The demon army's camp on Panyun Mountain.
"Pang!"
Shi Jungang slammed his palm onto the bronze desk, leaving a clear five-fingered imprint. "Lord Wuli died just like that? One of our twelve-realm experts, gone without a sound. Is Su Qingjiu really that formidable?"
"She is indeed."
Feng Quan said solemnly, "The two strongest twelve-realm experts among humans are Lin Wanhua and Su Qingjiu. These two are powerful enough to contend with thirteen-realm cultivators. Lin Wanhua possesses exceptional talent, relying on the sword-qi realm atop Fusu Great Wall. Her sword intent and swordsmanship are among the best in the world. As for Su Qingjiu, she is far away in Changming Mountain, having cultivated a state of mind where her sword heart connects with divinity. Once she enters a combat state, her divine nature outweighs her humanity, making her immensely powerful. Lord Wuli's demise is likely due to this reason."
"Oh?"
Shi Jungang frowned and asked, "Lord Feng Quan, you are also a twelve-realm cultivator, and our demon race's twelve-realm Sword Immortal. Your swordsmanship is considered outstanding among demons. If you were to face Su Qingjiu, could you win?"
Feng Quan knitted his brows. "If it were a one-on-one fight to the death, I would surely perish within a hundred moves!"
"..."
Shi Jungang gritted his teeth. Bai Ye might babble and lie, but she knew Feng Quan. Feng Quan was an honest and reliable person, incapable of deceit.
"Perhaps?"
Bai Ye frowned. "Should we lie low for the next few days? Refrain from any actions for now? After all, there is currently one thirteen-realm, three twelve-realm, and a swarm of eleven and ten-realm cultivators at the Snow Domain Heavenly Pond. This is hardly an opportune moment for further moves."
"..."
Shi Jungang glanced at Bai Ye, thinking that the person had finally uttered a sensible sentence. Indeed, it was not the time to act rashly. Shi Jungang even considered ordering a full alert to guard against a surprise attack from the Snow Domain Heavenly Pond.
However, a deep sense of unwillingness gnawed at her.
"What about Lord Wuli?"
Shi Jungang leaned back in her chair and murmured, "Did Lord Wuli die for nothing?"
"Not for nothing."
Feng Quan scratched his head. "Those people at the Snow Domain Heavenly Pond are currently drinking fish head soup made from Lord Wuli's head. Even I can smell the aroma."
"..."
Bai Ye looked up at Feng Quan, thinking, *You really know how to talk.*
Shi Jungang trembled all over, her face contorted with rage. She had to remain calm, otherwise, her recently healed body would explode again, causing more trouble for her master. She turned to look south, her eyes filled with venom, vowing to march south one day and annihilate everyone at the Snow Domain Heavenly Pond!
...
Deep into the night.
After seeing off Lin Xingchu, Han Yetang, Su Shanjun, and others, Lin Zhao returned to Tian Ran Ju. In the mountain lord's room, Lin Wanhua and Su Qingjiu were waiting for him, one sitting at the foot of the bed, the other by the window. Lin Zhao then took out a stack of talismans drawn with "Zhao Jian Fu" (Sword Reflection Talismans) from his pocket. The cores of these talismans were dim, as they had not yet been imbued with sword qi; otherwise, they would be quite bright.
"I've troubled you both."
Lin Zhao divided the Zhao Jian Fu into two portions and said with a smile, "I'll make you a late-night snack later..."
Lin Wanhua nodded helplessly and took her portion of the Zhao Jian Fu to begin her task.
Su Qingjiu, however, felt that this was all as it should be. What was wrong with imbuing some Zhao Jian Fu for Brother Lin Zhao? Besides, these talismans would protect Brother Lin Zhao in the future.
Lin Zhao was outside the window, busy preparing the late-night snack, looking at various ingredients and contemplating what to make for the two great Sword Immortals.
"Brother Lin Zhao."
Little Jiu'er sat on the windowsill, watching Lin Zhao's busy figure and said, "I'm sorry..."
"Ah?!"
Lin Zhao walked over and asked with a smile, "What's wrong, Little Jiu'er?"
