Chapter 218 - 105: Return to Star Sword Peak, Meeting an Old Acquaintance

Chapter 218: Chapter 105: Return to Star Sword Peak, Meeting an Old Acquaintance

’Before, my strength ranked me somewhere between twelfth and fifteenth. Learning the Celestial Star Sword Manual has greatly improved my power, but the others in the Daoist School must have also learned their corresponding Cultivation Techniques. Their strength will have skyrocketed too.’

’So, my ranking in the class will most likely stay the same. As someone ranked twelfth, it’s only natural that I couldn’t beat Jiang Xuan, who’s in the top ten.’

With this realization, her inner turmoil vanished. The dejection on Su Xingying’s face was swept away, and her entire demeanor lightened.

Seeing that she had managed to compose herself, Jiang Xuan also breathed a sigh of relief—he was truly no good at comforting women.

But just as Jiang Xuan assumed that, after Su Xingying’s loss, they would either begin a training match or go their separate ways, something completely unexpected happened.

Having accepted her defeat, Su Xingying cast aside her concerns. She directly invited Jiang Xuan to return with her to her Dharma Vein, saying she wanted to give him a gift.

"A gift?"

She had been beaten nearly to tears, yet she still wanted to give him a gift. This caused Jiang Xuan to give Su Xingying a rather peculiar look.

Su Xingying naturally noticed his unusual look, and she knew her offer sounded completely illogical.

But she didn’t want to reveal her true motive just yet. ’To make the invitation more sincere and increase my chances of success, I want him to see the magnificence and wonder of my Dharma Vein first. I’ll make the official offer after he receives his gift.’

Unable to explain herself and not wanting Jiang Xuan to keep staring at her so strangely, Su Xingying decided to get a little petulant. With a light huff, she said, "Hmph. I’m offering you a gift. Are you refusing it?"

"It’s not that I don’t want it, but I can’t accept a reward I haven’t earned..."

"Then just consider it me buttering you up in advance," Su Xingying said, glancing up at him with a sly glint in her eyes. "You’re so strong, and the Hundred-Day Exam is just around the corner. If I’m unlucky enough to run into you, I’ll have to count on you to go easy on me."

Having completely dropped the airs of a prodigy and placed herself in the weaker position, Su Xingying found she could speak more freely, and even felt a little more at ease.

Her words made Jiang Xuan laugh despite himself.

"Miss Xingying, please rest assured. During the Hundred-Day Exam, as long as you don’t make a move against me, I will not attack you first."

Having made this promise, Jiang Xuan no longer refused the gift.

This wasn’t a reward for promising to go easy on her. He already remembered how she had helped him in his time of need, and he also felt they got along well. As such, he didn’t mind helping her during the Hundred-Day Exam, as long as it didn’t compromise his own position.

That being the case, he could accept her gift with a clear conscience.

"That’s great."

Seeing him agree, Su Xingying’s eyes instantly lit up with joy, and the last of the frustration from her defeat vanished completely.

Then, without a moment’s delay, the two of them exited the Mirage Mirror?Three Thousand Realms together as planned.

Back in the real world, the moment Su Xingying awoke from her Meditation, she immediately scooted over to Jiang Xuan, grabbing his arm and pulling him in the direction of her Dharma Vein.

"This way, come with me."

Her eager and cheerful expression made Jiang Xuan smile as he replied, "I’m coming."

...

"???"

The two walked side by side, talking and laughing the whole way. Watching them from a short distance, Su Xingying’s Guardian, Yu Dai, froze on the spot.

She watched them for a long time, completely unable to tell from their expressions who had won their duel.

And very quickly, she had more to worry about than just the outcome of the match.

’They’re too close!’

As a veteran who had seen her fair share of the world, Yu Dai could tell at a glance that the distance between Jiang Xuan and Su Xingying—both physically and emotionally—was far too close for comfort.

And indeed, her intuition was correct.

Ning Rong’s plan hadn’t been flawed. In this Immortal Martial World where strength is paramount, if Su Xingying had truly crushed Jiang Xuan, she still would have invited him to Star Sword Peak. Her attitude and goodwill would have remained, but she would have treated him as a junior brother to be looked after. It would have been very difficult for romantic feelings to blossom.

