A wisp of golden incense burned in curling threads, its vast smoke gathering into a painting, recalling the glorious years of old.
Like a stone cast into a mirror-still lake, ripples rose and fell across the scene.
An Le could not help but feel somewhat curious. What past could this wisp of Flowing Gold Time Qi, drawn from that freebie girl, reveal? What kind of Time Dao Fruit could it condense?
That girl who had stood quietly behind him beneath the spring rain in the mountains, holding an umbrella, who had followed him up the three hundred stone steps of the green mountain without a word—Ye Wenxi of the Ye Family... Rumor had it that she was also a holder of a Minor Sacred Token, and An Le's competitor.
That was why An Le was curious.
Shearing a competitor's wool to strengthen himself—entirely reasonable.
Twilight clouds hung heavy, while pure snow like white feathers drifted down from the high heavens.
It carried icy cold and wrapped itself in chilling frost.
As it fell upon the boundless earth, it drank in fresh blood and turned scarlet—more dazzling than the bright moon, more blinding than the blazing sun.
"Wenxi, are you afraid?"
"I'm not."
"Where are the soldiers? Their blades are greased and whetted. Where are the people? Filling ditches and gullies. Though the rivers and mountains remain as before, a thousand villages lie desolate. As a child of the Ye Family, you must make crossing the river your lifelong aspiration. Cross that Canglang River, gallop across our homeland, and reclaim the Central Plains that belong to us."
"Wenxi understands!"
"Go. Go kill, go fight, go grow stronger. When you are strong enough, I will ascend the Sacred Mountain and seek a Minor Sacred Token for you. Then you may ask the Sacred Teacher whether the Ye Family's spears and swords can restore the Central Plains."
"Alright!"
The tranquil conversation, carrying surging blood and vigor, shattered the falling snow in the sky.
A man clad head to toe in armor stood quietly with a long spear held diagonally in his hand. He lowered his eyes to watch the still-young girl, like a fierce tiger watching a tiger cub's first hunt.
The childishness had not yet faded from Ye Wenxi's face. Dragging a blue longsword behind her, her gaze resolute, she stepped onto the bloodstained snow. Her small body cried out loudly as she jogged forward, sword scraping behind her, charging toward the slaughter ahead.
Lonely and slight.
Yet she was charging.
It was a military squad of twenty or thirty cultivators. Their blood and vigor intertwined like a curtain as they approached on foot, their eyes vicious, killing intent rolling forth as if it could sweep away the evening clouds overhead. The aura of clashing weapons and iron cavalry was suffocating.
After her initial fear, blood and vigor surged beneath the girl's skin, while her mind poured forth from her Niwan Palace.
The sword in her hand bloomed with countless flashes of sword light, flooding into the lead cultivator's body. A head soared into the air, and hot blood splashed over the snow, melting its coldness.
The remaining cultivators rushed forward and swallowed Ye Wenxi whole.
Battle, slaughter, unceasing growth.
Ye Wenxi seemed to enter a state of self-forgetfulness. Her eyes grew ever colder, until nothing remained within them but slaughter.
She had to grow stronger without end—strong enough to inherit the Ye Family's will, to shoulder the Ye Family's spears and swords, to let the hooves of the Ye Family's warhorses trample every inch of the Central Plains homeland they had once possessed!
The armored man watched in silence. At the right moments, his spear flicked out. Any powerful enemy who sought to intervene was pierced through out of thin air, their wails and roars staining the flying snow and yellow sands with blood.
One quarter-hour, then two.
Ye Wenxi panted heavily, leaning on her sword as she stood amid the snow.
Twenty-seven corpses lay fallen around her.
She lifted her head and looked back toward the armored man.
The scene drifted away here. The glorious years of the past could not be retained, and time would never return.
An Le had glimpsed the girl's splendor within time through the Time Qi, and his mind could not help but tremble in shock.
The scene within this wisp of Time Qi was entirely different from those An Le had observed before.
There was no sorrow of parting, no joy and merriment—only a little more tragedy and responsibility.
Through the scene, he seemed to stand upon the battlefield himself. He could feel the girl's stubbornness and the armored man's expectations.
