I Will Find You!

At the referee's command.

Bai Chenxiang's opponent was an Assault System Soul Elder from the Breaking Clan, wielding a Soul Breaking Spear and radiating fierce momentum.

"Miss Chenxiang, be careful!"

Her opponent thrust his spear at her, the blow heavy and powerful.

However.

The instant his words fell—

Bai Chenxiang vanished.

Over the next minute, although the Soul Elder's attacks were imposing enough to make the air howl, he could not even touch the corner of Bai Chenxiang's clothes.

Although the Soul Elder's attacks were imposing enough to make the air howl, he could not even touch the corner of Bai Chenxiang's clothes.

Bai Chenxiang was like a butterfly dancing amid a raging gale. With Carefree Travel beneath her feet, her figure was ghostly.

Then, with a flicker, she instantly appeared behind her opponent.

One kick!

"Bang!"

The Soul Elder was sent flying straight off the arena and landed flat on his face.

The entire venue erupted in uproar!

The clan leaders and elders of the other three clans nearly popped their eyes out.

"Old White Bird! What's going on with your granddaughter?!"

"That speed... it's simply exquisite!"

Bai He sat atop the platform, stroking his beard as his grin spread from ear to ear.

"Hahaha! Keep it low-key! Low-key!"

In the matches that followed, Bai Chenxiang became the greatest dark horse in the entire competition.

Whether they were members of the younger generation from the Strength Clan or the Defense Clan—

Before Bai Chenxiang's Sharp-tailed Swallow speed, they could not even touch the hem of her clothes.

They could only throw punches at empty air in impotent fury before Bai Chenxiang seized the right moment and knocked them off the arena.

Then came the most interesting sight of all.

Whenever Bai Chenxiang won a match—

Rather than enjoying the cheers like everyone else, she would immediately stand on tiptoe atop the arena.

Her beautiful Big Eyes searched all around the corners of the Audience Seat, as though looking for someone.

When her gaze swept over a certain corner—

The proud, aloof little face instantly blossomed into a dazzlingly sweet smile.

That smile was like melting snow and blooming spring flowers.

"Holy crap... s-she smiled at me!"

In the Audience Seat, a Big Guy from the Strength Clan clutched his chest with a lovestruck expression.

"Bullshit! She was obviously smiling at me!" A youth from the Defense Clan beside him refused to back down.

"Does she like me? Sigh, this damn charm of mine."

These young men, just beginning to understand love, were all utterly captivated by Bai Chenxiang's smile and indulged in their own fantasies.

Little did they know—

In that inconspicuous corner—

A Vague Man leaned against a pillar, holding a Wine Gourd and taking intermittent sips.

Watching the spirited girl onstage, he lowered the Wine Gourd and gave a few soft claps.

Bai Chenxiang saw the gesture from the stage. Her smile became even sweeter, and she playfully winked in his direction.

This was an understanding shared only by the two of them.

The three-day competition's first day soon came to an end.

Bai Chenxiang had no time to deal with the youths from the three clans who crowded around to curry favor with her.

"Sorry, I have something urgent to do!"

"Huh? Chenxiang, where are you going?"

"There's a banquet tonight!"

She waved, greeted her Grandpa, then hurried out of the Arena like a happy little swallow.

Leaving behind only a group of heartbroken youths standing in the wind.

The scene shifted.

As evening deepened and Lanterns Lit, inside a quiet, elegant Tea House.

Bai Chenxiang tidied her slightly messy bangs.

Only then did she push open the half-closed Wooden Door and call out lightly, her heart full of joy:

"Brother! I'm here!"

The moment she saw the figure drinking by the Window Side, her eyes lit up and she rushed straight over.

"Brother! Did you see? I won every match today!"

At that moment, she was no proud genius girl.

She was like a Little Girl eagerly seeking praise from her Beloved.

The scene shifted again, and the night was enchanting.

Heaven Dou City's bustling Night Market was brightly lit, with vendors' cries rising one after another.

Bai Chenxiang held the Vague Man's hand as she excitedly weaved through the crowd.

She hugged the Vague Man's arm tightly, her exquisite little face brimming with a joyful smile.

