Chapter Thirty-Four: Arrival at the Capital of the Great Qian Dynasty

The bluestone slabs of the Purple Gold Plaza in the capital of the Great Qian Dynasty were scorched by the blazing sun. On the raised platform for the disciple recruitment ceremony, the shouts of deacons from various sects rose and fell, with an especially long queue forming before the Chixia Sect’s dais.

As one of the top three sects in the capital, their testing standards were notoriously strict, and few were ever chosen.

Luo Ningshuang stood at the end of the line, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the water-patterned jade pendant hidden in her sleeve. She was the daughter of the patriarch of the Luo family, a minor side-branch cultivation clan. Today, she had dressed with care in her most decent moon-white dress, its hem embroidered with subtle water ripples. Though the fabric showed slight signs of wear, it could not diminish her slender, graceful figure. Her skin possessed the cold, jade-like pallor of one long immersed in water, and her features were crisp and clear. In particular, her almond-shaped eyes, shimmering with a watery light, betrayed a sense of distant arrogance amidst the crowd.

The Luo family possessed a few Earth-grade water cultivation techniques, but their highest cultivation level was merely the Void Refining stage. Among the many powers in the capital, they could barely hold their ground.

"Next!" shouted the Chixia Sect’s examining deacon.

Luo Ningshuang took a deep breath, stepped forward, and pressed her palm against the spirit-testing jade. The jade lit up with a translucent, deep blue halo, within which dense spiritual energy churned, causing a layer of fine frost to condense upon the stone's surface.

"Top-grade water spirit root... No, how is this spiritual energy so dense and overbearing?" The deacon stood up abruptly, shock flashing in his eyes. "A top-grade water spirit root is one in ten thousand—a talent rarely seen in the Great Qian Dynasty in a century! But looking at these energy fluctuations... the young lady is only at the first level of the Nascent Soul stage? Such talent, yet so slow in cultivation—what a pity."

Before he could finish, a flippant voice sounded from behind her.

"Oh? Isn't this the ice beauty of the Luo family?"

Luo Ningshuang stiffened. She turned around sharply, her eyes instantly kindling with icy hatred. *Hmph, it’s that scum Zhao Kun again! In my previous life, it was he who saw my superior water talent and forcibly tried to take me as a concubine. When my father refused, he slandered the Luo family for colluding with the demon race, leading to the slaughter of my entire clan! This blood debt is etched into my very bones!*

Zhao Kun fanned himself, standing with four followers. His eyes roamed over her face as he spoke with a frivolous tone: "Testing your spirit root? A top-grade water spirit root... truly a fine piece of work. Come back to the Chixia Sect with me. Forget being an outer disciple; just be my concubine, and I’ll guarantee you twenty high-grade spirit stones every month. How about it?"

A wave of laughter erupted from the surroundings. Someone chimed in, "Brother Zhao is truly blessed! This Luo girl is not only beautiful but also possesses a top-grade spirit root. Taming her means having someone to warm your bed and cultivate with—the best of both worlds!"

Luo Ningshuang clenched her fists, the cold energy seeping from her fingertips causing a thin layer of ice to form on the ground. The rage churning in her chest nearly shattered her reason. Zhao Kun was already at the third level of the Void Refining stage—a mountain pressing down on her heart. She knew full well that her own meager first-level Nascent Soul power couldn't block a single finger of his. Her nails dug deep into her palms until blood beaded, but she felt nothing, biting her lower lip until it turned white.

She said angrily, "Brother Zhao, have some self-respect! I am here to join the sect, not to listen to your filthy language!"

"Filthy language?" Zhao Kun closed his folding fan, his face darkening. "Luo Ningshuang, don't be ungrateful. Your Luo family’s spirit veins have long since dried up, and your treasury is nearly empty. Last month, you could barely maintain the mountain-protecting array. Do you really think that with your cultivation, you can hold up a crumbling family?"

