Spirit Realm

“Good day, Elder Tong.”

Qin Lie arrived at the entrance and nodded in respect towards Tong Jihua with a cool expression.

“Mn.” Tong Jihua also nodded and continued to speak with Liang Zhong. He did not say anything to him.

Qin Lie’s body was surrounded by cold air. He passed through between Liang Zhong and Tong Jihua and headed inside Armament Sect. He purposely avoided looking at Liang Zhong.

Liang Zhong also did not think much of him and simply smiled, continuing to speak with Tong Jihua. When he had entered inside the sect and was instructing the Dark Asura Hall generals to be more careful, he accidentally glanced at Qin Lie’s back.

He was stunned for a second. Suddenly, he stared at Qin Lie’s back even more intently as his expression turned somewhat strange. “This back is really familiar. It’s like I’ve seen it before somewhere…”

“Mister Liang, Mister Liang!” Tong Jihua called out softly.

Liang Zhong recovered, frowned slightly before all of a sudden asking, “Who is that cold young man who passed by just now?”

“He’s Qin Bing, an inner sect disciple. He has just recently ascended up the mountains.” Tong Jihua explained carelessly, “Elder Mo Hai is the one who noticed him and gave word for him to enter the inner sect. He is a newly promoted entree and had passed the same exam as Liang Shaoyang. He was also the second disciple to go up the mountains other than Liang Shaoyang.”

“Qin Bing… Qin Bing. I’ve never heard this name before. It shouldn’t be the same person, but why are their backs so similar.” Liang Zhong whispered and asked again, “Where did he come from?”

“I don’t know.” Tong Jihua was a little surprised. He didn’t understand why Liang Zhong was interested in Qin Lie. “You know Armament Sect’s rules. We normally wouldn’t go too deep into a newly joined disciple’s background. We only judge them by their talent, and as long as they have it, even if they’re just a commoner, Armament Sect will still accept them. Without talent, no matter how good their background is we will not accept them into the sect.”

Liang Zhong nodded and did not continue asking. He simply kept it at the back of his mind.

……

“Qin Bing!” At the foot of Flame Volcano, Pan Xuan scolded him with a cold expression, “Where did you go last night?”

“I went out of the sect to buy some stuff. I’ve only returned this morning.” Qin Lie said.

“As an inner sect disciple, you are not allowed to go in and out of Armament Sect as you please like an outer sect disciple. Every inner sect disciple must inform me before they leave the sect. Did no one teach you about this?” Pan Xuan blocked the stone path together with three other inner sect disciples who were wearing critical looks.

He was obviously going downhill and just happened to run into Qin Lie in between, so he purposely looked for trouble.

Inner sect disciples could go up and down the mountains and the outer sect freely, but if they were to exit the sect entirely, then they would have to inform Pan Xuan according to the rules.

But Tang Siqi was a bit special. She was the most talented person for the past ten years, and was highly regarded by Mo Hai and the sect master. There were a lot of inner sect rules that did not apply to her.

When she went in and out of the sect, she had never informed Pan Xuan. Pan Xuan dared not trouble her either.

Since she never needed to obey this rule, she neglected to mention it when explaining the rules of the sect to Qin Lie.

So Qin Lie really didn’t know that such a rule existed.

“I’ve only just entered the inner sect and am not familiar with many of the rules of inner sect. I will remember it in the future.” Qin Lie’s expression was cold and his tone was stiff. Once he replied he immediately walked forwards.

“From what I can see you have no intentions of admitting your fault at all!” Pan Xuan snorted once.

Qin Lie frowned and lifted his head to look at him, “Then, what do you want to do then, senior brother?”

“According to the sect’s rules, you should…” Pan Xuan’s words suddenly stopped halfway. His gaze moved across Qin Lie as respect appeared on his face. “Please go up the mountain, Miss Xie.”

Qin Lie turned around.

Xie Jingxuan wore a snow white martial practitioner’s uniform. Her expression was cool, and she was just walking up from the foot of the mountain.

Pan Xuan’s main task for coming downhill was to lead her up the mountains. The moment he saw her, he quickly stopped scolding Qin Lie, and after harshly glaring at him once, he went forth with the other three junior brothers, ready to lead her up.

At the foot of the mountain, Liang Zhong was directing the Dark Asura Hall generals to carry spirit materials. As the leader, Xie Jingxuan did not need to bother with these trivial matters, and just walked up on her own.

Seeing that Pan Xuan and the trio had come forth, she nodded slightly and calmly walked up the mountain.

When she arrived beside Qin Lie, there was obvious surprise leaking out of her eyes. She was very surprised to find that the young man she saw last night was actually an Armament Sect inner sect disciple.

Amidst Pan Xuan and the others’ doubtful gaze, she stopped beside Qin Lie and focused her cool clear eyes. After examining him closely, she suddenly said, “You look like someone I know.”

Qin Lie frowned and channeled Frost Arts quietly. His aura was as cold and sharp as an ice peak.

“But you’re probably not him,” Xie Jingxuan said to herself once more and then nodded to Qin Lie before finally passing by him to proceed up the mountain.

Seeing that she had proceeded on, Pan Xuan did not dare to stay for long either. He let go of Qin Lie for now and hurriedly led the way with his other three junior brothers. They respectfully stayed by her side and let loose flattering smiles.

Qin Lie stopped and secretly observed the direction Xie Jingxuan and the others were heading in. When he realized that Xie Jingxuan was going to the peak of the mountain, his expression changed slightly.

The peak of the mountain was where the sect master and three great reverends had lived in for a long time. Unless the person had an extraordinary background, they would not have the qualification to go up at all.

