Skipping the Plane? Is This Private Transport of Yours Legit?!

Jiangzhou Airport bustled with voices in early September, flight information playing on a loop over the PA.

Ruan Qingwu stood quietly before the glass curtain wall outside the lounge, as though a barrier separated her from the surrounding clamor.

Today, she wore a simple fitted white T-shirt with light-blue high-waisted jeans and little white sneakers.

It was the most ordinary outfit imaginable, yet she wore it so well that people kept turning to look.

With her long, straight legs and a waist slender enough to encircle with one hand, she looked like a pure, innocent campus belle who had stepped straight out of an anime.

Her face was especially striking, her features so exquisite there wasn't a single flaw to pick out. A few wisps of hair fluttered in the terminal's air-conditioning breeze, lending her a cold, aloof air that warned strangers away.

But now, this ice queen of a campus belle was frowning, her fair, delicate fingers tapping at her phone screen nonstop as it lit up, dimmed, and lit up again.

"Come on, Qingwu, stop looking. You're about to poke a hole through that screen."

"That bastard Lin Bei is way too unreliable. We agreed we'd fly to Jinghai together today to register at school, but we're about to go through security and he's still nowhere in sight. Once we get to Jinghai, I'm making him shell out for a proper barbecue feast!"

Beside her, a round, pudgy young man struggled to push two large suitcases together, panting as he complained.

Ruan Qingwu bit her lower lip without replying, merely holding her phone screen up before the fatty's eyes.

The screen showed a WeChat conversation.

Ruan Qingwu: [I've picked up the boarding passes. Where are you?]

Lin Bei: [I've got private transport. See you in Jinghai.]

Fatty Wang's eyes widened. He stared at that line for a full three seconds before suddenly laughing.

"Private transport?"

"What private transport does he have besides that beat-up bicycle? Is he planning to pedal all the way to Jinghai? That's over two thousand kilometers! He could grind an iron pestle into a needle in that time!"

Ruan Qingwu said nothing and silently put away her phone.

Her long lashes lowered, hiding the disappointment in her eyes.

She had willingly passed up a better school just to get into the same university as Lin Bei.

Yet that guy, who usually seemed pretty sharp, was a block of wood when it came to romance.

Now, he was even standing her up for university registration.

"Forget it. Never mind him." Ruan Qingwu stuffed her phone into her pocket and pulled up her suitcase handle. "Let's go through security first."

At that same moment, on the rooftop of a dilapidated apartment building in the old district in the south of the city.

"Achoo!"

Lin Bei rubbed his nose and muttered, "Who's badmouthing me behind my back?"

Standing at the edge of the rooftop in the cool morning breeze, he glanced down at the passing vehicles below, then up at the clear blue sky.

He was eighteen, wearing a gray T-shirt washed nearly white and a pair of flip-flops, his hair as messy as a bird's nest.

He certainly didn't look like a respectable university student.

But only he knew that he could no longer be considered an ordinary person.

Just three days ago, something called the [God-Level Immortal Cultivation System] had suddenly appeared in Lin Bei's mind.

At first, he thought staying up late gaming had made him hallucinate. Only after the system forcibly imparted the [Qi Refining Stage Cultivation Technique] to him and tossed in a beginner's gift pack did he finally believe he had struck it lucky.

With a thought from Lin Bei, a translucent blue panel that only he could see appeared before his eyes.

[Host: Lin Bei]

[Cultivation: Qi Refining First Layer]

[Cultivation technique: Qi Refining Stage Cultivation Technique]

[Skills: Sword Control Technique, Invisibility Technique]

[Items: None]

[Current mission: Fly by sword to Jinghai University to register. Requirement: Accumulate ten million sensation points during the flight. Reward: One god-level draw.]

Looking at the mission on the panel, Lin Bei's mouth twitched.

System, have you got the wrong idea about me?

Do you want me making headlines or getting shot down by an antiaircraft missile?

The system ignored him, playing dead.

Lin Bei sighed.

He didn't actually want to make such a big production of it.