An Le slowly opened his eyes. The night was deep and the chill sharp. The spring frost that had formed at midnight seemed to have condensed morning dew along the hems of his clothes.
His emotions could not settle for a long time. Watching Ye Wenxi draw her sword and kill had felt as though he were there in person, and it had greatly affected his state of mind.
But what astonished An Le even more was that such a soft and sweet girl had taken twenty-seven lives in just two quarter-hours.
That contrast made An Le feel Ye Wenxi's strength and extraordinary talent all the more keenly, leaving him increasingly vigilant.
Madam Hua had said Ye Wenxi was the true prodigy of the Ye Family's generation. She truly deserved the title. That kind of resolve was absolutely beyond comparison to Luo Qingchen's tofu-like Dao heart.
This girl would be his opponent on the Minor Saint Ranking...
As the deep night's spring chill swept in, An Le suddenly felt a measure of pressure.
Obtained Time Dao Fruit: Self-Forgetfulness Note: Self-Forgetfulness (Dao Fruit): Activates self-forgetfulness in battle, casting life and death aside, leaving only battle. Combat techniques, skills, and fighting spirit all receive a great boost, greatly increasing combat power.
A wisp of Flowing Gold Time Qi had condensed one Self-Forgetfulness Dao Fruit.
It was somewhat similar to the Fearless Heart Dao Fruit. Neither was a Dao Fruit that could be enhanced with Time Qi, but both were highly effective.
Fearless Heart allowed An Le to possess fearlessness. Before pressure, hardship, and perilous obstacles, he would fear nothing, cutting through thorns and brambles as he pressed onward. He could even receive feedback from the Dao Fruit.
The Self-Forgetfulness Dao Fruit, meanwhile, was used for battle and slaughter. Once self-forgetfulness was triggered in combat, his fighting strength would rise dramatically.
It was a wondrous state. An Le recalled the scene within the Time Qi, of Ye Wenxi charging alone and falling into self-forgetfulness amid slaughter, killing all twenty-seven Enemy Army cultivators.
It counted as an unexpected gain. Such a Dao Fruit might not be useful in ordinary times, but it could perhaps produce miraculous results.
The night deepened, and before he knew it, dawn had arrived. A pale fish-belly white appeared along the horizon.
An Le did not choose to cultivate again. He rose and entered the room, took out his books, lit a lamp, and began to read.
The other condition for meeting the Sacred Teacher was that he had to place first in the imperial examinations in one stroke!
With the Spring Imperial Examination fast approaching, he had to read every day.
Prime Minister Qin's Manor.
Winding corridors and flowing waters traced through the gardens. Though the night was deep, people still sat conversing within a waterside pavilion.
Young Master Qin, Qin Qianqiu, sat in the pavilion. Before him was not tea, but Penglai Spring, a fine wine of Lin'an Prefecture that could not be bought even with a thousand gold coins. Brewed from spiritual fruits of heaven and earth, it could draw spiritual energy into one's body and slightly improve cultivation.
Across from Qin Qianqiu sat Luo Qingchen in silence. His cup was filled to the brim, yet he had not taken a single sip.
The atmosphere in the pavilion was somewhat stiff.
That was because Qin Qianqiu kept drinking, his attitude indifferent as he said little.
He had once placed immense expectations on Luo Qingchen entering Sixth Mountain as its Mountain Guardian. But when those expectations shattered into pieces, all that remained was irritation and disappointment.
Luo Qingchen could naturally sense the atmosphere, yet he said little. He was not qualified to explain himself either.
"Mr. Luo, that An Le... He came from Chong Prefecture and has cultivated for barely a few days since his initiation, yet he was able to overpower you, ascend Sixth Mountain, obtain a Minor Sacred Token, and even cause your Dao heart to be veiled in dust once more."
"Mr. Luo, generation after generation, talents emerge from the land. Your peerless brilliance of old is gone now. Like chrysanthemums beaten by frost, you show nothing but decay."
Qin Qianqiu sighed. "Thinking back, when you came from Qingzhou, you shone like gold washed clean of dust. With one man and one sword, you came to Lin'an and won two battles. What boundless springtime pride you had."
"This An Le resembles the Mr. Luo of old so much."