"Brother! Look at that! That Sugar Figure is so pretty!"

"Wow! This hairpin is beautiful!"

For the first time in years, apart from Chaotic Wind Canyon with its constant wind and tedious training, the two of them were spending time together like normal people.

The Vague Man doted on her to the extreme.

As long as Bai Chenxiang's gaze lingered on something for more than three seconds, even if it was only a rattle drum, he would pay for it.

They passed a Clothing Shop.

Bai Chenxiang tried on a Light Cyan Flowing Immortal Skirt and spun before the mirror, her skirt fluttering.

But the Vague Man had already paid. He reached out to straighten her collar, his voice gentle.

"Keep it. I'm your brother."

"Consider these your reward for winning today's matches."

Bai Chenxiang blushed. No longer acting shy, she happily linked arms with him, practically hanging from his body.

The two sat at a small roadside stall and ate.

Bai Chenxiang held a skewer of Meatballs. She took a small bite herself, then stood on tiptoe and offered the rest to the Vague Man's mouth.

"Ah—this is super delicious!"

The Vague Man smiled and lowered his head to take a bite.

The sight was sweet enough to rot teeth.

Outside the scene.

The viewers who had originally been waiting for passionate battles now wore twisted expressions, as if someone had forcibly stuffed a pound of lemons into their mouths.

"Damn it!!"

"I came here to watch people fight, not to eat Dog Food!"

"Can someone cut this part out? My thirty years of Hand Speed can barely be restrained!"

"Is that a proper brother? He's clearly her Lover Brother!"

"Ugh... this sour stench of romance is making me sick... sob, sob..."

Heaven Dou Empire, Fasnuo Province, beneath the waterfall on Holy Soul Village's Back Mountain.

The massive waterfall thundered down, filling the air with mist.

A bearded middle-aged man reeking of sour filth lay slumped on a rock beside the pool.

It was Tang Hao.

Over the past two days, he had frantically searched every inch within dozens of miles of that cave, even digging three feet into the earth.

Yet Ah Yin seemed to have evaporated into thin air, without leaving behind even a single Root Tendril.

At this moment—

Tang Hao stared blankly at the warm, sweet scene displayed upon the Heavenly Curtain.

Once upon a time, he and Ah Yin had been like that too.

Back then, he had held Ah Yin's hand and traveled through the continent's flourishing cities and towns.

She would also force pastries she thought were delicious into his mouth, then foolishly smile as she watched him devour them.

But now... Ah Yin was gone.

"Ah Yin..."

Two streams of murky tears slid down Tang Hao's dust-covered cheeks.

When facing Spirit Hall back then, he had failed to protect Ah Yin and could only watch helplessly as she sacrificed herself.

Now, more than a decade had passed. He had thought that planting her in that sunless cave was protection.

Watching the Vague Man dote on Bai Chenxiang in the scene, Tang Hao found it unbearably glaring—and deeply ironic.

That man could protect someone properly and cherish her from childhood to adulthood.

What about himself?

He could not even protect his wife after she became grass!

"Aaaahhh!!"

Tang Hao abruptly sat up and smashed his fist viciously into the enormous boulder beside him.

"Bang!"

The boulder shattered into pieces. Fragments flew everywhere and cut Tang Hao's cheek, but he felt no pain at all.

"Ah Yin... I'm sorry..."

"I'm useless! I'm a failure!"

Tang Hao painfully clutched his hair as tears of regret mixed with the mud on his face and ran down.

"I will find you!"

"Even if I have to turn the entire continent upside down!"

But he knew that he now had to care for Xiao San, who had just entered the academy, while also searching everywhere for Ah Yin. He could not do both at once.

Tang Hao gritted his teeth and looked toward the distant horizon, in the direction of the Clear Sky Sect.

"Big Brother..."

Even if he had to return and be condemned by countless people, even if he had to kneel before the mountain gate and beg forgiveness—

For Ah Yin, he no longer cared about saving face!

"Whoosh!"

Tang Hao burst into motion, turning into an afterimage as he sped toward the Clear Sky Sect.