The day of departure arrived in the blink of an eye.
Before dawn, Yiqin Shifu personally came to wake Jiang Ke’er.
Seeing Jiang Ke’er rubbing her eyes, still half-asleep, Yiqin helplessly helped her put on her clothes, fastening each button one by one.
“Ugh… how did I fall asleep…”
Jiang Ke’er yawned repeatedly, her head leaning drowsily against her Shifu’s shoulder, still caught between sleep and wakefulness.
She remembered she had been meditating.
The purpose of the meditation was to calm her mind.
But the consecutive days of training had drained her spirit so much that the moment she relaxed even slightly, she fell asleep.
As a result, the Righteous Qi didn’t dissipate; instead, when she woke up, her chest felt tight and suffocated, as if every part of her body was protesting and resenting being forced out of bed.
In her heart, an unnamed fury flared up, a sudden urge to lash out at anyone.
This feeling, apparently, was called—Qi Chuang Qi.
Jiang Ke’er could only laugh and cry at herself, gently massaging her chest, trying to ease the impulse to be angry at the world.
“We’re going into the Secret Realm today, and you’re still sleeping so deeply!”
“How can I have such a heartless little disciple?”
Yiqin muttered bitterly all the way.
Standing on Yiqin Shifu’s flying sword and holding tightly onto her waist, Jiang Ke’er chuckled foolishly.
Suddenly, she felt like a child again, sitting on the back of her mother’s bicycle, hugging her waist while hearing a stream of nagging.
The early morning breeze was chilling enough to seep into her bones.
Jiang Ke’er shrank her neck, trying to hide behind Yiqin’s back as much as possible.
“We’re here.”
Yiqin was only responsible for delivering Jiang Ke’er to Xihe Peak; the next steps would be handled by Sect Leader Yuan Shouyi.
Reluctantly, Jiang Ke’er dismounted the flying sword and saw the other four already waiting at Xihe Peak… The Secret Realm was a place where survival was slim—nine out of ten died.
For someone like her, who didn’t take it seriously and was prepared to just coast through, she was truly an oddball.
“Let’s set off.”
Yuan Shouyi led Jiang Ke’er and the others to the Cloud Boat dock at Xihe Peak, where a privately-owned Cloud Boat of the Taiming Sect was stationed.
Jiang Ke’er boarded the Cloud Boat, entered the cabin, and found a seat by the window.
To her surprise, Senior Sister Qian Yue voluntarily sat down beside her.
“Still not fully awake?” Qian Yue smiled and asked.
“Yeah,” Jiang Ke’er replied with a helpless laugh.
“Lean on my shoulder and sleep a little more,” Qian Yue said, shifting closer.
Jiang Ke’er’s heart skipped a beat.
No, no, no, she couldn’t overthink this—this was just a friendly gesture between friends.
Besides, refusing deliberately might seem suspicious, so it was better to accept the kindness normally.
“Well then, thanks~”
Jiang Ke’er rested her head on Qian Yue’s shoulder.
However, the Cloud Boat moved so fast that she only managed to nap for forty minutes.
It turned out that catching up on sleep did nothing to dispel Qi Chuang Qi; being briefly asleep then woken up only doubled the anger.
Luckily, she was naturally calm and easygoing, so having a little Qi Chuang Qi wasn’t a big deal.
After disembarking, Jiang Ke’er immediately felt the tension and deadly seriousness before the Secret Realm opened.
Cultivators filled the sky and ground, each drawing their weapons and guarding vigilantly, wary of sneak attacks from hostile sects during the chaos.
The Secret Realm hadn’t even started, yet the atmosphere was already so grim—as if it were a matter of life or death.
Silence stretched across the world, with no one daring to break the tension, fearing they might become the target of all eyes.
Crinkle—
That was the sound of an oiled paper bag being torn open.
In an instant, all the cultivators tensed, their sharp gazes converging on the source of the noise!
“Senior Sister, want some sweet potato jerky? I made it myself.”
“…No thanks,” Qian Yue’s eye twitched.
“How about peanuts?” Jiang Ke’er grabbed a handful of peanuts and popped them into her mouth, crunching loudly.
“Freshly roasted last night, with garlic flavor.”
“Garlic flavor? Give me some!” Xiao Ming leaned over eagerly.
“Alright,” Jiang Ke’er readily divided the bag in half and handed it to Xiao Ming.
“I packed a lot of snacks so this Secret Realm trip won’t be boring! Peanuts, sunflower seeds, sweet wine beef jerky, salted egg yolk pies, sachima, chips, immortal biscuits—all my Storage Bag is full. Just tell me what you want!”
“…Why did you bring so many snacks?” Xuanyang asked stiffly, feeling awkward under the gazes of so many cultivators.
“Sharing snacks with friends isn’t part of the fun of a spring outing—or rather, exploring the Secret Realm?” Jiang Ke’er answered confidently.
Suddenly, she frowned suspiciously. “Wait… you guys didn’t bring any snacks, did you?”
“Of course not! Who’s as carefree as you? We’re not here for a picnic,” Xiao Ming said, munching and chuckling through his mouthful.
“…Give me back my peanuts.”
“Huh?”
Xiao Ming froze, realizing the half-bag of peanuts in his hand had vanished.
“Hmph! Not even for a pig!”
“Nooo!” Xiao Ming wailed, “I’ve never eaten peanuts this delicious in my life!”
Watching this group of disciples, Sect Leader Yuan Shouyi rubbed his temples.
These guys… are they really okay? Did I pick the wrong people?
However, after the recent incident, the atmosphere around the Secret Realm had eased considerably.
That said, all the surrounding teams had branded the Taiming Sect’s group of five as “idiots, no threat at all.”
…Well, that was probably a good thing.
The time for the Secret Realm to open hadn’t arrived yet.
As time passed, more and more cultivators gathered near the entrance. Jiang Ke’er had thought the crowd was already large, but an hour later, the number had increased fivefold.
“See them? Those few are the monsters you absolutely can’t provoke on this trip—the ‘Fireblade Squad,’ who shone brightly at the Cultivator Tournament!”
Yuan Shouyi pointed to a distant team.
There were five of them, dressed in bright crimson armor, surrounded by raging flames of spiritual power, distorting the air and making it difficult to see their faces clearly.
They had no elder sect members accompanying them, yet their presence alone radiated a strong aura of power.
The area was already packed, making it hard to find space to stand, but no one dared come within ten meters of them.
Until another team, equally exuding a strong aura, stepped forward fearlessly to confront them.
The scene instantly became a clash of titans, a battle of equals on a razor’s edge.
“The Heavenly Gate Sect is here too,” Yuan Shouyi’s voice grew more anxious, “You definitely can’t mess with them either. The Heavenly Gate Sect is a hidden sect with thousands of years of heritage, its size dozens of times ours. Even their ordinary disciples are much stronger than you!”
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