At sunrise, the horizon was a vast expanse of fiery red.

The benefit of having the strongest physique from cultivating the Sword Dao finally came in handy.

Even after being forced to stand outside all night, there was no fear of catching a cold and falling ill.

Yue Liangze glanced outside the screen. Zong Xiu was still in front of the Zhen Xianyu. Lowering his head to look back at the person in his arms, he saw Ling Luo with one hand clutching the clothes on his chest, her fingers curved, her head tilted to the side. Her sleeping posture was very well-behaved; she hadn’t tossed or turned all night, just leaning against him and sleeping quietly.

She had no caution at all.

Yue Liangze sighed inwardly.

The way she slept with her head tilted meant her neck would be stiff when she woke up. Yue Liangze’s other hand hovered, hesitating whether to massage her neck when he heard a familiar voice from outside.

“You’ve been watching all night. Has the Zhen Xianyu shown any movement?”

Bai Cang strolled through the Weak Water toward Zong Xiu.

Zong Xiu descended from his sword, slightly lowering his head in greeting, shaking his head: “Nothing happened.”

Bai Cang asked again: “Yesterday I heard the Sect Leader say it suddenly erupted with sword energy sweeping through the inner court. Has this never happened before?”

Zong Xiu’s eyes dimmed as he replied politely: “Not to my knowledge. I don’t know why it happened this time.”

Bai Cang chatted with Zong Xiu about the Zhen Xianyu for a while, secretly complimenting him a few times, before finally saying: “You still have competitions today, yet you’ve spent the night here without sleep. Aren’t you worried it will affect you?”

“It’s of no consequence. Today isn’t the championship match; I have enough strength to manage,” Zong Xiu replied with a smile, seeming as if he would continue his vigil.

Bai Cang knew he would say this, so he handed over the jade token in his hand. “On my way here, I saw the Second Sect Leader. He wants you to go back and rest, at least have breakfast first.”

Zong Xiu accepted the jade token with some reluctance, but still clasped his hands and said, “Thank you, Immortal Master Bai Cang.”

“Go on, I also want to have a private conversation with the Zhen Xianyu,” Bai Cang said, holding a small wine jar in his hand, opening and closing the seal repeatedly.

He turned to face the Zhen Xianyu. The fiery morning sun fell on the black sword. Though silent, it couldn’t hide its brilliance.

Bai Cang narrowed his eyes. The longsword at his waist had no scabbard and looked unremarkable—just an ordinary sword.

When the morning sunlight fell on this sword, nothing was reflected.

This sword spirit, named Heaven and Earth Mirror, was excitedly trying to chat with the Zhen Xianyu, but the Zhen Xianyu remained silent, unwilling to respond.

Bai Cang ignored the sword spirits’ communication and simply looked up at the Golden Luan Pool Banquet platform.

Yue Liangze’s hand stopped midair, hesitating about where to touch Ling Luo, and finally touched nothing. He called her softly: “Ling Luo, wake up, we can leave now.”

Having not spoken all night, not slept, and constantly paying attention to the surroundings, his voice was hoarse when he finally spoke, sounding exactly like his voice when waking up after their intimate times in the past.

Ling Luo was too sensitive to this voice. For a moment, she thought she was still in those days of the past.

Her hand clutching his clothes tightened as she turned her head and buried her face in his chest, instinctively seeking warmth, muttering discontentedly: “Don’t keep calling my name, don’t fall asleep and not leave, I’ve told you so many times—”

Hiss.

This person wasn’t him from back then!

Ling Luo instantly became clear-headed, the rest of her words caught in her throat and swallowed back.

An awkward silence filled the small compartment for a moment.

Ling Luo’s hand still gripped his clothes. She bit her lip in frustration and said fiercely: “I was just talking in my sleep. You didn’t hear anything!”

Yue Liangze made a sound of acknowledgment, the syllable emanating from his chest, with no discernible emotion.

The hand that had hesitated earlier was now properly withdrawn. He said: “My Third Senior Brother is outside. We can leave now.”

Ling Luo was only focused on her own mistake, her mind filled with endless frustration, completely ignoring Yue Liangze.

She was the first to leave the warm embrace and walk outside.

