The next morning: As Ziqi Donglai arrived, mist blanketed the open-air Cave within the Valley where the hundred demons gathered.
After a night spent cultivating, Yun Mu had just immersed himself in the first breath of Ziqi Donglai when he was unceremoniously thrown by Eleven into this place, which resembled a Valley.
As for the reason, all he got was:
“It’s good for your cultivation.”
At this moment, he was standing beneath Sunlight Like Wine, bathed in the morning light, his once handsome face now covered in wounds.
Ever since he’d been thrown into this place, he had been on the receiving end of a one-sided beating for about half an hour.
In that time, his whole body had taken a beating, especially his face, which was in such a state it was almost unbearable to look at.
Yet, even after all that, he still hadn’t figured out who his assailant was.
The person training him neither spoke nor revealed the slightest familiar aura, so all Yun Mu could deduce from brief moments of skin contact was that his opponent was a woman.
As for her name or surname, it was impossible to tell—for one, he didn’t really have time to consider such unimportant things.
Yun Mu raised a hand to touch his blood-stained left cheek, letting out a faint “hiss.”
He was about to draw power from his Dan Tian to ease the pain when a sudden “whoosh” of wind sounded beside his ear.
Here we go again.
On instinct, he dodged right and raised his hand to block, the reflexive resistance from muscle memory allowing him, for the first time, to deflect such a sharp assault.
But, alas, the follow-up punch sent him flying backward with a thunderous impact.
His feet scraped along the ground, carving two deep furrows in the soft earth until his back slammed against the wall, knocking loose a shower of stones before finally coming to a stop.
“Huh? You actually managed to block it? Little Yun, your talent really is impressive… Oh no…!”
A surprised and curious voice rang out—a cool, clear sound echoed in his ears.
The girl, not having finished her remark, hurriedly covered her mouth to hide her identity, but it was already too late.
“Lo—Luo Yi?”
She was exposed.
“Wha—What Luo Yi? I am the First Grand Protector under Eleven, a being as elusive as a dragon who appears and disappears at will. If not for the need to help you cultivate these days, I wouldn’t have shown myself at all. Don’t talk nonsense, or… I’ll just leave right now!”
The girl quickly lowered her voice, making up an identity to cover up who she really was.
After all, in her own plans, her current identity was “the ugly Grand Protector who’s jealous of Yun Mu’s looks”—someone who didn’t even exist.
If her real identity was exposed, all her carefully laid plans would go to waste.
“But you’re obviously Luo Yi…”
“!!”
Seeing Yun Mu’s stubbornness, the girl slammed her fist into the wall beside him, the loud crash instantly cutting him off.
“I told you, I’m the First Grand Protector under Eleven. The Luo Yi you mentioned is someone who’ll come later to heal you. I am not her, do you understand?”
The way the girl’s words slipped into calling him “Little Yun” made it all the more obvious, but Yun Mu still cooperated and nodded, replying, “Mm,”—because he’d heard the clear edge of warning in her voice.
This was not the time to be obstinate.
Seeing that the boy was finally obedient, Qin Luoyi’s tone relaxed considerably:
“Mm~ that’s better. Let’s continue the training.”
Feeling the light pat on his face and hearing the girl’s gradually retreating, airy footsteps, Yun Mu was left somewhat confused.
In his view, even if the other party didn’t hide her identity while training with him, it shouldn’t make much difference.
Her behavior seemed unnecessarily complicated.
But soon, he realized something was wrong.
After the earlier accident, Qin Luoyi’s moves were clearly slower and weaker, even her angles of attack less sharp, so much so that, having grown used to intense training, Yun Mu suddenly found it hard to adjust.
When he easily caught the girl’s fist, he couldn’t help but speak up.
“Um, Luo Yi…no, First Grand Protector, may I ask if you’re holding back for some reason? Why do I feel you’re weaker in every way?”
His sincere question only made the girl angrier.
“How dare you ask! If you hadn’t called out just now—”
Before she could finish, she flicked his head with a sharp knock, her face full of annoyance.
“Anyway, I won’t go easy on you from now on. Don’t hold a grudge against me.”
“Of course not. You’re helping me—I should be thanking you, not bearing a grudge.”
He rubbed the swollen spot on his head, his tone genuine, but what greeted him was a lightning-fast, heavy punch—catching him completely off guard.
