This hardly seemed like a loss no matter how you looked at it.
Xiao Rong and Jiang Shengxiang exchanged a glance, then nodded in perfect understanding.
"Alright, you just stand there and don't move!"
Jiang Shengxiang was the first to put away his storage pouch. He turned to Yao Ranran and Xiao Rong, saying, "Fairy Ranran, Rong-yé, my cultivation is the weakest. Let me take the first strike."
"Good, Xiao Jiang, go for it!" Xiao Rong responded without hesitation.
Yao Ranran: "…"
These two never even gave her a chance to speak.
Jiang Shengxiang rolled his shoulders, putting on a fierce and menacing look before raising his fist toward Nie Rong.
Nie Rong appeared utterly calm, almost lazy, and crooked a finger. "Come on."
"Go, Xiao Jiang!" Xiao Rong shouted encouragement from the side.
Jiang Shengxiang swung his fist around several times like a windmill before charging up to Nie Rong.
Nie Rong didn't move an inch, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
Fifth level of Qi Refinement.
Nothing to fear.
Jiang Shengxiang's robes flared as the wind gathered under his feet. He looked full of momentum. He suddenly turned his fist into a palm and struck toward Nie Rong's chest. A leaf drifted down from a tree above and landed neatly on his head.
Nie Rong casually pinched the leaf between two fingers and smiled. "That tickle wasn't bad. This Zhēnjūn didn't feel a thing."
"…"
Jiang Shengxiang's old face flushed red as he stammered and backed away.
Xiao Rong stepped forward.
"My turn!"
"Please." Nie Rong showed no fear.
Xiao Rong grinned wide.
Vines burst forth from his back, dozens upon dozens of them.
Nie Rong: "…That's cheating!"
"This is the innate ability of the banyan clan, not cheating at all! Or do you mean to tell me that you, a dignified elder, can't take a palm from a mere tree spirit?" Xiao Rong chuckled.
Jiang Shengxiang chimed in, "Exactly, exactly. Are you scared?"
Nie Rong flicked his sleeve. "Hmph, come then!"
"I'm coming!"
The vines whipped through the air, stirring up waves of wind.
Grass in all directions bent and twisted, and Jiang Shengxiang was forced to squint. "Such strong force!"
Nie Rong braced himself, feet rooted to the ground. The countless vines came down together, blotting out his vision until only darkness remained.
"Yah yah yah yah!" Xiao Rong cried as if exerting his full strength.
The wind roared. The surrounding grasses bent wildly, some snapping under the strain. Then the vines withdrew, and the wind died away.
Nie Rong stood there completely unscathed. He smiled. "That breeze was pleasant, not cold at all."
"…"
Xiao Rong's face drooped at once. He ran crying to Yao Ranran's side. "Boss, I failed!"
Nie Rong, confident of his victory, smiled smugly. "Little disciple Ranran, your turn!"
Yao Ranran: "…"
If she lost, she would have to become someone else's disciple?
If he really was Nie Rong of Wuxiang Sect, perhaps it wouldn't be such a loss.
Very well. She would give it a try.
"Please excuse me."
She cupped her hands politely.
Nie Rong nodded in satisfaction. This disciple candidate had excellent looks, seemingly good aptitude, and even knew proper etiquette.
Once he brought her back, Junior Brother Qingsu would be green with envy. He had heard that Qingsu had recently taken in a female disciple of his own, one with excellent character and talent.
Thinking about it was already irritating.
Bah.
Shameless Yue Qingsu, already that old and still taking a final disciple. Can you even teach her properly?
Unlike him—one lifetime, one disciple.
Wholehearted and single-minded.
Wait.
Looking at her more closely…
His heart thumped faster. Stunning!
Heh heh heh.
The thought of such a beautiful disciple being his soon made him grin lecherously without realizing it.
Yao Ranran's palm wind surged toward him.
Nie Rong closed his eyes slightly, savoring it.
Yes.
Not even…
Pain, pain, pain!
In Yao Ranran's clear eyes,
Nie Rong's expression twisted from pleasure into sheer horror.
The ache in his organs was still tolerable.
But the searing agony of his Yuányīng splitting in two within his dantian made him wish for death.
He was a Yuányīng Zhēnjūn!
At least, that was what he thought before taking this palm.
Now, his worldview collapsed.
Could it be…
That his so-called Yuányīng was a fake all along?
Yes.
The look in his master's eyes before ascending, his junior brother's cold congratulations, the sect master's lack of joy—all flashed before him.
They…
Had they known from the start?
Nie Rong would never know.
The force of her palm coursed through his chest, violent spiritual power rampaging in his organs. With a deafening boom, spiritual power exploded, and he shot into the sky like a dazzling meteor.
Xiao Rong and Jiang Shengxiang's jaws hit the ground, eyes wide in shock.
Yao Ranran quickly withdrew her hand, looking apologetic. "I really didn't use much strength…"
Fearing they wouldn't believe her, she held up three fingers. "Thirty percent… only thirty percent."
Xiao Rong and Jiang Shengxiang picked their jaws off the ground, glanced at each other, then raised their middle fingers toward the sky in unison.
"So he was a fraud!"
"Exactly, all talk!"
"Why is the sky so dark?"
"Because a cow is flying in it."
"And why is a cow flying in the sky?"
"Because he was blowing it on the ground."
"…"
Yao Ranran exhaled lightly.
So he was a fraud after all. That manner of his did remind her of a character described in a book—the Senior Uncle of the female lead Pei Xianqiao, a vain middle-aged man who acted strangely, disliked Yue Qingsu, and had left the sect years ago without a trace.
It was fine not to have met the real Nie Rong.
She didn't want to return to Wuxiang Sect anyway.
"Let's go. Time to find our next treasure."
After some more grumbling, Xiao Rong and Jiang Shengxiang obediently followed her away.
That night.
In a thicket of bushes, a group of people huddled together, shivering.
"Father, is he really gone?"
"Gone, gone. He shouldn't be coming back!"
"Wu wu wu, what kind of freak was that? Nearly beat me to death!"
"I don't know either. Quickly, take your healing pills. We can't keep up with Fairy Ranran anymore. From here on, we're on our own."
"Sect Master, someone's coming!"
"That's… an elder from the Demon Sect!"
Zhou Shengqian's cold sweat poured down. "Anyone who wants to live, stay quiet!"
…
"Strange…" Xiao Rong rubbed his nose. "Maybe the night air is too cold. I can't even smell treasure anymore!"
Jiang Shengxiang smiled awkwardly. "Yes, yes, Rong-yé, take a break. You've been searching half the day."
Xiao Rong nodded. "It's not that I can't smell treasure. It's just that the night wind in this secret realm is too cold."
"Yes, yes, we'll use Rong-yé's abilities again when it's light. For now, just rest well." Jiang Shengxiang played along, thinking privately, So finding that Chan Guang Grass earlier was pure dumb luck—a blind cat stumbling upon a dead rat.
Yao Ranran said nothing, choosing not to expose the truth.
There were plenty of cultivators traveling at night. Should she find one and ask for directions?
"Rong-yé, where is this place?" Jiang Shengxiang asked with some uncertainty.
Xiao Rong looked around at the cold, eerie fog and hesitated. "With this lingering mist, I can't yet tell its true face. When the sun rises, I'll know."
Jiang Shengxiang drew a sharp breath and shivered. "Rong-yé, this mist feels even colder than Longyin Village!"
Xiao Rong forced a laugh. "Y-yes… Boss, this place is scary!"
With that, he jumped straight into Yao Ranran's arms.