Lin Qinqin

After parting ways with Lin Yong and the others, Ming Hao did not head straight back like everyone else. Instead, he turned toward the Comprehension Stele.

From afar, Ming Hao spotted a stone stele towering into the clouds, standing like a majestic mountain peak.

Beside the stele, an enormous blade stood slantwise in the ground, as though it had burst up from beneath the earth.

The blade was immense, its body densely studded with razor-sharp blades. Each glinted with a cold light that sent a chill down the spine.

Ming Hao slowly walked forward and arrived before the stele engraved with the word "Blade."

He took a token from inside his robe and lightly swept it across the stele. With a click, an opening suddenly appeared at the Formation Eye on the stele.

Without hesitation, Ming Hao stepped into the opening and was instantly sucked inside by a powerful force.

The moment he entered, an overwhelmingly powerful blade intent surged toward him.

Like a raging storm, it battered his body and soul.

At the same time, countless comparatively weaker strands of blade intent intertwined around him, forming a complex and mysterious blade domain.

Ming Hao looked closely. Within this blade domain, enclosed by a vast formation, someone sat quietly every eight or ten meters, immersed in comprehending blade intent.

Some directly contemplated the blade intent contained within the enormous blade, while others selected a suitable blade from among the many smaller ones,

then sat before it, carefully contemplating its unique blade intent.

Naturally, Ming Hao wasted no time either. He walked straight toward the enormous blade and stopped just a few paces away.

He closed his eyes, steadied his breathing, and calmed his mind before focusing all his attention on that powerful blade intent.

Time was precious, after all. Every kind of blade intent or sword intent required considerable time and effort to comprehend.

Within the limited time available, Ming Hao had to seize every opportunity to sense and comprehend the essence of these blade intents.

After all, newly admitted disciples received only one free day of contemplation for each kind of intent. Once that was exhausted, they had to purchase more time with sect contribution points!

Before long, blade intent gradually rose around Ming Hao, revolving slowly about him and growing increasingly weighty.

This disturbance naturally drew glances from quite a few people nearby, but they only gave him a quick look,

then returned to contemplating their own blade intent. After all, the time they had paid so dearly for was far too precious.

Before he knew it, the sky had darkened. Ming Hao also felt that comprehending so much blade intent in such a short time had drained too much of his mental energy.

Already somewhat dizzy, he decisively stopped, saving the remaining time for his next visit. Knowing when to push and when to rest was equally important.

Ming Hao stepped out of the Comprehension Stele and looked up. Stars already filled the sky, and tonight's moon was especially bright.

Many young couples were already sitting close together on stone benches, admiring the moon. Their tender affection was enough to make anyone envious!

Gazing at the beautiful moonlight, Ming Hao found himself missing Qing Yun, Qing Ying, and the others a little. He wondered how they were doing now,

whether their fellow disciples had ostracized them, and whether they had received their masters' true teachings...

Of course, he also missed Wang Yong, Meng Yi, and the others, wondering whether their cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds...

Finally, he found himself missing that easily teased Miss Shui a little, too. He had heard that a highly esteemed Peak Master had taken her as a Personal Disciple.

He wondered how she was doing, whether she had grown any cleverer, and whether she had gained or lost weight...

And there was that pitiful Yu Wanchuan...

Those four powers in Ascension City...

Suddenly, a cold breeze interrupted Ming Hao's thoughts. He shivered, shook his head, and turned back toward the residential area.

Passing a small stream, Ming Hao spotted a somewhat familiar figure. After taking a closer look at the two women playing in the water, he was certain.

Seeing the woman sitting quietly in a daze with her chin resting in both hands, Ming Hao crept behind her, holding a stalk of foxtail grass he had casually plucked somewhere along the way.

Feeling mischievous, Ming Hao poked her ear with the foxtail grass, again and again. Apparently feeling an itch in her ear, the woman scratched it a few times.

Seeing this, Ming Hao immediately switched sides and continued. Helplessly, she scratched again, and this repeated several times.

Finally, the woman turned around in irritation, only to find a cheeky face staring back at her. Startled, she let out a scream.

Hearing her, the two women splashing in the stream hurried over, calling, "Miss, what's wrong? Has something happened?"

Two seconds later, the woman recovered and growled, "Rake!"

As she spoke, she reached out to grab Ming Hao.

Ming Hao was no fool. He turned and bolted.

"Miss, what's wrong?"

The two women finally reached her side. They looked left and right but could make nothing of it.

Gritting her teeth, the woman pointed at Ming Hao and said, "Bring that brat back."

Then she swiftly gave chase.

In the end, Ming Hao failed to escape. The woman carried him back to the stream with one hand, and each of the three women took two stalks of foxtail grass and tickled him mercilessly.

"Hahahaha... fairy sister, I was wrong! Hahahaha, please stop, hahahaha..."

Ming Hao laughed helplessly from the tickling, unable to stop.

"Hmph, now you know you were wrong? Too late. Keep tickling him."

The woman showed him no mercy.

After a quarter of an hour, Ming Hao was finally released and sat to one side, panting.

"Hey, Rake, what's your name?"

The woman demanded fiercely.

"My name's Ming Hao, Ying Ming Hao. What's yours, fairy sister?"

Ming Hao answered with a cheeky grin.

"Hmph, remember this, Rake. My name isn't fairy sister. It's Qinqin, Lin Qinqin."

Lin Qinqin spoke with a slightly haughty air.

"Sister Qinqin, what about these two fairy sisters?"

Ming Hao did not mind what Lin Qinqin called him. Plenty of people had called him a lecher already.

"The one on the left is Little Red, and the one on the right is Little Green."

Lin Qinqin pointed to each of them as she spoke.

Little Red and Little Green gave soft huffs and turned their heads away, clearly still angry.

They had been happily playing in the water until he suddenly ruined it. It would have been stranger if they were not angry.

Ming Hao paid that no mind and chatted with them as though they were old friends. Before long, he had both of them laughing.

"A little bird asked Old Eagle, 'How can you fly so high? Aren't you afraid of running out of oxygen?' Guess what Old Eagle said?"

"Old Eagle answered, 'Silly child, I'm an eagle, not a chicken. We don't worry about that. But you little birds had better not fly too high, or I might mistake you for a snack.'"

"Hahahahaha..."

They all burst into laughter.

After a while, Little Red and Little Green still had not had enough fun. They pulled Lin Qinqin into the water and began a water fight.

Naturally, Ming Hao shamelessly joined them.

Ming Hao splashed water everywhere, drenching all three women's faces and immediately provoking a joint attack. Not the least bit flustered, he retaliated with both hands flying...

Peals of laughter rang out from the little stream, drawing the attention of passing disciples.

Only at midnight, when they had worn themselves out, did they go their separate ways.