"Mmm..."
When Nina woke up again, she didn't know how long she had been unconscious.
The first sensation upon regaining consciousness was cold, a cold so intense it made my bones tremble, followed immediately by an intense hunger.
She struggled to open her eyes, and what came into view was a cave.
It wasn't big, but it was big enough to shield us from the wind and snow.
A crack in the ceiling let in blinding sunlight, casting a bright white beam of light onto the ground.
She instinctively looked around and found the cave empty.
All that remained on the ground was a pile of burnt-out campfire ashes, the warmth long since dissipated, with only grayish-white charcoal cinders bearing the marks of the flames.
Nina struggled to sit up, the aches and pains all over her body making her gasp.
She began to try to recall...
I was rescued.
In her most desperate moment, a figure appeared before her and killed the demonic wolf for her.
Although she was already in a daze at that time, she remembered the feeling very clearly: the person's back, the sword light, and the outer robe that fell on her, still warm from his body.
"Have they... already left?"
She murmured softly, a sudden, inexplicable sense of loss welling up inside her.
Immediately, she looked down sharply at her left leg.
The fracture wound had completely healed, and I could move around without any discomfort, as if I had never been injured at all.
She then checked several other frostbite and abrasions on her body, all of which had healed completely.
Nina was stunned.
This is definitely not an effect that could be achieved with ordinary external injury treatment; the other party must be a magician, and a very skilled one at that.
But why did they choose to leave without saying goodbye after saving me?
She didn't even have time to see the other person's face clearly.
She folded and put the outer robe away, then slowly stood up, supporting herself against the rock wall.
Although he is still a little weak, at least he can walk now.
Nina took a deep breath and walked out of the cave step by step.
Sunlight shone on the snow, reflecting a blinding white light. She squinted for a moment to adjust, then walked along the forest path towards the Sword Sanctum.
Just as she reached the edge of the forest, she bumped into a group of searchers.
The one leading them was Gino.
The boy was startled when he saw her, then ran over quickly, his face full of anxiety and fear. " Nina! Where have you been?! We were all worried sick!"
Nina felt a little uncomfortable from his barrage of questions, so she waved her hand and made up an excuse to brush it off.
For some reason, she didn't want to mention the mysterious person who had saved her in the cave.
It felt like guarding a secret that belonged only to oneself; once it was spoken, it lost its weight.
Not long after.
News of Nina's safe return spread throughout the Sword Sanctum.
Many friends came to visit, offering their concern and care, and the room was lively for quite a while.
The next day, Nina was able to walk normally and went to the dojo.
Several close girlfriends surrounded her, chatting away.
One of the older girls joked, " Nina, Gino was worried sick while you were gone! He was pacing around the door all day, and couldn't even eat."
"By the way, when are you two finally going to take things to the next level?"
"That's not true at all!"
Nina panicked immediately, waving her hands frantically, " Gino and I are just cousins! Don't talk nonsense! I... I'm not interested in anything other than becoming the Sword God!"
The girls burst into laughter, and the topic quickly shifted to something else.
Among the men in the Sanctum, who is the most handsome, who has the best swordsmanship, and who has the most promising future?
When girls get together, they inevitably end up talking about these kinds of things.
Suddenly, a girl with freckles on her face interjected with sparkling eyes, "Don't you guys think the Demon Sword King is the most handsome man in the Sanctum? The way he practices swordsmanship so diligently every day is so manly!"
"I really want to marry a man with such heroic qualities and have ten children for him!"
"Huh?!"
Nina nearly choked on her own saliva. She roared, "What the hell? That guy's handsome?! What are you talking about? He's not even ten years old yet!"
"Seriously... are you all blind?"
"So what if she's ten? Ten-year-olds have potential too!"
The freckled girl retorted confidently, "Besides, he became the Sword King at the age of ten. When he comes of age, he might become the Sword God!"
"If we cultivate our relationship now and marry him later, we can avoid twenty years of detours in life, okay?"
"Maybe I can even become the Sword God's woman!"
A group of girls were chattering away, and every single one of them was praising the man.
Nina's lips twitched, and a strange tightness gripped her chest. Her shoulders slumped like a deflated balloon.
"Look! It's the Sword King!"
Someone gasped in surprise.
