Chapter 131

9.16 - So, let's review it again

translation: xiin

editor: bear & alamerysl

Once he entered secluded cultivation, time passed very quickly. Xue Ling had no concept of time, so he did not know how long he was closed up for.

After successfully entering the Chuqiao stage, he chose not to leave secluded cultivation and rather continued trying to consolidate his cultivation and attempted to rise up in power again.

He originally had ten thousand years of cultivation foundation, and his base was stable. In addition, he could absorb Chi Lan's power for his own use when he was near him, so he naturally would not need to waste time in order to temper his own cultivation. He did not lack actual combat experience. If he really wanted to hone his abilities, all he needed to do was to wake up Chi Lan, who was protecting him nearby, and the two of them could have a fight.

Mountains and rivers changed as countless days and nights went by in the blink of an eye. By the time Xue Ling roused himself from his closed door cultivation, he was already on the upper boundary of the Fenshen stage, and only needed one step to enter the Dongxu stage. Raising his strength to this level within five hundred years was within Xue Ling's calculations.

Five hundred years had passed. Yu Shaofeng didn't know how many times he had returned to Still Peak, but he was unable to see his martial brother every time. He barely even saw his Master, either.

After five hundred years of honing, both of them were no longer the youths of the past. Although there was no difference in their appearances, the sword Qi that came out from their body and their temperament were very different from before. The two of them were like two sharp, unsheathed swords. If one looked at them too intently, the sword would burn their eyes and turn them blind. Recently, both of them had been learning how to restrain and condense their sword aura. In the later stages of sword cultivation, all things could become swords. They had not yet reached that realm, but what they could learn now was how to condense their sword Qi, and return it back to its original simplicity.

Condensing their sword Qi to the extreme would produce miraculous changes. This was the road that Chi Lan pointed out for them, and the two of them listened to Chi Lan's words and had already remained in Still Peak for some time as they cultivated and waited for Xue Ling to emerge.

So, when Xue Ling emerged from secluded cultivation, he unexpectedly found that there were two other people on Still Peak besides his cheap Master.

Over time, everything had changed. Even Still Peak looked very different from before, but Xue Ling was still the same as ever. The brightness in his eyes and the beauty between his brows had been tempered by his rise in cultivation, and his aura was calmer than before. Although he remained dressed in black, he was still somewhat different from before.

However, in Chi Lan's eyes, it was still the same person, and all these changes only made him want him even more.

"Why are we all gathered together?" Xue Ling raised his eyebrows and looked at his younger martial brother who seemed excited, but did not dare rush over. He stretched out his hand and waved to him before saying, "Shaofeng, come here. Let your martial brother see how much progress you've made in the past few hundred years."

Yu Shaofeng nodded, but he did not immediately go over. Instead, his sword came out of its sheath.

He understood his martial brother's meaning. He definitely hadn't asked him to come over so that he could pinch his face like he did in the past. He wanted to spar with him, and see where his strength was at now.

His sword was still the one that Xue Ling had made for him, but after years of cultivation and nurturing, the sword now had a sword spirit. When it came out of its sheath, winds blew and clouds gathered, and the sound of thunder rumbled as lightning flashed across the sky. His movements were full of momentum.

Xue Ling raised his eyebrows again, rather surprised at Yu Shaofeng's growth. But after all, he was the main protagonist, and he also did not know what Yu Shaofeng and Chi Jian had experienced in the years where they had been let out to travel the world. Thinking about it, it should be the strange treatment that all protagonists were given. "The sword is a good one, but your movements are too broad. When you can condense this momentum into your sword, perhaps you will have a chance at winning against me."

Yu Shaofeng pouted. Chi Lan had also said the same thing, but his tone of voice had been even harder to swallow than Xue Ling's. But his feet did not hesitate as his sword slashed, carrying with it the momentum of thunder, electric lightning dancing across the blade - he only made one move, but it carried everything he had.

