Really?
The Player didn’t believe it.
Before Li Yin could speak, Xia Erruo eyed the youth warily first. “Who is your little junior sister?”
Realizing her tone was off, she coughed lightly. “Ji Little Dao Lord, have you mistaken her for someone else?”
Ji Lingyao’s gray eyes flickered slightly. “Oh?”
He looked toward the girl on the flying boat, no longer using Azure Profound Sect’s secret technique.
The girl had an ordinary face, but her eyes were as lively as ever. She was staring at him intently.
It could even be called glaring—like a vigilant cat that might dart away in the next moment or swipe at him with her claws.
Realizing something, Ji Lingyao smoothly picked up the conversation. “So I was mistaken. Allow me to apologize to this junior sister. May I have your name?”
Knowing he had made a mistake, his usual sharp and piercing aura softened into a gentle breeze, warm and approachable.
“Just call me Junior Sister Yin,” Li Yin pretended not to know him.
“Alright, Junior Sister Yin.” The youth’s gray eyes curved into a smile. “We’re heading the same way. If you don’t mind, could I hitch a ride?”
With that, Little Junior Sister started glaring at him again.
But the youth couldn’t help it—his gray eyes deepened with amusement.
The Player said nothing, just glaring with her eyes. Seeing she wasn’t thrilled, Fat Senior Brother spoke up from the side.
“Ji Little Dao Lord is just joking with you, Junior Sister Yin. You might not know this, but Ji Little Dao Lord has a variant wind spirit root. He can ride the wind through the void—it’s incredibly powerful! Unlike us ordinary cultivators who have to rely on flying magic artifacts.”
His words politely refused the request.
Yet the youth in his fitted robes leaped aboard effortlessly, showing no intention of leaving. His long legs landed at the bow of the flying boat as he waved away the gusting wind.
He smiled and said, “You can’t put it that way. Consuming spiritual power is tiring too.”
Fat Senior Brother’s eyes widened instantly. Even the slower Zhang Baille realized something was wrong.
They had all heard a bit about Ji Little Dao Lord’s personality. He wasn’t the type to be this warm and persistently clingy—like a spring breeze on the face. Not using wind blades to slice flesh would already be lucky.
【Isn’t something off?】 Zhang Baille wondered.
【Did Ji Little Dao Lord get possessed by someone? I haven’t heard anything like that.】 Zheng Qian puzzled.
Xia Erruo was displeased. 【What else could it be? I suspect he has designs on Little Junior Sister.】
The group transmitted messages among themselves, then whispered conspiratorially right in front of him.
【Wait, don’t we need a strong fighter? Here’s a ready-made one.】 Zheng Qian pondered.
【Even so, we can’t push Little Junior Sister at him to deal with it. What kind of example is that!】 Xia Erruo refused.
Her senior brothers and sisters hesitated, debating whether to take advantage of this fool with deep pockets who had delivered himself to their door.
Meanwhile, the Player was already making use of him.
“Junior Sister Yin, it seems like your waistband is missing a feather,” Ji Lingyao pointed out insightfully.
He had looked too closely and spotted the missing item at a glance—especially since it was something he had given her.
The youth fiddled with the white feather at his own waist and plucked off a segment. “Conveniently, I have plenty more here. If Little Junior Sister doesn’t mind, please accept this as a meeting gift.”
Fortunately, the game panel didn’t pop up this time.
Events already judged as success or failure couldn’t be tested again. These white feathers could no longer probe her.
Li Yin thanked him and accepted it.
No reason not to take free things—especially with demonic cultivators chasing her. It might come in handy someday.
Her mood improved a bit. She fastened the white feather back to her waist and said, “I did have one before, but it got stained black later, so I tossed it.”
Ji Lingyao nodded. “I see.”
Her words revealed what had happened. His mind stirred as he easily guessed the gist, a hint of his usual sharp edge creeping into his smile—as if he might go hunt down a demonic cultivator himself.
Not wanting to scare her, he quickly switched back to a warm and approachable smile. “Little Junior Sister, just keep it. Be careful next time—don’t let it get stained again.”
With that, he plucked a string of pristine feather segments and handed them over.
Li Yin’s mood fully brightened. She thanked him again and took them.
She had accepted gifts twice now. Her sincere “no reason not to take free things” attitude finally convinced her senior brothers and sisters.
They exchanged glances and decided to follow Little Junior Sister’s lead.
Zheng Qian smiled warmly and invited the youth to sit, heading to Hidden Sword Mountain together along the way.
However, he quietly arranged seating: the male cultivators on one side, the female cultivators on the other, keeping the youth away from their own Little Junior Sister.
“Hidden Sword Mountain won’t open for another three days. I didn’t expect Little Junior Sister to arrive so early,” the youth remarked, despite the separation.
“I’m just following my senior brothers and sisters. I’m not sure about the dates,” Li Yin answered honestly.
