198: Chapter 198 The Crisis of a Martial Spirit Realm Expert!

Ye Yun loosened his wrists.

"It's almost dawn. Once it's light, we'll return to the Luoxue Sect."

Silence fell behind him once again.

Ye Yun thought Han Qingxue had fallen asleep again and was about to close his eyes to rest.

Then, she spoke.

"Junior Brother."

"Yeah."

"Thank you."

The corner of Ye Yun's mouth curled slightly.

This was the third time tonight he had heard her say thank you.

A woman cold to her very core had said thank you three times in one night, and she hadn't even dared to look him in the eye when saying it.

It made him feel a bit amused, yet also filled him with an indescribable softness.

"Senior Sister, you've thanked me three times already."

Silence reigned behind him for a good while.

Then Han Qingxue's voice rang out again, a few degrees softer than before.

"Then what do you want?"

Ye Yun was stunned for a moment.

If these words had come from any other woman, they would have carried a hint of ambiguity.

But coming from Han Qingxue...

Ye Yun knew she was just asking a very serious question in a very serious manner.

She didn't want to owe anyone a favor, especially him.

"What do I want?"

Ye Yun tilted his head.

"Let me think."

He intentionally drew out his words, as if deep in thought.

Behind him, Han Qingxue waited quietly, and after a while, he still hadn't finished.

Finally, she let out a soft "Mm," as if prompting him.

"Once we're back at the Luoxue Sect, Senior Sister, how about you cook a meal for me?"

"Cook?"

There was a clear note of surprise in Han Qingxue's voice; she obviously hadn't expected him to suggest that.

"Yes, cook. I've never had a meal made by you, Senior Sister."

Ye Yun said.

Han Qingxue fell silent again.

This silence was longer than any of the previous ones.

"I don't know how."

Her voice was muffled, even softer than before, carrying a trace of imperceptible embarrassment.

Ye Yun was taken aback, then couldn't help but laugh out loud.

His laughter echoed in the quiet grotto, the rock walls sending back a soft reverberation.

Han Qingxue seemed a bit annoyed.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing."

Ye Yun suppressed his laughter, though his shoulders were still shaking slightly.

"It's just that I didn't expect it. Senior Sister, you're good at everything—your sword techniques are excellent, your cultivation level is high, and you're beautiful—yet you can't cook."

The silence behind him grew even longer, so long that Ye Yun thought she didn't want to speak anymore.

Then Han Qingxue spoke, her voice light as a wisp of smoke, carrying a bit of hesitation and a bit of testing.

There was also a hint of defiance that even she hadn't noticed.

"You think I'm beautiful?"

It was Ye Yun's turn to be silent.

He realized he had dug a hole for himself.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the vines, illuminating his face and making his expression flicker between light and shadow.

That cold, clear gaze from behind landed on his back, making the nape of his neck feel a bit hot.

"Of course, Senior Sister is beautiful."

He spoke, keeping his voice as flat as possible, as if stating a fact that everyone knew.

"Which inner Disciple of the Luoxue Sect doesn't know that Senior Sister Han Qingxue has a peerless countenance? It's just that everyone only dares to say it behind your back; no one dares mention it to your face."

There was no sound from behind.

Ye Yun didn't look back either.

The grotto remained quiet for a long while.

"Smooth-tongued," Han Qingxue whispered those four words.

It wasn't a reprimand, nor was there any coldness; it was more like an extremely soft, self-muttering murmur.

The corner of Ye Yun's mouth curled up.

He leaned against the stone wall, looking up at the night sky mostly obscured by vines.

The moonlight was bright, but there were few stars.

Behind him, Han Qingxue's breathing gradually steadied, and after another incense stick's worth of time, it finally settled into a long, even rhythm.

Ye Yun placed his hand on the burning snow sword, closed his eyes, and began to circulate the Tai Xuan Hehuan Scripture.

He had to seize the time to recover his Mystic Power and adjust his condition to its peak before dawn.

After all, the corpses of that group from the Tianyang Academy were still lying on the official road.

No one knew if they had any more accomplices or if they would come chasing after dawn.

The golden ocean within his Dantian rotated slowly.

It absorbed the scattered Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth strand by strand, letting it flow through his Meridians to every part of his body.

The wound on his right arm tickled slightly under the nourishment of the Pure Yang Mystic Power, healing several times faster than normal.

...

One hour passed, then two.

The night wind died down, and the valley became so quiet that one could hear the sound of spring water dripping from the rock crevices.

Occasional roars of Yao Beasts drifted from afar, several mountain peaks away.

Then, the sky slowly turned from pitch black to deep blue, and from deep blue to grayish-white.

A thin line of pale orange light appeared on the eastern horizon; dawn was approaching.

Just then, Ye Yun's brow suddenly furrowed.

The burning snow sword seemed to sense something; the dark red crystal on its hilt grew slightly warm.

The blade vibrated slightly, emitting an extremely low hum.

It wasn't an ordinary hum, but a warning from the burning snow sword against a specific aura.

Ye Yun snapped his eyes open.

He gripped the hilt and extended his perception toward the outskirts of the valley.

Then, he felt it.

Several auras were rapidly sweeping this way along the entrance of the mountain col.

Their speed was incredibly fast, and they made no attempt to hide their presence.

One of the auras was exceptionally powerful, thick and heavy.

The vibrations of Mystic Power produced while treading through the air were particularly clear in the silent dawn.

Ye Yun had felt this kind of pressure from Master Bai Yuxue before.

Although it was quite a bit weaker than Master Bai Yuxue's, it was indeed power on the same level.

The cultivation of this aura's owner was above the Martial Spirit Realm.

There were three others, none of them weak, appearing to be at least at the level of Peak Great Martial Master to Half-step Martial Spirit.

Ye Yun stood up, gripping the burning snow sword in his hand.

"Senior Sister."

His voice was kept very low.

Han Qingxue's voice came from behind him, still calm and steady, without a trace of the grogginess of someone who had just woken up.

She had woken up at some unknown point, or perhaps she hadn't truly fallen asleep at all.

"I felt it."

Ye Yun turned his head slightly.

Han Qingxue had already stood up.

She was still draped in his grey outer robe.

Her right hand held the azure longsword, while a trace of blood seeped through the bandage on her left hand.

That was because forcing herself to hold the sword had aggravated the wound on her shoulder.

Her face was still somewhat pale, but her gaze showed she was mostly fine.

Ye Yun turned his head and looked toward the mouth of the valley.

Four figures were emerging from the morning mist.

Leading them was an old man in his fifties, thin as a rail with high cheekbones and triangular eyes as sinister as a hawk's.

He wore the robes of a Tianyang Academy deacon and stood with his hands behind his back.

Beneath his feet was a faint, pale green cyclone, suspending him in mid-air.

Flight!

First-level Martial Spirit Realm.

Behind him followed three men also dressed in dark grey martial attire.

Their cultivation was between Peak Great Martial Master and Half-step Martial Spirit, and their auras were identical to Zhou Heng's, who had died on the official road earlier.

Tianyang Academy, the same group.

The old man's gaze crossed the morning mist, lingering on Ye Yun for a moment.

It lingered on Han Qingxue for another moment before returning to Ye Yun.

His voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly reached the ears of everyone inside the grotto.

"So you are Ye Yun."

Ye Yun didn't answer; he simply held the burning snow sword horizontally in front of him.