The Immortal Master's Interrogation

Lu Lin stared, tongue-tied, and for a moment he actually felt a little dazed.

Because the woman before him was far too familiar.

Though he had only seen her once in passing, her appearance had been branded deep into his heart as if carved by knife and chisel, impossible to erase.

It was she who had made him truly experience, for the first time, how terrifying immortal cultivators were.

That was right. This woman was none other than the young lady who had suddenly appeared midway through the ambush he had encountered outside Blood Baleful City last time, annihilating all those road-robbing martial men with thunderbolt methods.

How could it be her?

Why had she chosen me, of all people, to be her personal guard?

Was it coincidence? Or was it because of what happened last time?

Lu Lin's thoughts raced like lightning, and a faint unease rose in him.

But his reaction was extremely quick. He had only frozen slightly at the very beginning before swiftly restraining his mind, bowing in salute. "This subordinate, Lu Lin, pays respects to the Immortal Master!"

"Mm."

Luo Siqing gave a slight nod and raised her slender hand lightly, signaling for him to rise.

Her gaze was like a torch as she looked Lu Lin up and down without the slightest avoidance, as if she wanted to see through him from outside to inside.

Only after a long while did she speak. Her voice was cold and clear, like a spring flowing through a mountain stream, carrying a hint of distance yet pleasant to the ear, like the soft cry of a lark:

"You should have quite a few questions in your heart. No need to be restrained. Ask whatever you wish."

Lu Lin pondered briefly, carefully arranging his words. "May I ask, Immortal Master, this subordinate is only at the third level of Body Tempering, with meager strength... I do not know why Immortal Master chose this subordinate to serve as your personal guard?"

Luo Siqing did not answer immediately. Instead, she turned to Fang Hong and Lan Zhu at the side and said calmly, "You two withdraw first."

"Yes, Immortal Master." The two bowed respectfully and quietly withdrew.

After they left, Luo Siqing looked back at Lu Lin, her expression calm and unwavered. Only her clear eyes were deep as a cold pool, silently watching him, as if they could pierce through everything:

"Are you truly only at the third level of Body Tempering?"

The instant he was enveloped by her gaze, Lu Lin only felt his whole body stiffen, and a thread of cold sweat could not help but seep from his temples.

His heart tightened. Could she have seen through my true cultivation?

Impossible. The Breath Concealment Art has long since been deduced into the Spirit-Restraining Art, restraining the spirit within and hiding qi in the abyss. Even a great Foundation Establishment cultivator could not easily see through it. She is only in the Qi Refining stage, so she should not be able to see through it...

Thinking this, Lu Lin's mind steadied slightly.

Just as he was rapidly considering how to respond, Luo Siqing spoke again. Her tone was still cold and clear, yet every word was distinct:

"Back then outside Blood Baleful City, the cultivation you declared to the outside world was the second level of Body Tempering. With such a realm, it would have been absolutely impossible for you to survive an attack from a martial man at the sixth level of Body Tempering. Therefore, I deduced that your true cultivation at the time was definitely not merely the second level of Body Tempering. At the very least, it had already reached the fourth level of Body Tempering."

"But if you were only at the second level on the surface, you could not possibly have obtained the cultivation methods of the Demonic Ape Blood Qi Art beyond the fourth level. So you must have secretly cultivated some other martial arts as well. Am I right?"

Her tone was steady, but her logic was meticulous, almost deducing the truth to within eight or nine parts out of ten.

Hearing this, Lu Lin knew he could no longer simply deny it.

The sharpness of this woman's mind and the meticulousness of her observation were truly alarming.

Could it be that when I took advantage of her battle with that Rogue Cultivator to quietly follow that bald, burly man and seize the pills and the Blood Flame Deer antler... she discovered that too?

No, that's not right. At that time, she was fighting with all her strength and had no attention to spare for anything else. Besides, my movements were extremely hidden. If she had truly noticed, with the style of conduct of a Demonic Sect immortal cultivator, there is no way I could have lived until today.

He did not believe that revealing a little martial talent would make the other party spare him.

"Fairy's discerning eyes are like torches, seeing the finest autumn down. This subordinate admires you." Lu Lin swiftly reined in his stray thoughts and smoothly offered up a bit of flattery. At the same time, he naturally changed his form of address from "Immortal Master" to "Fairy."

There was no one who disliked hearing pleasant words, especially women.

Luo Siqing's expression remained cold and clear as she continued, "I sent people to investigate you. It has been less than a year since you entered the sect, and at the time of the Blood Baleful City incident, you had only cultivated for half a year. To possess such strength in a mere half year—your talent in martial arts is extremely high. You can be called a martial arts prodigy."