"Before..."
Su Qingjiu pursed her red lips. "When I left the Snow Domain Heavenly Pond with my master, Brother Lin Zhao gave me many talismans, such as the Zhen Yao Fu (Demon Suppressing Talismans). I originally intended to keep them carefully. But when I was young... I was afraid of the dark. Master made me practice sword stances on the stone steps behind the mountain every day. I was so scared then and missed Brother Lin Zhao, so... I used up all those Zhen Yao Fu and Qing Xin Fu (Heart Calming Talismans). I promised Brother Lin Zhao I would keep them forever, but I used them up before I even grew up..."
Her eyes welled up with tears. "Since then, whenever I missed you, I had no talismans to look at, and could only think of you alone in my mind. No one else knows about this."
Lin Zhao's nose twitched with emotion. He reached out and stroked the great Sword Immortal's head, just as he had stroked the little girl's head in the past. Regardless of whether Su Qingjiu had grown up or not, in Lin Zhao's eyes, she was still that little girl.
"It's fine, I'll give you some more later!"
Lin Zhao said with a smile, "I have plenty in stock now! More than enough, I can't use them all!"
"Okay!"
Little Jiu'er nodded with a smile, and her emotional burden was lifted.
Lin Wanhua, while imbuing her sword intent, glanced out the window and pouted. Strictly speaking, she didn't have any gifts from Lin Zhao either, except for the empty wine gourds. Every time she finished drinking, Lin Wanhua couldn't bear to discard the empty gourds, which were now lying in her storage bag.
"Forget it."
She frowned. It wouldn't be fitting for the dignified Lord of Fusu Great Wall to actively ask for a gift. She would wait until this guy had a pang of conscience and gave her something.
...
The next morning.
After receiving a large batch of Zhao Jian Fu, Lin Zhao made two bowls of scallion and egg noodles for Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua. Lin Wanhua had to return to Fusu Great Wall, as she couldn't be away for too long, lest she disappoint the old Sword Immortal Lu Xinghe. Although Lin Wanhua was also fond of romantic affections, she was clear about the responsibilities on her shoulders.
Lin Zhao escorted her to the foot of the mountain, then cupped his fists and said, "I won't see you off further, Miss Lin."
"Mm!"
Lin Wanhua smiled and nodded. "I'll be back."
"Alright!"
Lin Zhao nodded heartily. "When you return, we'll drink until we're both drunk."
Lin Wanhua then rode her sword away.
As Lin Zhao turned around, he saw Su Qingjiu standing behind him, her beautiful eyes holding a deep meaning. She smiled and said, "Brother Lin Zhao, don't you sense that this Miss Lin Wanhua actually likes you very much?"
"Ah?"
Lin Zhao was taken aback. "No way? I offended Miss Lin back then when I passed by Fusu Great Wall. I've been feeling guilty for so many years. I'd be grateful enough if she didn't hate me. How could she possibly like me?"
"Perhaps it's just my imagination."
Su Qingjiu stepped forward and linked her arm with his, still like the little girl she was back then. She smiled and asked, "Do you have any plans for this morning, Brother Lin Zhao?"
"Not yet."
Lin Zhao thought for a moment. "I need to go back to Tianji City to see some friends there. Little Jiu'er, if you have nothing to do, go and help Xu Zhi with her cultivation."
"Mm!"
Little Jiu'er nodded with a smile, turned, and went up the mountain to find Xu Zhi.
...
Lin Zhao checked the time, crushed the return scroll, and teleported back to Tianji City. It was already five in the evening, and dinner would be served soon. He entered the Great Sacred Hall, and shortly after, the two beautiful vice-leaders arrived and sat on the bench opposite Lin Zhao.
He began to take out talismans. He had accumulated quite a few Shen Ding Fu (Immobilization Talismans), Fen Yong Fu (Encouragement Talismans), Shen Su Fu (Swiftness Talismans), and so on, which he had made during this period. He handed all these talismans to Shen Xingchen. "Xingchen, you're in charge of distributing these. Remember to only give them to those with stronger combat abilities, who understand how to assess the situation and use them at the right time. Don't let my efforts go to waste."
