That voice… was incredibly familiar.
Ye Chen’s movements froze.
Over the past two years, on the night of every full moon atop the Star Gazing Platform, the person who had sat across from him discussing swords and co-deducing sword techniques was the owner of this very voice.
He slowly turned around.
His gaze passed through the path that the crowd had automatically opened, landing on the figure walking slowly toward him.
Then, he was stunned.
The newcomer wore a long red and white dress, her black hair cascading like a waterfall, held loosely by a jade hairpin.
Her face was peerless and her aura transcendent.
As she walked, it was as if lotuses bloomed with every step, and the surrounding Spiritual Plants seemed to make way for her.
Wasn’t this… the elusive Saintess of the Purple Cloud Sword Sect, An Yao?
He had seen her once from a distance on the evaluation platform.
That brief glimpse had made him feel her aura was somewhat similar to the woman from the Star Gazing Platform, but he had immediately dismissed the possibility of such a coincidence.
The Saintess was the symbol of the sect’s future, possessing a transitionary status.
Why would she condescend to practice swordsmanship every month with an obscure inner disciple?
However, at this moment, as that flawless face and that blurred figure from his memory slowly merged under the guidance of that familiar voice…
Every sense of inconsistency and impossibility was shattered in an instant.
‘So that’s how it is.’
‘It was… her.’
“It’s you?”
He spoke subconsciously.
His voice wasn’t loud, yet it was incredibly clear across the Spirit Gathering Plaza.
An Yao’s footsteps stopped several yards in front of him.
Her gentle eyes, clear as water, reflected his slightly startled figure.
She gave him an extremely slight, slow nod, a faint smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
“It’s been a while, good friend, Ye Chen.”
Those nine words were like a thunderclap, exploding in everyone’s hearts!
Friend?
Her Highness the Saintess called this newly joined disciple… a friend?
In an instant, the minds of all the disciples who still harbored thoughts of watching the spectacle went blank.
They didn’t even dare to communicate via divine sense anymore, because they knew clearly that in front of a Saintess with unfathomable cultivation, any fluctuation of divine sense would be as conspicuous as a torch in the dark of night.
They simply bowed in unison, lowering their heads toward An Yao in the most respectful salute.
“Greetings, Her Highness the Saintess!”
The sound was like a mountain gale or a rising tide, carrying heartfelt awe and reverence.
Wei Zhao bowed, the shock in his heart nearly overturning his reason.
He had originally been thinking about how to get close to Lin Yueqi through Ye Chen.
Looking back now, that thought was utterly ridiculous.
The identity and background of someone publicly acknowledged as a “good friend” by Her Highness the Saintess were far more mysterious than he could have imagined.
Lin Yueqi also kept her head lowered, her heart beating so fast it nearly jumped out of her chest.
All her plans, all her “strategies,” appeared pale and powerless before the title of “Saintess.”
She thought she had already estimated Ye Chen highly, but she hadn’t expected that what she saw might not even be the tip of the iceberg.
As for Gu Chen, his face was ashen and his entire body felt cold.
Just what kind of monster… had he challenged?
He had actually dared to provoke the friend of… Her Highness the Saintess?
A wave of overwhelming terror surged from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, making his entire body tremble uncontrollably.
Ye Chen and Xiao Xiao were the only two people who did not bow.
Ye Chen just stood there quietly, looking at An Yao.
After a brief flicker of emotion, his mind quickly regained its calm.
He nodded slightly as a response to her greeting, then asked, “I didn’t expect… you were the sect’s Saintess?”
“Indeed.”
An Yao’s smile remained gentle, as if the disciples bowing around them didn’t exist.
In her world, there was only the person in front of her.
“I went to look for you just now but failed, so I followed your aura here. It seems you have officially joined Heaven Sword Peak? Congratulations.”
Her tone was as natural as two friends who hadn’t seen each other for a long time chatting about mundane things.
But when these words fell into the ears of others, they were yet another world-shaking piece of information.
Her Highness the Saintess would take the initiative to “look” for someone?
Why did she need to “follow his aura” to find him?
The closeness and familiarity involved were not something that could be fully summarized by the phrase “good friend.”
