Author: Fat Bread
Date: 2018-11-16 22:00:00+00:00

The Primal Fire: Book 1 of Starchild Escapes Arranged Marriage

Written by Fat Bread

Translated by Soo-Bin

Edited by Leo & Fluffy

Translation Checked by WuWang

© 2018 by Zenith Novels

All rights reserved. Published 2018

Originally published as 群星之子逃婚录 in Chinese by hbooker.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Visit us at https://zenithnovels.com/ for more

Chapter 1: Young Yun Xi

Chapter 2: The Loving-Jealous Childhood Sweetheart

Chapter 3: Heavenly Dream

Chapter 4: The Three Spirits

Chapter 5: Frightening Girlfriends

Chapter 6: The Beginning of the Trials

Chapter 7: Novice Trial

Chapter 8: The Hippo Must Die

Chapter 9: The Gatekeeper of the Dark Forest

Chapter 10: Hua Huo's Sword

Chapter 11: The Older Sister That Summer

Chapter 12: Hua Huo's Weak Point

Chapter 13: Sleeping Beauty's Kiss

Chapter 14: Three Seeds

Chapter 15: Hua Huo's Seed

Chapter 16: Hua Huo Arrives at the Door

Chapter 17: Precious Mei'er

Chapter 18: Yun Xi's Potential

Chapter 19: Accelerated Seeds

Chapter 20: Jealous Eyes

Chapter 21: Coming with Evil Intent

Chapter 22: To Kill

Chapter 23: Wood Chopper

Chapter 24: Different Worlds

Chapter 25: Instant Kill

Chapter 26: The Twin Witches

Chapter 27: Captured Yun Xi

Chapter 28: The Dangerous Sisters

Chapter 29: Their Secret

Chapter 30: Poisoned Witch

Chapter 31: Turtle Catching

Chapter 32: Let Go of the Turtle

Chapter 33: Love of the Stars

Chapter 34: Confession

Chapter 35: Love Letters

Chapter 36: Star and Moon Ring

Chapter 37: Regression

Chapter 38: Flocked

Chapter 39: Limit Practice

Chapter 40: Exit

Chapter 41: The Trial Reopens

Chapter 42: Stone Soldier Army

Chapter 43: Blood and Death

Chapter 44: Yun Xi's Outbreak

Chapter 45: Kill!

Chapter 46: Forging

Chapter 47: Lancers

Chapter 48: The Five Great Generals

Chapter 49: Mighty Dragon

Chapter 50: Dragon Battle-Maiden

Chapter 51: Sky Sword

Chapter 52: Hua Huo Joins the Team

Chapter 53: The Third District

Chapter 54: Irresistible Force

Chapter 55: Title at End

Chapter 56: The Dawn of Victory

Chapter 57: The Three Childes

Chapter 58: Dancing Crane Wings Twin Swords

Chapter 59: The Tower of Song

Chapter 60: Princess and Guardian

Chapter 61: Tragic Asura

Chapter 62: The Primal Fire

About the Publisher

Chapter 1: Young Yun Xi

Yun Xi had a dream.

In the dream, there was a young girl guarding the entrance between heaven and earth as she coldly looked ahead.

Three strands of icy blue hair stood upright on her forehead; her slender braided hair was hanging behind her. Her cuffs were inlaid with steel-blue gems while a double-edged sword sheath with a pendant on it was hanging on her waist; she gave off a very icy-cold and alienated aura.

While she was inserting her huge blue-slanted sword back into its sheath.

That sword made her slender body seem even more slender. Her blade also seemed to give off a cold silvery-white aura. Just the sword hilt alone was already over half a meter long.

The hilt of the sword and the edge of the blade seemed to share a single central connection point. The point seemed to be a circular compass, and in the middle of that compass was a huge keyhole. Apparently, something was sealed there.

Who are you?

For what reason do you always appear in my dream?

"..."

The young girl seemed to have opened her mouth to say something to Yun Xi.

A pity, Yun Xi was unable to understand what she was saying as it was not the language of the White Lotus Sword Domain.

Of course, the White Lotus Sword Domain's language was different from other languages. And although it was very strange, it was pleasant to hear.

Yun Xi stretched out his hands, apparently trying to touch the young girl who has been appearing in his dreams.

"Shuffle!" In a split second, Yun Xi's consciousness began to fade away, only leaving behind a piece of blue light from the double-edged sword.

"You... do not have the qualifications to open this gate..." She closed her eyes as she killed another unknown spirit.

****

"Oh, my!" Yun Xi rolled out of bed as he firmly hit his head against a dresser. A group of golden stars began to rotate around his head.

That dream again! As he began to knead his swollen temples, Yun Xi felt even more helpless.

As the saying goes "what you read is what you dream", but Yun Xi swore that he had never seen such a huge blue double-edged sword before, as well as the beautiful young lady.

Such a special young lady, even if he met her once, it would be impossible to forget.

Her face and her cold expression... even though it was just a dream, it left Yun Xi with an extremely deep impression.

Unfortunately, at the end of each dream, Yun Xi was hacked to death. Fortunately, it was just a dream.

"Forget about it. That kind of girl... it would be impossible for me to come in contact with her." Yun Xi comfortably stretched out his arms and opened the window.

The window, being old, issued a creaking sound as it opened - the early spring sunshine fell into the narrow room, dispelling the humidity.

"Good morning, world!"

Yun Xi put his hands together as he looked out his window, only to see that the morning market was already bustling.

"Happy birthday, Yun Xi."

Today, Yun Xi turned 16. It was truly a day worth celebrating.

In the White Lotus Sword Domain, the age 16 represented the beginning of youthhood while age 18 represented adulthood.

Though he could not drink, he has already been accepted by the community and could work as an employee. He could also have an independent identification and choose his career.

Of course, those of the nobility had chosen the route for their future career ages ago. However, only at the age of 12 would they display their talent.

They received the best education and the best teachers. Starting from the basics, they would have surpassed others and this gap would only grow larger over time.

Ordinary children, unless they were a peerless talent, would not be able to compete against those of the nobility. This was the harsh truth of society.

The Sword Palace in the White Lotus Sword Domain was 90% composed of the nobility, while the ordinary children took up the remaining 10%.

One could not blame the sword palace's partiality, as the gap was just too big.

Although all the sword palaces began to recruit disciples at the age of 16, the exam was basically fair. Only the most outstanding from the many ordinary geniuses would have a chance to be chosen by a sword palace.

Of course, that sort of thing and Yun Xi didn't have any relationship.

Because he did not want to follow the way of the sword, it was highly unlikely for him to attend the sword palace exam. His career also had nothing to do with the sword.

"Well, let's prepare for today's practice."

He was not a swordsman, so there was no need to concern himself with the sword palace exams. Yun Xi's life was a simple and happy life, filled with common expectations.

His practice was not that of fencing, but rather, the practice of making bread.

Yes, he was just an ordinary young child of an ordinary couple. He wasn't going to become some talented hero.

He was born in an ordinary baker’s family, brought up with ordinary parenting. He inherited his family's bakery and was preparing to become his family store's next owner - this was Yun Xi's life goal.

His parents were in their fifties when they had him. Yun Xi grew up listening to his neighbors speak about how he was not born from his parents and that he was picked up from a garbage heap.

Of course, he had long known that this was an adult's way of joking; "A crane sent you to our home". When he heard those rumors for the first time though, his nose began to run.

As far as Yun Xi was concerned, they were the world's most adorable couple.

Now, the couple was traveling the world, relieved that the store would operate smoothly under his hands.

Making bread was a talent, and Yun Xi's handmade bread had quite the reputation. It had always been lacking in supply with such huge demands, as he had long surpassed his parents.

Looking at how amazing Yun Xi was, his parents passed down the family bread store to him and gave him full control over it, as they went off to enjoy a golden wedding honeymoon.

Today was when Yun Xi turned 16 and was the only one with a 3rd-ranked Bread Evaluation. People from major cities would also come to try to buy his family's bread store for 10 times the price.

Yun Xi refused because he was fond of this village along with its roads and stream, and of this ordinary bread store.

The world was huge; the god's domains in the universe numbered up to the tens of millions but this was the only home for him. He wanted to spend his life here.

Here was Yun Xi's family store, Yun Xi's most beloved home.

Unsurprisingly, he can spend his whole life here and perhaps, as a newlywed, he would travel over the star bridge to go to the other side of the Sword Domain. However, he would ultimately return with his other half and live off the rest of their days here.

This future wasn't far away and already Yun Xi wanted to spend his life with the girl of his dreams.

With the temperature of his hands, he began to knead the dough well. Calculating the correct ratio of flour and sugar, coupled with a good egg, he finally put it in the oven. The fresh bread that was taken out from the oven in the early morning was then arranged on top of Yun Xi's counter.

"3 Croissants coming up!"

"5 Pineapple Bread."

"10 Carrot Meals."

Yun Xi's bread shop had only been open for a quarter of an hour, but Yun Xi's handmade bread sold out nice and clean. The only thing remaining was the cheap white bread.

Sitting behind the nearly empty counter, Yun Xi had a smile on his face.

For a baker, there is nothing happier than having his customers love his bread.

As a 3rd-ranked Baker, although his position was not as great as the lowest sword palace's swordsman, in a small village like this, his talent could be said to have been the rarest talent of the century.

Many people believed that Yun Xi could truly make history by becoming the first person to obtain a 4th-ranked job.

"Little Xi, bread!" A crisp bell-sounding voice along with cheerful feet charged into the quiet bread shop.

Running in was someone close to Yun Xi's age. The beautiful young girl with the ponytail exuded an air of youthfulness.

She had a long ponytail while near her waist was a long and simple cyan sword. She had black moonlike eyelashes with a pair of warm black eyes.

Because of the strenuous exercises, her naturally small lips pursed up as she was endlessly gasping for air; the outline of her bent body was truly beautiful. When she laughed, her smile was like a sparkling crescent moon.

"Hua Huo, you want butter bread?"

Yun Xu skillfully took out the butter bread he made elaborately as it was always bought by others immediately once he presented them on the counter. Like feeding a puppy, he threw it to his childhood sweetheart.

Hua Huo tiptoed to bite at the bread Yun Xi threw; the two had over a decade of mutual understanding.

"I love you, Little Xi! Remember to increase the physical strength of the Rye Bread at noon for me!" Enjoying the tribute Yun Xi gave her, Hua Huo ran out of the small bread store like the wind.

To come and go in such a hurry is just like her general temper, always loud.

A summer storm would roughly describe this girl. Like Yun Xi, she was also a child genius that everyone was proud of.

Hua Huo moved to village ten years ago; it was said that she was born from a lineage of the Knight God's Domain. She was also the first genius to ever become a 3rd-ranked swordsman before the age of 16 since the beginning of history.

Being a swordsman of the 3rd rank was worlds away from Yun Xi's 3rd rank because this was the White Lotus Domain - a Sword Domain belonging to the countless god's domains.

It doesn't matter which sword domain of the countless god's domains you came from or the sword skill you practiced, only those who left behind a united sword path or formed their sword spirit, could receive utmost respect in a sword domain.

For a senior swordsman, becoming the Divine Sword God that transcended all under the heavens was everything. The godly swordsman was called a "Sky Sword" and they dominated in supremacy, being an unparalleled swordsman.

From trainees with no name, to becoming official soldiers of the 1st Rank, to elite soldiers, and even officers of the 2nd Rank. They represented the standards on the White Lotus Sword Domain.

The 3rd-ranked Hua Huo was already walking forward on an extraordinary road - truly worthy of being named the village's first expert.

At the same time, she was also Yun Xi's first love.

Chapter 2: The Loving-Jealous Childhood Sweetheart

"Unfortunately, time is running out..." Looking at Hua Huo's freshly blossoming figure leave, Yun Xi laughed to himself.

Although their occupations were both at the 3rd Rank, a fighting occupation represented a whole new level.

As a 3rd-ranked Baker, he could make delicious bread. However, his best work was the butter bread, like the one he gave Hua Huo a while ago.

Adding extra strength was his handmade bread's special ability and he could only make 10 loaves of such bread a day.

Although Hua Huo was only at the 3rd Rank, with her Thousand Sword Technique that had a rare balance of attack and defense, she was publicly accepted as a true master.

Hua Huo and Yun Xi could easily understand each other with nothing more than a word or two, thus, Yun Xi had already begun to put the bread in the oven.

The3rd-ranked Hua Huo was sure to enter the White Lotus Sword Domain's Sword Palace, she wouldn't even need to take the exam. As a 3rd-ranked swordsman, she would excel among her peers at the Sword Palace.

"Well, you might as well consider the rest of the candidates too." He was reluctant to part with his childhood sweetheart. Yun Xi began to seriously ponder about his future as well as the future of the other candidates.

Although he was not like Hua Huo, who possessed the talent to become a hero, he had the skills to make bread and has received the acknowledgment of the people. There were even several young bashful girls who wanted to convey their feelings to him.

But not knowing why, they often stayed away from Yun Xi after they had really conveyed their feelings to him, which made Yun Xi feel awfully confused.

"The young lady from the flower shop down the street, Milei, is 12-year-old this year. I can discuss marriage with her three years later."

"The neighboring village's gem store's eldest daughter El'phyllis recently turned 17. The last time I visited, the store manager wanted me to immediately marry her."

"The cake shop across the street has an awfully adorable daughter, Ye Li. Unfortunately, she is only 9-years-old this year."

Yun Xi counted his fingers, calculating the potential girlfriends he could pursue.

By the way, he was not being unfaithful!

Up until now, he was head-over-heels for Hua Huo. Those feelings were absolutely not fake.

But, Hua Huo was destined to become a dazzling heavenly star as a truly talented swordsman while he decided to stay in this small village that was rooted to the ground.

The two were fated to have different talents, destined to be apart.

They will be lovelorn and even though Yun Xi consciously knows that he will be dejected, he will not let Hua Huo stay. Rather, he chose to smile and let her go.

Such a genius like Hua Huo was not meant to stay in this small village.

"At that time, I must smile and send her off." Yun Xi patted his face, reminding himself of what to do when the time came.

That day was not far away as the Sword Palace exams were going to be held next week. For the entire White Lotus Sword Domain, it was a very crucial day.

Countless children on that day would be showcasing their talents and strength, proving that they were not worthless.

Countless poor children will also strive to do their best to catch a big break and become the carp that leaps over the dragon's gate.

The Sword Palace exams were only open to teenagers from 16-18 years old. After that time period, you could only try your luck at other sword schools.

In the White Lotus Sword Domain, the Sword Palace represented a supreme honor, along with the other schools and palaces.

In the entire White Lotus Sword Domain, none could compare to the Sword Palace. Looking over the numerous hills, one would see that the Sword Palace stood at the apex of them all, standing in supremacy.

The word "sword" in Sword Palace itself is a part of the Sky Sword God's Domain. Following the owner of the Sky Sword, it was founded as one of the most powerful sword schools and clans.

In the White Lotus Sword Domain, and even in the entire Sky Sword God's Domain, the main focus of the people living there was the "sword". Even the shape of every sword domain is in the form of a sword.

If the Sword Palace had to be defined on a sword, then it would be located at the tip.

Yun Xi along with every large clan, prestigious family, city, and town, had no choice but to live at the very bottom of the sword: the hilt. As for the blade itself, that would be the other schools and forces.

This was the way of the Sword Domains of God. The hilt for the people, the tip for the Sword Palace, and the rest of the other powers.

Between the sword domains was a star bridge that acted as a connector. The Sky Sword God's Domain is like one unique big sword that is made up of countless sword domains.

Located at the very top of the Sky Sword God's Domain was naturally the owner of the Sky Sword, the palace master of the Sky Palace.

One of the lowest of the countless sword domains in the Sky Sword God's Domain is the White Lotus Sword Domain, which was not a highly ranked sword domain.

However, the White Lotus Sword Domain possessed a special "secret treasure". Because of this, it caused the White Lotus Sword Domain's Sword Palace's name to be renowned throughout the vast sword domains of God.

Every time the White Lotus Sword Domain's Sword Palace held an exam, geniuses from the upper sword domains would also come rushing to participate.

Of course, everyone except Yun Xi.

The sword palace's exams were also to target those upper domain geniuses who had an eye out for their secret gem. However, to Yun Xi, that was just like floating clouds. (He had no interest).

He was going to continuously temper himself to make bread so that he would advance to a 4th-ranked Baker. Thus becoming the youngest in village to ever achieve a 4th Rank in a life occupation. (stuff like baker, seamstress, etc... anything not related to the sword or cultivating)

Many would get married when they turned 18 - the best time to be able to give birth to a boy and a girl. Yun Xi wanted to expand his store little by little, and pass it down from generation to generation. That was Yun Xi's life goal.

"Yes, I like you.

"From the ocean of many, I fell in love with you at first sight.

"Beautiful, can you smile for me?"

Humming the song from the Western God's Domain, Yun Xi began to prepare the ingredients to make the afternoon bread; it was important to have everything you need.

Step. Step. Step. A familiar footstep sounded near the door as it powerfully kicked the door open.

"Little Xi, I forgot something!" The morning exercises caused Hua Huo's cheeks to turn bright red as she held onto her knees for support, gasping for air, as she looked at the confused Yun Xi.

"If you're talking about the bread, there is none left." If he knew, he would have given some more to Hua Huo. Unfortunately, that wasn't so.

"Not bread!" Hua Huo's eyes crossed, burning, as she stared firmly at Yun Xi.

"What happened?" Yun Xi tried to make out what was going on. Besides the white flour on him, nothing was amiss.

"It's your heart! Just a moment ago, you were being unfaithful! I heard your soliloquy! Milei from the flower shop down the street, El'phyllis from the gem store in the neighboring village, as well as the adorable Ye Li from the cake shop across the street. I'm saying you were not being faithful!"

Hua Huo's face seemed contorted as she was aware of the unfaithfulness, "Do not quibble!" Yun Xi was barely able to squeeze a sentence out:

"The truth is..."

"How did you know?" In regards to Hua Huo's jealousy radar, it was so incomparably sharp that it left Yun Xi stunned.

As a child to present day, so long as he showed even the littlest of affection for another girl, his heart rate would change. Just a little hazy amount of favoritism and Hua Huo would discover it and arrive immediately.

"Uncle and aunty repeatedly warned me to never let you get carried away!" One look at Hua Huo and Yun Xi could tell that she was panting with rage. He already had her as a childhood sweetheart, why couldn't he be satisfied!

As a child, one does not make an appointment to get married in the future.

Childhood sweethearts, was of course, naturally... ah... and for Yun Xi, the memories of the last ten years together was more precious than any treasure.

In order to beat back those girls who were attracted to Yun Xi and madly wanted to get close to him, she had no choice but to practice to the 3rd Rank, becoming the first true master of the village.

Yun Xi was a big idiot. After all, he wasn't aware of how attractive he was to other girls.

But to protect him and cover him from those who harbored errant thoughts and older sisters who wanted to "eat him up", she completely wiped them out, leaving nothing behind.

Ever since they were children, Yun Xi had yet to discover that he was very attractive to girls.

And even back then, in primary school, every Valentine's day, the number of girls who lined up to give him chocolate could easily form a squadron.

"Uh... I was found out?" Yun Xi remained silent after saying that, as he thought about Hua Huo's reaction.

She had to have some magical ability... clairvoyance?

"Stupid, stupid! Countlessly saying that you will only marry me!" Hua Huo took out her long sword and directed it at Yun Xi's neck, "Don't marry me and I'll give you a bloody ending."

Well, the perfect Hua Huo, the genius Hua Huo, the village's pride Hua Huo had one small shortcoming.

She was incredibly jealous.

It truly caused her childhood sweetheart to have terrible headaches.

****

At the end of the business day, Yun Xi closed up and prepared for tomorrow's sales. After Yun Xi inspected the store, he headed up to the second floor to go to his room.

The small family store had already been passed down for four generations. The wooden staircase was somewhat old-fashioned because as one went up, it issued a "Creak! Creak!" sound. But for Yun Xi, it was something he was fond of.

"Hua Huo, you really need to go." In the mornings of the past, Hua Huo always played pranks on Yun Xi but he never paid any attention to it until she started to switch to her sword.

Her simple cyan long sword's hilt was engraved with a white lotus.

The White Lotus Sword Palace gave all its disciples a sword. And just like Yun Xi, Hua Huo decided to advance and obtain the Sword Palace's approval.

A 16-year-old 3rd-ranked combatant was far beyond the Sword Palace's entry requirement. Even her sword was one that only elite disciples could get, showing that Hua Huo's talent was genuine.

‘Sure enough, childhood sweethearts can't get married.’ Although he was only 16-years-old, he had already decided to inherit the family business and to become a bread store owner. Yun Xi sighed, abandoning an unrealistic fantasy.

He and Hua Huo were not fated to be together.

They met at the age of 6. It's already been 10 years of school, and having graduated not too long ago, they began to choose their future.

The 16-year-old Yun Xi and Hua Huo have already begun to embark on different paths.

"Really... is the cake shop's Ye Li better?" Yun Xi laid on his bed, looking out his window at the stars.

On the table near the window, was a very small cake with a candle on it. Of course, Yun Xi prepared his own birthday cake.

At 12 o'clock tonight, he would officially be 16.

Tonight, would he dream of the maiden guarding the gate?

For Yun Xi, turning 16 was nothing special.

Perhaps every day of his life would be like today, ordinarily passing by.

Closing his eyes, Yun Xi began to wish.

He had a dream... a dream relating to the stars.

Chapter 3: Heavenly Dream

The starlight filled the sky, from hundreds of millions of light-years away, through countless journeys, the gap between dream and reality, was shining on Yun Xi's body.

The beautiful nebula, the long river of stars, were revolving around Yun Xi - flowing around him.

The stars came together and issued a sound to Yun Xi.

In the distant sky, countless of stars radiated in joy, converging together over the small village, forming a beautiful and brilliant sea of stars.

Infinite radiance fell from the sky as if they were bestowing upon this small village an unlimited amount of blessings from the stars.

At that moment, the motionless wheels of time revolved again.

Yun Xi heard the voices of the stars in the sky...  a blessing, but also a warning.

"Be careful... almost there..."

"They... are searching this Star Domain..."

"Scheduled awakening at 18... moved up..."

"WARNING... hurry and complete the trial... otherwise you... will be consigned to eternal damnation!"

Who was that?

What's awakening at 18?

Hurry up and complete the trial? What trial?

Yun Xi opened his sleepy eyes, finding that he wasn't in his bed. He was floating amidst the starry sky.

The brilliant golden-red sun, the magnificent silver-white moon, bright shining stars, all surrounded him. Containing countless information, it almost caused Yun Xi's head to burst.

The sun, the moon, and the stars all revolved around him.

Among the stars was a silhouette similar to his figure. It was like looking at an image of himself on the water's surface...

Amongst the brilliant starry sky, a group of stars emitted a distant and ancient light that illuminated the deep dark void.

Inside the endless void... was a young boy adorned in white garments, embracing a golden puppy… the two have yet to come out from their cocoons. It was a sight to see as endless amounts of starlight encircled them.

"This time, it shall be done." A bright group of stars radiated once as Yun Xi felt that the youngster's heart was filled with worries.

It was as if something misfortunate was about to happen to him.

"Woo!" The youngster's dog restlessly whimpered. Afraid, it used its paws to blocks its eyes. Apparently, it could not bear to look at what was about to happen.

The stars continued to shine, Yun Xi did not know why, but he suddenly understood the stars' collective warning to him.

Every time the group of stars sparkled, the youngster in white began to slowly advance away from death.

Some near the end of their lifespan even took the initiative to detonate into countless pieces of meteors to cover-up his escape tracks.

However, it was no use, everything had already come to an end. It was the end of the line.

Why die? Who will kill him? Yun Xi from the water mirror looked at the youngster, full of questions.

"Ah, with the view of meteor shower... little guy, are you afraid?" The youngster in white raised the puppy in his arms. Up till now, the only one who accompanied this leftover was this little God.

"Ah... woo!" The golden puppy gleamed with tears as it cried, looking at its owner. It tried hard to bite down on its teeth to not make a sound. Clearly, it had already been extremely afraid earlier, however, it had to endure from not speaking out by nature.

"You're a good girl..." The young boy kissed the little god who was the last to have stayed by his side, then showed a determined expression.

Nowhere to go, in that case, they could only accept the fate of the trial!

Fortunately, because he had already anticipated this bitter-blood ending, he was ready in advance.

"Go, you will have good luck." Intentionally escaping to this small void was not without any reason. He had long left behind a legacy, it was now time to play his role.

As a golden light flashed, the golden puppy disappeared from the young man's hands, carrying the seeds of hope for the future.

Soon after, the other two in the cocoons that had yet to come out were also thrown into the vast starry sea, disappearing into the starry sky.

"I hope you can properly grow up. Although I don't know when I'll be able to meet you again, but so long as I'm alive, we will surely meet again." Letting go of the three little ones, the white youngster muttered to himself, exposing gentle and soft eyes, "The stars will protect you until I return one day."

"Rumble!" From the midst of a group of stars, an immense silhouette appeared. It was big enough to cover an entire star domain.

It passed through the barriers between dimensions as it was certainly a powerful force. Above all, even the heavens would have to fear this mighty force.

In front of Yun Xi, the stars began to change and form characters, countless writings that displayed the broken groups of great lifeforms.

In the entire starry sky, those who possessed the highest existence of power were very few and could be counted on one's fingers, were overlords. She was one of those overlords.

Dragon God Yasha - ruler of the star dragons, Lord of the Dragon God's Domain.

She was the dragon of order, the mother of time and space, the godly creator. And at the same time, she was the symbol of birth, life, and death.

Yasha's true body was the dragon of the void, housed and immersed in the light of the stars. She had a pair of gem-like black wings, as there were endless amounts of stars shining on them.

They were real stars, encompassing the wings of the dragon of order as her children.

Her scales were pitch-black, like the color of the void between the stars. However, her skin shined bright, like stardust.

Her eyes shone with a gentle silver color like a beautiful gemstone. Her tail was made up of numerous scales, each scale was a young dragon waiting for her to awaken.

All miracles, all words of praise, could be imposed on her. She was the myth of the stars, an eternal legend.

"At last, I've found you. This time, you must pay the price." Arriving from across the stars, she eventually locked onto her goal. She said so slowly, but still, the world trembled under her voice.

"Yasha... sister..." The youngster was filled with helplessness.

Before the youngster could open his mouth to explain, three different forces crossed over the star river to arrive at the void.

From within the first ray of light, was an ancient floating city. The city of Sigil, which connected with many worlds, appeared, as a woman covered with a veil coldly looked over.

This was the ancient root of pain, the God of the unknown, the nameless lady, the owner of the city.

In the second ray of light, was an endless black ocean that was constantly churning. From time to time, there was a body with a huge tentacle that appeared, it was indescribable.

This was beyond the description of terror. The incarnation of disorder and primordial chaos - the Naiya God's Domain.

In the last ray of light were colors radiating the heavens and earth. There was a huge stone at the side, rapidly writing down rules and sealing off this void.

She was the stone slab of Ionia and had endless avatars. She was known as the god above gods, the master of endless domains and the organizer of the market of gods and demons.

"Come here!" Yasha shouted.

"Become mine!" The nameless lady didn't fall behind.

"And I am all for it." Naiya impolitely stated.

"Declare that you are my precious treasure, to be loved by the God of man." Declared the stone slate of Ionia, on behalf of fate.

Next, Yun Xi witnessed a very desperate, very cruel, and very gorgeous event. The star domain nearly collapsed from the aftereffects of the conflict.

The four overlords attacked each other violently for some reason that Yun Xi didn't know.

Then, the young boy who miserably met with this misfortune had an indescribable bad end.

He was killed by the four overlords together, torn into many pieces by some method Yun Xi couldn't understand.

The body of the youngster began to fall apart, turning into a pure white-transparent jade light. It emitted a flawless soul as if it was the world's most beautiful gemstone.

Thousands of lights flew apart in the sea of stars, running to the endless corner of the void. The four overlords began to snatch up the pure white-transparent jade lights. Only a few lights successfully escaped under the cover of the stars.

That night, the stars cried for him.

Yun Xi could feel from the rotating starlights, that all the starlights were trying to protect the young boy, but they finally retreated under the coordinated attack of the four overlords.

Today's dream was truly different, ah....

Chapter 4: The Three Spirits

Truly, to die so miserably in the end, what kind of heaven-angering crimes did the youngster commit? To go as far as having the four overlords dispose of him and carry out such a bloody ending.

Seems to be because they wanted to take something away from him?

Today's dream and the past dreams were completely different!

However, it was quite brilliant.

"Choose, the time has come." Countless stars converged together to voice their anxious reminder to Yun Xi.

"Choose... choose what?" Still thinking that it was still all just a dream, Yun Xi was confused.

"Choose your spirit!"

"Choose, there isn't any time left!" The voice that sounded in Yun Xi's ears seemed to have the ancient memory of the stars, but one thing was made clear to him.

He was going to choose something important, something that would change his life. So much, that it would even change the path of the stars.

There was no room for escape, he had to immediately make his choice.

Choosing three, the ancient heavenly river connected three different paths, indicating three different trials.

Every road represented a choice.

At the same time, there were three cocoons emerging in front of him, corresponding to three different roads.

Within every cocoon was a spirit, each emitting their respective attribute. Waiting for Yun Xi's choice.

The first cocoon was pitch-black, it had the darkest colour, the same as the dark abyss.

You could faintly see tiny purple demon wings, as the spirit was emitting a demonic attribute.

"In there, the deepest abyss is waiting for you. It's a boundless dark corridor. Once you choose it, you can never turn back and will become the dark lord, reigning the endless darkness."

The second cocoon was misty-milky white. There were countless clouds and misty winds swirling around in it. A fairy was sleeping in a huge stone tablet while holding a lantern.

"Beyond the beginning of obscurity, at the first second of being born of the world, a being named Primordial was born. Here is the place where the stele of the heavens fell asleep. If you choose this path, you can lord over the universe, to be a free and unfettered immortal."

Finally, there was the golden elf cocoon. It emitted a faint golden radiance and was the most beautiful cocoon.

"Like the sun that will rise from the ground every day, even if I'm surrounded by the relentless darkness, I will also break it by using my mutilated body.

"Like the night that will come every day, even if I'm troubled due to the twisted fate of today, I still believe that the world will never change. Only we will be changed. The truth that we are still alive is our strongest weapon.

"Son of the stars. If you wish to continue to walk on this path and choose this road, it means that you will face the most awful and terrifying enemy."

The three paths, three choices. There was no right or wrong, good or bad, just three kinds of destinies.

Demon Lord, Immortal, Starchild... Yun Xi hesitated for a long time until he ultimately placed his hands on the golden cocoon.

Maybe it was the endless starlights that surrounded and guided him to make him move and wish for it.

He hoped that he could also obtain the light of the stars someday.

"Pop!" The golden light cocoon broke open, as the other two trials disappeared before Yun Xi. However, Yun Xi could still feel their existence, perhaps there is fate… one day.

From the golden cocoon emerged a delicate, small, and tenderly attractive young girl. She had a pair of big timid eyes with golden dog ears.

Her slender body didn't match with her body's fully developed chest. Plus with her pity-like expression, it was hard for one to not reach out and console her.

Especially those golden ears, possessing a magical quality that people would spend money to buy.

Taking a glance at Yun Xi, she expressed an indescribably joyful expression while appearing like she wanted to cry.

"Boo hoo... master!"

"Don't leave Mei'er, this time I will do my best."

The crying young girl jumped into Yun Xi's arms, stretched out her little tongue and licked his face.

He looked at her clear, lively, kind, and innocent eyes from a short distance. She gently shook her long and arched eyebrows, which was a hundred times cuter than he imagined.

Her petite pink, soft, and creamy body was rubbing up against his body. Especially, her rosy and soft small mouth. Yun Xi had a dizzy feeling when he tasted it.

She was like a puppy. This was the first impression Yun Xi had towards the star spirit, "Mei'er", that he had chosen.

It was unlikely for him to say that his first encounter with Mei'er was that of an utter defeat. Her mouth's sweet and unctuous saliva, and being caught by her entangling tongue that was licking and sucking, could be felt all the way to this poor one's soul.

"You are called Mei'er?" Mei'er licked his cheeks till they became dripping wet. After Yun Xi was taken away from the most fantastic kiss of his life, he embarrassingly grabbed the little girl's shoulder.

She really did have a very petite body, she only reached up to Yun Xi's chest. Those golden dog ears and tail, because she was excited, was unceasingly shaking in such an adorable way.

"Yes! I'm Mei'er, the star spirit." Mei'er nestled in Yun Xi's arms like a spoiled little child.

He felt as if she was another little dog he had to feed.

As for the first dog, of course, she was Hua Huo, who was always so lively, healthy, and hyperactive. She had to eat Yun Xi's bread every day, otherwise, she would be listless all day. Which made Yun Xi worry about her life after she went to the Sword Palace.

"Can you tell me if this is a dream? And how did I come here?" Up till now, Yun Xi had a feeling that all of this didn't feel real.

He, in accordance with his heart, made the choice, but he still didn't understand why.

Perhaps because this was all just a dream, he could make a choice without considering the consequences.

"Ah, that's because my past master died." Mei'er held onto Yun Xi, enjoying the smell of his body, her happy facial expression was like that of someone who was high on drugs.

"Who's dead?" Yun Xi felt that something was wrong in this crucial matter.

"Just now, did you not see it? You were the one being killed in the memory of the stars." Mei'er astonishingly looked at Yun Xi.

Ah, yes, it seemed that it was memories of him being killed. No wonder he had a feeling of empathy.

Hold on... he was killed?!

That unfortunate existence whom the four overlords joined hands to send to hell, who was then finally crushed and turned into pieces of jade, was him!

To die so tragically, simply a tragic ending, ah!

"This is not a joke, right?" Yun Xi began to increasingly doubt that in the end, this was not a dream.

If this was a dream, it was a nightmare, the biggest nightmare.

"Why did I die so horribly?" First off, no matter if this was a dream or not, Yun Xi wanted to know.

If that youngster was him, what did he do to have provoked four overlords to join hands and kill him?

What that youngster was holding should have been the small Mei'er. She was so innocent and kind, like a harmless little white rabbit.

"This... is actually because..." Mei'er suddenly became hesitant, apparently somewhat embarrassed.

"They, are your ex-girlfriends..."

"Ah!"

Chapter 5: Frightening Girlfriends

There were countless of stars revolving in front of Yun Xi.

A dream, yes, it must be a dream!

Yun Xi was unable to imagine how crazy one would be to have four girlfriends at such a level!

Unfortunately, no matter how much you hid, what is to come will come.

Mei'er clearly didn't understand Yun Xi's current state. Thus, she was brimming with enthusiasm to tell Yun Xi more of the truth that he did not wish to know about.

"Master is not human, rather, master is a special child of the stars."

"With every death, master will be reborn of the stars again, just like now."

"Master has doubted his past, right?"

"Actually, master has no parents."

Yun Xi blankly stared, if this was a dream, it was all too much of a coincidence.

How would this golden-eared star spirit know such secrets?

Wait. If so, could the rumours he always heard be true?

"I don't have parents?" He was unable to accept this.

His parents obviously doted on him a lot, considering him as the world's greatest treasure.

"That's right, master has no parents because you were born from the sea of stars."

"Everytime you die, you will be reborn in some corner of the star sea soon after. Afterwards, when you are 18 years old, you will automatically get your memories back, your past." Mei'er did not know why Yun Xi was so shocked, it was just a simple fact.

"I... am not father and mother's child..." Yun Xi was somewhat absent-minded.

In fact, he had already figured it out earlier, but he just didn't want to admit it.

According to his age, 16 years ago, his mother was already 50 years old. At her age, getting pregnant was impossible.

But he pretended not to know as mother and father never brought it up.

He subconsciously evaded facing the truth he didn't want to accept.

Yes... according to common sense, mother being at 50 years of age could not have been pregnant.

"Starchild... refers to me..." Yun Xi lifted up his head to see the surrounding sun, moon, and stars - the countless starlight.

That was the truth of the world, the blessing of the sea of stars towards him.

"In that case, why am I here? Why are you here?" After experiencing a great difficulty in accepting his identity, an even bigger puzzle began to arise in Yun Xi's mind.

Just now, did he hear muttering from among the stars?

If it was like Mei'er said, he was supposed to awaken at 18. But, it was still 2 years till he should have the ability to awaken.

Danger... from where?

"After master died the last time, I was entrusted to the stars."

"Originally, it should have been at the age of 18 that master would come around, but because master is about to encounter a dangerous threat, the awakening happened earlier."

"Of course, the other reason is because master chose Mei'er. Thank you, master. I will do my best to make you rapidly stronger."

Mei'er was brimming with confidence, as she puffed out her little chest with a loveable expression as if she was saying ‘Leave it all to me’.

Mortal danger, Yun Xi has heard that more than once and didn't have a good premonition about it.

"Who is a mortal danger to me? I have not even died once." Yun Xi had a hunch, that once he found the answer, his life would be completely different.

Even the stars issued an early warning and sent over the three spirits. What kind of crisis would make even the stars hurry so much... Ah!

"Master, your enemies are many, but the important thing is that you have just seen four. Has master heard of their God names?"

Oh my goodness, the name of a God! Yun Xi had a crazy hunch.

"The first overlord is the master of the star dragons of the god's domain of giant dragons. Known as the dragon of order and the mother of space and time. She is the Supreme Dragon Goddess, the symbol of birth, life, and death."

"The second overlord doesn't have a name. She is the goddess of chaos and the symbol of the source of pain, living in the deepest part of the abyss - the World of Ghosts."

"The third overlord is the great-old one of chaos, she is the indescribable terror, the avatar of old chaos, and the master of the sea of hell."

"The fourth overlord is the master of endless domains, the owner of the market of gods and demons, the creator, and the god above gods."

"Although there were a lot of inconveniences, the four spared nothing to chase and kill you."

Yun Xi felt like that perhaps he would die easier this time?

The Supreme Dragon God, the God of Chaos, the God of Old, and the God above Gods.

His four ex-girlfriends, who were so terrifying and powerful enough to annihilate the stars and reverse time.

Ok, Yun Xi once heard about two of them.

She was the God above Gods, the supreme master of the entire western god's domains. She was master of hundreds of billions of god's domains. The absolute and unique master of the western god's domains.

As for the Supreme Dragon God, he knew she was the king of the north Dragon God's Domain. The power of the dragons were so strong, that even the people in such a remote eastern region - White Lotus Sword Domain - had also heard about them.

As for the other two overlords, Yun Xi had never heard of them. However, since they could be compared with the Supreme Dragon God and the God above Gods, they should also be at the same level.

Just now, the spirit Mei'er told him that the four overlords went to kill him at the same time... what a joke!

"This... is not a joke, right?"

"The son of the stars, what kind of crime was committed to have provoked the four overlords to kill me?" Even though he is bathing within the star's radiance, Yun Xi still couldn't fully remember, it was like a white piece of blank paper.

So, he didn't know what he did to have angered the four overlords to kill him

"This... Mei'er also doesn't know." Mei'er looked at Yun Xi with eyes of innocence, letting Yun Xi see the answer:

"It seemed that in the past, master refused to marry them and caused them to be angry."

"In other words, they are master's ex-girlfriends."

"So, they are out to kill you. Every time they find a trace of your presence, they will not let you escape."

"What!" Yun Xi's shout made the stars tremble twice.

To refuse their marriage proposal... just because of that!

How crazy and daring was his past self, to have provoked four overlords?!

It was like the old saying, "You wouldn't die if you didn't do the wrong thing!"

Yun Xi finally knew why the stars came to warn him so early.

His four ex-girlfriends, if any one of them found him, it would spell no escape for him.

No wonder the stars woke him up two years ahead of time... if he was caught, he would absolutely die!

Chapter 6: The Beginning of the Trials

"Because of this, master, you have to become strong as soon as possible before they find you. Let's start your test right now!" Mei'er had the same fear of the four overlords as Yun Xi. After all, all of them were at the rank of Tearing the Stars.

Master was so brave. He dared to date four overlords at the same time. He is indeed worthy of being her master and being loved by stars as the Starchild.

"I still have time." Yun Xi's forehead was dripping with sweat, this really wasn't a joke.

He didn't know what he did when he was still the Starchild, but now, he was just an ordinary boy brought up in the White Lotus Sword Domain.

He barely inherited his family's bakery and was about to face the downfall of his first love. After, he would wait till his heart healed before starting a new relationship, then spend the rest of his life with her.

He didn't want to have some earth-shattering story. Going through his life peacefully was the greatest hope he had.

"According to the warning of the stars, one of the apostles of the four overlords has arrived in this region. But master, you are hiding well. She won't find you in a short time."

"Will the apostle leave if she can't find me?" Yun Xi asked with hope.

"No. As the apostle of one of the four overlords, she will have to thoroughly search through this god's domain. She won't miss checking any object, even if it is just a mouse."

"You are hiding well master. But once she finds you, you won't have a chance to escape."

"So, what's the rank of the apostle?" Yun Xi asked with tears in his eyes.

Ah, the subordinate of my ex-girlfriends, why are you so serious?

"At the least, she is only a 7th Rank, she's not a really powerful apostle. Perhaps she is just a vanguard." According to the vague hint from the stars, Mei'er gave Yun Xi a desperate answer.

Not very powerful? She was only a 7th Rank?! Are you kidding me?!

A 7th Rank... it was a 7th Rank!

He didn't know what an apostle was, but talking about a 7th Rank Combat Profession... such a rare genius had already been deserving of a Silver Leaf Emblem, and could even destroy the whole White Lotus Sword Domain all by himself!

Since the beginning of this small village's history, Hua Huo is the most talented swordsman, who was now at the 3rd Rank. She had the power of a thousand soldiers.

And the distance between a 3th Rank and a 7th Rank was like the distance between heaven and earth.

A 7th rank would be able to hold their own against an army. That one person could easily extinguish a country. No matter how many millions of soldiers there were, no one would be able to face someone with that kind of power.

As he knew it, the present master of the White Lotus Sword Domain was just at the 6th Rank. Which meant that this unknown apostle could destroy the entire White Lotus Sword Domain alone!

Even throughout the Sky Sword God's Domain, a 7th Rank was already close to a legendary hero, known as a being equal to a natural disaster.

The strongest at that rank was already some truly extraordinary creatures - they were already out of the rank of mortals. Every one of them were more powerful than true monsters.

Now, was there already such a scary hunter that had come to the Sky Sword God's Domain?

"I'm done for, there's no escape." Yun Xi began to calculate his savings. Even if he wanted to sell his small store, the farthest he could go would be two sword domains over. To escape from the Sky Sword God's Domain was wishful thinking.

Moreover, after escaping for that moment... could he hide forever?

The enemy had found the Sky Sword God's Domain and would soon enter!

According to Mei'er, the apostle was just an advance scouter. Even if he escaped to other god's domains, being found by other apostles was still a predestined ending.

To die without a burial... Yun Xi saw his fate.

Sure enough, there was only one road to take.

As the Starchild, he left behind a legacy in the past and Mei'er spoke of the trial.

"Mei'er, open the trial." Yun Xi was mentally prepared. No matter how hard the trial was, he would clench his teeth and complete it.

Otherwise, he would not have a tomorrow.

He did not know how the past Starchild was like, or how he was able to obtain the fury of his four girlfriends to join hands to chase and kill him.

To live an ordinary life with a clear conscience and heart, to live with the girl he loves, hand in hand for the rest of his life. That was his wish, his desire.

I don't want to die. I want to continue my relationship with Hua Huo. Maybe, also Milei of the Flower Shop, El'phyllis of the Jewelry Shop, and Fei Li of the Cake Shop - if it was possible.

The enemy had arrived at the Sky Sword Domain!

"Yes master, it will begin!" Mei'er cheered, tiptoeing.

"Hey!" Within Yun Xi's field of vision, Mei'er's small cherry lips were getting closer and closer. After that, their lips were tightly intertwined together.

It wasn't just kissing, their body and mind had joined together. Mei'er's sweet and fragrant tongue intertwined with Yun Xi's, the two's souls seemed to have linked together.

Inside Mei'er's body, Yun Xi felt that his body was penetrated by the surrounding starlights bit by bit. This was the blessing he got after he chose the way of the Starchild, the unique genius of himself.

Mei'er connected him with the stars like a bridge. She guided the power of stars that came down in this remote sword domain and helped him on the way to becoming a Starchild.

"Eh... Goo..." With the girl's sweet kiss, the scenery in front of Yun Xi was continually changing.

A giant roulette table started slowly rotating like the wheel of destiny, there were many different images appearing on the rotary table.

A dragon of the void bathing in the starlights looked like it was looking at something. She looked at the location of Yun Xi through the giant roulette table.

It was just a short eye-contact through the table, and there was the shade from the starlight, but they still saw each other at the same time.

She was one of his ex-girlfriends. Yun Xi immediately knew her identity when he saw this giant dragon in the starlights.

She truly was a beautiful dragon.

To refuse her marriage proposal, he invited a calamity upon himself and died a horrible death...

Yun Xi was wrapped by countless of stars. With the help of the star roulette, the starlight took Yun Xi away immediately.

"You cannot escape!" The supreme dragon god who ranked above the world, looked at the light disappearing in the stars, roaring indignantly.

****

A small bridge, running water, and a waterfall. Inside a dark mountain...

"Boom boom boom!" Yun Xi opened his eyes as he heard the sound of water. He found himself squatting in front of a bonfire which was slowly burning. Out here, it was an endless darkness surrounding him. He couldn't even see his fingers.

"Crack! Crack!" The bonfire made clear sounds. It was burning with some unknown fuels, sending out a reassuring warmth.

"Is this the trial?" Yun Xi tried to move his hands and legs, he didn't know why his whole body was stiff. It seemed that the time here was a little out of balance with the biological time of his body.

If he had to choose some words to describe it, it was like his breathing rhythm and the rate of his heartbeat were out of sync in this world.

"Hoo... ha..." Though Yun Xi wasn't even a novice swordsman, but he still tried to adjust his breathing to balance this subtle feeling of strangeness.

As the saying went, "You may not see it, but you ought to have heard about it ". As the childhood sweetheart of Hua Huo who was the best swordsman of the village, Yun Xi also had a little knack in practicing the sword by what he constantly saw and heard.

Whatever the next trial was, he needed to adjust his body to his optimum state.

In his imagination, it should be a very horrible and bloody death trial. Yun Xi prepared himself in his heart.

"Jingle!" As Yun Xi adjusted his breathing, a euphonious voice appeared in his heart. It was his spirit, Mei'er's voice.

"Master, the trial has begun."

"Starchild, love system opened."

"Mission issued."

"Within the dark forest is a beautiful sleeping princess, with your kiss, awaken her from her slumber."

"The reward for a successfully obtaining her love - a Sword Arts Seed! The newbie test is the most simple. Go ahead, master!"

"......"

".................."

".............................."

Silence... it was dead silent. Yun Xi's mind went blanked out for a quarter hour, till he suddenly yelled out angrily:

"What cursed system is this!"

"Isn't this a trial?!"

"Sleeping Beauty, what the hell!"

Chapter 7: Novice Trial

Wasn't this a trial?!

If this was a trial, shouldn't there be endless enemies and bloody combats? Then he would have to kill them all, like an invincible hero.

Alright, Yun Xi knew he couldn't do this since he wasn't even a 1st-ranked swordsman. However, since this was a trial in order to let him become stronger, the last boss should be the strongest, right?

At the bonfire, Yun Xi was reborn from the fire.

"Master, this is the trial the stars prepared for you. They must have a reason." Mei'er tried to explain.

"Once you finish the newbie trial you will obtain a Sword Arts Seed!"

"Hoo... I see..." Yun Xi reached out his hands and patted his cheeks.

Putting the last goal of the trial aside, the last reward did tug at his heart.

A Sword Arts Seed. Just by hearing the name, he knew it was a treasure with a connection to the sword. It was worthy of a reward of the stars.

"Then, I will give you the target map to help guide you."

"Master, come on!"

A black and white map appeared in front of Yun Xi. The dark area was temporarily not shown as it was enveloped by an endless fog.

He saw his own location and the bonfire at the beginning. Yun Xi could see a dark forest at the end. He saw a green point, which symbolized that he was staying around the bonfire.

If he left the bonfire and turned right, the path would lead to the dark forest. There was a harsh red point in the center of the path and a similar red point at the entrance of the dark forest.

In the center of the dark forest was a soft green point. Perhaps it was the sleeping beauty.

Looking at the map, there seemed to be two enemies.

The distance between the forest and the bonfire was about one kilometer. Yun Xi calculated it according to the distance he walked.

Because the route was pretty simple, it didn't even have a branching road so he didn't need to worry about losing his way.

"Hmm, seems like the newbie trial is quite easy. Perhaps I only need to defeat the two small monsters, then I can find the sleeping beauty successfully." Yun Xi looked at the map with optimism and soothed his nerves.

This Sword Seed must be something the stars prepared for novices.

Additionally, he found an iron sword that was lying on the ground by the bonfire. It was clear that this weapon was the first weapon for the novices in this trial.

Due to the erosion of the moisture, the sword handle had gotten a little rusty. However, its blade was still sharp. It was already enough to be used as a newbie weapon.

"Well, let me start the trial!" Yun Xi gave up thinking where the sleeping beauty was. He held his newbie's sword and took one step forward with courage.

After crossing the small bridge and passing through the clear waterfall, Yun Xi quickly found the path to the dark forest.

Soon, he reached uphill and heard some strange noises.

"Ping! Ping!" Seems like something heavy was being knocked on the ground. Again and again, getting closer and closer.

"Don't... don't tell me..." Yun Xi had an ominous feeling. Looking at the map Mei'er gave him, the red dot seemed to be getting closer.

Soon after, Yun Xi learned a lesson.

That it was a complete illusion that the red point was only a little bigger than yourself!

Because the scale of the map... was dozens of times smaller than that of the real world!