His ancestors had been a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. By his generation, he hadn't mastered their medical skills, but he had certainly been born with a full set of lazy bones.

He subscribed to just one philosophy in life: never sit when you can lie down, and never walk when you can fly.

Now that he had the Sword Control Technique, he was supposed to squeeze into economy? What a joke.

Besides, the spiritual energy on this lousy planet Earth was outrageously thin.

He had spent the last three days meditating according to the cultivation technique, but all he inhaled was car exhaust and industrial emissions. His cultivation remained stubbornly stuck at the Qi Refining First Layer.

If he wanted to climb higher, he would have to rely on the system's mission rewards.

For that "god-level draw," he was going to take the spotlight, no matter what.

"But..." Lin Bei rubbed his chin. "I've got the Sword Control Technique. Where's the sword?"

The beginner's gift pack had only given him skills, not equipment.

Lin Bei turned and walked over to the pile of junk in a corner of the rooftop, rummaging around for quite some time.

There was a clang.

He pulled out an iron sword that didn't even have a scabbard.

It was a decorative piece he had bought online a few years ago for 9.9 yuan with free shipping. He had originally planned to hang it on the wall to ward off evil, but now, it seemed it would have to suffer the indignity of serving as transport.

Lin Bei hefted the iron sword in his hand. The weight was all right, but its appearance... was honestly a little shabby.

"Whatever. It'll do."

The scene cut back to the airport terminal.

Ruan Qingwu and Fatty Wang had barely reached the security checkpoint when a commotion reached their ears.

A group of four or five people swaggered over from the VIP passage.

The young man in the lead wore custom-made casual clothing of an unidentifiable brand but excellent quality, and the green Submariner on his wrist reflected a dazzling white glare.

Zhou Zihao.

The only son of a well-known real estate tycoon in Jinghai City.

He had been listening listlessly to the flattery of his lackeys when his casually wandering gaze suddenly fixed on Ruan Qingwu at the end of the line.

Even in an airport filled with beautiful women, Ruan Qingwu's cool yet sweet air stood out like a crane among chickens.

Quite a few male passengers nearby were stealing glances at her, but her unapproachable aura kept any of them from trying to strike up a conversation.

Zhou Zihao's eyes lit up. He pushed aside the lackey blocking his way and walked straight over.

"Hey, beautiful. Heading to Jinghai too?"

Zhou Zihao stopped in front of Ruan Qingwu and deliberately rested his left hand, with its green Submariner, on the luggage trolley beside him, striking a pose he thought looked handsome.

Ruan Qingwu frowned slightly and stepped back half a pace, her voice cool.

"Do you need something?"

"Meeting like this must be fate." Zhou Zihao smiled with easy familiarity. "I'm heading to Jinghai too. You look like you're having a hard time waiting in line, beautiful. Why not take the first-class lane with me? I've got an empty seat there. We can make friends while we're at it."

Without even raising her eyes, Ruan Qingwu wheeled her suitcase a step around him, her voice cold enough to shed ice. "Not interested."

Zhou Zihao froze for a moment.

Normally, which woman didn't come flocking with shining eyes when she saw what he was wearing? Yet today, he had actually hit a wall.

The flesh on his face twitched, but he forced himself to keep smiling and blocked Ruan Qingwu's path.

"Don't be so cold. Let me introduce myself. I'm Zhou Zihao, a freshman at Jinghai University. My family does a little real estate business in Jinghai. Once you're there, come to me anytime you need anything."

As he spoke, he pulled a gold-embossed business card from inside his clothes and held it out between two fingers.

Ruan Qingwu didn't take it at all. Her brow creased slightly, undisguised disgust showing in her eyes.

Fatty Wang couldn't stand watching any longer.

He dropped the suitcase in his hand and stepped directly in front of Ruan Qingwu.

"Buddy, don't you understand human speech?" Fatty Wang pointed at Zhou Zihao's nose. "She said she's not interested. What are you buzzing around here like a fly for?"

Zhou Zihao's face darkened, his feigned smile collapsing completely.

He looked Fatty Wang up and down as though inspecting a pile of garbage. "You fat bastard, who the hell are you? You dare stick your nose into my business?"

