“Just a little too big, Saintess Daren, do you mind if I get it dirty?”
Wrapped in a white Spiritual Garment, Hua Jian took a few tentative steps and then looked down at the hem of the robe dragging on the ground.
Her height and build were slightly shorter than Linglong’s. The robe fit Linglong perfectly, but on Hua Jian, it was clearly a size too large.
The most obvious difference was that the hem of the garment dragged along the floor.
It wasn’t Hua Jian’s fault for being short— she was just a bit shorter than girls her age, still within an average height range.
The real reason was Linglong’s stature. Perhaps it was due to her Dragon Blood, but Linglong stood tall and imposing like a dragon.
With such a height difference, it was natural that a robe fitting Linglong so well would end up trailing on the floor when worn by Hua Jian.
“It has a self-cleaning ability, so you don’t need to worry about dirt on the ground staining it.”
Linglong reassured her, saying Hua Jian was worrying unnecessarily. The self-cleaning feature was standard for even somewhat advanced Spiritual Garments.
If it couldn’t keep itself spotless, it wouldn’t even be called a Spiritual Garment.
Compared to getting dirty from mud, Linglong felt the greatest threat to this robe was the attacks of Spirit Beast flames.
If Hua Jian failed to dodge those, the robe would probably be ruined on the spot.
“That fragile? I thought your things should be able to easily withstand attacks from Spirit King-level Spirit Beasts,” Hua Jian asked with a puzzled expression after hearing Linglong’s concern.
Was it strange that the Saintess of the Yaoci Holy Sect carried Spirit Tools that couldn’t even endure attacks from a Spirit King?
“My Master doesn’t want me to become a useless person who only fights by relying on Spirit Tools, so the Spirit Tools I can use daily are quite limited,” Linglong explained.
Of course, the Yaoci Holy Sect could spoil Linglong, letting her take tons of powerful Spirit Tools out into the world.
But could a Saintess raised that way truly shoulder the responsibilities of her title?
Flowers raised in a greenhouse were always fragile. Without weathering storms and rain, their roots could never become strong.
Both Linglong’s Master and her mother didn’t want her to be a delicate flower sheltered in a greenhouse.
So the Spirit Tools Linglong carried were of modest grade— not top-tier, but decent among Spirit Master-level tools.
If she wanted to directly resist attacks from Spirit King-level Spirit Beasts, she might as well give up.
“Strict upbringing, huh…” After wrapping the robe around herself, Hua Jian could feel the power brought by the Spirit Stones.
As her spiritual energy slightly drained, she sensed her aura being completely concealed within the robe, not revealing a trace outside.
Looking down at her body, she saw nothing at all, as if she had ceased to exist in this world.
“This Spirit Tool can fully conceal your aura. If even this can’t let you evade a Spirit Beast’s perception, then we’ll have to find another way elsewhere.”
“Though I want to say something encouraging, I think the chances of success are slim.” Hua Jian circled around Linglong wearing the robe, noticing Linglong seemed unable to detect her presence.
She couldn’t help but smile.
She recalled a meme she’d seen before— a warrior bought an invisibility ring from a goblin and, during the trial, the warrior put on the ring and ran away while the goblin thought he was still there.
Could she do the same now?
After some thought, Hua Jian felt she couldn’t replicate the warrior’s action, since Linglong still had a treasure capable of pinpointing her location.
Although Linglong said the compass tracked the Dragon Scale given to Hua Jian, who really knew the truth?
Hua Jian figured it was better not to pick at small gains and lose something bigger. Staying on good terms with the Saintess couldn’t hurt— after all, she was a major Gold Patron!
When this Saintess eventually became the Saint Sect Leader and one of the most powerful people in the world, maybe Hua Jian could leverage their current relationship to scrape by.
People must look to the future.
With a rustle, Hua Jian took off the robe, folded it simply, and returned it to Linglong.
“You keep it for now, so you don’t have to ask me for it tomorrow.” Linglong pushed the returned robe back.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll run off with your clothes?”
“I don’t think you would.”
Hearing that confident answer, Hua Jian felt a little touched. She hadn’t expected the Saintess to be so good with words.
“Being on good terms with me obviously brings you more benefits than just this Spirit Tool. I believe you wouldn’t make such a foolish choice.”
Hua Jian withdrew her praise of the Saintess and flipped her off with two fingers.
Don’t think I didn’t hear that as an insult!
If you hadn’t said the second half, I might have still appreciated you. But now? Hmph. From here on out, it’s purely a business relationship!
Pouting, Hua Jian hugged the robe and sat down to sulk while quietly cultivating.
Linglong saw this and felt a slight confusion— she wondered if she had somehow offended Hua Jian.
Confused, she wanted to ask. Taking advantage of Hua Jian not yet entering cultivation, she stepped over and tapped Hua Jian’s puffed-up cheek.
Hua Jian opened her eyes. “What?”
“Why aren’t you happy?”
Why wouldn’t I be happy? Hua Jian’s mouth curled down. Linglong really was a peculiar person.
Sometimes she was so reasonable, and other times so naive. She couldn’t figure out how such a strange personality had come to be.
“You didn’t need to say that second half just now, you know?”
Fortunately, Hua Jian wasn’t the type to bottle up her feelings; she always spoke her mind.
“Do you think I’d just steal a Spirit Tool because its benefits are bigger than being on good terms with you?”
“Would I?”
Would you?! How could you say something so cold and cutting with that warm little mouth! Hua Jian was so angry she almost couldn’t catch her breath.
Even though their first encounter left her with some bias against Linglong, these past few days of interaction hadn’t been enough to completely dispel it?
Was her image really that terrible?
“I’m not greedy, I’m not that bad, and I definitely won’t betray the trust others place in me. Understand?”
“What I do in the Secret Realm might be misunderstood, but when I’m willing to stand in the Sunlight and make an agreement to coexist peacefully and cooperate mutually with someone, I won’t betray that.”
Hua Jian said earnestly.
Setting traps and ambushing other cultivators in the Secret Realm was her way to earn money. Now, her relationship with Linglong was like a mutual signal— she wouldn’t stab her in the back.
In fact, Hua Jian’s moral baseline was relatively high. If she were asked to kill or plunder, she wouldn’t be able to bring herself to do it.
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