Gao Yanan didn’t hit Lin Xi, only letting Lin Xi hold her hand.

“The taller the tree in the forest, the easier it is snapped by the wind. Your Divine General secret is not something my father can know of.”

“Why?” Lin Xi immediately thought of many romantic tragedy stories.. “Does he not agree with us being together?”

Gao Yanan shook her head. “He agrees to us being together, but his way of thinking clashes a bit with the academy’s, and he also has a bit of criticism towards your way of doing things. He most likely believes that no matter how powerful you are, you are still within his realm of control. If he discovers that you are not within his realm of control, that he cannot instruct you like the head of a household at all, then I’m worried that his stance might change a bit.”

“I’ll listen to your advice. However, if he really is opposed to it, I definitely won’t give up.” Lin Xi held her hand a bit tighter, saying in a lowly manner, “I definitely won’t let my hand go.”

Gao Yanan stared at Lin Xi in the darkness. However, a moment later, she quietly said, “I won’t let go either, as long as you don’t change.”

Lin Xi immediately felt an incredibly blessed feeling.

“What are you hiding on you, why does it smell so good? Let me take a whiff.” He immediately felt even more shameless, moving towards Gao Yanan.

“Can you act even a bit decently? You’re always trying to take advantage of me… Can you let your Lucky try and attack?”

“Let Lucky attack?”

Lin Xi suddenly became a bit stunned. He noticed that he overlooked some rumors.

According to the rumors, Yunqin’s grand secretary who overlooked the various sectors was quite a special cultivator. He had a cultivation lineage normal cultivators didn’t have, able to turn an entire room in a hot summer day into a frozen cave.

“Is that rumor true? Your father… is the descendant of the Frost Giants in Frozen Sea?”

“It might be.” Gao Yanan looked at Lin Xi and said, “There was always this type of saying in our generation, but it has happened too long ago, not one can say for sure if it is true or false anymore.”

Lin Xi became a bit stunned again. “Then his soul force can naturally form runes in the sky… condense icy cold heaven and earth vital energy, is this true?”

Gao Yanan didn’t reply, but Lin Xi’s body suddenly trembled. He could feel that between his and Gao Yanan’s palms, something extremely cold was forming. He lowered his head, seeing that in his palm, was a small ice ball.

Lucky’s head squirmed out from within his sleeves.

It looked at Gao Yanan in disbelief, unable to understand what was happening to itself. Its eyes suddenly began to brim with tears of excitement just because of the bit of aura Gao Yanan released from her body.

“Is it because both of you originated from the extreme north?”

Lin Xi understood something. He stroked Lucky’s head. “She wants you to try it out.”

When it heard Lin Xi’s words, saw Lin Xi hint with a slight exhale, Lucky understood what Lin Xi wanted it to do. It’s three tails began to move. A wave of power shot out from its mouth. It faced the night sky, producing a blast of white color that turned into endless frost.

Gao Yanan reached out her hand. A wave of soul force left her hand, the frost instantly condensing in front of her hand, creating a thin ice sword.

Even though they were surrounded by a dark night, because it was right in front of him, Lin Xi saw it extremely clearly, becoming a bit dumbstruck.

“You can use the cold energy it sprayed out?” He couldn’t help but give Lucky a look, and then he looked at Gao Yanan, asking this.

“It’s not spraying it out of its mouth either… it is just that the soul force it released has icy cold vital energy.” Gao Yanan looked at Lin Xi and nodded, quietly saying, “Cultivators like me and my father are stronger the colder our environment. It is just like how Purgatory Mountain’s Shentu Clan will be more formidable in scorching hot places. This should also be the case for Lucky.”

“This means that your bodies are naturally like soul weapons… not like cultivators like us, naturally just a sheet of white paper.”

“This analogy doesn’t seem to be that appropriate, but I understand what you are trying to say. It can more or less be explained like this.”

Lucky listened to the conversation between Lin Xi and Gao Yanan, confused as it sensed this aura that was extremely similar to its own. It looked at Gao Yanan’s fingers that were shining slightly because it released soul force, seemingly understanding something, learning a bit. It released a light yi noise and then reached out a small black claw that was pressed against its soft belly, trying to release the power in its body through its small black claw.

It could feel that the power in its body really did flow out from its claws. Then, it saw that a large ice crystal then took form in front of its claws.

“It really is really cute and smart, really strong too.” Gao Yanan sighed with amazement as she looked at Lucky, unable to help but reach out a hand, gently rubbing its head.

Lin Xi who now suddenly felt like Lucky stole his spotlight wanted to grab her hand again, but he failed because Gao Yanan reached that hand to stroke Lucky’s head. As such, he chuckled in embarrassment, saying, “Then if you teamed up with it, would you two become a bit stronger?”

“Shallow snow together with deep snow… when a normal cold winter then freezes over, it will obviously be a bit more formidable. However, you better not say you are giving it to me… Lucky isn’t something that can be gifted. Also, I can also sense its reliance on you.”