Ling Luo thought that in the future, she should stay far away from this man—at least not as close as they had just been.

Those memories kept repeating in her mind, impossible to forget or discard. One moment of inattention had made her absent-minded and say the wrong things.

She’d have to wait until later after he broke into the bamboo formation to save people and stop her from cultivating the beauty point before she could say certain things.

Bai Cang had his back to the screen, being very considerate.

Ling Luo raised her hand to massage her stiff neck, feigning calmness as she said to Yue Liangze: “I’ll go back first. I still have competitions today.”

Yue Liangze stood in front of the screen, watching her.

The man, imbued with the scent of morning dew, seemed to still carry the unretreated night.

“Go ahead,” he said. “Would you like breakfast?”

Without thinking, Ling Luo answered: “Yes.”

Yue Liangze said: “I’ll have Taichu’s dining hall send some over to you.”

“You’re not making it yourself?” Ling Luo asked, blinking her eyes.

Yue Liangze smoothed out the clothes that had been wrinkled by Ling Luo’s grip, saying casually: “The dining hall will be faster.”

At first glance, there seemed nothing inappropriate about this.

Seeing it wasn’t made by him, Ling Luo said: “Then don’t bother. If you order it, they might become suspicious and gossipy. I’ll just go with my senior brother to eat in West Sea City.”

Yue Liangze: “…”

He made a sound of acknowledgment and watched Ling Luo depart.

Bai Cang quietly retracted the sound-catching spell he had cast, clicked his tongue, turned, and walked toward the Golden Luan Pool Banquet platform, tossing the small wine jar to Yue Liangze.

“I don’t want to drink,” Yue Liangze said, throwing the wine jar back.

“This is peach wine you brewed yourself,” Bai Cang played with the wine jar in his hand, accompanying him as they walked and talked. “Junior Brother, if she won’t eat, I will. What breakfast were you going to make?”

Yue Liangze: “I’m not making anything.”

“Then what will you eat?”

“I won’t eat.”

“Not hungry?”

“Not hungry.”

Bai Cang was impressed.

“Why are you upset with the girl?” Bai Cang put his arm around his shoulders, comforting him with a smile. “If it’s not meant to be, let it go. There will always be someone else.”

Yue Liangze was silent for a moment, lowering his eyes, then said: “Porridge.”

The distance from the inner court to the west courtyard was quite far.

Ling Luo returned quickly, rushing in and collapsing on the soft but cold blanket, wrapping herself up and rolling around on the bed with loud groans.

To have said such things in front of Yue Liangze was truly embarrassing!

Damn it!

She might as well kill him to silence him while his strength hadn’t yet reached the level it would in the future!

Ling Luo buried herself under the blanket, only poking her head out when she couldn’t breathe properly.

Just thinking about how she had clutched Yue Liangze’s clothes and said those things in his arms made Ling Luo wish she could be reborn once more—not greedy, just back to when she had just awakened would be fine.

Ling Luo rubbed her temples, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

After calming down, she began to think about how to kill him to silence him without being hunted by the Twelve Great Immortal Sects.

First, that Third Senior Brother would be very troublesome to deal with.

At least she couldn’t defeat him now.

And this was Taichu’s territory, where there was also a demon—

Thinking of this person, Ling Luo’s eyelid twitched. Hearing the door open, she got up and looked out the window, only to see Chu Yi returning from outside.

They looked at each other, and Chu Yi frowned and asked: “You didn’t sleep?”

Ling Luo also asked: “Why are you just getting back now?”

So neither of them had returned last night?

Chu Yi raised his eyebrows and said carelessly: “I was playing with friends until now. As for you, what were you doing without sleeping?”

“I’m going to sleep now,” Ling Luo said gloomily, turning back to lie down.

Chu Yi came over and knocked on her door. “It’s already daylight. Get up. You still have competitions today. If you miss the time, it counts as your loss.”

“Hungry,” Ling Luo said weakly.

Chu Yi was about to knock again when he saw a large cat carrying a food box walking to the door, calling out: “Open the door! Exclusive breakfast from Idle Cloud Inn! Made by my Little Master Uncle himself!”