"Who your granddaddy is ain't your concern!" Fatty Wang stiffened his neck, refusing to give an inch.

The four lackeys behind Zhou Zihao immediately stepped forward, staring menacingly at Fatty Wang.

The atmosphere instantly turned to drawn swords and bent bows.

The airport patrol guards noticed the disturbance and were hurrying over, walkie-talkies in hand.

Seeing this, Zhou Zihao snorted and withdrew his business card.

This was an airport, after all. Making a scene wouldn't do him any good.

"Fine. You've got guts." Staring at Ruan Qingwu's back, he ground his back teeth. "Putting on airs of purity. Once we reach Jinghai, let's see how long you can keep that act up."

He turned and swaggered toward the dedicated first-class security lane with his lackeys.

Fatty Wang spat toward his retreating back.

"What a piece of work. He really thinks he's some domineering CEO."

"Qingwu, don't bother with him. That bastard's a lunatic. Once we get to Jinghai, we'll have Lin Bei deal with him!"

At the mention of Lin Bei, Ruan Qingwu's gaze softened a little, but then her lips curled.

"Him? He's not even here, and we're supposed to count on him?"

Ruan Qingwu took hold of her suitcase and strode toward the economy-class security entrance.

Fatty Wang hurried after her with the suitcases, still muttering, "What the hell is that bastard Lin Bei playing at..."

Lin Bei wasn't playing around with planes. He planned to fly himself.

On the rooftop of the old apartment building, the wind gradually picked up.

Lin Bei fished a black face covering out of his trouser pocket. He had dug it out of the prop box his mother used back in her square-dancing days.

He pulled it over his face, leaving only his eyes exposed.

"Sensation points, huh? Fine. This young master will put on one hell of a show for you today."

Lin Bei closed his eyes.

Inside his body, that faint but pure Spiritual Power began flowing slowly along his meridians.

Although cultivation at the Qi Refining First Layer wasn't high, in a magicless world like Earth, it was already enough to shock the world.

His eyes snapped open. Bringing two fingers of his right hand together like a sword, he pointed through the air at the 9.9-yuan, free-shipping iron sword on the ground.

"Rise!"

The instant his voice fell.

The iron sword lying quietly on the concrete suddenly gave a clear hum.

Whoosh-

The iron sword rose into the air, hovering steadily half a meter above the ground at Lin Bei's feet.

A faint layer of azure air currents could just be seen circling the blade.

Looking at the flying sword hovering before him, Lin Bei's heart couldn't help hammering twice.

What boy had never dreamed of riding a sword on the wind like a martial hero?

Now, that dream had come true.

"Who'd suffer through economy when they could fly there themselves?"

Lin Bei grinned, raised a foot, and stepped firmly onto the blade.

The iron sword sank an inch before supporting his weight.

"Let's go!"

Lin Bei clasped his hands behind his back and urged it on with a thought.

Whoosh-

A piercing crack of air being torn apart exploded above the rooftop.

Carrying a young man in flip-flops and a black face covering, that 9.9-yuan, free-shipping iron sword became a streak of gray light and shot into the sky.

Fierce wind howled past his ears, pressing the face covering tightly against his face.

He looked down. The buildings of Jiangzhou rapidly shrank beneath his feet, and the cars on the streets became moving matchboxes.

The feeling of treading heaven and earth beneath his feet was so exhilarating that his scalp tingled.

"Jinghai, this young master is coming!"

Lin Bei checked his bearings and channeled the Spiritual Power in his body. The flying sword beneath his feet surged in speed once more, racing toward Jinghai City.

At that same moment.

Jiangzhou Airport.

Accompanied by the thunderous roar of its engines, a Boeing passenger jet bound for Jinghai City accelerated down the runway, lifted off, and climbed straight into the clouds.

In economy class, Ruan Qingwu leaned by the window and softly sighed as she looked at the still-unanswered WeChat messages on her phone.

No one knew that above the clouds, not far from the plane.

One man, one sword.

Were traveling the same route as them in an utterly outrageous fashion.