Tasks like testing children’s talent in the mountains like this were considered a low-paying, high-effort chore within the Saint Sect.
Therefore, the various Saint Sects had reached a peaceful agreement to send an equal number of people from each Sect so that no one would be at a disadvantage.
The Saint Sect Cultivators who took on such missions generally didn’t care much about the rewards, as they were so meager they were almost negligible.
“Negligible for a Ling King, but quite a fortune for us,” Hua Jian whispered.
The reward might be small, but it was still several hundred Spirit Stones, which wasn’t a small amount to her at all.
“Setting that aside, I think you should explain why you didn’t listen to me.”
After bringing the children back to the village head and making up a reason to temporarily put the man’s mind at ease, Linglong came to settle the score with Hua Jian.
They had agreed not to use special effects. How could Hua Jian nod in agreement one moment and break her word the next?
Because of that, she had just been surrounded by children asking questions like, “Elder Sister, are you a fairy?”
Facing those innocent children, Linglong could only deny their fantasies with a blushing face.
Yet Hua Jian had the nerve to say airily while Linglong was trying to explain, “She indeed isn’t a fairy, but I really am a Flower Fairy.”
That had instantly ignited the children’s excitement.
A Flower Fairy? How shameless!
“Give me an explanation, or I’ll pinch your face until it’s ruined!”
Linglong aggressively reached out with her wicked hands toward the weak, pitiful, and helpless Hua Jian.
Hua Jian quickly covered her cheeks, stating with righteous indignation that she hadn’t lied.
Could she, Hua Jian, not be called a Flower Fairy? In every respect, she was worthy of the title.
First, she looked like a fairy, and second, she actually was a flower. She was simply telling the truth.
“Then how do you explain those petals?”
“Cough, I think your judgment is flawed. When facing someone from the Tiandao Sect, you should pull out all the stops to give him a show of strength and intimidate him. That’s the only way to make him behave!”
Hua Jian’s decision to add petal effects to Linglong’s entrance certainly involved her own mischievous streak, but she did indeed have a reason.
The Tiandao Sect was notorious for giving you trouble if you didn’t show them enough face.
Linglong needed to build her momentum to the max before appearing, making the Heavenly Dao Sect Cultivator feel inferior so that he would listen to Linglong.
Otherwise, if he felt that as a Ling King, there was no reason to listen to a Ling Shi Realm non-human like Linglong, what would they do?
Within the Tiandao Sect, there were many radicals who believed the Human Clan was number one and all other races were merely servants.
“Sharp-tongued!” Linglong flicked Hua Jian’s forehead in annoyance.
“My teeth aren’t sharp at all.” Hua Jian, with a red mark on her forehead, grinned and opened her mouth, revealing a row of pearly white teeth that seemed to reflect light.
Except for two slightly pointed canines, her other teeth weren’t sharp at all.
Of course, Linglong wasn’t talking about physical teeth; Hua Jian was simply being difficult.
“Stop arguing, you two. The children are settled. Where should we go now?”
Shiqi walked over with Qinghui, interrupting their bickering. “Should we leave her here for now, or take her with us?”
“Take her with us…”
“Throw her here, obviously!”
Linglong and Hua Jian spoke at the same time, but their words were completely opposite.
The two turned to look at each other, both seeing confusion on the other’s face.
Shiqi looked at Hua Jian, then at Linglong, and pulled Qinghui to sit on a nearby stone bench.
It was best not to speak at a time like this and let the two of them argue it out.
If it were anyone else, Shiqi might worry they would end their friendship, but she wasn’t worried about Linglong and Hua Jian at all.
Hua Jian was the type who felt restless if she didn’t cause trouble for a day, and every time she tried, Linglong would suppress her. The two often had small arguments over such things.
But their relationship only grew better after arguing. It was their unique way of getting along.
This time, both were clearly serious and not suggesting things out of a desire for mischief.
Under these circumstances, Shiqi was even less worried.
Linglong was a good girl who would quickly correct herself if she realized her ideas were flawed.
And while Hua Jian might stubbornly find excuses for her opinions even after realizing she was wrong, she would still change her actions.
“She’s too weak. Taking her along will significantly slow us down. Don’t you know that?”
