Qian Renxue, Have You Had Enough of Pretending?

The Angel Rite was one of the most important ceremonies within the Consecration Hall.

Every few years, young people with angel bloodlines would enter the Angel Sacred Pool to receive the baptism of holy light.

The baptism could not directly raise one's soul power by a great amount, but it could purify the Six-Winged Angel bloodline, heal hidden injuries, and test the compatibility between one's angel martial soul and the temple.

Seven days later, the gates of the Angel Temple opened.

Several consecrators of the Consecration Hall were all present.

Qian Daoliu stood before the sacred pool, his golden robes stirring without wind. Golden Crocodile, Guang Ling, Azure Luan, Male Lion, and the others stood on either side. Yue Guan, as a specialist in researching unusual martial souls, had also been granted permission to observe.

Chu Jin stood beside Golden Crocodile.

Xiao Jin lay on his shoulder, deeply interested in the light energy within the sacred pool.

It tried several times to fly over, but Chu Jin caught it by a hind leg and pulled it back each time.

"Behave."

Xiao Jin gave a wronged cry.

At the center of the sacred pool, Qian Qinghe slowly stepped into the water.

Today, he wore a white-gold robe, and his expression was more solemn than usual.

Qian Daoliu raised a hand.

The statue of the Six-Winged Angel bloomed with dazzling light.

A massive pillar of golden light descended from the statue, enveloping the entire sacred pool.

The Six-Winged Angel martial soul within Qian Qinghe was drawn forth and manifested on its own.

Three pairs of golden wings unfolded behind him.

Dense golden cracks emerged across the surface of the disguise soul bone.

Qian Qinghe closed his eyes.

The power of the soul bone gradually dissipated.

The contours of his body changed first.

The shoulders that had belonged to a young man became slender, his height decreased slightly, and long golden hair rapidly grew from the back of his head, falling all the way to his waist.

His face also changed within the holy light.

The handsome youth vanished.

In his place stood a delicate golden-haired girl.

She wore a white-gold dress, while six angel wings slowly spread behind her. The light of the sacred pool fell upon her skin and hair, making her seem as though she had been formed from light itself.

Beside Chu Jin, Xiao Jin suddenly stopped struggling.

Its eyes widened as it stared fixedly at the Six-Winged Angel behind Qian Renxue.

The Twelve-Winged Holy Dragon Hatchling and the Six-Winged Angel both possessed top-tier bloodlines of light.

The instant their auras came into contact, every golden pattern within Xiao Jin's body lit up.

"Roar!"

A clear dragon cry echoed through the temple.

Xiao Jin broke free from Chu Jin's hand, flapped its wings, and flew toward the sacred pool.

Qian Daoliu did not stop it.

Xiao Jin flew to Qian Renxue's side and kept circling around the angel wings behind her.

The phantom of the Six-Winged Angel seemed drawn to it as well, and holy light actively descended upon Xiao Jin.

The wings on Xiao Jin's back were swiftly dyed with a layer of pure gold.

The angel soul power within Qian Renxue also began circulating more smoothly.

Yue Guan's eyes lit up.

"Martial soul resonance."

"The Holy Dragon bloodline has a very high degree of compatibility with the Six-Winged Angel."

Qian Daoliu's gaze lingered between Qian Renxue and Xiao Jin for a moment.

The Six-Winged Angel was already one of the continent's most powerful martial souls.

The fact that it could produce such intense resonance with Xiao Jin further proved that the bloodline hidden within it was anything but ordinary.

The baptism lasted half an hour.

The holy light gradually withdrew.

The six wings behind Qian Renxue vanished. She lightly tapped the water's surface and landed on the shore from the center of the sacred pool.

She did not look at Qian Daoliu first.

Her gaze fell directly on Chu Jin's face.

Chu Jin's expression was exceptionally calm.

There was neither shock nor surprise.

It was as though everything happening before him had long been expected.

Qian Renxue had still felt a trace of nervousness.

But when she saw his reaction, that nervousness immediately turned into embarrassed anger.

"You're not surprised at all?"

Chu Jin looked at her.

"You look better than you did in disguise."

Qian Renxue's cheeks grew slightly warm.

Then she quickly came to her senses.

"That's not what I'm asking. Why aren't you surprised?"