“Xie Jingxuan’s identity at Dark Asura Hall was probably not a small one. Otherwise, Pan Xuan would not have personally welcomed her, and she could not have possibly gone up the mountain peak,” Qin Lie thought silently.

He headed back to his cavern.

“Senior Sister Tang, the sect master has asked me to go up with you to the mountain peak.” Liang Shaoyang’s voice came from Tang Siqi’s cave. This caused Qin Lie to pay attention and gaze in that direction from afar.

“Got it. You go first, I’ll come later.” Inside the closed cave, Tang Siqi’s impatient voice rang out.

“I’m fine. I’ll just wait for you a little while.” Liang Shaoyang continued to hound her.

“Am I not being clear?” Tang Siqi’s angry voice came from inside the cave. “Then I’ll say this more directly. I do not want to go up the mountain with you! This is because I dislike you very much, and the moment I see you, I feel disgusted! You should understand if I put it this way, shouldn’t you?”

Her raging voice was not soft, so the few inner sect disciples near the cavern could clearly hear her .

Lian Rou and Pang Shishi both wore shocked expressions when they heard her yell and quietly appeared from their respective caves. They watched Liang Shaoyang together with a few other inner sect disciples.

Liang Shaoyang’s expression turned incredibly ugly as his gaze darkened. After standing for a while he said, “I understand.”

He no longer continued to hound her, and while leaking a dangerous aura from his body, he went up the mountain peak alone.

Lian Rou continued to stare at Liang Shaoyang and watched him slowly walk away. Then, she hurriedly rushed to Tang Siqi’s cave and said in a low tone, “It’s me, Siqi.”

The cave entrance opened. Tang Siqi let Lian Rou in while saying with a cold expression, “I’ve never seen such a shameless person.”

“Siqi, you might upset him saying such rude things in front of so many people.” Lian Rou was a little worried as she lowered her voice and said, “ Liang Shaoyang’s methods are dark. He isn’t afraid to kill Yin Hao and isn’t afraid to attack Qin Bing. Not only that, but he grew up at Dark Shadow Tower. Such a person would definitely not have too big of a heart.”

“I’ve tried the indirect way before, but he never responded. Recently, I’ve been feeling really irritated. I don’t give a damn about his feelings.” Tang Siqi couldn’t care less. “I may not like fighting too much, but I am at the early stage of the Manifestation Realm. Very soon I’ll be breaking through to the middle stage. Even if he’s good at fighting, he is just at the late stage of the Natal Opening Realm. Why should I be afraid of him? Besides, this is Armament Sect. It may be fine if he screws with someone else, but if he dares attack me, then the sect master and three great reverends will definitely not protect him!”

“You should still be careful,” Lian Rou warned her in worry. Recalling Liang Shaoyang’s expression, she just couldn’t let it go.

“As long as I don’t leave the sect, he absolutely can’t do anything to me. Nothing to worry about. Don’t worry, I’ll pay attention.”

After tidying her attire for a moment Tang Siqi headed out of the cave, “Today, Xie Jingxuan of Dark Asura Hall’s Department of Foreign Affairs had brought a spirit tablet over. There is a very peculiar spirit diagram inscribed inside the spirit tablet. A month ago, Dark Asura Hall had sent over a letter with a brief description about the matter. Both Sect Master and Elder Mo were very curious about it and said that they wanted to see the real thing, so she has probably brought that over today. That’s why Sect Master has asked Liang Shaoyang and me to study it together.”

“I see.” Lian Rou looked a little envious. “Even Pan Xuan did not have the qualification to study it. It seems that you and Liang Shaoyang truly are the future of the sect in Sect Master’s heart.”

“Qin Bing…” Tang Siqi walked out of the cave. She noticed Qin Lie outside as well at first glance and snorted, saying, “What are you here for? Come to watch me be embarrassed?”

“Liang Shaoyang is not a good man. You better be more careful.” Qin Lie threw down those words and walked away.

“He actually cares quite about you, doesn’t he,” Lian Rou smiled lightly.

“It’s all false pretense.” Tang Siqi kept a straight face. “Not a single word from this guy’s mouth is real! I’ll be a fool to believe that he would really care for me.”

“Maybe he really didn’t enter Armament Sect for you.” Even Lian Rou was doubtful now. “From the moment he entered the inner sect, he has never proactively looked for you. He acted secretive all day long and always shuts himself inside his cavern. Last night, during the thunderstorm, he actually went out of the sect alone…”

Lian Rou shook her head with strange eyes. “This guy is very strange. You can’t see through him, and you just don’t know what on earth he’s thinking.”

“Junior Sister Tang! The sect master asks you to hurry up!” Pan Xuan yelled halfway up the mountain.

And so, Tang Siqi stopped her conversation with Lian Rou and hurried up the mountain peak. When she passed by Pan Xuan, he suddenly said, “You did well just now. You should be relentless towards a bastard as shameless as Liang Shaoyang!”

“Mn, that was a great yell!” The trio beside him also expressed so.

“But you should be more careful. This Liang Shaoyang had been arrogant all day ever since he entered the inner sect. He doesn’t even put us in his eyes.” Pan Xuan said caringly, “This person came from Dark Shadow Tower, and it is rumored that he had been performing killing missions since he was a child. His hands are covered in blood, and he might do something after you upstaged him today.”

Tang Siqi was a little surprised. She didn’t expect Pan Xuan to be so disgusted by Liang Shaoyang either. “Thank you for your reminder, senior brother,” she said in a serious manner.

“If there are any problems, you can inform me in advance. Don’t worry, I’ll stand by your side. If Liang Shaoyang dares to cause trouble, your senior brother definitely won’t go easy on him!” Pan Xuan righteously exclaimed .

“Understood.” Tang Siqi gave a light smile before going up the mountain like a ball of flames.