Hua Jian pointed at Qinghui, showing the girl no face at all.
Aside from her Special Constitution, Qinghui’s combat strength was inferior even to Shiqi’s.
To put it bluntly, the girl was pure dead weight. It was better to leave her here for the time being.
“What if the Magic Path finds her again?”
Hearing Linglong’s question, Hua Jian pressed her forehead and sighed.
Was the Little Dragon Girl’s head made of wood?
“Let me ask you a question. Why did the Magic Path come to these small villages?”
“Because of those children,” Linglong replied immediately.
“Exactly. Now that the children of this village have been taken by the Magic Path, why would they come back?”
It was obvious logic. The Magic Path came to trick the children who were supposed to be taken to Ascension City.
If they really wanted to kill people, this small village would have been wiped from the face of the earth long ago.
Since they hadn’t done that, it meant their goal wasn’t killing.
Therefore, a village that had already been visited by the Magic Path was a relatively safe place.
There was a high probability the Magic Path wouldn’t show up here again.
“Besides, the Magic Path also has a list in their hands, but Qinghui isn’t on the list for this small village. Even if they come, they won’t know she’s someone meant for Ascension City.”
“On the contrary, we are actively looking for traces of the Magic Path. The chance of us encountering them is much higher than her staying here. Do you want to deliver her to their doorstep?”
Hua Jian walked up to Linglong with her hands on her hips, using a finger to poke Linglong’s forehead forcefully.
Linglong held her forehead with a wronged expression, her face showing she had recognized her mistake.
She really hadn’t thought it through just now, failing to realize that this place was actually safer than being by their side.
“We have a Map. Wouldn’t it be better to come back and pick her up once things are settled?” Hua Jian continued to press her point.
Now Linglong had no more reasons to refuse. She could only admit she was wrong and that Hua Jian’s opinion was correct.
“Do you remember why you hired me before? Wasn’t it because my head is sharper than yours?” Hua Jian huffed. In this regard, Linglong really couldn’t compare to her.
Linglong nodded with a wandering gaze, silently acknowledging Hua Jian’s words.
Next, she went over to tell Qinghui about the arrangements. Qinghui didn’t care much; any arrangement was acceptable to her.
Especially after learning that Linglong was going to search for the Magic Path, she felt that staying in the village was indeed a good choice.
She had heard Hua Jian’s words as well. Not only was Linglong convinced, but she was too.
A little thought made it clear that this village no longer had any value to the Magic Path.
Staying here was safer than adventuring with Hua Jian and the others.
With the work on Qinghui’s side finished, Linglong went to the old village head to explain the situation.
The old village head immediately said it was simple. There were many kind-hearted people in the village, and Qinghui could stay at one of their homes for a few days.
Regardless, the Saint Sect would send someone to pick her up soon, so it wouldn’t cost much.
After handling the chores and the dead weight, Hua Jian’s group didn’t linger in the village. Instead, they hurried toward the nearest small village through the Night.
Maybe that village hadn’t been touched by the Magic Path yet?
Getting there a step earlier would allow the villagers to be more alert and potentially deal with the Magic Path if they encountered them.
……
“The Shixiong from the Tiandao Sect said he would head to these few villages first, so we don’t need to worry about those places…”
While moving through the pitch-black mountain forest, Linglong recalled the Map of the Shanmai in her mind.
In this place, even a Ling King’s speed would be somewhat affected. Traveling from one village to another took about half a day.
Hua Jian and the others were even slower. Even heading to the nearest village would take them most of a day.
Under the cover of Night, their progress would be even slower, and they likely wouldn’t arrive at their destination until the following morning.
And that was assuming they didn’t run into any accidents.
However, with the Lingmao acting as a super early-warning system, Hua Jian and her group could basically avoid all the threats they could avoid.
But that was only if those accidents didn’t actively come looking for a fight.
When howls like the cries of lonely souls echoed through the dark woods and pairs of green glowing eyes lit up among the trees, Hua Jian helplessly terminated her Soul Connection with the Lingmao.
If she stayed connected any longer, the Lingmao’s influence would have her hair standing on end and making her hiss.
“It’s a wolf pack, their strength is around the Ling Shi Realm.”