At this point, Lu Lin finally understood why she had chosen him.

Since he had already been "seen through," there was no need to hide it.

He smiled helplessly, his tone carrying a trace of "forced candor":

"Fairy's eyes are discerning. Nothing can be hidden from you. This subordinate originally only wanted to cultivate in a low-key manner, but unexpectedly, still... sigh."

On the surface, he sighed, but inwardly he secretly let out a breath of relief.

So it turned out that she had not truly seen through the concealment of the Spirit-Restraining Art and did not know his true cultivation realm. She had merely relied on a few spider threads and horse tracks to deduce that his talent was outstanding.

Seeing Lu Lin's appearance of "wanting to hide but unable to," the corners of Luo Siqing's lips lifted in an almost imperceptible curve.

She could understand.

Because she herself—was she not also an immortal cultivation prodigy?

She deeply understood the principle that "the tree that stands taller than the forest will be the first destroyed by the wind."

Wanting to keep a low profile was not wrong.

"You should also have cultivated some kind of method to restrain your aura, haven't you?" she asked again.

"Yes," Lu Lin answered truthfully.

"Then what is your true cultivation now? There is no need to hide it anymore."

Lu Lin pondered briefly, then replied cautiously, "Peak sixth layer of Body Tempering."

He had revealed this level only after careful weighing.

To reach the peak of the sixth layer of Body Tempering in less than a year after entering the sect could already be called a terrifying talent, a lightning-fast advance.

If he reported anything higher, he would seem far too monstrous—an outright freak.

But reporting too low would not be appropriate either. Since he had already become her exclusive guard, he needed to show his own value to a suitable degree.

The higher his talent, the more he would be valued, and when carrying out missions, he would be less likely to be casually treated as cannon fodder. At the same time, he would also have the chance to obtain more resources and cultivation.

Sure enough, a barely perceptible glimmer rose in Luo Siqing's cold-pool-like eyes.

She pondered for a moment, then lightly patted the storage pouch at her waist. At once, a wooden box and a scroll of text appeared out of thin air.

"This is the complete Demonic Ape Blood Qi Art from the first to the tenth layer of Body Tempering. Take it and study it well. In addition, these twenty Bone-Protecting Pills are also bestowed upon you."

With a slight lift of her slender hand, the wooden box and the book were supported by an invisible force and drifted lightly to Lu Lin.

Lu Lin received them with both hands, secretly delighted.

He was not especially short of Bone-Protecting Pills at the moment, but the later stages of the Demonic Ape Blood Qi Art were something he valued immensely.

This was a martial arts cultivation method that could lead straight to the Innate Blood Aura.

"Many thanks, Fairy! This subordinate will surely smear liver and brains across the ground to repay this grace! From now on, if anyone dares touch even a hair of the Fairy, this subordinate will fight him to the death!" Lu Lin immediately put on an appearance of being moved to tears with gratitude, and his words spared no effort in displaying loyalty.

If moving his lips could earn him real benefits, he naturally would not begrudge such words.

In his previous life, he had a good buddy who was a master of the battlefield of love, changing girlfriends as easily as changing clothes. From him, Lu Lin had learned one truth.

Women had to be deceived.

It did not matter whether the words were sappy or went against his heart. Say them, then say them again.

As for whether to do it, and how to do it, that could be seen later.

Luo Siqing did not seem moved by his words. Her expression remained cool and aloof as she only asked faintly, "What cultivation method do you mainly practice?"

"Iron Elephant Body," Lu Lin answered.

"If you can break through to the seventh layer of Body Tempering within two months, I will reward you with another three hundred Bone Refining Pills."

Lu Lin looked slightly surprised when he heard this. "Two months... isn't that a little urgent?"

For an ordinary martial artist to break through from the sixth layer of Body Tempering into the seventh, even with sufficient Bone-Protecting Pills, half a year of bitter effort would still be required.

"For ordinary people, half a year is common sense. But for martial arts prodigies, it is different."

"Some people are born with extraordinary gifts, with sinews of steel and bones of iron. Even without relying on pills, they break through realms much faster than ordinary people. If they have Bone-Protecting Pills to assist them, breaking through within one or two months is no difficult matter. What, do you have no confidence in yourself?"

"I do! Of course I do!" Lu Lin immediately answered.

Three hundred Bone Refining Pills—why refuse something free?

He was short on resources right now!

"Withdraw," Luo Siqing said with a light wave of her hand.

"Yes. This subordinate takes his leave."

Lu Lin bowed, then steadily withdrew.

Only after he had gone far away did he slowly let out a breath, feeling that his back had already been faintly soaked with cold sweat.

Dealing with this woman was not easy.