He signaled his followers, his tone turning vicious. "Take her! If she dares to resist, cripple her spirit root. I want to see how this ice beauty remains so arrogant once she loses her water spirit root!"

The four followers surrounded her with sinister grins, their long blades glinting with cold light. Luo Ningshuang retreated half a step, her back against the spirit-testing platform, and reached for the water-patterned jade pendant in her sleeve. It was a shard of her life-bound artifact from her previous life, the "Cold River Glazed Lamp." This shard could trigger a single "Frost Over a Thousand Miles" technique, enough to trap a Void Refining cultivator for a moment, but it would remain dormant for at least three months afterward.

If she truly fought back, even if she managed to escape, the wrath of the Chixia Sect would utterly incinerate the last lifeline of the Luo family. Her father and kin... she must not let them suffer because of her again.

Just then, a pale cyan figure appeared as if out of thin air, standing before her. The newcomer stood with his hands behind his back, his robe fluttering slightly in the wind. It was Ye Chentian, who happened to be passing by. As he stepped onto the plaza, a hurried notification from the system echoed in his mind:

[Ding! Holy-grade talent disciple detected!]
[Name: Luo Ningshuang]
[Constitution: Cold River Holy Body (Sealed). In her past life, she was the "Ice澜 Divine Sovereign," ruler of the upper realm's waters for ten thousand years. She suppressed seventy-two water demon paths with her water-based divine abilities. Her water-controlling guards were all Golden Immortals, and her "Cold River Return to Ruins" could swallow galaxies. Even the Heavenly Emperor of the Immortal Realm showed her respect.]
[Current Status: Early stage of rebirth, Holy Body unactivated. Potential Rating: Holy-grade!]
[Trigger Mission: Take Luo Ningshuang as an apprentice. Rewards: Profound Ice Body-Tempering Liquid ×5, "Ten Thousand Waters Homage Technique" (Earth-grade peak water cultivation method, accelerates awakening of the Holy Body), 10 jin of low-grade Dao-Enlightenment Tea.]

Ye Chentian glanced at Luo Ningshuang. Seeing that she was trapped in a desperate situation yet possessed a deep, burning will to fight in her eyes, he nodded to himself. *This girl is good raw material. A Cold River Holy Body, both soft and firm—she is worth cultivating.*

"Is this how disciples of the Chixia Sect conduct themselves?" His tone was flat, yet the surrounding clamor instantly fell silent.

Seeing the newcomer’s ordinary attire, Zhao Kun looked him up and down and sneered, "What wild cultivator is this? You dare meddle in the affairs of the Chixia Sect? I advise you to stay out of it, or you won't even know how you died!"

"The affairs I meddle in are precisely those of bullies like you," Ye Chentian said, stepping forward slowly. "Either get lost, or die!"

"Hahaha, you actually dare to threaten me?" Zhao Kun looked as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world, pointing his folding fan at the tip of Ye Chentian’s nose. "Do you know who my master is? Elder Lei of the Chixia Sect! A mighty expert of the Integration stage! Why don't you try touching me?"

"Integration stage?" Ye Chentian raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "In my eyes, the Integration stage is no different from an ant."

"You are courting death!" Zhao Kun, thoroughly incensed, waved his hand to strike Ye Chentian across the face. "Cripple this ignorant fool!"

The followers lunged with their blades. Ye Chentian didn't even look at them; he simply flicked his finger.

"Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!"

The four figures were instantly sent flying, crashing into the Chixia Sect’s raised platform. Their blades shattered, and they vomited blood, struck down by Ye Chentian in an instant.

Gasps filled the air:
"My god! What kind of strength is this? He crippled four Void Refining cultivators with a casual flick??"
"Those were the most capable fighters among Zhao Kun’s men, all at the first level of the Void Refining stage!"
"Who is this man in the cyan robe? To dare move against the Chixia Sect... he has far too much courage!"