"I've known for a long time."

Although she had already gotten the answer from their previous conversation, hearing Chu Jin admit it with her own ears still made Qian Renxue feel uncomfortable.

"Since when?"

"The first time we met."

"The first time?"

Qian Renxue's voice rose.

Everyone in the Consecration Hall turned to look.

Chu Jin nodded.

"A disguise soul bone can alter one's appearance and body shape, but it cannot completely change the essence of one's soul power."

"My double pupils can see the Six-Winged Angel soul power in your body, as well as your bones and meridians."

The scene of their first meeting flashed through Qian Renxue's mind.

Chu Jin's gaze had traveled down from her face and paused at her chest for half a breath.

Later, while they were strolling through Spirit City, he had even said something.

The disguise was mediocre.

So he had really seen through everything back then!

The tips of Qian Renxue's ears swiftly turned red.

Then she thought of all their interactions during this period.

She had slung an arm around Chu Jin's shoulders while posing as a man.

She had changed her outer robe at the training grounds.

She had even asked Chu Jin what he thought of her appearance.

Chu Jin had clearly known she was a girl, yet he had pretended to know nothing all along.

"Chu Jin!"

Qian Renxue gritted her teeth and called out his name.

"What is it?"

"You were deliberately making fun of me?"

"No."

"You knew I was a girl, so why didn't you expose me?"

"Your identity is your secret."

Chu Jin's expression was open and frank.

"It wasn't my place to reveal it for you."

"Besides, if you wanted to pretend, I was willing to play along."

The moment Qian Renxue heard that last sentence, her embarrassment and anger surged.

What did he mean, if she wanted to pretend, he would play along?

Did that mean all her careful disguises in the past had looked like a performance to Chu Jin?

She raised a hand and summoned a sword of light.

"Stop right there!"

Chu Jin had already turned and headed outside.

"The Angel Rite is over."

"I still need to train."

"You're not getting away today!"

Golden light flashed beneath Qian Renxue's feet as she instantly chased after him.

The two rushed out of the Angel Temple one after the other.

Chu Jin did not use his first soul skill, nor did he have Xiao Jin help him. He merely activated his double pupils to observe the direction of Qian Renxue's attacks.

The longsword thrust at him from behind.

Chu Jin sidestepped and avoided it.

Qian Renxue followed with a horizontal slash.

Chu Jin bent backward to evade it, continuing forward without stopping.

"You're still dodging?"

"What, am I supposed to stand there and take a beating?"

"Who told you to hide it from me for so long?"

"You hid it first."

Qian Renxue's movements froze.

Taking the opportunity, Chu Jin opened up another dozen meters between them.

"That's different!"

"How is it different?"

"I had a mission!"

"I didn't interfere with it either."

Qian Renxue realized she simply could not outargue him.

She stopped trying to reason with him. The phantom of the Six-Winged Angel flashed behind her, and her speed suddenly soared.

Chu Jin had just rounded the sacred pool when Qian Renxue appeared in front of him.

She raised a hand to block his path.

Chu Jin came to a stop.

The two had chased each other around the Angel Sacred Pool for several laps, and everyone in the Consecration Hall had witnessed it all.

Guang Ling folded his arms, his grin obvious.

"This is the first time I've seen Little Xue this angry."

Golden Crocodile shot him a glance.

"Say less."

"I didn't say it to her face."

Qian Daoliu did not stop them either.

Qian Renxue had undergone too much training over the years. Her personality was far more mature than that of her peers, and she rarely showed her true emotions.

Seeing her like this made her seem more like a normal child instead.

Beside the sacred pool, Qian Renxue finally put away her longsword.

After chasing him for so long, most of her anger had faded.

Two cuts from Sword Qi had been torn into Chu Jin's clothes, but he had not truly been injured.

"Don't call me Qian Qinghe again."

"Fine."

"And don't bring up those things from before."

"What things?"

Qian Renxue glared at him.

"You know."

Chu Jin did not tease her further.

Qian Renxue smoothed out her slightly disheveled golden hair, took a deep breath, and regained her calm.

She walked up to Chu Jin and solemnly extended her hand.

"Let's get acquainted again."

"Qian Renxue."

Chu Jin glanced at her hand, then reached out and took it.

"Chu Jin."