An Yao seemed to notice the extremely oppressive atmosphere around them.
She turned her gaze slightly, scanning the area, and her voice regained some of the coolness and majesty belonging to a Saintess.
“You may all rise. It is fine. Proceed with whatever you were doing; I am merely here to find a fellow Daoist.”
“We thank Her Highness the Saintess!”
The crowd felt as if they had been granted a great amnesty, yet they still didn’t dare to stand up straight, instead keeping their heads lowered even more.
Gu Chen’s senior brother was already dripping with cold sweat.
He gritted his teeth, no longer caring about much else.
He took a step forward, bowed deeply to An Yao, and spoke with a trembling voice.
“Reporting to Her Highness the Saintess! My junior brother Gu Chen has shallow cultivation and acted recklessly. He only wished to exchange pointers in swordsmanship with Senior Brother Ye Chen just now, and had absolutely no intention of offending him! It seems my junior brother was merely showing off his meager skills. We wouldn’t want to trouble Her Highness, nor would we dare to waste Senior Brother Ye Chen’s time!”
Having said that, he didn’t even wait for An Yao’s response.
He grabbed Gu Chen, who was still shivering on the ground, and practically dragged him away, fleeing the scene of trouble as fast as possible in a pathetic state.
Seeing this, how could the others dare to stay? They all rose and, like a receding tide, quickly left the Spirit Gathering Plaza.
In the blink of an eye, the originally bustling plaza was left with only Ye Chen, An Yao, Lin Yueqi, and…
Xiao Xiao, who had never bowed or even lowered her head from start to finish.
An Yao’s gaze finally shifted slightly from Ye Chen, landing on the figure beside him.
She could feel that from the moment she appeared, this girl had been radiating an aura filled with vigilance and hostility.
And Ye Chen also noticed the unusual silence beside him.
He turned his head to look at Xiao Xiao.
What he saw made him frown slightly.
There wasn’t a trace of a smile left on Xiao Xiao’s face.
That originally sweet and cute face was now so gloomy it looked like it could drop water.
Her lips were pressed tightly together, and in her clear eyes, emotions he couldn’t understand—a mixture of grievance and anger—were churning.
She wasn’t looking at the high-and-mighty Saintess An Yao, but was staring fixedly and unblinkingly at him.
That gaze was like a young beast whose territory had been brazenly invaded, questioning its master.
Under the gaze of everyone present, Xiao Xiao slowly stood up.
She didn’t speak.
She simply reached out and, toward the Purple Jade Square Table where the exquisite tea set was placed, she gave a violent shove!
Crash—Clatter!
A piercingly loud noise broke the eerie silence.
The Purple Jade Square Table was completely overturned on the ground.
The high-quality white porcelain tea set shattered and scattered, and warm tea mixed with tender green tea leaves splashed everywhere, leaving a complete mess.
This sudden action, filled with a violent aura, caused Lin Yueqi to gasp in shock.
She subconsciously wanted to pull Xiao Xiao back, but her hand froze in mid-air halfway through.
She had never seen Xiao Xiao like this.
This wasn’t acting spoiled or being willful; it was a near-primitive, desperate declaration of anger.
She actually… lost her composure like this in front of the Saintess!
An Yao’s brow also furrowed imperceptibly.
Her gaze lingered for a moment on the mess before falling back onto Xiao Xiao, a hint of inquiry appearing in her eyes.
As for Xiao Xiao, she seemed completely unaware of what she had done.
She had overturned the table, yet she didn’t even spare it a glance.
She began to walk, one step at a time, steady and slow, until she arrived by Ye Chen’s side.
Then, she performed an action that neither of the other two present had anticipated.
She didn’t grab Ye Chen’s hand, nor did she hide behind him.
Instead, she walked directly between Ye Chen and An Yao.
Her petite body was like an insurmountable wall, brazenly blocking the path between the two.
She tilted her head up, looking at Ye Chen.
The expression on her face was no longer just gloom, but a seriousness mixed with extreme grievance and determination.
She still didn’t speak.
But those eyes seemed to be conducting a hysterical interrogation.
‘Who is she?’
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘Young Master, you owe me an explanation.’