Lin Xun was so unusually exasperated that he stormed out the room and then kicked Fatty Diao and Beanpole Ma out.

Then, he drew a deep breath, returned to the room and looked at Xia Zhi with a serious expression. “Why are you doing this?”

Xia Zhi also assumed a serious expression and asked in response, “Didn’t you already agree?”

Lin Xun looked surprised. “Why would I agree?”

“To fight.”

Lin Xun stared at Xia Zhi and said nothing.

Xia Zhi’s clear, crescent-shaped eyes stared back at him. She refused to yield an inch.

It was only when the atmosphere within the room became a little suffocating that Lin Xun sighed out loud and said, “Let’s eat dinner first.”

He turned around and started to set the table, spreading out the preserved fruits, aeth fruits, roasted meat and a variety of snacks.

Then, the two ate in silence.

The very sumptuous meal felt tasteless to Lin Xun as if he was eating wax. He finally set down his chopsticks and broke the silence. “I’m just worried about you.”

Xia Zhi nodded. “I understand.”

“You don't understand, I grew up and lived with evil and bad people since I was a child, and I have seen a lot of dark things. So, I know that those kinds of people will definitely influence you once you become involved with them!”

Xia Zhi thought for a moment and said, “But aren’t you living well now?”

Lin Xun said snappily, “I’m not the same.”

Xia Zhi argued, ”Like you, I am not the same.”

Although the sentence sounded awkward, Lin Xun understood her meaning and couldn’t help but sigh again.

Xia Zhi put down her bowl and chopsticks and looked at Lin Xin directly. “I know what I’m doing, but if you’re really angry, I will choose to step back.”

Her flawless face was as tranquil as always but also firm and unwavering.

Lin Xun was silent for a long moment and then he suddenly smiled. His tensed face softened and he shook his head. “No, I just want to confirm your stance. I have seen it and so I won’t object anymore.”

Xia Zhi nodded.

Lin Xun helped Xia Zhi scoop another bowl of rice, saying, “Be careful these days. The Wu Clan may not plan to leave us alone.”

Xia Zhi raised her head and asked, “What do you plan to do?”

Lin Xun shrugged. “I’ll first confirm whether or not this information is accurate and then take action. We have to solve the problem ourselves this time.”

A cold intent flashed deep in Xia Zhi’s eyes, but vanished immediately. Then, she nodded.

……

After dinner, Xia Zhi got up and told Lin Xun that she was going for a walk.

Lin Xun was hesitant to ask what she was going to do, but he could somehow guess what she intended to do and so he could only sigh inwardly.

However, Lin Xun wasn’t worried about Xia Zhi encountering any danger because she was stronger than the average person and even he was no match for her. He believed that, as long as she was careful, she wouldn’t run into any danger against the bad people in the slum area.

Lin Xun shook off such thoughts with a toss of his head, took out a swallow-winged blade and a dish of scarlet fire rune ink, and fully focused on making an Explosion Blade.

Lin Xun had found a good way to make money after his profits today at the Golden Jade Hall. His top priority now was to quickly make money to improve his cultivation level.

Three hours later.

The swallow-winged blade suddenly lit up on the desk as wisps of blinding flames surged upwards and rumbled like molten lava.

He had succeeded once again!

Lin Xun couldn’t help nodding in satisfaction as he studied the Explosion Blade in his hand.

“If Mister Lu hears about how I successfully made lower human grade aeth tools on the first try when I’m just at the fifth layer True Martial Stage, he would surely be delighted.”

Inexplicably, when Lin Xun thought of Mister Lu, he also thought of the giant hand that destroyed the mine prison.

After a while, Lin Xun suddenly picked up the violet pheasant brush again and on the Explosion Blade’s handle engraved a rune marking that looked like the ancient character “Xun".

Lin Xun remembered that every time Mister Lu engraved a rune pattern, he would leave a similar mark, which, according to Mister Lu. represented him and was also a unique symbol that belonged to a rune master.

The mark identified the owner of the engraved rune.

The character “Xun” that Lin Xun had engraved wasn’t only his name, but in a sense it represented his will. He was determined to find the enemy who took his Origin Aeth Artery!

It was late at night but Xia Zhi still hadn’t returned. Lin Xun was sitting cross-legged on the bed, circulating aeth power around his body, but he was a little worried.

Fortunately, Xia Zhi had returned just as Lin Xun finished his training.

As usual, she was wearing a black wind-proof robe and her stunningly beautiful face was covered.

Lin Xun carefully looked up and down at Xia Zhi and after confirming that she was uninjured, he said, “You should come back earlier in the future.”

