Self-respect

Bear Child curled his lip. "What are you afraid of? We have the God-Striking Stone to clear the way. It hits the mark every time, and our teamwork is seamless, without a single stitch showing. Nothing can go wrong."

"You're certainly confident. Fine, let's give it a try. If anything goes wrong, we run immediately." After some thought, the Black-Clothed Girl agreed to take the risk.

After all, they were already here. Leaving without doing anything was not her style.

The next moment, Bear Child recited an incantation, brought out the God-Striking Stone, and hurled it at Yun Ying.

The pale golden God-Striking Stone shot out like an arrow, hurtling toward Yun Ying's head. If it struck, it would leave her dizzy and dazed, or even crack her skull open.

Then the Black-Clothed Girl would follow close behind and strip Yun Ying of everything she carried, allowing the two of them to withdraw with their mission accomplished.

But the plan was beautiful, while reality was always cruel.

The instant the God-Striking Stone entered the area shrouded in sword energy, the sword energy surrounding Yun Ying erupted. Its keen edges blazed forth like a ferocious beast awakening, roaring across heaven and earth.

The ringing of swords pierced the heavens. Those strands of sword energy seemed to transform into divine swords as they charged at the intruder.

"Ah! It hurts like hell!"

With a scream, the God-Striking Stone was knocked away by the sword energy, sparks flying everywhere. Streak after streak of sword energy struck its body, making it howl in pain.

The God-Striking Stone bounced back just as fast as it had flown in.

This was because the God-Striking Stone could pass straight through runes, but could not penetrate pure sword energy. In other words, its ability specifically targeted the power of runes.

Sword energy was not something the God-Striking Stone could use its ability against.

"Uh..."

Bear Child stared, dumbstruck. The God-Striking Stone had been knocked away the moment it approached. This was the first time anything like this had happened.

The Black-Clothed Girl, however, looked as though she had somewhat expected it. She understood the God-Striking Stone's abilities quite well. Yun Ying's sword energy was not formed from runes, but arose from her cultivation realm, so the God-Striking Stone could do nothing against it.

The God-Striking Stone rolled back to Bear Child, crying and wailing. "I'm begging you, don't do this to me. Keep this up, and sooner or later I'll die."

"Sorry, that was my fault." Bear Child knew he was to blame and scratched his head awkwardly.

At that moment, Yun Ying woke as well. Sword light flashed through her purple eyes, distorting the air.

She looked toward Bear Child and the Black-Clothed Girl, making them both nervous and embarrassed. Their sneak attack had failed, and now they had been caught in the act.

"Well, uh, the moonlight's pretty nice tonight. Take your time enjoying it."

Bear Child's eyes darted about before he finally squeezed out those words. The moment he finished speaking, he ran.

"Hey, you rotten brat! How dare you run before me!" The Black-Clothed Girl immediately fled after him.

In truth, Yun Ying had no idea what they had done. Immersed in the Dao Realm with sword energy shrouding her body, she had little need to worry about sneak attacks.

At the slightest disturbance, she could wake in time, just as she had now.

Watching Bear Child and the Black-Clothed Girl hurry away, Yun Ying could more or less guess that they had been up to no good. But she could not be bothered to make an issue of it. After all, she had suffered no loss.

Then Yun Ying closed her eyes again and returned to her cultivation, sword energy enveloping her body and shutting everything out.

Meanwhile, Bear Child and the Black-Clothed Girl slipped back up to the sea's surface.

"See? I told you she wasn't someone to mess with, but you wouldn't believe me." Aboard the Black Paper Boat, the Black-Clothed Girl spread her hands.

Besides, she could tell that Bear Child had done it deliberately. He had insisted on picking a fight with that purple-clothed girl.

After a pause, she asked nosily, "You deliberately went out of your way to provoke her. Did love turn to hate?"

"Oh, get lost. What do you mean, love turned to hate? It's because she has a piece of kun wood." Naturally, Bear Child would not admit that he simply wanted to make trouble for Yun Ying.

Yun Ying had always treated him with calm indifference. She looked at him as though he were just a child, acting as if she could not be bothered to take him seriously, and that irritated him.

Her elder sister, Yun Xi, was completely different. One spark was enough to set her off, making her much more fun.

"Oh? Is that really it? Then let's say it is."

The Black-Clothed Girl gave him a knowing half-smile without exposing him. She could more or less see what he was really thinking. In the end, it was just a little brat's self-respect at work; he wanted to get her attention.

"All right, let's hurry up and find our next target." Sensing that the Black-Clothed Girl had caught on to something, Bear Child immediately changed the subject.

"Mm, true. Let's go, then..."

From that day onward, Bear Child and the Black-Clothed Girl became bandits, specializing in robbing renowned figures.

Even the Spirit Avatar of the Flood Dragon Venerable, whose fame resounded throughout the North Sea, fell victim to their sneak attack, becoming a laughingstock in those waters.

By then, news of the Northern Sea Kunpeng Nest's appearance had spread throughout the entire Desolate Region, drawing countless experts. Whether they came from the sea or the land, practically all of them had arrived.

Many venerables had even descended upon the North Sea in their true bodies. However, they remained outside the forbidden zone rather than entering the area covered by its restrictions.

At most, they sent their Spirit Avatars inside, just as the Flood Dragon Venerable had.

Naturally, the venerables from the various Primordial Sacred Mountains had arrived as well. With no further need for restraint, they stationed themselves outside to deter the other forces.

Yun Canghai had come too, of course. Both his granddaughters were here; he could hardly remain on Heavenly God Mountain, watching from afar to see how the situation in the North Sea unfolded.

Now, everyone was waiting for the Kunpeng Nest to crack open on its own, for Kun Peng's central cultivation grounds to emerge, and for the Kun Peng Precious Technique to appear.

Time hurried on, and two years passed in the blink of an eye.

On a golden island reef, a purple-clothed girl sat cross-legged, divine light enveloping her body. Her face was hidden from view, leaving only her graceful figure visible.

There was no one else on the entire reef, and many creatures did not dare approach it carelessly.

This was naturally Yun Ying. She had not remained above the Kunpeng Nest the entire time, but had instead moved to an island reef a little farther away.

Over those two years, quite a few people had come looking for trouble over the kun wood in Yun Ying's possession. All had become corpses and sunk into the sea.

The most astonishing battle had taken place a year earlier, when she wiped out every attacking enemy with a single zither melody. They had numbered in the tens of thousands, two-thirds of them sea creatures, including members of the Sea God lineage and the Fire Flame Fish lineage.

That battle had stunned everyone. Yun Ying played her zither, transforming its music into Sword Dao attacks that slaughtered across heaven and earth and swept through every foe.

Those who survived were either experts of the Spirit Transformation Realm, such as the Sea God Descendant, or had powerful treasures protecting them or other life-saving trump cards, such as venerables' Spirit Avatars.

After that battle, no one dared trouble Yun Ying again. Even the Sea God Descendant, whose arrogance knew no bounds, never dared shout his mouth off in front of her again.