He reflexively raised his arms to block, and Yun Mu heard a crisp “crack” from within his body, followed by the sharp pain of bone piercing skin.
Yun Mu knew his left kidney had been shattered, but… he didn’t feel any pain.
In fact, a wild smile spread across his face.
He’d done it—even in this situation, he’d blocked the attack!
For him, this was a transformation—quantity had become quality, and after the leap, how could he not be elated?
He stood up straight.
Streams of deep green light wrapped around his arms, and in a flash, his previously shattered limb was completely restored, even thicker and stronger than before.
“Again. Hit me harder.”
“Well then, be sure… to catch it!”
So Qin Luoyi sheathed her dagger, and in its place came even fiercer punches raining down on the boy—no mercy, only pushing his limits.
At last, when he finally collapsed in total exhaustion onto the ground… the one-sided beating was over.
“Hiss, that hurts… Luo Yi… can’t you go easier… hsss… ow ow ow ow!”
Sitting cross-legged on a bed of tender leaves, Yun Mu was wrapped in bandages from the torso up to his whole face.
Beside him, Qin Luoyi was applying medicine, her face full of concern.
“Honestly, that so-called Grand Protector really doesn’t know her own strength. Makes me ache just looking at you.”
Immersed in her own world, the girl spoke as she used a bamboo spatula to gently spread medicine over his back, making Yun Mu grimace and bare his teeth in pain.
Perhaps he’d finally become used to it: before, Yun Mu could bear these wounds in silence, but now, he instinctively let out a “that hurts” or two.
It was a normal human reaction—finally manifesting in this boy, if only gradually.
But these were subtle changes he didn’t notice, or perhaps he had no time to notice.
As he felt the gentle strokes of the girl tending to his wounds, Yun Mu thought back on the fight and spoke without thinking.
“Um… Luo Yi, actually I already know that person is you. Now that the training’s over, there’s no need to keep pretending…”
But that only made the girl angry again.
This time, though, Qin Luoyi couldn’t be bothered to keep up the charade.
She finished applying the last of the ointment, tossed the tools aside, and let out a long sigh before speaking.
“You really are dense. I said that wasn’t me, but you insist on exposing me—don’t you have any sense?”
“No sense? Uh… But wasn’t it just to let you attack without hesitation, so you made up that identity? I…”
Yun Mu scratched his head, analyzing in earnest, but the more he spoke, the quieter he got—suddenly understanding something.
When playing the violent part, the girl chose to hide her identity.
Now, tending to his wounds with gentleness, she faced him as her true self.
Her intentions were clear—yet he’d stubbornly tried to reveal her secret.
Sigh…
Now that he thought about it, he really was a bit insensitive.
He heaved a deep sigh and swallowed the rest of his words, his tone much softer.
“Um, Luo Yi—actually, while sparring with that so-called First Grand Protector, I drew on your strength.”
“My strength?”
As soon as he changed the subject, the girl’s mood brightened considerably—though the effort came a little late, it was better than never.
“Yeah, the power you left in my body earlier. Actually…I’ve been curious about it for a while, but never had the chance to ask. Now that we have a moment, I thought I’d take the opportunity.”
“Curious about my power? You’re the first to say that to me… But if you want to understand it, you must have the confidence to shoulder my future, Little Yun—are you ready for that?”
“Your future? I…”
Clearly, the subject grew heavy.
In Yun Mu’s current state, he couldn’t even guarantee his own future—how could he suddenly consider someone else’s?
“Luo Yi, I—”
“Hey, you don’t have to be like that. You haven’t wronged anyone. My words just now, you don’t have to answer right away.”
The girl reached out a slender finger and poked his face, smiling.
“Just do your best for now. After all, if you can’t withstand the trial coming up, you probably wouldn’t be able to promise me anything anyway.”
“The trial coming up? Luo Yi, if it’s just another part of cultivation, I can still handle it…”
Yun Mu’s thoughts raced as he tried to figure out what the girl meant, when suddenly—
“Bang!”
A heavy crash echoed through the Valley.
A scorching medicinal aroma instantly filled the air.
“This is…?”
“That Medicine Bath was specially prepared for you by Senior Eleven. It uses quite a few rare ingredients I’ve never even heard of, but I can tell—it’s very potent.”
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