First Saint Sect Outer Sect, Central Plaza.
Several thousand outer sect disciples packed the place so tightly not even water could pass through. Heat waves rolled, and voices shook the clouds.
At the center of the plaza, five columns stood clearly divided.
The most eye-catching of them all was North Hall.
At the front of the line, Ye Xingchen wore white robes whiter than snow.
His hands were tucked into his sleeves, his eyelids half-lowered, and his body swayed gently with the breeze, as though he could fall asleep standing up at any moment.
His half-awake appearance stood utterly out of place amid the taut, murderous atmosphere around him.
At the back of the line.
Shen Yuan stared fixedly at that lazy back.
His teeth ground with a creak.
His face was so dark it seemed water could drip from it.
The pain and humiliation of that slap had sunk deep into his heart.
If looks could kill, his gaze would have killed Ye Xingchen hundreds of times already.
"Look! That's Zuo Xiaoqing of East Hall!"
The crowd exploded into an uproar.
A slender yet exceptionally well-endowed girl in fitted purple attire stood there with a pitch-black heavy sword strapped to her back, her sharpness fully exposed.
Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
That sword was precisely the Black Tier heavy sword Ye Xingchen had forged.
"So she was the one who posted the task?"
"If I'd known earlier, I would've put in more effort and definitely forged her an even better one."
"She looks pretty cool carrying that heavy sword..."
Ye Xingchen looked at Zuo Xiaoqing with the heavy sword on her back and smiled knowingly, as though he had given his girlfriend a gift.
Perhaps sensing Ye Xingchen's gaze, Zuo Xiaoqing turned to look at him. Her chin lifted slightly,