"Boom! Boom!" With earth-shaking steps, a giant monster whose body was twice as tall as Yun Xi emerged from the corner.

Taking his own sign as the standard, the enemy which was wandering on the center of the path was a little bigger.

It had one eye, a large head, and thick green skin. Only, its leg were way bigger than Yun Xi's entire body.

It opened its big mouth. Its four sharp teeth took aim at Yun Xi while reflecting a creepy cold light.

"Ping!" Its speed was so fast that it was in a completely different contrast with its giant body type. Especially for Yun Xi who just went into the trial and was still a little stiff, it's slap was pretty powerful.

With just a slap, Yun Xi had been blown out like a rag doll. Afterwards, the green monster trampled down upon his body. Yun Xi's body turned into countless lights and there was only a pool of red blood stain that remained.

"Sniff, sniff..." The green monster who killed Yun Xi with a slap then turned back and continued to patrol.

****

"What kind of common monster is this?!" Looking at the practice weapon returning to the bonfire with him, Yun Xi had a mixed feeling, "F**k you, bitch!"

Wasn't this a newbie trial? Was this a monster a newbie should face?

Look at its body type, speed, and power! Even if it was a 3rd-ranked swordsman like Hua Huo, she couldn't promise to defeat it easily!

If this monster came to the village, except for Hua Huo, it would be able to kill everyone with ease!

The novice trial was a huge problem, this was a defiance of the natural order!

"Master, come on!"

"This guy is but a piece of meat that kills lower lifeforms. Once master gets the seed of the sword, master can easily kill 10 of them in one strike!" Mei'er's voice appeared to encourage Yun Xi.

"You should help me deal with this guy so I can get the Sword Arts Seed." Yun Xi asked his spirit, just in case he got lucky and she would give it to him.

"That is impossible, only you can defeat it through your own abilities."

"I'm not a combat-type fairy anyways. I can only support you as your system fairy." Mei'er explained that she could do nothing else.

"So, what can you do?" Yun Xi didn't know what to say.

"Warm... warm your bed?" Mei'er said shyly.

"Let's talk about this after I beat down this monster." Yun Xi took a deep breath. His face also turned red.

The fairy... warm his bed... No, forget it! It was too early for him to do such a thing!

****

"Sniff! Sniff!" The green hippo was on patrol. It paused for a while then shook its small tail.

Was something wrong? It remembered it had killed many similar invaders on this road today.

These invaders had the same characteristic, they were all holding a shoddy iron sword and their actions were so stiff, even inferior to the monkeys in the forest. It could easily knock them down on the ground with a slap then trample them to death.

Look! There was still a pool of blood left on the road. It was from the trash it killed last time.

If it counted them carefully, there were already dozens of such blood stains.

"37..." Yun Xi gasped, looking at the damned green hippo. This hippo killed him 30 plus times within the time period one would use to take a shower.

However, how could it be possible for such an atrocious, blood-thirsty, and scary hippo to exist? Once it saw you, it would give you a slap or trample on you.

Luckily, Yun Xi had a high tolerance and was able to endure it 37 times.

Thirty-seven pools of blood stains were distributed on the narrow uphill path. The most distant one was on the top of the slope. All of them held traces of Yun Xi's death.

"However, I have learned some important details." Between life and death, there is great terror. Everytime he was slaughtered by the monster hippo, he also caught some habits of the hippo.

The main attack of the hippo was its slap. In addition to its enormous size and faster speed, once he got hit by it, his fate was already doomed to be trampled to death.

Its next method of attack was a continuous quirky rolling and crushing. Yun Xi couldn't imagine how its giant body did this. However, every time he found out, it was already too late to defend or dodge.

Except for these two methods of attacks, its third method of attack was trampling, which it normally used after Yun Xi lost his balance and fell down to the ground.

Once he was knocked down, the mortality rate would be 100%. Yun Xi's 37 death experiences would help guide him.

"I cannot move recklessly, I must find a gap." By paying the cost of 37 deaths, Yun Xi gradually grasped the body of the hippo. He also became familiar with this world's specific rhythm.

Though his perception was slow, it was not entirely a bad thing. Because, at the moment of death, we are able to see more minute details. Apparently, the passage of time slows down.

Chapter 8: The Hippo Must Die

Damn it, where did this enemy come from? The hippo confused, touched its head. Soon after, it saw the familiar figure appear from the end of the downhill path.

The enemy still held his novice sword awkwardly. However, the hippo felt something was different this time.

Of course, if anyone still had the courage to return to the battlefield after being killed 99 times, such as being killed by a slap 50 times, killed by trampling 40 times, and killed by being rolled 9 times, then he would inevitably remold himself.

"The 100th time..." After being killed by the green hippo 99 times, Yun Xi's eyes were set aflame.

This was the first time in his life that he fell into such a hopeless situation.

He was born in an ordinary village, had kind parents and a fervent, lively, and jealous childhood sweetheart. He never knew what "war" was. He hoped he could lead an ordinary life, but now, he tasted the meaning of "the terror of death".

And it wasn't once or twice, but a full 99 times!

With his stiff body holding onto the rusty iron sword, on a long slope not more than 100 meters long, was the first monster of the newbie trial - The damn green Hippo. It killed him so many times that he started to doubt the meaning of his life.

He didn't even get to see the view behind the slope, not to mention the sleeping beauty in the dark forest.

Yun Xi was getting angry!

He had never wanted to win so much in his life.

Especially the green hippo. It must die!

"Adjust... begin..." He relaxed his body, then started running.

Every time he stepped out, he felt his body becoming filled with energy.

It was the feeling of being alive, his heartbeat in time's clutches.

"Sniff sniff!" The green hippo who had killed Yun Xi 99 times opened its mouth and showed its sharp teeth. Taking the chance, it rushed over and slapped at Yun Xi.

"You have used the same move 99 times! Don't you feel bored?" Yun Xi shouted. He changed his movements as he knew the green hippo's actions, narrowly rolling to the side of the green hippo.

"Hoo!" The green hippo's big palm made a great sound as it cut through the air, sweeping above Yun Xi's head.

"A good chance!" It was the first time that Yun Xi escaped the green hippo's slap, as he directly moved to the hippo's back.

In front of his eyes was the green hippo's big ass and its wiggling small tail!

Without any hesitation, he brandished his sword. With his anger, the sharp blade slashed the green hippo's big ass.

"Hiss!" A red bloodstain appeared on the green hippo's big ass. It was the first time Yun Xi hurt the green hippo since their 100 battles.

As a 3rd-ranked creature, the green hippo was a giant monster with thick skin, but it could still be hurt by sharp weapons. It was still a creature in the normal range of attacks.

However, the sword wound was only half a finger deep. It was just a small wound and was still far away from seriously injuring the green hippo.

"Boom!" This time, Yun Xi saw the green hippo's third attacking method. As its fat ass sat down and hit him, he already got knocked away while holding his sword. He then fell down on the ground while vomiting blood.

His hundredth challenge failed.

****

Beside the bonfire, Yun Xi has revived again. He laughed as he gasped.

"Master, are you alright?"

"Shouldn’t you rest for a while?" Mei'er looked at Yun Xi worriedly, who she thought was a little out of mind.

"No. I just find living itself is already a luxury." Yun Xi stretched out his hands and looked at his stiff body, which was so similar to his true body.

Perhaps, to use such an uncoordinated body to challenge the 3rd-ranked green hippo would indeed be painful. However, the battle before was already the greatest battle achievement Yun Xi had ever gotten and now, he had proved that this seemingly 3rd-ranked green hippo wasn't an unbeatable enemy.

Even with this stiff body and this iron sword, he could still challenge this monster.

Human beings after all had instinct, and while this monster had a different kind of intelligence, it was nothing like a human's.

As long as the bonfire and sword existed, Yun Xi had a chance. He was certain that he would defeat this green hippo.

Again! The hippo must die!

****

The 121st try!

Yun Xi's courage increased as the combat progressed. He continually rolled and brandished his sword, as stabbed the green hippo's back twelve times.

The green hippo's skills included continuously slapping, suddenly rolling, and ass attacking when it found him behind itself. He knew all of these skills.

Now, once the green hippo shrugged its shoulders, he would know the next was its slapping; once it wriggled its waist, the next was its deathful rolling; once it stuck up its ass, the next was its ass attack.

"I'm not afraid of you!" After dodging towards the hippo's blind side and stabbing the hippo's body for the thirteenth time, Yun Xi was very sure that the goddess of victory had smiled upon him.

*Sniff sniff!* The green hippo couldn't image how such a weak enemy could suddenly have learned a series of combat skills such as continuous roll and backstab.

It could only be explained as "Between life and death, there is great terror." Anyone would naturally burst forth with his potential when he came face to face with death.

Moreover, it wasn't one or two times that Yun Xi had to meet with death. It was over 120 times.

Death was the best teacher. Everytime Yun Xi died, he would also learn something about the attack method of the monster hippo.

Finally, at the 120th time the changes of quantity caused a change in quality. From the 120 deaths, at the 121st try, Yun Xi saw through all the attack methods of the ferocious green hippo.

Not only that. When the hippo used its triple attack with its ass again, he smoothly lured the stupid hippo to the side of the big tree beside the slope and planted his deadly sword three times into the hippo's body while it continuously knocked the big tree.

Neck, waist, back... this was Yun Xi's trial. Three quick slashes toward the three respective weak spots... every time it hit, the sword left behind a cut that went deep to the bone.

This was the decisive blow, the strike that would bring Yun Xi victory.

"Rumble!"

Sword marks covered the green hippo's body, as it toppled over and dyed the slope in red.

"It's dead?"

After seeing the green hippo's body bleed out and topple over, Yun Xi realized that the battle was over.

He won... Had he really won?

After escaping the slap of the green hippo ten times, the rolling of the hippo three times, the ass attack fifteen times, and giving it twenty backstabs; the seemingly unbeatable green hippo was finally killed by Yun Xi.

A hand-sized green light flew out from its giant broken body and went into Yun Xi's body.

After absorbing the green light point, Yun Xi's body became more flexible and was not as stiff as a zombie.

The first mission of the novice trial accomplished!

The hippo had been killed!

Chapter 9: The Gatekeeper of the Dark Forest

The corpse of the green hippo slowly turned into countless black mist and started to dissipate. Like Yun Xi's death, there was only a pool of blood that remained in the center of the slope.

"Huh... hoo..." Yun Xi leaned on his iron sword. He panted heavily in the place where the green hippo had died.

While he was in the fight, he didn't think about anything. However, after the combat ended, all the weariness of his body frantically bursted out.

The body was a living thing and it had been used to its limit.

His bones and nerves seemed to be crying due to the strenuous activities. Yun Xi wasn't able to see his own face, but he imagined that it should be pretty contorted.

It was really not easy.

If it wasn't for the green light that flew out from the green hippo's corpse; which replenished his consumed energy, he was afraid that he wouldn't even be able to stand up.

"Not... enough..." After facing death 120 times, Yun Xi now knew every part of his body.

After swallowing the green light, both his body and joint's flexibility had increased a lot and now, he wasn't as stiff as a zombie.

While leaning on the broken tree hit by the hippo, Yun Xi closed his eyes as began to regulate his breathing, adjusting his body, and savouring the remaining excitement from after that intense fight.

"The 3rd sword timing, I was too hasty using the sword and my step was also shifted by 3 centimeters."

"The 7th sword timing, I was too late and too anxious."

"The final three swords could be considered as decent enough."

It took 21 slashes to kill that green hippo. Yun Xi could clearly replay the scene vividly in his mind in each attack.

Every mistake and every imperfect move reappeared clearly in his mind. He realized that his performance was by no means perfect. There were at least 10 minor flaws.

There was even a fatal mistake of which almost cost him his life.

Fortunately, that green hippo's weak point was far more obvious than his and committed more mistakes than he did. Especially the attack which made the hippo turn around, gallop forward and crash in a straight line. In Yun Xi's view, this was the hippo's biggest flaw.

He then used a crevice to contain this ‘roller crusher' move. Yun Xi had chopped its back at least 10 times but the final three slashes were the ones that dealt the killing blow.

After killing this green hippo, he realized that strength was not a focal point. An accurate judgment to utilize an opportunity and timing for his attacks were far more important, coupled with caution to not move rashly.

This was the true reason why mortals needed to fight many battles and temper themselves countless times to grasp the true essence of sword arts. Relying on his superior ability to replay the scenes of the fight, Yun Xi naturally grasped this aspect.

Because he basically never had a tiny bit of time to relax in his fight with this green hippo.

Only after immersing himself in his sword and predicting the hippo's attack in advance was he able to achieve this result. Even then, he could only defeat this beast with a rigid and stiff body.

"This is... the fight..." After dying for 120 times as the price, Yun Xi had grown rapidly.

Those battle-hardened veterans who fought many battles gained their experience after countless battles. Most people even died in their enemies' hands the first time they entered the battle.

The experience to live through life and death situations was the most profound and most precious experience.

"Death... terror..." Yun Xi tightly gripped his rusty iron sword. A special feeling grew in his heart toward this nameless rusty sword.

Without this rusty sword, he couldn't have injured the green hippo. Even if there were ten of him, it was impossible to defeat that ferocious beast.

A sword is a tool and weapon, it could be used to commit crimes and it was also used as a weapon to kill.

Revering the sword, this was the mainstream ideology in the Sword God's Domain.

Now, Yun Xi was greatly anticipating the final reward of this quest. What would the treasure, the Sword Arts Seed look like?

"There is also a monster here..." Looking at the map, Yun Xi slowly stood up. Holding the sword, he headed forward towards the Dark Forest.

The landscape on top of the hill was much more devastated compared to Yun Xi's imagination. The earth was scorched, the rocks turned ash gray, and even the mountain's wall was as if it had been burnt down. The entire scenery gave off a strong deathly aura.

But, in his straight line of vision at the far end of the Dark Forest, there was an ominous living being exerting a dangerous and menacing aura.

In front of the entrance to the Dark Forest, the red dot, as if waiting for Yun Xi to come, was motionless and didn't move.

"One... Two..."

"One... Two..."

After a short while in this place, Yun Xi had a better understanding of what his childhood sweetheart — Hua Huo— had taught him about the breathing practice method.

Hua Huo had passed onto him a particular breathing method. Not only did he use that method in the deathmatch against that green hippo, but it also had helped him restore his strength over time in that fight.

His heartbeats, his breathing rhythm, and the sounds of the blood flowing in his body intertwined, forming a marvelous music.

Hua Huo seemed to be able to maintain this breathing state all the time, but Yun Xi was only able to maintain it for a quarter of an hour. Longer than that made his breathing rhythm fall into disorder.

This was the difference between a genius and an ordinary person. Even if he had experienced life and death situations 120 times, some things, like speeding up his practice's result, could not be rushed up forever.

Fifteen minutes to be able to fight with all of his strength was Yun Xi's limit at present. He could only maintain this state for this time period and if he passed this time limit, then his battle efficiency would suffer and would decline greatly.

In essence, his battle efficiency actually didn't even improve; it was just that he could temporarily bring out all of his body's potential to fight.

If his battle prowess were to be calculated with numbers, then when the green hippo killed him for the first time, he could be graded between a 6 and 7. However, after he killed the green hippo, his battle prowess was perhaps about 20. He could defeat the green hippo thanks to his observation over the beast's attack styles.

"I don't know... what type of beast is there..." Judging from the red spot size on the map, Yun Xi could only estimate that this beast's size was probably a little smaller than his body.

The green hippo had a strong skin and its flesh was thick. It was definitely a strong and aggressive beast. Its speed perhaps wasn't slow, but its attack had a fatal flaw. This was also dependent on the body shape.

Then, if this beast's body and his build were similar, could this beast be an agility type?

Perhaps this beast would not be so simple. When he first received this new quest, a powerful feeling crossed his intuition. Yun Xi could somewhat vaguely sense an ominous foreboding.

His premonition quickly came to reality.

At the Dark Forest's entrance, his second opponent stood majestically aloof there, waiting for his challenge.

"How could it be you?" Yun Xi's complexion was pretty much desperate as he looked at the opponent he was about to face.

He couldn't beat it, this opponent... he really couldn't beat it!

Because he was much too familiar with this opponent.

An energetic and lively double ponytail; a white lotus and long sword marks engraved on the sword's hilt; long arched eyebrows with big wide dark eyes like the moon. This was Yun Xi's first love, the most famous swordswoman genius ever in his small village.

It was his childhood sweetheart — Hua Huo.

"Cough... strange... why am I here?" Hua Huo seemed to still be a little puzzled and sleepy with eyes half closed.

"Wait... let me see... Stop the invader from entering the dark forest. Protect the beautiful princess from being desecrated!"

"Once the princess is kissed, Yun Xi would win!"

"What? The princess?! Be desecrated?!"

"Be kissed? By Yun Xi, you?!"

"Yun Xi! I won't let you pass through here!"

It was all over. Yun Xi looked at Hua Huo who suddenly woke up and launched her radar of jealousy.

In this situation, what should he do?

Chapter 10: Hua Huo's Sword

A gentle breeze blew on Yun Xi's hair that laid on his forehead.

After fighting with the green Hippo over 120 times, the breeze that came from nowhere was supposed to be able to relieve his fatigue.

Unfortunately, the enemy Yun Xi faced now was absolutely not at the same level with the stupid green hippo!

Sweat had been oozing from Yun Xi's forehead as he simply stared at her.

No one would know Hua Huo's power better than Yun Xi himself. When they were still in school, Hua Huo was already undoubtedly number one in the sword skill class. Even their teacher wasn't able to beat her.

Her power is already far beyond her rank, the white three leaves badge.

In the God's Domain World, people from 1st Rank to 3rd Rank were known as the "Mortal Rank". The 3rd Rank was already the limit that an ordinary person could reach.

Hua Huo had undoubtedly reached the summit of the Mortal Rank. She was already a super ace being only a step away from the 4th Rank, the "Hero Rank".

She was known as the first genius swordsmaiden in the history of the village. It was not blown from the wind, but instead, she won it by effort. She was only 16 years old and already reached the limit of mortals. She had a bright future.

As for the hippo he defeated just now? It seemed pretty ferocious with its iron-like skin, but compared to Hua Huo, its strength was just a joke.

Yun Xi often stayed together with Hua Huo, watching her practice and learning the basic breathing method from her. Thus, he was able to kill the hippo by using his sword and accurate anticipation skills.

However, if his opponent was Hua Huo, Yun Xi doesn't think that there is a chance that he could win against her.

Maybe Hua Huo's physical strength wasn't higher than the rough green hippo, however, if you were talking about her combat power? She was able to kill ten of such hippos at once!

Yun Xi estimated that if the combat power of the green hippo was at 20, then Hua Huo's power was undoubtedly over 100. As for the limit of her power? Yun Xi had no idea.

"Tell me, Little Xi. Where is this place? And why do you want to go into the forest behind me?" Hua Huo drew out her long sword from her back. She shook the point of the sword and gave Yun Xi a seemingly friendly smile.

"Tell me everything. Tell me the truth and you will receive a lighter sentence. If you refuse, I will punish you severely!"

If he told her the truth, then that would be the worst. Yun Xi's head sweated profusely as he looked at Hua Huo's eyes, which was not fun at all.

It was too terrible when Hua Huo fell into jealousy!

Why was there such a terrible boss in the newbie trial? Compared to Hua Huo, the seemingly horrible hippo was so cute.

At least, after the hippo killed him over a hundred times, he was not discouraged. Eventually, he found the method to defeat it.

But it's not the case for Hua Huo. It was impossible. Even if he inspired every potential he had to beyond his limits by 120%, it was still hopeless for him to defeat his childhood sweetheart; the girl who was such a genius swordmaiden.

"Little Xi, I detect a suspicious fragrance in the air." Hua Huo snuffled. Her instinct as his childhood sweetheart told her that something was wrong.

There was an unknown girl's odor on Yun Xi's body. It was like a slightly milky aroma. Maybe others couldn't detect the difference due to the scent of blood on Yun Xi's body, however, as his childhood sweetheart she wouldn't make any mistake.

It wasn't the odor of Milei, the girl from the flower shop down the street. Her odor was always mixed with the faint aroma of flowers.

It wasn't the odor of El'phyllis, the girl from the neighboring village's gem store. Her odor contained a faint aroma of dark green stones.

It was slightly like the odor of Ye Li, the girl from the cake shop across the street. Ye Li's odor was like a sweet cream, but this odor contained something else.

Who? Who was she? Hua Huo slowly moved the point of her sword, trying to find out the bitch who dared to touch her most precious treasure, Yun Xi.

Unfortunately, even if her sword skill was unrivaled, it was impossible to do such a thing. After all, the cream-like odor on Yun Xi's body came from a star spirit named Mei'er.

What should he do? Yun Xi was under a great deal of stress, simply due to being pointed at by Hua Huo's sword. After all, every skill he mastered like the breathing method, was learned from Hua Huo.

Could he practice his sword skill in combat, then defeat his teacher Hua Huo? Come on, if he had such a great talent he would have passed the test of a 1st-ranked swordsman already.

Hua Huo. She was the best one among all the 3rd-ranked warriors, an unchallenged super sword master.

"I'm sorry, Hua Huo. I have to go there!" Yun Xi couldn't explain and tell her the ultimate goal for why he had to break into the dark forest.

If he said it out loud, he would have a tragic ending. It was his experience, which he concluded according to his childhood sweetheart's character.

The jealous Hua Huo. If she knew his goal was to wake-up the unknown sleeping beauty with a kiss... no! He couldn't dare think of it!

Unfortunately, she knew.

"You want to wake the sleeping beauty by kissing her? Little Xi, you have become a bad boy now!" Hua Huo raised her eyebrows. The long sword made a sharp sound vibration in her hand.

"I won't let you pass through here!""

"If you want to go, try to defeat me first!"

"In the name of the Gatekeeper of the Dark Forest, I announce that this road is blocked!"

Rushing! Yun Xi rushed. The initial fight was the only chance he had to win.

He had gone through 120 deaths in combat and reached the limit of his potential. Hua Huo didn't know this, so this was his only chance.

"Gee, Little Xi, you've made progress!" Hua Huo held her sword horizontally. She displaced Yun Xi's attack, then stepped out with her left foot.

Three continuous attacks! Yun Xi was ready to risk it. After all, this world was just a trial world. He had the special right to be revived an infinite amount of times.

Afterwards, he saw nine sword lights.

Up, down, left, right, above the left, above the right, below the left, below the right. The final was a wind like straight thrust.

Yun Xi's three continuous attacks were three straight attacks, a series of speedy slashes. However, Hua Huo brandished her sword nine times in a short second. She attacked Yun Xi from nine different directions and angles.

They were nine attacks, but it was also a one time attack. Before Yun Xi found out the sequence and principle of her attack, his iron sword had flown out of his hands, then the swordwind blew him away.

This was their difference. There was such a large gap that he couldn't even fill it with the combat experience he learned from his deaths.

Hua Huo's sword was like a strong wind, like lightning, like the transitory sparklers in the sky.

In the face of such a sword, Yun Xi's body was stiff and wasn't even able to speak. Even if he was in his optimum state and was armed to his teeth, he still couldn't defeat Hua Huo.

"What a speedy sword!" Yun Xi shut his eyes, waiting for his death.

It didn't matter. He found the way to win against the green hippo after dying 120 times. In that case, even if his second opponent was Hua Huo, he could also find the road to victory.

He just didn't know how many times he had to die before that happened.

At least, the number of deaths would grow by ten times. Yun Xi was prepared.

However, after Yun Xi gave up resisting, he didn't see the darkness he waited for, not to mention the warm bonfire.

"Little Xi, open your eyes." A warm small palm knocked Yun Xi's head. In his ear, he heard a familiar voice.

"Why? I'm not dead?" Yun Xi opened his eyes and saw his childhood sweetheart's lively face.

"Why would you die? Did you think I would kill you?" Hua Huo looked at Yun Xi with a little anger.

Even if she was a little jealous and planned to find the new girl who tried to get close to Yun Xi no matter what the price is, it wasn't enough to make Yun Xi so scared, right?

"Aren't you the Gatekeeper of the Dark Forest?" Yun Xi hadn't thought of it clearly. After all, the ferocity of the first monster The Green Hippo had already been imprinted in his heart.

"That's my question. What's all this about?" Hua Huo frowned.

It was a little strange, but a moment ago, she thought she heard a "kill him" sound in her ears. It was seemingly like the true thought in her heart.

However, who was she?

She was Yun Xi's childhood sweetheart! She was destined to be married to him in the future! She would defeat anybody who dared to block her love with Yun Xi.

This was exactly the reason that why she could send out such a sword attack.

Humph. The sword arts teacher who almost robbed her of her successful plan when Yun Xi was 12 years old, you didn't expect this, right? You wanted to rob the cradle? I wouldn't let you do this!

Chapter 11: The Older Sister That Summer

A single sword stroke from Hua Hua would be enough to beat Yun Xi. Hua Huo smelled the odor on Yun Xi's body as she pushed him to the ground. She pinned him down by using her body, in order to not let him run away.

Hmmm... more accurately, it was the posture of a woman going down on the man, the so-called "straddle posture".

"This odor, weird."

"Tell me, Little Xi. Who's the girl this time?" As his childhood sweetheart, she had a better sense of smell than the golden retriever fairy, Mei'er. She was sure that Yun Xi definitely had an affair with some other girl.

No, perhaps it was the other girl who did it proactively!

"Is it the same as the thing that happened that summer? Little Xi, are you..." Hua Huo stared at Yun Xi in disbelief. She slightly lowered down her head, as if she was going to give Yun Xi a general check-up.

"That summer..." Yun Xi's face turned red. He remembered his teacher who taught him sword skills; who was not only great with her sword skill, but also great in her chest.

Because it happened when he was 12-years-old and that teacher left after only teaching them for a month, he couldn't even recall her name exactly.

However, they would never forget the thing that happened that summer. No matter himself or his childhood sweetheart, Hua Huo.

Because she was the first big sister who let him understand the fantastic thing about females.

He still remembered it was a sultry summer afternoon. That big sister called him to meet her in her own sword room, alone. (TL: Sword room: Meditation room in terms of cultivation).

And the thing that happened next? Yun Xi was left with a very deep impression.

At that time, that always very gentle big sister; her pinky delicate face was full of satisfaction, with a face wearing a comfortable smile. Her eyes overflowed with water-like tender feelings. That was a passion Yun Xi didn't understand.

"Little Xi. Do you want me to teach you something that's not written in the books?"

"Teacher, is it a kind of sword skill? But I'm not good at sword skills..." When Yun Xi was 12-years-old, he still felt himself to be a little inferior because his talent with the sword wasn't good. At that time, he was far less self-confident than now.

Which 12-year-old boy didn't hope of himself becoming a strong swordsman, defeating every opponent. Then in the end becoming a hero?

Of course, 12-year-old Yun Xi also thought so. At that time, he still had a slender hope about his sword skill talent.

So, when the new sword skill teacher called him to meet her alone, he was pretty upset. He thought: was it because his performance was too poor, thus the teacher was going to punish him?

However, it didn't look like what he expected?

"Sword skill is important, however, sword skills aren't everything." The elder big sister smiled. Her pink lips slightly opened as she said the words softly.

Such a charming scene was sent out with strong implications towards Yun Xi. Unfortunately, it was meaningless for a 12-year-old boy.

"What's the lesson?" Yun Xi was so puzzled. He looked at the big sister… she was looking at him with a blushed face as he asked a quite silly and naive question.

"He he, it's very important, about life and future. Little Xi, you are a good boy. So, let me teach you a lesson about becoming an adult." It seemed like she was drunk, the big sister reached out her slim hand to Yun Xi and smiled shyly.

Sweat stains appeared under her hair shaft. Her creamy white skin turned pink. Her aromatic breath made Yun Xi's heart beat faster.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you. Or rather to say, I'm the person who will feel the pain." The big sister slowly covered Yun Xi's hands with her hands. Her intimate voice softly resounded in his heart, full of gentleness and charm.

The next was the most special lesson Yun Xi had since his birth.

Kissing, hugging, and touching. Afterwards, he saw her body, every part he could see and shouldn't see, her slender but opposite body type. Her snowy and creamy "double peaks", her smooth and flavoury shoulders, and her lowered down blushed neck. She was so gentle and beautiful, like nature itself.

The light red under her snow-white skin, her gradually lowered voice, and her gentle-shy but also affectionate eyes. Even though it was already a long, long time later, she still didn't disappear from Yun Xi's heart.

"Little Xi. Don't forget today." After capturing Yun Xi's heart by using her tender, delicious small tongue, luring him to fall bit by bit, the big sister's eyes turned more sweet and charming.

At that moment, her body was a gorgeous view and a temptation in Yun Xi's eyes.

Especially that tongue of hers when she was licking Yun Xi's cheek. It was so soft, making one's body go limp. Her smooth silky hair was near his face, its aroma was addicting.

"I... isn't this a crime..." The smothered 12-year-old Yun Xi was a bit distressed by the older sister.

"No matter what. If I miss this chance, I will regret it. As long as there's love, our age difference is not a problem! Who would go back to marry that idiot!"

"Little Xi, when you grow up, you must remember to come find me!" She kissed the 12-year-old Yun Xi as she made her decision.

However, when she was going to commit the crime, a sword cut the door of the sword room into pieces from the center down.

"Let go of my Yun Xi! You cheating cat! Perpetrator!"

"Eeek! When did you come here, Little Hua Huo?!"

"Yun Xi's body is full of your odor. I had found it earlier today. Don't put your hands on my Yun Xi! Take this my wind-like ten hits! Go to hell, you thieving cat!"

****

Yun Xi had no impression about what happened next because he was blown away by the turbulent sword-wind and was dazed. It seemed that the both of them intentionally didn't let him see the thing that happened next.

After that, when Yun Xi woke up, he heard that the new sword skills teacher had resigned. He was told that her house's small courtyard had sunk in an earthquake.

After that, every time unknown girls wanted to get close to him, Hua Huo would certainly come, and her words always made Yun Xi recall the thing that happened that summer.

"Damn! Was there really something that happened?!" Looking at Yun Xi's absentminded emotions, Hua Huo's intuition was raised to the highest level - Red alarm.

Something was wrong. There must be something wrong!

Ordinary females wouldn't cause Yun Xi to be in such a dreamy state.

Who? Who dares to leave their odor on Little Xi's body when she was away? And it was not only the milky aroma. There must have been some further contact.

Could it be, could it be like that damned coquette who almost did it... this new cheating cat had close contact with Yun Xi?

When did it happen? She was sure that Yun Xi's body didn't have this odor during the daytime.

"Yun Xi, who is it!"

"Come out with it, what's her name!"

"Tell me!"

This wasn't an interrogative sentence, but an affirmative sentence. As Yun Xi's childhood sweetheart, Hua Huo had a feral super instinct about Yun Xi's fate with women.

Perhaps, this time, this new opponent was the most terrible opponent after that cheating cat left the village because of her family matters.

Even she hasn't yet left such an odor on Yun Xi's body!

"Hua Huo, make it quick!" Yun Xi showed a ‘Anyway, the worst thing has happened. I don't care what will happen next!’ expression and resolutely turned his head around.

He wouldn't say it. Even if she forced open his mouth, he would also say nothing!

He was the Starchild and had four overlord ex-girlfriends... how could he possibly tell her this!

Why was Hua Huo in this trial?

Undoubtedly, his jealous childhood sweetheart - Hua Huo - was the last one he had hoped to know of this!

She was his first love, the most fantastic longing in his heart. If it was possible, he didn't want her to take part in his impending big trouble.

A week. Just after a week, Hua Huo would leave the small village. She would join the place he would never reach - the Sword Palace.

So, let him leave Hua Huo a perfect impression, as her childhood sweetheart.

"Yun Xi!" Hua Huo seriously spoke out his name, which also meant that she was really getting frantic.

Wee-wee-wee-wee, her Little Xi. Why has he become a bad boy all of a sudden?!

No, she must understand what this absurd dream was and why she became the gatekeeper of the dark forest.

Yes, the sleeping beauty!

Hua Huo suddenly recalled the special keyword of her task as the gatekeeper.

Chapter 12: Hua Huo's Weak Point

"Tell me, Little Xi! Is she that sleeping beauty?! What's so special about her that you would want to go in the dark forest, even if it means you have to defeat me? And it needs you to awaken her by ki..kikissing!" Hua Huo's face suddenly turned red.

Oh, right. It looked like Hua Huo was so shy that she didn't dare to look at him. Yun Xi had a vague idea.

It seemed that Hua Huo had a weak point.

"Tell the truth and you will receive a lighter sentence. Keep lying and you will receive a heavy punishment!" Hua Huo waved her small fists and knocked on Yun Xi's chest. Her expression showed ‘I won't let you go if you don't tell me the truth’.

Yun Xi had no idea how to deal with this. He knew the power gap between Hua Huo and himself. It was not something that could be filled by hundreds of deaths. It was a desperate natural chasm.

Did he have to use that method?

This trial, how ruthless and twisted in human nature it was!

"I'm gonna see the sleeping beauty!"

"She dares to seduce my Little Xi. She must be a cheating cat!" A fire burned in Hua Huo's eyes, which made Yun Xi have a really bad feeling.

Thinking back to the past earthquake-like pitiful scene in the sword skills teacher's courtyard... although he had never seen the sleeping beauty who was in the dark forest - however, since she was the sleeping beauty, of course, she was a feminine girl who had no power to fight against the last boss of the trial, Hua Huo.

If Hua Huo found her, the trial would be equal to having been failed. Yun Xi was pretty sure about this.

So, it was time to use that method.

Sorry, Hua Huo. As your childhood sweetheart, I know very much about your weak point.

"Hua Huo, look at me." Yun Xi reached out his hand to grasp Hua Huo's hand. He pulled his nerves together and sat up to get near Hua Huo, just like what he once did in the past.

"Ah... wow... whoa..." Looking at Yun Xi's face that was getting closer and closer, Hua Huo suddenly fell into a panic.

This time, she had lost all prestige as an unchallenged swordmaiden. She was just a confused girl who was lost in love.

"Little Xi... what... what're you gonna do?!" She was the girl who pushed down Yun Xi and straddled on his body. However, when Yun Xi really got close to her, she was confused and panicked.

This was Hua Huo's biggest weak point. She had no power to resist Yun Xi's intimate behavior.

It was already an above-standard performance to ride on Yun Xi's body with anger. As for further intimate behavior? It was still a forbidden zone in this young girl's heart.

Conversely, due to that summer, the hand by hand teaching from that gentle big sister and the forbidden game he played together with Ye Li, El'phyllis, and Milei in their childhood, Yun Xi was more skilled.

This was Hua Huo's biggest weak point. She was a well-behaved girl, always jealous but knew nothing about the things not written in the textbooks.

She sucked at intimate behavior. She was a well-behaved,and would be a virtuous wife and caring mother, a sword girl.

So, when Yun Xi took the initiative to attack her, she immediately froze as her whole body started to tremble.

She was too over excited and terrified, she didn't know what to do. Finally, Yun Xi kissed her lips and her eyes became thoroughly misted.

"Woo.. en..."

According to the kissing skill he learned from his sword skills teacher, Ye Li, El'phyllis, Milei, and Mei'er, Yun Xi invaded and occupied his childhood sweetheart's lips and mouth bit by bit. He didn't allow her to breath.

"Little Xi... wait..." Because her lips and tongue were blocked by Yun Xi, Hua Huo sent out a vague voice, then her whole body softly laid down in Yun Xi's arms.

In terms of sword skills, a hundred Yun Xi couldn't compare with one Hua Huo.

However, in terms of kissing, a hundred Hua Huo couldn't compare with one Yun Xi.

After all, Hua Huo was a simple sword idiot, she always practiced over 12 hours a day. The skill of courting was too difficult for her.

I'm sorry, Hua Huo.

After kissing Hua Huo till she couldn't breathe and finally making her lose consciousness, Yun Xi carefully changed their body position, letting the dizzy Hua Huo lie down beside him.

As he expected, the trial wouldn't let him face an unbeatable enemy. At least for Yun Xi, Hua Huo wasn't an unbeatable enemy.

However, this strategy he used to win, made people speechless.

Except for Yun Xi, no one else could make Hua Huo defenseless and come into this attackable distance.

"Little Xi... no..." Hua Huo's mind fell into a mess and her body also fell into a strange dissonance. She saw Yun Xi stand up and was going to escape, but she failed every time she tried to stand up to catch him.

In some sense, Yun Xi's attack was a complete success.

Run! Run! Yun Xi didn't know how long Hua Huo would remain in this state of disturbance of consciousness.

He still remembered that year he was twelve. After he learned the lesson which the textbook wouldn't tell him from his sword skills teacher - the Big Sister. The first target he found in order to practice it on was Hua Huo.

As a result, Hua Huo was dazzled for over a quarter of an hour. After that, she would never allow him to play this game with her again.

Well, after that, the 12-year-old him played this game with several other childhood friends. They were Milei from the flower shop, El'phyllis from the gem shop, and Ye Li, who joined in on the fun later on.

It was true. Yun Xi never thought there was anything wrong until last year.

For children, playing something never played was interesting. And making their heart beat faster was a natural thing, wasn't it?

Till the girls who played this game, such as Milei and El'phyllis, all shyly told him that they could play this kind of game much more often. That it would be better if he added the prefix ceremony like "wedding" for the game, then he finally realized something was wrong.

As for the youngest girl Ye Li, she didn't make such a request. It seemed that simply hugging and kissing was already gratifying for her.

Compared them to the new girl - Mei'er - she was the most zealous one. Her odor was unlike the girls who played the game with him, she had a fantastic but slightly milky aroma.

Hua Huo should have smelled it, so she found out something was wrong. How sensitive her nose was!

"Little Xi, stop!" At the entrance of the forest, Hua Huo's voice was raised. Apparently, she had woken up from her trance.

That was bad. Be quick! He should move faster!

Sleeping beauty, where are you? Yun Xi anxiously searched the map in his mind and found he had almost overlapped with the green point on the map.

At the same time, the bright red dot, which was at the entrance of the dark forest, started moving at a terrifying speed.

The death line of the trial was coming!

"Here!"  Wrapped by countless branches, Yun Xi saw a place where it was surrounded by black brambles.

A girl wearing white pajamas was laying still, sound asleep, surrounded by a bed of thorns.

Chapter 13: Sleeping Beauty's Kiss

Her naked feet were little and dainty, and only a little bit bigger than Yun Xi's palm. There was almost zero distance between her lovely small feet and the brambles. It seemed that any slight movement would cause a dripping bloody end.

Her white insteps and delicate lower legs constituted a beautiful arc. Her snow-white toes slightly curled up like a cat's claws. She looked pretty shy and lovely. A perfect artwork in the world.

The sleeping beauty had long black and smooth hair. Her black and smooth long hair was spread on the tree-made bed, giving off an elegant, peaceful, and slightly bright feeling.

Her face looked long but pretty and delicate, charming and soft, but also with some naivety. If she smiled, she would probably look innocent, feminine, and tender.

However, it looked like she was experiencing a nightmare. Her eyebrows were slightly frowned, it seemed like she wanted to open her eyes, but couldn't do this seemingly simple action.

Her crescent long eyebrows, two lines of serried eyelashes, her pretty and proud nose and her red and nifty lips. In addition to her smooth, delicate and paper-like skin, these made her look like a princess.

Even if she was only wearing nightclothes, it couldn't block her natural and exalted appearance.

She was the sleeping beauty in the dark forest. This was the only information Yun Xi knew.

He didn't know where she was from, or why she was sleeping in the dark forest surrounded by countless sharp brambles.

"Sorry!" Yun Xi felt guilty and tried to tear away the black brambles from her surrounding.

"Hiss!" At the next moment, Yun Xi was so pained that he felt his hands had almost been numbed.

These brambles were far sharper than they looked, even giving him an illusion that it would bite at his flesh.

Yun Xi's hands were already drenched with blood after he tore away one of the brambles.

For fear that the sleeping beauty would get wounded due to these black brambles, he carefully tore away these terrible black brambles from the outermost part. Bit by bit, using his hands.

On the tree-made bed, the sleeping girl's snow-white skin reflected jade-like lights under the glimmering lights, which made her holy and inviolable.

Indistinctly, tendons and muscles appeared on her beautiful insteps. Viewing them from Yun Xi's sight, her slippery pink soles were unexpectedly soft.

Look at her tidy toes and smooth skin! Five white jade-like toes connected together tightly. The rounded tip of her toes were like five crouched little white rabbits - they were flurried but also happy, with a wonderful but coy look

Her rubicund soles were as soft as silk and her arches were as white as crystal. Her jade-white heels were ruddy in color and so appealing, making him unwilling to release them.

"Hiss!" Yun Xi tore away another black bramble from the sleeping girl's side, resulting in a deep wound appearing on his hand.

Something was wrong with these brambles!

Yun Xi looked at his bloody hands. In order to run away from Hua Huo's side, he even abandoned his own weapon - the iron sword - simply in order to save a little body strength.

There wasn't enough time!

A series of weird "Click! Click!" sounds rang in his ear. In such a quiescent dark forest, no one else would make such a noise.

Just do it! Yun Xi reached out his hands and desperately tore the tough black brambles at full force. And at the same time, the corner of his eyes were also looking at the path.

Yun Xi hoped that he wouldn't see the girl who was speedily rushing here. He was spooked.

Hua Huo was his childhood sweetheart and a genius swordmaiden. He thought he had thought of her to the greatest extent.

However, the ability Hua Huo showed now was worse than his wildest imagination.

She wasn't running. She was "flying".

No. Technically, she was "stepping in the air". By drawing support from the countless big trees in the dark forest, her feet continuously stepped on the tree trunks. Every step would cause a fast turn.

The trees in the dark forest became her footholds for flying in the air. Her every step was so fast that Yun Xi had an illusion that he was a slowly crawling snail, while Hua Huo was an elegant and smart hummingbird.

Apparently, her body was still in the range of humans and Yun Xi could even see that her body was uncoordinated, just like himself. However, with her continuous turns in the air, Hua Huo displayed 300% of her body's potential.

This kind of "stepping in the air" was already beyond Yun Xi's imagination. It needed an extreme genius to calculate, react, and prejudge. If it was him, he probably couldn't learn a little, even if he practiced to death for thousands of times.

Compared to Hua Huo's ability to "step in the air", the stupid green hippo's combat skill was as clumsy as an original crawler.

They were both at the 3rd Rank, but Hua Huo was like a legendary hero. As for the green hippo, he could only be considered as a big monster among all the normal monsters.

Why was there such a giant gap among different people!

No, time was running out!

Yun Xi shook his head. He didn't care that pale bones had been exposed from out of his hands. At the price of almost losing the feeling of his hands, he tore away the last bramble from the sleeping beauty.

"Eh?" It seemed that she could feel that somebody was getting close to her. The sleeping beauty girl had a slightly depressed look, as her white-soft small feet slightly shivered.

"I'm sorry. This is a dream, a dream!" Yun Xi hypnotized himself. Facing the sleeping beauty with his bloody hands, he kissed the girl with courage.

"Ah!" The sleeping beauty woke up. Yun Xi saw her eyes.

What a pair of beautiful eyes!

Inside her black pupils, it was free and easy, like she had seen all the beauties of the world. To be able to remain indifferent to whatever happened. But also, her eyes were so clear, like a pool of unsullied water; it could make anyone's heart calm down after seeing her pupils.

However, at the next moment, her eyes changed.

As if it was flame and lightning, like a flashlight, but also as if it was a bright light exploding inside the furious sea of lava. It almost ignited Yun Xi's entire body.

"Little Xi! You have become a playboy!" Hua Huo was stepping on the air and turning towards him. With the dance of the lightning swiftness of her sword, she displayed an awesome sword skill which Yun Xi had never seen before.

Like a flying swallow hovering in the sky and also like a dragon dancing in the air. At that instant, Yun Xi had a jumpy feeling.

"How dare you!" The sleeping beauty barely reached out one of her small hands and signed a sword sign in the air.

Signing in the air. It wasn't a power mortals could have. At least, it was a super power which belonged to 4th Ranked Heroes or higher.

However, all of this had no relation with Yun Xi himself.

The bright lights of the stars fell down and covered Yun Xi's body after turning into a light beam. Yun Xi's body turned into countless silver-blue particles as he returned to the real world.

"Congratulations, master! You finished the newbie trial!"

Mei'er's voice sounded pretty cute right now.

Chapter 14: Three Seeds

The light of the stars fell down. Star rivers and star clouds slowly rotated around Yun Xi, giving him a gentle and warm feeling.

"Back... I'm back!" Yun Xi had the impulse to cry after seeing the warm starlight.

It was too difficult.

Why was the newbie trial so difficult!

The first monster had the strength of a 3rd Rank. It could kill him with a simple slap.

In order to beat the damn hippo down, he died over 120 times, only then was he finally was able to kill it.

After that, the second boss, "the Gatekeeper" was Hua Huo. The best sword master he knew. She was the best sword genius in the village, the natural enemy whom he had no chance to win against.

If the sword genius wasn't his childhood sweetheart, and if she didn't have a weak point when she faced him... even if he died a thousand times, he wouldn't have been able to win against her.

Even at the last minute, the seemingly quiet sleeping beauty was also quite a dangerous girl.

To be honest, even the hippo was also able to kill ten Yun Xi's at the same time.

"Congratulations, master! You successfully passed through the newbie trial! The stars have a good evaluation of you!" Mei'er was awaiting him at the location of the stars. She happily ran towards Yun Xi and directly gave him a kiss.

"Ah... wait..." Yun Xi was pulled down to the ground by Mei'er, tasting her spellbinding kiss.

Mei'er's kiss was enthusiastic and filled with a sweet aroma. Compared to the kiss of the big sister and his other childhood friends, her kiss was far deeper and sexier.

Where have you learned this? He didn't find any skill in Mei'er's kiss, but her kiss was so intoxicating.

"You were great, master!" After kissing and licking Yun Xi's face, Mei'er finally remembered her duty.

"Look, we had a great harvest!"

A light screen appeared in front of Mei'er. It recorded Yun Xi's performance during the newbie trial.

On the screen, most of the video parts were of Yun Xi and the green hippo fighting. His clash with his childhood sweetheart and the last kiss with the sleeping beauty didn't take up too much space, but they were continuously replayed.

At the last image of the light screen, it was the evaluation of his newbie trial and the reward.

"Congratulations Starchild. You finished the first step in your great trial."

"The first kiss was very important."

"The first kiss was one small step for you and one giant leap for the world."

"We will always accompany you."

"This time, please learn to use a better method to love, and don't commit the same error. The Star Loving System will be open to you."

Then, next was Yun Xi's reward in the trial.

"Hippo's Soul (1 Star) Increase: Toughness, Vigour, and Physical Strength by a bit."

"Achievement: Plunderer of First Kisses- Young girls’ lips are your game. Capture them, but don't play with fire."

"A Sword Arts Seed: Property is selectable. You choose what kind of power you want."

Yun Xi had personally felt the effect of the hippo's soul. Due to the enhancement of the soul, his stiff body was improved and he finally escaped from Hua Huo's hands.

However, what about the "Plunderer of First Kisses"? What kind of system was this!

"Mei'er, tell me what's this system!" Yun Xi said in a sullen tone and pointed to the puzzling tag.

"Eh... this system is a tailor-made system made after the stars referenced your past mistakes and their memory."

"The reason master died last time was because you didn't understand such matters and finally capsized. This time, the sea of stars specially prepared a system in order to practice your ability to love, for fear that you would fall into the same mistake again."

"The loving system of the stars is referred to as 'Star Loving System'. It's an auxiliary system you asked the stars to make for this life's you."

Mei'er innocently looked at the stunned Yun Xi.

"This... it... was my love really that bad in my last life?" Yun Xi felt his worldview being overturned.

Being taught how to love by the stars? What was that?!

What trash was he in his last life to such an extent that had to ask the stars to do such a thing for him?

"Ok, let's set that aside. What's this trial about?" Yun Xi was barely able to accept the Star Loving system. But what was this extremely weird trial about?

That green hippo, his childhood sweetheart - Hua Huo - and that obviously ridiculous powerful sleeping beauty. Where did they come from?!

"Master, your trial is specially made by the stars."

"In order to help you become strong, the stars were linked to a special dream world and they prepared the unique trial world for you."

"Everything that appears in the trial is from the memory of the stars. There are some real events that happened, and some, the memories of the world."

"As for your opponents, they were specially drawn into the dream by the stars from nearest areas. Master, what kind of opponents did you face?"

"From nearest areas... I see..." Yun Xi finally understood why Hua Huo was in his trial.

Speaking of the nearest warrior, who else could it be other than Hua Huo? Since the stars took the near warriors as their priority objectives, of course Hua Huo would be selected.

However, was there really such a monster like the green hippo near the village? It was a pretty peaceful common village. Recently, he didn't even see a fox.

"Even the stars can't create something out of nothing. The enemy you saw should be a shadow in the dream world."

"Your trial was perfect. Now, choose your last reward!" Mei'er clicked on the seed pattern of the last reward with great interest. There were three branches, representing three different properties of the reward.

"Can I choose any property for the Sword Arts Seed?"

Yun Xi curiously looked at the reward which he got through hundreds of deaths. It was a fantastic seed, with three colors rotating in it.

"Yes. Master, you can freely choose your last reward according to the trial you finished."

"The first Sword Arts Seed was from the murderous hippo." The first seed appeared in front of Yun Xi. It was that green hippo's seed.

"Properties: Super Strength, Body Bulk-Up, and Overwhelming Force. Master, if you're going to practice weapons like the giant sword, this seed is your best choice."

"The second seed was from Hua Huo."

"Properties: Zoom, Super Sword Skill, Discerning Highest Sword Skills, and God's Sword Skill - Flying Sky Sword (Beginner Level)."

As per Yun Xi's expectation, the green hippo's Sword Seed was nothing compared to Hua Huo's seed.