At the entrance of the dojo, Luo Ge walked out slowly, his white swordsman's robes fluttering in the wind and snow. He appeared calm and composed, as if he had just finished a sparring match.
All eyes turned to him simultaneously.
As long as I see this person.
Nina's nameless anger flared up instantly.
She couldn't hold back any longer and rushed to the middle of the corridor, blocking Luo Ge's path.
"Snort!"
She put her hands on her hips, tilted her chin up, and said, "All you do is practice swordsmanship all day long. You'll probably only ever reach the level of Sword King!"
Luo Ge looked at the fierce-looking girl in front of him, his face remaining completely calm. Instead, he smiled and teased, "Oh, looks like you're recovering well. You're so energetic first thing in the morning."
"You?!"
Nina was speechless for a moment. "What do you mean?"
"Literal meaning."
"I don't understand what you're saying! Hmph, someone like you must still be Chu Lan, right? You've probably never even held a girl's hand! You're just waiting to grow old alone!"
She fired off a barrage of words, as if she wanted to vent all the pent-up frustration she had accumulated over the past two days.
However, Luo Ge simply scratched his head and then walked slowly towards her.
Just when Nina thought the other person was going to hit her.
"Excuse me, could you please move aside?"
Luo Ge said this calmly, then walked past her.
Nina froze, and her body involuntarily parted to make way for her.
After she realized what had happened, she stomped her feet in anger. "Damn it! Why did I move aside?! My body reacted like this..."
Unwilling to give up, she jogged after him, growing angrier with each passing moment, and caught up to walk alongside Luo Ge.
Nina decided to change the subject. "Hmph! Let me tell you, I've already passed the hunt, and I can even wield the Sword of Light. I'm Sword Saint now!"
She tried to make her tone sound proud, but secretly glanced at Luo Ge's reaction.
She hoped to see a hint of nervousness on the other person's face, even just a trace of unnecessary emotion.
Unfortunately, no.
There was nothing there.
Luo Ge simply gave a curt "Oh," and said, "Congratulations! You became Sword Saint at the age of twelve, making you the youngest Sword Saint in the Sanctum, right?"
"That's truly amazing."
He paused, then suddenly turned to look at her. "But... is the Sword Saint really that powerful?"
Nina was speechless.
She wanted to say, "Of course it's amazing!"
After all, there are only a few dozen Sword Saint in the entire Sword Sanctum, making them extremely rare across the entire continent.
Unlike the North God Style and the Water God Style, which are so widespread, the Sword God Style has always been rated as the most prestigious among the three major styles.
But the thought that the person in front of her was already the Sword King made her feel a sense of dejection.
To catch up with him, she practiced swordsmanship relentlessly every day, and after a year, she finally became Sword Saint.
If it were me in the past, I probably would have found this unbelievable.
But now she just doesn't find it appealing anymore.
She was Sword Saint, but her opponent was already Sword King.
"Hmph! Don't get too cocky!"
Her face flushed red. "Dad said the Dragon God of the Seven Great Powers are incredibly powerful! Even if you're already the Sword King, you definitely can't be their match!"
"Don't waste your energy; you'll never defeat the Dragon God in your lifetime."
"Yeah?"
Luo Ge wasn't angry; he just glanced at her. "But what's it to you?"
"..."
Nina was so speechless after being rebuked.
Every time she put all her effort into overpowering the other person, it was like punching soft, powerless cotton—she couldn't get any leverage at all.
She instinctively turned her head and saw Gino walking towards her from the other side of the corridor.
She cried out as if grasping at a straw, " Gino! Say something! He's the Sword King now, don't you feel resentful?"
Gino was visibly taken aback when his name was called, scratched his head, walked up Luo Ge Luo Ge, and said, "Um... Sword King, there are still a few things I don't quite understand about swordsmanship. Could I ask you for guidance next time?"
"No problem."
Luo Ge readily nodded, "We can practice together next time."
"Very good!"
Looking at Gino, who had a goofy grin on his face, Luo Ge felt that this guy was much more pleasing to the eye than the one next to him.
"Ha?!"
Nina was completely dumbfounded.
He led the team into a fight, but his teammates surrendered after just one encounter.
And the throws were made so decisively and cleanly, without any psychological burden.
She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. She could only stand there, watching Luo Ge and Gino walk away side by side, stomping her feet in anger.