Chu Yi: “…”

Why were the people from the Holy Sword Sect and the cat here again?

Ling Luo got up to open the door. The large cat placed the food box beside her, panting heavily: “Eat—eat it while it’s hot. My Little Master Uncle said you haven’t eaten since last night, and you’ve been in the cold wind all night, so he made a warming porridge for your stomach. Good luck with your competition.”

Chu Yi looked down. “Just one bowl?”

The large cat waved its paw: “It’s just for her alone!”

There were also two small side dishes.

Chu Yi looked at the large cat with a black face, disdainfully.

The large cat: “?”

This isn’t my fault, is it?

Having completed its task, the large cat ran off promptly.

Ling Luo looked in the direction of the inner court.

Just for this bowl of porridge, she would temporarily forget about silencing him.

Chu Yi leaned against the door, watching her comfortably drinking the hot porridge, interrogating: “How does that Holy Sword Sect boy know you hadn’t eaten anything since last night and had been in the cold wind all night? You didn’t come back last night?”

Ling Luo: “I’m back now, aren’t I?”

Chu Yi frowned: “I’m talking about last night. What were you doing outside with him last night?”

Ling Luo: “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”

“Tell me first.”

“Went to pull out the Zhen Xianyu.”

Chu Yi sneered: “Ask yourself if you can believe that?”

Ling Luo lowered her head to drink the porridge: “I do.”

The disturbance of the Zhen Xianyu last night had been kept secret by Taichu’s Sect Leader, with few people knowing about it.

Chu Yi asked: “Which one of you pulled out the Zhen Xianyu?”

Ling Luo: “Him.”

Chu Yi was a bit surprised.

Shouldn’t it have been his extremely arrogant junior sister who pulled out the Zhen Xianyu?

Ling Luo finished the porridge, licked the corner of her mouth, feeling the warmth inside her body, and waved her hand to dismiss Chu Yi, saying: “I need to change clothes. Senior Brother should know to avoid suspicion.”

Chu Yi slammed the door as he left.

The rules for the second day’s competitions remained unchanged.

It was still winning five consecutive matches to succeed.

But the difficulty had increased significantly compared to yesterday.

Chang Fei was the first to be defeated. He panted as he said to his companions: “Damn, this person doesn’t care about his life! His fighting style became completely berserk toward the end. He might not value his life, but I value mine. Too terrifying!”

“It was at least evenly matched in the beginning. How did he suddenly burst out so strongly when he was at a disadvantage later?” Song Yuanyuan pondered, finding it hard to understand.

Ling Luo yawned, narrowing her eyes, looking lazy and not fully awake.

When it was her turn to compete, she still held a wooden sword.

Her opponent wielded a high-grade weapon.

In a rather secluded corner of the stands, the Second Sect Leader was watching this year’s competition with two disciples from the Holy Sword Sect.

“This person is holding a high-grade weapon, a fine sword. No matter how you look at it, it surpasses that wooden sword,” the Second Sect Leader said slowly. “But the sword energy of the wooden sword side is superior.”

Bai Cang asked with a smile: “Who does the Second Sect Leader think will win this match?”

The Second Sect Leader said: “In some matches, winning or losing depends on the sword. In others, the focus is on the person wielding the sword. I believe this match isn’t about the value of the sword, but the strength of the sword energy.”

Bai Cang had a smile at the corner of his mouth, but in his heart, he was thinking, aren’t you just stating the obvious?

Looking at the clash of spiritual energy on the field, anyone could see how dominant the wooden sword’s owner was.

The Second Sect Leader’s real interest wasn’t in the competition on the stage but in the young man holding the black sword beside him.

“To master a killing weapon with its sword spirit like Wu Sheng requires very profound cultivation and strength. The sword and the person complement each other. Wu Sheng has never been defeated, just like its master.”

Bai Cang leaned against the chair back and said with a smile: “Wu Sheng has lost before.”

The Second Sect Leader was stunned. “I’ve never heard of this. Wu Sheng is the sword with the heaviest killing intent in the world. Who could it lose to?”

Yue Liangze glanced at the people competing below and said in a calm voice: “It once lost to a branch of begonia flowers.”