But there was one thing Ning Rong hadn’t anticipated: Jiang Xuan won. And he won cleanly and decisively.

More importantly, the proud yet self-reliant Su Xingying had personally witnessed Jiang Xuan, a man from the Lower Classes, rise from obscurity and climb step by step to his current powerhouse status, all through his own "hard work."

This legendary, storybook-like journey had already filled her with admiration for him. One could even say that the person Jiang Xuan had become was the very ideal she secretly aspired to be.

’He came from the Lower Classes, yet he defied everyone’s doubts and climbed to the top step by step through his own effort. That’s the person I dream of being.’

But what truly made Su Xingying’s heart flutter was that she had been deeply involved in this journey of his. This bond made her feel an ever-growing closeness to Jiang Xuan, and an ever-deepening curiosity.

’His power is growing so quickly. On the day of the Hundred-Day Exam, Jiang Xuan definitely won’t stop at the top ten. I wonder just how far he can go.’

Filled with admiration and curiosity, Su Xingying was beginning to fall for him. Yu Dai’s worries were well-founded.

Seeing this, Yu Dai sent a message detailing the situation back to Star Sword Peak without a moment’s hesitation.

What none of them knew, however, was that another figure was watching them from the shadows, and was also making a move.

...

Laughing and chatting the entire way, the two soon reached the domain of Star Sword Peak.

However, as they drew closer to Su Xingying’s Dharma Vein, gazing at the peak that pierced the clouds like a colossal sword holding up the heavens, and at the mirror-like lake below, the familiarity of the place made Jiang Xuan’s expression grow increasingly peculiar.

At first, Su Xingying didn’t notice anything was amiss. She just assumed Jiang Xuan was awestruck by the sheer magnificence of her Dharma Vein, which made her quite pleased.

But by the time they reached the Mountain Gate, Su Xingying realized his expression wasn’t one of awe, but of wry speechlessness. She finally sensed that something was wrong and found herself puzzled by the change in his demeanor.

"Jiang Xuan, what’s wrong?"

Seeing the confusion on Su Xingying’s face, Jiang Xuan shrugged and said with a sigh, "Did I never tell you? When I became a Class A Disciple and could choose a Dharma Vein for advanced study, my first choice wasn’t Four Seasons Valley."

As he spoke, he turned to gaze at the majestic peak before them, like a Celestial Sword suspended in the sky. "Because I had some Talent for the Sword Dao, a friend recommended me here. My first stop was this very Star Sword Peak."

"But, it seems my Talent wasn’t good enough. I was washed out right at the Mountain Gate. I didn’t even make it to the climbing trial."

Jiang Xuan’s expression was perfectly calm as he said this, as if he were recounting some trivial, unimportant matter.

But upon hearing this, Su Xingying was utterly dumbfounded.

A thousand thoughts exploded in her head, leaving her mind completely blank. Only a single thought echoed over and over: ’Senior Brother Jiang Xuan... was supposed to be one of us at Star Sword Peak?’

Just as she was reeling from this incredible revelation, a burst of chatter and laughter drifted down from the Mountain Gate above.

A group of Star Sword Peak disciples were walking down together. As it happened, they were old acquaintances of Jiang Xuan, and they had overheard his last few sentences.

"’Not good enough for Star Sword Peak?’ Oh, so it’s you."

After recalling who Jiang Xuan was, several snide voices immediately piped up.

"Heh, weren’t you all nonchalant when you left? Why have you come crawling back now?"

"What else could it be? He must regret it. Too bad for him. Star Sword Peak isn’t a place that just any riff-raff can waltz into."

"Hee hee, don’t be like that. Star Sword Peak needs Servant Disciples too." The speaker was Xie Lianxing. After shooting Jiang Xuan a mocking glance, she chuckled. "I remember you. You used to be one of Xie Hanyan’s underlings, right? How about it? Want to come over to my side? If you’re willing to be my servant, I might just be charitable enough to give you a chance to enter Star Sword Peak as a Servant Disciple."