"Hiss~"

"I never would have thought... Elder Ouyang truly has a keen eye for people."

"I thought that kid only had Sword Intent, but to think his physical body is actually so powerful."

Jin Zhentu also gasped in astonishment after seeing that.

Ouyang Mingming also started to smile. "Yes, my disciple’s Talent for Alchemy seems to be quite good as well."

"Is Elder Jin willing to teach him a thing or two?"

"If you’re willing to teach him, he could be considered half your disciple."

Jin Zhentu then laughed. "Hahaha."

"No need. My own disciple’s Talent is quite good too."

"And his soul talent is also very strong. He might just be a match for your disciple."

...

Su Qing returned to the private viewing box.

As soon as he entered, his eyes met Liu Linlin’s.

There seemed to be a trace of doubt in Liu Linlin’s eyes.

But it quickly turned to joy. "Junior Brother, you’re amazing!"

"It was nothing special." Su Qing chose to be modest, saying with a smile, "My opponent was just careless."

"Sigh! Your Talent is just too good, Junior Brother. I’m not like that."

"How could that be? Senior Sister, with your strength, you’re definitely considered an expert among the disciples of the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect."

"We’re both True Disciples. Don’t forget, the Cultivation Techniques we practice are different from those of the Outer and Inner Sect Disciples."

Hearing this, Liu Linlin’s courage was renewed.

’That’s right, I’m practicing a profound Cultivation Technique of the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect. How could I not defeat them!?’

"Mm, Junior Brother is right. Even though I was defeated in the first round last year, I’ll win at least one match this time!"

...

Soon.

It was Liu Linlin’s turn.

Liu Linlin’s opponent clearly wasn’t very lucky.

He was at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer.

But her opponent had many tricks up his sleeve: Magical Artifacts, Talismans, and recovery Elixirs.

This made things very difficult for a sword-obsessed blockhead like Liu Linlin.

Su Qing watched, feeling rather speechless.

’This Senior Sister of mine is really stubborn.’

’She clearly has a powerful Cultivation Technique but insists on fighting only with her Swordsmanship.’

Su Qing knew that his senior sister cultivated the Great Sun True Flame Skill.

Her Magical Power was as terrifying as the Great Sun True Flame itself.

But she just wouldn’t use it.

Watching her, Su Qing was at a loss for words.

After Liu Linlin finally defeated her opponent and returned,

Su Qing spoke up, "Senior Sister, don’t just focus on using your sword. What about your Cultivation Technique?"

"But I want to see if my Swordsmanship has improved. If I use the Great Sun True Flame from my Cultivation Technique, I can win, but wouldn’t that mean I practiced my Swordsmanship for nothing?" Liu Linlin said earnestly, blinking her eyes.

Hearing that, Su Qing thought it actually made some sense.

"But, Senior Sister, do you know that our Sect is considered a Demonic Sect?"

"I know. That disciple just now used the Blood-sucking Skill against me."

"..."

Su Qing had nothing to say. What he meant was, since their Sect was a Demonic Sect, there was no need to be so rigid.

But he also realized that while his senior sister seemed naive, she wasn’t a fool.

"Well, since we’ve both finished our matches, should we leave first?" Su Qing asked.

Liu Linlin immediately shook her head.

"No, Martial Aunt is still watching."

"So what if my master is watching? It’s not like we’re right next to her."

Su Qing thought about how he had never properly explored the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect.

’Now that I have the time, I should go for a walk.’

Liu Linlin shook her head, stubbornly refusing.

Seeing this, Su Qing had no choice but to leave by himself to explore the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect.

After hastily leaving the square,

Su Qing strolled along at a leisurely pace.

Before long, he arrived at a bustling area filled with shops and numerous well-decorated restaurants. It seemed to incorporate some technology from the Zhengxuan Sect.

Like the lighting, for instance.

The shops sold many things: Talismans, Elixirs, Array Plates, and even some beast hides and bones.

There were also shops selling Magical Artifacts.

