The moment the lotus shattered, waves of billowing qi swept out from the battle within, smashing into the body of the unexpecting youth who had just launched his attack.

Without any time to muster his defenses, the youth was instantly sent flying, tumbling into the blue-robed maiden who just shakily gotten up to her feet, sending them both rolling down the ‘Heaven Ascending Steps’.

*****

Above what was left of ‘Full Moon Peak’, the battle between fatty Jun and old Heigu still raged on without pause, the two crazy geezers didn’t seem to be aware of anything else outside of their battle, or maybe they did, but simply didn’t care?

However, at this moment, floating over ‘Full Moon Peak’, atop a vibrant lotus, the old woman was in a state of complete and utter shock. Perhaps it was because the two hadn’t taken notice of it, but she, she had seen everything! The youth’s strike, although came at a very, very bad timing, shook her to the core…

Earlier, she had not noticed his presence at all! No, he did have a presence, but it was weak, so pitifully weak, making him far, far beneath her notice, but just now, as he was preparing that attack, she had been forced to acknowledge his existence! To the old woman, what she felt from the boy was something entirely impossible!

She had only perceived the ‘Rumbling’ of the qi within him, no ‘Revolution’ of ‘Qi Pillars’ or a ‘Sacred Pagoda’, or the ‘Singing’ of a ‘Hallowed Court’, much less the ‘Echoing’ of a ‘Samsara Dao Palace’, so, without a shred of doubt, this youth could only be a ‘Qi Immersion’ cultivator.

Yet, unmistakably, as the youth struck out, the old woman heard the sonorous cries of not one, but two ‘Grand Daos’! Not some petty ‘Insights’ that ‘Qi Immersion’ cultivators like the youth could barely comprehend, no, that attack was doubtlessly imbued with the might of two ‘Grand Daos’! There could be no mistake, she had clearly felt it!

But, the old woman was mistaken…what she felt from the boy wasn’t the cry of the ‘Grand Daos’, no it was something else entirely …

*****

*cough* *cough* *cough*

The youth, Xianyi, coughed out mouthfuls of dirt as he sat up.

“Get…off…” Xianyi heard a soft groaning suddenly sound out from beneath him as he stirred, causing him to jump up in shock, and land back down heavily,

“Ah!” Causing a sharp scream of pain ring out from under him.

Looking down, Xianyi quickly realized that he was currently sitting on top of the blue-robed maiden…

Panickily crawling to his feet, Xianyi quickly turned around and offered the maiden his hand.

“Sister fairy, are you-” The youth asked, before abruptly, his eyes widened, and his voice trailed off…

The dark blue veil that had covered the entirety of the maiden’s face was now nowhere to be found, revealing, to the youth, a truly breathtaking countenance. Although her face was caked in bits of dust, and her cheeks were stained by trails of dried sweat, to the youth, this woman was one of, no, she was the single most beautiful creature he had ever seen in his life!

With sparkling blue eyes like that glittered like the sea’s waves beneath the sun’s light, lips red and full like fresh berries, skin that sparkled like snow, and a tall, supple nose, her appearance was akin to a heavenly princess, cherished daughter of the Celestial Emperor.

“Urgh…” Moaning in pain, the maiden ignored Xianyi’s outstretched hand and shakily stood up. However, as quickly as she stood up, the maiden lost her balance, and her knees buckled.

Fortunately, before she could till the ground with her face, Xianyi stepped forward and caught the maiden in his arms, holding her by her shoulders.

“Eh…sister fairy, you shouldn’t push yourself like this…” Xianyi advised, his tone bright and pure, as he smiled brightly.

“Get off me…” The maiden muttered feebly as she pushed against him weakly.

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Letting go of her like she asked, Xianyi watched as the maiden almost collapsed once more, sighing exasperatedly, he reached forward to support her once again, this time by her waist.

Their face almost touching, the maiden’s eyes fluttered gently as she stared at the youth’s face…

“Pft…” the maiden let out of a soft snort and couldn’t resist breaking into a light smile when she finally digested what she was seeing.

The youth’s face had been charred black by the blast, and his long hair was so badly singed that embers still burned on its edges, his current appearance was pitiful, to say the least. Not to mention, Xianyi had closed his mouth when the wave of qi had swept him off his feet, so his teeth were still pearly white! His brilliant white smile, paired with a face that looked like it had been bathed in volcanic ash, was…incomparably hilarious!

