Night sank like ink, and a faint breeze suddenly rose.
Tonight's wind seemed especially fierce.
Li Luyao felt indescribably relaxed and refreshed. Whenever she thought of how Lin Nan had been frustrated these past few days, she felt a sharp, satisfying thrill.
"With Brother Yuan Xu backing me up, Lin Nan will probably be leaving True Yang Temple before long, crawling back to his Outer City..."
"A mere country bumpkin from the Outer City dares to talk back to me?"
As Li Luyao was thinking, she suddenly caught a faint fragrance of flowers and fruit on the path.
The scent drifted from afar, mixed with the damp freshness of grass and leaves. It smelled wonderful, almost like an intoxicating incense!
Something was wrong!
Intoxicating incense?
Li Luyao's expression abruptly changed. She hurriedly held her breath, but she had still inhaled some. In an instant, a limp weakness washed over her.
"Who's there?! Who dares use intoxicating incense inside True Yang Temple?!"
Before she finished speaking, a figure masked in black silk flashed into view before her.
"You? You are...?"
Li Luyao was startled, but she was, after all, a first-stage Sinews-and-Bones Realm martial artist, and her reactions were swift. In an instant, she drew the longsword at her waist. Her qi and blood surged as the blade sliced toward the black-clad man's chest like a streak of cold light.
The black-clad man's gaze remained calm as he merely raised a hand slowly.
Clang!
The longsword struck the black-clad man's hand with the sound of weapons colliding.
Its razor-sharp blade had actually been caught between his faintly glowing fingers!
Golden Astral Body!
"It's a hard martial art!"
Li Luyao's expression changed.
"You're too weak." The black-clad man's voice was hoarse and low.
Li Luyao's face flushed with stifled resentment. If she