Chapter 758: Reincarnated To Cultivate Anew (II)

Xiao Yiqing left the great hall and arrived at the side hall where Lin Zheyu was staying. At that moment, Lin Zheyu remained immersed in cultivation. The formation surrounding him concealed the aura fluctuations produced by his cultivation.

Xiao Yiqing curiously studied Lin Zheyu within the formation. This was a high-level formation that Lin Zheyu had purchased for more than a hundred high-grade spirit stones. Its purpose was to prevent others from discovering or disturbing him whenever he entered seclusion away from his own residence. Despite Xiao Yiqing's formidable strength, even she could not silently breach the formation and spy on his cultivation.

The corners of Xiao Yiqing's lips rose slightly as she scoffed in disdain. "Heh."

She raised her hands and began clapping softly. Strange formation fluctuations blended into the sound of her applause, passing straight through the formation and penetrating Lin Zheyu's mind. His body trembled slightly, and his eyes snapped open. His face flushed crimson in an instant as a vermilion flame ignited within his eyes.

The divine patterns on the left arm he had been using for his experiments exploded when he lost control of his mind for a split second.

Lin Zheyu's gaze sharpened, and the flame deep within his eyes was instantly extinguished. He decisively seized his left arm with his right hand and tore it off before the divine patterns could spiral completely out of control. A tremendous surge of life energy soon erupted, and his severed arm regenerated in an instant.

Lin Zheyu slowly rose to his feet and put away the formation disk with a wave of his right hand. His face was still somewhat flushed as he glared at Xiao Yiqing with an ugly expression. "What is the meaning of this, Senior?"

A peculiar gleam flashed through Xiao Yiqing's eyes. The corners of her lips curled upward, and an intrigued expression appeared on her face.

Xiao Yiqing lightly stamped her right foot. Vermilion flames abruptly ignited beneath her feet and surged toward Lin Zheyu at astonishing speed, seeking to surround him.

Lin Zheyu could not help cursing inwardly, Damn it!

Xiao Yiqing was a renowned genius of the Vermilion Bird Sect, yet she had shamelessly attacked a junior like him. Even more disgracefully, she had ambushed him while he was cultivating. Lin Zheyu immediately activated a secret art. The blood qi within him surged, the aura of spatial laws spread from his body, and he rapidly retreated.

"Not bad," Xiao Yiqing said flatly.

With a wave of her right hand, the flames on the ground abruptly vanished, only to reappear behind Lin Zheyu without warning.

Just as the flames were about to strike Lin Zheyu, the cry of a Vermilion Bird rang out from within his body. Lin Zheyu came to a stop, holding the token Jing Xinyue had given him in his right hand. A faint red light radiated from the token and enveloped him. The flames controlled by Xiao Yiqing burst apart as though they had encountered their natural nemesis, then dissipated into the air.

"Hmm?" Xiao Yiqing exclaimed softly, surprise appearing in her eyes.

Senior Jing Xinyue's token! Why does this fellow possess such a token? What is his relationship with Jing Xinyue?

Xiao Yiqing was deeply astonished.

She had initially thought he was merely a somewhat unusual martial genius. She had not expected him to produce yet another thing that surprised her. This was becoming increasingly interesting. The corners of Xiao Yiqing's lips curved into a beautiful arc.

"What is the meaning of this, Senior? Have I offended you in some way?" Lin Zheyu asked with a dark expression.

"I was merely testing your strength. But if you continue speaking to me from up there, it will no longer be as simple as a test. If you show disrespect to a senior, then even if I kill you here, Senior Jing Xinyue will at most give me a minor punishment as a warning," Xiao Yiqing said coldly, narrowing her eyes.

Lin Zheyu descended from the air with a slight movement. He still held the token Senior Jing Xinyue had given him, but the glow of energy upon it had already vanished.

Lin Zheyu exhaled softly and cupped his hands in a calm salute. "This junior, Xiao Yu, greets you."