Anyone would know what was the right choice after seeing the description of Hua Huo's Sword Seed.

However, there was still a third Sword Arts Seed.

"The last one is from the sleeping beauty."

"Properties: Vacuum Seal, Cutting Blade, Void Burst, and Great Circulation!"

Terrible. It was too terrible! Yun Xi felt his back go cold with sweat when he saw the several abilities in the Sword Seed.

If the stars didn't summon him back at the first moment he finished his trial, there would have been a bloody end waiting for him.

The sleeping beauty. He didn't even know her name. But she was the strongest person he had ever seen - a true Hero-ranked girl!

"No, it couldn't be that easy to get the power of a Hero Rank. What's wrong with this seed?" Yun Xi quickly calmed down after seeing the different properties of the three seeds.

It was too abnormal. The properties of the three different seeds were at three different levels.

The power of the green hippo's seed wasn't out of the range of a 3rd-ranked monster. Except for its brute force, it had nothing good.

Hua Huo's seed had infinite potential. Even by only considering the value of the God's Sword Skill: Flying Sky Sword (Beginner Level), it was ten times better than the green hippo's seed.

As for the sleeping beauty, her Vacuum Seal, Cutting Blade, and Great Circulation were abilities which only super ranked beings were able to master!

Chapter 15: Hua Huo's Seed

"No problem. The stars absorb the free energies in the trial and condensed them into the three seeds. They are perfect." Mei'er said proudly.

The stars wouldn't give him defective seeds.

There were three seeds in front of Yun Xi. Each of them were perfect and could absolutely let Yun Xi absorb their energies without fail.

"Then, why are their qualities so different?" Yun Xi looked at the three seeds, which had great differences in properties and thought that it wouldn't be that simple.

"It's because high-quality seeds need a much longer time to condense. Besides, the absorption rate depends on your affinity." Mei'er pointed to the three seeds and showed their absorption rate.

The first seed of the green hippo was easy to absorb and had a normal affinity. Its absorption rate would be a month.

The second seed, Hua Huo's seed was easy to absorb, but needed a high affinity. Its absorption rate would be one year.

The third seed, the sleeping beauty's seed was difficult to absorb and had quite a low affinity. Its absorption rate would be one-hundred-years.

Alright. Yun Xi knew there was no such thing as a free lunch.

The green hippo's seed was the easiest one to absorb. It could let him master skills like "Body Bulk-Up" and "Super Strength" in one month.

However, compared to the last two seeds, this seed was meaningless.

Unless he instantly faced death after opening his eyes, he would be blind if he chose it.

As for the other two seeds, each had its own merits.

Hua Huo's seed had a high potential and had the highest compatibility with him amongst the three seeds.

Considering that this seed was condensed by the stars, based on Hua Huo's characteristics, it wasn't surprising to have such a special compatibility.

The sleeping beauty's seed had the most terrible power, with the worst compatibility and the lowest affinity. It needed a hundred years to absorb according to the common method.

Which also meant that it would be a hundred times more difficult than absorbing Hua Huo's seed. No wonder it was a seed from a warrior whose rank was above the 4th Rank.

"Seems like I don't have any other choice." Yun Xi reluctantly moved his eyes away from the sleeping beauty's seed, which had super powers such as ‘Vacuum Seal, Cutting Blade, and Great Circulation’ and finally chose his childhood sweetheart's Sword Seed.

In fact, among the three seeds, each had its own merits.

The green hippo's seed was fit for people who needed power to go to the battlefield.

After all, on the battlefield, between life and death, the green hippo's iron skin and enhanced strength could bring an immediate effect. However, the battlefield was still a far away word for Yun Xi, so he naturally gave up this seed which could only enhance his power instantly.

Hua Huo's seed had unlimited potential.

No matter if it was "Quicksilver motion", "Discerning highest level sword skills" or the marvelous "God's Sword Skill: Flying Sky Sword (Beginner Level)", they all showed his childhood sweetheart's uniqueness.

Especially the last "God's Sword Skill: Flying Sky Sword (Beginner Level)". Yun Xi didn't even know his childhood sweetheart had such a miraculous sword skill.

Undoubtedly, the sleeping beauty's seed was the strongest and most terrifying seed. Unfortunately, it was too difficult for Yun Xi, no matter its compatibility or affinity.

Thinking it over, it was normal. After all, it was a seed from a warrior who was above the 4th Rank.

In this case, Hua Huo's seed was the most suitable for Yun Xi, as if it were tailor-made for him.

Besides, unlike the green hippo and the sleeping beauty, Yun Xi knew Hua Huo very well. As he was close to the warrior herself, he had the opportunity to ask her for advice and improve himself.

"Give me Hua Huo's seed." Since he decided it, he wouldn't regret it.

Even if he could have the power of a Hero Rank after absorbing the sleeping beauty's seed, Yun Xi still believed that Hua Huo's seed wouldn't be inferior to it.

"Ok. Loading now... linking." Mei'er pointed at Hua Huo's seed, then the seed flew to Yun Xi automatically.

"Starting link with the seed."

"Open the image link!"

"Open the port, ready to absorb the mystical power of the seed."

"Code: Hua Huo!"

Yun Xi had a fantastic feeling as he saw Hua Huo's seed flying into his body.

It was as if there was an invisible, but real line between himself and Hua Huo.

A series of understandings about various sword skills, which he would normally never understand, naturally appeared in his mind. As if all of Hua Huo's understandings about the sword were shared with him.

Was this what Hua Huo's seed contained?

He finally understood what the sword meant in the eyes of the genius sword girl, Hua Huo.

The angle and time to brandish a sword, how to adjust the centre of swords, and how to achieve "Quicksilver Motion" by quickly moving one's feet. It also included the Flying Sky Sword, which Yun Xi could only touch the edge of but couldn't reach.

The more he came in contact with the power of Hua Huo's sword through the seed, the more powerful Yun Xi felt from his childhood sweetheart was.

Her talent on the sword skill was definitely not only at the 3rd Rank!

Now, he only understood one-tenth of her sword skills. However, now he had the confidence to use the iron sword to kill that aggressive green hippo in only three strikes.

Hua Huo's seed was so powerful!

"Now, what's my swordsman rank?" Yun Xi felt good about himself after receiving Hua Huo's seed.

"Well, you should've reached the 3rd Rank at your combat reflexes on the sword. But master, your body is still at the 1st Rank."

"At the next trial, you will meet with more enemies. Later, don't forget to hunt and get more souls to enhance your body." Mei'er gave him a fair appraisal after evaluating Yun Xi's current status.

"Yeah. A 3rd-ranked sword intuition with a 1st-ranked body." Yun Xi murmured, and for the first time, felt something magical about the Love System of the Stars.

Become strong by loving. It seemed that this was the road the special trial system wanted him to walk on.

Looking at his seed and finding that it was only processed to 10%, Yun Xi couldn't help but imagine the power he would have after the absorption is complete.

It was worthy of being Hua Huo's seed, its potential at 10% had given him a 3rd-ranked combat intuition.

"Master, we should go. The next trial will be in one week."

"Let me warm your bed." Mei'er expectantly looked at Yun Xi. This was her most anticipated happy moment.

A fairy who could help him warm his bed... He never had such a fantastic creature.

****

Sunlight came in through the window and illuminated the bed of the second floor of the bread shop. Yun Xi naturally opened his eyes.

"Mei'er?" Yun Xi asked and an unexpected terror and shivering spread throughout his body.

Not only that. He was completely exhausted. Splitting pain clawed through Yun Xi's body.

"Ahhhhh!" Yun Xi's scream rang in the tiny room as he huddled his entire body on his bed like a big baby.

If it wasn't for the breathing method that ran itself automatically and helped him balance his body, he would've fainted.

The trial needed a price, but the stars helped Yun Xi shield most of the negative effect from the trial. However, after he returned to the real world, they bursted out together in a flash.

If he hadn't absorbed 10% of Hua Huo's seed, the pain would've overdrafted his limits and would've made him lie in bed for ten days.

"Mer'er... you should've warned me earlier!" Yun Xi laid on his bed and almost vomited.

"Woof!" The star spirit was in the form of a little golden dog. She reached out her paw and helped Yun Xi wipe his sweat.

"Eh... you can't turn into human form?" Yun Xi was a little confused after finding out that Mei'er couldn't turn into a beautiful girl in the real world.

"Woof!" The little golden dog nodded first, then stretched out her fluffy little claw and wrote in the air,

"Temporarily, I can't. But master, you can transfer your star power into my body after you become stronger. By that time, I can turn into my human form."

Chapter 16: Hua Huo Arrives at the Door

"So, that's how it is... then I'll look forward to when you grow up." He was somewhat slightly disappointed. But Mei'er in her Golden Retriever form was also very cute, so it was very easy for Yun Xi to accept the present situation

Compared to it, his body had an even bigger problem.

*Crackle!*

Countless electrical currents rapidly flowed in Yun Xi's body. The exhaustions, fatigues, and side effects, as the aftermath after he fought a hundred and twenty-one rounds with the Green Hippo, followed with the deathmatch and fleeing from Hua Huo, finally bursted out in one breath.

It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!

From his fingertips to the tip of his toe, from the top of his head to the furthest part of his spinal bone, all of his muscles and nerves were howling, wailing, twisting, and convulsing.

"Master, take a deep breath quickly." Mei'er's small paw reluctantly carved a fainter and hollow character; it was as if using this ability would consume her spiritual force greatly.

"Huuff... haa..."

"Huuff... haa..."

Following Mei'er's guidance, Yun Xi began to apply the Sword Art's Seed and using the breathing method he learned from Hua Huo.

At first, merely keeping his breathing rhythm like this was extremely difficult.

Had Yun Xi only relied on his half-completed breathing rhythm that his eyes and ears learned from Hua Huo's breathing method, he would definitely have failed halfway.

Fortunately, what Yun Xi learned now was a true and genuine Sword Art's Seed that carried along with it other methods of which he didn't know how many levels higher compared to his half-completed breathing method was. It was maybe closer to a secret and perfect Mortal Grade breathing method.

"Huuff... haa..."

"Huuff... haa..."

The rhythm was that for each breath he inhaled, he must exhale twice. Due to every part of his body being in pain, along with each breath taken, his organs absorbed his body fluids, which would then be dissolved in his chest and abdomen.

Afterwards, a strand of warm heat slowly flowed and spread out from his stomach and chest, healing the distorted nerve network and muscles in Yun Xi's body.

For each breath he took in, Yun Xi could feel that the balance in his body became more splendid. Even his life force was strengthening.

This was without a doubt, the highest Mortal Grade breathing method and the most secretive amongst them too. In the trial, he had tempered himself and experienced a hundred and twenty deaths before he was finally able to fully adapt to the situation. Had it been Hua Huo, she would have fully adapted within several breaths.

The huge disparity in natural talent between people could sometimes really make a person despair.

However, after receiving the star seed from Hua Huo, he had at the very least about one-tenth of Hua Huo's talent right now.

Even if it was only one tenth, it cannot be underestimated, since the talent condensed in this star seed was Hua Huo's sensibility toward the sword arts, her mastery over combat skill, as well as that unfathomable God's Sword Skill: Heavenly Flying Sword (Beginner Level).

After he had swallowed the Green Hippo's soul, his physical strength was enhanced to the that of a 1st-ranked swordsman. And Hua Huo's seed was absolutely a giant treasure trove that was momentarily waiting for his growth.

If he could completely fuse with this Sword Art's Seed from Hua Huo, it would be equivalent to being in the same sword realm as her.

He only needed to absorb enough physical attributed souls to improve, then his battle efficiency would have a tremendous leap after one year.

Hua Huo was a 3rd Ranked swordsmaiden. However, she was not your ordinary 3rd Rank. She was like the most invincible and tyrannical 3rd-ranked swordsmaiden to have ever existed. Even though the Green Hippo was also a 3rd-ranked beast; even if Hua Huo was alone, she could kill ten of them!

"Amazing... it's truly worthy of being Hua Huo's seed!" After a hundred breaths and having adjusted his body, Yun Xi felt that he was finally able to move.

Even though he could only stand creakily and was quickly drenched with his own sweat, Yun Xi felt like he just obtained a new life.

1st-ranked Swordsman Level. Should he be enlisted into the army, he would have jumped over the recruit rank and directly became a platoon leader.

No matter who it was in the God's Domain, a promotion was extremely difficult for people who took on a professional soldier's career.

Just take the Sword God's Domain for example. Most male martial artists/cultivators/swordsman were always practicing sword arts all year round and sometimes, out of 100 people only one person was able to become a 1st-ranked swordsman before they turn 30-years-old and become an officially ranked swordsman.

And now, take The White Lotus Sword Domain where Yun Xi lived for example. The first requirement when recruiting disciples to enter the Sword Palace was that one must enter the 1st Rank before they reached 18. Disciples who could not achieve this threshold would be expelled from the Sword Palace directly.

A 16 year old 1st-ranked swordsman. Although Yun Xi was not on par with such a peerless genius like Hua Huo, if he were to be compared to other mortals, he could also be called a genius. At least in this small village, only a few youths could achieve this standard in the same generation.

As for 2nd-ranked swordsmen, they were the ones who took leadership in the army. They were the core of the military force and it was certain that they would at least be a captain.

If one were still young and had great potential, he could even directly become a regiment commander. After gaining sufficient experience and skills in strategy and tactics, the General's position would not be a dream anymore.

And the last rank of the Mortal Grade, which meant a 3rd-ranked swordsman like Hua Huo, could even fight a thousand enemies.

No, if it was Hua Huo, she could definitely battle against enemies numbering in the tens of thousands.

Even if she were to be surrounded by such a mighty force, she could fly out using that Heavenly Flying Sword (Beginner Level) skill and then strike back and forth to kill and kill again. She could advance and strike seven times and then escape easily like there was no one on the battlefield.

Even the strongest person in the Mortal Grade Level probably cannot be compared to a Hero Rank and a peerless genius such as Hua Huo.

Yun Xi was standing in the bathroom as he received massive information from Hua Huo's seed while cleaning the filth off his body.

It seemed that because Yun Xi had absorbed the Green Hippo's spirit and used it as a shortcut to enhance his physical fitness, strength, and toughness, the phenomenon when he was breaking through into the 1st Rank was much more violent than normal. All the muscles in his body were twitching and suffering under extreme convulsions.

After washing and cleaning his body, Yun Xi carried the star spirit - Mei'er - in his bosom and washed her body from top to bottom.

"Aaah! Woof!" Mei'er, who was being touched and brushed by Yun Xi's hands, voiced out shy and happy voices. Her smooth golden fur was unlike that of ordinary dogs which became unsightly after being soaked, it became more bright and shiny instead.

"It's truly a Star Spirit..." Looking at the water dripping from Mei'ers' golden hairs, Yun Xi was somewhat dazed.

Yes, this was not a dream.

The occasionally twitching muscles he had, as well as the feeling of embracing this cute little golden retriever clearly told him that this was not a dream.

Ever since the night that he dreamt of that falling star, his life changed and became completely different from the past.

He had inherited the legacy left by his previous reincarnation. But he at the same time also had to bear the consequences of his past lives' pack of lies. There was a dreadful 7th-ranked Apostle that had already descended to the Sword God's Domain and might have started to search for him all over.

Once he was discovered by that 7th-ranked Apostle, he would fall into a situation beyond redemption.

This was absolutely not the same as tempering himself in that simple trial, of which he could be resurrected again. Just thinking about what he saw in his dream; those four powerful ex-girlfriends in the starry sky, made him shiver. He didn't dare to imagine how miserable he would be if he were to fall into their hands.

"Mei'er, I... what will happen in the future?" As he lifted the star spirit with his hands, Yun Xi sighed deeply.

"Woof!" Mei'er, who was unable to speak but instead stretched out her small tongue and licked Yun Xi's wrist and let out a crying voice.

"Well... since you believe in me, I must believe in you too."

"If I truly am the Starchild, then, I'm the only who can change my own destiny." While looking at Mei'er's bright-pure big eyes, Yun Xi set firm his resolve and embraced the puppy star spirit, wrapping it with a bath towel and then went out of the bathroom.

"Good, I will start practicing! Upgrading..." Yun Xi had not even started to practice when his bedroom's door sounded with a "Bang" from being kicked open.

"Little Xi, get up quickly!" A sword qi flashed and Yun Xi's blanket flew into the air.

This move was the perfect fusion between speed and motion trajectory of sword’s blade. Had Yun Xi still been under the blanket, he wouldn't even find out that this was done by a sword.

For someone who practices sword arts, this move had already reached the peak and was beyond the limit of an ordinary person’s.

Well it was very obvious. To be the one who can produce such a move, that would be none other than his childhood sweetheart - Hua Huo.

"Err... Hua Huo, what made you visit my home so early this morning?" Speaking while embracing Mei'er, Yun Xi spoke with a trace of guilt at his childhood sweetheart who was standing at his door.

Mei'er didn't say anything about this. The trial was guided by the stars and the scenes in that special dream world were unlikely to be related to the outside world, right?

As long as the trial was over, the people that were involved in the trial would naturally get out of that dreamland. Then like spring dreams, there should be no traces left, right?

Then again, seeing the menacing looks from his childhood sweetheart; could it be that she was aware of it?

Chapter 17: Precious Mei'er

"Little Xi!" Hua Huo found that Yun Xi wasn't on his bed and turned around immediately. Then, she saw Yun Xi who was half naked and only wrapped in a bath towel.

"Alas!" Hua Huo was taught to be a lady of the sword since her childhood. She had no immunity in face of such a sudden impact.

"Hua Huo, wait!" Yun Xi understood his childhood sweetheart too well. He hurriedly found his clothes beside the bathroom, held Mei'er in his arms and ducked into the bathroom to change clothes.

After hearing Hua Huo's scream, several neighbors raised their heads and found that the sound was coming from the second floor of the bread shop. They showed both funny and annoyed expressions.

"That couple is squabbling again."

"Oh, it's a pity. They are such a perfect couple but will have to break up."

"Several young boys of our village have quietly cried several times."

"If it's possible, I want to see little Yun Xi's and Hua Huo's wedding."

****

Hua Huo brandished her long sword in front of Yun Xi. She showed her fantastic sword skill to cut down an unlucky mosquito's legs.

"What should I... explain?" Yun Xi's eyes followed Hua Huo's sword up and down. In the past, he didn't understand it, but now he found that Hua Huo's control over the force of her sword had already reached its peak.

If she wanted to cut down the mosquito's legs, she would never touch the mosquito's wings. When Hua Huo cut down the mosquito's slender legs, it was still flying.

"Buzz?" When the mosquito found that something was wrong, it had flown several meters away and knocked into the wall.

"Hum, you betcha. Of course, I mean those several foxes who dared to attract you!"

"I had a dream. I don't remember it clearly but you became a playboy in it, Yun Xi!"

"No! It was just a dream, Hua Huo!" Fastening on the stars as his shield, Yun Xi lied fearlessly.

To be precise, it wasn't a lie. For Hua Huo who was unintentionally involved in his first trial, it was just a dream.

So in truth, a lie was the best explanation.

Unfortunately, as his childhood sweetheart, she knew him more than himself. Besides, she had a god-like talent called the "Jealousy Radar", which wasn't able to be explained.

"No! There must be something wrong! I won't have a dream for no reason. Tell me, who is she? Where is she from? How many people are there?" Hua Huo blocked Yun Xi's way in a threatening manner. Her expression showed that she wouldn't give up until he told her the truth.

"You've got it all wrong! There is only this little dog staying with me." Yun Xi had to lift up Mei'er as his shield to defend Hua Huo's homicidal eyes.

"Woof!" Mei'er showed a pitiful look as she was lifted up by Yun Xi. It wasn't a play. It was her true feeling.

Compared to Yun Xi who knew nothing about famous dogs, Hua Huo's knowledge had a broader range. So after she looked carefully at Mei'er in Yun Xi's arms, she showed a look of disbelief.

"Little Xi, when did you start to care for a dog? Especially such a rare dog. To my knowledge, it's a special Royal Golden Retriever from the Western God's Domains, and it would never grow up."

What Hua Huo didn't say was that such a golden dog was a priceless good in the Western God's Domain and often had none for sale.

In the entire Western God's Domains, only several royal families with the longest history had this kind of special, never-growing golden dogs. Every year, there would never be over twenty of these dogs on sale and sometimes, there were only eight or nine dogs on sale. Their total amount had never exceeded a thousand.

It wasn't contempt, but even if Yun Xi were to sell his whole bread shop and land, he would still be unable to buy a toe of this pure-blood royal golden dog.

It was said that there were special blessings inside this kind of golden dogs' blood. They would give special luck and fortune to its master. So normally, they wouldn't train it.

In the highest circles of the Western God's Domains, these never-growing golden dogs were always a symbol of a high status. They were more precious than any diamond or gem.

Every year, countless princesses, princes, and dukes wanted one of these but they never succeeded no matter what their method or relation was.

"No, I just found this homeless little dog last night on the roadside. Doesn't our village also have dozens of golden fur dogs?" Yun Xi looked at Mei'er in his arms as sweat beads dropped down from his forehead.

"A homeless little golden dog?" Hua Huo's expression looked like she was saying ‘Don't kid with me!’.

Would any homeless golden little dog have such pure golden fur? It looked like real gold, the symbol of fortune and luck.

Would the dogs in the village have such a pair of pure, black gem-like addicting eyes? Some stupid big yellow dog would never have such a special charm that could catch everyone's eyes naturally.

Maybe the local people of the Sky Sword God's Domain didn't know it, but how would she misjudge it? This royal golden dog was known as a "Golden Fairy", a fantastic creature everyone dreamed of in the Western God's Domains.

Putting it bluntly, ten of these small towns weren't worth the little golden dog in Yun Xi's arms.

If this kind of fantastic dog could be found on the roadside, perhaps in the Western God's Domains, countless of people would wander around rivers, parks, and the wild to try to catch this kind of fantastic golden fairy.

As Hua Huo knew, in the entire Western God's Domains, this kind of fantastic dog was always on the verge of extinction.

Every year, many people worried about the amount of these cute fantastic creatures and for this, they showed no hesitation to use some taboo methods to produce descendants in order to save this race.

‘Yun Xi! You picked this dog on the roadside? It is equal to picking up a gold hill on the roadside!’

Something was wrong. There must be something wrong!

"Eh? Wait... this smell..." Hua Huo sniffed. Last night's indistinct dream suddenly became clear.

The milky aroma, sweet and intoxicating. She didn't have this odor. A strange odor.

It was not from Milei, El'phyllis, or Ye Li. It was a more sweet, heart-warming odor.

"How can it be... It's from this little dog?" By following the smell, finally, Hua Huo found the suspect who made her unable to sleep until early morning.

"Yes, it's from Mei'er. You must be misunderstanding something." This time, Yun Xi was so thankful that Mei'er was in his bed in the form of a little golden dog.

If Mei'er was in her human form, staying together with him in bed and a jealous Hua Huo found out, what would happen next... just imagining it made Yun Xi unable to stop shivering.

"Hmmm... hmmm... it's really from this little dog..." Hua Huo sniffed and finally relaxed.

However, in this way, this little golden dog who was named "Mei'er" had become even more valuable than before!

Chapter 18: Yun Xi's Potential

As a Royal Blood Golden Dog whose body had a special aroma, they were rare creatures above all rare creatures, the sweetest honey. Even princesses, princes, and dukes were not able to easily cast a look at them, not to mention owning one.

Originally, they were rare. The chance to breed such a special individual was even more outrageously low. There wouldn't be over five golden dogs that good in the entire Western God's Domains.

"Little Xi, where did you find this little dog?" The more she observed the little golden dog, the more unique characteristics Hua Huo found.

"Eh? In front of the door of my bread store. The little guy was hungry and ran in, so I gave it several pieces of bread crusts, then it got close to me."

"I think it's pitiful, so I decided to keep it." Yun Xi lied about Mei'er's story and nervously looked at Hua Huo.

What bad luck. Had Hua Huo found something?

Indeed. Mei'er wasn't a golden dog. She was a star spirit, an unique being. She was a million times more precious than any special breed golden dog.

"You fed it bread crusts?" Hua Huo wordlessly looked at Mei'er happily staying in Yun Xi's arms.

The princesses in the Western God's domains always dreamed of having a Royal Blood Golden Dog. If they knew what Yun Xi used to feed this little honey, they would scream loudly.

In the Western God's Domains, these golden dogs who had royal blood were also known as "Golden Fairy". They were fed precious milk cakes from their puppyhood. They would never put their feet in soil, for fear that the soil would dirty their beautiful golden fur.

The milk cakes were made from the best quality milk. These prideful golden princesses wouldn't take a look at any milky cakes lower than the 5th Rank.

No one knew the reason, but nobody saw any male dogs with the blood of a "Golden Fairy". They were all doggy princesses.

So, these little cuties had a nickname - Golden Princess.

Yun Xi was a 3rd-ranked baker. Even if he made desserts using the best ingredients and production method, presenting it to the real royal Golden Princesses, he would get nothing but their supercilious eyes.

The prideful Golden Fairies were really charming. No girl could escape from their charm after touching these Pokemon-like fantastic creatures.

In her childhood, Hua Huo once hugged such a Golden Fairy, so she knew pretty well that the one in Yun Xi's arms was of the highest grade.

If he sold this little guy - Mei'er - the fans of the Golden Fairy, the princesses of the Western God's Domains would definitely raise a ruckus.

"Look! It likes bread. It's not that hard to feed it." As Yun Xi didn't know that Hua Huo misunderstood Mei'er's identity, so he picked up bread crumbs beside his bed and put them in front of Mei'er.

*Munch* *Munch* Mei'er licked Yun Xi's hands... no, the bread crumbs, again and again, with a happy smile.

Now, she could stay with master, help master warm his bed and lick her master. What a happy life!

"Strange... it's not picky about food." As she looked at Mei'er happily licking the breadcrumbs, Hua Huo was confused about her judgment.

In the Western God's Domains, the Golden Princesses were more pampered than real princesses.

She never heard of any Golden Princesses that would be able to eat rough breadcrumbs with such a happy face.

Maybe she did make a mistake. This little golden dog just looks like a Golden Princess, but actually, it would grow up. Was it simply a cute, but common golden dog?

"Eh... Mei'er, come here. Let's shake hands!" Yun Xi asked Mei'er to sit down as she reached out her little paws.

As Yun Xi's personal star spirit, Mei'er had a special unspoken consensus with Yun Xi and didn't need any training.

Once Yun Xi said ‘shake hands’, she quietly sat down and stretched out her little paw, softly patting Yun Xi's small hand.

"Mei'er. She is Hua Huo, my childhood sweetheart, and the best sword arts genius." Yun Xi smiled, introducing his childhood sweetheart to his star spirit.

Mei'er put out her tongue and ran towards Hua Huo, then enthusiastically licked her palms.

"Good girl... well, she really doesn't look like a Golden Princess. What a cute little guy... maybe I made a mistake."

Looking at Mei'er's face, she then remembered the proud and reserved golden dog her childhood self tried to hug. Hua Huo had to admit that Yun Xi's Mei'er had a better character than those imperious Golden Princesses who would only let the princesses tirelessly follow them around.

Could be feed by bread crumbs, understood how to ‘shake hands’, and was fervent and active. Hua Huo knew no Golden Princesses that would act like this.

Yun Xi was really lucky to find this Golden Princess-like, cute and obedient little guy.

"Hua Huo, I also want to talk to you." Taking the chance when Hua Huo was still addicted to Mei'er's special ability "glamorous golden dog", Yun Xi launched an attack on his childhood sweetheart.

"What?" In the face of the combined cheat of Yun Xi and Mei'er, Hua Huo was a little unprepared. She had already forgotten her goal before she broke into the room.

"I want to learn sword skills from you."

That wasn't a lie, rather, a sincere desire of Yun Xi's.

After obtaining Hua Huo's seed, he became aware of the gap between him and the village's sword genius.

The gap was so deep that it appeared to have no bottom.

The more of the seed he understood from his childhood sweetheart, the more he would grasp Hua Huo's formidable strength.

She was the true genius of geniuses, born to be above all others. She would be a hero or someone who had a higher place in the world.

"Huh... you finally understand?" Hua Huo was not surprised, but rather, she had on a face of longing.

"I knew that one day you would be able to bring out your hidden potential."

"Yun Xi, you possess a special ability that no one can see."

"However, this ability is awfully strange and has been suppressing you. Now, at last, it has awakened?"

There was such a thing? Yun Xi was surprised to hear Hua Huo say that he had potential.

"Well, I'm absolutely not wrong!"

"Although you were incapable of bringing out your abilities and there were no traces of a seal, I knew that once you turned 18, you would amaze the world!"

Eighteen years old!

Yun Xi remembered that Hua Huo did remind him of this thing once.

At that time, Hua Huo said:

"Little Xi, don't lose your heart. You will become strong after you grow up."

"I'll be waiting for you, forever."

Chapter 19: Accelerated Seeds

With the ‘Closed for today’ sign hung up in front of his shop, Yun Xi was jogging while holding Mei'er in his bosom along with Hua Huo toward the river outside of the village.

"One... Two..."

"One... Two..."

"Yes, that's it. Maintain that breathing rhythm, adjust your pace. Excellent!" Hua Huo looked at Yun Xi who was running beside her with a rare happy expression on her face.

At this moment, Yun Xi was practicing the breathing method which she had been diligently trying to instill into him.

"This is all thanks to you" Yun Xi sincerely thanked his childhood sweetheart. Without this breathing method, it would have been impossible for him to win the deathmatch with the Green Hippo and do it with such a splendid performance.

Regarding her praise, Yun Xi was actually very ashamed.

The reason he could perfectly execute this breathing method was completely because he had absorbed the memories of sword arts from Hua Huo's seed.

In other words, Hua Huo praise of his breathing method practice was in fact, a part of her body's instinct, which had been practiced by Hua Huo herself.

"I knew that sooner or later, you would find your own suitable cultivation method one day." The more Hua Huo looked at Yun Xi's footsteps and rhythm, the happier the smile was on her lips.

She could feel that at this time, Yun Xi and herself had a wonderful sense of connected feelings.

She stepped out with her left leg, Yun Xi also stepped out with his left leg.

She stepped out with her right foot, Yun Xi also stepped out with his right foot.

Obviously, it was not because they tied one of their legs together, but Yun Xi's rhythm and breath were almost exactly the same as her’s. Even if they were using the same secret breathing method, it shouldn't be the same

Could it be that this was the legendary soul synchronization, a perfect heavenly match?

"Haha..." Looking at Hua Huo's overjoyed expression, Yun Xi felt some kind of guilt.

However, at the same time, he also realized some strange signs.

Was this an illusion? Did running together with Hua Huo and synchronizing moves and breathing timing with her really make the seed absorption rate accelerate?

The answer to this question, after running together along the small river outside the village and practicing Hua Huo's sword technique at her secret training place, became even more obvious.

In the clear water stream, a few small fishes were leisurely swimming as the tinkling sounds of water accompanied the sounds of the breeze blowing through the trees. The small birds chirping made the early morning at the riverside brim with life and vitality.

"Come, Yun Xi. Try this sword first." Hua Huo threw the sword on her back to Yun Xi as she broke the nearby branch and palm-knifed the branch, cutting it several times to make a wooden sword stick that was the same length as her sword.

"OK."  After receiving Hua Huo's seed, Yun Xi knew clearly about Hua Huo's great ability on sword arts better than anyone else. Let alone using this wooden sword stick, even if she was empty-handed, she would still be powerful.

Between the 1st Rank and 3rd Rank, even though the disparity was actually really big, at least it was still within the limits of the mortal body. So theoretically, skipping a rank to challenge the upper rank was feasible.

However, this didn't apply in Hua Huo's case.

The Quicksilver Steps, the comprehension towards many kinds of supreme sword arts and the Heavenly Flying Sky Sword (Beginner Level) were all Hua Huo's skill. These were the strongest skills a mortal warrior could have. Even Yun Xi thought that there couldn't be anyone else who had it.

"I'm coming!" Feeling the seed in his body becoming more active, Yun Xi then moved first to rush forward and attack Hua Huo.

Using his toes' strength and his soles to grip the ground, he rapidly moved. Resulting in the outbreak of fantastic speed in a flash, this was the most powerful instant movement technique in the Mortal Grade.

Flying Swallow Sword!

This was one of various sword arts mastered by Hua Huo, one of the most nimble and flexible sword arts that had three flying swallows' moves along with its speedy, but effective unique technique.

Yun Xi, at the time that he killed the hippo, he had fully utilized these three swords strikes at the last minute and these three Flying Sky Swallows moves were exactly what he was displaying now. It could be only be said that Hua Huo's was the main version of the Flying Sky Swallow sword arts.

The contraction movement, coupled with the Flying Sky Swallow sword arts, were battle skills Yun Xi had initially mastered from Hua Huo's seed.

However, compared to Hua Huo who had practiced the Flying Sky Swallow Sword arts to the near-perfect level, his perception of one tenth of Hua Huo's talent was only an abbreviated version.

As for Hua Huo's most powerful and most terrifying skill, the Godly Sword Skill- Heavenly Flying Sky Swallow (Beginner Level), Yun Xi was not even able to comprehend its threshold until now. He didn't even understand how the Mortal Ranked Hua Huo could grasp this unfathomable Hero Ranked sword technique.

"Flying Sky Swallow, great!" Seeing Yun Xi adeptly execute her sword skills, Hua Huo was pleasantly surprised.

Indeed, she obtained the Flying Sky Swallow sword art when she was still a 1st-ranked swordmaiden and it was her most practiced sword arts when she was in the 2nd Rank.

Nimble, yet sharp. Practicing it into the Great Perfection stage made it as strong as an antelope's horns and as invisibly fast as flying swallows.

Also, the Flying Sky Swallow sword art was the prerequisite for the Godly Sword Skill - the Heavenly Flying Sword. Only after one reached the Great Perfection stage in this Three Flying Swallows technique, was one able to change the Flying Swallow's motion trajectory at will and would then be able to practice the Heavenly Flying Sword.

When Yun Xi performed the Flying Sky Swallow sword art, he was already able to perform like she was at the 2nd Rank. He was only a step away from the 3rd Rank.

A sword light flashed and Hua Huo's wooden sword stick was sent out. Which impressively was also the same Flying Sky Swallow sword art.

She also suppressed her strength and speed to be equal to Yun Xi's and directed Yun Xi's practice.

The same swordsmanship, the same sensibility level. In an onlookers' view, Yun Xi and Hua Huo were just like two mirrors that were reflecting each other's postures.

Not only just the sword's strikes, but the strength, breathing, rhythm, and heartbeat were unbelievably alike.

*Swish! Swish! Swish!*

In the middle of the nimble and flexible sword lights, Yun Xi and Hua Huo were practicing as if they were one in mind and performed the Flying Swallow sword art's unique technique.

Flying Sky Swallow, First strike!

The sword's motion was almost alike with the Flying Sky Swallow transition moves in midair. It was dexterous, nimble and flexible. Even if it was a true swallow, it would perhaps be cut and fall by this sword instantly.

Almost in the same posture and angle, the two swords met.

Then, from an entirely different angle, the second sword's position suddenly reversed.

Flying Sky Swallow, Second strike!

Ordinary people would be almost unable to predict the angle of this sword's strike with the naked eye since this sword move had almost reached the Great Perfection level in swordsmanship.

Then, the final one, with faster speed and hidden moves carried along with a deadly strike.

Flying Sky Swallow, Third strike!

This sword move was not a horizontally cutting strike, but a counter move using the sword's edge. It was a concealed move that would strike horizontally twice after being hidden; a blitzkrieg backhand sword.

It struck without preparation and was virtually impossible to guard against, which was similar to a flying swallow's shadow. Should you see the flying swallow appear in front of you, it implied that you were almost at death's door.

*Swish!* The two swords abruptly stopped almost at the same time with the sword's edge almost touching each other's throat.

However, the one Hua Huo was facing was a real sword, while the one at Yun Xi's throat was only a blunt wooden sword stick.

"Yun Xi..."

"Hua Huo..."

The two sword's tip dropped together and then rised at the same time.

Sword's tip to sword's tip.

Eyes to eyes.

In this moment, Yun Xi felt that his heart and Hua Huo's were interlinked.

At this moment, Yun Xi finally realized something.

Hua Huo's seed in his body was accelerating and started to grow.

Chapter 20: Jealous Eyes

It was not an illusion. The seed was really growing rapidly.

Its pace of growth was ten times faster than usual. Yun Xi could even see its rapid growth with his eyes.

At the beginning when he just finished the trial and woke up in his room, the completion of Hua Hup's seed was about 10%, which was quite fit to be the last reward of the Star Trial.

However, as he did three continuous attacks using the Flying Swallow just now while practicing with Hua Huo, the completion of the seed suddenly rose to 15%.

If it were via the normal method, he should have achieved this only after half a month.

"Little Xi, you have awakened your talent in sword skills?" Hua Huo smiled like the spring sunshine and summer fireworks; it was very bright and resplendent.

Nothing was more exciting than to walk on the path, linked together by the heart and practicing the same sword skills with her own lover.

Certainly, Yun Xi and herself were a pair of natural lovers and no one could separate them.

She firmly believed that someday Yun Xi would amaze the world.

At first, she was simply curious about him.

From the prosperous Western God's Domains, she came to a remote small village of the White Lotus Sword Domain; she knew no one here.

At this time, Yun Xi came to her and drew her attention. She couldn't overcome her feelings of wanting know more of his secrets.

As time passed, her curiosity turned into familiarity and closeness. She became his childhood sweetheart as they grew up together.

Every day, hour, minute, or second she and he stayed together, was a precious treasure which she never could replace.

Yun Xi didn't know her identity, didn't know where she was from, and didn't know the reason why she had to come here.

They were pure and innocent childhood sweethearts.

Hua Huo had seen too many dirty things and dark sides from childhood. The days she was in the village, the time she shared with Yun Xi, was her most precious gift and that could never be replaced.

Now, Yun Xi was waking up to his talents.

She was proud of him and felt happier than anyone.

This was her Yun Xi, her childhood sweetheart, the person who held her hands and grew up together with her.

"En. So I hope you can teach me sword skills." Referring to the talent about sword skills, Yun Xi felt ashamed.

If he did wake up his talent on sword skills as Hua Huo said, he wouldn't be like he was.

He took another secret glance and found that the completion of the seed had already grown to 17% and started to stabilize.

He felt he had understood Hua Huo's understanding about sword skills and the secret of Quicksilver Motion. Even the beginner skill - God's Sword Skill: Flying Sky Sword - which was within his sight, but beyond his reach; he also grasped little clues of.

All these were continuously absorbed by Yun Xi through the 17% processed seed.

The Star Loving System, did it mean... through Hua Huo and his sword practicing, Yun Xi vaguely grasped something.

"Again!" Hua Huo smiled sweetly and raised her wooden sword.

"Alright." Yun Xi also raised his wooden sword, filled with anticipation.

Again!

He didn't need any hints, Yun Xi heard Hua Huo's seed emit a pleasant hum.

This seed he got from Hua Huo was like a little life who was buried in the earth, hearing the sound of the coming spring. It tried its best to take root and sprout, wanting to break out from the soil.

With the dancing light of their two swords, Yun Xi once again clearly felt how the seed was growing in their pair exercise.

As he got more closer to Hua Huo, he had a higher closeness with her, and more invisible "lines" extended out from his body. His absorption of Hua Huo's talent grew faster along with his understanding of sword skills.

He finally understood that the seeds could be accelerated in this way.

No wonder the system said that Hua Huo's seed was easy to absorb and he had a very high affinity with it.

If he chose the sleeping beauty's seed at that time and had also found a way to get in contact with this powerful girl from nearby the village in the real world, he could also improve the pace of the seed's growth this way

Yun Xi imagined it for a second. He thought if so, maybe it wouldn't take him a hundred years to absorb the seed.

Of course, this was just his wishful imagination. Till now, he still didn't know a girl who had the abilities of "Vacuum Seal", "Cutting Blade", "Void Burst", and "Great Circulation", or who the sleeping beauty even was.

He was just the second generation successor of a bread shop. It was impossible to get in contact with such a warrior at the Hero Rank.

"Keep focus, Little Xi! Settle your mind as still as water, then you can reflect the Shadow of Swallows!"

Yun Xi just imagined the seed of the mysterious sleeping beauty, and Hua Huo's "Childhood Sweetheart's Jealous Radar" immediately launched!

At the same time, Yun Xi found the improving speed of the seed suddenly began to fall, which meant that the link between Hua Huo and himself had a serious failure.

"En, I know!"

Yun Xi immediately tried to forget the sleeping beauty, especially her little snow-white feet and soft pink lips, and began to focus on the practice.

Flying Swallow, First Strike! Second Strike! Third Strike!

The completion of the seed continued to rise: 18%, 19%, 20%!

After three continuous updated points, the acceleration of Hua Huo's seed finally stopped. It wasn't that the seed had problems, but simply because Yun Xi's body was unable to absorb any new sword skills from Hua Huo.

Yun Xi's 1st-ranked body has become the biggest cork to improve himself.

Hua Huo's seed gave Yun Xi power in the spiritual dimension but it wasn't directly enhancing his body.

"Well, that's all for today." Hua Huo seemingly had found that Yun Xi had reached his limit, so she decisively stopped their practice.

"Well done, Little Xi."

"I can assure you that you are the strongest 1st-ranked Swordsman in the village."

"Thanks. Sorry for troubling you."

Now, it showed how big the gap was between a 3rd-ranked body and a 1st-ranked body. They used the same Swallow Strike dozens of times, but Hua Huo still kept on her normal pace. She wasn't even sweating!

However, Yun Xi was already sweating all over and almost used up all of his physical strength. Because he continuously used the Quicksilver Steps, his feet had twitched many times.

"Don't worry, take it easy. There's plenty of time." Hua Huo stretched out her hands and drew out her handkerchief, then gently wiped the sweat off from Yun Xi's forehead.

Aha, this is my childhood sweetheart.

Talented, but never relaxed; strong, but also gentle; simultaneously holding the advantage as an actively twintail girl and a madwill maiden.

If she wasn't that jealous, she would be more perfect.

Yun Xi sighed but didn't find that in the nearby woods, a pair of jealous eyes were looking steadfastly at this pair of lovers.

Chapter 21: Coming with Evil Intent

The early morning mist had dispersed as the golden sun stretched its rounded body and leapt over to the East horizon, emitting countless golden lights. Shining over all myriad things in the heavens and on earth.

"Little Xi, see you tomorrow!"

After continuously practicing the three strikes of the Flying Sky Swallow Sword Arts for more than a hundred times, Yun Xi couldn't even move his fingers anymore as he collapsed on the ground. Hua Huo cheerfully waved goodbye to him and ran all the way back to the village.

Shortly after, the only one remaining at the riverbank was a weak youth that had suffered torment from his childhood sweetheart. He looked at Mei'er dispiritedly, seemingly like a teenager who lived his life without love, while the golden retriever puppy was licking the juvenile's cheek.

"Hua Huo... is really too strong... I have... clearly said... I don't... want it..."

Completely exhausted and nearly experiencing an out-of-body experience, Yun Xi's hands and feet assumed a posture like a big sign. He didn't even have the strength to pick himself up.

Practicing sword arts with Hua Huo - a 1st Rank against a 3rd Rank - he really courted his own death.

Presumably, in Huo Huo eyes, even if there were a hundred Yun Xi, it would only take a few sword brushes to beat them.

The fact that she can be this patient and spend great efforts in helping an opponent, whom she could instantly kill, practicing sword skills with, was completely because they had a relationship as childhood sweethearts.

"Mei'er, am I too weak?"

He was barely able to stretch out his hand to look at the vibrant sun from between his fingers. Yun Xi felt like he was a fish on a chopping block which suffered serious dehydration and would soon be hung up.

"Woof!" Mei'er looked around to confirm that nobody was here and ran all the way to Yun Xi's side to hold her small paw to his forehead.

At the next moment, a golden brilliance was emitted from Mei'er's paw as it slowly seeped into the Yun Xi's body, making it warm.

This was vitality power. Yun Xi easily recognized the kind of energy that was being injected into his body.

The golden spirit brought blessing and luck, the golden fur princess... Mei'er actually had it, far more than this. At present, just because Yun Xi was too weak and couldn't obtain more star force, he couldn't even say anything.

"Sigh... cough... thank you..." After getting Mei'er's treatment, Yun Xi suddenly felt that more than half of his physical strength had been restored.

Especially because of the continuous display of the Flying Sky Swallow's three consecutive strikes, it made his hands unceasingly twitch. As well as almost causing him to completely lose his senses to move and control his feet. The greater part of it now was cured by the golden light.

Although it was still quite far from his peak condition, but at least he was not in a salted fish-like state.

*Crash~bang!*

When Yun Xi was about to get up, a figure with a pale complexion slowly came out from the direction near the woods.

He looked like a drunkard with a deathly pale complexion. He had long messy hair and was clad in deep violet clothes embroidered with the Yin Yang symbols and the Eight Diagrams pattern on his chest.

He had been attentively watching Yun Xi practice swords with Hua Huo and looked at the flirting eyes between them the entire morning. He was finally unable to bear it any longer and showed himself.

"Ashen?" Yun Xi knew this youth, it could be said that the whole village knew him.

He was the village's second genius, the mayor family's young master.

Had it not been for the beyond common sense super genius - Hua Huo - then, he would have been regarded as the first genius in this small village.

Three years ago, he had passed the examination to the Celestial Palace and went to the Sword Blade Region, which caused quite a big disturbance in this small village.

After all, in this village, a person who had double talent like him was very rare. He was at the same time a Swordsman and a Taoist Priest.

Although his Swordsman and Priest rank was only at the 1st Rank, considering he was just 16 years old and could step feet in both areas, it made him this small village's first genius in the century.

It was similar when Hua Huo, who was a 16-year-old genius, was able to break the limit of the Mortal Grade. However, since she was not a native of this small village, Ashen, as the mayor's son, became the benchmark and the representative for the genius standard in this small village.

However, in the end, he didn't choose the Sword Palace in the Sword God's Domain, of which almost all young geniuses would choose. Rather, he went to another big power instead that specialized in all kinds of Taoism techniques, The Celestial Palace.

At that time, because of this choice, he seemed to have had a big fight with his father.

"Yes, it is me, Yun Xi." Ashen fiercely stared at Yun Xi with a hateful and cynical expression that carried along with it a malicious intent that would make people shudder.

"Three years, I finally came back!"

"I've come back to marry the bride who I love."

"Your bride?" Yun Xi somewhat felt some kind of bad premonition.

He recalled that for a period of time before Hua Huo had yet to show her otherworldly talent and shock everyone, Ashen and Hua Huo were once called by the villagers as the twin stars.

For such an ordinary small village, to be able to step into this grade at this age was worthy enough to be great geniuses that should be recorded in the book.

Three years ago, when Ashen admitted himself to the Celestial Palace, countless people's hopes were entrusted to him. Even the mayor who had a big fight with him finally forgave his son.

The Celestial Palace was after all a colossus that had stood aloof in the Eastern God's Domain for thousands of years and had a Legend Rank powerhouse that surpassed the 6th Rank in command, just like The Sword Palace.

Looking at the scope of power globally, the Celestial Palace which specialized in Taoist techniques and the heavenly laws was on par with the Sword Palace; which specialized in the sword arts. But in the Sword God domain, The Celestial Palace's reputation and power could not be compared to the Sword Palace’s.

Whether it was the Sword Palace or the Celestial Palace, as long as one was accepted, in this small village, it was like a carp fish that leapt over the Dragon Gate

"Why would it be you? Hua Huo's insight is a bit too bad."

After three years, Ashen who just returned from The Celestial Palace stared tightly at Yun Xi with bloodshot eyes.

"A trivial baker boy, what qualifications do you have to be together with Hua Huo!"

"Hua Huo and I are destined by the heaven and earth to be a perfect match!"

Sure enough, now Yun Xi knew from where that chilly feeling behind his back came from.

Ashen, despite being hailed as this small village's second genius, had always been narrow-minded and was not a likable character.

Everyone just looked at his father, the mayor's face to then give him way. Regarding his conceited and arrogant attitude due to his achievements, they had always felt indignant but didn't dare to speak out.

Only Hua Huo, who moved to this small village later never gave him any face and even beat him many times to teach him a lesson.

Who would have thought that this treatment unexpectedly sparked Ashen's interest in Hua Huo before he took the test to get admitted into the Celestial Palace. Not the slightest opportunity was left out when he tried to pester Hua Huo. Although the results had always been a downright tragedy.

Only, Hua Huo disregarded him and didn't care whether he was the mayor's son or not. This small village's genius of the century beat him unmistakably to let him reflect on himself.

This situation continued until Ashen was finally admitted to the Celestial Palace and only ended after he left this small village.

Unexpectedly, three years later, Ashen came back...and it seems that he hadn't given up on Hua Huo.

"Three years ago, I knew that Hua Huo would be the most dazzling star and I would never be her opponent if we were to compare in talent for the sword arts."

"So I chose the Celestial Palace in order to obtain Hua Huo's heart with my strength!"

"Now, I'll make you know what real strength is!"

With bloodshot eyes, Ashen stretched out his fingers and blew a whistle.

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

From the other side of the river, a huge monster with a forest-like skin color marched with strength and speed that could make people tremble. Along with it came a gushing and suffocating pressure.

Chapter 22: To Kill

Rough and lumpy green skin, bigger than two Yun Xi together; even its legs were bigger than Yun Xi's. In addition to its swinging small tail, it had four gleamingly sharp teeth when it opened its mouth.

The green hippo!

Yun Xi finally understood what the monster that made him die again and again in the newbie trial was, and where that monster came from.

At first, he wondered how it even possible to have a 3rd-ranked green hippo monster around the village, since even a fox was rarely seen here.

So it was Ashen who brought it here.

"Ah ha ha ha ha, you see it? This is my strongest power, this what I got from the Celestial Palace!"

