spent nearly a month copying!
At the same time, a new prompt appeared on the system panel in Gu Cheng's mind:
Innate (Rare) · Four Spirits True Intent: Not Initiated
A rare technique of the Innate Realm!
Was this the "little gift" she'd mentioned?
Gu Cheng's breath caught. The jade, cool when he'd first picked it up, suddenly felt scorching in his palm.
"My master told me this is an extremely powerful Spirit Refinement technique for the Innate Realm. In terms of power and effects, it even surpasses ordinary Spirit Sea Realm techniques!"
Lin Qingyan noticed the change in Gu Cheng's expression. She smiled gently and explained in a soft voice:
"But its requirements are just as demanding.
"You need Spirit Refinement cultivation at the Ninth Level of the Innate Stage. On top of that, your Body Refinement cultivation must also have reached the Innate Realm."
"But for an unrivaled genius like you, that shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"..."
Gu Cheng silently rubbed the white jade pendant in his hand.
This Innate Realm technique was downright bizarre.
Warriors with the aptitude for Spirit Refinement were already one in ten thousand. Those who could cultivate all the way to the Innate Realm as Spirit Refinement cultivators were rarer still.
And yet the requirements for this Innate Realm technique called for someone who had mastered both Body Refinement and Spirit Refinement!
Such demanding prerequisites.
The Four Spirits True Intent was practically a top-tier technique tailor-made for a peerless genius who appeared once in a thousand years!
This technique might be too much even for a genius, but it's just right for a cheat like me.
Just as Gu Cheng's thoughts raced and he longed to pour all his remaining lifespan into mastering it on the spot, Lin Qingyan drained her tea and slowly rose to her feet.
"All right, I have other things to do, so I won't keep you from studying the manual."
"Gu Cheng, I hope that the next time we meet, you'll have reached a new peak in strength!"
With that, the cool, alluring woman nodded to him and left.
"..."
As her graceful figure disappeared from sight, Gu Cheng slowly withdrew his gaze, his mind clouded with questions.
A powerful Innate Realm technique like that had almost certainly come from Lin Qingyan's mysterious master.
Which raised the question.
Where had she found such a mysterious master, one with such deep reserves?
"Good grief—if this were a webnovel, wouldn't that mean she got Xiao Huohuo's script and found an old lady living in a ring?"
Gu Cheng chuckled and shook his head, amused by his own bizarre idea.
If that really were the case...
Wouldn't he, her fiancé in name, have to break off the engagement with Lin Qingyan right away to help her out?
Meanwhile, a certain "old lady" was speaking to her beloved disciple in secret.
"Yan'er, so that's why you suddenly asked me for that technique. You wanted to win over your little sweetheart, huh~"
"A drop of water should be repaid with a gushing spring."
Lin Qingyan strolled down the street, golden flames flickering faintly in her eyes.
"He saved me once and helped me avenge my father. Of course I should thank him properly."
"Thank him? Hmph. That's a pretty half-hearted way of showing gratitude, isn't it?"
Her mysterious master gave a soft snort, her tone full of disdain.
"If it were me, I'd have offered myself to him already. You two are betrothed from birth, after all. It would be perfectly proper."
"And with that boy's talent, looks, and character, he's naturally a good match for you. If the two of you got together, your children would be dragons among men!"
"..."
Lin Qingyan fell silent, a faint blush spreading across her fair cheeks.
Her master was wonderful in every way, and never put on airs as a powerful cultivator. It was just that she could be a little too playful at times.
"Don't think I'm talking nonsense. A talented young man like him is bound to have no shortage of girls around him.
"That little minx staying at his house while she recovers is proof enough!
"If you don't hurry up and win him over, you'll regret it someday..."
"Master, didn't you say before that I had three years to catch up to him? What do you have planned for me next?"
Lin Qingyan was starting to lose her composure, so she hurriedly changed the subject.
"Plans..."
Her mysterious master pondered for a moment, then declared, "Given the current situation in Yunzhou, the next few years probably won't be peaceful. You'd better leave soon and head to Yuzhou."
"Yuzhou?" Lin Qingyan froze.
Of the Great Yan Dynasty's nine provinces, Yuzhou lay right at their center. It was also where the Great Yan capital was located.
"Master, why do we have to go to Yuzhou?"
Lin Qingyan was baffled. That was a very long way to travel.
"Yan'er, I've told you before: in this world, inheritance matters far more than aptitude."
Her mysterious master gave her a solemn reminder:
"And the inheritance I've chosen for you happens to be right in the capital of the Great Yan Dynasty—Yujing City!"
Before you continue