A Difficult Loss and a Secret Mission

The old man on stage announced the victor: Yu Hui of the Heart God Sect.

Mu Xi, looking utterly defeated, stumbled off the arena. His footsteps were chaotic as he fled back to the Tianyan Sect disciples’ seating area. Witnessing this, the Heart God Sect disciples erupted in boisterous mockery. A deluge of taunts and jeers assailed them, causing the Tianyan Sect disciples to flush crimson as they mustered a few half-hearted, ineffective retorts.

“Senior Brother, I…” Mu Xi approached Su Hanxing. Feeling too ashamed to face him, he turned his head, cupped his fists, and mumbled an apology.

“It’s alright, Little Mu. You did your best; this isn’t your fault. Quickly find a seat and rest.” Su Hanxing offered a gentle smile. He retrieved a bottle of Spirit Pills, capable of restoring true qi, and tossed it to Mu Xi.

“It’s not Senior Brother Mu’s fault; it was merely a clash of cultivation methods.”

“Exactly. Senior Brother Mu, there’s no need to blame yourself.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother. Thank you, junior brothers.” Mu Xi bowed his head, cupping his fists. This burly man, over eight chi tall, now appeared on the verge of tears.

Chi Qiu sat beside Su Hanxing, nodding subtly as she observed the scene unfold before her. The Tianyan Sect disciples, it seemed, were far more united than she had initially imagined.

“Little Chi, what do you think of the atmosphere within my Tianyan Sect?” Su Hanxing, having naturally noticed Chi Qiu’s subtle reaction, immediately asked with a smile.

“Indeed, it’s quite good.” Chi Qiu nodded.

“Would you consider joining my Tianyan Sect?” Su Hanxing seized the opportunity to extend an invitation.

Are you… jesting with me?

Chi Qiu’s expression remained unchanged, but her tone had grown noticeably colder.

“Hehe…, if you’re unwilling, then forget it.” Su Hanxing gave an awkward laugh. He genuinely did not wish to see Chi Qiu and the Tianyan Sect become adversaries.

As if sensing Su Hanxing’s underlying intention, Chi Qiu pondered for a few breaths. She then scoffed at him, adding, “But rest assured, a behemoth like the Tianyan Sect is not something a mere rogue cultivator like myself can contend with. I cherish my life too much.”

Su Hanxing gazed at the young woman, who was explaining herself so earnestly. A thousand words churned within him, yet none could escape his lips, ultimately dissolving into a soft sigh.

The day’s martial arts competition concluded. Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing, accompanied by a large group of Tianyan Sect disciples, slowly exited the arena. Chi Qiu had initially intended to observe the Heart God Sect cultivators for a while and then depart. However, the Tianyan Sect disciples proved overly enthusiastic, and Chi Qiu, unaccustomed to such fervent hospitality, found herself unable to refuse their pleas. She had no choice but to stay and watch the entire competition.

Fortunately, the participating cultivators had employed every trick in their arsenal to secure a spot in the arena battles, making the competition quite engaging.

“Senior Brother Mu, there’s no need to fret. It was just one loss; winning more later will still get you into the second stage of the Heavenly Martial Assembly.” On their way out of the arena, the Tianyan Sect disciples’ spirits remained undimmed as they chatted amongst themselves.

“Senior Brother, would you like to come with us to the Tianyan Sect’s temporary residence?” As Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing were about to part ways with the Tianyan Sect disciples, a particularly young-looking disciple suddenly spoke up.

Upon hearing this, Chi Qiu suddenly realized that since the Tianyan Sect disciples had arrived in the Imperial City, they naturally had a place to stay. This meant she could potentially send Su Hanxing to the Tianyan Sect’s residence.

“What nonsense are you spouting? Senior Brother has a sect mission; how could he stay with us? He’s staying with Senior Sister Little Chi, right?” Before the first disciple could finish, another immediately retorted.

‘Senior Sister Little Chi’ was the appellation the Tianyan Sect disciples used for Chi Qiu. This was partly because of Su Hanxing’s extremely close relationship with her, leading the disciples to tacitly consider her one of their own. Furthermore, Chi Qiu possessed formidable strength, yet her appearance suggested she was even younger than many of these disciples, hence the respectful yet familiar title.

“What kind of sect mission?” Chi Qiu, intrigued, leaned closer and inquired.

“Uh…” The disciple stammered, his words catching in his throat, becoming somewhat hesitant.