"The first ranked killer among all 3rd-ranked creatures - Homicidal Hippo! It is the strongest monster a 2nd Rank like me can control!"

After seeing Yun Xi's surprised expression, Ashen couldn't help but laugh. He looked at Yun Xi as if he was looking at a dead man.

"You won't see tomorrow's sun."

"I don't think so. I have an appointment tomorrow with Hua Huo in order to practice my sword skills. Ashen, I'm sorry but I will have to let you down." More or less, Ashen had reached the 2nd Rank and that was a little beyond Yun Xi's expectation.

Regardless of his obnoxious character, not too many people could become a 2nd-ranked Daoist Priest at the age of 19.

The 3rd-ranked hippo did have terrible combat power. Yun Xi had learned this from his 120 deaths.

"Kill him, hippo!" Ashen said as he had lost his mind.

He just came back and hadn't yet told everyone in the village that he was already a 2nd-ranked Daoist Priest. He wanted to enjoy the jealous eyes of the villagers, but instead witnessed Yun Xi and Hua Huo practicing the sword together.

He thought he could bear it if they just practiced the sword, but what was that? They were making eyes at each other! Hua Huo was suppressing her strength, playing with Yun Xi!

Everything was Yun Xi's fault. He was just a bread shop assistant! How dare he think that he was worthy of practicing together with the real sword genius, Hua Huo?

In the whole village, he was the only one who could match up with Hua Huo! Because he was the disciple of the Celestial Palace, who tamed a 3rd-ranked hippo as a talented 2nd-ranked Daoist Priest!

Who could understand what he paid in order to dominate the cruel hippo?!

He rolled in the mud with the hippo all day. He even slept together with it.

He held a brush and helped the hippo brush its body every day. Ate meat together with the hippo, even...

It took a year before he got into close contact with the terrifying homicide hippo and tamed the ferocious monster, which made other disciples so jealous.

The only reason that helped him do such a ridiculous thing, which he didn't even think of in the past, was that he wanted to come back to marry Hua Huo.

"Hua Huo is mine! You can never have her!" He said with jealousy and madness. A voice whispered in his heart that if he didn't kill Yun Xi here, he would live in regret all his life, not to mention marry Hua Huo.

So, Yun Xi must die!

"Ashen, you have changed." Yun Xi adjusted his breathing. If it was some other 3rd-ranked monster, maybe it would be a big trouble.

However, that wasn't including this green hippo. He had fought against it in the trial one hundred and twenty-one times!

"I have not changed. Hua Huo is the only girl in my heart! But you beast! From childhood, you were always popular among girls! Ahhhhhh! You piss me off! Which part of me is no match for you? I'm stronger than you, more talented, have more money, and am more handsome than you. Why are you her only childhood sweetheart?! I... I want to be her childhood sweetheart too!" Bloody tears were almost welling up from Ashen's eyes.

He was the son of the mayor! He was the first to meet with Hua Huo! Everything was first! First!

At first, when Hua Huo moved to the village - the mayor, in other words, his father, purposely brought him to see Hua Huo. He repeatedly urged him a thousand times to get along well with the little girl, Hua Huo.

At that time, he had vaguely realized that Hua Huo's family was unusual because he had never seen such a flattering look on his vulgar father's face.

However, the first moment he saw Hua Huo, it wasn't important anymore.

He didn't need his father to urge him. He had been attracted by the impassive girl's face and unapproachable temperament.

At that time, Hua Huo was wearing exotic clothes which was obviously not from the Sky Sword God's Domain. She was so unattainable like a flower on the precipice.

He didn't know why Hua Huo had such a temperament and why she hid her identity on purpose. Living and growing up like an ordinary girl in the village.

He only knew that at the first moment he saw the waist-high exalted girl, she caught his heart.

In his eyes, she was absolutely the "couldn't be offended" type of girl. An exalted, not just a village girl, but also a mysteriously beautiful girl.

Compared to Hua Huo, all the girls in the village were nothing. She was the only one who he swore to have; at all costs!

After that, he repeatedly tried to approach her, trying his best. But he only got Hua Huo's contemptuous disregard.

Yes, that was her look, the look as if she was looking at something dirty.

Hua Huo, you are my queen, my life, and my hope!

No matter what the price is, I will marry you!

"Hong! Hong!" After getting Ashen's kill order, the green hippo began to run. It rushed through the shallows with a mighty speed and ran straight toward Yun Xi.

Its speed was much faster than what others might have guessed from its huge body.

Its power was almost the number one among all 3rd-ranked monsters and it also had a super defence. In addition, it didn't even lack speed, anyone whose rank wasn't above the 3rd Rank wouldn't survive if it was their first time against it.

The hippo was very strong! This was what Yun Xi experienced a hundred and twenty-one times!

"Here it comes!" Yun Xi lowered his body, then immediately turned and ran.

This was a strategic retreat because he did not have any weapons to break the green hippo's defence.

Using his fist to fight against this iron skinned monster? He did once beat it down, but he was holding an iron sword at that time, and he still had to chop it twenty-one times. Yun Xi wasn't insane.

Weapon! He needed a weapon! An idea immediately emerged in Yun Xi's mind, as he quickly rushed into the woods without hesitation.

"Run! Cry! Die in despair!" Ashen showed no emotion in seeing Yun Xi escape.

As a human, you wanted to flee from a green Hippo? Oh great! This guy would soon know what was the absolute gap between humans and creatures was.

As a creature, the hippo was a monster whose endurance and explosive force was far beyond the limit of humans, not to mention it was a mutant green hippo.

It once continuously fought on the battlefield for over three days and nights and had a record of killing thousands of people.

Run! Run! I want to see how long you can run! When you are exhausted, it will be the time of your death.

This green hippo had the brutal habit of eating corpses after killing them.

"Bang!" The green hippo crashed into the woods. The bucket-thick trees fell down due to its light push

The hippo's hunt had began!

Chapter 23: Wood Chopper

Bang! Bang! On the other side of the woods, one after another, the big trees fell down like they were being cut down by an axe.

"Well, Ashen that guy... is really unscrupulous." Running in the woods, Yun Xi didn't need to turn back as he had already figured out the distance between the green hippo and himself.

That's right. For humans, it was absolutely impossible to compare their physical strength and endurance to a monster like the green hippo. And as a person who has seen the properties of the green hippo's seed, Yun Xi was aware of its talent.

Super Strength, Body Bulk-Up, and Overwhelming Force. It was suitable for people who had talents for using a giant sword. Among all the 3rd-ranked creatures, the hippo's strength was almost invincible.

Even if it was Hua Huo, just considering her strength alone, she wasn't better than the green hippo. This was a racial disparity. Just looking at its height, which was taller than two men; its massive body was a natural violent killing machine.

The woods were small and Yun Xi also didn't think it could block the green hippo's way.

He was looking for a place in his memory.

Soon after, he found it!

It was a cave located in the eastern foothills of the woods. The local townspeople often came here to take shelter from the rain or just to camp, and it was also their childhood secret base. Yun Xi, Hua Huo, and even Ashen were familiar with it.

Without any hesitation, Yun Xi directly rushed into the cave.

After a while, the green hippo reached there, then Ashen.

"Ha ha, I was wondering where were you going, but you came here. Isn't this a dead end?" Looking at Yun Xi, who was quickly looking for something in the cave, Ashen laughed with a crooked mouth.

This cave wasn't deep at all. Because the people in village often came here to camp and the children also came to get shelter from the rain, everything inside was not a secret.

He could still remember that in the past, himself, Hua Huo, and the other little friends played hide-and-seek here.

As he remembered it now, it was a rare chance in his life to have been able to get close to Hua Huo in a natural way. But it was simply because this bread shop boy was here too.

"Yun Xi, I'd like to show you some last bits of mercy. Kill yourself. If you willingly do this, I will not let the hippo eat you, but bury you in the woods. At least, you will die with a complete body." As victory was in his view, Ashen's face became more twisted.

No game would be funnier than to have his rival kill himself. As for letting him die with a complete body? That was just mockery!

Of course, he would chop up Yun Xi's body and obliterate all traces!

A buried body may be found and dug out by dogs. If he threw the corpse into the river, it may also be accidentally salvaged.

Once and for all, the only way that wouldn't leave any trace was to eat him!

His hippo was a man-eating pet.

"Here it is!" After searching for a while in the upper part of the cave, where it was absolutely impossible to be found by kids, Yun Xi smiled.

As he expected, it was still here.

Because the townspeople often came here to camp, pitch tents, and build a fire, the people of the village purposely left some convenient props in this place.

A nail hammer, ignition torch, and the thing Yun Xi most needed, a wood chopper. Which was originally used to clean up weeds and cut branches.

This was the weapon Yun Xi needed to kill the green Hippo, the key to his counterattack.

"What, a chopper?" Seeing Yun Xi take out a wooden chopper from the cave, Ashen was stunned for a while. Then, he remembered there were these kinds of temporary tools inside.

However, even if you had a wood chopper, so what?

A wood chopper was nothing for the green hippo's thick and rough skin!

Yes, his green hippo didn't wear its special leather which the Palace of Heaven's Road specially made for it, so it was impossible to kill thousands of people on the battlefield. But just to kill Yun Xi? Even if Yun Xi has a wood chopper, it wouldn't be more difficult than blowing off dust.

"Yun Xi, please me because this is probably the last show of your life." With a joyous smile at the corner of his mouth, Ashen made a snap.

"Sniff, sniff!" The green hippo shook his tail and strode toward Yun Xi.

It was coming! At this moment, Yun Xi's mind was highly concentrated.

He did not look down on this green hippo. This wasn't the trial of stars and there wasn't a bonfire where he could revive from.

In the real world, people would die after being killed, die.

From its stride and body position, its next action was slapping!

"Hoo!" A big green palm was waving above Yun Xi's head, blowing up Yun Xi's black hair. It was the green hippo's favorite attack method.

"The first!" After rolling to the side, Yun Xi cut the green hippo's lower limb and left a one-inch bloodstain on its body.

The 3rd-ranked hippo had strength far beyond a human's, and its leathery skin was able to resist any body attacks.

In order to cut off its thick skin, he had to gather his strength and cut with an extremely sharp weapon!

Both the iron sword in the trial and the wood chopper he had now were fit for this condition.

Boom! The green hippo fell into a rage after Yun Xi's chopper cut its body. It shook its shoulder and laid down on the ground.

Here it was! The rolling!

Yun Xi stepped back with all his strength, then jumped up.

Boom! Boom!

The hippo's enormous body rolled under Yun Xi's feet like a one-thousand-pound bowling ball. It even left a line of roller marks on the ground.

"How could this be possible, he's just a kid of a bread shop!" Looking at Yun Xi's skilled movements, Ashen's eyes almost popped out.

"It's Hua Huo! Hua Huo taught you! Right?!"

"What happened during the time I was not in village?"

"Aaaargh! I won't forgive you! I'll never forgive you!"

"Hua Huo is mine! Mine! Nobody can steal her from me!"

Sniff! Sniff! After rolling, the green hippo made an unbelievable somersault, standing on the ground. It showed its four sharp teeth and looked at Yun Xi with an angry look.

Ashen and the hippo had an intelligence resonance between them! Almost the same as the tacit understanding between Hua Huo and himself. Obviously, there were many unknown stories between Ashen and the green hippo.

Otherwise, as a 2nd-ranked Daoist Priest, it was absolutely impossible for him to control the green hippo as if he was controlling his own arms and legs. Though the hippo was ten times stronger than himself, their emotions were highly overlapped.

Revising the data... After fighting with the green hippo, Yun Xi found that the green hippo was stronger than the one he met in the trial.

The reason was very simple. Because in the trial, the green hippo was fighting and maltreating its enemy simply according to its instinct.

However, this green hippo followed Ashen's command. It wasn't alone.

The experience he got in the trial through dying a hundred times couldn't apply indiscriminately to what the green hippo would be like out here.

Yun Xi held the wood chopper in his hands, regardless of the blood that was slowly flowing on the blade of the chopper.

"It's not just you that got stronger, hippo."

"Let me show you the true power of Hua Huo's seed."

Chapter 24: Different Worlds

As Yun Xi expected, with Ashen's command, the green hippo's attack methods had become more flexible.

If the green hippo he met in the trial was controlled by Ashen, it would've been impossible to kill it via his unformed breathing method.

"Hippo, hold your head and rush!"

The green hippo shaded its eyes with its hands as it followed Ashen's command. Rushing at Yun Xi, it didn't even look ahead.

It wasn't the hippo's max speed.

Maybe other people would be cheated, but Yun Xi obviously knew the green hippo's explosive force.

Ashen would never know how to kill the green hippo, the hell of a hundred plus deaths Yun Xi had to face.

The green hippo preserved its speed, which also meant that it had found how Yun Xi dodged its attack through rolling. If Yun Xi rolled without thinking again, the green hippo's thunderclap would be waiting for him.

So, he decided to not run away!

Yun Xi wasn't that young boy who first met the green hippo; who didn't know how to brandish his sword anymore.

The seed from his childhood sweetheart had completely changed his destiny.

"I got you!" Yun Xi actively darted toward the green hippo. Under Ashen's surprised eyes, he straightly passed by the hippo.

Just at that moment, he passed by the green hippo, and by leveraging the hippo's strength and impact as he used the wood chopper, he dragged out a terrible blood line along the green hippo's lateral thigh.

"Howwwl!" For the first time ever, the green hippo howled violently. This time, the wood chopper caused a deep wound on the hippo's body; which was three times deeper than that one it caused the first time. A lot of blood flew out as it was sprayed on the road.

"Why?! How are you able to do this?!" Ashen yelled with frustration. He didn't believe the sight he witnessed.

His green hippo was a terrible monster who once battled on a battlefield for three days and nights, killing thousands of people. But now, it wasn't even able to catch the edges of Yun Xi's clothes.

The most irritating point was that Yun Xi's speed wasn't fast; he was even a little slower than the hippo. No matter how Ashen looked at Yun Xi, Yun Xi was just a 1st Ranked Swordsman.

If a 1st-ranked Swordsman fought against a 3rd-ranked Green Hippo - the Killing Monster - should he not be killed at the first moment?

How could he dodge the green hippo's attack at the crucial moments and also deal a deadly blow to his green hippo in the most appropriate time, from the most unlikely angle?

If the green hippo didn't have its famous iron-like skin, perhaps his attack would have cut off the green hippo's leg.

"This is... Hua Huo's power." Yun Xi himself didn't even have the thought that his attack was as perfect as nature itself.

If he only practiced on his own, he would never have such a wonderful skill.

In the real world, the fight between the green hippo and himself was worse than the dilemma he faced in the trial.

Not simply because the green hippo was controlled by Ashen, but the more important fact was the difference between the two weapons he used.

In the star trial, though the iron sword he found aside the bonfire was ugly in its appearance, it had a magic-like property that made it never get worn. Its blade would never get bent no matter how many times he cut the green hippo's body.

But in reality, as the only weapon he could hurt the green hippo with, the wood chopper he found in the cave had slightly bent after attacking the green hippo twice.

However, the two attacks gave him a victory far beyond the victory he achieved in the trial.

Everything was due to Hua Huo's Seed.

He had only mastered 20% of Hua Huo's sword skill, so naturally, he couldn't be compared to Hua Huo.

However, compared to the green hippo, even if Yun Xi had only 20% of Hua Huo's sword skill, he didn't think that he would lose.

The world in Hua Huo's eyes was completely different to the world in Yun Xi's eyes.

The rhythm of breathing, the abrasion of the weapon, the premonition of enemy's sprint, the trace of attack, and Ashen's exasperated mental state.

Observing and feeling every detail, then attacking to obtain victory.

It was just a 3rd-ranked Hippo. Even if it had Ashen's help, and though he had only a wood chopper which wasn't even able to be used ten times, the hippo was still not a huge threat.

"Hoo... Ha..." Clearly, Yun Xi was in a fierce battle, but by running the special breathing method his spirit had naturally raised to the highest state.

As the proverb goes, "Do one's utmost even when dealing with a minor problem". He would do his best to kill the hippo!

Mercy? There wasn't such a thing.

Between life and death, everyone who hesitated to show mercy was already dead.

"Three times." After adjusting his breathing smoothly, Yun Xi lifted three of his fingers to Ashen. It was also the last order he gave his body.

Three attacks. If he didn't kill the green hippo after that, he would never be able to hurt the iron-skinned 3rd-ranked monster.

"Wahahaha, who do you think you are?"

"Even Hua Huo taught you how to roll and escape, but you want to beat down my hippo with three attacks? Even Hua Huo herself wouldn't be able to do that!" Ashen looked at Yun Xi as if he was looking at a clown.

As a disciple of the Celestial Palace, he naturally had found what Yun Xi had found.

The wood chopper, which was already a little blunt, was the key to determining who was the last winner.

Fortunately, this kid didn't have a decent weapon. Otherwise, perhaps he would have already been killed. Ashen wiped away the sweat from his forehead and announced his victory in his mind.

"If I were Hua Huo, I would need to brandish the wood chopper just one time..." Yun Xi looked at Ashen with pity. If Hua Huo were here, she would teach him what was the right way for a fool to survive in the world.

Even if there were ten green hippos attacking Hua Huo together, they would have no future but to be killed by Hua Huo one by one.

Though Ashen was known as the best genius of the village in the decade (since Hua Huo was an exception), however, he was still that frog sitting in the hole, thinking it owned the entire world.

Hua Huo's talent had already gone beyond Ashen's imagination. He didn't understand what realm Hua Huo had reached.

Through all of Yun Xi's experience, Hua Huo was the only genius who was able to master a God's Sword Skill. Even the sleeping beauty, whose power was able to shake the heaven and earth, and burst the void didn't have such an ability.

"Hippo, Big Wheel Sprint!" Ashen reached out with his left hand, then his right hand tightly held his left wrist, starting the siamese juggling.

This was a secret art from the Celestial Palace. It could temporarily combine two different creatures' energies and spirits.

"Hoo!"

The green hippo curled up its four limbs, rolling itself into a huge ball-like shape. Afterward, it suddenly jumped up. Its body turned into a green wheel-like shape and rushed towards Yun Xi.

As Yun Xi expected, it had a new skill!

Seeing the green hippo use a new killing skill which it never used in the trial, a cold light flashed through Yun Xi's eyes.

Chapter 25: Instant Kill

The green hippo rolled itself up like a big wheel. If Yun Xi was still how he was before the star trial, it would undoubtedly be a one-hit KO.

Its huge body, the terrifying explosive force, and its invulnerable tough skin made it a perfect killing machine.

As Ashen casted a secret spell, the hippo's fighting force grew to at least ten times stronger than the one he met in the trial.

You don't have a horn on your head and you are not red, so even if you are three times more powerful, you are still gonna die!

As a reply to facing the green hippo's wheel-like rolling attack, Yun Xi inclined his body, taking two steps to the right. By using this seemingly simple but useful method, he made it charge into a giant rock.

As he observed the world via Hua Huo's sight, even if the beast was twice stronger, it was still a stupid animal.

Boom! It tumbled, flying to the sky.

"Eat him!" Ashen was in extremely high spirits.

In the sky, the hippo curled up its huge body then one part of its body suddenly grew bigger.

Here it was! Its ability "Body Bulk-Up"!

Yun Xi knew it was the monster's hidden talent.

However, the hippo only bulked up its head. Now, it opened its bloody mouth so big that it was even able to swallow Yun Xi's body whole.

The hippo's bite was a new skill Yun Xi didn't see during the entire trial. Because at that time, Yun Xi was just a not-delicious-at-all mummy in the eyes of the beast. It had no appetite to eat him.

Green hippos only used this skill to hunt delicious, fresh prey.

Now, Yun Xi was qualified. Even Ashen could feel that his hippo was very interested in Yun Xi.

"My first hit!" Facing the huge creature's bite, Yun Xi didn't dodge but took the initiative to attack.

With a flash of the blade, the green hippo's tongue was cut off. To cut off its softest part, its tongue was the essence of what Yun Xi learned from Hua Huo's sword skill.

"Noargh!?" At the same moment his contract beast's tongue was cut off, Ashen covered his lips as there was blood flowing down.

The green hippo suffered a fatal injury, and as a result, the same wound also appeared on Ashen's body.

It was the effect of Life Tap; they were sharing damage. This was one of the prices he had to pay in order to control the 3rd-ranked green hippo.

"My second hit!" After he successfully injured his opponent, Yun Xi didn't hesitate for the slightest moment, because Hua Huo's sword skill had let him find the creature's weakness.

In fact, there were gaps in the green hippo's seemingly tough skin.

Because its joints had to stay nimble, there were line-like gaps on the connecting parts of its neck, legs, and hands.

These lines were unavoidable crucial points for any creature.

In the trial, Yun Xi didn't find these weak parts, so he had to cut it twenty-one times in order to make the green hippo die due to blood loss.

If it was Hua Huo, even if she used only 20% of her power, she would only have to brandish her sword once.

As for Yun Xi, he needed to attack twice!

The first attack cut off half of the green hippo's neck along the gap between its head and body.

And along the line on the green hippo's right side, the second attack cut off two of its limbs in one breath.

Maybe this was the feeling of dismembering an ox as skillfully as a butcher. Although, after cutting off these weak connection parts the wood chopper was blunted, the spewing blood declared Yun Xi's victory.

Seeing, listening, and feeling Hua Huo's world; made killing the green hippo much simpler.

"This is my last hit. Ashen, don't keep going in the wrong way." Yun Xi turned his body flexibly and threw out the wood chopper with all his strength. It stabbed into somewhere below the green hippo's ass.

"Noargh!" Yun Xi's fatal attack made Ashen's mouth foam as he laid on the ground, holding onto his ass with his hands in a weird way.

Boom! The gigantic body collapsed. An item, which Yun Xi felt a little familiar with, flew out from the corpse.

"This is... a seed?" Yun Xi felt incredible as he watched the seed fly into his palm.

It wasn't the same as the seed rewarded in the star trial. In the real world, the seed the green hippo left after being killed by Yun Xi was a transparent seed, which emitted a pale white light and was seemingly so fragile that it couldn't even sustain a pinch.

Inside of the seed, there wasn't some special instructions such as "Body Bulk-Up", "Super Strength", and "Overwhelmingly Power". It only contained a ball of "The Power of Blood".

"The seed of blood?" As Yun Xi read the meaning of the seed, he naturally understood what was different between it and the several seeds he got as the last reward in the newbie trial.

This seed simply gathered the dead green hippo's life energy. It didn't contain any special talent or ability. Its only effect was to provide Yun Xi with the power of blood, to replenish his life energy.

If Yun Xi once again suffered from exhaustion, he could use the seed of blood to restore his physical strength and energy.

The seed would disappear after being used. In other words, it was just a one-time consumable.

"Well, it's not that bad." Yun Xi vaguely imagined several methods about how to use the seed, then his face slightly turned red.

"My hippo! No, this can't be true..." After he lost his strongest trump card, Ashen felt as if his life had lost its color.

In order to obtain such a strong contract beast, he had paid a lot of terrible and humiliating prices. Even he himself didn't believe he could endure all those dirty things.

Everything he did was in order to go back to his village with glory and marry his beloved girl!

But now, everything had gone to ruin.

"Ashen, you still don't realize it. You are not the only one who is worthy of Hua Huo." Walking to Ashen's side, Yun Xi sympathetically looked at the son of the mayor who had just lost his most important thing.

"No, I don't believe it! I'll kill you!" Ashen's eyes turned blood red.

It was not the end. He was a 2nd-ranked Daoist Priest. Even without the green hippo's help, he could also win against this bread shop's kid, because he was only at the 1st Rank.

He hadn't lost yet. He would turn the tide. He would strike back!

Burning, my cosmo!

"Oh... do you have to do that..."

After dodging Ashen's frenzied counterattack, Yun Xi watched this young man who was once called "The village's Gemini" with Hua Huo -helplessly grow old, perishing. In the end, he became a mummy-like corpse, heavily dropping down to the ground.

Ashen's death was inevitable the moment his contracted beast died.

Life Tap - Live and die together. This was the contract between the green hippo and himself.

Chapter 26: The Twin Witches

"Ka! Ka!" Yun Xi was burying Ashen with a shovel. Nobody would be able to see any remnants of the human corpse - Ashen - that was buried in the place which the green hippo had fallen.

Actually, he had no intention to kill Ashen, but fighting the green hippo gave him no choice - it was either he died or the other died. He didn't have any other choice.

When he noticed that the green hippo and Ashen had an unusual relationship, he had long been aware that there was no medicine that could possibly rescue him.

"Ashen, when you reincarnate, I know that you'll certainly hate me. But I must say one thing, you are truly mistaken."

Having filled the soil, Yun Xi plugged it with several branches. Putting the village's "once in a lifetime" genius who had unfortunately fallen astray - Ashen, into eternal slumber in the corner of a small forest.

"Goodbye, Ashen."

Nobody would have known that in this place there had been a soul-stirring battle of life and death.

After walking quite far, Yun Xi didn't notice that the pool of blood left by the dead green hippo vanished in the wilderness as soon as a blue light flashed.

****

White mist slowly filled the air in the warm spring water as the exhausted Yun Xi collapsed in the spring, unable to even move a finger.

"That guy Ashen really got a fearful thing." Lying down in the familiar hot spring, the deathmatch struggle a moment ago reappeared in Yun Xi's mind once again.

Only by recalling the last three moves he used to solve the green hippo did he see that the moves had contained a transition movement, route lines, as well as the limit use of the blade's edge.

Hua Huo, you are rather too strong.

Without having experienced an actual battle by himself, Yun Xi was simply unable to imagine how fearful his childhood sweetheart Hua Huo was in the Sword Arts Realm.

Ashen was in fact, not weak. That green hippo had a roller compaction move which could overwhelm all under the 3rd-ranked powerhouse.

But in Hua Huo's eyes, this green hippo was not that different than a piece of meat on the chopping block; so long as there was a knife, it would fall in seconds easily.

To think that between people a gap this big of a degree existed.

While his whole body was immersed in the hot spring, Yun Xi unconsciously used the breathing practice technique he got from Hua Huo.

Until now, he didn't know the name of this Secret Breathing Technique. According to Hua Huo, this technique was seemingly as simple as the basic Breathing Practice method.

But Yun Xi also knew even before he learned his half-baked Breathing Practice method from Hua Huo, that this was absolutely very extraordinary.

Not only was this breathing practice method amazing for a beginner, but his Novice Iron Sword was also the same. When he recalled vividly in mind the green hippo's moves, even if he wished to kill that green hippo, it was absolutely impossible for him to do so.

"Hua Huo, in the end, you..." Yun Xi was very sure that there was no one in the village's school that could teach this kind of thing.

Neither in the Heavenly Sword God's Domain nor the Western God's Domain, this kind of secret technique's level belonged only to the richest and powerful aristocrat family and had never been passed on to unauthorized people.

Even a half-completed Breathing Practice method was so powerful, and through Hua Huo's Seed, he could learn the complete edition of this Breathing Practice method. For Yun Xi, it had opened a new door.

Regarding Mortal Grade cultivators, a formidable Breathing Practice method was the most important foundation. The reason for Yun Xi's, was that he easily accepted Hua Huo's Seed and had the highest compatibility since Hua Huo had laid the foundation for him to have lasting achievements.

"Originally... I had received such care..." With every breath he took, Yun Xi could clearly feel that his body was changing.

Unlike the absorption of the hippo's soul that gave quick results and eruption-like changes, this seed was silently and smoothly promoting the most fundamental part of his physical quality.

"Exhale... inhale..." While practicing the secret Breathing Practice technique from Hua Huo, Yun Xi's heart slowly became tranquil.

The sound of the surrounding water, the wind blowing from the distant trees, and his heartbeat were slowly connected together. Forming one kind of special rhythm.

This was breathing, the most important vital activity for mortal life. It was also the beginning point for secret techniques practiced by all sects.

Hua Huo's secret technique was absolutely that of the highest-level. It tempered the most basic part to quench the body into perfection and laid the most perfect foundation for all steps taken in the future.

In many people's eyes, even geniuses such as Ashen when they were in Mortal Grade, they would pursue pure battle efficiency only. And for this reason, they didn't even hesitate to do dishonest things.

These kinds of so-called geniuses nearly had no hope to enter the 4th Rank - the Hero Rank. Even if they used some method to overdraft their future potential and barely broke through the grade, their advancement would still be stopped at the 4th Rank. After they entered old age, their vitality would become so weak that they would step back and regress into the Mortal Rank again.

They were lacking something, which was the basic physical quenching that was offered through a Breathing Practice method to temper their body to perfection. They were too obsessed and eager to cross the threshold for quick success and immediate gain. Forgetting about their foundation.

Hua Huo's foundation was unknown, how many times better was it compared to Ashen's? Their future achievement would've been worlds apart.

"Therefore, Ashen, how would you even possibly pursue Hua Huo."

"Moreover, Hua Huo and I..." Thinking about that incomparably tragic future, Yun Xi couldn't help but sigh.

Regardless of everything, had that 7th-ranked Apostle come here, she was strong enough to sweep away the entire White Lotus Sword Domain, but that was a problem for later.

"Inhale... Haaah..." Though he was feeling hazy, Yun Xi still practiced Hua Huo's secret breathing technique and maintained this state as most of his body sank into the hot spring, leaving only his nose and mouth above the water's surface.

Getting immersed in this state of ecstasy meant that he had successfully practiced this secret breathing technique, as he then quickly sat in meditation and forgot everything.

Having experienced a deathmatch with the green hippo, Yun Xi became aware of his cultivation path advancement as he finally started to transform himself to enter this world.

Meditating coupled with the aid of this hot spring really helped his blood circulation. He continued to remain in this state for quite a long time, even Yun Xi was unaware that the sky had darkened.

At a nearby river where he was chased down and had killed the green hippo, a troop from afar was camping. One after another, white lotus-shaped lanterns were hung up in midair as layers of formation then formed, which even birds were unable to enter.

"Welcome, Her Highness White Lotus Witch!"

"Welcome, Her Highness Red Lotus Witch!"

If Yun Xi was here, he could see that the mayor was kneeling down on the ground and sweating profusely with an anxious expression fully drawn on his face.

They had already reminded that kid - Ashen - countless times that he must by all means rush here before tonight to greet the Sword Palace's messenger. That was also ordered by the emperor personally because these two witches were the White Lotus Sword Domain's next successors!

They were not only well known as geniuses of the millennium in the whole White Lotus Sword Domain, but their souls were also interlinked. Their titles were "White Lotus Witch" and "Red Lotus Witch".

"Enough with the ceremony, we are only passing through here and will only select disciples for the Sword Palace; we don't want to enter the village and disturb the inhabitants."

"..."

Beads of sweats were streaming down from the Mayor's bald forehead.

The heavens might have taken a pity on this small village since this village was the most ordinary frontier region in the White Lotus Sword Domain with a population of tens of thousands people. So how would they have the opportunity to greet such a great VIP like the White Lotus Witch?

And these two had already stepped into the Hero Rank, they were peerless powerhouses.

Moreover, it was said that they were only 14-years-old!

Chapter 27: Captured Yun Xi

In the mountain's hot spring, Yun Xi entered the most fantastic cultivation state since his birth.

Hua Huo's seed was slowly emitting out its special spiritual spark and his body was helping him digest the talents with the mystical breathing method.

Gradually, on the surface of the water, round ripples appeared around Yun Xi.

In sync with Yun Xi's breathing, these ripples spread out and radiated one after another.

His breathing slowly became nearly inaudible. At first, his nose and mouth were exposed on the surface of the hot spring, but now had they sunk into the water.

In the foggy hot spring, Yun Xi's breath had already dissolved into nature itself, invisible and untouchable.

This was a wonderful realm which was so difficult to touch by mortals, even for Hero Ranked warriors.

Daoists called it "enlightenment".

Buddhists called it an "epiphany".

In the Western God's Domains, sorcerers and wizards called it "God's Thought".

No matter what kind of description, they all pointed to this state: a state which was like a merging with natural itself, to feel the truth of the world.

It wasn't relevant to strength, but was more reliant on one's personal understanding, luck or chance.

Many Hero Ranked warriors didn't get to enter into this state even once during their life, but due to an accident or something else, many ordinary people had the chance to get into this realm.

Each mortal, as long as they had entered into this realm once, with no exception, all of them stepped into the realm of the Hero Rank in the end. Due to this, this state was also called "the permit of Hero Rank".

By using Hua Huo's breathing method and fighting with the green hippo, Yun Xi finally broke the invisible barrier and grew Hua Huo's seed to a condition that was able to support him to enter the state of epiphany.

However, Yun Xi didn't know why, he had a strange feeling that he was pretty familiar with this state.

****

"I'm here again." Yun Xi raised up his head, looking at the gate from a distance.

It was a gate that stood upright between heaven and earth, high above the clouds. It was a scene that Yun Xi had seen in his dream a lot of times.

This scene had been in his dream since long, long ago. He clearly remembered almost every next step.

"A loitering spirit again?" In front of the giant cloud gate, the guardian showed her killing intent to the uninvited invader.

"This isn't a trial?" Quickly, Yun Xi had found that it was a different world from the Star Trial.

Because he didn't see the bonfire which was used for resurrection. Besides, there wasn't any weapon prepared for the newbie.

On top of that, the opponent he had to face was the guardian of the gate, whose level was so high that it couldn't even be identified.

Three wisps of icy blue hair were blowing in the wind, her long ponytail was hung down along her back as the giant sword was pulled up from the ground and held in her hands.

What a cold, but holy sword!

Its sword blade was cold, silvery white and its handle was studded with a big lock hole. When the girl pulled out the sword, Yun Xi seemed to see his death.

Its sword-type tassel danced in the air. Light flowed along the blade, as the night of destiny - cold and without mercy.

"Swish!" Again, Yun Xi was cut in two at his waist as he then turned into dust and disappeared from the beautiful blue dream.

"Recently, isn't the invasion of loitering spirits a little too much?" The girl frowned, though she had killed the invader again.

Was it her illusion? The loitering spirit she killed just now looked a little different.

Perhaps, it was like an ant becoming a bigger ant?

****

"I died again." Yun Xi depressingly opened his eyes and found that he was in another completely different world again.

What a big tree! Maybe it was hundreds of metres tall. He couldn't see its top even if he raised up his head.

What a giant stone! Each stone was almost a dozen times bigger than his own body. As for the mountain, it looked as if it was tens of thousands of meters tall.

What a wide and vast river! Was this the kingdom of the giants? How many people would drown in the river since it was so deep?

What a short and small paw... wait, paw?!

Yun Xi speechlessly raised his head and looked at his own hand - a furry, soft paw. Then he looked at his inverted image in the river.

What a cute, and unbelievably pitiful little golden dog! The most important thing was that he was quite familiar with the little golden dog.

"Mei'er?" Touching his own furry small face, Yun Xi questioned his star spirit.

"Master!" Mei'er's happy voice appeared in Yun Xi's heart - no, in her own heart.

"Tell me, what's going on now?" Yun Xi felt strange in his current visual angle and body. He finally understood. The world was so big and dangerous in the eyes of the little golden dog.

"Eh... Master, you probably unconsciously occupied my body while you were practicing."

"Master, don't worry. You will naturally return to your body after you finish your practice."

"My body is master's possession from the beginning." Mei'er didn't feel uncomfortable seeing that her body was occupied by Yun Xi.

"If so... it's not that bad..." Yun Xi slightly breathed out a sigh of relief. Since it was temporary, he could bear it.

As Yun Xi tried to control Mei'er's body to walk back to himself, he heard an unfamiliar girl's voice.

"Eh? There is a lonely little golden dog! It's so pitiful!"

"Sister, can we pick it up?"

"No. Wandering dogs are dirty. It will stain your clothes."

"If so, let's help it take a bath. What a cute little guy. It must have suffered a lot during its wandering life."

"Oh, right. The mayor told me that there is a hot spring."

Not good! Yun Xi had a bad feeling. He immediately spread his legs, planning to run away.

He started Hua Huo's seed!

Unfortunately, the body he controlled now belonged to the little golden dog. Even if Hua Huo's seed was great, it was also impossible to make a golden dog run like a human.

Moreover, even if Yun Xi was controlling his own body now, it was also a waste of effort to try to run away.

Because the girl who was ready to catch Mei'er was far more powerful than Yun Xi's imagination.

"You always make me sigh. Ok, I will do it for you, but just this once." The sister's voice was a little helpless, but also spoiling. Then, Yun Xi found that, though he was trying his best to run away, he was going backwards - as if time was turning back.

At first, the river was flowing at a great speed. But now, an enormous power forced it to flow backwards. Tens of thousands of tons of river water rolled to the sky with countless fish and prawns.

For an instant, the boundary of the sky and earth became a little ambiguous. Countless whirlpools swept across Yun Xi. They stopped his escape and finally made him fall onto a snow-white small palm.

It was a seemingly soft and small palm. It just softly waved, then reversed the flow of tens of thousands of tons of river water and rolled the air streams between the sky and earth. It was this incredible scene that successfully caught Yun Xi.

"White Lotus, I got it."

"Great! You're the best, sister!"

Chapter 28: The Dangerous Sisters

Struggling and struggling, Yun Xi was desperately trying to get away from the warm embrace and escape.

Unfortunately, it seemed to be an absolutely impossible task.

Because the one who was holding him now was the young girl who just casually waved her hand and made the river flow backward, creating a powerful vortex that blasted him out to the world.

This was not the power any Mortal Grade could have. It was even stronger than Hua Huo, who could possibly be said as the strongest Sword Arts genius in the Mortal Grade.

A sharp blade can cut steel, but it absolutely could never roll up a storm.

This extraordinary force was beyond the limit of a peak 3rd-ranked Mortal Grade. Only one who had entered into the 4th Rank - a Hero Rank powerhouse - would have this kind of ability.

No matter if it was one to the two big mainstreams in the Eastern God's Domain - the Swordsmen or the Daoist Priests - or to all other practitioners without the God's Domain, this Rank was regarded as the most important step.

Below the 4th Rank, beasts such as the green hippo could only train its flesh and blood to the limit.

However, if one wanted to break the limitation of the flesh and blood, he must enter a higher realm - known as the "Hero" rank.

"Ah woo...". After desperately struggling for a while, Yun Xi had to admit that even if he had the power of Hua Huo's seed, it was useless.

The opponents were just too strong.

"It's strange, this golden dog seems to be ... ..." The young girl who waved her hand and captured Yun Xi smelled the bleached golden-haired puppy dog's flavor and revealed a puzzled expression.

"It's not an ordinary golden hair, it seems like the Western God's Domain's Golden Fur Princess."

"How could it be possible? This is the White Lotus Sword Domain, the Golden Fur Princesses are spoiled since birth in the Western God's Domain, so how could this one stray into the wilderness?" The younger sister said while her bell-like laughter sounded; it was delightful and pleasant to the ears.

"Pooh..." With great difficulty, Yun Xi finally drilled out from the cage and looked up to the pair of sisters that seized him. He couldn't help but look expressionless.

These two sisters had black and straight long hair, but their clothing and personal adornments were miles apart.

The sister on the right wore red gemstone hair ornaments, with red petals like maple leaves, and was gorgeous and unrestrained. She was wearing some kind of witch clothes which was inscribed with a sword and flames similar to the dazzling burning flame of a Red Lotus.

The sister on the left wore white crystal hair ornaments, with crystal clear petals just like the ice, depicting a snow lotus, looking sacred and graceful. She wore almost exactly the same clothing design as her sister, but inscribed on it were pieces of lotus leaves - the White Lotus.

Red Lotus and White Lotus. It was precisely the best way to depict their portrayal.

It wasn't just their clothing and personal adornments, but their features were also very alike. Seeing them from this too close of a distance, these two looked almost exactly the same.

But how come there seemed to be something that was not quite right when looking at them? From Mei'er's angle, there was some kind of strange sensation that he couldn't tell from these two sisters.

"Then how would you explain this feeling?" The older sister raised Mei'er's small body as she guided the younger sister's hand to repeatedly stroke Mei'er's body up and down, not even the most shameful part was left out from their touch.

I cannot marry anymore! Having been played like this, Yun Xi could only feel a kind grief and have mixed feelings. It was the first time since birth that he felt he was so ravaged and devastated by a human!

"Hey, this feeling, these hairs, there is so much spiritual qi." The younger sister was surprised. She looked at Yun Xi and smelled Mei'er's fragrance.

"This good and nice fragrance, is this the legendary Golden Fur Princess?"

"It is possible, but we have not seen that legendary creature. How did this kind of pet live in this destitute and wild country?" The older sister frowned. Even if she wanted to know, she could not understand it.

That was only natural, because Mei'er was not a Golden Fur Princess, but the nobler star spirit! Yun Xi helplessly shook his head. This misunderstanding might not be able to be solved in the future.

"Could it be that this fellow belongs to a Western God's Domain's princess and she accidentally let this fellow run?" The younger sister looked like she was taking a fancy to Yun Xi's body.

"Do you really like this little fellow?" Looking at her younger sister that seemed unable to put it down, Red Lotus's eyes revealed a gentle expression.

Even she rarely saw such a warm expression in her younger sister's eyes.

The Golden Fairy of the Golden Fur Princess may bring wealth and fortune to humans.

They were the Western God's Domain's mascot figure which made countless princesses, princes, and dukes long of dreaming for a Golden Fairy. This creature really deserved their reputation.

"I am really sorry, even if you are a Western God Doman's Princess's pet, I don't have any choice, but to make her give up her treasure. Just look at my sister White Lotus's happy expression. It's from the bottom of her heart," The older sister Red Lotus set a firm resolve in her heart.

In this world, the things that could make White Lotus happy became fewer as their values became more and more precious.

The glory and splendor, the riches and honor, the popularity, the top status and position, they could easily obtain these things easily without even trying.

Regarding the White Lotus Sword Domain's witches, the things that could move their hearts were really too few.

The encounter with this little golden fur dog inadvertently broke into these sisters' heart.

It must be fated, it couldn't have been a random accident.

"Thank you, The Great. We hope that we can walk together with you on the road to the future."

Red Lotus quietly made a gesture and drew overlapping strange traces in front of her.

****

"Master, be careful, be careful, be careful, don't reveal any flaws!" Suddenly, Mei'er called out in Yun Xi's mind.

"What, what happened?" For the first time, Yun Xi heard his star spirit let out such hasty and restless shout.

It seemed that he had encountered a very dangerous problem and had to be informed in advance.

"Yes, Master, you are in danger, and moreover, it's fatal danger!"

"This pair of Twins of Destiny are the Apostle's candidates!"

Mei'er sent out the greatest warning to remind Yun Xi that his life was already at stake.

The apostle's candidates! His ex-girlfriend?

A gigantic alarm sounded loudly in Yun Xi's mind. Although they did not directly reach the level of genuine Apostles, they were the candidates. Just looking at that technique, they were absolutely not at the level where he could contend with!

These two were true Hero Rank powerhouses - they could reverse the river flow with a wave of a hand. An existence that could create a fearful tornado vortex.

Moreover, the Hero Rank! Yun Xi suddenly looked up and watched the twins, an outlined impression instantly floated in his heart.

Yes, it was them!

The same as Ashen's green hippo that was selected by the stars as his first smelting trial to reach the final goal in the Love System.

Back then, he had used a kiss to wake the sleeping beauty that was in a deep slumber in the deepest part of the forest!

It turned out that the sleeping beauty was not a person, but a pair of twins, Ah!

Chapter 29: Their Secret

"Let's go. It's a rare opportunity for us to visit a hot spring." Red Lotus waved her small hand. The twins witches were naturally suspended in the air, flying to the mountain like a pair of swallows.

Flying. Even among the Hero Ranks strongest, there weren't too many people who had mastered this ability.

Except for some races who were born with wings, those at Hero Rank who could fly freely were clearly a terrible presence.

"Be careful, master. You are no match for them now. They're a pair of twins who are cursed by destiny," Mei'er carefully warned Yun Xi not to be found.

"A pair of twins who are cursed by destiny..." Through Mei'er's eyes, Yun Xi looked at the flying pair of witches and felt something was wrong with their bodies.

Inside the mountain fog, the twins quickly arrived at the hot spring - it was a specialty only the villagers knew of.

Not good, not good, not good! Yun Xi peeped in a narrow corner of the hot spring with sweat dripping. His body was there, in meditation.

If the twins found him, he wouldn't didn't need to consider if he would die, but how he would die.

No matter if it was the elder sister, Red Lotus, or the young sister, White Lotus, they could kill him easily like crushing an ant with a finger.

The absolute distance between their strength wasn't something that could be filled by using only 20% of Hua Huo's seed.

Red Lotus and White Lotus. They were the Apostle candidates of his ex-girlfriend. They were the powerful terrible warriors that Yun Xi had ever seen.

*Scanning* In front of the hot spring, the elder sister Red Lotus lifted her forefinger. A spirit light scanned the area and exposed the view of the hot spring.

"Nothing special. Seems there is a 1st-ranked turtle. Ignore it." Red Lotus looked at Yun Xi's location. Her spirit light told her that it was a slow breathing, unmoving 1st-ranked creature, it didn't have any life wave.

Perhaps it really was a turtle. Only this kind of creature could make their breathing and heartbeat close to zero, but still kept their life wave soft and gentle.

"Let's bathe our little golden dog." The young sister White Lotus held Yun Xi in her arms with a happy smile.

"Wait... all-seeing, my Red Lotus Sword!" On Red Lotus's fingertip appeared countless of light points as they converged into a deep red light sword suspended in the air.

Centered in the sword light, within one kilometer, no birds could fly in. If any visitor wanted to come in, he had to first break through the light sword.

After getting prepared, Red Lotus snapped her fingers.

Who knew what material their fantastic garments were made of. After Red Lotus's snapped, it turned into countless soft, silk threads.

The red silk threads were like hot flames, filled with a fiery aura.

The white silk threads were like unmelted ice and snow, bringing about cold air.

The two kinds of fantastic silk threads knitted together and constituted two unique holy vestments which Yun Xi had never seen before. They were enchanted with various kinds of special abilities.

After taking off their vestments, the twin witches exposed their snow-white skin and slender, graceful bodies. Just like the sleeping beauty Yun Xi saw in the dark forest.

Their ice-like skin and flawless soft necks were so graceful and mellow.

On their beautiful, gem-like bodies, stood exquisite and smooth nipples. Their slender body contour perfectly shrunk down to two points, showcasing their sexy pink fruits that lightly swayed in front of Yun Xi's eyes.

White Lotus's mellow body curved through her two "peaks", then through her smooth little belly till it stopped at her slim, but whippy waist. It was exquisite like jade, but also gave people a good hand feel.

From her slender waist till the bottom of her stomach, her beautiful body curve finally stopped at her slim long legs.

After taking off the white socks, her white, beautiful and soft little toes were incredibly cute and beautiful.

Her jade-like little pink feet were smooth and glossy. Her five small toes curled up together. The back of her feet were fine and smooth. Her ankles were slender. Her entire feet was so soft, it was seemed to have been made from soap.

Red Lotus reached out her hands and gently grasped her sister's round heel, then tickled her soles.

"Ahahaha... sister... no..." While holding Yun Xi in her arms, White Lotus kneeled over in laughter. Her feet felt unstoppably itchy, as she kicked and splashed the water.

"Hey hey... it's a punishment for your stubbornness. It's not an easy game to feed a little dog. Besides, I think this little golden dog has a master." After teasing the sensitive body of her shy sister, Red Lotus raised up Yun Xi. Her eyes became more certain.

"As expected, you are a golden fairy."

"Why do both Hua Huo and you think that Mei'er is a golden fairy?" Yun Xi muttered and peeped at the location of his own body.

Close. They were too close to his body. Originally, it wasn't a big hot spring. Once the twin witches paid a little attention to that corner, he would be exposed.

In this case, even though he didn't like it, he still needed to play his role as a little dog.

Struggle, struggle, struggle! In order to save his own life, Yun Xi tried his best to attract the twin witches' attention to the little golden dog...

"Don't move, little dog. Let me help you bathe." The younger sister White Lotus was seemingly the gentle and kind one between the twins. She took over Yun Xi from her sister's hands again and began to carefully wash the little golden dog's body.

Wait, their bodies!

Finally, Yun Xi noticed why he felt that they were strange from the beginning.

They weren't just inseparable, but always held their hands at any time.

No, they weren't just holding their hands.

Their hands were really joined together!

Red Lotus's left hand and White Lotus's right hand.

The left side of Red Lotus's body and the right side of White Lotus's body.

Between them, some kind of diaphanous silk thread joined them together. Yun Xi had thought that they were holding hands; but in fact, it was just his misconception because their clothes were naturally connected together.

Within these silk threads was a kind of spirit light which made Yun Xi feel uncomfortable. There was even blood flowing inside it, permanently binding the twins together.

The twins cursed by destiny. Yun Xi remembered Mei'er's words.

So, this was their curse, the proof of the twin witches.

White Lotus and Red Lotus were inseparable.

Chapter 30: Poisoned Witch

"Ahhh... so comfortable. This hot spring is great!" After teasing her sister's toes, Red Lotus stretched her body. Seeing her pair of "rabbits" swaying, Yun Xi almost failed to keep his composure.

Dear heavens! Since the summer his sword skill teacher taught him that lesson, he had never experienced this kind of gentleness.

He didn't even know where he should put his eyes on in front of the pair of twins.

"This time, the 'higher person' gave a special instruction. They wanted us to invite the sword talent with our largest sincerity."

"No one expected that she was living in such a remote village, far away from the center of the God's Domain."

Sword talent? Living in this remote village? After hearing this, Yun Xi was confused for a while. Then, his childhood sweetheart's appearance appeared in his mind.

The first girl to reach the 3rd Rank before her sixteenth birthday was the center of jealousy of all children at the same age.

If Red Lotus was talking about this small village, then only Hua Huo was eligible to be called as a genius.