"Mm."
Shen Xingchen smiled and nodded. "Any other instructions?"
Beside her, Chen Xue looked at Lin Zhao with her beautiful eyes, a hint of disappointment in them. Everyone was a vice-leader, so why were all the items being given to Shen Xingchen? What about her? Was she, Chen Xue, not a vice-leader?
"Axue."
Lin Zhao smiled at her, then took out a nearly five-meter-long black carp from his pack. He drew the Ben Lei Sword and split it in half, offering one half to Chen Xue. "Take this. I can't come back often to grill fish for everyone. You need to learn how to grill fish. Remember, it's the same rule as before: only give it to the top ten or so strongest players in our guild. Let's focus on leveling them up first. Our strategy for the Scarlet Moon Knights is to prioritize developing elite players and then drive the overall team strength upward."
"Ah?"
Chen Xue looked at the half-fish, which provided 75% of the daily experience points. She couldn't help but show a look of surprise. "75% experience points per day? What is this from?"
Shen Xingchen's mouth also parted slightly. "75%? That's exaggerated..."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao chuckled. "There's been a lot of plot development in the Snow Domain Heavenly Pond recently. Little Jiu'er returned and helped me kill a twelve-realm Black Carp Demon, which is this one you see. A Nascent Soul stage Black Carp, quite formidable, isn't it?"
"Twelve-realm..."
Shen Xingchen was dumbfounded.
Chen Xue's dimpled cheeks curved into a smile. "Su Qingjiu has returned to the Snow Domain Heavenly Pond?"
"Mm!"
Lin Zhao nodded with a smile. "Finally, I've seen Little Jiu'er again."
"Happy?"
Shen Xingchen had also read the Snow Domain Heavenly Pond chapters and knew the plot like the back of her hand. She smiled. "Back then, at the Snow Domain Heavenly Pond, you were truly good to Little Jiu'er."
Lin Zhao scratched his head. "Well, well. It's true that I'm happy to see Little Jiu'er again. She gave the Snow Domain Heavenly Pond a total of 3,000 Golden Mullet Coins, and later contributed many magical treasures. She truly spared no effort."
"3,000 Golden Mullet Coins?"
Chen Xue was dumbfounded. She quickly calculated. "At the current exchange rate, one Golden Mullet Coin is equivalent to about 1 million Universal Coins. So, these 3,000 Golden Mullet Coins are equivalent to 3 billion Universal Coins... Boss, hello..."
"It's useless."
Lin Zhao rubbed his forehead and chuckled. "These Golden Mullet Coins can only be spent within the game's storyline and cannot be exchanged back into Universal Coins. I've already checked. The Universal Coins obtained from the storyline are all 'bound' and can only be used in the game; they cannot be cashed out."
"It doesn't matter."
Shen Xingchen smiled. "It'll improve the strength of the Snow Domain Heavenly Pond anyway. Once Bai Di City is opened, and there are no restrictions on players heading north, our Scarlet Moon Knights should also head north to test the waters!"
Lin Zhao nodded. "I wonder when Bai Di City will be opened. We'll just have to wait."
"Mmm~~~"
...
Meanwhile.
Bai Di City, the Imperial Academy of the Great Shang Dynasty.
A young scholar in a gray scholar's robe alighted from a carriage. He glanced at the imposing gates of the Imperial Academy and took a deep breath. This was his first time leaving a Confucian academy to serve as the Libationer of the Great Shang's Imperial Academy, and he felt a little apprehensive.
"Libationer!"
A group of tutors walked out and bowed in unison.
"Greetings, everyone! It is a pleasure to meet you!"
The young scholar began to unload books from the carriage, and a group of tutors immediately rushed to help, fearing that the Libationer might be displeased. After all, Gu Lingyu was a scholar from the lineage of the Secondary Sage, a true descendant of the Prime Sage Teacher, and he was also a twelve-realm cultivator. Now, serving as the Libationer of the Imperial Academy in the mortal world, he could not be treated with disrespect!