It wasn't long after Gu Qing left the woods that a familiar figure appeared on the dirt road ahead.
Qian Renxue came running toward him, panting hard. Even her steps, usually so graceful, had grown unsteady.
Her cloak whipped wildly in the night wind.
When she saw Gu Qing walking toward her, Qian Renxue came to an abrupt stop.
By the faint moonlight, she looked him up and down several times.
Only after confirming that Gu Qing was unharmed and breathing steadily did the heart lodged in her throat finally settle back into her chest.
Her tense shoulders abruptly relaxed, and she let out a long breath.
Gu Qing had naturally seen Qian Renxue standing in the middle of the road as well.
He walked up to her, a hint of amusement on his face.
"Why aren't you sleeping at home in the middle of the night? What are you doing out here?"
The sudden question caught Qian Renxue off guard.
She instinctively straightened her cloak, forcing herself to put on a nonchalant air.
"I heard there was some unusual Soul Power activity outside the city. I was bored, so I came to take a look."
Her excuse was so flimsy that even she didn't find it very convincing.
Gu Qing chuckled and cut straight through her pretense.
"You came rushing all the way here without even bringing any guards. Don't tell me you were worried something might happen to me?"
His blunt words made Qian Renxue's heart skip another beat.
Gu Qing looked straight into her eyes without the slightest restraint, his gaze intensely probing.
Qian Renxue didn't dare meet his eyes and quickly turned her head away.
Though the night was dark, it couldn't hide the alluring blush spreading quickly across her ears.
"Don't flatter yourself. Who would worry about an annoying guy like you?"
She bit her lip, trying to cover her inner turmoil with a harsh tone.
"Don't talk nonsense."
Gu Qing's smile faded, and his expression turned more serious.
He stepped in front of Qian Renxue and took her slightly cold right hand.
The sudden contact made Qian Renxue shiver all over, but this time, she didn't pull away at once.
"You're acting in Heaven Dou Imperial City under Xue Qinghe's identity. Your position is extraordinarily sensitive."
Gu Qing's voice carried clearly through the night wind, tinged with reproach.
"Tonight, you ran into me. If anything else had gone wrong and your identity had been exposed, you would have brought the wrath of the entire Heaven Dou Empire down on yourself."
He gave Qian Renxue's palm a measured squeeze.
"Next time something like this happens, make sure you protect yourself. Don't charge out without thinking again."
Qian Renxue was left speechless by the mixture of scolding and concern.
She stared blankly at Gu Qing's face, so close to hers, and felt the warmth of his hand.
All the retorts in her mind simply wouldn't come out.
In the end, all she managed was a faint sound from her nose.
"Oh..."
Her meek appearance was worlds apart from the lofty Martial Soul Hall Young Master she usually was.
Looking at the woman standing before him with her eyes lowered, Gu Qing suddenly let go of her hand.
The next moment, he raised his right hand and, before Qian Renxue could react, brought it down with a slap.
The sharp smack rang especially loudly along the silent dirt road.
Qian Renxue felt a jolt run through her body, as if she'd been electrocuted.
The blow left her dazed, her eyes wide with disbelief. She couldn't believe what had just happened.
It took several seconds for her to realize that he had just given her a hard smack on the backside.
A current surged from her tailbone straight to the crown of her head.
Gu Qing had already withdrawn his hand and was striding toward Heaven Dou City.
"This is just a small punishment to teach you a lesson."
His voice drifted back through the night wind.
"If you dare act so recklessly again and disregard your own safety, don't blame me for being even harder on you."
Watching his figure gradually disappear into the night, Qian Renxue finally came back to her senses.
Embarrassment and fury instantly filled her chest.
She clenched both fists so tightly that her knuckles turned pale.
That damn bastard—he hit me there again!
"Stop right there!"
Qian Renxue gritted her teeth and muttered a curse, then hurried after him.
But there was a little less killing intent in her angry stride than usual.
Heaven Dou Imperial City, the grounds of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
The council hall was brightly lit.
Ning Fengzhi sat in the sect leader's seat, holding a cup of fragrant tea that had long since gone cold.
In the center of the hall stood Sword Douluo Chen Xin, who had just returned to the sect.
His spotless white robe was now smeared with dirt and dust, and even one corner had been sliced cleanly off by sword energy.
He looked unusually disheveled.
Ning Fengzhi listened in silence as Chen Xin gave a detailed account of his clash that evening.
The usually far-sighted sect leader fell into a long silence.
The hall was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, save for the occasional chirping of insects in the distance.
A full quarter of an hour passed before Ning Fengzhi slowly set down his teacup.
He raised his head and looked gravely at his most trusted right-hand man.
"Uncle Sword."
Ning Fengzhi's voice was a little hoarse.
"In tonight's battle, how much of his strength did that Gu Qing use?"
Sword Douluo took a deep breath, the image of that impossible-to-evade emerald-green sword flashing through his mind once more.
He gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"I wouldn't dare speculate."
The old man straightened his back and met Ning Fengzhi's gaze.
"But I can say for certain that I used a full nine-tenths of my strength on that move, Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin."
A deep sense of helplessness colored Sword Douluo's voice.
"Even so, he handled that deadly move with ease."
Remembering how Gu Qing had casually broken his strongest attack, Chen Xin's gaze grew exceedingly complicated.
"That boy is definitely still hiding trump cards. His strength is terrifying."
He paused briefly, then delivered a conclusion that would shake the entire Soul Master World.
"To display such astonishing combat power at his age... that boy has the potential to become a god."
At the words "become a god," the corner of Ning Fengzhi's eye twitched.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the storm surging within him.
As the leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he understood all too well the weight of those words.
A living Martial Soul Hall Holy Son with the potential to ascend to godhood was someone no sect could afford to provoke.
Ning Fengzhi rose to his feet, braced both hands on the table, and swept his gaze across every corner of the hall.
"Pass on my orders."
His voice was stern, carrying through the entire hall.
"From now on, no one in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is to make an enemy of Gu Qing in any way."
Ning Fengzhi clenched his fist, his knuckles standing out sharply.
"Even if you encounter him outside, you must give him a wide berth. Absolutely no conflict is to arise."
Sword Douluo nodded. He had no objections to the decision.
"There's one more thing I believe I ought to report to the sect leader."
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