"Regarding her family background and talent, if her family didn't have that accident, she would never have come to the White Lotus Sword Domain." Red Lotus sighed.

"Originally, she should be a girl respected and focused on by everyone."

"Every gem will shine in the end. Even in such a remote area, her light still can't be covered, can't she?" White Lotus smiled faintly.

"This is also the reason why we personally came here to invite her to join the Sword Palace."

"Other forces haven't found her yet. Even we only found out by accident."

"Yes, she really is a peerless genius. Someday, she will leave here and shock the entire world."

"We just came here to invite her in advance."

"Hua Huo, long time no see!"

His presentiment came true! They were here for Hua Huo!

Even though he had had a feeling that Hua Huo wasn't a simple girl, but Yun Xi finally heard the conclusive evidence from their conversation.

Hua Huo didn't belong to the small village. As the twins said, her talent wasn't something this small village could gestate.

Yun Xi vaguely remembered that Hua Huo's family was from the Western God's Domain. However, it's been ten years. Every townspeople now considered Hua Huo's family as a part of the village.

However, everyone also knew that someday Hua Huo would one day leave this common small village.

Hua Huo was a 3rd-ranked sword genius and was the strongest sixteenth years old girl. Such a girl would definitely step onto a higher stage in the future.

Red Lotus and White Lotus, the pair of twins came to invite Hua Huo.

"But something is strange. I received another instruction, it's about searching for a special person," After talking about their purpose of travel, Red Lotus turned the topic to another one.

"Another order? About what?" White Lotus curiously reached out her small hand, drawing a fantastic crossing mark in the air.

"Eh, it didn't have any explicit direction. They just asked me to pay attention to this area, looking for some upstart geniuses."

"Especially a liar who appears suddenly and seems very honest, but in fact, likes to flirt with women."

"Anyone who finds him can give up any other mission and order all the apostles to alternate and hunt this liar down at all costs."

"The priority of this instruction is incredibly high."

"What kind of liar can make them issue such an order at all costs?"

Red Lotus was also surprised by it. After she became the apostles' candidate, she never saw such a high-priority order.

In her imagination, the liar must have caused an unforgivable trouble. Even that "presence" lost her temper and issued a fatwa.

"Tsk-tsk, the liar will die miserably." White Lotus could image that once the person was found, a miserable ending would be waiting for him.

"I'm afraid the liar isn't an ordinary person, since it was that 'presence' that issued the fatwa. If we find him, we might have to fight with all our strength." Red Lotus's eyes showed that she was serious.

The liar... did it mean... Sweat streamed down Yun Xi's face. He finally understood what the "highest warning" Mei'er said meanly.

He was just a 1st-ranked Swordsman, but the twin witches were at the Hero Rank! If they found him, he would get to know the meaning of despair.

"Sister, let's forget these boring things. Let's talk about our dream." White Lotus seemingly had no interest in battles and chases, but girlishly remembered the interesting thing they met not long ago.

"Ahh, I won't listen, I won't listen! That nightmare! It's the shame of a lifetime!" Once her sister spoke of the "dream", Red Lotus's face turned red.

"I won't admit it! As the Red Lotus Witch, the owner of the holy sword, how could I have such a shameless dream!"

"I... I... I... am not that kind of person!"

Yes, it was impossible! Unreasonable!

She put her mind to cultivating, defeated all opponents with her sister, reached the position as a witch, and garnered attention from that "supreme presence": obtaining the identity as the apostles' candidate. Would she have such a girlish dream? It was extremely ridiculous!

In the dark forest surrounded by brambles, she was kissed by an unknown man... it was the biggest shame in her life! She didn't even remember the man's face!

*Giggle* "I don't think it's a bad thing. After all, sister, you are a girl. It's not strange to have a dream about falling in love."

"In the dark forest, the cursed beautiful princess fell into a slumber, but was finally woke up by her destined prince's kiss."

"What a romantic story! Ah, why didn't I stop you? Otherwise, at least, I could see the prince's face!"

Unlike her serious sister Red Lotus, the young sister White Lotus's eyes were full of a girlish, dreamy atmosphere.

"Prince, prince, where are you, my prince?"

"For you, I'm willing to be the cursed princess, sleeping in the dark forest and waiting for your arrival."

"I believe someday, you will come to me just like in the dream, take my hands and kiss my lips."

"Do you know after that, in my dream, I met with you every day?"

Red Lotus' eyes gazed at White Lotus, as if this was the first time she recognized that her sister was so unreliable.

Ah, yes. Unlike other people's imagination; in fact, the honorable, mysterious White Lotus Witch was a fantastical girl who liked to read romantic novels of the Western God's Domains, and was addicted to the stories about princesses and princes.

Commonly, people called it - "The pubescent girl indulged in love".

Chapter 31: Turtle Catching

The dark forest, the sleeping beauty, and their kiss!

How could they possibly remember it?!

Stars! Couldn't you erase their memories more cleanly? Now, he was really in a big trouble!

Yun Xi heard the whisper of the twin witches with sweat covering his face. He found that he underestimated the impact of the stars' trial.

No matter if it was Hua Huo or the pair of witches, once he was to be exposed, he would have to face a miserable end.

"Don't think so much. I won't agree with you falling in love with anyone."

"Tempering our strength and becoming stronger so that finally, no one can control our fate. This is the only thing we should focus on."

"Love is just a kind of temporary illusion," Red Lotus firmly denied her sister's dream of love.

They were the pair of twin witches who were doomed to be the passeur of the treasure of The White Lotus Sword Domain. They had no time to play love games.

"You're wrong, sister. Love always comes suddenly, just as you didn't expect that you would have such a romantic dream, right?" White Lotus reached out her hands and pressed her hands down on her chest.

"Till now, my heart's still pounding."

"This feeling is so strong, it must be the so called 'love at the first sight. My prince, he appeared.'"

"Even so, it's just your imagination. Loving a person in a dream at the first sight? I don't know how to appraise your mind." Red Lotus said with a grumpy tone as she looked at her sister falling into an illusion.

What was going on? It was just an ambiguous and absurd dream, but her sister suddenly fell in it, as if she was being possessed.

After waking up from that dream, she always talked about the prince in her dream and even vowed that she would have a wonderful meeting with her dreamy prince.

My sister, you are too naive! She worries that if she didn't take care of her, her innocent sister would be beguiled by some malicious people in the blink of an eye.

"But, if I'm in love, won't sister be lonely?" White Lotus winked her big innocent eyes, worrying about her sister, whose personality was so strong that she couldn't possible to fall in love with anyone.

"If you fall in love with someone... if that's true... I will be in a big trouble..." As she slightly imagined what would happen if someone cheated her sister and made her fall in love, Red Lotus was thrilled, as she then looked at their joined hands with a mixed feeling...

They were a pair of twins linked together by fate.

In the meanwhile, they were also a pair of cursed twins.

Since they were born, they were joined together.

Hand and hand, both halves of their body, they were linked together by incredible "lines".

They had these invisible lines since their birth, it gave them superior talents and made them hero-ranked warriors while they were still 14-years-old.

Equally, these invisible lines also bound them together. It made them unable to leave each other.

Their breathing, heartbeat, and cultivation methods were all closely linked to these lines. Even at the time the overlord paid attention to them, she also clearly told them that they couldn't cut off the lines.

If they used brute-force to cut off these lines, both White Lotus and her would die.

Because their souls, the source of their life, were closely linked together through the lines.

They shared the same fate - they would live and die together. They were the eternal twins; they were the cursed twins.

Theoretically, humans couldn't reach Hero Rank before 16-years-old because their immature bodies couldn't bear the power of the Hero Rank.

But they could because they shared each other's strength and could merge each other's different properties of power.

They were like the great way of Yin and Yang. Red Lotus was "Yang" and her sister White Lotus was "Yin".

As a pair of twins, their cultivating speed was not only twice, but overwhelmed other people's practicing speed by more than ten times.

This ability made them the presumptive master of The White Lotus Sword Domain in the future, though they were only 14-year-old juveniles. In the meanwhile, it also brought them giant pains.

Once others knew that they were a pair of cursed twins, though they wouldn't expose their mind on their faces, but their eyes would subconsciously become weird.

In face of a thing they didn't understand and wasn't able to control, people were always dismayed, disturbed, or even frightened.

Long, long ago, she had understood that she had to become strong, far stronger than anyone else.

In that case, she could protect her innocent sister's clear eyes away from the dark side of the world.

But now, there was a serious problem.

Her cute, innocent, and carefree sister fell in love with a ridiculous, non-existent dream person!

Oh, gods, what was wrong with her?!

She regretted that she had such a shameless and ridiculous dream.

What a bad effect the dream brought to her sister!

"I think that you should pay more attention to this little dog. At any rate, it's better than the non-existent dream prince."

"I will take a break." Now, Red Lotus was glad she caught the little golden dog, at least she could use it to divert her sister's attention.

The dream prince... go to hell ten thousand times!

You are not even worth one of this little golden dog's hair!

After washing Yun Xi clean and handing him to her sister, Red Lotus closed her eyes and entered a dormant-like state.

This was a tacit understanding between the twins. Because their bodies were linked together through the invisible lines, they couldn't leave each other. In that case, only when one side of them entered the dormant state, could the other side have a short amount of free time.

In the daytime, most of the time, Red Lotus took hold of their actions. In the night, she would temporarily sleep for a while to let her sister move freely and play games.

"Ok, little golden dog, come here." White Lotus abruptly stood up and held Yun Xi in her arms, who was still in a stunned state.

Red Lotus's body naturally followed White Lotus, floating like a ghost by her side.

Their tacit understanding was already deeply in their souls.

"I don't know why, but my first glance had told me that we are destined."

"Little golden dog, do you want to live with me from now on?" White Lotus lifted up Yun Xi's body and gave him a gentle kiss.

The twin witches' white, fragrant and soft bodies had been seen by Yun Xi from top to bottom. But he swore that it wasn't on purpose.

"Right, sister said that there is a turtle, let's go to catch it, would you like that?" Yun Xi still didn't recover from shyness, but when he heard White Lotus, he almost scared his nerves out.

Turtle? Turtle!

Chapter 32: Let Go of the Turtle

"No, no! Don't look at that place!"

Yun Xi desperately controlled Mei'er's body, trying to stop the girl.

Unfortunately, it was obvious that Mei'er's poor body had no strength to stop her.

One step, two steps, White Lotus was nearly walking on the water, slowly getting close to Yun Xi's sleeping place.

Bad, really bad!

He would be found by the apostle's alternate of his ex-girlfriend, get caught by her, and sent to one of his ex-girlfriends and forced to do various shameless things...

Yun Xi closed his eyes and waited for the judgment of fate.

"Turtle, where's the turtle..." As Yun Xi hopelessly waited, White Lotus hummed a happy tune, walking to the location where Yun Xi hid his true body.

Inside the water's mist, Yun Xi's body was sinking in the hot spring. His breathing was nearly zero and his lifeforce was also imperceptible. Because of that, Red Lotus thought that he was just a turtle.

However, it was just a special breathing method, not sneaking nor cloaking.

The hot spring wasn't deep, even if he had sunk to the bottom of the water, everyone would find the so-called turtle's true face if they came closer.

"Gee?" Yun Xi heard White Lotus let out a cry of surprise and a fantastic spirit wave spread out.

No chance. Yun Xi was regarded as a turtle by Red Lotus, now he exposed himself.

She found him! He was found.

Yun Xi felt that the world faded and his life had come to an end.

Should he resist?

He was just a 1st-ranked Swordsman. In the face of one of the twin witches, who were at the Hero Rank, even though she was the slightly weak one, he knew he couldn't win.

"Ah?" White Lotus sounded a little shy and seemed that it also contained some other meanings. Her seemingly turbulent spirit wave immediately subsided.

"What happened? Am I alive?"

Yun Xi quietly opened his eyes and peeped at White Lotus, who was hugging his current body - the little golden dog - tightly, by using one hand and covering her mouth by using another hand. She looked pretty shy.

It seems that because Red Lotus was in dormant mode, White Lotus's left hand was tightly bound to hers, but now it had a certain freedom. She could move her left hand within one meter.

Her small hand covered her pink lips and her eyes moved. Her expression looked as if she wanted to look at him, but didn't dare to look, which was ineffable cute.

Yun Xi turned around, and not surprisingly, he saw his sleeping body under the water.

Through the misty surface of the water, he could see his own quiet eyes, perfect-proportioned legs and arms, and his intangible rhythm of breathing.

Why didn't she kill him?

Oh right, she didn't know that he was the wanted Starchild!

The twin witches had received the decree, but they didn't know the age and appearance of the wanted Starchild. So, in the eyes of White Lotus, she just suddenly found an unknown man in the hot spring.

Then why didn't she kill him? For an instant, he'd felt the fleeting spirit wave.

What made her stop?

"..." White Lotus was observing Yun Xi's body again and again. Every few moments, she wouldn't be able to stand the shame and turned her red face away, but after a little while, she would peep at him again.

"There... and there..." On her fingertips gathered a group of mists. They slowly formed into a misty human shape.

"Contrasting the first character: 100% perfect."

"Contrasting the second character: 100% perfect."

"Substituting, judging and locking on all the elements!"

Yun Xi looked at the changing, modifying human shape. He thought that it looked familiar.

Oh right, it was himself.

After White Lotus's small hands seized and modified the mist-made human, it looked more and more like Yun Xi.

"Could it be..." A ridiculous idea appeared in Yun Xi's heart.

"Completed. Verify the model!" White Lotus's eyes showed that she was serious. Unlike her sister Red Lotus, she was good at deduction and magic spells.

As the "Yin" side of the twin witches, she had a unique talent with math and deduction. It wouldn't be an exaggeration even if you said that she was the number one in the entire White Lotus Sword Domain.

Red Lotus's power was biased toward "battle", while her power was biased toward "assistance". So, when the twin witches teamed up together, they could burst out a really inconceivable battling force.

Now, she was trying her best to deduce and instantiate the person who was at first nebulous, inside her memory.

At first, she couldn't do it simply by using the data she obtained from her dream.

However, except for the inorganic data, she had a bug-like tool named "the instinct of a girl in love".

At the first glance, as she saw the person, her heart beat unreasonably as countless messy data appeared in her mind.

The girl's instinct told her not to use a magic spell but to instantly deduce the data, build a model, and then try to calculate the result.

"The possibility is near 100%!"

"No, it's 100%!"

"My presentiment is right!"

"Someday you will come to me like a gift dropped from the sky!"

"Just like the story goes on, you're my own prince." Hugging Yun Xi's body, White Lotus blushed like a sunset cloud in the summer.

"I found you."

"You are mine. My dream, the number one prince in the world!"

Too bad, she found about that! Yun Xi sighed about his bad luck as he choked due to the girl's "two white mountains".

It was just a dream made by the stars! And the stars had blurred his face in the dream. Girl, why are you so incredible? How could you figure out that the damn turtle was your prince simply by calculating the data of my body shape?

Apparently, they only met each other once in the dream of sleeping beauty's kiss!

"Hoo... ha..." It was hard to imagine that as a Hero Ranked twin witch, she was so nervous to the extent that it troubled her breathing. Being hugged in front of her chest, Yun Xi could hear her strong heartbeat.

"Sister, I'm sorry. But only this, I can't give you!"

"Because I found him first. Even if you are my sister, I want to take an advance on you!"

"Sister, didn't you say that you hated the prince? So, you won't mind I take one step first, right?"

The girl cheered for herself, then with a fearless expression, she hugged Yun Xi in her arms, walking up to his body step by step.

"Bang! Bang!" The girl's heartbeat echoed aside Yun Xi's ears shy, but soaring, firm, and excited.

Wait, what were you going to do to the sleeping me?

Why do you looked so nervous, excited, as if you are preparing to commit a crime?

Let go of the turtle!

Chapter 33: Love of the Stars

Inside the pervasive water mist, White Lotus carefully, as if she was afraid of walking up the sleeping body, walked toward Yun Xi, who was mistaken as a "turtle" by Red Lotus.

"My... prince. My destined... lover!"

No, you are mistaken!

Yun Xi tried to weep, but failed to shed a tear. He looked at the witches, who reached her hands towards his body, with a bad feeling rising up in his heart.

Why? We just touched once in the star's trial, perhaps it was only a few seconds, why is it that you can recognize me?!

"Eh?" As his sleeping body felt his soul's emotional turmoil, it slightly moved.

This is bad, he was waking up! Though his soul was still inside Mei'er's body, but he could clearly feel that his integration with the gold dog would face the end.

This time, his enlightenment had already perfectly finished. Even if the twin witches didn't come here, it wouldn't have been long before his self-awakening.

This timing was extremely bad!

Dimly, the bright light of the stars softly stroked Yun Xi's soul to take him back to his own body.

Yun Xi woke up.

Soon after, he opened his eyes and before he could do anything, his lips were gently blocked by some soft stuff.

The taste of white lotus was a familiar one. However, this time, it wasn't the prince waking up the sleeping beauty with a kiss, but the younger sister of the twin witches waking her prince by her kiss.

Everything was reversed.

The girl kissed Yun Xi's lips. Inside the diffused water mist, Yun Xi clearly felt the fragrance of White Lotus's lips and her breath.

"Eh..." Though this was the first time she did this kind of thing, but White Lotus had read hundreds of romantic novels from the Western God's Domains. Naturally, she made it to the next step.

Her soft small tongue easily broke through Yun Xi's teeth. She sucked his tongue, tightly tangling their tongues together.

Yun Xi just finished his state of integration with nature; his body was in its most sensitive state. White Lotus's teasing immediately made him fall into a passionate kiss.

Compared to their kiss in the dark forest, the kiss now was hotter. She didn't seem shy at all; such an impassioned girl.

"Gee..." When White Lotus found that Yun Xi had woken up, remembering what a shameless thing she was doing, her entire small face turned to red.

No, that wasn't the worst, because she finally recognized her appearance in Yun Xi's eyes.

"Eeeh!" With her snow-white small hands, she hurriedly waved. Thousands of silver silk threads flew in the air, weaving into her holy and inviolable White Lotus Vestment.

However, White Lotus forgot to weave her sister's vestment. Red Lotus was still silently floating beside her sister, nude like a newborn baby, not knowing that her wonderful body had been seen by Yun Xi from top to bottom.

"Ah... well..." After been awakened by White Lotus's kiss, Yun Xi felt as if there was heat flowing through his entire body. It was absolutely not the heat from the hot spring.

"Prince... ah... sister!" White Lotus covered her small lips with surprise and happiness on her face, then realized that her sister was still naked. She hurriedly helped her sister put on her Red Lotus Vestment.

You saw it? You saw it! White Lotus gazed at Yun Xi with a crying-like pitiful look. She had no more words.

"In fact... I came here first." Yun Xi guiltily raised up his hands. He wasn't a pervert who would peep on girls bathing.

"I... I know... prince..." White Lotus shyly pinched her fingers, not daring to look at Yun Xi's face.

Just now, she gathered all her nerve to kiss her prince.

She didn't expect that the sleeping prince woke up due that, just like the fairy tales said!

It must be decreed by fate!

In her dream, the prince's kiss woke her up. However, in the real world, her kiss woke up the prince.

Right now, what should her expression be?

In fairy tales, after being awakened by the prince's kiss, the princess would fall in love with the prince.

In the real world, after awakened by her kiss, would it be the same for the prince?

Too much anxiety made her heart almost jump out from her chest.

Was this the so-called love?

Shyness, anxiety, excitement, and thrill. Various emotions mixed together, her head almost broke.

She could even measure the orbit of stars, but couldn't even find a date or formula to deduce her current mood.

What should she do? What expression should she show?!

Now, her expression must be very, very ugly. Wee-wee-wee-wee!

"Eh, sorry, I'm not a prince." Yun Xi sighed and shook his head. He felt lucky that it was the younger sister of the twins that found him.

If the terrible elder sister found him, Yun Xi slightly imagined the scene and couldn't stop himself from trembling.

The elder sister Red Lotus hated love and didn't mind anything. If she were to find him, the "turtle"...

After mincing the turtle, would she steam, braise, or stew him?

"No, you're my prince!" White Lotus raised up her head as persistent lights shined inside of her eyes.

"You don't know this, but I have seen you in my dream before. It was you, kissing us to awake us from the infinite darkness."

"Even though I know nothing of true love, I know it's our fate."

"You're the prince of my sister and me."

Yun Xi dumbly looked at the White Lotus Witch, who was so innocent to believe that the dream meant destiny.

He couldn't say the truth. He couldn't force it out of his mouth!

The dream was the trial the stars arranged for him. You, the green hippo, and his childhood sweetheart - Hua Huo - were involved in his dream by the stars. How was it possible to tell her this truth!

Should he tell her, the young sister of the twin witches, one of the apostles' candidate, that he was the starchild who was wanted by the four overlords?

Even if he wanted to die, it wasn't an acceptable choice.

So, he couldn't explain, couldn't say, that the girl's dream of a lover was just a by-product of a trial.

The great stars, why?!?!

"I- I'm just an ordinary person. It's true."

"Look, I live here, a small village. I'm a 3rd-ranked Baker and 1st-ranked Swordsman."

"You must be mistaken. I'm not your prince." Now, Yun Xi had to firmly deny her words.

"Ah, you live in this small village! I knew it was fate!" White Lotus's eyes sparkled as if there were stars shining in them.

They must be the lovely stars named "love".

Chapter 34: Confession

This time, he could never wash himself clean!

Looking at White Lotus's persistent eyes, Yun Xi found that she was serious. She really thought that he was her dreamed prince.

The power of the stars was too fantastic. They could actually draw unrelated people in their trial and cause this misunderstanding.

However, he absolutely couldn't tell her the existence of the stars.

"Prince, what's your name?"

"Nice to meet you. I'm a witch from the sharp end area of the White Lotus Sword Domain, the titled Holy Virgin of the White Lotus Sword Domain."

"Sister and I are a pair of doomed twins. I'm White Lotus, my sister is Red Lotus." White Lotus politely greeted Yun Xi. Her etiquette was so gentle, it's hard to imagine that she was a girl who could wake Yun Xi up with such a fierce kiss.

"Yun Xi. Yun means cloud and Xi meaning silent." Yun Xi didn't know what to do in the face of White Lotus's good manners.

She was a Holy Virgin of the White Lotus Sword Domain and was one of the twin witches, a real Hero Ranked female warrior!

Moreover, she had another hidden identity - she was an apostle candidate of an overlord (his ex-girlfriend).

According to Mei'er's explanation, not everyone was entitled to be an apostle alternate of his ex-girlfriends.

Talent, strength, potential, and even beauty were all there. If you were at the 7th Rank, but were ugly, you still wouldn't qualify to be their candidate.

Anyone who could become an "apostle" of the four overlords was obviously a special person, a genius above geniuses, a special presence who was far stronger than any person at the same rank.

Now, as a dangerous presence to Yun Xi, the unknown apostle who was searching for him in the Sky Sword God's Domain was an apostle of the 7th Rank.

According to Mei'er's judgment, as the weakest among all the apostles, she should have obtained her position not long ago.

Well, less powerful when compared to some more old and stronger apostles. At any rate, a 7th Rank was a horrible presence, it wouldn't be difficult for them to destroy the entire White Lotus Sword Domain.

Even if all the 1st Rank like Yun Xi together reached a billion or tens of billions, in the face of a 7th Rank, they were nothing but just a number.

The presence of a 7th Rank had already reached the level of a master in the starry sky. If it was a small realm, it wouldn't even survive a full attack of someone of this rank.

For the small village, a 3rd-ranked girl like Hua Huo was already the strongest person. As for the twin witches who were at the Hero Rank, they were legendary people!

Now, one of them - White Lotus, was smiling sweetly and shyly in front of him. Her big black eyes were filled with love.

In the end, what went wrong?

"Yun Xi, what a nice name."

"In the end, my prince is beside me, at the place I'm supposed to be at."

"Ah, What a fantastic destiny! Thank fate, it guided me to meet with you."

"So, when can we talk about our wedding?" White Lotus looked at Yun Xi in ecstasy.

No, it wasn't fate! It was the stars' fault! Yun Xi wanted to tell her the truth, but he forced himself to stop.

Weird. It was too weird. He had never met such a girl like White Lotus.

She was so innocent, enthusiastic, and pure, as if she was a princess that came out from a fairy tale.

It seemed that all the darkness and dirty stuff in the world didn't exist in her eyes. She was like the most beautiful flower that bloomed in a greenhouse: snow white and spotless.

How did such a girl grow up?

Didn't she know that the world had a lot of bad, dirty, and dark stuff?

It was just a kiss in a dream, and she'd thought that he was her dreamed prince. She even started to design their wedding!

The process was too fast.

"Cough... Your Honorable Holy Virgin, please stop mocking me. I'm not a guy who deserves your love."

Yun Xi said the truth seriously and nervously.

"Why?" White Lotus looked at Yun Xi with a puzzled and doubtful look.

"Because I'm just a baker, and you're the Holy Virgin of the White Lotus Sword Domain!" Yun Xi tried to point out the differences between their identities by using a simple method.

"Anything wrong?" White Lotus cocked her face with an expression of ‘I don't know what you are talking about!’

"It means that the gap between our identities is too wide. We can't live together." Yun Xi looked at the innocent White Lotus, trying to weep.

What was she taught? Wasn't she taken care of too well?

"What's the matter? I like prince and prince just needs to marry me." White Lotus didn't understand because she never needed to understand these kinds of things before.

Since her childhood, she could almost get everything she wanted.

Her sister and she were born as the best witches in the White Lotus Sword Domain. From her childhood, she didn't need to worry about food or clothes and everyone took good care of her.

Her fate made her focus on reading books, deduce, and to be her sister's supplementary. She was already the perfect White Lotus Holy Virgin in other people's eyes.

She didn't understand because her life was so perfect.

Under her sister Red Lotus's protection, she grew up innocent and pure. She believed the fantastic fairy tale stories and dreamed of a dreamy love.

In reality, due to her sister Red Lotus, no man dared to reach their hands toward the twin witches.

Because her sister Red Lotus had a slight case of androphobia, she never allowed others to get close to them casually.

Until that day…. her sister and her had the same dream.

It was a fantastic dream, just like her favorite fairy tale story said: 'The prince came from a far away kingdom, broke through brambles and thorns to find the princess who was sleeping in the dark forest, and woke her up with a kiss.'

In the dream, her sister and her were awake the whole time. She even vaguely felt that the prince tore the brambles away from them and finally met with her.

That kiss was the first kiss for White Lotus and Red Lotus both.

Love at first sight, it must be like that. When she opened her eyes, for the first time she stayed in the same body with her sister, she saw her prince.

At that time, she'd understood that this was the so-called destiny.

She finally encountered her prince, as dramatic as the fairy tale stories.

Prince! Her prince!

"Identity, race, circumstances of birth, and strength aren't problems. I believe that we can overcome all difficulties to stay together!"

"My prince, trust me, my heart will link up together with yours forever. No matter whoever comes to stand in our way, my heart will never change."

"Even if that means that I have to fight against the whole world!"

"I love you. Please marry me, prince."

Oh, that was not the problem. Yun Xi wanted to cry.

You are an apostle candidate. You are my enemy, Your Honorable White Lotus Holy Virgin!

Chapter 35: Love Letters

You wanted to marry me just because of a kiss? Your Honorable White Lotus Holy Virgin, how pure and naive you are!

Please don't confuse fairy tale stories with reality!

Let's suppose that you were the pure, innocent, and beautiful princess in the fairy tale story. However, I wasn't the prince who rode on a white horse to greet you!

You and I are natural enemies!

"I... I can't accept your love..." At any rate, Yun Xi had to refuse the exalted White Lotus Holy Virgin's love.

Even though he felt a little regret in his heart, but as a boy who was born in a small village, Yun Xi knew that it was impossible to accept White Lotus's love.

For them, the gap between their identities and strengths made it impossible to go on.

In Yun Xi's dream about his future, maybe he would marry one of those girls in his village. He even slightly imagined the possibility of marrying Hua Huo.

However, a female like White Lotus wasn't within his choice.

An illusion should have its limits. Moreover, the pair of twin witches were two terrible presences. Like his natural enemies.

"You can't? Why?" White Lotus seemed very shocked. Her innocent eyes almost welled up in tears.

"No means no. We are two different people.

"Besides, today I just meet you for the first time."

If before he awakened his blood as the starchild, if such a beautiful, cute, and pure girl said that she liked him, maybe he couldn't wait to accept her.

"Ah... but... you're my prince!" White Lotus's eyes were filled with love. It seemed that even if Yun Xi refused her, she had no intention to give up.

"Tell me, prince. What should I do to stay with you?

"No matter what I have to do, I will try my best."

"Except you, no one can obtain my love."

Pressure. It was a great pressure. Yun Xi's forehead began to drop with big beads of sweat.

She was a perfect girlfriend! She only cared about him; she didn't even want any other male except him. She was like the most tender and beautiful flower in the greenhouse.

Dammit! How nice would it be if she wasn't the White Lotus Holy Virgin and the terrible apostle candidate, but an ordinary girl in the village.

It wasn't easy to meet such a girl who would show her true heart to him, but she was his natural enemy. Stars, are you mocking me?

"Then... then... let's first be friends, ok?"

It was just a plot to gain more time because there was no other way. No matter if it was Hua Huo or White Lotus, soon after they would leave this small village. By that time, the problem would be solved naturally.

"It's too weird to begin with a wedding. You're still young, you need time to teach you what true love is." After wiping the sweat away from his forehead, Yun Xi tried to give her advice by using the best euphemistic method.

"Ah... so that..." White Lotus understood.

"We need time to brew our love and the marriage contract also needs time to be prepared. Prince, you considered our future well."

"So, give me a love token!"

"You don't understand it at all, my Honorable Holy Virgin!"

Yun Xi looked at White Lotus, who smiled innocently, with an expression of "Why are you so naive?".

There was actually a girl who was like the princesses in the fairy tales.

She smiled at him just because of his one kiss. She didn't mind the identity and strength of the person she loved, but reached her hand to him without hesitation.

Compared to her innocence, Yun Xi felt like he was a mortal who had sank into the dirty world. How could he deserve such a fairytale princess!

"Gift... gift..." Yun Xi looked around, but unfortunately, he came here to take a bath. He didn't bring anything that could be used as a gift to the girl.

Luckily, it was a hot springs area. Yun Xi remembered that there was a speciality here. It was the associated product of the volcano, and many people came to pick some to make ornaments.

Yun Xi saw one. He took several steps forward, put his hand into one of the stone wall's corner, and drew out a fiery-red stone.

Yun Xi slightly pinched, then found an irregularly shaped micalex.

It was a very common mineral in the mountain areas, especially at a hot spring. You could find them anywhere on the cliff.

In this hot springs area, there was a kind of beautiful micalex. Yun Xi found them by accident in his childhood while playing here with Hua Huo.

Unlike most of micalexs that looked green, white, or red, the micalexs in this hot spring had a rare golden-red colour. It was a beautiful colour, just like the setting sun ensanguined behind the clouds.

"I hope you are worth of my choice." After carefully wiping off the stone chips from the surface of the micalex, bit by bit, Yun Xi predictably saw the beautiful golden-red colour.

He was so poor that he could only present White Lotus with such a crummy gift.

As the future master of the White Lotus Sword Domain and the highest witch, White Lotus probably wouldn't take a fancy in this kind of common rough stone.

Gold, treasure, pearls, or corals were nothing to her. She was like a beautiful princess in the fairy tale story, naturally having everything.

As an ordinary person, the semitransparent golden-red micalex was the only gift he could find here for her.

"This... I can only find this..." Yun Xi looked at the irregular shaped stone in his hand and felt embarrassed because it was just a rough stone, good for nothing except for its good-looking colour.

"What a beautiful gem..." White Lotus's eyes sparkled, behaving like she was a little girl who had just first tasted the sweetness of candy.

"Eh... but... It's just a common micalex." Yun Xi looked at the delighted White Lotus in surprise.

As the White Lotus Holy Virgin, you should have seen countless more valuable and beautiful gems, right? Even if you wanted to build a gem palace, it wouldn't be any more difficult than overturning your palm, right?

"I know it's a micalex. But it's your love token, the proof of our love." White Lotus blissfully took the golden-red micalex from Yun Xi's hand, though it hadn't been sanded yet and looked rough.

"Today, this micalex is just a common stone in the eyes of other people.

"But from now on, it's the first gift my lover gave me.

"In the future, it will be the gift my husband first presented to me, and gradually will become a priceless and irreplaceable treasure in my life.

"I don't mind other people's ideas, but for me, it's the most beautiful and glitzy gem from my prince.

"I witness it here, your present is the most valuable gift to me, to complete our eternal contract.

"Maybe I indeed don't know what true love is, but I swear to this gem.

"I will love you forever."

Chapter 36: Star and Moon Ring

"I should go!" The longer Yun Xi stayed with White Lotus, the dirtier he felt. It was like writing messy and ugly letters on a pure white paper.

The gap between their worlds was too wide.

Maybe a prince and princess would have a perfect end.

But this princess and himself? Was it a joke? Besides, they were natural enemies.

"Oh right, Mei'er." Finally, Yun Xi remembered that his star spirit was still looking at them curiously.

My spirit, why are you looking worried about nothing right now?

"Ah, is this little golden dog your pet?" White Lotus looked at Mer'er jumping into Yun Xi's arms in surprise.

"En, she is my pet." Yun Xi hugged Mei'er - he didn't know why, but she was excited - and suddenly turned his face red.

He remembered the scene he saw just now through Mei'er's eyes, and the soft, sweet feeling he felt through Mei'er's body. No matter if it was the elder sister or the young sister... Woohoo, it wasn't his fault, it wasn't his fault!

"Sure enough, we can understand each other, this is an arrangement of fate." White Lotus smiled and waved her hand to Mei'er. She looked very happy.

They could meet each other under the starry sky, at this time in the world where there was only the two of them.

The god of fate, thank you for presenting to me the best prince in the world!

"No... in fact, that's..." For White Lotus, it was her luck. But for Yun Xi, it was definitely bad luck.

He was just a 1st-ranked Swordsman now, but the apostle candidate of his ex-girlfriend had found him. Was he cursed by the god of fate?

"Then, goodbye!" Yun Xi thought that if he stayed here any longer, he would have a heart attack.

"We will see each other soon after, my prince." White Lotus looked at Yun Xi leaving with Mei'er, smiling sweetly.

In her palm, the golden-red gem Yun Xi presented to her was shining extraordinarily bright. It was due to the blessing White Lotus casted on the gem.

****

At midnight, inside the foggy hot spring, Red Lotus opened her eyes and stretched herself comfortably.

She felt that she was in her best state. Inside of her body, her spirit energy quickly flowed like a waterfall. Even the essence of the sun and moon also responded to her twin witch blood, dripping from the sky incessantly.

Peace of mind. The world was reflected in Red Lotus' heart. She could even clearly hear a flapping sound from several miles away.

It was pretty weird. Wasn't her state too good?

In Red Lotus's memory, she had only temporarily reached this kind of realm once. That happened when she and her sister broke together the wailing barrier of mortals and reached the Hero Rank.

Enlightenment, god's thinking, or unity between heaven and man. Different god's domains had different words to describe it, but they all meant the state of forgetting oneself.

Red Lotus didn't enter that realm after that.

Red Lotus leaned over her body and saw that her sister had an expression she had never seen before.

There was an irregular shaped golden-red mineral in her hands, which she had focused her cultivation power into.

What was she doing?

Red Lotus mainly practiced sword skills and unique skills like Void Mudra, so she didn't understand what White Lotus was doing.

Though she didn't understand it, but from White Lotus's eyes, she could see that she had forgotten everything and sank into the God's thinking realm; she was trying her best to cast a special magic.

Together with the moonlight and starlight dropping down, it slowly crushed and eliminated all impurities from the golden-red mineral, and only left behind the most beautiful and pure part.

At first, the mineral was still a little rough and had some debris on its edges. However, after White Lotus refined it, it shined bright and beautifully.

"Hiss!" Under Red Lotus's surprised eyes, White Lotus bit the tip of her finger and dropped blood beads on it one by one.

The Contract of Blood! Red Lotus didn't believe what she saw. It was a forbidden magic, and normally people only used it when they were making a supreme spirit weapon or artifact.

Once one person's blood was linked to other stuff, it wouldn't be an easy thing to discharge it.

One person could only link a certain number of blood contracts, and once the stuff he used to make the contract was destroyed, the person would suffer a heavy blow.

As the Red Lotus Holy Virgin, she had only one blood contracted weapon now. That was her inherited sword - the Red Lotus Holy Sword.

As for White Lotus, there was also an artifact waiting for her blood contract. But because she wasn't old enough, the ceremony was still being prepared.

Why? Was this golden-red mineral a special treasure? Why did White Lotus use her precious blood contract?

"You're... my sun...

"I'm willing... to be the moon and the star... rotating around you...

"The sun, the star and the moon will never be apart from each other.

"I name you as 'Star and Moon Ring'."

Red Lotus looked as White Lotus cast an occult art, which she didn't understand at all, to soak her essence and blood into the gem, which already turned into a beautiful golden-red rhombic jewel.

The blood of White Lotus was the "Yin" part of the twin witches. It had a special power.

She paid far more attention to the refined gem than her sister Red Lotus's imagination.

Now, the occult art White Lotus cast was a mystic spell she found from an ancient book by using her incredible deducing and decoding abilities.

If a girl of the pair of lovers wanted to prove her love, she could mold an artifact by using this occult art to mix her blood with her lover's love token.

This occult art could refine common stuff into an artifact, which was able to link her soul and make it nearly immortal.

However, in order to do it, it needed the girl's side to pay a heavy price. It was an occult art that only the imperial family members of the Eastern God's Domain were qualified to use.

The last step of the occult art was to give the refined artifact its "true name".

The Star and Moon Ring. This was the name White Lotus gave to the love token of Yun Xi and her.

Once she made it, it would become her own treasure and no one could rob it.

Yun Xi didn't expect how serious the innocent White Lotus Holy Virgin would take her first love. She didn't even hesitate to use the occult art, which would hurt her essence and blood, to make a common micalex a unique artifact.

Now, no one would think that the rhombic golden-red gem was a micalex.

A golden-red light point shone in the core of the gem, with stars rotating around it one after another.

Another silver moon essence dropped and stayed around the golden-red light points.

"You're the sun, I'm the star, and sister is the moon." Looking at the Star and Moon Ring, White Lotus smiled sweetly.

Tonight, the world was so fantastic for this girl in love...

Chapter 37: Regression

"White Lotus, what's happened?" After White Lotus finished casting her secret spell, Red Lotus asked her sister. She didn't know what put her sister in such a good mood.

Something must've happened. As the elder sister of the twins, Red Lotus never saw her sister so excited.

Her sweet smile, focused eyes, and the golden-red gem in her hands, everything told her that something had happened.

"Eh, I met with my prince." White Lotus had no secrecy awareness. Her sister took good care of her, which caused her have no idea about what was a "lie".

Pure love and a pure heart, her first love was forever to her. White Lotus was a single-minded princess.

"Prince? You had the dream again." Red Lotus couldn't help but laugh. The prince was just a virtual character, but for her, he was simply a nightmare.

'Oh, I shouldn't let my sister read too many fairy tale books from the Western God's Domain', thought Red Lotus. She had a far too irrational dream about love.

Red Lotus knew if they didn't have the strength as Hero Ranked warriors, plus them being twin witches, there would be far more dirty eyes peeping at them.

Fortunately, she had enough power to protect her sister. She didn't even let her sister find these dirty people in the shadows, and had solved most of them in secret.

She never allowed any dirty man to get close to her sister. It would be fine to let White Lotus live like a princess from those fairy tale stories, just like now.

Ha ha, she remembered that her sister still thought that little children were delivered to their parents by immortal cranes.

"It wasn't a dream. This is a love token from my prince." White Lotus proudly held up the Star and Moon Ring.

It was limited to her power. Though it was named the "Star and Moon Ring', it was just the first step in making an artifact, which meant that she just made the outline of its core.

In Eastern God's Domain, the forging method of making an artifact of royal love token needed ten years, a hundred years, or longer to make the love token an artifact.

During this period, if the lovers betrayed each other, or just broke up, the forging method would mean nothing. Ss the person who made it on her own initiative, the bride's side, would suffer a great blow and never recover after that.

In that case, without a huge courage, determination, and excellent talent, it wasn't possible to forge an artifact using this method. Gradually, the secret method nearly disappeared in the Eastern God's Domain.

According to the ancient books that White Lotus read, most of the girls who tried to use this forging method were the bride's side of a pair of childhood sweethearts, and the successfully finished artifacts would be counted on one person's hands.

Childhood sweethearts would be the doomed losers, but she wouldn't, because she was the prince's princess!

"Is this the micalex you dug out from that place?" Through the outline of the mineral she saw, plus the trace on the rock not far away, Red Lotus immediately guessed the source of the so-called 'Star and Moon Ring'.

Her sister was too frivolous. She dug out a beautiful mineral casually, felt it likable, and used one of the quotas of the blood contract.

You should know, normally an ordinary person had only one quota that could be used to make a blood contract. When they chose the treasure to make the blood contract, they would choose them carefully and think again and again.

However, they were different. Because they were cursed twin witches, they could make blood contract several times more than ordinary people.

Even if White Lotus used one of the quotas, she had other quotas to make blood contract with other treasures.

They had the qualification and talent to pamper themselves.

"Ha ha, sister, you found it?" White Lotus looked pretty happy.

"Yes, this is the love token my prince dug out from that place and handed over to me personally. It's my treasure."

Red Lotus covered her own forehead.

Too bad, her sister slid into a reverie which was named "love". How was it possible for that prince to walk into the real world from a dream.

Even if the prince really existed, he would never get through the warning line she made. There was no creature in the hot spring beside themselves and the turtle.

Eh, where was the turtle? Had it left?

"All right, all right, the prince is the best. We should go." After stretching her snow white body and feeling the last moments of "harmony of heaven and human", Red Lotus stood up.

The transparent water drops slipped down from her jade-like beautiful breasts and dropped into the hot spring, rippling alluring ripples.

"En. I want to make the Star and Moon Ring as quickly as possible. Let's go, sister." Looking at the golden-red gem shining in her hands, White Lotus's eyes burned.

She wanted to make the gem her prince presented to her into the most beautiful ring in the world.

****

"Yawn!" Holding Mei'er in his arms, Yun Xi trembled after running back to the door of his home. He felt as if he ignored something.

"Little Xi, tell me the truth. Where were you last night?"

She was here! The girl he ignored!

His childhood sweetheart, whose jealous radar never made a mistake and was 100% accurate - Hua Huo!

In the darkness, Hua Huo put her right hand on the sword scabbard, staring at Yun Xi as if she was a wife who found her husband coming back from a secret date.

Her sword hadn't been drawn out, but her killing intent was already rising in the air.

Once she found the truth that Yun Xi moved his love to any other girl, the only thing he would see was her lightning sword.

"I-I just went to the mountain to take a bath in the hot spring." Yun Xi honestly said.

"Eh... eh..." Hua Huo stepped forward and smelled the odor on Yun Xi's body.

Fortunately, Yun Xi kept soaking in the hot spring, so Hua Huo smelled nothing. In addition to Mei'er's special odor, he escaped from the probable disaster.

"It's weird. You body indeed only has Mei'er's odor, but why did I felt ill at ease during my practice and made mistakes several times?"

"Ha ha, it must be your illusion. I was just going to the hot spring!"

Yes, he didn't lie.

He just met his natural enemies when he was at the hot spring, and the sister, White Lotus, showed her love to him. Of course, he wouldn't say it out, even if she tore off his mouth!

"Oh right, Hua Huo, do you know what I saw? I saw a real big scene beside the river. Some real big shots came to our village!" Yun Xi immediately tried to change the topic.

"I know, they are the strongest people in White Lotus Sword Domain, the twin witches." Hua Huo's eyes turned serious, it seemed that she had heard of them before.

"Elder sister Red Lotus and young sister White Lotus. Even in the Western God's Domain, you can hear their names.

"Yun Xi, you should be careful. They're cursed twins, you should never get close to them.

"It says that they hate males. They never allow men to walk within ten meters of them.

"Many people have died because they'd made this mistake."

Yun Xi sweated.

Yun Xi sweated like a trooper.

Sweat streamed down Yun Xi's face!

Ten meters? Oh god, the distance between the White Lotus Holy Virgin and himself was almost a 'negative' number!

Chapter 38: Flocked

"Little Xi, never, ever get close to the twins of fate." This was the first time Yun Xi saw his childhood sweetheart look so serious.

"They're a thousand times more dangerous than Milei, El'Phyllis, and Ye Li. If they take an interest in you, you would have a miserable end."

Ah? Aren't you being too sensitive, Hua Huo? And who did you think I am?!

Do I look like a guy who would get in trouble with the pair of twins... No, this must be the stars' fault! Wu wu, I didn't expect that!

"They are here, so this small village will get in trouble soon after." Hua Huo suspiciously looked at Yun Xi, who was in a trance now, and felt that something was wrong.

"Yeah, they're really some big trouble." Yun Xi smiled bitterly. He had no choice, but to suffer in silence. He didn't dare to tell her the truth.

If his childhood sweetheart, Hua Huo, was a summer storm, then the pair of twin witches, White Lotus and Red Lotus, were a pair of unexpected calamities!

****

The next day, Yun Xi got up early and quickly understood what was the trouble Hua Huo meant.

The small village's narrow street was filled with strange creatures which were obviously from other towns.

Rhinoceroses, red hares, yellow claws, flying lightning, and unicorns. Usually, you would never see so many cursorial mounts, but now, they were everywhere.

There were even some rare flying mounts which you wouldn't see many times in such a common small village.

The specialty of the Eastern God's Domains - the Manned Roc birds.

The specialty of the Western God's Domains - the powerful and magnificent Griffins.

Yun Xi even saw in the air, a flying carriage which was pulled by three flying horses and shrouded by clouds and mist...

Young boys wearing various well-crafted clothes were seemingly in high and vigorous spirits. They excitedly gathered together, talking with eloquence.

Among them, many people were wearing white two-leaves sword-shaped emblems, which meant that they were 2nd-ranked swordsmen, the best of the best.

Yun Xi even saw a few of them wearing three-leaves sword-shaped emblems. It meant that they were standing at the top of mortals and known as matchless geniuses.

Of course, these geniuses weren't the local people of the small village.

Some of them were from nearby towns, and some of them were nobles or men of good families, riding on rare flying mounts and coming from thousands of miles away.

The swordsmen who had had three-leaves emblems were certainly candidates who would join the Sword Palace. And the geniuses like Hua Huo didn't even need to take the exam, they could join the Sword Palace directly.

The young boys, girls, and their servants and relatives who came from faraway areas made the narrow road of the small village more crowded, and they were here for only one reason.

The coming of the twin witches, the future masters of White Lotus Sword Domain - Red Lotus and White Lotus.

If it was a common admission, it wouldn't draw so many people's attention. The only reason it aroused such a storm was the appearance of the twin witches.

The clouds were rolling on with full force. Perhaps this was the best description of this scene.

"Dong! Dong!" At the entrance of Yun Xi's bakeshop, it was ringing with hasty knocking sounds.

Yun Xi went down the stairs and opened the door, seeing a crowd of travel-stained servants.

"Hey, young master, do you want to sell your house? I'm from Xiyuan village and the representative of Childe Ling, I want to buy your house at ten times the price!"

"Wait, I'm from Donghe village. Childe Xiao. I can pay fifteen times the price!"

"Thirty times the price! We, from Yun He City, want your house!"

Yun Xi looked at the servants gathering together in front of his shop's door and felt flabbergasted. Since when did the houses of this small village become so expensive?

He looked carefully. It wasn't only his bakeshop. There were also many servants gathering together in front of the other shops; nearly all the shops on the street.

"Sorry, but I won't sell my shop. Temporarily closed." Yun Xi couldn't bear the noise and directly closed the door. After thinking for a while, he posted a paper on the door, which was written - "My shop will be temporarily closed, and it's NOT for sale".

"The twin witches are here. It means that the small village will be in trouble soon after." Yun Xi finally understood the words his childhood sweetheart told him.

The future masters of White Lotus Sword Domain, the twin witches, were more valued than his imagination.

White Lotus was a princess, but she had a higher status than real princesses.

They were cursed and doomed twins, who became unmatched Hero Ranked sword maidens at the age of 14.

It was like Hua Huo had said. As a man who was loved and was confessed her love to by the White Lotus Holy Virgin, he was in a big trouble!

****

Outside the small village, at the riverside camp, the twin witches were there.

Rarer flying mounts were flying from faraway places and landing beside the river; they were placed in the open space.

More young talents who had family backgrounds and strength were led by their elder family members, waiting to be summoned by the legendary twin witches.

"What a bother. Fortunately, White Lotus had gone to bed. Otherwise, their dirty eyes would make her have a nightmare." Sitting on the holy chair, as White Lotus impatiently received one after another so called 'young talents', she grumbled to her maidservant.

"Qiu Lan, why should I waste my life on this kind of meaningless things?"

"Lady Red Lotus, please lower your voice. The number one heir of Yun He City is waiting for you." The beautiful maidservant, who was named Qiu Lan, smiled and covered her small mouth.

****

Twenty metres away from the holy chair, Childe Yun He half kneeled on the ground and heard a different voice.

"Not bad. I hope you can keep trying to take part in the exam."

"Yes!" After obtaining Red Lotus's recognition, Childe Yun He vigorously patted his chest and looked pretty excited.

This was a recognition from one of the twin witches, which was equal to the recognition of the Sky Sword God's Domain itself.

Why didn't he hesitate to catch a chill in the night, but still rushed to here by riding on his family's flying horse? Undoubtedly, it was for the sake of this opportunity!

There were also exams of the Sword Palace in other places, but these exams were presided by common instructors. How could they deserve to be compared with the exam which was presided over by the twin witches?

