Chà Chà Novel

Only after asking Mu Yunting did Lin Huaiqing learn what had happened.

The great boulder at the bottom of the lake had not been a boulder at all, but a Xuanwu beast that had slept for a thousand years.

The Qingyu Sword was embedded in its back. When Mu Yunting recklessly tried to draw it, he awakened the sleeping creature.

The enormous whirlpool had also been caused by a mechanism on the Xuanwu’s back being triggered.

Mu Yunting had fought it beneath the lake for an hour before finally pulling the Qingyu Sword free.

The sword had now recognized him as its master, and its blade no longer bore the rust that had covered it underwater.

Although Lin Huaiqing had missed the spectacle of the young male lead battling the Xuanwu, he felt no regret.

There would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

“What are you standing around for? Let’s go!”

He urged the distracted Qin Du to get moving.

The Qingyu Sword was the highest-grade treasure in the realm. Other participants had surely noticed the strange phenomenon at the lake.

To avoid further complications, they had better leave quickly.

Once they were far from the lake, it was time for Lin Huaiqing to make his exit too.

Possessing another participant was already a breach of the rules. He had only come to help Mu Yunting obtain his spirit sword. Now that his task was complete, he ought to leave.

Upon reaching a secluded spot, Lin Huaiqing suddenly stopped and cupped his hands in farewell.

“Now that you’re all safe, I’ll take my leave. I have other matters to attend to. Farewell, fellow Daoists.”

Qin Du immediately caught his arm.

“Didn’t Master send you to keep an eye on us? The trial isn’t over. Why are you leaving?”

“Exactly, Brother Zhao. You saved both our lives, and we haven’t properly thanked you! Why not stay with us and complete the trial together?”

“There’s no need. Your master has given me other tasks. You’ll have to walk the rest of the way yourselves.”

Lin Huaiqing was about to offer a few more reminders when the sounds of fighting and a woman’s agonized cries drifted over from a clearing nearby.

The others had clearly noticed too. Everyone fell silent.

“Could it be a high-grade beast?”

Qin Du’s eyes lit up.

At least two teams seemed to be fighting up ahead. Either they were hunting beasts or stealing points.

Whichever it was, he was interested in joining the action.

Suddenly, a sharp blast of sword energy shot toward them from the direction of the noise. It skimmed past Yu’er’s ear and struck the tree behind her.

Pale with fright, Yu’er crouched down and covered her head. She was about to scream when Lin Huaiqing clapped a hand over her mouth.

“Shh! Don’t make a sound!”

Before their eyes, the great tree, its trunk as thick as a person could encircle with both arms, was severed clean through. It swayed, then toppled to the ground, stirring up dust.

Had that sword energy strayed just an inch farther, Yu’er would already have been sent outside to see her master.

Once she had calmed down, she asked dazedly, “Sword energy that powerful… Is its owner really another participant?”

The Xianyue Sect’s realm was a low-tier secret realm. Only cultivators from late Qi Refining to below early Golden Core were permitted to enter.

Yet whoever had unleashed that strike was at least at late Golden Core.

Letting a late Golden Core expert—or even a Nascent Soul cultivator—into a trial realm full of Foundation Establishment disciples was like throwing a wolf among sheep.

Determined to find out what was happening, the four agreed to investigate.

Using the dense vegetation as cover, they easily concealed themselves low in the bushes and peered into the clearing.

“Master! These damned women aren’t being honest! They’re still hiding things! I say we wipe their memories and kill them all!”

“Exactly! They’re from the Xianyue Sect. They must know where the treasures are hidden. How else could they have dug up so many?”

In the clearing, a group of black-clad male cultivators had surrounded five female disciples of the Xianyue Sect.

One woman clutched an exquisite folding fan to her chest, refusing to let go.

“That’s a lie! My senior sister found these treasures using a treasure-detection technique! As the hosts, how could the Xianyue Sect possibly allow its disciples to cheat?”

“Cut the crap! Hand over the fan, or we’ll send you all to your deaths right now!”

Seeing that the women still resisted, one outwardly respectable-looking man reached forward to snatch it.

“No! You can’t have it! This is the bonded spiritual weapon I found for my junior sister! Haven’t we already given you every other treasure?”

“You’ve gone too far! Golden Core cultivators aren’t even allowed in this trial, yet you brazenly lead your disciples around stealing treasures! Aren’t you afraid the Heavenly Eye will expose you and ruin your reputation?”

The black-clad leader let out a sinister cackle.

“Heh heh heh! If I dared come here, naturally I have a way to evade the Heavenly Eye. Not only will those outside remain ignorant, but once you leave, you won’t remember a thing either.”

Now the four hiding in the bushes understood.

These bandits had evaded the Heavenly Eye’s surveillance and were using their superior cultivation to kill and rob people inside the realm.

It had clearly been planned in advance. They had even avoided wearing their sect uniforms so no one could identify their affiliation.

The leader’s arrogance filled all four with indignation.

“Still refusing to give me the fan?!”

One of the black-clad men stepped forward and struck the woman holding it twice on the head.

He used no spiritual energy, but the blows were real and hard—an act of pure humiliation.

Lin Huaiqing’s expression turned icy. He glanced at the other three.

“Stay where you are. I’m going out alone.”

Qin Du was the first to object.

“No! If we’re doing this, all four of us go together! We can’t let you face them alone!”

“Be quiet! No one comes out without my order!”

At this critical moment, Lin Huaiqing’s stern expression was utterly unlike his earlier calm demeanor.

Despite being ordered around, Qin Du, for once, did not lose his temper.

Normally, he was proud and arrogant. Anyone who dared speak to him like that would have been beaten until they couldn’t get up.

This time, however, he stood frozen, as though he had forgotten how to react.

For some reason, he seemed to glimpse Lin Huaiqing in this cultivator named Zhao.

Lin Huaiqing slowly rose from the bushes and stepped out beneath the glowing sky.

“Stop!”

The light washed over his plain white disciple robes, lending him the bearing of an immortal. An intimidating pressure radiated from him.

The black-clad leader seemed to have noticed him long ago. Showing no surprise, he sneered.

“Oh? The rat hiding in the shadows finally comes out. I thought you’d wait until I killed them all before showing yourself!”

Lin Huaiqing remained unruffled by the provocation.

“A late Golden Core cultivator bullying a group of Foundation Establishment women—does that make you proud? Release them and return what you took. I can pretend I saw nothing.”

“Hey! Pretty boy, who the hell do you think you are, speaking to my master like that?”

Seeing Lin Huaiqing’s slight build, one of the men rushed forward to attack him.

Fortunately, the black-clad leader stopped him in time.

“Come back, disciple! You’re no match for him.”