Linglong scanned the surrounding wolves, her golden eyes settling on the most robust Alpha Wolf. “The leader is quite strong. I’ll handle it!”
“Sigh, there are twelve wolves besides the leader. Shiqi, half for you and half for me?” Hua Jian looked toward Shiqi.
Shiqi looked at the green-eyed hungry wolves without a hint of fear.
“No problem!”
A typical Lingshi-level Cultivator would probably be thinking about fleeing rather than fighting this pack head-on.
Wolf packs were different from ordinary Spirit Beasts; they coordinated with each other.
A double-digit pack of Ling Shi Realm wolves led by a powerful Alpha Wolf could even fight a weaker Ling King Realm Spirit Beast. They were definitely overlords of the mountains.
Unfortunately, they had kicked a steel plate this time.
Forget a generic Ling King—even if a real Ling King appeared, Hua Jian and Linglong would dare to fight!
Shiqi… Shiqi could also be counted as combat power.
So, the three of them together were invincible!
Linglong turned into Thunderlight and charged straight at the Alpha Wolf.
The Alpha Wolf hadn’t expected its prey to be so aggressive and quickly let out a long howl, ordering its subordinates to protect it.
But how could these weaker subordinates stop Linglong’s Thunderbolt impact?
Before the pack could react, Linglong’s Ling Sword was already stabbing toward the Alpha Wolf’s eye socket.
“Awoo!” A green light suddenly erupted from the Alpha Wolf. It retreated while releasing compressed Wind Blades toward the charging Linglong, gradually wearing down her forward momentum.
Finally, just as the tip of Linglong’s sword was about to touch its nose, the Wind Blades managed to stop her charge.
But Linglong’s offensive had only just begun. The Alpha Wolf was soon entangled by Linglong, beaten until it was scurrying away within the Thunderlight.
It couldn’t possibly use its flesh and blood to go head-to-head with Linglong’s Ling Sword, right?
The Alpha Wolf was smart. It had led its pack to kill many Cultivators before and knew these low-meat, high-trouble beings had fragile bodies, but the things they held were not to be underestimated.
So it kept trying to avoid Linglong’s Ling Sword and attack Linglong’s Rock Giant’s True Form.
But it probably never considered one thing: the Spirit Masters it had killed before and Linglong were two entirely different species.
When it actually dodged Linglong’s sword and seized the opportunity to lunge at Linglong’s side, it realized how huge its mistake was.
Facing the wolf at close range, the white-haired girl, who wasn’t even as tall as its shoulder when standing, simply clenched her fist and smashed it.
At the same time, several bolts of Thunder erupted from Linglong’s body, striking the Alpha Wolf directly and paralyzing its body.
Control, then output!
Boom!
The girl’s pink fist looked cute, but please do not underestimate its power.
The Alpha Wolf howled as it was sent flying. Its jaw was knocked crooked by Linglong’s punch, and its head sustained a serious injury.
Amidst the pain, it wanted to see what its subordinates were doing and why they hadn’t come to help after it had been fighting Linglong for so long.
Then it saw a scene even more pathetic than its own.
A girl holding a black longsword was standing with her sword raised, hesitating over its subordinates.
The reason was… all of its subordinates were prostrate at the feet of another girl, looking as submissive as a pack of dogs!
They were wolves, majestic wolves!
How could they grovel at the feet of a human!
The Alpha Wolf let out a sharp howl, trying to wake its subordinates this way.
But the wolf pack, whose senses had already been clouded, couldn’t hear its howl.
At this moment, their sense of smell had completely overwhelmed their hearing, causing them to lose all perception of anything else.
Linglong walked up to the Alpha Wolf with her sword in hand, pointing it at the wolf’s nose. Just as she was about to strike, Hua Jian’s voice came from the other side.
“Let me talk some sense into it.”
In the Night, Hua Jian walked over gracefully with a charming smile, followed by the vicious wolves.
The Alpha Wolf stared fixedly at the girl, letting out a threatening low growl.
But the girl wasn’t afraid in the slightest. Flower Fragrance drifted into the Alpha Wolf’s nostrils along the wind, making its thoughts gradually turn chaotic.
In the last moments while its consciousness was still clear, it heard a low murmur like that of a demon.
“Now, you are my dog~”
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