At the same time, there were also many needlework shops.

Surprisingly, there were quite a few people here.

They didn’t seem to be disciples of the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect.

Su Qing was puzzled, but he headed toward a restaurant anyway.

Su Qing was not at all short on money, and on top of that, the prices here seemed very cheap.

When Su Qing took out a Spirit Stone to pay, the Waiter even showed a look of surprise.

A table of eighteen dishes cost only one Spirit Stone, and that was only because Su Qing didn’t want any change back.

’I didn’t expect this to be a place where mortals live.’

’It’s really strange that there’s such a small place within the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect.’

Su Qing looked at the table full of dishes and didn’t overthink it. For now, he just wanted to satisfy his appetite.

In half an hour, Su Qing finished the entire table of food, polishing off every last bite.

"So satisfying."

Taking a satisfying sip of a "Nine Delicacies Soup," Su Qing couldn’t help but sigh with contentment.

’Taking a break once in a while, this is the life. Constant Cultivation is so dull and boring.’

His appetite sated, Su Qing finally got up and headed to the Marketplace.

He wanted to wander through the Marketplace and see if there was anything interesting.

After browsing for a good while,

Su Qing saw someone at a stall selling a pile of pearls.

[Pearl of the Sea Blue Clam: Has a slight calming and mind-focusing effect.]

Su Qing stopped.

"How much for these pearls?"

"Well now, you’ve got a good eye! These are pearls from the Sea Blue Clams of the Celestial Sea Realm. Five pearls for one Spirit Stone."

"No bargaining. I came all the way here from that far-off place just to earn some hard-earned money."

"Alright, give me two hundred Spirit Stones’ worth."

"A thousand pearls?"

The stall owner’s eyes widened as he stared at Su Qing.

"Yes. Count them out for me, quickly."

The stall owner packed up his stall. He didn’t have that many—only a little over five hundred pearls in total.

Su Qing only gave him a hundred Spirit Stones.

Then, Su Qing went to a place that specialized in selling Magical Artifacts.

They had everyday Magical Artifacts produced by the Zhengxuan Sect.

The kind designed to make life more convenient.

Su Qing bought quite a few of them directly.

He wanted to customize his own house.

So he spent several hundred Spirit Stones.

He bought a pile of Magical Artifacts that many in the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect would consider useless—namely, those daily-life Magical Artifacts from the Zhengxuan Sect.

Su Qing then went to buy some delicious food to take back with him.

When he arrived back on Cold Extremity Peak,

The first thing Su Qing did was take the food he bought to Liu Linlin’s residence.

"Senior Sister!"

Su Qing called out as he knocked on her door.

It was already the middle of the night.

"Junior Brother Su." Liu Linlin came out, looking puzzled.

"Senior Sister, I just got back from the Marketplace and brought you something to eat."

Su Qing said with a smile, then took out all kinds of food from his Storage Ring.

"This... Junior Brother." Liu Linlin was confused.

"Senior Sister, I just thought you’ve been training so hard for so long. Have something nice to eat and relax. It’s getting late, so I’ll be heading back now."

Liu Linlin smiled faintly. "Then thank you, Junior Brother."

After that brief exchange, Su Qing returned to his own place.

Leaving Liu Linlin alone, staring at the food.

"Junior Brother...?"

The expression on Liu Linlin’s face returned to normal. From inside her residence, she took out a small mouse.

Liu Linlin gave all the food to the mouse.

She didn’t take a single bite herself.

She had done the same thing with the Blood Replenishing Pill Su Qing gave her before.

In a Demon Sect, trust was truly a strange and delicate thing.

She had been tricked by such a superficial act of kindness once before, so she had to be on her guard.

An hour passed after the mouse had eaten everything, and Liu Linlin watched as it continued to scurry about, lively as ever, with no abnormal signs.

Only then did Liu Linlin murmur, "Junior Brother... are you a little too good to be true?"

It was true that Liu Linlin had a favorable impression of Su Qing, but that didn’t mean she was brainless.

...