Taking part in the exams which were presided over by the twin witches was equal to getting the opportunity to have a direct link with the future masters of White Lotus Sword Domain!

He wasn't the only one who thought so. He believed that every man of every good family who took the exam was thinking so.

As the old saying went, "The near water balcony gets a month first". He could come so fast because the remote small village wasn't too far away from Yun He City. After he heard the news that they were here, he was the first man of a top-level family to arrive here.

Conceivably, after this news spread around, the next several days, more and more young geniuses whose age was between 16 and 18 would use various methods to come here.

This small village was doomed to be the center of attention.

The twin witches were such two mystic and special presences. They were worth all the men of good families in White Lotus Sword Domain paying attention to them.

Their every movement would affect the whole White Lotus Sword Domain's situation.

Due to their coming, even such a border small village, which was carelessly marked on the map, became the focus of every noble family's eyes.

Chapter 39: Limit Practice

Two days. Within just two days, the peaceful small village had completely changed in appearance.

One after another, temporary bamboo houses were raised up straight from the ground, with writings of each aristocratic family's name on each of them. Geniuses came from all directions. They gave up their opportunity to take the exam in their hometowns, but took part in the exam of the Sword Palace in this small village.

For a time, clouds gathered, driven by the wind. The history of the small village opened into a new page.

However, it had temporarily no relationship to Yun Xi.

After getting the premonition that some big trouble would happen in the small village, he had no hesitation in directly picking up camping tools and food, hiding with Mei'er in a secret location of the hill.

Here was also a location he had found once when he was playing games with his childhood sweetheart. It was a hiding spot in the small secret valley.

In the end of the valley, there was a big beautiful tree. On the tree, there was a clumsy, but cute umbrella-shaped mark. On one side, it was Yun Xi's name, and on another side, it was Hua Huo's name.

"Yun Xi and Hua Huo will stay together forever." Looking at the handwriting he wrote when he and Hua Huo both were still young, Yun Xi wasn't able to stifle a laugh.

At that time, Hua Huo and he were still naive. They never realized how wide was the gap between their identities.

Children's feelings were always so pure and innocent.

"Ok, let me start limit practice from now on!" After putting up the tent under the tree, Yun Xi drew out his long sword, which he specially bought from the blacksmith's shop in the village.

By imitating the sword Hua Huo used, this sword was as much as possible like the elite-level longsword of the White Lotus Sword Palace. However, it was just a good product sold in the blacksmith's shop, after all. It wasn't possible for it to be as sharp as Hua Huo's sword.

However, it didn't matter. Because Yun Xi wasn't going to use the sword to fight.

He wanted to train in the Limit Practice that he learned from Hua Huo's seed.

Push-ups for 1000 times, sit-ups for 1000 times, squat for 1000 times, run a hundred miles, and brandish his sword for 10,000 times.

Based on this, it was a circle. Over and over!

It was totally a challenge to the limit of the human body. You could even say that the human physique itself had made it clear that it was an impossible practice.

It was said that long ago, a man kept practicing like this for three years and became an invincible warrior. However, as the price, he became a baldy...

Ok, Yun Xi didn't think that he could overdraw his life to keep practicing this limit practice for three years. The man who could do it must have a monster-like physique.

He was just a 1st Ranked swordsman. Even the three basic trainings were impossible for him. The mortal-ranked swordsmen were just flesh and blood, even if they had all sorts of magic-like techniques just like hero-ranked warriors.

Now, Yun Xi had only come into contact with two hero-ranked warriors. However, the twin witches weren't at the same level as ordinary hero-ranked warriors.

Because Yun Xi chose the wrong referents, he had a great misunderstanding about the gap between mortals and hero ranked warriors, and had an illusion that his strength was extremely insignificant.

That was the reason why he was here, preparing to challenge the limit practice. Which in his memory, Hua Huo didn't even finish when she was still at the 1st Rank.

"The first, is push-ups for 1000 times." Sticking the long sword in front of himself, and standing under the tree he made the promise with Hua Huo, Yun Xi started to challenge the inhuman limit practice.

One, two, three, four... relying on his 1st rank limit of physical fitness after absorbing the green hippo's soul, Yun Xi kept to it, doing 500 push-ups. Then, he couldn't hold up and laid on the ground.

"Sure enough, my 1st-ranked body can't handle this." Yun Xi's eyes were covered by his own sweat. It was his strong will that supported him to hold on to his limit.

And the fact also proved that as just a 1st Ranked swordsman, no matter how strong willed he was and how perfect he could save his physical strength, it was impossible to finish 1000 push-ups.

It wasn't like common push-ups. No matter the posture, height, or the position to support the body, it had an extremely high demand on all aspects. Ordinary people would go into convulsions, toppling down to the ground before they did a hundred push-ups.

"Release the seed's power." At the beginning, when Yun Xi just obtained the green hippo's blood seed, he had a guess. And now it was the time to verify it.

He wasn't going to release all the blood power from the seed just like what he did in the battle, but slowly released the blood power from the seed, using it to help his practice.

With the help of the tremendous blood power of the green hippo's seed, he could do what he wasn't able to do in the past and successfully finished the seemingly impossible limit practice.

A little warmness appeared inside Yun Xi's body, and then spread to his four limbs.

Yes, this was the feeling!

Like this, he could go beyond the limit of his mortal body!

It was deserving to be the fierce green hippo's seed. Yun Xi even felt a little pity.

Ashen, do you have more hippos?

By using the green hippo's blood seed, Yun Xi broke through his body limit. He did 1000 push-ups, 1000 sit-ups, 1000 squats, and ran for a hundred kilometers.

"Heee!" With the flashing light of his sword, he started to practice the last part, and it was also the part that needed the most attention - brandishing his sword ten thousand times.

Keeping the speed steady, brandishing his sword stably and powerfully. Making sure that it wasn't beyond his limit. This was the most important and core part, he had to do this after he finished the previous part of the limit practice.

As he kept his eyes and heart focused on the same line, Yun Xi stood under the big tree, brandishing his sword methodically and focusedly.

Sweat continuously flowed down from his forehead, but it couldn't affect his concentration.

Again, Hua Huo's sword seed grew slowly.

In this nameless small valley, Yun Xi took the first and most important step in his life.

****

"Done!"

In the encampment of the twin witches, White Lotus happily lifted up the Star and Moon Ring.

Around her, there were the craftsmen who were hurriedly called from the White Lotus Sword Palace. They looked at the artifact's shining golden-red light of sun, silvery-white light of full moon, and the bright light of stars in White Lotus's hands, showing a relieved expression.

After working hard for three days and nights, she finally made the perfect fruit.

From now on, the White Lotus Sword Palace had another legendary artifact.

The Star and Moon Ring, the secret artifact which was forged by the White Lotus Holy Virgin personally.

Look! Its golden-red halo was so bright and as holy as the sun.

"It's beautiful." Red Lotus looked at the finished artifact, the Star and Moon Ring, in surprise. If she didn't know its origin, she wouldn't believe that it was made of a micalex.

"Because this is the miracle of love." White Lotus put the Star and Moon Ring on her finger and smiled sweetly.

Chapter 40: Exit

"9996!"

"9997!"

"9998!"

"9999!"

"10,000!"

After brandishing his sword ten thousand times, Yun Xi finished his first round of limit training. He felt dizzy and empty of all his strength, collapsing under the big tree.

So tired, so painful, so sad.

Was this the feeling of continuously going over his own limit?

No wonder even Hua Huo couldn't finish this challenge when she was at the 1st rank.

Vaguely, Yun Xi felt that his consciousness was fading and his body twitched with pain.

His muscle, bones, and nerves all screamed badly, suing his grievous limitation training.

The beat of his heart became fast, then slow. Its rhythm was completely messed up.

"Woo woo!" When Yun Xi felt that he was dying, he heard a familiar voice.

Opening his eyes, Yun Xi saw that his star spirit was biting a big piece of rolled leaf and running to him.

"Swish!" Cold water drops dropped on Yun Xi's exhausted body, bringing him a little vitality.

Mei'er's healing power had been already exhausted when Yun XI brandished his sword three thousand times.

She was so tiny. The only thing she could do for Yun Xi was use these kinds of leaves to bring cold and clear water from the stream outside of the valley to cool down Yun Xi's overheated body.

"You... are such a good girl..." Yun Xi smiled as he looked at Mei'er's expression of worry.

As he looked at Mei'er, he felt that he could still keep on training.

****

Several days passed very quickly. Soon after, it was the day before the exam of the Sword Palace.

From all corners of the White Lotus Sword Domain, the geniuses and people of good families, as many as there were qualified to take the exam, all came to this small village which was - on the map, an inconspicuous area of the sword handle.

Not only so, there were also many geniuses from other sword domains.

Among all of them, three of them were above all the geniuses as the three strongest people accepted by everyone at the Sword Palace exams.

Childe Yun He, he was the first in succession to the famous Yun He City in the White Lotus Sword Domain. He was 18-years-old, a 3rd-ranked swordsman, the master of the famous twin swords Crane Wings. He was handsome, generous, and graceful, known as the famous sword genius within ten thousand kilometers.

When he was 16-years-old, as a 2nd-ranked swordsman, he was already able to join the Sword Palace but he didn't. Due to some unknown reason, he waited till he became a 3rd ranked swordsman. And now, he was taking part in the exam of the Sword Palace.

Childe Si Nian, he was from the middle part of White Lotus Sword Domain, Sinian City. He was a genius with mixed blood from the Western God's Domain. He used a two-handed broadsword, which was rare in the Sky Sword God's Domain. He was a 3rd-ranked swordsman, too.

Unlike traditional swordmen in Sky Sword God's Domain, his career was a Heavy Swordsman. He was over two metres tall, strong and powerful, and looked pretty exotic.

The last genius came to the small village later. It was said that he was the strongest genius who came from a high-level sword domain of the Sky Sword God's Domain.

He was Childe San Quan, a real great genius. He was a swordsman, but also a taoist priest and an alchemist. In the meanwhile, he frighteningly practiced the three to the 3rd rank at the same time.

His strength already earned him a pre-approved quote of White Lotus Sword Palace; however, he refused the pre-approved quote to take the exam personally.

Yun He, San Quan, and Si Nian. They appeared as three geniuses who had inherited the name of their cities. Many people exclaimed that they would create a new history for the exam of the White Lotus Sword Palace.

Hence, they were also regarded as three hot candidates of the exam, and also had the same likes and dislikes. So, they built a small group and took the strongest one, Childe San Quan, as their leader.

Nearly all the people here naturally thought that the first three places of the exam of the Sword Palace had been decided before it started.

For the three geniuses, they had reached the 3rd rank at the age of 18, and they were the strongest ones amongst them. Childe San Quan had reached the 3rd rank in three different careers.

The only question was who was the number one, two, and three among the three geniuses.

If judging from their personal strengths, obviously as a genius who came from a high-level sword domain, Childe San Quan was the number one. However, Childe Yun He had his heirloom, the famous twin swords, the Crane Wings. And Childe Si Nian was born with superhuman strength and had the strongest attack amongst the three.

In the end, among the three geniuses, who would be the number one in the exam which was conducted by the twin witches?

These people came from everywhere in the White Lotus Sword Domain, and had made various bets. Everyone was expecting the start of this unusual exam of the Sword Palace.

No one noticed that from the mountains, a ragged boy with clear eyes was walking out from the valley.

In the bright sun, the boy's body looked more firm and concentrated compared to when he first went into the valley.

Especially his big eyes. Inside his black pupils, you could see a vague sword spirit flying in them. It meant that he had engraved sword skills into his blood and touched the edge of the realm of Psychic Communion.

Starting from the beginning of the star's trial, he stumbled blindly to find the rules; to his 120 deathful battles with the green hippo. Till he killed the green hippo in the real world. In just two days, the boy had experienced too much and obtained power which was already beyond his imagination.

After practicing for several days and nights in the valley, the boy continuously overdrew himself and used the seed of the green hippo to help train himself. Now, the boy finally cleared up what he had obtained.

And then, he naturally reached the 2nd rank.

The understandings and experiences of Hua Huo's seed brought him to a door of a new world. It helped him understand the world in the eyes of his childhood sweetheart.

The green hippo's seed and his experience of death 120 times, helped him overcome his limits, and obtain the perfect state of mind to stay calm even when he was facing death itself.

The Limit Training came from Hua Huo's memories. It helped him unify his essence, energy, and spirit, reaching the limit which countless geniuses couldn't reach when they were still mortals - Psychic Communion.

The boy who walked out of the valley, Yun Xi, indeed became stronger.

Not only his body, but also his persistent heart. Overcoming his limit again and again brought him an incredible self-confidence.

You could say that at the time he fought against the green hippo, he was still a newbie who just learned parts of Hua Huo's talent and still needed the help of the environment to win his battles.

But now, he had already mastered the true key, and opened the realm of warriors. The door to a great future had been opened for him.

Much, much later, when Yun Xi recalled his naive period, he finally understood that when he stayed in the valley to hone himself... what a great change the Limit Training brought him.

However, at this moment, he still didn't know that his fate had been changed due to the twin witches.

Chapter 41: The Trial Reopens

"Mei'er, thank you."

Holding his tiny star spirit in his arms, Yun Xi quickly moved using the skill "Quicksilver Motion" and expressed his thanks to the cute and sensible star spirit.

It was way too difficult to do the Limit Practice in the empty valley.

Every time he finished one turn of the Limit Practice and fell to the ground under the big tree, Mei'er would lick his ears. Her tiny body went back and forth between the valley and the stream, bringing him lifesaving water.

Every time Yun Xi felt that he couldn't keep on, that his soul and body both had reached the limit, it was Mei'er that made him summon up his last strength, forcing him to go on.

If the green hippo's seed supported his body in finishing the grievous Limit Practice, then Mei'er was like a lighthouse in his heart, making him see hope when he was wandering in the sea of pain.

Now, Yun Xi was confident about the second star trial tonight.

Yes, today was the seventh day after the first trial. The time Mei'er said that the second star trial was going to start.

****

In the deep of night, Yun Xi sat on the roof of his home, looking at the starry sky.

Around him, the small village was so lively that it almost felt unfamiliar to Yun Xi.

One after another, bamboo houses occupied the place where families Yun Xi knew should be. The bamboo houses were very tall, the taller one was even over a hundred meters with huge banners hanging down from it.

"Wishing that Childe Yun He, Si Nian, and San Quan pass the trial of the Sword Palace! "

It wasn't the only banner like this. Even as Yun Xi headed back to village, he got to know the three hottest childes of the exam of the Sword Palace.

"Isn't that too exaggerated? These childes..." Looking at the small village that was decorated with lanterns and colored hangings and bursting with happiness, Yun Xi had never seen his hometown so lively.

"In fact, you know nothing about power..." Yun Xi reached out his small hands, feeling the light of the stars emanating from the sky.

Unlike the last time, this time he could clearly feel the coming of the power of the stars.

Compared to the last trial, this time, the scale of this trial increased by ten times.

Did that mean the stars thought there were ten times the amount of people that had the qualifications to enter the trial?

If so, just let it start. Perhaps tonight would be very long. With this kind of anticipation, Yun Xi went back to his small room, counting down to the time he had to enter the world of trial.

Ten, nine, eight, seven...

"Eh? Did I drink too much?" Childe Yun He was drinking with several noble friends, but he suddenly felt very sleepy. He couldn't keep himself awake and lied on the table.

"Let's drink to our heart's content tonight!"

"Let's walk together to the west!"

The noble childes who were drinking together with Childe Yun He were already drunk, and none of them found anything weird. They fell down one by one.

At the same time, in another place of the small village, the other boys and girls who took part in the exam of the Sword Palace also felt very sleepy.

"Hoo... why am I so sleepy? That's strange..." Childe Si Nian was practicing his sword skill in the yard he just bought. He yawned and put down his two-handed heavy sword.

"The hexagrams are very auspicious and says that I should go to bed as quick as possible?" Childe San Quan was divining his luck for tomorrow and got a good prediction. He closed his eyes with satisfaction, sinking into deep meditation.

However, this time, he fell asleep unconsciously.

In the soft light of the stars, one after another, geniuses who came from all directions of the White Lotus Sword Domain fell asleep unconsciously.

Half an hour later, Yun Xi's childhood sweetheart, Hua Huo, also fell asleep.

Finally, in the encampment beside the river, the twin witches stretched themselves together.

"It feels weird. I have a bad presentiment." Red Lotus rubbed her temples, trying to raise her spirit, but her eyes couldn't stop closing.

"Let's sleep, sleep, my sister." White Lotus was humming a soft and relaxing tune. Just like her sister, she also had an unknown presentiment.

However, it was a very sweet presentiment.

"No, I can't sleep... dammit..." Red Lotus's body shook for a couple of times, then finally laid down on the ground.

"Sister, let's have a good dream." White Lotus smiled sweetly, closing her eyes together with her sister.

****

"The second trial starts now!"

"Final Quest: The poor princess is locked up in an evil tower. Please defeat the evil stone soldier army and break into the tower to save the princess! "

"Optional Side Quest: The brave girl is challenging the evil dragon. Go to become her partner and defeat the evil dragon!"

"Armory opened!"

"Gallery of Spoils opened."

"Forging System opened!"

A series of notification tones rang in Yun Xi's ears. It wasn't as simple as the newbie trial, this trial was more difficult, and it was the first time there was a side quest that could be chosen. There were also the new armory, gallery of spoils, and forging system added in the trial.

Opening his eyes, Yun Xi found that he was sitting beside a bonfire in the sunset glow.

As far as his eyes could see, there was a great tower sitting at the end of the coast.

The dilapidated palaces were linked together by floating stone bridges, releasing an ancient aura of vicissitude.

Obviously, the great tower was the location where the "princess" was imprisoned. Yun Xi had even expected who the princess was. After all, in the small village, only "she" could be the most glorious and beautiful princess.

Looking to the left, there was an active volcano emitting out red clouds to the sky. He could hear a dragon's roar coming from that place and there were fierce griffins hovering above the volcano.

That was the way leading to the hero. Since the heroine was so powerful that she was able to challenge the evil dragon, Yun Xi practically knew who she was.

Last time, it was a single game line of the sleeping beauty, but this time there were two choices   the game line of heroine and the game line of the princess in the great tower?

The love system of the stars liked to make Yun Xi face extra-hard difficulties.

Just like last time, the stars also gave Yun Xi the map of the trial.

Yun Xi just took a glance, then the serried red points on the map scared him.

Except for the green point of himself, the green point in the volcano zone, and the green point on the top of the great tower, they were all blood red points.

"Ka La!"

"Ka La!"

"Ka La!"

It seemed that Yun Xi's coming activated the switch of this trial world. The stone soldiers in different palaces all opened their eyes one by one.

"Enemy!"

"Invader!"

"Find, eliminate!"

Yun Xi hadn't yet walked away from the bonfire but he already felt that he was involved in great danger.

Chapter 42: Stone Soldier Army

"Ka La!"

"Ka La!"

"Ka La!"

Unlike the newbie trial, Yun Xi didn't have enough time to prepare for it. After the trial started, a crowd of stone soldiers rushed out from the palace. They didn't even give him one tenth of a second to prepare.

With such little time, Yun Xi had only roughly observed the location the palace, the height of the volcano, and the distance between the final tower and himself.

Last was to choose weapons.

In the newbie trial, Yun Xi could only choose the newbie iron sword.

However, this time, he had other choices.

The first option was an iron sword, which Yun Xi was very familiar with. It was obviously the newbie iron sword which followed him while he was killed by the green hippo for 120 times, but was finally thrown away in front of the dark forest because he had to escape from Hua Huo at that time.

Not only this, he also obtained an armor. It was a pretty tattered cloth armor, but it was still better than nothing.

The last one was a sizeable, soft wooden shield. They were all the initial equipment Yun Xi had found beside the bonfire in this round of the star trial.

However, before Yun Xi decided which weapon was suitable for him, the crowd of stone soldiers had come to him!

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

These stone soldiers looked human, but they treated Yun Xi like their sworn enemy, rushing forward at him.

"Wait!"

The newbie trial left Yun Xi a wrong impression that the bonfire area was an absolutely safe area. Before he even picked up his sword, he had been chopped down by countless weapons, and then his whole body was trampled into minced meat.

The second trial, his death count: one.

After killing Yun Xi, the stone soldiers walked in a circle along the bonfire, then returned to the palace with satisfaction.

Ten seconds later, Yun Xi revived at the original place.

"Ka La! Ka La! Ka La!" Just as the stone soldiers walked back into the first palace, they immediately behaved as if Yun Xi stirred up their hornet's nest, rushing toward him again.

This time, Yun Xi learned his lesson. He put on the cloth armor and held the newbie iron sword in his hand. As for the shield, he hesitated for a while but did not pick it up.

After all, Hua Huo's seed didn't teach him skills for using the shield.

After the time of a few breaths, the stone soldiers had come for him again.

"Come on!" Yun Xi had prepared for a cruel star trial. He stepped forward, rushing towards the dozens of stone soldiers with great courage.

One hit. By using the Quicksilver Motion and Flying Swallow Sword he learned in the valley, Yun Xi took the lead in killing one of the stone soldiers.

At the next moment, dozens of weapons chopped at Yun Xi's body.

Three seconds later, another pool of blood stains appeared on the ground.

Ten seconds later, Yun Xi revived at the bonfire again. He helplessly looked at the stone soldier army rushing at him from the distance again.

Oh no, this wasn't what he expected!

To fight one on one was completely unlike fighting against many!

Even Hua Huo hadn't had the opportunity to fight against over thirty enemies. Moreover, they were not some weaklings, but elite warriors.

By his estimation, the weakest one among them was at the top level of the 1st rank, and the strongest enemies were at the top level of the 2nd rank. All of them had the strength to fight with Yun Xi one on one, not to mention they were rushing forward at Yun Xi trying to kill him together.

When they gathered together, they were even more dangerous than the 3rd-ranked green hippo.

At least, the green hippo's moves were full of flaws that could be caught by him. However, even if he could kill one of the stone soldiers who were transformed from the participants in the village, how is it possible for him to kill them all?

This was the first time that Yun Xi experienced the power of an army.

"No, no... are you kidding me?" Yun Xi revived again while holding the newbie iron sword in his hand. He looked at the palaces in the distance, counting the number of his enemies and showing a forlorn look on his face after that.

"How is it possible to kill them all?"

"The difference between the newbie trial and a formal trial is too big!"

Once again, Yun Xi felt how heavy and hot the star's love for him was.

"I won't give up! Even if you're the geniuses of the White Lotus Sword Domain, I will step across your corpses to see my princess!"

Yun Xi gnashed his teeth in anger. Relying on his iron-like will he practiced during the Limit Practice, his Flying Swallow Sword and Quicksilver Motion, Yun Xi took the initiative to rush toward the stone soldier army.

The first attack of the Flying Swallow Sword!

Yun Xi didn't save any of his strength. By relying on his speed, Yun Xi took the advantage to kill one of the weaker stone soldiers first.

A ball of green soul flew out from the stone soldier's corpse. It naturally flew into Yun Xi's body and improved his physical strength a little.

The second attack of the Flying Swallow Sword! After measuring the angle, Yun Xi brandished his sword. This time, he killed three stone soldiers together.

However, his luck ran out. Before Yun Xi used the last attack of the Flying Swallow Sword, the Assassin's Sword, various weapons had smashed down from the sky aiming at him from all directions.

Those childes of noble families, who were drawn into the trial by the stars and transformed into stone soldiers, weren't ordinary people.

If they didn't have enough power, how would they dare to take the test of the Sword Palace, which was conducted by the twin witches?

The stone soldiers who were killed by Yun Xi were the weakest among all the participants. They were just 16-years-old, but they were also at the top level of the 1st rank.

"Chi!" Before Yun Xi had the chance to feel his improved after his body absorbed the soul, he had been slashed through, torn apart, and cut up by weapon after weapon.

Green soul light-spots flew out from his body and flew back to the palace. Yun Xi observed that these souls were returned back to the stone soldiers again.

So that was what the rule was.

After killing his enemies, he still needed to absorb their souls. And once he was killed, the souls would fly out from his body and return back to their original bodies again.

This also meant that Yun Xi couldn't improve himself by killing the weaker enemies again and again.

That was reasonable. Equivalent exchange was the basic rule of the world. If he could improve himself by killing the soldiers again and again, the star's trial would be just a joke.

So there was just one stupid, but simple method he could choose. This was also the road the star's trial pointed out for him.

Becoming stronger bit by bit, activating his potential by wandering between life and death, and finally conquering the seemingly unconquerable road of trial!

There wasn't any shortcut. On the road to the great tower where the imprisoned princess was, he had to sprinkle countless blood. No matter what quest he chose, the road leading to the princess or the road leading to the heroine, he had to pay with the price of blood!

"Come on, let's start fighting!"

In the face of the aggressive stone soldier army, Yun Xi yelled.

Chapter 43: Blood and Death

Kill, kill, kill! Till blood flowed like a stream, till the sky became murky over the bloody earth!

How many times had he died? A hundred times or far more? Yun Xi had forgotten.

Quicksilver Motion, starting!

Zagging and brandishing his sword!

"Chi!" The sword blade cut through the first stone soldier's heart. Its blood sprayed in the air and stained Yun Xi's cloth armor.

The thirteenth!

Flying Swallow, Sixfold Attack!

Continuous Quicksilver Motioning and zagging. It was not the common Flying Swallow Triple Attack, but repeating the first move of The Flying Swallow Attack six times, bursting out the fastest and smoothest attack six times within the shortest time.

One, two, three. As the flying swallow hovered in the air, the stone soldiers it targeted fell down one by one, and out flew their green souls.

"Haa!"

With a stunning roaring, Yun Xi had used up his strength. But it was too early to change his posture as a big and tall person jumped down from a high position and cracked Yun Xi's head by using a big stone, tablet-like sword.

Yun Xi's blood winded through the ground. He also kept this guy in his mind.

****

"Boom!"

Under Yun Xi's feet, the giant weapon struck the ground into debris. Yun Xi slipped through the weapon's bombardment and the coordinated attacks of the stone soldiers.

He diverted the four swords from locking onto his heart by lifting his shield up and was going to strike back, when he suddenly felt the back of his head go cold.

Out of his sight from the high above in the sky where it obviously was beyond the reach of a human, a pair of glassy swords flew and hovered in the sky with Yun Xi's blood dripping from its blade.

It was that guy. At that moment where Yun Xi's head fell to the ground, he saw that inconspicuous but hateful enemy.

****

"Din! Din! Din!" With a stream of the tinkling sounds of weapons, Yun Xi skillfully moved the shield in his hands and blocked all their frontal attacks. Afterwards, he made a backflip and dodged the whirling twin swords that dropped down from the sky.

Flying Swallow Sixfold Attack! By using the collision size of the stone soldiers as his shield, Yun Xi played his ace, the new learned deadly skill.

One, two, three... three stone soldiers' heads were cut off and flew to the sky.

At the next second, a weird and longsword shadow flashed in the crowd. Yun Xi felt his body go cold and his heart stop. Then, only blood red remained in front of his eyes.

Again. It was that person. Out of the corner of Yun Xi's eyes, Yun Xi forced himself to look at that place, making out that person's unmatched and ethereal figure among these stone soldiers.

****

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" Yun Xi's heartbeats made a whooshing sound that echoed in the empty frontage square of the palace.

He had died 135 times.

The main reason, death under siege.

His head was cut off dozens of times; his body was torn to pieces dozens of times; he was trampled to death dozens of times due to the lost of his balance, and he was hacked dozens of times after falling to the ground due to taking an arrow to the knee.

In the past, Yun Xi thought that fighting desperately with the green hippo for 120 times was already the most violent massacre in the world.

Now, he knew that he had made a grave mistake.

He just stepped in the battlefield of his first formal trial and didn't even get through the first level. However, he had already tasted death three times more than during the newbie trial.

"Come on, there are only you three left!" Standing in the middle of a large number of broken arms and wreckage and stepping on a stone soldier's corpse, Yun Xi held his shield and provoked the last three high-level stone soldiers who were rushing out from the first palace.

Yes, the shield. After killing enemies one after another by using Quicksilver Motion and Flying Swallow Sword, his killing record stopped at 17. Finally, Yun Xi remembered that beside the bonfire, there was a shield.

Reality taught him that the three pieces of equipment the stars prepared for him in the trial were all indispensable.

The newbie iron sword wouldn't wear and tear, so he didn't need to worry about if it would be curved in the killing.

The cloth armor didn't have a high defence but it really could reduce deadly injuries and offer him the little necessary defence.

The last one was the shield. Just like the newbie iron sword, the shield also wouldn't wear and tear. At the most critical moment, it could save Yun Xi's life.

Without the shield, Yu Xi wouldn't have been able to kill the twenty-seven stone soldiers. He finally got the opportunity to fight against the last three high-level stone soldiers.

At least till now, this was his best achievement and was also the most difficult challenge in the first level.

Yun Xi clearly remembered that he had been killed by the three high-level stone soldiers at least two hundred times.

In order to distinguish the three high-level soldiers from other common soldiers, Yun Xi marked the three people as Stone Soldier Number One, Number Two, and Number Three.

Stone Soldier Number One's strength was near the upper level of the 2nd rank. He was good at using two swords and had a high speed. His special attack skill was Whirling Two Swords.

He could throw out the two swords and have them return to his hands by themselves. Yun Xi had never seen such a sword skill.

Stone Soldier Number Two was also at the upper level of the 2nd rank. He was mighty and adept at using the heavy sword. His special attack skill was Leaping Attack.

His skill was simple and a little like the green hippo's straight-line attack, but the difference was that he often chose to attack Yun Xi when he was in a hitback motion. His deadly Leaping Attack often made Yun Xi face death directly.

Stone Soldier Number Three was at the mid level of the 2nd rank. He was good at using the snake bone soft sword, which was a pretty rare weapon. His special attack was Spirit Snake's Chaotic Dancing.

He was undoubtedly the weakest one among the three high-level stone soldiers. However, most of the time, it was him that killed Yun Xi because he was the only one who didn't fear Yun Xi's Flying Swallow Sword.

Arguably, it was his Spirit Snake Sword Skill that made Yun Xi learn how to use the shield.

Apart from this, Yun Xi had found the method to kill the other twenty-seven stone soldiers one by one.

In the end, there were only the three strongest high-level stone soldiers that Yun Xi had to deal with, who were so thorny and had completely different properties.

"..." The tallest enemy, Stone Soldier Number Two, mumbled a few words and stood up first.

Compared to Yun Xi, who was covered in bumps and bruises and was too horrible to look at, this burly guy was not harmed at all and was in his best state. The other two people were also in the same state.

They had also experienced those sanguinary battles, but the three people could keep themselves in their best state and weren't killed by Yun Xi even once. This had proved their strength.

They were at a high level, high above the twenty-seven deceased stone soldiers.

Though they were called ‘the childes of noble families’ just like all the other people, they were true elites. The geniuses like Ashen, who had felt complacent just because of their little gifts, were not at the same level with them at all.

They didn't use all their strength. They just coldly looked at Yun Xi killing the stone soldiers and had no worries because they were far weaker than them.

The reason was simple - they all had the strength to kill Yun Xi one on one. They mastered their family's inheritance. Even if Yun Xi learned how to use Quicksilver Motion and Flying Swallow Sword, he still couldn't fight against them.

For them, Yun Xi was just a toy they used to enjoy the feeling of killing.

Chapter 44: Yun Xi's Outbreak

"Hee hee, things became interesting." Stone Soldier Number Two carried his big sword, carelessly walking toward Yun Xi.

Compared to Yun Xi, who was covered in bumps and bruises while holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, Stone Soldier Number Two was in a much better state.

Most of the time Yun Xi was killed by the three stone soldiers. They were the biggest factor that caused Yun Xi's deaths.

In regards to the boys and girls of noble families who were at the 1st rank or just entered the 2nd rank in the common army, they were super elites. Every one of them was able to threaten Yun Xi's life alone.

In principle, Yun Xi had Hua Huo's seed.  He shouldn't be driven to the last ditch by them.

If it were a fair battle, the winning percentage of Yun Xi against any of them would be more than 90%.

Unfortunately, fairness wasn't a thing that existed in the world. Yun Xi already knew it when he faced the star trials the first time.

If it was about talent or combat intuition, after obtaining Hua Huo's seed, he also obtained a huge advantage.

However, they had a greater advantage than him.

The biggest reason that caused his death every time: Equipment.

Yes. The reason why Yun Xi was killed by the three people was because their equipment was way better than his.

Stone Soldier Number One had a pair of whirling swords. Stone Soldier Number Two had a big sword. Stone Soldier Number Three had a Snake Bone Soft Sword. They were all weapons of the best quality, which were made by using special methods, and even had a few special abilities.

Mortals couldn't use hero-ranked weapons, so their weapons still weren't beyond the limit of the Mortal rank. However, they were still three masterpieces of skilled craftsmen.

It seemed that the whirling twin swords Stone Soldier Number One owned had a special magnetism. No matter where he threw it to, it would eventually fly back to its owner.

The big sword Stone Soldier Number Two owned weighed up to over a 100 kg. It was a heavy weapon that was only fit for people who were born with superhuman strength.

The Snake Bones Soft Sword Stone Soldier Number Three owned was the most terrible and fatal evil sword among the three weapons. It even possessed a few abilities that normally only hero-ranked weapons had. At the very moment he brandished his sword, it could cheat its enemy's sight and spatial sense.

But as for Yun Xi, he had only a newbie sword, a newbie cloth armor, and a newbie wooden shield.

The three people all had swords that fitted them the most, they had experienced the best education since their childhoods and their power was also all better than Yun Xi's.

Yun Xi could only defeat them by using his talent and his 3rd-ranked combat intuition.

Unfortunately, at the Mortal rank, weapons and equipments were more important than Yun Xi's imagination.

This was the impassable wide gap among ordinary people and Childes. It was the largest factor that couldn't be surpassed by talent.

At the Mortal rank, children of noble families had craftsmen specially making weapons for them, plus they could learn their families' sword skills. Compared to common swordsmen who were at the same rank as them, they had overwhelming advantages.

Yun Xi didn't know where the three top-level stone soldiers were from and who they were, but after experiencing battles again and again, he had clearly touched the limit that common swordsmen could reach.

Weapons were really important.

The first time, Yun Xi began to think more seriously about this point, what common swordsmen lacked most...

"You can't kill the dragon without good weapons and equipment". This was a proverb from the Western God's Domain. It implicitly told young boys who wanted to become strong, that they shouldn't ignore the importance of equipment - even if they were super geniuses.

Good equipment could play an extremely important role in battle. Those Childes who had received the best education knew it clearer than anyone.

In that case, even though Yun Xi had killed twenty-seven stone soldiers, in the eyes of the three top-level stone soldiers, he was still just so-so.

"Pa!" Yun Xi threw away his shield, though it had protected him countless times during the battle and held his sword with one hand.

I know it. You have better weapons than me and received a better education than me. You were born with everything.

Perhaps this is just a game in your eyes. A game of chicken, a game that was named as "slaughter".

But I tell you, you are wrong!

You know nothing about true talent!

Your biggest mistake was just sitting by and watching me kill the twenty-seven stone soldiers who could originally help you!

One fighting against thirty and one fighting against three were two totally different situations!

Quicksilver Motion!

Giving up defence and using the skill of Flying Swallow Sword to its limit!

The first attack of the hovering swallow!

"Hee ha!" Stone Soldier Two tensed his muscles. He held his heavy sword and made a whirlwind slash.

"Hee!" Stone Soldier Number One threw out his whirling twin swords from his hands. The twin swords dropped from the sky from a weird angle.

"Buzz!" The Snake Bones Soft Sword suddenly quivered in the hands of Stone Soldier Number Three. It was like a viper that darted out from the grass, biting at the hovering swallow.

In their eyes, Yun Xi's Flying Swallow Sword was the only move they thought that could threaten them. However, after observing him for so long, they had found the weakness of the flying swallow.

The Viper's Bite that Stone Soldier Number Three understood was faster than the flying swallow.

"Who told you that I can only use the Flying Swallow Sword?!"

The first attack of flying swallow was not completed, because Yun Xi proactively broke it.

You were my first target!

Nine cold sword lights flashed. It was way more swift, violent, and deadly than the Snake Bones Soft Sword.

Attack the weakest one. Though Stone Soldier Number Three had the weirdest sword skill and the fastest speed among all the three top-level stone soldiers, but he was still at the 2nd rank. He was the weakest one among all the three people.

In order to pursue speed, he must weaken his defence. From the beginning, Yun Xi was aiming at Stone Soldier Number Three, because his threat was the biggest and his weakness was also very conspicuous.

"Chi! Chi! Chi!" With the noise of wind and the noise of blood dropped down, before the smile disappeared from the corner of Stone Soldier Number Three's mouth, his body had been cut into two by Yun Xi.

As a price, one of Yun Xi's hands was chopped down by the whirling sword from the side.

"Even if I have only one hand, you still can't beat me down!" Why had Yun Xi left them to the end? Not only because they were the strongest, but also because they were the most stupid.

They knew nothing about true talent.

The sword was dancing. This time, Yun Xi finally used the complete Flying Swallow Triple Attack.

Stone Soldier Number Two looked very shocked. He put the heavy sword in front of himself, trying to block Yun Xi's critical slash.

You can't block my attack!

The first attack chopped on the left part of the heavy sword.

The second attack chopped on the right part of the heavy sword.

The last attack was as elegant as the flying swallow, chopping down Stone Soldier Number Two's head.

Your greatest weakness was that you don't know the horror between life and death!

After going beyond the limit of oneself, humans could have an outbreak of incredible potential that is even greater and beyond their own imagination!

Chapter 45: Kill!

"How is this possible!" As the only Stone Soldier left standing, Stone Soldier Number One looked incredulously at Yun Xi who had lost one of his arms and was stained with blood.

He remembered that three seconds ago, they still had an overwhelming advantage because the human body had its limit.

After killing twenty-seven stone soldiers - though there were just some trash fish or cannon fodders in their eyes - he should already be very tired.

After seeing the brat's miserable appearance, the three people played the hunter game with ease, preparing to slaughter this unenlightened kid with the most terrible method.

"Your biggest arrogant mistake was to give up your numerical superiority." Yun Xi gasped. Though he had lost one of his arms, his eyes were still bright.

The biggest difference between the first star trial and the newbie trial was that the number of his enemies grew by leaps.

One versus one with Hua Huo's seed, as a 1st ranked warrior, Yun Xi could even kill 3rd-ranked monsters like the fierce green hippo.

One versus thirty, though Yun Xi already reached the 2nd rank, he had already been killed three hundred times by the stone soldiers, who were also at the 2nd rank.

By using the bloody reality, the stars were teaching Yun Xi what the true battlefield was like.

Here, no one would have a one-on-one fight with you. If you had to face over thirty enemies, flesh and blood could do nothing.

Maybe when Hua Huo was still at the 2nd rank, she could kill the thirty people by herself with ease, but that didn't mean Yun Xi could do the same.

He wasn't Hua Huo. Even though his combat awareness had reached the 3rd rank, his body didn't. He needed to adjust his body and try again and again, suffering attacks by using his own flesh and blood, in order to figure out what the weapons were, the battle skills, and attack habits of the thirty stone soldiers.

Every death let Yun Xi gain a deeper understanding about the bloody battlefield.

If the Limit Practice in the valley opened the door of the warrior for Yun Xi, then you could say that the formal trial led Yun Xi to finally step on the road behind the door.

After dying for 315 times, Yun Xi finally found the way to success. By using the three top-level stone soldiers' arrogance, he killed the other twenty-seven ordinary stone soldiers.

As higher-level stone soldiers, they owned special legacies. Their biggest shortcoming was their disdain for those ordinary stone soldiers.

They could never imagine that without the twenty-seven ordinary stone soldiers and with only themselves to fight with Yun Xi, what a terrifying strength he could burst out with.

"Dammit..." As his two hands held the whirling sword, streams of sweat dropped from Stone Soldier Number One's forehead.

Why has this dream suddenly changed?

He still remembered that just now, it was still a game to let them slaughter the stupid and overconfident newbie.

However, in an instant, the newbie became a terrifying monster. He'd killed two of the strongest three people!

"No! I'm the strongest!"

"They are just my sidekicks!" As a top-level elite of a noble family, he wouldn't concede defeat.

"You... are scared..." Yun Xi took a deep breath.

"Me? No!" Stone Soldier Number One held his twin swords.

"You beastly kid, you think your talent is enough to support your arrogance?

"You don't understand how many times we are better than you!

"I will let you witness my true power!

"You've lost one of your arms, in that case, do you still think that you can match up to me?"

His twin swords danced in the air. It was a sword skill Yun Xi had never seen. In a flash, he lost the twin swords from his sight.

It was no wonder that he was an elite of a noble family. Yun Xi didn't look down on his opponent's strongest attack.

Quicksilver Motion!

Flying Swallow Triple Attack!

"There you go. It's just the Flying Swallow Attack!" Stone Soldier Number One had realized what Yun Xi's sword skill was.

Flying Swallow Attack was famous for its dexterity and elegance. It needed its practitioners to have a high flexibility and manual dexterity, a secret sword skill that could only be learned by people who had extraordinary talent.

In the air, this sword skill was created by a real swordmaster. When he used this skill, he could cut off space. Besides, it was the key leading to more advanced sword skills.

However, most of the people who were able to master this secret sword skill were girl geniuses who were thirteen or fourteen years old.

Very few Mortal males had the physical flexibility and manual dexterity to learn this sword skill. As time passed, the Flying Swallow Sword nearly became a special sword skill that could only be learned by females.

The whirling twin swords became two crane wing-like light balls. They flew from the left and right, crashing into each other with Yun Xi's Flying Swallow Triple Attack.

The first attack, his Flying Swallow was bounced back by the whirling sword on the left.

The second attack, his Flying Swallow was bounced back by the whirling sword on the right.

His last attack, the secret assassin attack, was also blocked by the crossed two swords.

In the next moment, two swords cut through Yun Xi's body together, giving him a deadly attack.

How awesome was it! It wasn't inferior to the Flying Swallow Sword at all. Yun Xi felt like he was blind as a bat, which meant that his physical strength and mental strength both reached its limits.

Just now, he killed Stone Soldier Number Two and Number Three, he needed to pay for it. Especially the nine sword lights he used to kill the stone soldier who had the Snake Bones Soft Sword. It was the first time that Yun Xi used them. He couldn't control them perfectly yet.

However, he hadn't failed yet!

"Aaaargh!" He didn't think that he had to fear anything.

Since he didn't fall down, it meant that the fight hadn't ended yet, you Childe of a noble family!

"Bang!" Though Yun Xi's body was cut through by the two swords, he didn't hesitate to knock his body on the Stone Soldier Number One's body, and the next was his fierce headbutt attack.

"Ah!" With a piercing scream, Stone Soldier number One, who thought he had achieved victory, toppled to the ground. A bloodstain appeared on his forehead.

I say, you Childes who grew up in a greenhouse, you underestimate the battlefield too much.

Before I was able to do this, I had been killed by you 315 times!

Yun Xi ground his teeth, drawing the sword out of his own body and brandishing it towards him.

The last stone soldier's head flew to the sky. A great deal of blood spurted out of his neck, staining Yun Xi's body, making him dirtier.

However, he was the winner.

Compared to the battle between him and the green hippo, the battle this time was more brutal, desperate, and cruel. However, by relying on the sword talent Hua Huo's seed brought him, and his will of never giving up and collapsing, Yun Xi finally passed the first stage.

In front of the first palace, an enormous number of green souls flew around on the battlefield, as Yun Xi then absorbed them one by one.

By absorbing them, Yun Xi's wounds and awful scars all recovered bit by bit.

The warm bonfire lit up Yun Xi's gritty face. The bloody sword blade was reflected in his eyes.

Finally, he took his first step in the trial of blood and fire.

"The next step is to check my spoils."

Chapter 46: Forging

Sure enough, the formal trial was unlike the newbie trial.

Though it was difficult, in the first level of the trial - the first group of stone soldiers had killed Yun Xi three hundred times, but Yun Xi had also obtained equal rewards from them.

Yun Xi only obtained the hippo's soul from the green hippo. However, besides the stone soldier's souls, the stone soldier army Yun Xi killed also provided him four spoils.

Three of the spoils made Yun Xi feel the importance of weapons and the equipment Yun Xi obtained in the formal trial.

The two cranes swords - they were two famous swords owned by the second Childe of the Yun He family, and forged by the seventeenth successor of God Craftsman Ou Yezi.

They were two swords specially made for supporting the Yun He Sword Skill. They had the property that could be thrown out to attack enemies by itself and then fly back to its master.

"The Yun He Sword Skill..." Yun Xi couldn't stop himself from remembering the several people who were living in the highest bamboo houses in the small village. Childe Yun He was one of them.

The next was the two-handed sword that the Number Two Stone Soldier used.

It was a standard two-handed sword of the Thunder Army in the Western God's Domains - he walking sword of Childe Si Nian, and was made by the Western God Artisan's Guild.

It was 108 kg and only a person with superhuman strength could use it. It could even be used as a siege weapon!

The last one was the weirdest sword, which brought Yun Xi the biggest trouble.

Snake Bones Soft Sword - it was the heritage spirit weapon of the White Lotus Sword Domain's Snake Bones Family. It was held by the current Childe Snake Bones, and no one knew who its maker was. People only knew that it was probably forged from some hero-ranked spirit snakes' remnant parts.

It was specially made for supporting the Snake Bones Sword Skill. After reaching the Hero rank, its user could summon the shadow of the spirit snake out of the sword to fight for him.

Spirit Weapon. It was the first spirit weapon Yun Xi had obtained.

Mortals couldn't display the true power of weapons at this level. They could only use them as the best mortal-ranked weapons.

No wonder Childe Snake Bones's attacks were so weird - the Snake Bones Soft Sword was a true Spirit Weapon! It was a great waste to be used by a Mortal.

"But I can't use them at all!" Looking at the spoils he obtained in his first formal trial, Yun Xi was a little annoyed.

No matter if it was the two Cranes Swords or Snake Bones Soft Sword, they were all specially made for supporting sword skills. Especially the Snake Bones Soft Sword, it needed a special bloodline to match with it. In that case, Yun Xi couldn't even use it.

Now, Yun Xi could only use the standard two-handed sword of the Thunder Army from the Western God's Domain.

However, Yun Xi's power was from Hua Huo's seed; his strongest sword skill was the lightweight and flexible Flying Swallow Sword. It wasn't something that matched with the super giant sword which weighed 108 kilograms.

Yun Xi twisted the corner of his mouth slightly after he imagined his slender Hua Huo waving the two-handed giant sword to attack someone.

No, no, he couldn't use them. After picking and choosing, Yun Xi found that now, the newbie iron sword was still the optimal choice for him.

Fortunately, the fourth spoil gave Yun Xi a hint, that even though these weapons didn't fit him, they could still offer him their power.

The last spoils were ten small crystals that emitted teeny green lights.

These fragments of green crystals were the Essence of Weapon Enhancement. They could be used to forge and enhance low-level weapons. (The fragments could be obtained after randomly defeating enemies or by disassembling low-level weapons.)

"Disassemble them." Yun Xi decided to dissemble the Snake Bones Soft Sword and the flying Crane Wings Twin Swords, leaving only the two-handed giant sword, because he thought that maybe he could use it.

The method to disassembling weapons was simple, he had only to throw the weapon he couldn't use into the bonfire.

"Ding!" After a while, dozens of the fragments of green crystals flew out from the bonfire and fell into Yun Xi's hands.

"Well, the Crane Wings Twin Swords gave me four fragments."

"The Snake Bones Soft Sword is worthy of being called a Spirit Weapon, it gave me thirty-one fragments!" After counting out all the fragments of green crystals he had, Yun Xi moved his eyes to the four pieces of equipment in his armory.

The newbie iron sword, the newbie cloth armor, the newbie wooden shield, and the standard two-handed sword of the Thunder Army from the Western God's Domain.

At the first glance, it would be best to use all the fragments of green crystals to forge and enhance the last spoil, because it could improve his combat capabilities immediately.

The problem was that the strongest choice was not always the optimal choice. After hesitating for a while, Yun Xi chose the newbie iron sword - because it was the most suitable one for him.

Up to now, he had the highest proficiency with the newbie iron sword among all the weapons he had used. He decided to change for a better sword after obtaining more spoils after the trial.

As for the uncommon standard two-handed sword of the Thunder Army, oh, maybe he could learn how to use it in the future.

"Enhance the newbie iron sword." After putting the newbie iron sword in front of the bonfire, Yun Xi sent out the "Enhancing" order.

Three green crystals immediately turned into ashes and began to enhance the newbie iron sword for the first time.

The green light points infiltrated the newbie iron sword and engraved new grooves on the common newbie iron sword.

Every groove would use three green crystals. After using up nine green crystals, the newbie iron sword had three beautiful ancient-style grooves on it which made it look better.

However, the green crystals gave no response at all after that.

"Could it only be enhanced three times?" Yun Xi knew that this was the newbie iron sword's limit. It was limited by its material quality and couldn't be engraved with any more grooves in it.

To be honest, even the three grooves had surprised Yun Xi. He didn't know how it was made, it was a superlative craftsmanship.

After enhancing three times, it didn't change anything, no matter its centre of gravity or quality of balance. However, its material quality and sharpness had been improved to a higher level.

Perhaps the newbie iron sword couldn't compare to the two-handed sword of Thunder Army now, but it was already a fine sword. It could at least be regarded as a top grade weapon among all Mortal weapons.

Especially, when it had the special property - "Never wear", which was the only property of the newbie weapon.

"Well, then, it's your turn now." After successfully enhancing the newbie iron sword, Yun Xi enhanced the newbie cloth armor and the newbie wooden shield to their limit without hesitation.

As the same as the newbie iron sword, the enhancing limit of the newbie cloth armor and the newbie wooden shield was three times. However, the cloth armor needed three times more green crystals than the iron sword, which meant that it used nine fragments of green crystals to engrave a single groove.

