Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
An Lin was intrigued by her story. “What happened next?”
Xu Xiaolan recalled the events of the past with a hint of admiration on her face. “Sister Shangguan Yi is a very strong person… She always had a smile on her face even she was insulted and ridiculed by the young disciples, and she wouldn’t retaliate no matter how much their words hurt her. She was able to cultivate by herself with an instructor. She was able to survive in a world that seemed to renounce her very existence…
“It looked like she wasn’t destined to be a member of the Vermilion Bird Sect as her constitution was naturally resistant to flame power, thereby preventing her from mastering even the simplest fire spell techniques. She was teased by the other disciples for this for a long time, but she never gave up. She continued to cultivate to the best of her abilities and read through countless cultivation method books before she finally managed to master the Dao of ice with her special constitution.
“Some people advised her to leave the Vermilion Bird Sect to go to the Ice Emperor Palace of the Kingdom of the Nine States, where she would undoubtedly be able to flourish, but she refused to leave. She told everyone that the Vermilion Bird Sect had given her a second chance at life, and she was willing to dedicate the rest of her life to protecting this sect.
“After that, Sister Shangguan Yi and some other disciples encountered a Soul Formation Stage soul beast when they were out training. All the disciples ran, and they cursed Sister Shangguan Yi for attracting the soul beast with her bad luck and that she was trying to kill them as she did with her previous instructors. Sister Shangguan Yi ignored their scathing remarks and fought the soul beast by herself when she was only at Spirit Nurturing Final Stage while the other disciples retreated… If it wasn’t for an elder arriving on the scene in time, she would’ve probably died in that battle…
“It was after that event that everyone’s opinion of Sister Shangguan Yi changed. She was still troubled by horrendous luck and would sometimes endanger the people around her, but no one hurled insults at her anymore. They could all see just how much she loved the sect and how hard she tried to coexist with the other disciples.
“Sister Shangguan Yi never complained about anything and she would distance herself from others on purpose to prevent her bad luck from endangering others, but whenever another disciple was in danger, she would always jump in to assist them without hesitation. Now, she’s considered as a respected member of the sect by most of the disciples, but it really was an extremely difficult path that led her to this point…”
An Lin slowly fell silent as he listened to Xu Xiaolan’s story.
Only now did he truly understand just how miserable Shangguan Yi’s life has been.
How much strength and fortitude did it take for her to get to this point? These experiences were simple enough to recount, but they would undoubtedly be extraordinarily difficult to endure.
“Sigh, I’ve seen so many cultivators that want to renounce the heavens or defy the natural order as if the gods owed them something. But I really think it would be quite natural if Sister Shangguan Yi decided to renounce the heavens as God has simply been far too cruel to her…” An Lin lamented.
“That’s true. I remember I once accompanied Sister Shangguan Yi to collect some medicinal herbs. There were only two storm clouds in the sky at that time, but a bolt of divine lightning suddenly descended upon us; it was so bizarre…” Xu Xiaolan shook her head in resignation.
She then began chuckling to herself as it was quite a peculiar and amusing memory.
An Lin: “…”
An Lin recalled back to his time in the Vermilion Bird Trial Ground, where he fought with Shangguan Yi by his side, and he became more and more intrigued by her character.
An unrelated thought then suddenly occurred to him.
“Xiaolan, I want to give you a present!” An Lin announced.
A cautious expression appeared on Xu Xiaolan’s face. “What are you doing? I won’t accept something for doing nothing.”
“You gave me a chance to materialize a holy flame in my sea of vital energy; that doesn’t sound like nothing to me. Don’t worry, this is just a pendant I picked up in the Vermilion Bird Trial Grounds.” An Lin brought out an object in the shape of a crimson water droplet.
An Lin had attached a white chain to the object, which was emanating an extremely pure and powerful flame energy.
This was the true blood of the holy beast which An Lin had obtained after slaying the black phoenix, and it was most likely a drop of blood from the vermilion bird that had once been trapped in the Vermilion Bird Trial Grounds.
Xu Xiaolan’s lips twitched as she stared at the pendant. “A pendant you picked up? I can tell just by looking at it that this is an extremely valuable ancient treasure. I really can’t accept this!”
An Lin replied with a nonchalant expression, “This item is imbued with extremely pure flame energy and true intent, and it might hold an inheritance within it as well, but it’s useless to me because I don’t have a fire-type bloodline. You have the Divine Phoenix Bloodline, which will allow you to bring out the best in this drop of blood, so it suits you perfectly.”
Xu Xiaolan pursed her lips and didn’t respond.
“Here, let me put it on for you.” An Lin reached around Xu Xiaolan’s neck with a wide grin.
A blush appeared on Xu Xiaolan’s face, but she still lowered her head to accept An Lin’s gift.
The white chain settled over her fair, swan-like neck, where it glowed brightly under the sun. The drop of crimson blood settled against her porcelain-like skin, perfectly complementing one another in an exquisitely beautiful combination.
An Lin asked with a smile, “Do you like it?”
Xu Xiaolan responded to his question with a question of her own, “Does it look good?”
An Lin nodded with a serious expression. “It looks great on you!”
Xu Xiaolan averted her gaze and replied in a low voice, “Then I do like it.”
The atmosphere began to shift slightly as the birds chirped in the trees nearby.
There was a little less serenity and a bit more anxiety hanging in the air, but in a good way.
An Lin slowly grasped Xu Xiaolan’s hand in his. He felt Xu Xiaolan’s hand tremble slightly as he made contact, but she didn’t reject his approach.
An Lin gripped her soft and warm hand in his, and his heart fluttered!
The sky was suddenly so blue, and the sun was suddenly so bright and vibrant.
“Hmph, don’t think you’ve won me over with just a pendant… I’m just allowing you to hold my hand to ease your acrophobia 1 ,” Xu Xiaolan grumbled in a low voice.
An Lin blinked before posing a question, “Then… can I hold your hand when my other phobias strike?”
Xu Xiaolan chuckled lightly. “What other phobias do you have?”
“I have nyctophobia [2. Fear of the dark.], and I get super scared walking at night. Oh, and I have heliophobia [3. Fear of the sun.], I get overwhelmed by fear every time I see the sun…” An Lin replied with a serious expression.
Xu Xiaolan: “…”
“Well, seeing as you gave me a present, I’ll give you one as well in return, and you’re not allowed to refuse it.” Xu Xiaolan blinked at him with a spritely expression.
An Lin nodded in agreement, but his heart was feeling a little restless.
Xu Xiaolan brought out the Divine Flame Bead from her storage ring and placed it in An Lin’s hand with a smile. “You may not have a fire-type bloodline, but your four Divine Flames will complement this immortal tool extremely well in battle… We had an agreement, you have to accept this gift!”
An Lin stared blankly at the golden bead in his hands, and he was at a complete loss for words.
The Divine Flame Bead was Dongfang Ming’s most powerful weapon, and it was a priceless high-rank immortal tool. An Lin didn’t expect Xu Xiaolan to give this away and was beginning to regret agreeing to accept the gift.
“Xiaolan, you’re so good to me,” An Lin gripped the Divine Flame Bead and said slowly.
“You ain’t half bad to me either…”
Xu Xiaolan’s voice was extremely pleasing to the ear, and An Lin’s heart was completely at ease like a cloud in the sky.