“So it is still the three of us being together that will become a bit stronger.” When Lin Xi said this, he couldn’t help but say this line of nonsense inside. “Then isn’t Lucky like our kid, a kind and loving family…”

…

A cotton clothed swordsman was quietly sitting on a large stone by the riverside.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

This swordsman’s age wasn’t that great, his meager face looking about forty something years of age. However, his hair was naturally a bit white, his brows also a bit longer than those of normal people, tilted slightly upwards. This made it so that even though his eyes were closed, he still gave off an incredibly dignified feeling.

His sword was by his leg, the scabbard just made of regular bamboo. However, the sword hilt was a strange blue jade, on it streaks of white snow-like runes.

He didn’t have any aura, even his breathing seemingly lacking all sound.

Everything was extremely peaceful. Two people walked out from the forest in front of him.

One carried another on their back. It was Jadefall Border Army’s Great Consecrator Xu Buyi and Ghost Advisor.

“Originally, we didn’t know you were someone under Grand Secretary Zhou, but after you left, we already became aware of it. Since you are someone under Grand Secretary Zhou, there is a chance that you know of some of our military maneuvers. We purposely transferred away the heavy cavalry and heavy armored troops stationed here. Great Consecrator Xu, you actually charged right in.” The white-haired, long browed, cloth wearing swordsman slowly opened his eyes, saying this while calmly looking at Xu Buyi.

Xu Buyi looked at this swordsman, shaking his head. “Dao Ruosu, even though you are known to be unmatched under Wenren Cangyue in Jadefall City, you cannot kill me.”

“What makes you think that? Is it because I was previously defeated under Ni Henian’s hands?” Dao Ruosu who was always known as Jadefall City’s number two expert gave Xu Buyi a calm look, his hands pressing against the sword scabbard resting against his leg. “Only, it is a pity that you are only a Jadefall Border Army Great Consecrator, and not a Grand Court Great Consecrator.”

“You’re wrong.” Xu Buyi heard the bit of ridicule within the other party’s words, but instead laughed, shaking his head and saying, “I know that in the past, you wanted to become a Grand Court Great Consecrator by directly challenging one, but were defeated by Ni Henian in the end. After following Wenren Cangyue and bitterly cultivating sword dao, your current strength might already be equal to Ni Henian’s. However, the reason why I said you cannot kill me isn’t because I feel that my strength is above yours, but rather because I chose this path. This wasn’t the intention of Grand Secretary Zhou, but rather Green Luan Academy.”

While speaking, Xu Buyi pointed towards the mountain path beneath the mountain slope behind Dao Ruosu.

Between the mist shrouded mountains, on the narrow small path only tea merchants and salt merchants took, a carriage slowly approached.

“It is precisely because of Green Luan Academy’s arrangements. Since their people already appeared, I believe there is already no way for you to kill me.” Xu Buyi retracted the radiance in his eyes and said this.

Dao Ruosu shook his head. “Madman Qin, Tong Wei, even Xu Shengmo and the others, their whereabouts are all within our grasp. Apart from these people and those elders who will definitely remain in the academy, who else does the academy have that can deal with me, as well as a third of Clear River Academy’s cultivators?”

“Clear River Academy?” Xu Buyi’s expression changed slightly, the wrinkles on his face as if cut by blades, becoming fierce. “Clear River Academy actually dares to defect to Wenren Cangyue?”

Dao Ruosu sneered and said, “In these past few decades, it was always Great General Wenren who supported Clear River Academy. Clear River Academy is Great General Wenren’s to begin with, or else how could an academy that was originally third-rate in Yunqin suddenly produce so many talented individuals in the past few decade, become one of the most outstanding second-rate schools?”

“However, second-rate is still second rate. Even the best second rate cannot compare to Yunqin’s four great academies.”

A voice sounded from the carriage within that narrow path. This person’s voice was extremely calm, as if carrying a hint of fatigue that couldn’t be hidden.

As this voice sounded, a handsome man whose age was impossible to deduce from his face slowly walked out from the carriage. He was dressed in academy black robes, on his sleeves embroidered silver stars only professors had.

His head of black hair wasn’t tied up, it was instead casually scattered behind his head.

After he walked out of the carriage, he didn’t look at Dao Ruosu, only using a type of incomprehensible gaze to look at his own black robes, at the silver star embroidery.

It was as if he was recalling fondly, thinking of things that were forever gone, things that could never return.

Weng!

The sword scabbard in Dao Ruosu’s hands suddenly trembled, the flying sword in the scabbard shaking and wishing to leave.

As someone who could be considered the most powerful expert under Wenren Cangyue in Jadefall City, as well as someone who could challenge Central Continent Grand Court’s Great Consecrator, he naturally already reached the revered Sacred Expert level a long time ago. However, right now, this Green Luan Academy Professor still didn’t release half a trace of his aura, yet in Dao Ruosu’s mind, he already produced extreme vigilance and battle intent.

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