After that, Yun Xi had used all the fragments of green crystals he obtained in the first level.

However, the expensive enhancement brought Yun Xi power. After putting the three pieces of newbie equipment on his body, Yun Xi could clearly feel the power the pieces of equipment brought him.

Chapter 47: Lancers

The first was the newbie iron sword. The iron sword was the weapon Yun Xi was most comfortable with. And now it was brand new, shining cold light from its sword handle to the point of the blade.

Undoubtedly, its weight and center didn't change, but it was more comfortable and flexible to hold it in his hands.

If there was a specific way to describe it, the newbie sword has enhanced Yun Xi's combat power by over 150%.

The next was the newbie cloth armor. After engraving three grooves on it, it supported Yun Xi by defending his vulnerable body parts better. At least, he wouldn't be cut so easily again.

As for the last one, the newbie wooden shield, it improved in stability and anti-impact ability; which also meant that Yun Xi needed to master higher skills to use it.

After experiencing violent battles, wandering between death and life, Yun Xi was keenly aware of the importance of good weapons and equipment on the battlefield.

If he had these three pieces of equipment at that time, perhaps he would only to die a hundred times and would pass through the first test perfectly.

This was also the reason as to why he enhanced all his equipment without any hesitation after getting the fragments of green crystal.

Because of the horror of death, it made him feel the value of life more clearly.

Humans shouldn't get used to death. Yun Xi didn't become numb to the frequent deaths but only valued his own life more carefully.

He knew that people died if they were killed. In the real world, there was no bonfire that could l revive him without limit.

"My strength improved by about... 10%?" At the end of the first stage of the trial, Yun Xi absorbed all the souls of the stone soldier army.

The souls of every single stone soldier only offered Yun Xi a few improvements. Even after he had absorbed the last three stone soldiers' souls, they couldn't match up with the green hippo's soul at all.

The energy in the souls of the stone soldier army was more than the energy of the green hippo's soul by about 1.5 times, but to kill them was far more difficult than to kill the green hippo. Yun Xi even missed the stupid green hippo a little from the newbie trial.

The green hippo's soul let Yun Xi become a 1st-ranked swordsman and the green hippo's seed let Yun Xi level up to 2nd rank after his Limit Practice.

Well, though the hippo was supposed to be killed, but it would be regarded as a pretty good novice package. It would be better if Ashen summoned more hippos at that time.

"The next step, is to choose the route." Standing in the empty palace, Yun Xi looked at the doors leading to two different areas.

Behind the two doors, there were wide bridges and both bridges had several stone soldiers wandering on them.

The door on the left led to the volcanic area, where gathered countless flames - It was the location of the young heroine, who was going to fight the evil dragon.

The door on the right led to the great tower - At the end of the coastline waited the imprisoned princess.

Now, Yun Xi had to make his choice.

Should he do the branch quest first, meeting with his childhood sweetheart and fighting against the evil dragon in the volcanic area with her, or directly finish the main quest, going to the great tower to save the princess of the twin witches?

"By the way, do they really need my help?" Yun Xi stood in the middle of the fork with a helpless expression on his face.

The road to the left led to his childhood sweetheart Hua Huo. His strongest ability was obtained from her seed. Did such an awesome childhood sweetheart really need him to fight side by side with her?

The road to the right led to the twin witches, Red Lotus and White Lotus. Hey, hey, hey! Is there even anyone in the village that’s able to imprison you? You are two Hero ranked warriors who can even fly!

Thinking about it, Yun Xi felt that the world was so ridiculous.

"Sure enough, I should go meet with Hua Huo." Though in the hot spring White Lotus showed her love to him, but in Yun Xi's heart, Hua Huo was the most important one.

After all, they were childhood sweethearts who lived together for ten years. Besides, she was also his first love; he knew her quite well.

Since he had made the decision, Yun Xi didn't hesitate anymore. He directly rushed out of the palace.

"Ka La! Ka La!" In the hallway, a stone soldier holding a lance in its hand leaped into the air. It brandished its lance and locked onto Yun Xi's position.

3rd rank! It was a strong stone soldier at the 3rd rank! Was its class Lancer?

The attack of a 3rd rank was far more powerful than the attack of a 2nd rank. Anyone who was at the 3rd rank was certain to have mastered a method to improve his power and could break out with a power that Mortals could never imagine.

They were the strongest presences amongst all Mortals. Each one of them could be regarded as a valiant general who could fight one against thousands of enemies.

"Ding!" The wooden shield he had just enhanced played a role at this crucial moment. It helped Yun Xi block the mortal blow from the sky.

Quicksilver Motion and Flying Swallow Sword! His combat instinct waking up immediately, Yun Xi struck back.

"Chi! Chi! Chi!" The sharp lance danced like a violent storm in the air, breaking through Yun Xi's Flying Swallow Sword from the center and thrusting into Yun Xi's chest.

The enhanced newbie cloth armor worked again. It helped Yun Xi block the unknown 3rd-ranked strong person's thrust.

"Cough!" Yun Xi vomited out blood from his mouth as he quickly stepped back.

The enemy was too strong. He was more powerful than the 3rd-ranked enemies Yun Xi had met before. Even the green hippo wasn't at the same level with him.

He was apparently a veteran of many wars. His lance never drew back, he was really a violent general-like man. And his lance skill was also a military style, it had no extra skills except the killing techniques themselves.

"Hoo!" He didn't give Yun Xi the chance to adjust himself. After the thrusting, the violent general-like man swept Yun Xi to the sky with his shield.

"Too bad, I lost my balance!" Yun Xi heard harsh howling. It was the fatal announcement of death.

"Just fight!" Yun Xi threw away the newbie wooden shield. He struck an unnatural pose and brandished his sword nine times in the air.

It was the secret sword skill he used to kill the owner of the Snake Bones Soft Sword, a skill that could only be used after mastering Flying Swallow Skill, killing his enemy by brandishing his sword nine times from different angles and directions.

"Uh?" With a surprised voice, the lance struck back nine times on the nine sword waves, breaking Yun Xi's unique skill from the center again.

He was too strong. What to do? Yun Xi turned around in the air, standing on the stone pillar of the bridge. For the first time, he looked his opponent up and down.

Yun Xi surprisingly found that he wasn't a Childe of a noble family, but a real general wearing military armor.

He even knew the general very well. When he was still young, the general and his army had passed by the small village more than once.

"Why is it him?" Yun Xi was dumbfounded. After all, he was a former general of the White Lotus Sword Domain, an army chief who had the title as "Battle Deity"!

When he was young, the general was the idol of many boys in the village and was the only 3rd-ranked person who emerged from the small village.

As far as Yun Xi knew, he was over forty-years-old this year.

Chapter 48: The Five Great Generals

So, the trial didn't only pull the young Childes of the noble families in here, but older people were in its range as well...

Yun Xi remembered that when he was young, a "Battle Deity" was a big deal.

Not only him. There were also other generals who passed by the small village sometimes when they led their troops to go on patrol.

They were called the "Five Tiger Generals" and were seen as great heroes.

When didn't the young boys and girls in the village regard themselves as their heroes?

Well, Yun Xi remembered what happened after Hua Huo dueled them.

In the duel, Hua Huo beat the five people down at the same time.

After that, Hua Huo replaced the position of the five generals, becoming the unquestionable number one in the hearts of all the young boys and girls in village.

He remembered that the invitation of White Lotus Sword Palace was also sent to her at that time.

Since a genuine "Battle Deity" was here, Yun Xi had a hunch that the several big and tall stone soldiers behind him were...

Yun Xi raised his head up, looking at the several familiar faces.

They looked like they were cut from the same mold. They all had strong muscles, big and tall bodies, finely tempered, fine steel lances, and looked like five standard lancers.

Yes, they were the famous Five Tiger Generals in the Mortal army of the White Lotus Sword Domain, the successors of the "Ruinous Star Sect", which was located in the sword blade region of the domain. It was said they were five cousins.

Zhao Ming, Zhao Xiong, Zhao Chu, Zhao Chui, and Zhao Shen. These were the Five Tiger Generals' names, and the true name of the general "Battle Deity" was Zhao Xiong.

However, many people thought the five generals looked like they were cut from the same mold. No matter if it was their powerful muscles or frightening faces, it made everyone refuse to believe that they were not brothers.

The reason people called them the "Five Tiger Generals", was because their faces were too alike.

"General Zhao Xiong." Yun Xi adjusted his breath.

This was the first time he would fight against a general who was so powerful, that he alone could replace a thousand normal enemies. Yun Xi felt a little nervous.

No matter if it were battle skills, attack power, or fighting abilities, the green hippo who had only brute force couldn't be compared to General Zhao Xiong.

Even if he ignored other factors, his simple "sweep away" skill had already forced Yun Xi into a desperate situation.

However, Hua Huo's seed sent him a strange piece of information. It seemed to be trying to tell Yun Xi that general "Battle Deity" Zhao Xiong, wasn't unbeatable.

At that time, when Hua Huo put herself against the Five Tiger Generals and defeated them one by one, she wasn't at the 3rd rank, but at the 2nd rank, the same as Yun Xi.

"Is this... true?" If Yun Xi didn't obtain Hua Huo's seed, he would never have figured out that the five generals, who were also known as the Five Military Strategists, had the same weakness.

"Well... it should be here..." Yun Xi looked around, then skillfully dashed towards General Zhao Xiong.

"Ohhhh!" General Zhao Xiong looked pretty excited. In the dream, he seemed to have returned to the most important battle in his life.

At that day, his opponent was also so tiny and nimble, it seemed as if he could easily beat her down by a sudden strike.

However, in the end, the battle ended with his crushing defeat. Not only him, but his four brothers - Zhao Ming, Zhao Chu, Zhao Chui, and Zhao Shen, were all defeated by the little girl's sword.

That was the first time he realized how wide the gap was among geniuses and ordinary people, and that battle also became the turning point of his life.

After being defeated by the sword skill of the genius girl, he finally realized the limit of his talent. He understood that he probably couldn't step on the road to the Hero rank during his lifetime. Then, he gave up, he followed his family's arrangement: marrying a wife and having a son. Now, his children were already old enough to hold a lance.

Perhaps that was the limit of his life. He had pinned all his hopes on his children.

Now, his son had succeeded his blood. Though his son could only practice with a wooden lance now, but his lance skill already looked like his father's and would definitely surpass him.

However sometimes, when he woke up from a dream, he couldn't stop himself from imagining what would have happened if he had won that duel.

He thought he wasn't the only one who thought so. His brothers, who also had gotten married and had children, would also imagine that battle.

Zhao Ming, Zhao Xiong, Zhao Chu, Zhao Chui, and Zhao Shen, they were called the Five Tiger Generals. They must've cared about that duel too much, so they had this dream together.

The opponent in their dream wasn't a girl. However, his sword skill and battle style looked exactly like the genius girl they remembered.

What a wonderful dream!

After that battle, they had reflected on it countless times. They practiced their lance skills, thinking about the mistakes they made in the battle over and over again. Now, they finally had the opportunity to fight again in the dream!

"He ha!" Zhao Xiong shouted. The lance he held rotated, drawing a circle in the air. He dashed towards Yun Xi.

This was it, this was the feeling! The feeling that, though his strength and attacks held the advantage, his heart still beat heavily.

Kid, try your best!

Let's start a jolly and hearty fight!

One on one!

"One... two... three... four..." Yun Xi took a few nimble steps, shielding the heavy lance arc by using his sword. Then, he showed his back to General Zhao Xiong, exposing his weakness on purpose.

At the moment Yun Xi showed him his back, General Zhao Xiong's eyes suddenly turned red. His steel lance rotated like a drilling bit, starting his fatal-violent lunge toward Yun Xi.

"Here it is... five... six..." Yun Xi rolled over, which almost was at the extreme limit of the human body and then jumped up on the edge of the bridge.

"Boom!" General Zhao Xiong's lance furiously broke through the balustrade of the bridge. Then, he dropped down into the green water under the bridge without hesitation.

"Plop!" With a loud noise, the water splashed ten meters high.

After about dozens of seconds, a ball of green soul of the stone soldier flew to Yun Xi.

"Eh... so it's true..." Yun Xi stood on the position General Zhao Xiong dashed down from on the bridge, looking at the traces caused by the severe friction. For a moment, he was stunned.

The Five Tiger Generals were the successors of military strategists. They were experts in charging and breaking enemy positions by using their skilled lance skills, and they had a strong compulsion to attack when their opponent's exposed their weakness. He could defeat them by using this tactic, making them have an error in judgment.

This was the tactic Yun Xi learned from Hua Huo's seed. It seemed that, though Hua Huo's sword had beat them down, they still couldn't remove this weakness of theirs, their compulsion to attack a perceived weakness.

"I see. So..."

Yun Xi understood how to win against the five generals. They were too impetuous and especially had an unintelligible compulsion to attack weaknesses. He picked up the wooden shield, bravely walking towards the area where the remaining four generals guarded.

"Plop!"

"Plop!

"Plop!"

"Plop!"

Chapter 49: Mighty Dragon

"How can it be so simple?" By using the same method, Yun Xi trapped Zhao Ming, Zhao Xiong, Zhao Chu, Zhao Chui, and Zhao Shen beside the bridge. He felt the number of the souls he absorbed and felt pretty confused.

Weren't they five real 3rd-ranked warriors? Compared to the stone army he met at the first stage, why were the famous Five Tiger Generals so easy to deal with?

Weren’t they too weak?

No. Their attacking power and explosive force were both at the 3rd rank. If they fought recklessly with Yun Xi one on one, they could even suppress Yun Xi from all directions.

If it wasn't because they had the same fatal weakness, Yun Xi would have had to pay a great price to win against any of them. Maybe he would even have had to perish together with them.

"Hua Huo... what a genius you are!" Everytime Yun Xi thought that he had overestimated Hua Huo's talent...

... Hua Huo's seed would tell him that he was at a way lower level than Hua Huo.

When Hua Huo was still at the 2nd rank, the Five Tiger Generals' actions were full of weak points. Though they were at the 3rd rank, they were still merely five stronger boorish fellows in Hua Huo's mind.

However, in the eyes of the townspeople, even in the eyes of the people of White Lotus Sword Domain, they all were invincible generals.

99% perspiration was more important than 1% inspiration? That was just a story adults used to cheat children.

1% inspiration was way more important than 99% perspiration. People who had no inspiration would finally reach their limit.

In this world, only a genius who also practiced hard could reach the zenith, just like Hua Huo.

"Does Hua Huo really need my help?" Feeling the increased strength in his body, Yun Xi figured out the degree in which he had improved.

The souls of the Five Tiger Generals were about two times more than the soul of the green hippo. What a great example the green hippo was! He decided that if he saw these kind of green hippos again, he would kill them as much as possible.

"Boom!" A volcano erupted in front of Yun Xi.

Countless amounts of magma soared to the sky.

For a moment, the dust and smoke rose from the volcanic vent and flew ten thousands of meters in the sky. Observing it from the ground, a small half of the sky was almost covered.

"Hua Huo, what are you fighting with?" Looking at the exploding volcano, Yun Xi was stunned for a long while.

By using Quicksilver Motion, Yun Xi turned into the wind, dashing to the central part of the burning volcano area.

Along the way, Yun Xi saw many bodies in separated parts. Every corpse was a strange beast - the beasts the people who just reached the small village owned.

There were about six dead green hippos.

About six dead White Flying Horses.

A dead Griffin.

A dead King Kong.

They all were giants or strange beasts. They were treasures belonging to the people in the village, some of them handed down by their owners' ancestors.

Many strange beasts could live very long, way longer than humans. Training a baby beast from birth, by the time of its death, it could have even protected a family for dozen generations.

In that case, how many strange beasts a big family had and how powerful their strange beasts were, directly showed how strong that family was.

Ordinary people didn't have enough money and time to feed these fierce and strong beasts.

However, those powerful strange beasts were all lying down in a pool of their own blood. Especially the several green hippos, Yun Xi gazed at them with greed.

Because they weren't killed by Yun Xi, he obtained no souls from their corpses. He had to look at these carcasses messed up on the ground.

Not one of them were alive. It seemed that, when Yun Xi was struggling hard to fight with the stone soldier army, Hua Huo had cleared her way by killing, entering the last battle.

Yun Xi even doubted himself... when he reached that place, would the side quest have already been completed by Hua Huo?

"Arrrrgh!" A heaven-shaking roar told Yun Xi that the last battle hadn't finished yet.

"Side Quest: The heroine challenging the evil dragon. Go find her and become her partner, defeat the evil dragon." After remembering the hint of the side quest, Yun Xi knew what the strongest monster in the volcano area was.

A dragon!

No matter where you were, the Western God's Domain or Dragon's Domain, a dragon meant absolute power, the master of dominant power.

Dragon - Even a Wurm, which had only a few drops of dragon blood, was the top hunter who stood at the peak of the food chain.

As the side quest specially pointed out that it was an "evil dragon", Yun Xi couldn't imagine what kind of a vicious monster it was.

Was Hua Huo fighting with such a monster?

After dodging balls of flame continuously and stepping on fire and dust, Yun Xi finally reached the central location of the volcano area and saw two presences who were fighting.

Dragon!

It wasn't an Earth Dragon, Wyvern, nor Aitvaras. It was a real male Fiery Dragon who had red-hot scales and was roaring!

How was it possible that such a monster appeared near the small village? Wasn't it a nightmare which only inhabited volcanic areas?

Male Fiery Dragon. It had terrible blood that could make it become a true Giant Dragon. It was a True Dragon!

It was about eighteen meters in length and its scales looked rough and crimson. You could vaguely see dark-red striations on its wings. Even as he was still a few hundred meters away from it, he could feel its horrible atmosphere, which was known as "Dragon's Dignity".

A male Fiery Dragon. It was a real male Fiery Dragon!

If male Fiery Dragons were immersed long enough in magma, it could evolve into a Giant Dragon who could control flames!

Its wide wings, hard scales, and strong four limbs all proved that it could tear any Mortal into two pieces.

No matter if it were the Green Hippo, the King Kong, or the White Flying Horse, they could not be compared to the fiery dragon who owned the blood of a fire-type Giant Dragon.

The Fiery Dragon was a real hero-ranked being. It was a super creature who could control flames and had the "Dragon's Dignity".

However, what was it that Yun Xi saw just now?

The atrocious Fiery Dragon who was so strong that it could swim in magma, had one of its wings cut off and only half of its tail remained. Its body was covered with scars.

Hua Huo, who was just at the 3rd rank, had driven the giant monster into the last ditch.

This wasn't something like a 2nd rank fighting against a 3rd rank, but a Mortal doing serious damage to a hero-ranked monster!

Chapter 50: Dragon Battle-Maiden

That was too powerful!

Yun Xi blankly looked at the both sides that were fighting each other violently, feeling Hua Huo's powerful talent again.

No, it already couldn't be described as "powerful". It was incredible!

Everyone in every God's Domain admitted that a Mortal rank couldn't defeat a Hero rank.

A Mortal 3rd rank of the white-leaf meant the limit of flesh and blood. Even inhuman monsters like the green hippo were still at this rank.

Only Hero ranks of the silver-leaf were entitled to step onto a higher realm. You could say that in essence, Mortal rank creatures and Hero rank creatures were already two different living beings.

Taking the male Fiery Dragon and the Green Hippo as an example, an adult male Fiery Dragon could easily spit out flame at thousands of degrees and his Dragon Aura field could shock and awe all creatures under the 3rd rank.

If this kind of monsters appeared on the battlefield of Mortals, it wasn't as simple as an invincible enemy, but a nightmare who was going to exterminate all living beings!

3rd rank and 4rd rank. Mortals and Heroes. This was a natural chasm.

"Ding!" The cold sword light pierced the air, chopping at the angry male Fiery Dragon again.

One, two, three, four... Yun Xi exhausted his sight, finally barely seeing traces of Hua Huo's sword clearly.

It was the Flying Swallow Sword, but way stronger than the common Flying Swallow Sword.

Yun Xi had to force all his strength to use the Flying Swallow Sixfold Attack, but any of Hua Huo's casual attacks easily reached fourteen slashes!

Not only that, they were all forced onto one limb, there was no deviation.

"Hong!" The male Fiery Dragon trampled the ground. All its scales suddenly emitted light, and then, a wall of fire shot up to the sky.

The human Mortal body certainly couldn't master this kind of ability. Flame Control was proof that the male Fiery Dragon was at the Hero rank.

However, the wall of fire couldn't even ignite the corner of Hua Huo's clothes.

Hua Huo stepped forward. Comparing to her use of the skill Quicksilver Motion, Yun Xi blushingly felt that he himself was nothing. A moment later, she appeared behind the male Fiery Dragon.

This time, it was her twenty-four times continuous attacks that were at lightning speed and the position she chopped at was the male Fiery Dragon's tail, which was already a little broken.

"Roar" The angry male Fiery Dragon used its ultimate skill, which could kill all creatures whose rank was lower than 3rd rank - Dragon's Roar.

Terrible sound waves spread away. Even Yun Xi, who was hundreds of meters away from there was also caught up in the skill. His eardrums nearly broke.

Hua Huo flexibly brandished her sword, drawing traces in the air in a way that Yun Xi was unable to understand, cutting and splitting the male Fiery Dragon from all directions.

"Hoo!" The dragon's roar, which was able to kill the Five Tiger Generals at the same moment just blew up a gust of wind, making her pretty horsetail flap in the air.

After breaking the dragon's roar down, Hua Huo took a step backwards and then jumped up in the next second.

"Gahu!" The male Fiery Dragon saw that Hua Huo was jumping up, then its next actions made Yun Xi feel inconceivable.

Wielding its claws, it protected its eyes and head. Its body curled up with it wings folded. It looked like it was very proficient at it.

Hua Huo jumped up. She dragged her simple long sword, stroking her fingertip on the blade of the sword. Then, she dropped a few blood drops down on the sharp blade, adding to the light, long sword a bit of a blood-red colour.

The next moment, with a flash, a line in the air appeared in front of Yun Xi's eyes. The male Fiery Dragon roared sadly and shrilly as one of its wings was chopped off from the middle.

It was the Sky Flying Sword!

It was Yun Xi's first time seeing Hua Huo's strongest sword skill, the God's Sword Skill with his own eyes.

Only this kind of sword skill could chop off the defiant male Fiery Dragon's wing with one hit. After all, if it was Yun Xi, his attack couldn't do any harm to the dragon's scales.

By analogy, half of the dragon's tail and its wing on the other side were also chopped off by Hua Huo's God's Sword Skill.

No wonder that it was Hua Huo's strongest hidden sword skill. It could even chop off the hero-ranked dragon's wings and tail.

However, after using this skill, Hua Huo did not look happy at all. She didn't keep fighting with the male Fiery Dragon. Using her skill Quicksilver Motion continuously, she ran to a corner in the middle of the volcano area.

Then, she took out a black stone to sharpen her sword.

Ah, her sword was dulled, the weapon was lacking sharpness. When Yun Xi fought with the Green Hippo, he was also facing this trouble, so he understood Hua Huo's action immediately.

The male Fiery Dragon's scales were too hard. Even though Hua Huo's sword was made of stainless steel, an excellent weapon from White Lotus Sword Palace, but it was still not good enough to cut through dragon scales.

Perhaps that was the only reason that Hua Huo hadn't killed the male Fiery Dragon yet.

Her weapon wasn't sharp enough.

If so, maybe...

Yun Xi checked his Armoury, finding a weapon which he regarded as a waste before...

The standard two-handed sword of the Thunderbolt Army in the Western God's Domain. Its weight being a hundred-and-eight kilograms. It could be used as a siege weapon.

"Hua Huo, use it!" Yun Xi took out the sword, which was too heavy for Mortals and threw it to Hua Huo.

"Ah, Little Xi, you're here!" Hua Huo looked at Yun Xi in surprise and happiness. She hurriedly stood up, tidying her little-burnt dress.

Because she had fought with the male Fiery Dragon for a long while, her clothes had been burnt a little apart. However, none of the parts were burned by the male Fiery Dragon's flames. It was burnt due to the igneous magma.

"Don't look at me. Little Xi, ah!" After realizing how embarrassing her dress was, Hua Huo's face turned red.

"You stupid dragon, it's all your fault!"

"Gahu!" The male Fiery Dragon didn't think so. It was just staying in the volcano, but Hua Huo came to it, chopping off its wings and tail. The male Fiery Dragon stared at them with tears welling up. Did I bother you?

I just ate several humans, why must you chased after me up to my nest?!

"Hua Huo, sword." Yun Xi never saw Hua Huo use two-handed swords, but he thought that Hua Huo should know how to use it.

"Oh, you're coming to give me a weapon! Not bad, this dream." Hua Huo looked very happy to see the two-handed sword which Yun Xi threw to the ground.

"I needed this kind of weapon! In that case, this stupid dragon is just dead meat!"

"Woohu!" Though it didn't understand what Hua Huo was saying, the male Fiery Dragon still noticed the two-handed sword that Yun Xi threw to Hua Huo. Suddenly, it shivered.

The next moment, Yun Xi saw the three steps that Hua Huo used to kill the male Fiery Dragon.

The first step, Hua Huo moved to the heavy sword, picking it up by using only one hand.

The second step, Hua Huo jumped up. The blood that slipped from her fingers stained the heavy sword, which was able to kill the dragon.

The third step, a giant "V" crack appeared in the air. It tore the male Fiery Dragon into two pieces.

That was how the heroine killed the evil dragon.

Chapter 51: Sky Sword

"Hong!" The male Fiery Dragon's mountain-like huge body toppled down to the ground. Its four limbs twisted and struggled as its Dragon's Roar shook the earth.

Yun Xi was caught off guard. The afterwind of the Dragon's Roar blew him to the sky.

"How dare you!" At first, Hua Huo was going to kill the male Fiery Dragon without any pain, but now, her anger flared up...

The two-handed sword, which was made by the Thunder Army in the Western God's Domain, was stained with Hua Huo's blood again.

One hit, two hits. Yun Xi hadn't land on the ground but saw one sword light after another take off towards the male Fiery Dragon.

Every sword light was as nimble as a bird flying in the sky.

Every sword light was as heavy as a meteorite hitting the ground.

Extremely heavy and extremely light. Two different properties perfectly blended together on Hua Huo's sword.

Breaking its claws, docking its tail, chopping its wings, cutting its bones, and mincing its flesh!

When faced with Hua Huo's god-like sword skill, the male Fiery Dragon, who arrogantly detonated the volcano, was meat on a chopping board: he was completely minced.

"Swish!" As the last action, Hua Huo threw the two-handed sword to the sky, then continuously used Quicksilver Motion three times, which was so fast that you may wonder if her ankles would break. She rushed below Yun Xi, then leaped up, holding Yun Xi in her arms in the air.

A perfect pose of a "hero saving the princess". However, Yun Xi wasn't the hero. He was the princess who was saved.

"Chi!" The two-handed sword dropped down, directly sticking the male Fiery Dragon's head, pinning the scarred giant monster to the ground.

The evil dragon was killed.

"Little Xi, don't come to such a dangerous place."

"I'm happy to take the sword you gave me, but this big one was a little too powerful for you." Though she said that, her face was full of happiness; even Yun Xi could clearly see it.

A little powerful... Yun Xi dumbly looked at the male Fiery Dragon, who was sliced and diced but still giving off an appalling sense of pressure.

It was a hero-ranked monster, known as a nightmare who had the power to eliminate a whole army!

Before today, when he saw Hua Huo using her God's Sword Skill - Sky Flying Sword (Beginner). Yun Xi had made many guesses about what was the "God's Sword Skill".

However, even his wildest guess was still pale and weak if compared to Hua Huo's record of killing the male Fiery Dragon.

The power of the "God's Sword Skill - Sky Flying Sword" was way beyond Yun Xi's understanding, and it was also beyond the common sense of the people of Sky Sword God's Domain.

As a 3rd-ranked swordmaiden, she could kill the hero-ranked male Fiery Dragon as easily as if it were an ant. That was how terrible and powerful the Sky Flying Sword was.

Yun Xi had never heard of such a sword skill!

Jumping down from Hua Huo's arms, Yun Xi walked to the male Fiery Dragon's corpse, which still retained the temperature of the flames. He aimed at the area where the defense was most weak, the connection part between the wing and body.

Nine sword lights burst out together, which meant that Yun Xi had completely mastered the strongest skill from Hua Huo's seed - Flying Swallow Sword.

"Hiss!" Though the newbie iron sword had been enhanced three times, yrt it only made a screeching sound on the male Fiery Dragon's patagium, and only made several light scratches on it. After a few seconds, the scratches also disappeared.

"What..." After trying it himself, Yun Xi really understood how terrible a hero-ranked being could be.

It was the weakest part of the dragon! Besides, after being killed by Hua Huo, the male Fiery Dragon's corpse had lost the support from its blood and energy.

If the male Fiery Dragon was still alive and had its blood and energy as support, even if Yun Xi attacked it all day, he probably couldn't deal any damage to it.

Yun Xi's ultimate attack could hurt a 3rd-ranked swordsman, but couldn't even damage the male Fiery Dragon's weakest spot. That was the difference between the Mortal rank and the Hero rank.

When faced with a monster like the male Fiery Dragon, Mortals - even if it was an army of a hundred thousand - were just a number.

As the being who had hero-ranked power, it could kill Mortals as though it was crushing ants.

"Hua Huo... you're too strong..." The more he knew Hua Huo, the more Yun Xi found how unusually strong his childhood sweetheart was.

She couldn't belong to this common small village!

As a girl who knew how to use the God's Sword Skill - Sky Flying Sword, she could even ignore the difference between the Hero rank and the Mortal rank to kill the male Fiery Dragon. If this was a story from the Western God's Domain, she definitely had the talent as a "Hero"!

"Hee hee... that was not much..." As hearing Yun Xi's praise, Hua Huo blushed, seeming a little sheepish.

"It was just a male Fiery Dragon. If it was a female Fiery Dragon, it would be big trouble."

"However, the male Fiery Dragon was moving alone, it shouldn't have a spouse. So, I used it to practice my sword skill after I found it..."

I knew. You were so brilliant like the stars or the wide ocean.

Your smile was so bright, just like the sun.

You were my most excellent childhood sweetheart! Yun Xi raised his head up, gazing at Hua Huo.

Always, he knew that Hua Huo was a genius, a sword genius who was far better than all the people in the village.

Now, he would correct it.

Hua Huo wasn't only a genius on sword skill. She was also a genius in battles.

With the passage of time, she would naturally emit a brighter light, leaving every contemporary behind her.

"Yun Xi... thank you..." Comparing to her behavior when she was killing the male Fiery Dragon, under Yun Xi's gaze, Hua Huo looked pretty rattled.

Ah, Yun Xi saw her unladylike behavior!

But she had no choice. Though it was just a male Fiery Dragon, but her weapon was too subpar. In order to kill it, she had to use the Sky Flying Sword.

Would Yun Xi think that she was too violent? Because in the past, she always left him the expression as a cheerful and lively sword girl.

However, she broke the male Fiery Dragon's claws, head, wings, and tail, and finally sliced and minced it... it did make her a little unlike a lady...

Oh, that was all the stupid dragon's fault! Hua Huo pouted, kicking the male Fiery Dragon's head, though it had already totally died.

"Hua Huo..." Yun Xi looked at his childhood sweetheart, with many ideas passing in his heart.

"Yun Xi..." Hua Huo lowered her head and peeped at Yun Xi.

For a moment, the two fell into a weird silence...

Until Yun Xi heard the ethereal and antique-y voice of stars suddenly appearing beside his ears.

"Side Quest: Completed. Please receive your reward."

Then, a transparent line which Yun Xi was pretty familiar with, suddenly appeared between Hua Huo and himself, linking the two people together.

Inside of Yun Xi's body, Hua Huo's seed started to grow fast again.

Not only so. The completion degree of Hua Huo's seed started to drop sharply.

31%, 27%, 15%... As Yun Xi looked at it incredulously, the completion degree of Hua Huo's seed dropped to 1%.

Chapter 52: Hua Huo Joins the Team

It wasn't because the skills Yun Xi obtained from Hua Huo was decreasing.

Quite the opposite, there was more information flowing from Hua Huo to Yun Xi's body, expanding the limit of the seed.

Quicksilver Motion (Perfect).

Flying Swallow Sword (Perfect).

Sky Flying Sword (Beginner): 10% done.

When he obtained the seed from Hua Huo, the information about this part was all hidden in mist, but now, they all opened up to Yun Xi.

After stepping into the 2nd rank and finishing the "Side Quest: Help the Girl Defeat the Evil Dragon", not only did the closeness degree between Yun Xi and Hua Huo increase, but it also let him obtain more benefits from Hua Huo.

As the completion degree of the seed dropped from 33% to 1%, that also meant that the information Yun Xi obtained from Hua Huo was increasing to a new realm.

Even the Sky Flying Sword, which Hua Huo used to kill the male Fiery Dragon, also showed its truths to Yun Xi for the first time.

Though it had only been analyzed by less than 10%, but as a terrifying God's Sword Skill, it had opened a door leading to a new realm for Yun Xi.

This time, the seed expanded ten times. Most of the data was about the God's Sword Skill, which Yun Xi greatly desired and was also the most important part.

Quicksilver Motion (Perfect) and Flying Swallow Sword (Perfect) were the precondition to studying Sky Flying Sword. As long as Yun Xi followed the steps recorded in Hua Huo's seed to practice the two secret skills to their limits, he would touch the door leading to the God's Sword Skill.

Yun Xi even saw a "???" mark in Hua Huo's seed, which he never saw before. It was an area which Yun Xi couldn't understand now.

Hua Huo, who the hell are you!

After the seed updated its data, Yun Xi felt that his childhood sweetheart became more and more mysterious.

She was like an inexhaustible treasury. Every time he learned something new from the seed, he would then find that more unknown knowledge was hiding in the original seed.

If Yun Xi didn't have a high affinity with the original seed, he would probably never guess what a wonderful talent and sword skill his childhood sweetheart owned.

Perhaps choosing her seed in the newbie trial was the best choice Yun Xi had made.

"Yun Xi, is there anything on my face?" As Hua Huo curiously looked at Yun Xi, she didn't know that Yun Xi had found out about her secret.

As a God's Sword Skill, the Sky Flying Sword wasn't a skill that everyone could see through. It was a top-most legacy from a far away God's Domain, even better than the twin witches' Witches' Legacy.

Of course, the twin witches also had phenomenal talent. They were already beyond the White Lotus Sword Domain's Witches' Legacy. Even in the Western God's Domains, they were still very famous.

"No... Hua Huo... we meet again." Yun Xi pretended that he knew nothing.

How could he tell her the truth! He couldn't tell her that he had her seed and had seen a lot of secrets from it.

If things kept going on like this, would the seed forever link Hua Huo and me together? No matter how long the distance between us was, would we always share this special relationship?

The stars, what is in your mind?! Wasn't this seed system too strange?!

If the seed's completion degree went to 100%, what would happen?

"Hum, great! Tonight's dream is a really good dream!

"It's too lucky to meet a monster who could be used to practice my skills on. Besides, Yun Xi was slaying the dragon together with me." Hua Huo smiled so much that her eyes almost narrowed shut, as her ponytail swung in the air.

"However, Little Xi, this is just a dream.

"In the real world, I won't be so violent as to cut a dragon into pieces.

"And I'm only good at using the Flying Swallow Sword."

Yun Xi looked on weirdly seeing his childhood sweetheart's nonsense.

Well, if I didn't have your seed, I would think the Flying Swallow Sword was your strongest sword skill.

After all, it was the Flying Swallow Sword which she used to defeat the Five Tiger Generals.

However, if compared to the terrifying Sky Flying Sword, the Flying Swallow Sword was just like a feeble small bird.

Besides, why were you so skilled when you used the two-handed sword?!

The beheading skill could even cut the dragon into two pieces. It was really way too powerful.

"Little Xi, you don't like a strong girl?" Hua Huo vaguely felt that something was wrong. She asked her childhood sweetheart carefully.

"No. I like the way you are."

"The Hua Huo who can use the Flying Swallow Sword and the Hua Huo who can slay the dragon, they both are my Hua Huo." Looking at Hua Huo who seemed a little restless, sincere words naturally came out from Yun Xi's mouth.

"Yay! Great! This dream is great!" Hua Huo put her palms together devoutly and yelled with excitement.

Ah, yes. Hua Huo was always lively and confident. She is my childhood sweetheart and my first love.

Looking at the cheerful Hua Huo, Yun Xi smiled faintly. However, he didn't know why, but a girl with a white witch uniform suddenly appeared in his heart.

Yes, the trial was still going on.

He should continue fighting.

The side quest of the girl fighting against the evil dragon had been completed. Hua Huo's favorability had been increased and Hua Huo's seed had also been updated.

Next, he should go challenge the ultimate goal.

Save the Princess from the Giant Tower - that was the ultimate goal of his formal trial.

"Hua Huo, goodbye." As waving his hand to Hua Huo, Yun Xi was ready to step on the new battlefield -

"Hey, Little Xi, where are you going?!" Hua Huo came after him.

Wait, why didn't Hua Huo disappear?!

Yun Xi inanely looked at his childhood sweetheart walking toward him.

The side quest had been completed and he had also obtained the reward. Shouldn't Hua Huo return to the real world? Just like what happened at the end of the last trial?

No, there was something different this time. Quickly, Yun Xi realized the difference.

Last time, in the newbie trial, he completed the ultimate goal before Hua Huo caught him. He perfectly finished the trial, letting Hua Huo return to the real world and treat the whole event as a dream.

Now, Hua Huo was just a part of the side quest. After defeating the male Fiery Dragon, she didn't disappear because Yun Xi hadn't completed the ultimate goal of the trial.

In other words, he had to challenge the ultimate goal together with his childhood sweetheart?

Well, well. He was glad to know that Hua Huo would team up with him since she could be really helpful. However, Yun Xi had a strong sense of foreboding.

"What? Yun Xi, you will go to challenge enemies to practice your sword skill?

"Tell me, who dared to hurt you? I will kill them all!

"Don't be shy. No matter who they are, as long as they dare to hurt my Little Xi, they can only die!

"My blade is yours!"

Chapter 53: The Third District

In the formal trial, in front of the third district, Yun Xi was standing together with Hua Huo aside the flaming bonfire.

This was the only way to the tall tower. Not far away, there were dozens of 3rd-ranked people scattered on the huge bridge.

Looking into the distance, on the square below their ultimate goal - the tall tower, there were three red stone soldiers standing amongst a group of top-level stone soldiers. Obviously, they were Yun Xi's last enemies before he entered the Great Tower.

Yun Xi had even guessed the identity of the three red stone soldiers.

In the small village, except for Hua Huo, the twin witches, the strange beasts, and the male Fiery Dragon, everyone knew who the three people strongest were.

They were from the noblest families of the White Lotus Sword Domain; they received the best education since their childhood, having best weapons and talent. In a word, they were the three hottest people in this exam of the Sword Palace.

Childe Yun He, Childe Si Nian, and Childe San Quan.

"Is that all?" After seeing the stone soldiers on the bridge and square, Hua Huo dragged the two-handed sword as her toes lightly touched the ground.

"Swish!" With a flash of her sword, Hua Huo didn't give Yun Xi a chance to say anything; she killed all the 3rd-ranked enemies on the bridge.

As some of the Mortal rank's strongest people, they all were not inferior to the Five Tiger Generals. Many of them were servants of noble families; a few of them were even famous masters of noble families. However, their couldn't even hold for one second when facing Hua Huo.

Instant kill, instant kill, and instant kill. Like cutting grass, Hua Huo killed all the so-called strong people instantaneously.

"Wait, Hua Huo!" When Yun Xi reacted, Hua Huo had already stepped onto the last square.

No kidding. If he let Hua Huo kill them all, he wouldn't obtain a piece of their souls - like the dragon scales. That was the answer Yun Xi got from the volcano zone.

This trial was a battlefield the stars prepared for him, not for Hua Huo who was at 3rd rank but could actually kill the hero-ranked male Fiery Dragon.

So, even if he had to borrow Hua Huo's power, that wouldn't happen before he had to face an unbeatable enemy - which would probably appear in his ultimate goal, the Great Tower.

As for the enemies who were under the Hero rank, no matter how strong they were, Hua Huo could kill them all in an instant. So, he decided to kill them by himself.

With the aid of an external force, perhaps he could sweep away all the enemies in this zone quite simply, but that did no help to increase his personal ability.

"Tut, what a troublesome rule." After knowing of Yun Xi's trial, Hua Huo felt a little aggrieved and pouted her small mouth.

In her mind, they were just some wastes that she could kill by the tens with one brandish of her sword. But her Little Xi still had to strenuously beat them down one by one... that was too weird.

"I will borrow your power at the last moment. Let's fight together by that time." After advising her earnestly, finally Yun Xi stopped Hua Huo from her desire to kill all the enemies at once.

To Hua Huo, the trial in the third district was nothing but an extremely easy mode. She could even clean up the district with her eyes closed.

However to Yun Xi, this was a bloody trial which needed him to challenge his limit; understanding the true wisdom by wandering between life and death.

"Here we go."

Though it was a death trial, but with Hua Huo following and looking at him, Yun Xi felt that his spirit was strangely high.

Showing his growth to his girl, his childhood sweetheart, his first love... that made him pretty joyful.

Inside of his body, it seemed that Hua Huo's seed also felt his happiness and Hua Huo's sincerity, it started to grow sturdily.

"Kid, go die!" On the square, the moment the top-level stone soldiers found Yun Xi, they yelled and rushed at him together.

The difficulty had increased. That was Yun Xi's personal feeling.

Even in the first district, when the stone soldiers rushed forward together to attack him, their rank wasn't higher than 2nd rank.

And in the volcano district, when the five generals were challenging him one by one. If he didn't learn their weakness from Hua Huo's seed, he couldn't easily entice them to fall into the water and get them to drown to death.

Now, these 3rd rank stone soldiers started to group together again to fight.

However, something had changed.

After completing the side quest of "the girl fight against the evil dragon" and updating his seed from Hua Huo, though Yun Xi's body didn't become super strong, and the souls of the Five Tiger Generals weren't more than two green hippos' worth of souls....

However, his combat intuition, talent, and his use of Quicksilver Motion (Middle Level) and Flying Swallow Sword (Middle Level) had been improving rapidly.

After experiencing the bloody killing in the first district and seeing Hua Huo's god-like Sky Flying Sword, Yun Xi knew better than anyone what a wide gap was between Hua Huo and himself; he also had a strong desire to become stronger.

"You are nothing more than this!"

His enemies were at the 3rd rank? So what? They were more experienced in fighting? So what?

Though I can't kill you all as easy as Hua Huo, but you also can't beat me down with ease!

As he used Quicksilver Motion, his ankles made slightly ominous sounds. That meant that he had reached the limit of his body and had reached the limit of a Mortal.

Hovering the Flying Swallow Sword in the air! He didn't use the stronger skill, Flashing Nine Sword Lights, but used the most simple and elegant skill, the original Flying Swallow Triple Attack.

However, this time, the Flying Swallow Sword was being used when he was surrounded by four 3rd-ranked warriors and dozens of other people.

His actions were perfect.

His breathing didn't change.

His heart was strongly beating in his body, but his mood was unexpectedly calm.

Peace Of Mind!

Enhance Your Background!

Drawing out his sword!

"Swish!" A 3rd-ranked stone soldier who tried to be the first to attack Yun Xi, looked at Yun Xi in disbelief. At the next moment, his head slipped down to the ground, spurting out vast amounts of blood in the air.

For the first time, Yun Xi did it. He didn't use any tricks, but defeated a 3rd-ranked warrior face to face, in an unfriendly environment that was surrounded by tens of enemies.

The gap between two Mortals had a limit - that was what Yun Xi learned from Hua Huo's seed.

Even a monster who was strong like the green hippo could be hurt by a firewood chopper. Strong men like the Five Tiger Generals could also be drowned in the sea.

When confronted with sword and blade, everyone in the Mortal rank would get hurt. They couldn't ignore a Mortal's attack like what the hero-ranked male Fiery Dragon did.

The Mortal rank meant flesh and blood. You would shed blood if you were cut by a sword and you would die if your head was cut off.

What was the difference between 1st-ranked people and 3rd-ranked people? The difference was that when faced with a knife, one was a piece of paper and another one was a stack of papers.

You are not unbeatable! Yun Xi stepped back and dodged a series of slashes. Then he struck back, cutting off an arm from a 3rd-ranked warrior.

Blood sprayed on the blade, reflecting his resolute eyes.

Chapter 54: Irresistible Force

Brandish his sword, draw back his sword, kick away the enemies!

As if he was a swallow flying in the sky, Yun Xi flew amongst a group of well-armed burly men. By using his evolved Quicksilver Motion and Flying Swallow Sword, he dealt with the crowd like a fish in water.

One, two, three! Three heads successively slipped to the ground, spurting blood in the sky.

For the first time he assaulted the third district, Yun Xi had killed three 3rd-ranked enemies and cut off two people's arms. He had a really fruitful result.

The trial wouldn't become easy due to his improvement. When Yun Xi showed his strongest state in fighting against these 3rd-ranked stone soldiers, an accident happened.

An arrow was shot at him from a distance, flying through the crowd and cutting through one of Yun Xi's hand - the hand he used to hold his sword.

Win or lose, the battle between masters often ended in a flash. Not to mention that the trial Yun Xi had to face was so cruel.

That was a 3rd-ranked archer! Yun Xi felt a little surprised as he looked at the archer in red, standing alone at the end of the bridge.

In the next second, his eyes were filled with blood.

"Arrrghhhhh! My Little Xi!" After seeing Yun Xi being hacked to death by the crowd, Hua Huo's eyes turned red.

Even after Yun Xi had told her that as long as the bonfire was still burning, he could revive from it, and so she didn't need to care much about his death.

However, after seeing her childhood sweetheart miserably dying in front of her, how could she bear it? How was it possible to bear it!

Hua Huo would never bear it!

"You wastes, how dare you to do this to my Little Xi!"

"You all, go to hell!"

Drawing her two-handed heavy sword, Hua Huo turned into a terrible shadowy figure again. That definitely wasn't something that any other 3rd-ranked human could do.

One brandish, two pieces!

The two-handed sword could even be used to collapse a city gate. But now, it turned into a light of killing, cutting all the 3rd-ranked stone soldiers on the bridge in half.

As for the archer in red, who gave Yun Xi a critical shot, he was the priority target Hua Huo paid attention to. The archer was sliced and diced by her.

That only took her three seconds!

"And you, go die!" After coming through the bridge by killing, Hua Huo aimed at the last three red stone soldiers of the third district.

"Go!"

"Watch out!"

"Who is this monster!"

Childe Yun He, Childe Si Nian, and Childe San Quan entered the battle.

Three seconds later, Hua Huo dragged her two-handed heavy sword, peevishly walking back to the bonfire.

Behind her, was a sea of corpses and blood.

Ten seconds later as usual, he revived beside the bonfire. Then, he speechlessly looked at the sea of green souls as they slowly rebuilt their bodies.

Hua Huo, what did you do to them? Why did they all die?

It seemed that if he stayed together with Hua Huo, the enemies who were killed by her would also become green souls.

However, Hua Huo couldn't absorb these green souls and neither could he. So, these green souls would revive again and turn back into their original bodies.

As Yun Xi was ready to challenge the cruel third district again, Hua Huo stretched out her hand.

"Little Xi, don't keep doing it."

"Don't keep doing what?" Yun Xi quizzically looked at his childhood sweetheart. He knew he had used all the power from Hua Huo's seed.

"You're imitating me but we're different." Hua Huo seriously gazed at Yun Xi.

Though in the dream Yun Xi was so cool and excellent and she was glad to see it, but a defect was a defect. She must tell him.

"Different?" Yun Xi also slightly realized that the world in Hua Huo's eyes was different from the world in his eyes.

He couldn't say the details. However, after Hua Huo pointed it out, he had realized this problem, which was ignored by him all this time.

"Your arm length, body height, and physique are all different from mine."

"The Flying Swallow Sword isn't a big problem for you, because you have enough flexibility and dexterity. The problem is the Quicksilver Motion." Hua Huo lowered her body and held Yun Xi's foot, carefully observing the bones and shape of his foot, then took off his shoes.

Because Yun Xi just finished ecdysis not long ago, his skin was abnormally white, not looking like a boy's feet.

Because his ecdysis was evolving according to Hua Huo's seed, so the flexibility and dexterity of his body were unconsciously biased toward Hua Huo.

However, the feet were the limbs that humans used the most and was also the most sophisticated body parts that muscles developed very well at. Sixteen years of experience left Yun Xi a deep impression, which caused a little incongruity.

"Well, as I thought... here is untrained."

"Little Xi, the Quicksilver Motion puts a huge burden on the feet. Your feet still can't withstand the explosive force of the Quicksilver Motion." Hua Huo rubbed Yun Xi's feet and told him the matter needing attention.

"Ah, so that's the reason." Yun Xi finally understood what the incongruity he felt was.

That was true. Just like what Hua Huo said, when he used Quicksilver Motion to the limit, his ankles would give out bad cries. That was the telltale sign of overexertion.

To other 3rd-ranked people, it was already enough if their speed could be as fast as the middle-level Quicksilver Motion. However, Yun Xi's flaw was too big in Hua Huo's eyes.

"Just now, the archer in red aimed at the position you were going to go to. You had forced yourself to reach the limit, so you were no longer able to make any change to your trajectory. So that meant you couldn't dodge the arrow."

"Besides, you pay too much attention to close combat and you don't have the experience to deal with ranged attacks. I can teach you."

Hua Huo's soft words made her Yun Xi's first and best battle tutor. Finally, Yun Xi understood how many ridiculous mistakes he made in his seemingly satisfactory performance.

Oh, certainly, people were not the same.

The wandering green souls revived in the third district one by one, waiting for Yun Xi's challenge.