"But he has a greater future than you. He obtained a Minor Sacred Token, and his paintings are even praised and circulated within the Literature Academy. He has founded the Ink Bamboo school all on his own."
"It is truly a pity, a lamentable pity, that such a talent cannot be drawn into my fold."
Qin Qianqiu seemed troubled as he suddenly drained a cup of wine.
Luo Qingchen turned to look upon the flourishing waterside pavilions of Prime Minister Qin's Manor, and his expression became much calmer.
Though Qin Qianqiu's words struck at him again and again, he received them calmly. Perhaps he had suffered so many blows that he had grown accustomed to them.
"Qingchen has failed Prime Minister Qin's many years of cultivation and resources."
At last, Luo Qingchen raised his cup, took a sip, and spoke softly.
Qin Qianqiu's gaze fell upon Luo Qingchen. Moonlight seemed reflected in his pupils, making them appear somewhat cold. "Mr. Luo, this newcomer to the Minor Saint Ranking has deep ties to Lin Manor. Qin Manor and Lin Manor are locked in a fight to the death. It would be best if he can enter Qin Manor. If he cannot..."
Killing intent suddenly swept through the waterside pavilion.
At first, Qin Qianqiu had not cared. He had merely regarded An Le as a useless fool who had only begun cultivation at eighteen. Yet within a few short days, the youth had emerged into prominence, seized a Minor Sacred Token, and now received his utmost attention.
Such a change had occurred in merely a few days.
Luo Qingchen drank calmly.
"If he cannot enter Qin Manor, then I ask Mr. Luo to kill him." Qin Qianqiu looked at Luo Qingchen, warmth finally surging into his expression again.
Luo Qingchen looked at Qin Qianqiu.
To kill a favored youth who had just obtained a Minor Sacred Token, who was valued by Hua Jiebing and gifted a sword by the Sixth Mountain Lord—was Qin Qianqiu asking Luo Qingchen to throw away his life, to trade one life for An Le's?
"Young Master Qin, Qingchen's Dao heart is veiled in dust and requires quiet rest to cleanse itself. Seek someone else for this matter."
Luo Qingchen shook his head, rose to his feet, cupped his hands in farewell, and turned to leave.
Qin Qianqiu remained seated in the pavilion, staring at Luo Qingchen's retreating back. "Mr. Luo, never mind that East Sea Heart Cleansing Pearl. The wealth, honor, and cultivation resources Qin Manor has given you over these years alone should warrant some display of repayment, should they not?"
Luo Qingchen's back paused slightly. Then he broke through the clear, cold night and left Qin Manor.
After drinking a cup of Penglai Spring that reflected the moonlight, Qin Qianqiu suddenly gave a soft, scornful laugh.
The warmth of dawn scattered the faint chill of spring.
Yet all of Lin'an Prefecture began to stir with restless agitation.
Yesterday, beneath Sixth Mountain, the white-robed youth had climbed alone with sword in hand. Beneath the peach tree, he had plucked a sword named Ink Pool. Every cultivator who had watched the youth obtain his sword sent people to gather every scrap of information about him.
He had begun cultivating at eighteen, and in only a few days had achieved Spirit Refinement Fetal Respiration and Body Forging Spirit Bone. A late-blooming great talent!
He was also a Juren scholar of this year, having entered Lin'an to sit for the Spring Imperial Examination.
What shocked people even more were the youth's paintings. His strange and marvelous Sketch Portrait had won Lin Manor's attention, making him a painter of Lin Manor. Then his Ink Wash Bamboo and Stone Painting began circulating within the Literature Academy.
That Ink Bamboo painting received the admiration and praise of two masters from the Literature Academy, who personally shared and analyzed it.
They declared that it could establish the Ink Bamboo school and called him a great master!
One painting, one sword, one youth—astonishing half of Lin'an.
That day, copies of the Ink Bamboo painting made in the Literature Academy were in short supply. It spread widely from hand to hand, stirring all of Lin'an's scholars and men of letters.
That day, Great Master An's name swept across the city like a hurricane!
That day, An Le rose early and, as usual, read while heading toward West Lake to watch that Flower Queen.
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