Beside her, Xia Erruo suddenly noticed that, in a moment of carelessness, this guy had started calling her Little Junior Sister again.
Little Junior Sister was the one she had spotted and brought into Myriad Beasts Sect herself!
Li Yin suddenly sensed it—Senior Sister Xia had grabbed her hand.
She squeezed back, then heard the youth continue, “I assume this is Junior Sister’s first time leaving the sect for training?”
Ji Lingyao’s gaze swept over their clasped hands, seemingly oblivious to the female cultivator’s hostile attitude toward him across the way.
Fat Senior Brother took the conversation. “Yes, Junior Sister Yin just joined not long ago. This is her first time leaving the sect.”
“We senior brothers and sisters might not have high cultivation, but we wanted to bring Junior Sister Yin out to see the world.”
Unintentionally mentioning cultivation, Li Yin suddenly stiffened.
Because the youth had noticed an issue too. He was gazing at her thoughtfully.
The last time they met, she had seemed to be at foundation establishment.
Ji Lingyao’s gray eyes narrowed as he stared at her fixedly.
Such rapid advancement—even after hundreds of years of cultivation, he had never heard of it. Not to mention from a beast-taming sect, whose techniques shouldn’t allow such quick breakthroughs.
Li Yin looked up in confusion, her eyes clear. She didn’t understand what was wrong.
Facing his cold, probing gaze, the girl seemed a bit scared and clutched her senior sister’s hand tighter.
She showed a hint of timid retreat, and the youth’s gray eyes instantly softened. He lightened his gaze.
He was afraid of scaring her.
As for probing, there was no rush.
Li Yin didn’t know what he was thinking.
Her cultivation breakthrough had been too conspicuous, impossible not to arouse suspicion—especially from this Ji Little Dao Lord who already suspected her.
But with no reaction from the game panel, she quietly breathed a sigh of relief for now.
Recalling how his expression had sharpened then softened, Li Yin felt a stir in her mind. She had grasped a bit of the key.
She seemed to know how to handle this Ji Little Dao Lord.
Fat Senior Brother hadn’t noticed the subtle shift and was still tapping his abacus beads. “Even if we can’t collect high-grade sword qi to show Junior Sister, we should at least snag one or two strands of mid-grade sword qi for her to see. This trip will be worth it.”
Ji Lingyao stopped staring at Little Junior Sister so intently. Hearing this, he looked at him with a half-smile. “Is that so?”
Sword qi was divided into high, mid, and low grades. High-grade sword qi required orifice exit or soul formation cultivation to handle—in other words, someone like a dao lord stepping in.
Ji Little Dao Lord said candidly, “As it happens, I’m leading Azure Profound disciples out for training this time. If you don’t mind, you can join us Azure Profound disciples when the time comes.”
He extended the invitation. Fat Senior Brother nodded in agreement but left a buffer. “Training is still something you have to experience firsthand. You can’t rely on others’ protection forever. We’ll take Junior Sister Yin around first when the time comes.”
In just a few words, Fat Senior Brother had secured a protective umbrella for his junior sister and brothers. It cost no spirit stones—just the camaraderie of the Cultivation World.
Li Yin listened for a while before asking proactively, “How do you collect sword qi?”
Ji Lingyao immediately turned to look at her, gray eyes smiling. “Sword qi? It’s quite interesting.”
He effortlessly took over Fat Senior Brother’s explanation. Zheng Qian’s lips twitched, but he said nothing and sat with his hands tucked away.
The youth’s voice was clear and smooth as he explained to Little Junior Sister. “First, you chase the sword qi. There are plenty drifting in Sword Tomb—you have to separate one strand from the others.”
“Second, temper the sword qi. Whether with spells or sword control, disperse it to the right degree. Finally, collect it. This step requires precision; the sword qi gourd only works within a certain range.”
“Has Little Junior Sister seen a sword qi gourd?” Ji Lingyao asked gently.
Unfortunately, Little Junior Sister nodded—she didn’t need him to demonstrate personally.
By the time their conversation ended, they had arrived at Hidden Sword Mountain’s gate.
Ji Lingyao found another topic. “Hidden Sword Mountain arranges lodging for training disciples, regardless of sect size—first come, first served. There are also inns at the base.”
“But for safety, the mountain is best. Even troublemakers get handled by sword cultivators. Demonic cultivators won’t sneak into a sword sect to die. Little Junior Sister should stay on the mountain.”
Li Yin caught a certain phrase, her heart skipping a beat. She unintentionally met the youth’s eyes.
His gray eyes fixed on hers, curved in an ambiguous smile, inscrutable.
Ji Lingyao gazed at her. “Once, a demonic cultivator tried sneaking into Hidden Sword Mountain but was detected by a sword cultivator disciple’s righteous sword qi. Naturally, he ended up pierced by ten thousand swords, not a whole corpse left.”
As he spoke, he slightly restrained his smile, lips moving lightly as he murmured, “I hear… he died right at this gate…”