So, until that moment comes, she won’t realize that she isn’t ordinary.

  Well, since she received half of Qi Guiyuan’s spiritual root, she is no longer ordinary.

  Unwittingly, her right hand gripped the handle of the sword.

  She performed a sword dance.

  Although her mind is still empty, but she can display all the moves of the Merak Swordsmanship smoothly, as if she has internalized those sword moves.

  Along with the lass’s movements, rays of sword qi were unleashed one after another. But before they could touch the stones, trees, and water, they turned into a gentle breeze that didn’t cause any harm.

  The highest sword scripture of the Merak Temple divides the use of sword into three realms.

  The first is to be able to release sword qi at will; the second is to be able to dissipate sword qi at will; the third is to be able to have sword qi appear in the place you want it to appear at will.

  Xue Qilin appears to have already reached the second realm — she almost surmounted the first realm, which is probably thanks to her magic foundation.

  As the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome.

  Just like this, time passed. The massive, bright moon climbed from the corner of the sky to the center and the occasional cries of crows disappeared. Only Xue Qilin, who is unleashing sword moves one after another, remains unchanged.

  She seems to have separated from the world and become a world herself.

  Unfortunately, this didn’t last long.

  “Aoo –!”


  A long, acute, resounding howl oscillated.

  Crows, who have fallen asleep, flew out with a start and countless leaves fell. Animals ran away in a hurry, making chaotic noises. The powerful force contained in that howl shook her exposed skin and easily broke her world.

  Xue Qilin suddenly opened her eyes, and her bright yellow eyes flashed with startling light.

  At the moment when her mind returned to reality, the pale blue light that clung to her body disappeared.

  “A wolf? …… not really?”


  Looking in the direction the sound came from, Xue Qilin murmured to herself.

  If it was just a regular wolf, would it really be able to release a howl of this level? But if it’s not a wolf, then what unleashed that howl?

  — martial demon.

  This seems to be the only answer.

  To howl for no reason, that martial demon must be full and idle! Xue Qilin wrinkled her nose in dissatisfaction. Thereupon, she heard a loud rumble mixed with a faint dragon roar.

  Several trees flew high into the air.

  Not far away, part of the forest was blown away, and an intense shock wave brimming with majestic true qi rushed over from there. Judging by the majestic true qi, the lass realized that there must be some kind of conflict between martial practitioners — or martial practitioners and martial demons.

  Not only that, the battlefield seems to be shifting, moving in the direction where Xue Qilin is located.

  The sounds of fighting keep approaching, at a fast speed to boot.

  “Hey, I’m going to get caught in the crossfire!”


  Xue Qilin put her clothes back on in a hurry and tied up her already wet hair, which she couldn’t tidy up due to a lack of time, ready to leave this place at once.

  Curiosity? That thing will kill not only cats, but also people.

  However, all is predestined after all. In the end, she didn’t have the time to escape.

  Accompanied by a “get out of the way” shout, a small figure knocked into Xue Qilin, who just raised her leg and was about to run.

  The force of the impact is beyond imagination.

  The caught off guard Xue Qilin and the person who knocked into her stuck together, rolled for several zhang [1] like a ball, and finally stopped.

  “Boo…… aerial attacks are illegal……”


  Xue Qilin rubbed her sore nose. Before she could figure out who knocked into her, the other party jumped up abruptly and scolded loudly in a lovely voice, “Are you deaf?! This old one told you to get out of the way! What are you doing there spacing out! Dogshit……”


  Listening to the other party’s “the bad guy is the first to sling accusations” chatter, Xue Qilin was so angry that she forgot to ask for medical expenses! She looked up and saw a big bun.

  This is a bun made of hair.

  The round, soft bun is hanging from the back of other party’s head. Xue Qilin, who at first glance thought that it is a black ball of yarn, was absentminded for quite a while.

  It took her half a beat to notice that the owner of the bun is actually a lass about her size.

  A pair of pitch-black apricot eyes that appear to be cut out from the curtain of night, a small, smooth nose that seems to sculpted from precious stone, and there also appears to be a delicate, ruby-lipped mouth, they are all inlaid in a small, charming face. Set off by a particularly dazzling blush, the lass looks like a fresh and tender apple that just ripened.

  If she hadn’t wrinkled her adorable face and if it wasn’t for her foul language, Xue Qilin would probably have looked some more.

  “You damn scoundrel! This old one is scolding you, what are you spacing out for!”


  It seems that berating alone can’t appease her anger. The lass placed her hands on her hips and kicked at Xue Qilin’s leg. Xue Qilin quickly dodged and climbed onto her feet.

  The lass first knocked into her, and then she started making noise for no reason. This is more than what Xue Qilin can bear.

  “Hey, let’s make things clear! You were the one who knocked into me! If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for running around without looking!”


  “What! Are you scolding this old one?”


  “Heh, you think that you can scold others, yet others can’t scold you?! That’s right, I am scolding you! What, do you have a problem with that?!”


  “Shit, you dare scold me! Tell me your name if you have the guts!”


  The lass jumped up in anger and asked angrily.

  “You want my name?” Xue Qilin stuck out her chest and replied, “I am the Merak Temple’s Xue Qilin!”


  The lass was startled when she heard the other party’s name.

  “You tiny thing are Natural Disaster Xue Qilin?”


  “I am who I am!”


  Xue Qilin snorted complacently, looked disdainfully at the lass, and asked, “And you, who the hell are you [2]?”


  “Green onion!”


  The lass breathed in sharply, and her cheeks flushed from anger.

  “Wow, you’ve go guts! This old one is the Beggars’ Union’s vice-Union Master! How dare you confuse me for a green onion!”


  “Ah, you’re Bei Xiaolu?”


  Xue Qilin looked the lass in front of her up and down in disbelief.

  Then she realized that the clothes the lass is wearing look like they are carelessly made out of several pieces of cloth, that her small feet are encased in worn out wooden clogs, that she has something akin to arm guards and hand wraps on, and that there is a wine gourd hanging from her waist. This looks like the outfit of a disciple from the Beggars’ Union.

  [1] – 1 zhang = 3,33 m = 3,64 yd

  [2] – who the hell are you (那根葱); this character 葱 means green onion