"Then, I'm going." Holding the newbie iron sword in his his, for the second time, Yun Xi walked to the cruel third district.

After drawing a lesson from his first try this time, he didn't rashly force his body to reach the limit, but saved his strength in order to use Quicksilver Motion at any time. As he dodged the attacks from dozens of 3rd ranked warriors, he also kept seeking the best timing to attack.

One, two, three!

Four, five, six!

As Yun Xi killed the tenth person, the archer in red finally found his weak point by using his intuition and killed him in one shot.

"This archer is not simple..." Looking at the black arrow cutting through his heart, Yun Xi murmured and fell to the ground.

"Arrrghhhh! My Little Xi!" Seeing her childhood sweetheart's death with her own eyes, Hua Huo got mad again.

Ten seconds later, after Yun Xi revived beside the bonfire, he saw a lot of green souls floating above a sea of blood again.

Chapter 55: Title at End

"Chi!"

Yun Xi took an arrow to the knee.

"Chi!"

Yun Xi took an arrow to the shoulder.

"Chi!"

Yun Xi took an arrow to the head.

There wasn't any exception. Every time Yun Xi got shot by the archer in red, he would be chopped by all sorts of weapons in the next second.

In this battle of Mortal ranks, such an archer who could fire at the target a hundred times without missing a single time, was surely the deadliest killer.

Yun Xi proved that by dying thirty times.

Hua Huo also left Yun Xi's enemies with a nightmare forever by her thirty massacres.

Again, Yun Xi revived beside the bonfire. As he was ready to rush to the stone soldiers and fight with them, Hua Huo grabbed his hand.

"This can't go on, Little Xi."

"Right now, you can't defeat the archer."

"If you don't make yourself stronger, even if you overdraw your limit, you can't walk through the bridge."

Yun Xi paused for a while, then he relaxed his body and sat on the ground.

Yes, Hua Huo was right.

Now, even if he used his 2nd-ranked power and Hua Huo's 3rd-ranked combat intuition to the limit, he still couldn't pass through the bridge.

After all, he wasn't Hua Huo.

For the first time, Yun Xi clearly felt his limit.

One, two, three. Even if the 3rd-ranked stone soldiers on the bridge attacked him together. If he paid the price of dying hundreds of times, he probably still couldn't pass through the bridge -  even if that meant that he had to die for many more times.

However, the archer in red was out of his expectations.

Yun Xi didn't know who the mysterious archer was. No matter how perfectly he used his 2nd-ranked Quicksilver Motion, the archer could still find his weak point among the crowd and give him a critical shot.

The archer didn't even need to hit the arrow at his crucial point. In fact, Yun Xi was only directly killed by the arrow very few times.

The archer's goal was to break Yun Xi's rhythm. Yun Xi's Quicksilver Motion looked like floating clouds and flowing water, but that was built on his strong pre-assessment. When faced with a dozen 3rd-ranked masters, every second he slightly stayed at the same place would lead to a dead end.

"What an awesome archer! But the archer's battle style doesn't look like it's from the White Lotus Sword Domain." Sitting by the bonfire, Yun Xi observed the white-haired young person who carried a two-handed long bow behind the back and wore red clothes.

White Lotus Sword Domain was a lower domain of the Sky Sword Domain. Most of the people there practiced sword skills. If there was such an archer that mastered such a terrible archery, he should already be as famous as the Five Tiger Generals.

"Eh. He should be a stealth archer who majors in the longbow and his close combat power is also good. Look, he wears two swords at the waist. Those two aren't ornaments, but true lethal weapons." Hua Huo pointed at the archer in red, the person who caused his thirty failures.

"He should have a locking skill like the Mind's Eye and he should also have the Eagle Eye. If I'm not wrong, he should have found his way to the Hero rank."

"Maybe he is a little weaker than the last three guys, but his potential is far beyond them "

"If he had a Spirit Weapon rank bow, he can cause three times the threat. Fortunately, his weapon is just so-so."

After Hua Huo pointed out the mysterious archer's talents one by one, Yun Xi finally understood what kind of an opponent he was facing.

If even Hua Huo also praised the archer, that meant that he was way better than the Five Tiger Generals. The archer was very likely to reach Hero rank in the future.

No wonder he looked unlike the other stone soldiers. His red clothes and white hair made him look like a crane standing among chickens.

However, he still wanted to win!

No matter what he faced, he must pass the trial and become stronger.

For Yun Xi, it was very rare to have such a impulse. Compared to this, his ultimate goal of saving the princess wasn't that important.

The more hard it was to get, the more eager one was to get it. Perhaps that was the commonality of all humans.

"Hua Huo, have you got any strategy?" Holding his newbie iron sword, Yun Xi was ready to fight again.

"Now... no." Hua Huo carefully counted the gap between him and the stone soldiers, then shook her head.

Though Yun Xi had exerted his talents to the fullest, but that was still too early for him to challenge a trial at this level.

It wasn't good to die so many times. She still felt love dearly.

"So... I can't..." Even Yun Xi had guessed this answer already, but when he heard it coming from Hua Huo's mouth, he still felt frustrated.

No! Even if the answer is 'no', I still can't give up!

He couldn't retreat.

Compared with the apostle candidates or true apostles he my encounter later on, this wasn't harsh at all.

Why did the stars create this trial world? That was for tempering his will and improving his strength step by step!

There were just a dozen 3rd-ranked people and a mysterious archer. Would they make him give up? He would never give up!

I want to win!

So, sorry, Hua Huo.

"Hua Huo... I will do something to you. Can you forgive me?" After thinking it over and over again, Yun Xi only got one idea in his mind.

The stars, forgive me! This was the only strategy that my simple brain could imagine!

"Yes? I forgive you, Little Xi." Hua Huo curiously looked at Yun Xi. Was he willing to let her help him pass the trial?

In fact, the trial really pissed her off. She couldn't bear the trial because it forced her Little Xi to die, again and again.

"Then, close your eyes, Hua Huo." Yun Xi stealthily walked up to Hua Huo with a red face.

"Gee, Little Xi, what do you want to do? No!" Looking at Yun Xi's face getting closer and closer, Hua Huo was in a dither.

No, when did her Little Xi become so daring? And why does he look so skillful?!

"Whoa!" As Hua Huo cried out in alarm, Yun Xi softly kissed Hua Huo's lips.

It wasn't their first kiss. In their childhood, he had secretly kissed her in their children's play. However, this time, it was different.

Looking at Hua Huo, Yun Xi managed to muster up all his courage to take this step.

You know, not long ago, his childhood sweetheart used a two-handed sword to cut a male Fiery Dragon into pieces.

To kiss such a Hua Huo was like challenging the evil dragon. If Hua Huo wasn't his childhood sweetheart, Yun Xi wouldn't dare try it.

Hua Huo's lips were soft and sweet. They were still as warm as in Yun Xi's memory.

At the moment he kissed Hua Huo's lips, Yun Xi clearly felt that inside of his body, Hua Huo's seed acted like a dry plant that suddenly got irrigated. It started to grow up at a ridiculous speed.

1%, 2%, 3%!

Chapter 56: The Dawn of Victory

"Whooooooh!" Sitting beside the bonfire, Hua Huo's little finger drew a circle on the ground round and round.

"My Little Xi is corrupted. You were bullying me!"

Her beautiful cheeks were fully blushed to the root of her ears.

If you looked carefully, you would find that in her dewy big eyes, there was excitement and agitation.

Because the relationship between Yun Xi and her had a rapid advance just now.

To Hua Huo, it was a great advance. Unlike all their kisses in the past, this time, Yun Xi's kiss had a special meaning.

Ah, what a wonderful world! She decided to keep this dream firmly in her mind. She must kept it in her mind! She didn't want it to become fuzzy like the dream she dreamt last time!

****

"Ta!" Among the big burly stone soldiers, Yun Xi jumped up. However, his eyes kept gazing at the dangerous archer in red.

Just as he expected, at the moment he jumped up, the white-haired archer in red shot an arrow at him. The arrow rotated like a black hound jumping in the air. If he got hit, it would definitely cut through his body.

"Now!" Yun Xi held the newbie iron sword horizontally in front of himself and blocked the bloody hound-like arrow in time, then jumped out of the encirclement.

Flying Swallow Sixfold Attack!

The nimble sword light flashed among the crowd. The sharp strengthened blade of the newbie iron sword cut off the 3rd-ranked enemies' heads one after another.

This time, the speed of Flying Swallow Sixfold Attack didn't reach the limit that Yun Xi could reach. However, it was way more easy and smooth than any Flying Swallow Sixfold Attack he used before. The connection between his two moves was near perfect.

"Chi!" At the very moment Yun Xi just finished his Flying Swallow Sixfold Attack, the second sniper arrow was shot at him. This time, it was a lightning speed arrow and was shot at him through the crowd. If Yun Xi didn't kiss Hua Huo just now, he wouldn't have been able to dodge this arrow.

"Ding!" Still, at the critical moment, Yun Xi's focus reached a new height. He blocked the arrow, and using the impacting force of the arrow, he used Quicksilver Motion to step back, breaking away from the battle.

Step back. This was what Hua Huo's seed taught Yun Xi after its high-speed growth.

Temporarily stepping back wasn't equal to escaping, but for the sake of accumulating stronger power for the following attack.

It was extremely attractive to play one's power to the best and dancing the blade of battle. However, Yun Xi wasn't Hua Huo. He wasn't able to do that.

So, by combining it with his own characteristics, he decided to challenge his opponents and also grasped the dominant right in his own hands at the same time. That should be the best tactic.

Now, after kissing Hua Huo, Yun Xi finally grew to a degree that was able to do this.

3% growth degree. That not only improved Yun Xi's physical fitness, but also made his understanding of battles reach a new level.

For the first time, he tried to let Hua Huo's talent fit his body and change his battle style.

In the past, he was too reliant on the power of Hua Huo's seed; it could even be called as 'superstition'. He thought that, as long as he could play the power of the seed to the limit, he would never be defeated -

Till he met the terrible archer in red. He finally understood that Hua Huo and him were different.

When Hua Huo was at the 2nd rank, she could pass this through the bridge and no one could stop her. However, he couldn't.

The thing he could do was different from Hua Huo.

Admitting it made him understand Hua Huo's power much more and absorb the properties of Hua Huo's seed in the meanwhile.

Hua Huo could turn into a flying sword to kill the giant dragon, to kill everything refusing to obey her.

As for him, the thing he could do now was - Flying Swallow!

"Triple attack!" The sharp blade of sword flew in the air like a flying swallow. It shot down an arrow and cut off three high-level stone soldiers' arms at the same time.

He didn't need to give them critical attacks every time. He just needed to cut down their battle power bit by bit.

As long as he could control the rhythm of the battle, he could finally obtain victory!

The kiss with Hua Huo was the kiss from the goddess of victory that could bring him the dawn of victory!

"Ka La! Ka La!" In the face of Yun Xi's sword, the last stone soldier's body also toppled down to the ground. A smile appeared on Yun Xi's sweaty face.

He did it! Now, in the entire third district, there was only the last three red stone soldiers and the archer in red, who were standing at the end of the bridge.

The archer in red didn't give Yun Xi time to rest, but took the bow and adjusted the arrow, then shot to the sky.

"Come on!" Yun Xi rushed to the last enemies on the bridge.

****

"Cough!" Bruised, Yun Xi dragged his tired body to return to the bonfire.

"Little Xi!" Hua Huo lovingly looked at Yun Xi. After walking through the bridge, Yun Xi didn't step into the square immediately, but walked back to the bonfire.

The last enemy, the archer in red, was more powerful than Yun Xi's expected.

Double Arrow, Shattering Arrow, Spiralling Arrow, and Tracking Arrow. Just in order to go to him, Yun Xi's body had been covered with blood.

The most desperate thing was that this guy's close combat ability wasn't any inferior than his archery. After sublimating Hua Huo's seed, Yun Xi still fought with him for over a hundred turns, then finally beat him down by using his enhanced newbie iron sword.

If it was said in a rude manner, perhaps among all the people Yun Xi'd seen, the archer in red was a person who was only second to Hua Huo. If Yun Xi didn't have the enhanced Hua Huo's seed, he was no match for him.

The thing which finally determined the winner was the gap between their weapons.

As Hua Huo said, the archer's two swords were made up of stainless steel, but it was still inferior compared to Yun Xi's newbie iron sword which had been enhanced to its limits.

After defeating the tough archer in red, Yun Xi was exhausted. He had to return to the bonfire to take a rest.

"Plop!" After walking back to the bonfire zone and feeling the warm fire again, Yun Xi directly stumbled into Hua Huo's arms.

Yun Xi was too tired. Though it was just a trial in a dream, but it still exhausted Yun Xi's mind and spirit.

****

He heard a familiar song around his ears. It was so soft and peaceful. Was it a cradlesong?

Had the battle finished?

No, not yet!

Yun Xi opened his eyes, then saw his childhood sweetheart's smiling face and heard her soft song.

The position was right above himself.

"Little Xi, are you awake?" Hua Huo put Yun Xi's head on her knees. She softly wiped Yun Xi's forehead, gazing at him with her tender eyes.

"En. The trial's not finished." Laying on Hua Huo's knees, Yun Xi smiled at his childhood sweetheart with confidence.

Sure enough, you are my goddess of victory, Hua Huo.

Chapter 57: The Three Childes

At the end of the coastline, standing in front of the Great Tower with ignited huge flames, eventually, Yun Xi came to the last opponents of this district.

They were the noble geniuses from White Lotus Sword Domain or higher sword domains.

Childe Yun He, Childe Si Nian, and Childe San Quan.

Three people who had different temperaments.

Childe Yun He was from Yun He City. He carried the 'Crane Wings Twin Swords' on his back. They were twin swords, just like the swords the Second Childe of Yun He City, who had been defeated by Yun Xi just now owned.

Unlike the two Crane Swords, the curve of the Crane Wings Twin Swords was more smooth. At the side of their blades, there were beautiful wing-like lines.

They were true spirit weapons, famous as two swords that were handed down from generation to generation in Yun He City. In the future, it had the possibility to become a lower-grade Divine Weapon or even a True Divine Weapon.

If viewing from their weapons, Childe Yun He was the strongest one among the three people. The Snake Bones Soft Sword was no match for the pair of Crane Wings Twin Swords.

Childe Si Nian was from Si Nian City. He was over two metres tall, and had long and strong four limbs. He used a blue-lit two-handed sword.

Judging from its scale, his two-handed heavy sword looked a little like the standard two-handed sword Hua Huo used. However, it looked heavier and was full of oppressiveness.

Undoubtedly, it was a Spirit Weapon - a weapon belonging to the Hero rank.

The last person was Childe San Quan. He used a special sword, a fan sword.

It looked like a fan but it wasn't a fan. It looked like a sword but it wasn't a sword neither. This special weapon was made up of five sharp blades, and every blade was engraved with weird runes and looked pretty mysterious. Apparently, it wasn't a simple attacking weapon.

Associated with his identity of minoring in being Swordsman, Daoist Priest, and Alchemist at the same time, maybe this fan sword also had other secrets.

The three people all inherited their nobility bloodlines because they looked pretty handsome.

Childe Yun He looked pretty cultured. His appearance fitted the aesthetics of the people of eastern domains.

Childe Si Nian's bloodline was from the Western God's Domain. His over two metres body height and long, strong four limbs gave people a strong oppressive feeling.

Childe San Quan was from a high-level sword domain. He looked unlike a swordsman, but a little feminine.

At this moment, faint red lights emitted out from their bodies, which pointed out their identity as the strongest people in this district.

They had excellent bloodlines, received best educations, and owned the best equipments. They were the best children of nobility above all the people at the same age, and were generally rated as the top three people among all the candidates of the entrance examination of the Sword Palace.

Not only the exam of the Sword Palace. Amongst all 3rd-ranked warriors, they were still on the top of the pyramid of power.

People like the Five Tiger Generals couldn't compare with them at all. Maybe the archer in red, who was so poor that couldn't buy a good equipment, was slightly better than them. However, his combat power was still slightly inferior.

"There you are." Childe Yun He drew out the Crane Wings Twin Swords from his back, looking at Yun Xi as fiercely as a tiger.

"We were waiting for you for a long time." Childe Si Nian freed his hands and legs, he looked to be itching for a try.

"You've beat down one of us four kings. However, he is the weakest one among us. Don't think that we are as weak as him." Childe San Quan shook his fingers. When he looked at Yun Xi, he behaved as if he were looking at a corpse.

"We're the three strongest people."

I know. In common sense, you are the strongest 3rd-ranked people; geniuses above all geniuses.

Yun Xi looked at the three people, who were chosen as his ultimate opponents on the way leading to the Great Tower. He also admitted this point.

If he didn't have the Stars' Trial System for the Starchild, he wouldn't even be qualified to compare himself to these three people.

They were high and mighty and didn't even glance at Mortals. Only the Hero rank was their goal.

From their births, they had the best cultivation conditions and received the best educations. They had left all ordinary people far away behind them from the beginning.

These three people were the pride of the noble families of White Lotus Sword Domain. They were the seeds the noble families were going to send to the Sword Palace.

After they grew up, they would naturally occupy more discourse power in White Lotus Sword Domain, and help their families shore up their positions.

Class wasn't a thing that could be seen through eyes, but it had already been engraved in every corner of society.

In their eyes, as a baker, Yun Xi didn't even have the right to stand together with them.

"Say it, how do you wanna be killed?" Childe Yun He stepped forward. As a super genius educated by his noble family, he had absolute confidence.

Every time he used his Crane Wings Twin Swords, they must savor the addictive taste of the blood of its enemy.

Don't regard those so-called Childes as some hot house flowers. Since he inherited the name 'Childe Yun He' of this generation, that meant that he had really stepped in battlefield.

"You four kings are indeed very strong." Yun Xi held up his newbie wooden shield and rushed to Childe Yun He without hesitation.

"Ha ha, you're brave. As a reward, I will send you to hell!" Childe Yun He laughed and threw the female sword of the Crane Wings Twin Swords to the sky.

The light female sword drew an elegant arc in the sky, spinning round and round, flying at Yun Xi along a trace that could never be thrown by a human.

It looked like a flying crane wing, but also like a roaring dragon. This was the secret sword skill of Yun He City, a super sword skill that had been inherited from generation to generation.

That was too fast! Yun Xi reluctantly stopped his Quicksilver Motion halfway.

The next moment, a familiar scene happened. With a yell of rage, the hugest person of the three people jumped to the sky. As terrible as if a heavy mountain fell from the sky, he raised the two-handed heavy sword and chopped at Yun Xi.

Swifter, higher, and stronger. Compared to the combined assault of the first stone soldier army, these two people's joint attack was perfect.

No, the most dangerous person still hadn't attacked him yet.

Where would he launch an attack?

"Hee hee!" With a cold laugh, three sword blades suddenly appeared under Yun Xi's feet, woven into a metallic sword net in an instant.

Was it some kind of daoist art, or some kind of occult art of alchemy? Yun Xi didn't even find what the method Childe San Quan attacked him was as he lost his biggest advantage - the flexibility his Quicksilver Motion brought to him.

If Yun Xi didn't kiss Hua Huo, he'd already be dead now.

He first made a backflip, then threw out the wooden shield from his hand. He leaned to one side and jumped away.

"Boom!" As if it was a meteorite falling down to the ground, a blue-lit heavy sword heavily hit on the position where Yun Xi was standing at and made a few meters wide crack on the ground.

It was hard to believe that it was a damage that a Mortal caused. Comparing to the high-level stone soldier of the first stone soldier army, perhaps the leap attack Childe Si Nian used was ten times stronger than it.

No, they're not done yet!

"Swish!"

The fatal sound of a sword slicing through the air came at him. That was the sound of the Crane Wings Twin Swords.

Chapter 58: Dancing Crane Wings Twin Swords

"Crane Wings Twin Swords, Fly!" After releasing the twin swords, Childe Yun He laughed loudly and smugly.

The Flying Crane Wings Twin Swords crossed each other, blocking all the routes Yun Xi may escape his attack.

Just like what Hua Huo told him. Gazing at the twin swords locking his body, Yun Xi's heart became quiet conversely.

His mind had integrated into nature. Even as he was in a most hostile environment, he didn't panic. This was a realm that many Hero ranked people couldn't reach.

"Little Xi, these three are wastes, but wastes are still different."

"Among the three people, the most threatening person for you isn't the strongest one, but the one who has the best weapon.

"So, in order to kill them all, you have to break their most powerful advantage first."

After fighting with the three Childes, Yun Xi quickly understood that Hua Huo was right.

Childe Si Nian had the strongest strength and attack power. His attacks were bold, a little like the Five Tiger Generals, and that should have been forged on the battlefields.

Childe San Quan knew the most flexible tactics and most sinister attacking methods. His power obviously was the strongest among the three people.

However, Childe Yun He was the strongest person.

Because he had the Crane Wings Twin Swords. After being used by the best geniuses of Yun He City from generation to generation, the pair of famous swords had special foundations and spirit qi inside.

"Well, I think I have to use that!" After crossing the newbie iron sword in front of himself, Yun Xi blocked the crossing attack of the Crane Wings Twin Swords from the front.

"Ding!" The Crane Wings Twin Swords was skillfully parried by the newbie iron sword and cut through Yun Xi's body.

Right now! Yun Xi used the secret skill which appeared in his mind after kissing Hua Huo.

Before the twin swords started stirring in Yun Xi's body, it was stopped by a gust of colossal power of essence and blood.

"Instant Refining! Blood Stain Secret Skill!" Instantly, 10% of his blood was drawn out from his body and poured into the Crane Wings Twin Swords.

This was a power that Mortals could have, but it was a secret skill that could only be used by Hero ranks -  it was a taboo skill.

Yun Xi didn't know where and how Hua Huo learned it, but the self damaging secret skill was the main reason he made the following tactic.

Catching the Crane Wings Twin Swords was the most important step of the tactic.

"What?!" Childe Yun He shivered, then unbelievably found that the Crane Wings Twin Swords lost contact with his blood and soul in an instant.

It would be about 30 seconds.

The secret skill he learned from Hua Huo's seed was a taboo skill. It used his blood as sacrifice to obtain the right to control a powerful weapon temporarily.

It seemed that this secret skill was invented for robbing an enemy's mighty weapon in the shortest time after losing the weapon on the battlefield.

To a low-level weapon, he could obtain right of use by using the Blood Stain Secret Skill once. However, Yun Xi was trying to control a hero-ranked Spirit Weapon as a 2nd-ranked mortal. Even if he paid with 10% of his blood, he only obtained its right of use for 30 seconds.

However, that was enough!

Now, I will show you the true power of Hua Huo's seed!

"Crane Wings Twin Swords, Twinfly!" Yun Xi had never practiced the secret sword skill of Yun He City, but after controlling the Crane Wings Twin Swords, Yun Xi naturally understood how to use the pair of Spirit Weapons.

"No! Hurry back!" No one could understand how terrible the Crane Wings Twin Swords were more than Childe Yun He. It was a lethal weapon above all Mortal ranked weapons!

"Don't panic!" Childe Si Nian held his blue sword with two hands, then centered on himself, using the terrible skill Bladestorm.

"Fool! The Crane Wings Twin Swords can fly!" Childe Yun He shouted as he quickly ran away.

"Chi!" The twin swords looked like two flying cranes, but also like two flying dragons. Under Yun Xi's control, they cut through Childe Si Nian's body from head to toe.

From his skull to his spine, from his 'censored body part' to his throat, before Childe Si Nian played any of his strengths, he had been killed by the swords.

"Dammit! Why didn't you tell me your Spirit Weapon already had a spirit?!"

After seeing the true power of Crane Wings Twin Swords, Childe San Quan couldn't keep calm but changed colours.

"No, even I can't make it so powerful!" Childe Yun He was also puzzled.

As a pair of Spirit Weapons made by the successor of the Legendary Craftsman Ou Ye Zi, Crane Wings Twin Swords had a hidden property - its power depended on its user's sword talent.

That kid could use such a terrible killing attack using the Crane Wings Twin Swords... Did that mean that the kid's sword talent was higher than his?

How was it possible! His sword talent was acknowledged as the number one within in a thousand miles radius. If it was talking about sword talent, even Childe San Quan was a little inferior to him.

"Crane Wings Twin Swords, Dance of Chaos!" Yun Xi also didn't expect that Hua Huo's sword talent could combine with the Crane Wings Twin Swords so perfectly.

He could even hear the satisfied quivering sound of the flying twin swords.

After being forged by the successor of Ou Ye Zi, the Crane Wings Twin Swords had never met such a super sword genius like Yun Xi.

At first, he could only control them for 30 seconds. After finding Yun Xi's super sword talent, Crane Wings Twin Swords proactively extended the use time.

If a Spirit Weapon wanted to become a Divine Weapon, it needed not only time but also had to have a Legendary master.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!" At first, it was just a Mortal rank crossing attack, but the Crane Wings Twin Swords went above its usual performance, making it like a Hero rank dishing attacks.

In order to please its new master, Yun Xi, the Crane Wings Twin Swords went above its usual performance. It chopped and minced Childe Yun He, its former master. Then Childe San Quan, who didn't even have the chance to show his abilities.

After, the Crane Wings Twin Swords flew back to Yun Xi's hands and acted as if it was a girl who walked off the stage, Yun Xi opened his mouth widely and realized that he had walked through the third district leading to the ultimate Great Tower.

Three green souls flew out from their bodies and reluctantly flew into Yun Xi's body. They were absorbed by Yun Xi together with the souls of the other high-level stone soldiers and the soul of the unknown archer in red.

"Well, they're equal to ten green hippo's worth of souls." After feeling the power of the souls in his body, Yun Xi grinned from ear to ear.

Three Childes, what three wonderful gifts you are!

In fact, you were the weakest three people of the four kings, right? The archer in red was more powerful than you.

His power was pure and strong, and he didn't rely on any equipments.

If the Crane Wings Twin Swords belonged to the archer in red, Yun Xi didn't think he could have pulled through the third district.

Chapter 59: The Tower of Song

Yun Xi closed his eyes and held the Crane Wings Twin Swords which just flew back to his hands.

On his chest, the wound cut through by the swords started to heal. Due to the extraordinary performance of the Crane Wings Twin Swords, his desperate tactic achieved complete success.

Including Childe Yun He, Childe Si Nian, and Childe San Quan, even Yun Xi himself didn't expect that the pair of Crane Wings Twin Swords would be able to display such a terrifying strength in his hands.

"Hiss!"

"Ha!"

By using the breathing method he learned from Hua Huo, Yun Xi recovered his health and observed the secret of Crane Wings Twin Swords at the same time.

The twin swords were the best weapons Yun Xi had ever obtained. By holding them in his hands, he could feel the difference between it and Mortal weapons.

It was so light. That was the first impression Yun Xi had holding them.

Why could the twin swords fly in the air so nimbly? It was all due to its property of being as light as nothing.

As long as he could control them, he could easily use all sorts of inconceivable flying sword skills.

Between the female sword and the male sword, there were special attractive and repulsive forces. Plus the exquisite wing patterns on the blade, the twin swords had an incredible maneuverability in air combat.

The most important thing was that when Yun Xi held the twin swords in his hands, he could feel the palpitation of the twin swords from the bottom of his heart. He even vaguely felt that it was linking with his bloodline.

Spirit Weapon! They were a pair of top-quality Spirit Weapons! Holding the twin swords in his hands, Yun Xi loved them so much that he almost couldn't bear to part with them.

"Hum, Little Xi, this pair of swords are only suitable for the people below the Hero rank. It's not that precious." Seeing that Yun Xi's eyes were so eager when he looked at Crane Wings Twin Swords, Hua Huo felt a little jealous.

Naturally, he knew the twin swords were unusual. They could even be called a 'prospective Divine Weapon'.

She didn't know why, but it seemed that the twin swords were very suitable for Yun Xi.

The Blood Stain Secret Skill couldn't make the twin swords act like that.

"Let me have a look." Hua Huo took the Crane Wings Twin Swords from Yun Xi's hands. She gazed at it, then frowned.

Something was wrong. The twin swords were rejecting her!

They were good swords. However, she didn't know why, but they disliked her. If she used Blood Stain Secret Skill to force it to obey her, it'd probably choose self-damage to avoid it.

Yun Xi could use it. That 'waste' could barely use it too, but not her. Why?

Did the twin swords discriminate against women?

"It's a pity that I can only use you in the trial." After taking the twin swords back, Yun Xi said and shrugged his shoulders.

There did exist such a wonderful and occasional encounter in the world.

He had never seen the Crane Wings Twin Swords before, but after obtaining it, he immediately found that it was as if it was tailor-made for him.

It was light like nothing, very suitable for Yun Xi since he was practicing the Flying Swallow Sword.

In addition to its nimble attack style and its deadliness that was beyond the mortal rank, it and Yun Xi were like a match made in heaven.

"Ding!" The Crane Wings Twin Swords made an euphonious sword tremolo. It made Yun Xi's heart quiver for an instant, looking like he vaguely felt something.

Unfortunately, Yun Xi was still at Mortal rank. He didn't know what this meant.

"Ok, let's put the twin swords aside and go to the ultimate Great Tower!" Because she was prohibited to help Yun Xi in the third district, Hua Huo was pretty angry by now.

She was already tired of killing a group of wastes dozens of times.

Now, it was her time.

No matter who you were, as long as you dare to get in Yun Xi's way, I will sweep you all away!

"Well, I have a foreboding... the ultimate trial won't be that easy..." Yun Xi raised his head, looking at the giant Great Tower.

If the thing evolved as his though, perhaps the ultimate trial would be extremely difficult.

The twin witches. Would the enemy be White Lotus or Red Lotus?

"La..."

Suddenly, countless bells resounded on the empty coastline. Along with the light, a pure song swept the land.

The bloody first district.

The second district of the erupting volcano.

The brutal third district.

In all the districts, all blood and dust were purified by the song. A gust of strong power swept the entire coastline.

"What a terrible power!" For the first time, Hua Huo changed her expression. This was the first time that Yun Xi saw such a serious expression on his childhood sweetheart's face.

Even when she fought against the hero-ranked male Fiery Dragon, she still looked very casual and relaxed.

Since their childhood, Yun Xi had never seen such a solemn look on Hua Huo's face.

"La..."

"La la..."

"Tonight, no one sleeps."

"My prince, come to meet me! The following curses will come true one by one."

"The world won't accept you and you will be swallowed by the darkness."

"Whether you decide to come or escape, you will be cursed."

"It will chase you and kill you."

"Incarnadined the sky, blacked the earth."

"Blood has nourished the monster, and the nightmare has opened its eyes!"

"Only the tower, shining as usual!"

"Come on. Go to the top of the tower and meet your princess!"

"Only the person who broke the prisoner's cage can reach the place of the princess!"

With the familiar sound of singing, the little coastline world started to change its colour to what the girl sang.

The sky was Incarnadined by blood.

The earth was swallowed by the darkness.

The first district, the second district, and the third district were swallowed and covered by the mists of darkness one by one. Dimly, he saw large quantities of monsters running out from the mists.

Unlike the opponents transformed from the Childes, the Five Tiger Generals and all sorts of strange beasts, the stuffs walking out from the darkness were covered in a thick air of death. They looked like ashes that had been deprived by all warmth.

"Go!" Yun Xi grasped Hua Huo's little hands, who hadn't yet understood what happened, rushing together into the only light and hope of the world - the Great Tower.

The last trial was coming!

He had no way to go unless he went to the top of the tower and saved the imprisoned princess.

Yun Xi didn't know what would happen if he lost the trial, but his instinct told him that those black things weren't good. They weren't some gifts that the stars prepared for him.

The trial wasn't a game. Yun Xi knew that better than anyone.

The nightmare was coming. Now, he and Hua Huo needed to find the light, the last hope of the world.

My princess, I'm coming to save you!

Chapter 60: Princess and Guardian

"My prince?"

"Princess?"

After being pulled and entering the Great Tower with Yun Xi and hearing the melodious singing echoing around the sky and earth, Hua Huo looked at Yun Xi with suspicion.

She felt that something in the dream was wrong.

If this was a dream, how could she feel the touch of Yun Xi's hand, their heartbeats as they ran together and her irrepressible euphoria. They were all too real.

"I wander in the darkness... once dreamed the whisper that no one could hear..."

"Now, I see the road, the fate, at least, at this moment... let me open myself to you."

"The unreachable wish, the trampled wing. Lowering my head in the darkness and waiting for your coming."

"The shadow of tears, the shadow of the moon. They overflow in my palms. My lips are trembling in the darkness."

"Come to find me, come to look at me. Treat me as the world's best princess, my prince!"

"Even I'm covered in bumps and bruises, I don't regret to falling in love with you."

"As long as I can stay with you, enjoying the same time with you, darkness and sadness will warm up."

"The whirling miss let me forge the Star and Moon Ring for you, in order to witness our forever love."

"Our love will turn into light, shining the darkness and going to immortal."

The sad, soft, hot, yearning sound of singing resounded in the old Great Tower, winding around Yun Xi's body.

That was a confession and confidence. It was the last light and the only hope in the world that would be covered by darkness.

Here was the tower of fire, the last redemption of the world.

"Ah, who is she! How dare she sing such a shameless song!"

"Little Xi, tell me, it's not a song about you, right?" Hua Huo was trying to overcome her desire to draw out the two-handed sword from her back while displaying a murderous look on her face.

His childhood sweetheart's radar of jealousy was starting to scan the potential rival from all directions.

"This is my first time coming here." Yun Xi wasn't lying, but he didn't tell her the truth either.

Who was the "princess" he needed to save?

What was the relationship between the princess and the world which was going to be swallowed by darkness?

Too many questions appeared in Yun Xi's heart. This was his first time taking the formal trial. Compared to the formal trial, the trial in the dark forest was like the "Playing house" game.

After running and running, there wasn't any monster in the empty Great Tower. There was only a spiral staircase leading to the top of the tower, and the more and more terrible the atmosphere as he ran upwards.

"Be careful, Little Xi. There are probably very strong enemies." Hua Huo had found this at the first moment she stepped in the Great Tower.

She could feel a very terrible atmosphere at the top of the Great Tower.

There was a burning flame. There was a shining light. That wasn't an opponent the male Fiery Dragon could be comparable to.

"I know. My opponents are very strong."

"However, we have no choice."

To Hua Huo, this was just a dream. There wouldn't even be pain even she died. However, as the tested person, there was no way back for Yun Xi.

Even if at the top of the tower there was something as dangerous as dragon's nest or a tiger's cave, he had to go to there to finish the ultimate goal of the trial -  save the princess.

"If so, I will fight side by side with you."

"We will win, no matter who the enemy is!"

Hua Huo's eyes looked unprecedentedly serious. Comparing to the time she casually killed the male Fiery Dragon, now, Hua Huo's battle will was fully on.

"Boom!" The two-handed sword broke the door leading to the top of the tower. Yun Xi and Hua Huo rushed together into the last battlefield.

On a huge wooden cross, the Holy Virgin White Lotus was tied to the centre of the cross by black chains.

The raging fire was burning her, but there was no signs of scorching on her small naked feet.

"My prince..." Though her two hands were hung on the cross and her whole body was tied by black chains, White Lotus's pale eyes still gazed at Yun Xi with happiness.

"Prince?" Hua Huo glanced at Yun Xi with a weird look, then tightly stared at White Lotus.

Why? Why does this girl look so familiar? I remember as if in the last dream...

"Boom!"

Before Hua Huo remembered anything, the fire licked White Lotus's feet and rised to the sky. The enormous power broke the tower top and then, a 3 metres tall monster, who was surrounded by flames appeared in front of Yun Xi's eyes.

It wore a crimson armor skirt, held a scarlet flame sword with spiral grooves, and looked like a translucent woman. Even if it just stood still, it had almost made Yun Xi choke.

On her morning-glow-like cloak, large amounts of fire powders were burning and dancing along with her breathing.

"Jump, Little Xi!" Hua Huo's words warned Yun Xi in time. Subconsciously, Yun Xi jumped up.

"Swish!" Countless fire powders came crashing through below Yun Xi's feet. If Yun Xi hesitated just now, he'd have died.

She wasn't like any enemy Yun Xi met before. If he didn't hear Hua Huo's warning, perhaps he'd have been killed at the first instant.

In the face of ten times' power, any tactics, strategies or skills were useless. Moreover, the power of the red monster was far more than just ten times Yun Xi's power.

"Sister! No!" White Lotus anxiously gazed at the huge figure, which was wrapped by flames and was temporarily separated from her.

"Get out of the way!" Red Lotus snappily stared at Yun Xi, raising her Red Lotus Holy Sword again.

She didn't know why she had this inexplicable dream again. Besides, she had to separate from her sister White Lotus, temporarily becoming her sister's flame guardian spirit.

It seemed that this form conformed to some rule of the world and she felt it was very easy to handle. However, due to this, she had to defeat any people who dared to get close to the princess.

She didn't need anyone to tell her to do it, because it was an elder sister's natural duty to kill any bad men who dared to get close to her little sister, right?

"You want to kill my Little Xi?" Apparently, Hua Huo didn't realize who the flame guardian spirit was, but at the very moment she saw the spirit attack Yun Xi, she lost her temper.

This time, she wouldn't allow Yun Xi to fight against the guardian spirit, because though she didn't know who the flame guardian spirit was, but even ten male Fiery Dragons weren't her opponent.

Even if they were at the same Hero rank, there was still a large gap among different individuals. This spirit was a troublesome one.

It seems she couldn't keep hiding her true power.

Fortunately, this was just a dream. She didn't need to worry about how to deal with it if she damaged the environment too much.

"I will show you the true power of the Sky Flying Bloodline." As blood dropped down from her fingers, Hua Huo's eyes changed.

Chapter 61: Tragic Asura

The booming sounds of metal colliding resounded at the top of the exploded Great Tower.

Yun Xi's childhood sweetheart and the Red Lotus Holy Virgin of the twin witches were starting a fighting that was far beyond Yun Xi's understanding.

They were both super geniuses.

One of them was Yun Xi's childhood sweetheart who he never understood thoroughly, and was a super sword girl that could use the God's Sword Skill Sky Flying Sword.

The other was Red Lotus, who succeeded the position of the witch of White Lotus Sword Domain and was so famous that you could even hear her name in Western God's Domain.

In order to protect Yun Xi!

In order to protect White Lotus!

Enemy, die!

Invader, die!

****

What? Was this a fight I could take sides in?

Watching the fighting between Hua Huo and Red Lotus, Yun Xi felt he was totally useless when faced with a fight at this level.

"Prince, come here!" Taking the opportunity that Hua Huo and her sister fought so fiercely that they couldn't distract themselves from the fighting, White Lotus stealthily waved her hands to Yun Xi.

"Your Highness Holy Virgin, what're you doing?" After blocking the shock wave caused by the fighting between the two "monsters", Yun Xi tried his best to go toward the tied White Lotus Holy Virgin.

"I did nothing. Some power of the world influenced my sister. She became that violent monster."

She also wanted to be a quiet sleeping beauty waiting for her prince's kiss!

However, it seemed that some rules of the world chained her on the wooden cross from the moment she entered the world and her sister became the eternal flame spirit guarding her.

The only thing she could do was to sing from the top of the single Great Tower, to call her prince to save her.

"I see. How can I save you?" After knowing the origin and development, Yun Xi began forming cold sweat.

If he didn't go perform the side quest and obtain Hua Huo's help and only used his own power, even if he passed through the third district due to luck, he would be killed by Red Lotus at the very instant he faced the ultimate challenge.

What an extremely difficult formal trial!

The stars' "special consideration" made Yun Xi want to cry.

"You can." White Lotus gazed at Yun Xi with tenderness and love. Even if Hua Huo wasn't here, she could still help Yun Xi. The most difficult part of the trial was how to enter the Great Tower.

"I'm waiting for you, my prince."

"Do you remember the love token you gave me?

"This world has its own rules. You need to do one thing to suppress my sister and save me."

As hearing White Lotus's plan, Yun Xi couldn't stop beads of sweat dripping from his forehead and back.

If he did that, Hua Huo would kill him.

However, if he didn't do it, the world would be destroyed!

Oh, he didn't want to make mistakes. It was the world forcing him!

"Hee ah!"

Hua Huo lightly leapt up. In her hands, the two-handed heavy sword, which could even be used as siege weapon, burst out in a blue light. Temporarily, Hua Huo overcame gravity, standing upside down in the sky.

At that moment, time also temporarily stopped. Even the burning fire powders which surrounded Red Lotus also paused in the sky by the will and spirit of Hua Huo's sword.

"Sky Fly -  Crossing Slash!"

The 3 metres tall guardian spirit's body was covered with wounds and exposed Red Lotus's true body inside it.

Her two hands raised her Red Lotus Holy Sword, as the blazing cloak waved on her back due to the wind.

"Hot Sun - Burning the Sky!"

A column of scorching fire rised to the sky.

This was a fighting between extraordinary power and extraordinary power, a bloody battle between two hero-ranked warriors!

The tremendous crossed sword light and the huge column of fire exploded together. They almost destroyed half of the giant Great Tower.

"Great!" Hua Huo was very excited.

She had waited too long to meet such a spicy battle with an opponent at the same level with her.

"You... Wait, bastard, what're you doing?!" At first, Red Lotus was absorbed in staring at Hua Huo, the most threatening enemy. However, when she took a chance to glance at her sister, her anger exploded.

"Boom!" Countless flames burst out. Regardless of having turned her back to Hua Huo, Red Lotus frantically rushed to the cross.

"Little Xi!" Hua Huo didn't take this opportunity to attack Red Lotus, because she was even angrier than Red Lotus!

Her Little Xi, her childhood sweetheart, was holding the poor, lovely girl's hands. He lowered his head and gave the girl a soft, sweet kiss on her hand.

"Arrrrrghhhh! White Lotus!"

"Nooooooooo! Little Xi!"

Red Lotus and Hua Huo went mad together!

"I give you my love."

"In that case, I can shine the world."

White Lotus was indulging in Yun Xi's kiss.

Finally, she tried to be the first. The time between two lovers was so sweet.

I wanted all your first experiences. I wanted to become the only one in your heart.

For you, I willed to become the eternal flame of the world, to deprive all darkness.

You were the light of my life. You were the forever I hoped for. You were the lover I waited for.

"Give it to me, my prince." White Lotus reached out her small hands and put the Star and Moon Ring she forged in Yun Xi's hands.

"Eh!" Yun Xi could feel a killing intent. Two very strong killing intents.

One was from his powerful childhood sweetheart, the unbeatable sword girl, who could kill the male Fiery Dragon like she was killing a poor dog.

Another was from White Lotus's elder sister, Red Lotus, one of the twin witches, who could turn into a burning guardian spirit.

None of them was an opponent that he could be a could match for. More exactly, he could only wait to be killed by them.

What should he do to defuse the crisis? At this time, Yun Xi vaguely understood how his past life died.

Fortunately, he had a backup this time. The girl was also the most important person of the world.

Though he didn't know why she wanted him to give her the ring, which looked totally unlike the micalex he presented her before. However, since he didn't have more information, this was his only choice.

"You bastard! Don't touch my White Lotus!" Red Lotus had gone crazy. She turned into the red-hot guardian spirit, rushing towards Yun Xi.

She really wanted to kill him!

"Little Xi, explain this!" Hua Huo leapt to the sky again. The two-handed heavy sword was dyed bright red.

She was angry. This was the first time that Yun Xi saw Hua Huo so angry!

This... was I playing with fire? Yun Xi tried to weep, but failed to shed a tear. He could only look at the girl with the Star and Moon Ring in his arms.

"Don't worry. Trust me!

"Trust me! Trust the girl who was always waiting for you!"

After putting the Star and Moon Ring on her head, White Lotus looked pretty happy.

Again, the song resounded in the world, which was going to be swallowed by the darkness.

"I wander in the darkness... once dreamed the whisper that no one could hear..."

"The unreachable wish and the trampled wing. Lowering my head in the darkness, and waiting for your coming."

"The whirling miss let me forge the Star and Moon Ring for you, in order to witness our eternal love."

"Our love will turn into light, shining the darkness and going to the immortal."

Chapter 62: The Primal Fire

Inside the stainless white radiance, White Lotus guided Yun Xi's hands to put the Star and Moon Ring on her hand, declaring to the world their brave oath.

"Today, I hold his hands and tell all the people in the world.

"From this day forward, I'm going to be a couple with him.

"For rich or for poor.

"For better or for worse.

"Like the stars shining in the infinite night sky.

"Our hearts linked together, never to be separated.

"We wish for love, we want to stay together. If our tenderness can suffuse the world, that would be fantastic.

"No, not only so.

"For you, I'm willing to become the eternal flame to bring light to the world!"

That was the girl's decision. For the sake of her lover, she volunteered for that.

The world was filled with darkness and despair. Countless dead souls were wandering in the nightmare. They couldn't rest. They couldn't sleep.

Therefore, she would become the light that would light up the world, to be the initial fire!

"Boom" Between earth and sky, a huge White Lotus bloomed. Then a layer of crimson fire surrounded White Lotus.

White Lotus and Red Lotus combined together in such a weird way. At the last sanctuary of the world, they lit the column of fire, shining throughout the sky and earth.

The red sky and black earth ushered in light again. One after another, bonfires appeared in all the corners of the dark world. The world was lighting up.

Even the fire couldn't change the true nature of the dark world, it just brought a slender hope.

Yun Xi could barely see the puzzled souls going towards those bonfires from the void. Then they transformed into human figures, gazing at their own two hands in confusion.

Though they didn't have memories of their pasts, but also represented the hope of the world.

They were ashes birthed from fire, wandering souls corrupted by the dark world. The tower of fire lit up by White Lotus and Red Lotus supported them so that they could be born in the bonfire.

The destiny of the world had changed.

The world, which was supposed to fall in perpetual darkness, would sing a song of blood and fire again.

After losing all their memories and returning to the world from the bonfire, those undead had to explore the world and fight against the terrible monsters born from the dark side.

The flame kept burning; the fighting would never end.

"This... what's this..." Unlike the newbie trial, Yun Xi clearly felt the reality of the world.

If the stone soldiers, the Green Hippo and the male Fiery Dragon were opponents the stars summoned from the nearby regions around the small village.

Then the dark wave which swept across the world and the undead who were returning to the world from the bonfire, were undoubtedly also a part of the world.

And White Lotus, as the person who lit the primal fire, was a very special being to the world.

"So... this is a real world..." Yun Xi vaguely remembered that Mei'er had said that the trial world was a dream world the stars helped him link to. However, the current situation told him that it wasn't just as simple as a dream.

The dark and the fire, the bonfire and the undead, and the primal fire lit by the witch. Yun Xi had a feeling that it wasn't the end between the world and himself. It was probably just the beginning.

Looking down from the top of the Great Tower, the place lit by the primal fire, here was just the edge of a vast continent. The dark forest and the Great Tower were just two infinitely small parts of the world.

At a distance, there were majestic mountains and imposing old castles. In the horizon, there were some indiscernible objects that linked the sky and the ground.

"Little Xi!"

"White Lotus!"

As Yun Xi eyed the vast area, the fighting between Hua Huo and Red Lotus started again!

His strong childhood sweetheart and the perhaps stronger Red Lotus waved their weapons at the same time, running towards Yun Xi who was gently hugging White Lotus in his arms.

"Sorry, sister."

"He's the only one I won't give up to you."

White Lotus made a naughty smile towards the resentful Red Lotus and Hua Huo, then used one of her fingers to draw a seal in the air.

"One person one city, one heart one wall!"

A rhombic wall suddenly appeared in front of Red Lotus and Hua Huo. That was a God's Skill Yun Xi had once glanced at in the seed of the twin witches -  Void Seal.

However, at that time, a "sword" appeared in the void, but this time, it was a "wall".

"Boom!" A flame two times more violent than before blasted out.

"Swish! Swish!" Following that was a big crossing sword attack. Hua Huo's two-handed sword bounced off and cracked.

"One person one city, one heart one wall!"

When it came to attacks, White Lotus was inferior to her sister. However, if we were talking about defence, then she was undoubtedly the best.

The twin witches, one used a sword and another one used seals. One was expert in attack and another one was expert in defence. When they teamed up, they had no weakness.

Hence, when Red Lotus found that her sister blocked her attack by using the Wall of Heart, she couldn't believe her eyes.

Her gentle, graceful, and innocent sister was resisting her! In other words, herself!

No, this couldn't be White Lotus's fault.

It was all the bastard prince's fault! This damn dream! This cursed world!

"Little Xi, be careful, I'm not going to preserve my strength!" After seeing White Lotus hugging Yun Xi, Hua Huo's killing intention rose suddenly and sharply.

"Burst Gauge!"

Tremendous blood power, far more terrible than the male Fiery Dragon, burst out from Hua Huo's body. If anyone still claimed that Hua Huo was at the 3rd rank now, that person must be blind.

Even a thousand green hippos were nothing when faced with the current Hua Huo.

Another skill and power that Yun Xi didn't know of. Hua Huo, how many God's Skills were you still hiding?!

"Don't worry. We're blessed by the world, my prince."

"Behold, the glory of the stars is shining on us!"

White Lotus and Yun Xi were acting intimately. They hugged each other, revelling in the fairytale-like atmosphere.

Oh, the world was so wonderful and the flame was so warm here!

If this moment could last forever, what a wonderful dream it would be!

"Oh, the stars are coming..." Yun Xi raised his head. Looking at the tardy lights of the stars, Yun Xi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hong!" Hua Huo went into her super mode. She broke three layers of the Wall of Heart by one hit and rushed towards Yun Xi.

The three meter tall flame spirit turned into a flash of red hot light and also flew at them with anger.

At that very moment, the lights of the stars dropped and covered Yun Xi.

The first formal trial came to an end.

(The first volume has ended)

About the Publisher

We, at Zenith Novels, are a team devoted to translating Chinese novels. We are trying to bring you the most interesting novels from China.