40: Chapter 40: Lu Jing's Test of Wang Dong'er

Just as Qian Renxue went to take a bath, the door to Wang Donger's room was softly knocked upon.

She furrowed her brows slightly. At this time… who could it be?

She stood up and walked with light footsteps toward the door.

Opening the door, it was none other than Lu Jing standing there.

He had clearly just finished bathing as well; his jet-black short hair was still damp, with a few unruly strands clinging to his temples, making his youthful face appear even fairer, faintly revealing a warm, jade-like luster.

He had changed into a clean, dark-colored robe, and he seemed a bit leaner and more upright. What was most striking, however, were his eyes, which had become even calmer and deeper after being tempered, like two bottomless ancient wells.

"Sister Donger." He spoke, his voice steady, looking at the peerless young girl before him.

Wang Donger stepped aside to let him in, then casually closed the door, shutting out the atmosphere of the corridor.

"What do you need from me?" She walked to the table and leaned casually against its edge. Her posture seemed relaxed, but her powder-blue eyes were locked onto Lu Jing like searchlights, filled with curiosity and doubt.

After her bath, the young girl's skin still radiated a healthy pink hue, her long eyelashes drooping slightly, casting a small, fan-shaped shadow beneath her eyelids.

Lu Jing did not answer immediately.

He paced to the window, his gaze fixed on the neatly trimmed pines and cypresses in the Elder Hall courtyard. A moment of silence caused the air in the room to slightly stagnate.

He finally turned around, his calm gaze meeting Wang Donger's, and got straight to the point: "There are some things we need to discuss in advance."

"Oh? What things?" Wang Donger raised her brows slightly, a questioning tone in her voice.

"Naturally, it is about your identity."

Lu Jing's voice was not loud, but it struck clearly into the air between them. "For example, what exactly is your true identity, and where did you come from?"

He paused, seemingly weighing his words. His tone remained calm but carried a hint of seriousness that brooked no evasion. He reminded her, "We are currently ten thousand years in the past, surrounded by dangers. You could say we are grasshoppers tied to the same rope; we count as our own people, right? Some background details should be revealed. Hiding things benefits neither of us. Perhaps… your true identity, at some critical moment, could become an unexpected asset or a protective amulet to avoid risks."

He gazed at Wang Donger, his words carrying sincere expectation, yet also concealing a sharp edge of probing.

He knew Wang Donger's true identity; the reason he asked this question was to know what Wang Donger was actually thinking, and whether she still did not trust him as a partner.

Hearing this question, the slight casualness on Wang Donger's face vanished instantly.

Her right hand, placed at her side, curled unconsciously, her knuckles turning slightly white.

She looked at Lu Jing. Deep within those beautiful powder-blue eyes, like a sea before a storm, vigilance, scrutiny, and struggle flashed by, finally settling into a heavy complexity.

She certainly understood what Lu Jing meant—alliances require trust, and trust requires honesty.

But…

"Why are you asking this?" Her voice turned cold, like thin ice breaking on a lake in early spring, carrying a sharpness of being offended.

The identity of the Clear Sky Sect's young master was an honor and a reliance ten thousand years later, but in this era, ten thousand years ago, when Spirit Hall was at the height of its power and its relationship with the Clear Sky Sect was delicate or even hostile, this identity was no different from a sharp blade hanging over her head!

How could she easily speak it aloud? Especially to someone whose background was equally unclear?

Lu Jing seemed to have expected her reaction; there was not the slightest ripple on his face, calm to the point of cruelty.

"I have already said it—for the future."

He took half a step forward, an invisible pressure quietly spreading. "Sister Donger, this is ten thousand years ago; the variables are too great. Knowing a little more about each other means a little more certainty of survival and returning. After all—"

He slightly drew out the end of his sentence, his eyes sharp as a blade, as if able to pierce through all her disguises and reach the core. "This is ten thousand years ago, not ten thousand years later. Any background of yours is useless here. So, regardless of whether we can eventually go back, we should at least be a bit more honest, don't you think?"

The air in the room completely froze.

Sunlight filtered through the exquisite carved window lattice, cutting bright patches of light onto the floor, stretching the silhouettes of the two figures in silent confrontation.

Wang Donger seemed to have become a solidified jade sculpture; only the slight rise and fall of her chest proved she was still breathing.