“Eh…” The youth exclaimed in confusion, surprised by the maiden’s sudden expression, before a few gears whirled into place in his brains, in all the wrong ways, as he muttered with a dazed smile, “Hmm…hehe, this fairy sister’s already fallen in love with me…my innate charms really are number one beneath the heavens…”

Hearing the youth’s words, the smile on the young maiden's face immediately stiffened and she almost fainted in anger. This brat, did he have a few pieces missing in his brain or what?! How could he say such a ridiculous thing with such a pure, honest, good to heaven tone?

Well, in truth, the youth did have a few pieces missing in his brain, well, more than a few actually, and as for why, that’s not really that important at the moment…

*****

“Big sister Wenqing! Aunty, you have to save her…aunty!” Shangguan Ying’er screamed out in panic, the deafening explosion earlier still ringing in her ear.

Although the blast was of catastrophic levels, the young woman had seen that mysterious youth interfere before the lotus collapsed. As she didn’t have her aunt’s spiritual strength, she was unable to sense the youth’s cultivation, but since he had shattered the lotus barrier with a single blow…

Surely, this youth was just a senior of the institute she had never met, who decided to interfere at a crucial moment to save big sister Wenqing…right? Just now, by destroying the lotus…he was surely trying to resolve the problem with some profound method…right? So, would it be safe to assume that her big sister would be in safe hands…right?

But since she couldn't be too sure, the young woman had wanted her aunt to take action as well, but now, even with that mysterious senior's interference, 'Pure Moon Peak' had still turned into ruins, making Shangguan Ying'er extremely concerned for the blue-robed maiden's safety…

“Aunty!” the young woman called out once more, tugging at her elder’s sleeves impatiently, when she saw that the old woman was staring into the distance in a daze…

“Enough!” The old woman spoke, having awakened from her earlier trance and appearing rather annoyed at the young woman’s pestering.

Earlier her spiritual sense had easily tracked down the blue-robed maiden, but oddly enough, it had seemed to phase right through the youth, it was as if a someone with her spiritual cultivation had placed a seal over his soul…

But, with her cultivation level, her senses were sharp enough to see the youth’s face and the words he spoke, and she still remembered the words the youth had spoken to the blue-robed maiden previously.

“Xianyi…Xian…yi” the old woman muttered, the name sounded somewhat familiar…it was like she had heard this name before…luckily for her, a few moments later, the old woman remembered, and what she recalled caused her brows to twitch slightly.

Lin Xianyi…that was the youth’s name, and from what she had heard of him, the old woman knew that his story was definitely not a simple one…

However, the more important question was where…where did this youth come from? Could it be…could he be from that Lin clan? No, after hearing about what he had done, about what he was capable of, and after seeing that? The old woman was certain that there was no possible way a consummate genius like this would simply be let out to stroll around like so…

Suddenly, a certain possibility crossed the old woman's mind, causing her to shiver and she turned to face the young woman.

“Ying’er…has that Lin Ming…or your third disciple ever mentioned, having a younger brother?” The old woman asked in a slightly shaky tone.

““Eh? What about Lin Ming and Qingtian’s little brother? Aunty, this is no time to be mentioning something unimportant like this! Big sister Wenqing-” Shangguan Ying’er was very panicked at the moment, as clouds of dust still surrounded ‘Pure Moon Peak’, she was completely unable to tell if the blue-robed maiden was even still alive…

“Big sister Wenqing…hearing you speak her name so intimately makes me want to retch.” The old woman scoffed, interrupting the young woman, with her brows creased, and her lips pursed, not concealing her disgust in the slightest. Breaking into a cryptic smile, the old woman began to speak once more, but now, her tone was gentle and warm, “it is important…because if a youth known as ‘Lin Xianyi’ is Lin Ming and Lin Qingtian’s little brother…I will become rather curious of their origins…”

“Eh…” although Shangguan Ying’er was slightly creeped out by her aunty’s behavior, she still replied nonetheless, since she trusted this aunty of hers completely, “he…um…rambles about a ‘completely insufferable brat’ at times, and Qingtian does speak of an ‘adorable little rascal’ often as well…I suppose they were referring to their little brother…but…I do not know of their little brother’s name…”

“It is him without a doubt, an unbearably ‘insufferable brat’ and a naughty ‘little rascal’, hehe, it does perfectly describe him all right…” The old woman commented, a flicker of annoyance reflected on her gaze, “you should have witnessed the ruckus he orchestrated during his registration at the ‘Martial Field’ of the ‘Nine Sun Capital’…”