There was no other way. Xue Ling's strength was above his. Even if sword cultivators could surpass ranks and kill those stronger than them, at most that applied to two minor stages, and the difference between him and Xue Ling was too vast.

It looked very terrifying, and anyone who was personally experiencing the attack would also feel frightened. But in front of Xue Ling, it was incomparably simple for him to dissolve it.

If one looked carefully, they would see countless small green leaves floating in the air. There was a circle of green energy around the fallen leaves, but the energy had now become mottled as they absorbed the strong energy coming towards them.

The entire Still Peak was covered in green. Yu Shaofeng shook out his hand and quickly put his sword away so that his martial brother's little leaves wouldn't accidentally gnaw on his sword spirit. "Martial brother... you seem to have become much more powerful..."

"Come over." Chi Lan beckoned to him.

Xue Ling blinked, his mouth turning up in a pout before revealing a smile that was almost normal as he walked over. "Has Master not seen his disciple for too long? Is that why Master needs a closer look?"

"I truly do need a closer look." Chi Lan's voice was extremely deep. It was only when Xue Ling came close and met his gaze that he discovered his pupils were unfathomably dark, a deep abyss of black that frightened Xue Ling into shivering all over.

"Master, could it be you've fallen into Qi deviation again..."

"If I've fallen into the devil's path, would you save me the way you did last time?"

"..." Xue Ling was stunned, and then incredulously widened his eyes.

Chi Lan's hand slid across his face, and his voice was still deep as it rang out next to his ear. It made Xue Ling's entire body turn plaint. "Why aren't you speaking? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I..." Xue Ling opened his mouth, but before he could speak, his lips were blocked by Chi Lan.

His palm was against his lips, his fingertips touching his cheek. "Or perhaps you can stay quiet, and let me speak instead..."

Xue Ling blinked and wondered in his heart if the man had been stifled for too long and really lost it...

"Are you wondering why I would say these things?" Chi Lan's other hand threaded through Xue Ling's hair, then pulled him completely into his embrace, his lips landing gently on Xue Ling's forehead. "Or are you surprised that I remembered what happened that day... Although I had forgotten, you couldn't possibly have also forgotten those fragments too, right?"

Xue Ling's entire face was red. Although they had done it many times, he really did not want to talk about these kinds of matters straight on as they still had the ability to make him shy. "Wu..." His mouth was covered and he couldn't speak. He reached out and tried to pull down Chi Lan's hand, but it was useless.

Chi Lan simply used a small magic to fix his hand in place so that he had no way to move. "I feel that I still need to emphasize that although I forgot whether or not it really happened, I would always recall and savor it every now and then."

Xue Ling's ears were beginning to turn red.

Chi Lan kissed him on the tip of his nose. "What should we do, my disciple? You've become my obsession now. Without you, I won't even be able to fly up and ascend."

Xue Ling almost rolled his eyes at him. He really wanted to ask him whether or not he was joking. What did he mean, not being able to fly up without him?

"If I didn't remember it by myself, would you always act as though these matters had never happened, and leave me to suffer forever? Let me want you but be unable to obtain you, having to be careful even when just trying to get close, until you finally drift further and further away from me and ultimately just leave?"

Xue Ling thought in his heart, 'You should just let me talk! I'll tell you, that was exactly what I wanted to do!'

And then you would go into a rage and shut me into a little dark room or something!

I've been waiting for this moment for a long time!

But Chi Lan had no intention of letting him explain himself. He had endured this for too long, and would not listen to anything Xue Ling might have to say.

He bent his head and bit the junction between Xue Ling's neck and shoulder. "I will never let you leave me, nor will I let you stand there and watch to see how low I can sink."

Xue Ling: "..."

"So let's review it again." Xue Ling's belt was directly pulled open. He found that he could move now, but it was of no use - he was still held tightly in the man's arms. "Go over the images you want to forget, but which I love and enjoy so much~"

Xue Ling: "..." In fact, he was okay with it too... He had no intention of forgetting...

xiin: is it just me or is XL becoming less of a prude?