Of course, this wasn’t to say the Evil-slaying Sword Skill was inferior to Sword Devouring the World. Lin Hao had only learned two moves of the former, while the latter was incomplete, missing its beginning, which made it much harder to comprehend.

But now, Lin Hao was starting to believe the rumors.

The Holy Lands and esoteric sects were founded by the Saints of old.

Lin Hao’s expression was grave. Many unknown forces were hidden behind the scenes of the Celestial Yang Continent.

He had already had a premonition from the words of that beast-skinned youth.

The youth had asked if Lin Hao came from a Holy Land or an esoteric sect, and then said they weren’t qualified.

This could only mean one thing: the Holy Lands and esoteric sects that had appeared on the Celestial Yang Continent during Chu Tiandu’s era still existed in the world.

And since they still existed, then the various Alien Races, whose power was no less formidable, must naturally exist as well.

’The Divine Demon Destruction Domain has countless ancient kingdoms and superior nations. Holy Lands, esoteric sects, and extremely ancient families are common, and ten thousand races stand tall. It’s a world of ultimate splendor, a truly great era. That is my true battlefield. The various forces of the Celestial Yang Continent will all become my stepping stones!’

Lin Hao looked up, his gaze profound, as if he could peer through the ages.

At this moment, his back was as straight as a sword, his fighting spirit soaring.

Yu Mengru, who was busy gathering the loot, seemed to sense something. She looked up and glanced at Lin Hao.

Then, she looked at the pile of good things on the ground, a flash of heartache in her eyes, and stopped what she was doing.

"We’re done. The rest is yours," Yu Mengru said, but her eyes couldn’t help but stare at the items, her face full of reluctance.

Lin Hao came back to his senses and smiled. "This stuff is useless to me. Just leave those few things for me, and you can take the rest."

Lin Hao pointed to a few Crystal Stones, some refined iron, and a bag of Star Sand.

"Really?" Yu Mengru’s eyes lit up.

Lin Hao nodded.

Without another word, Yu Mengru went back to her work.

As if afraid Lin Hao would go back on his word, it wasn’t long before she had swept the ground clean, leaving only the few items he had asked for.

"You have the necklace now, so you don’t need the spiritual storage rings, right? Leave them for me too," Lin Hao said after Yu Mengru had double-checked that nothing was left behind.

"You can have these two, but this one’s for my sister." Yu Mengru handed two of the rings to Lin Hao but stubbornly held onto the third.

Lin Hao could see clearly that she had just stuffed a lot of good things into that ring.

"You’re just afraid Sister Meng Qing will give her share to me, aren’t you? Just take the stuff out and hold onto it for now." Lin Hao rolled his eyes at her, mercilessly exposing her.

Yu Mengru didn’t look the least bit embarrassed. Giggling, she quickly emptied the contents of the spiritual storage ring.

Yu Mengru tossed the empty ring to Lin Hao and walked straight toward the door. At the doorway, she turned back and said to Meng Qing, a note of worry in her voice.

"Sis, you have to remember, don’t take too long."

A flicker of sadness passed through Meng Qing’s eyes, but she nodded.

Lin Hao didn’t understand, but he wasn’t one for gossip, so he didn’t ask.

"Young Master, you must be tired. I’ll go get some water for you," Meng Qing said softly, her voice as gentle as water.

She turned to leave but was pulled back by Lin Hao.

Meng Qing’s body stiffened. After gently biting her lip, she bravely raised her head, turned, and met Lin Hao’s gaze.

At that moment, even with his low emotional intelligence, Lin Hao could see the deep affection in Meng Qing’s eyes.

"Ahem, Sister Meng Qing, I have a gift for you." Feeling overwhelmed, Lin Hao quickly spoke up to dispel the ambiguous atmosphere.

As he spoke, Lin Hao took out another necklace and presented it to Meng Qing like a treasured prize. "Sister Meng Qing, isn’t it beautiful?"

Meng Qing just stared at him blankly, not responding.

Just as Lin Hao was wondering what was wrong, Meng Qing suddenly threw herself at him.

With the soft, warm, and fragrant girl in his arms, Lin Hao’s body froze.

"Young Master, why are you so good to me?" Meng Qing murmured.

Every man she had ever met had coveted her beauty; no one had ever been like Lin Hao.

Lin Hao would do anything for her, would give her gifts with no ulterior motives.

Although Lin Hao was younger than her, in Meng Qing’s heart, he was a peerless hero.

With Meng Qing’s arms wrapped around him, Lin Hao didn’t know where to put his hands. Hearing her question, he couldn’t help but scratch his head and reply, "Sister Meng Qing, does that need a reason?"

Meng Qing didn’t say anything, but Lin Hao could clearly feel her arms tighten around him.

Being held by such a stunning, bewitching beauty, Lin Hao’s breathing grew ragged.

His voice hoarse, he said, "Sister Meng Qing, let me go."

Meng Qing didn’t seem to want to disobey Lin Hao, so she really did let go.

Then, without a word, she went out.

When she reappeared, she was holding a basin full of water.

"I’ll do it myself." Lin Hao knew what she intended and quickly reached for the basin.

Although Meng Qing had always acted as his handmaiden, Lin Hao treated her like family and had never let her do a servant’s work.

Previously, in a situation like this, Meng Qing would have compromised.

But this time was different.

"Young Master, tomorrow I’m going to the Misty Palace with Xiaoru. Please, let me serve you this once," Meng Qing said, not letting go.

Lin Hao was about to speak when Meng Qing continued, "If you don’t agree, I’ll die before I go."

Although Meng Qing appeared gentle on the surface, she was strong-willed inside. Lin Hao knew he couldn’t convince her, so he let go.