Xiao Yiqing's gaze was icy, and a subtle threat emanated from her. Lin Zheyu had a feeling that if he acted even slightly inappropriately, she would probably use it as an excuse to attack him.

"Mm," Xiao Yiqing murmured.

She slowly walked past Lin Zheyu and took the host's seat in the center of the great hall. Raising her eyes slightly, Xiao Yiqing looked at him without expression.

"There is a mission that requires a cultivator of sufficient strength. I tested your abilities just now, and you are strong enough for the task. I will entrust it to you. What do you say?" Xiao Yiqing asked flatly.

Her tone, however, left no room for refusal. Xiao Yiqing stared coldly at Lin Zheyu, her eyes filled with the aloof indifference of one looking down from above.

"Yes, Senior. Please give me your instructions," Lin Zheyu replied, suppressing the irritation in his heart.

Xiao Yiqing was by no means easy to deal with. If Lin Zheyu had not produced the token Senior Jing Xinyue had given him, she would undoubtedly have beaten him soundly to put him in his place.

"The foreign races attending the Ascension Assembly have grown far too brazen. They have slain quite a few cultivators from Great Wei in the arena matches. I want you to enter the life-and-death arena, choose an arena for the Golden Core realm, and defend it for two days. Are you willing?" Xiao Yiqing asked flatly.

"This junior obeys," Lin Zheyu replied.

Xiao Yiqing had clearly come prepared, and her justification was perfectly legitimate. If he refused, she undoubtedly had another move waiting for him. Lin Zheyu therefore accepted without further protest.

"Good. If you cannot hold the arena, simply concede. There is no need to lose your life over this. The flame from earlier is called Heart Flame. It can burn away distracting thoughts and inner demons. Take this medicinal pill. Once you recover, the experience will bring you considerable benefits," Xiao Yiqing said flatly.

With a wave of her right hand, a reddish-brown medicinal pill shot out. Lin Zheyu caught it, surprised.

What is this woman trying to do? Is she giving me a sweet after slapping me, or is there something else to it...

Lin Zheyu cupped his hands in gratitude. "Thank you, Senior."

"Mm. You may go." Xiao Yiqing waved her hand, and her figure vanished with a slight flicker. Holding the medicinal pill, Lin Zheyu looked in the direction where she had disappeared and chuckled softly before turning to leave.

Interesting. What exactly is this woman trying to do? The thought crossed Lin Zheyu's mind as he left Xiao Yiqing's residence. Still, her final gesture had indeed eased much of his displeasure toward her.

***

Standing upon the roof and watching Lin Zheyu's departing figure, Xiao Yiqing murmured to herself, "What an interesting little fellow. Senior Jing Xinyue actually values him so highly, and his natural talent is indeed rather astonishing. Although I could not sense it clearly, I could tell that his soul flame was extremely young. He is definitely less than a hundred years old. A Shackles realm expert under the age of one hundred. Interesting, very interesting... Could he be a great expert who reincarnated to cultivate anew? But if he were, why would he choose the dead-end path of Martial Dao?"

The Heart Flame she had invoked was not merely a flame that targeted the heart. Through it, she could also perceive many of the secrets hidden within another person's body.

"No, he is probably not one of my kind." Xiao Yiqing shook her head, dismissing the possibility.

A Shackles realm martial cultivation genius under a hundred years old was certainly astonishing. Still, neither his origins and background, his cultivation and strength, nor the cultivation technique he practiced supported that possibility.

"His cultivation technique is far too chaotic, a disorderly mess without any coherent system... Although I could not sense it clearly, I vaguely detected traces of the Immortal Dao, Martial Dao, and the Shamanic Dao within his body. There even seemed to be traces of Yao Dao. He is probably a cultivator with terrifying natural talent for martial cultivation who possesses immense fortune and has encountered tremendous opportunities, someone born in response to the coming tribulation.

"Still, he had better not die. If he does, that will prove he was not the tribulation-bearer destined to face this great calamity. I am quite curious whether the path of martial cultivation can truly be completed and what realm lies beyond the Shackles realm," Xiao Yiqing murmured with a smile.