“I know, Grandfather. The great assessment competition of the five countries is about to begin, so I should be on my way.” It was obvious that Xiao Tianying did not take his grandfather’s seriously.
“Go then. If you do meet Ling Chuxi this time, I will not object to you defeating her fairly. That is the respect of a warrior, and it has nothing to do with being kind. However, if you can’t, I hope that you can be friends with her. This is not just for you, it’s also for the Xiao Family,” Old Master Xiao said solemnly.
Xiao Tianying looked at Grandfather in surprise. He actually believed that he was not Ling Chuxi’s opponent, and he also thought that her future achievements would be far above his.
Xiao Tianying had an uncomfortable feeling in his heart. At the age of seventeen, he had been promoted to the realm of Great Fulfilment and was praised as the cultivation prodigy of this generation. This was the first time he had heard his grandfather saying such words. Xiao Tianying’s eyes burned with a strong fighting spirit. ‘Ling Chuxi, let me see your true abilities at this assessment competition! I, Xiao Tianying, will definitely not lose to anyone!’
Xiao Tianying briskly leaped down into the city, got onto his horse, and galloped away swiftly. Old Master Xiao looked at Xiao Tianying’s retreating figure and sighed.
…
A few days later, Ling Chuxi arrived in Ding Lin Country.
Up ahead was a towering city wall, and on it were soldiers in bright armor, looking down proudly.
This was the capital of Ding Lin Country.
The hustle and bustle of carriages and horses could be heard from outside the carriage. Ling Chuxi opened her eyes and exited from her cultivation. She did not slack off during the journey and worked hard cultivating. Even though she had reached the Intermediate stage of the Great Fulfilment, Ling Chuxi knew that her strength did not actually fully belong to her. If she did not work harder in her cultivation, regardless of her meridians or ability to control Battle Qi, she would not be able to control that strength very well.
She drew the curtains open, and could only see an endless stream of carriages and groups of business travelers lining up to enter the city gate. Ding Lin Country was truly worthy of being the sovereign state of the five vassal countries – the degree of its prosperity was far beyond Nan Xia Country’s.
Ling Chuxi’s gaze swept past the carriages and pedestrians. Suddenly, she saw two familiar figures heading towards the city while carefully checking out the oncoming crowds and carriages. Their slightly haggard faces looked worried. Who else could it be besides Ling Yichen and Baili Han?
“Stop for a moment,” Ling Chuxi instructed the coachman and jumped off without waiting for the carriage to come to a standstill.
“Yichen, Baili!” Ling Chuxi waved at the both of them.
“Chuxi!” Ling Yichen and Baili Han turned their heads and looked at her in disbelief. After a few seconds, they ran towards her at full speed with delight on their faces.
“Chuxi, where have you been these past few days? What happened? Are you hurt?” Ling Yichen looked Ling Chuxi up and down worriedly. Seeing that she was safe and sound, he felt relieved.
“I’m fine, I’m fine. I will tell you all about it later. I’m sorry to have worried you both these past few days.” Seeing their concern, Ling Chuxi apologized, then continued, “Why are the both of you only reaching here now? Where are the others?”
“After we were separated that day, I went to the town ahead to meet up with Baili. We waited the whole night but did not see you coming back, so we let the rest of them come to the capital first while Baili and I went back to search for you. The mountain ranges were too big though. After searching for so many days and not finding you, I guessed that you would come to the capital directly and so we came here too,” Ling Yichen explained.
He said it casually, but seeing their worn out looks, Ling Chuxi could imagine the suffering they had endured while searching for her the past few days, and a warmth enveloped her heart.