In the past, even at the Lin family estate, Lin Hao had always done things himself and never needed a maid.

This was the first time a woman had washed his face and feet, and a peerless beauty at that.

If anyone else had seen this, they would have been jealous enough to kill him.

After washing up, Lin Hao was about to undress for bed when he saw that Meng Qing, who had gone to empty the water, had returned.

"Sister Meng Qing, aren’t you going to sleep?" Lin Hao asked foolishly.

"Young Master, you go ahead and sleep. I’ll leave in a moment." As her voice fell, Meng Qing extinguished the lamp in the room.

Lin Hao suspected nothing. He took off his outer clothes and had just lain down when he realized Meng Qing was by his bedside.

Then, Lin Hao’s eyes flew wide open.

In the darkness, Meng Qing was actually taking off her clothes.

"Sister Meng Qing, what are you doing?" Lin Hao scrambled upright, startled.

Meng Qing’s voice drifted out of the darkness. "Young Master, after we part tomorrow, who knows when we will meet again. Meng Qing can never repay your immense kindness. I can only offer myself to you."

"Offer... your... self... N-no..." Lin Hao’s eyes were wide, his voice trembling.

But before Lin Hao could finish, Meng Qing had already pounced on him and pushed him down.

Lin Hao was as stiff as a board.

Just then, a voice entered Lin Hao’s ears.

"You little pervert!"

The voice was bone-chillingly cold, and Lin Hao knew at once who it was.

The woman who had renamed the Danling Sect’s Ice and Fire Pool to the Sword Enlightenment Pool.

The cold voice snapped Lin Hao to his senses. He grabbed Meng Qing’s hand, which was gripping the waistband of his pants, and sat up.

"Young Master, you don’t want me?" Meng Qing froze, her voice suddenly lifeless, like a walking corpse.

She was a shy person by nature; it must have taken all her courage to do this. Lin Hao’s action left her heartbroken.

"Of course not. Sister Meng Qing, someone’s peeping."

"Ah!"

Meng Qing let out a high-pitched shriek, scrambled to put her clothes on, and fled, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

PHEW...

Lin Hao let out a long breath.

The next moment, he jumped in surprise.

Because there was another person in the room.

Her aura told Lin Hao who the newcomer was.

He was about to speak but realized he still didn’t know her name.

"Sister, may I ask your name?"

The other party didn’t answer.

"I can’t just call you ’hey,’ can I?"

"A name is just a designation. If you insist on asking, then you can call me Meng Jian," the woman finally said.

PFFT!

Lin Hao burst out laughing. "Meng Jian? What kind of name is that?"

A flash of cold light appeared, and in the next moment, a frigid sword was pointed at Lin Hao’s eyes. At the same time, a voice said, "It’s the ’Jian’ for ’sword’!"

"Alright, Sister Meng Jian." Lin Hao wasn’t the least bit flustered.

There was no killing intent coming from the sword.

"Get dressed. Get up." Meng Jian sheathed her sword and turned away.

Lin Hao didn’t know what she was planning, but with her here, sleeping was out of the question.

He had just finished dressing when he felt his body lighten, followed by the sensation of soaring through the clouds.

A powerful wind rushed into his ears, and Lin Hao couldn’t open his eyes at all.

When everything calmed down, Lin Hao opened his eyes and was dumbfounded.

He was standing in the middle of a deserted wilderness. In the distance, illuminated by lamplight, he saw three large words: Cyan Forest Town.

"What are you doing?!" Lin Hao was furious.

He wasn’t far from the entrance to Cyan Forest Town, which meant he had already left the Danling Sect.

"I’m escorting you back to the Heaven-Stepping Sect." Meng Jian, however, broke into a devastatingly charming smile.

Seeing her smile, more than half of Lin Hao’s anger dissipated. But he still said, puffing his cheeks, "I don’t need your escort."

"Assassins from the Netherworld Hall could appear at any time. Are you sure you can make it back safely?" Meng Jian wasn’t angry either, and she stared at him with a grin.

"If I want to go back, no assassin from the Netherworld Hall can stop me!" Lin Hao said proudly.

He wasn’t wrong. If that blasted turtle ran at full speed, fast as lightning, very few could catch it.

"Oh, by the way, a certain talking turtle came to find me just now. This was its idea."

Meng Jian was still all smiles. But Lin Hao didn’t notice the strange glint that flashed in her eyes when she mentioned the turtle.

Hearing this, Lin Hao was instantly deflated.

So, he’d been sold out by that blasted turtle again.

Not only did that guy not show up, but it had also contacted Meng Jian behind his back.

Saddled with such a ’treasure’, Lin Hao could only shake his head and smile wryly.

"What else did it tell you?" Lin Hao asked.

Another strange glint flashed in Meng Jian’s eyes, but she just shook her head.

"Fine, let’s go. Sigh... to think I left without saying goodbye. I hope Sister Meng Qing doesn’t blame me," Lin Hao said, walking ahead dejectedly.

"What, you’ve only been gone a moment and you’re already missing her? Are you blaming me for interrupting your ’good time’?"

Lin Hao quickly shook his head, repeatedly denying it.

"Let me ask you a couple of questions. At that girl’s birthday party at the Misty Palace, where did you get that necklace? And how did you scare off that disciple from the Jinglian Saint Institute?"

"Sister Meng, was that just one question? You were there at the time? How did I not know?"

"There’s a lot you don’t know. Now, answer me," Meng Jian said irritably.

Lin Hao said, "You really want to know?"

Seeing Meng Jian nod, the corners of Lin Hao’s mouth lifted. "Then you have to agree to one condition."