Not a Trace of Aura Leaked—Such a Realm...

"I suspect he's a Martial Sect Realm expert beyond the Martial Emperor."

Old Ancestor Qingshan drew a deep breath, then said solemnly, "A single word alone left me in such a sorry state. A Martial Emperor absolutely couldn't do that—after all, I'm a Martial King myself now!"

Luolan Xue couldn't calm her heart.

Qingshan Sect's ancestor, a Martial Emperor, could split open a mountain with a single sword strike. What kind of existence, then, was a Martial Sect expert beyond a Martial Emperor?

She didn't dare imagine it.

If that senior pursued what had happened before...

How could a mere Qingshan Sect disciple like her withstand such a crushing blow from a higher dimension?

"Relax, my disciple." Old Ancestor Qingshan seemed to see Luolan Xue's worries and patted her shoulder. "Life and death are decreed by fate. That senior most likely won't concern himself with a junior like you. Even if we take ten thousand steps back..."

Luolan Xue raised her head to look at Old Ancestor Qingshan.

"If he really does pursue it, worrying won't help. You can only obediently wait for death..." Old Ancestor Qingshan continued.

Luolan Xue's lips couldn't help twitching. Old Ancestor Qingshan's words weren't pleasant to hear, but they were indeed the truth.

With that thought, she took a deep breath and headed nervously toward the Martial Arts Hall with Old Ancestor Qingshan.

The front hall of the Martial Arts Hall was empty.

"Doesn't seem like anyone's inside," Old Ancestor Qingshan said.

"Mm!" Luolan Xue nodded and asked, "Then what do we do?"

"Wait calmly!" Old Ancestor Qingshan patted his backside and sat down on the steps. "Don't rashly barge in. It's better to wait for that senior to return."

"But, Master, you..."

Seeing Old Ancestor Qingshan plop down on the steps like that, Luolan Xue couldn't help feeling it was somewhat inappropriate. No matter what, he was the ancestor of Qingshan Sect. For someone of his status to act like a commoner—if anyone saw this...

"Xue'er, you're usually such a clever child. Why are you so muddleheaded at a time like this?" Old Ancestor Qingshan lectured. "According to you, that senior has become a mortal to play among the world. Then he definitely doesn't want cultivators disturbing him. So, since we're cultivators coming to visit him, we must follow the local customs and act like mortals. Although that senior can see through us at a glance, we still must put on this appearance."

"Master is absolutely right."

Luolan Xue hurriedly nodded. Disregarding her snow-white dress, she squatted on the steps in front of the Martial Arts Hall alongside Old Ancestor Qingshan.

Before long, Yi Feng returned leisurely, carrying a wine jug in one hand and holding Wild Doggy in the other.

At the sight, Luolan Xue's delicate body trembled as she softly called out, "Master."

Old Ancestor Qingshan also reacted instantly, his gaze falling upon Yi Feng.

Sure enough, he was a young man!

Most importantly, Old Ancestor Qingshan likewise couldn't sense the slightest cultivation aura from Yi Feng.

"Not even a tiny trace of aura leaked... such a realm..."

"Tsk, tsk."

Old Ancestor Qingshan was secretly stunned.

Yi Feng naturally saw the two of them as well. He directly ignored the old man, but when his gaze fell on Luolan Xue, his expression immediately darkened.

What was this damned woman doing here again?

Before he could speak, Luolan Xue walked over, clasped her fists, and said with a sincere expression, "Senior, Xue'er was at fault for what happened before. Please forgive me."

Old Ancestor Qingshan also hurried over and said with a smile, "Greetings, shopkeeper. I heard my niece bought the shopkeeper's Martial Arts Book earlier but failed to pay enough, so I specifically brought her here to apologize in person. I hope the shopkeeper will be magnanimous."

Hearing this, Yi Feng sized up the old man.

Judging by the way he spoke, this old man should be the woman's uncle or elder relative. He didn't look as overbearing as she did, so he was probably a mortal too.

Still, Yi Feng was a little surprised after hearing him out.

He hadn't expected this female cultivator's family to be so well-mannered!

But since they had come to apologize, Yi Feng didn't make things difficult for them. Smiling, he said, "Forget it, it's only a small matter. But that book sold for ten Gold Coins, so you still need to make up the remaining nine Gold Coins."

Old Ancestor Qingshan was utterly shocked and cried out, "Senior wants nine Gold Coins?"

"What else?"

Yi Feng rolled his eyes at him. Nine Gold Coins were enough for him to eat nine bowls of beef noodles, okay? Besides, there were two people eating now, so of course he had to get them back.

After receiving confirmation, Old Ancestor Qingshan and Luolan Xue exchanged a glance.

Their faces were filled with excitement and gratitude.

It seemed this senior truly hadn't taken a junior like Luolan Xue to heart.

Still, this senior had truly immersed himself among mortals to the utmost!

If he had truly made a demand, they would have had no choice but to bring out Qingshan Sect's mountain-protecting treasure. Yet he merely asked for nine Gold Coins back—he had given them plenty of room to step down.

But then again, Qingshan Sect's mountain-protecting treasure probably wasn't even worth this mysterious senior's notice!

"Rest assured, shopkeeper. We'll offer the nine Gold Coins at once," Old Ancestor Qingshan said hurriedly with a smile, waving toward Luolan Xue.

Luolan Xue looked troubled and stammered, "Master, I... I don't have any Gold Coins on me."

Old Ancestor Qingshan's face chilled slightly. He hurriedly rummaged through his pockets as well, but after feeling around for a long time, he only found three Gold Coins, which had been left over from the last time he deduced a cultivation technique. He was embarrassed beyond measure.

Yi Feng couldn't help sighing inwardly.

It seemed these two weren't well-off either. That girl probably didn't have much talent, and her family had likely spent all their money supporting her cultivation!

"If you really can't manage it, pay next time," Yi Feng said, waving his hand.

"How could we do that?"

Old Ancestor Qingshan's face was full of embarrassment, while Luolan Xue stood beside him, anxiously at a complete loss. A dignified Qingshan Sect ancestor and a heaven-blessed proud daughter couldn't even scrape together nine Gold Coins. Fortunately, they found several more Gold Coins in their storage bags, who knew when they had been put there, and finally managed to gather nine and hand them to Yi Feng.

Weighing the Gold Coins in his hand, Yi Feng's impression of the two improved greatly.

They were clearly so poor, yet they still spared no effort to scrape together their entire fortune and pay for their actions. Their character wasn't bad at all.

Thus, Yi Feng no longer blamed Luolan Xue so much for her previous behavior. Smiling, he said, "It's already over. Why not come in and sit for a while? You can have a meal too."

Yi Feng figured that after the two had scraped together their entire fortune for him, they probably wouldn't even have lunch figured out.

They were so sincere, and he couldn't exactly neglect them.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes!"

Old Ancestor Qingshan was thrilled. He hadn't expected this unfathomably profound senior to take the initiative to invite them to a meal.

"Then come in. I happened to kill a Wild Doggy, and later we can have it with wine," Yi Feng said casually.

Hearing this, Old Ancestor Qingshan and Luolan Xue both turned their gazes toward Wild Doggy. They hadn't thought much of it at first, but the next moment, Old Ancestor Qingshan's body shuddered.