Xia Zhi acknowledged him, went to wash up, and then she lay quietly on the bed.

Lin Xun blew out the candle, plunging the room into darkness. Only a little faint starlight penetrated through the window and sprinkled dim patches of light into the room.

Occasionally, the barking of dogs sounded from the alleys and made the atmosphere in the house quieter.

“Lin Xun, I killed a gang leader from another area. I don’t remember his name, but I have taken in all his subordinates.”

In the darkness, Xia Zhi opened her crescent-shaped eyes and said softly, “Around tomorrow, spoils will be divided. I have told them to exchange them all for money. Aren’t you short on money? They will directly deliver the money over here tomorrow.”

Lin Xun was training and visualizing his spirit, and so he didn’t hear what Xia Zhi had said.

Xia Zhi didn’t seem to care if Lin Xun heard her or not. She continued, “Also, about the Wu Clan—I have sent people to investigate them. You might not know this, but even if the gangsters aren’t good people, they have connections and ways of doing things that we don’t. Fatty Diao has confidently promised to find out everything about them tomorrow.”

Her eyes were as clear as cleanly washed black jewels and her voice was particularly pleasant and clear in the quiet and dark night.

“No matter what, you don't have to worry about anything anymore as long as I am around. Do you think I couldn’t tell that Mu Wansu’s attitude towards you wasn’t good? She’s so narrow-minded. One day, I will teach her a good lesson. But before then, you mustn’t get as angry as you did today…”

Xia Zhi’s voice turned a little low and she seemed a little downcast.

After a long silence, a faint, imperceptible voice floated in the darkness. “My name is Xia Zhi. My world has always been dark but you made me see a glimpse of light…”

……

Lin Xun’s mind-sea was equally dark and only a bright star was hanging in the sky.

It was the first star that he lit up in his mind-sea. It sprinkled down a pure, shining, silvery light that nourished his spirit.

The star was also called the spirit star.

The more spirit stars illuminated, the more beneficial it was to a person’s spirit cultivation.

Only when the spectacle of the great emptiness of the universe and the cycle of stars emerged in the mind-sea would the first Star Cycle be regarded as cultivated to the perfect realm.

However, Lin Xun’s spirit had only barely touched upon the Star Cycle. Only one spirit star had been illuminated; it was too early to even mention reaching the perfect realm.

Swiftly and silently, strands of starlight fluttered like ripples and nourished the spirit.

At that moment, Lin Xun’s spirit felt light, pure and untainted. Additionally, he could distinctly feel his perception power constantly recovering.

Lin Xun had not only consumed his aeth power but also exhausted his spirit perception power to make an aeth tool and during his daily training.

In general, a rune master would need to rest for two to ten days after completing an aeth tool to restore their perception power.

This wasn’t a huge problem for Lin Xun because he could easily recover after a night of rest by visualizing the Star Cycle.

Moreover, Lin Xun found that the constant consumption and recovery of his perception power turned out to be a kind of tempering on his spirit. The tempering effect even doubled when he trained after heavily exhausting his perception power.

This was similar to breathing out stale air and breathing in fresh air. His spirit was constantly tempered and improved through the repeated consumption and recovery of his powers.

Lin Xun distinctly noticed that when his perception power was restored, he somehow felt a sensation of fullness and was eager to move.

He didn’t suppress this impulse, and almost naturally, his perception power suddenly soared. In the blink of an eye, it flew to the distant starry sky.

When Lin Xun awoke, he found that another dim and blurry star in the night sky had become bright and clear and was resonating with the first bright star.

Lin Xun had illuminated another spirit star after more than two months since the first one!

Buzzzz~

At the same time, he felt his spirit numb and shudder. Like a new window had been opened, his spirit power was steadily climbing.

He could only perceive things within a ten feet distance, but now, everything within twenty feet of him was accurately reflected in his mind!

Furthermore, his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind had become much more sensitive, and was able to detect even subtle changes within the surrounding air and dust.

The entire world seemed to have suddenly changed with the addition of multiple layers to everything. Lin Xun couldn’t help but feel enthralled.

This was the awareness through subtle details. The reason why cultivators were strong was because they could see things invisible to ordinary people, perceive the mystery of the heaven and earth that ordinary people couldn’t detect, and master the power that ordinary people couldn’t grasp!

By the time Lin Xun awoke from his meditation, the sky was turning bright and a new day had come.

On that day, news that the Golden Jade Hall was selling a peerless treasured sword rapidly spread through the streets and alleys of Donglin City like leaves in a storm and created a sensation.