‘Senior Brother.’ Su Hanxing, who clearly knew the answer, cleared his throat and began to speak.

Suddenly, Mu Xi slapped his forehead. He instantly retrieved a scroll from his storage artifact and handed it to Su Hanxing.

“There really is a sect mission…” Someone in the crowd muttered softly, though it was unclear who.

Su Hanxing, a look of doubt on his face, took the scroll and was about to open it immediately.

“Senior Brother, don’t be hasty. This matter is quite important; Elder Su specifically instructed that no one else should know about it.” Seeing Su Hanxing about to open the scroll so carelessly, Mu Xi quickly intervened.

“Why all the secrecy? Fine, I’ll just look at it when I get back.” The look of suspicion on Su Hanxing’s face deepened. He glanced at the scroll in his hand; the familiar fluctuations of a restrictive spell on it confirmed that it was indeed the type of scroll the Tianyan Sect used for issuing missions.

“Alright, it’s getting late. Your Senior Sister Little Chi and I will head off first. Make sure you don’t cause any trouble in the Imperial City, understand?” Su Hanxing put away the scroll. Seeing that it was already quite late, he immediately waved his hand.

“Senior Brother, rest assured. I will certainly keep them in line.” Mu Xi bowed respectfully, cupping his fists.

“Excellent. Then we’ll see each other tomorrow.” Su Hanxing nodded in satisfaction. He then looked at Chi Qiu and extended his hand.

Chi Qiu glanced around at the surrounding Tianyan Sect disciples with a hint of hesitation. Finally, under their eagerly expectant gazes, she slapped Su Hanxing’s hand away.

“I can walk by myself.”

The surrounding Tianyan Sect disciples immediately showed expressions of disappointment.

“There’s no curfew in the Imperial City, so you all should head back quickly too.” Su Hanxing’s smile faded. He then addressed the Tianyan Sect disciples beside him.

“Yes, Senior Brother! Goodbye, Senior Sister Little Chi!”

The Tianyan Sect disciples exchanged glances. They all cupped their fists in a respectful salute, then swiftly departed.

“Let’s go, Little Chi.” Seeing the Tianyan Sect disciples leave, Su Hanxing sidled up to Chi Qiu and invited her.

Chi Qiu nodded. She summoned her flying boat, then gracefully stepped onto it. Su Hanxing followed closely behind her, also boarding the vessel. The flying boat slowly lifted off the ground, setting course for Chi Qiu’s residence.

Su Hanxing stood at the bow of the boat. With a light tap of his finger, he retrieved the scroll Mu Xi had given him from his storage artifact.

“Are you really going to open it here?” Chi Qiu, who was piloting the flying boat nearby, noticed this and asked with some surprise. After all, even Mu Xi and the other Tianyan Sect disciples hadn’t been able to view the scroll’s contents. If Su Hanxing opened it here, wouldn’t she, Chi Qiu, be privy to its secrets?

“I trust Little Chi.” Su Hanxing raised an eyebrow. He then circulated his true qi, mixing it with his divine soul power, and poured it into the scroll.

In an instant, starlight illuminated from within the scroll. The starlight slowly converged, eventually forming a single line of large characters:

[Investigate this person.]

The starlight then shifted again, and a male figure slowly emerged. This man wore a blood-red Taiji Daoist robe, with long black hair flowing freely. He appeared young, with handsome features and blood-red eyes that gleamed like lightning. The overwhelming aura of slaughter, like mountains of blood and seas of corpses, caused both Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing to tremble slightly, even though it was merely an illusion.

This illusion persisted for about ten breaths before dissipating. Once the illusion vanished, the remaining starlight revealed several lines of smaller text:

[Ye Yan, Dharma Manifestation Realm. Arrived near the Imperial City three days ago, current location unknown. Ascertain this person’s location, but under no circumstances engage in combat. Once his position is clear, transmit it to me using the Starfall Step method.]

Su Hanxing silently committed the small characters to memory. A few breaths later, the scroll spontaneously combusted without a flame, vanishing into smoke in the blink of an eye.

Clink—

With a crisp sound, an irregular, crystal-white stone fell from the self-incinerating scroll, landing on the deck. Seeing this, Su Hanxing reached out a hand, and a surge of divine soul power drew the stone back into his grasp. Su Hanxing picked up the stone, his brow furrowed deeply after a careful examination. He remained silent.