She stared fixedly into Lu Jing's eyes, trying to find even a trace of hypocrisy or calculation within them, but those eyes were bottomless, possessing only a calm, almost frank depth.

Time passed bit by bit. The silence was as heavy as lead, pressing down heavily on their hearts.

Finally, Wang Donger slowly released her tightly bitten lower lip, leaving a row of shallow teeth marks.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, the struggle and vigilance in her eyes were replaced by a desperate determination.

It was a kind of exhaustion and firmness after seeing the situation clearly and shedding part of her disguise.

"I…"

Her voice was dry, carrying an imperceptible tremor, yet it rang out exceptionally clearly in the silent room. "I am from the Clear Sky Sect."

She paused for a moment, as if needing to gather all her strength to spit out the following words. "I am the young master of the Clear Sky Sect."

Each word was like a hammer, shattering the frozen silence.

Lu Jing's face still held no expression, but his calm eyes flickered extremely quickly—so fast that it was hard to catch.

He leaned forward slightly, with a hint of feigned ignorance in his inquiry: "Clear Sky Sect?"

His voice carried just the right amount of confusion, his gaze falling on Wang Donger's empty hands. "But isn't your Spirit the Radiant Goddess Butterfly? It seems… very far removed from the Tool Spirit inherited by the Clear Sky Sect."

This precise "challenge" was like a needle, instantly piercing the last shred of luck beneath the shell of courage Wang Donger had just mustered.

She suddenly raised her head, and two flames of offense instantly ignited in her powder-blue eyes. The previous struggle and hesitation were replaced by a strong pride belonging to the young master of the Clear Sky Sect.

"Heh!" A short, slightly cold chuckle spilled from her lips.

The next second, without wasting any words, she suddenly raised her right hand, which she had been clenching tightly at her side!

Palm upward, she suddenly spread her five fingers!

Boom!

An overbearing and terrifying aura suddenly exploded! The air in the room seemed to be squeezed and torn by an invisible giant hand, emitting a dull boom!

Blinding blue-purple lightning, like a giant dancing python, coiled around the object that had appeared out of thin air in her palm, crackling loudly. Violent energy particles scattered everywhere, stirring up small wind vortices that messed up the hair on both their foreheads.

That was a… hammer!

The handle was as deep as ink, as if it could swallow light. The hammer head was unimaginably large, presenting a heavy, condensed dark blue color, but its surface was not smooth; instead, it was covered with ancient and rugged lightning patterns!

Most strangely, in the center of the widest face of the hammer head, there was embedded a Radiant Goddess Butterfly pattern, ready to take flight, outlined by pure golden energy!

It did not look like a dead object; the butterfly wings seemed to be breathing, slightly flickering with a warm and sacred radiance, forming a powerful and eerie harmonious coexistence with the violent lightning power of the hammer body itself.

Clear Sky Hammer!

This peerless divine weapon, symbolizing the continent's strongest attack-type Tool Spirit, was thus revealed to Lu Jing without reservation.

The violent lightning power intertwined with the sacred butterfly wing radiance, illuminating Wang Donger's beautiful face in flickering light and shadow. The pressure surrounding her suddenly soared, instantly transforming her from a bright young girl back into the young master who held the fate of a top Sect.

"Spirit?" The corners of her lips curled into an arrogant and slightly cold arc. Her powder-blue eyes were like blades quenched in ice, stabbing straight at Lu Jing. Her voice was clear, each word resonant, as she retorted: "Have you never heard of—"

"twin spirits?"

Lightning roared in her palm, and the butterfly wings shone on her hammer. The air was filled with the scorching scent of fiercely colliding Soul Power, as well as Wang Donger's unmasked, icy gaze awaiting a final explanation.

Lu Jing quietly looked at the unique Clear Sky Hammer in her hand, which carried the power of two top-tier Spirits, and watched the golden butterfly wings on the hammer face, poised to take flight. The last trace of probing in his eyes finally settled completely, turning into a deep, settled understanding.

"So that's how it is." He nodded very slightly, a nearly gentle smile slowly blooming on his face. There was no surprise in that smile, no awe, only a calmness after unraveling the mystery, and a hint of indescribable complexity.

It seems that this girl, Wang Donger, is more trustworthy than Tang San; it was just his own overthinking.