Chronicles of Heaven's Chosen - Chapter 61

“Hmph. If you never endure any hardship, you’ll age faster,” Yuan Yao said.

“Don’t worry. I have a Youth-Preserving Pill.”

“Then I’ll steal it and turn you into a little old man.”

“Yuan Yao, are you asking for a beating?”

“Bleh, bleh, bleh.”

Yuan Yao continued climbing as she spoke. Then something suddenly occurred to her, and she looked back down at the training ground.

Youngest Senior Brother was nowhere to be seen.

She frowned slightly and could not resist calling to Qian Jueshan, “Master, where did Youngest Senior Brother go?”

“He has already set out for Yunming City,” Qian Jueshan replied.

Yunming City?!

Yuan Yao’s heart stirred. Why had Youngest Senior Brother gone there? Could something have happened to Eldest Senior Brother and the others?

Lu Xiangxiang had been in a thoroughly foul mood, but at Qian Jueshan’s words, one brow rose.

Ying Wuji had gone too?

She knew Qian Jueshan’s character all too well. Given how careful and cautious he was, he would never allow Ying Wuji to leave the sect and travel all the way to Yunming City unless Song Yan and the others had truly encountered a serious problem or fallen into danger.

So something had happened after all.

The corner of Lu Xiangxiang’s mouth curved upward.

Yuan Yao’s gaze swept over her and caught that inscrutable smile. Her heart sank.

Lu Xiangxiang definitely knew what was happening in Yunming City!

Suppressing her unease, Yuan Yao asked no more questions. She simply continued upward, step after step.

Cang Li noticed her distraction and immediately guessed what she was thinking. Lowering his voice, he said, “Don’t tell me you’re still planning to…”

Yuan Yao hastily shot him a look.

Cang Li closed his mouth.

After that, he silently kept her company as they climbed.

Lu Xiangxiang rested for a while, then mustered all her strength and continued upward as well. Yet no matter how hard she pushed herself, she remained behind Yuan Yao.

She glared darkly at Yuan Yao’s back, humiliation written faintly across her face.

After all, the feeling of constantly being outmatched and left behind was unbearable—especially for someone as fiercely competitive as Lu Xiangxiang.

…

By evening, Yuan Yao had made it to the two-hundred-and-eightieth step, while Lu Xiangxiang had reached only the two-hundred-and-thirty-sixth.

Yuan Yao was utterly exhausted. Her legs felt like jelly as she made her way back down.

Lu Xiangxiang was no better.

Cang Li, on the other hand, had long since grown accustomed to climbing the Heavenly Stairway, so he was in much better condition than either of them.

When the three returned to Qian Jueshan, they heard him say, “You will continue tomorrow.”

“Yes, Master,” they answered.

Qian Jueshan looked at Yuan Yao and instructed her earnestly, “You must never damage your foundation in your haste to raise your cultivation.”

Yuan Yao nodded hard.

“Thank you for your guidance, Master!”

“The path of cultivation is long and arduous. Only by keeping your feet on the ground and progressing one step at a time can you achieve anything.” Qian Jueshan swept his gaze over all three of them. “Go back and rest.”

They obeyed and saluted him.

Qian Jueshan gave a slight nod. With a casual sweep of his sleeve, his figure vanished like a phantom, leaving only a faint afterimage behind.

“Let’s go!” Yuan Yao stretched and began walking toward the residences while loosening her stiff muscles.

Lu Xiangxiang followed. She no longer wanted to fall behind them.

The sky gradually darkened.

As they walked, Cang Li suddenly asked, “Do either of you want noodles?”

Lu Xiangxiang paused. She looked at the youth beside her and frowned involuntarily. “I’m not hungry.”

“What about you?” Cang Li turned to Yuan Yao.

Yuan Yao smiled. “I’m not hungry either.”

“You’re really not hungry?” Cang Li raised a brow. “Or are you scheming something?”

Yuan Yao shrugged and said with complete candor, “What could I possibly be scheming? Third Senior Brother, I’m not the person I used to be.”

Cang Li burst out laughing.

Yuan Yao glared at him.

Then she looked at the mostly silent Lu Xiangxiang. “Seventh Junior Sister, where are you from?”

Lu Xiangxiang immediately grew wary. “The Seventh Continent,” she replied coolly.

Cang Li was surprised. “So you’re from the Seventh Continent! I have a friend there too. What a coincidence.”

Lu Xiangxiang’s heart filled with doubt. How had she never known that he had a friend on the Seventh Continent?

“Who is this friend?” she asked, testing him.

“Wei Yanqing of the Wei Clan.”

The name sounded faintly familiar to Lu Xiangxiang. Before long, she remembered. She did not know Wei Yanqing, but she did know his younger sister, Wei Yanhong.

At the thought of Wei Yanhong, Lu Xiangxiang sneered inwardly.

Wei Yanhong had desired her man. The shameless woman had even stripped naked in a lake to seduce him.

As for Wei Yanqing, all Lu Xiangxiang remembered was that he had died young.

No wonder she had never known that Cang Li had a friend on the Seventh Continent.

Cang Li asked curiously, “Seventh Junior Sister, do you know him?”

“No,” Lu Xiangxiang answered coldly.

Her strong reaction told Yuan Yao that she certainly knew of Wei Yanqing, and perhaps even held some grudge against him.

Cang Li showed no reaction to her answer.

【Target Cang Li’s Awakening Value has reached 23.】

The System’s sudden announcement made Yuan Yao lift a brow in surprise.

Lu Xiangxiang seemed to sense something off in the atmosphere and softened her tone.

“What I mean is, I’ve never heard of him.”

“He’s not famous. It would be perfectly normal not to know him.” Cang Li smiled with his usual carefree air.

【Target Cang Li’s Awakening Value has reached 24.】

System 250’s voice sounded again.

Yuan Yao could not resist sneaking a glance at Cang Li, only to meet his eyes.

“Heh.” She gave him an awkward smile.

Cang Li lightly smacked the back of her head. “You look like an idiot.”

After a pause, he asked, “If you don’t want noodles, what do you want to eat?”

“Nothing.” Yuan Yao shook her head.

“Then starve.”

“Ha. Ha.”

…

The moment Yuan Yao returned to her bamboo house, she began packing. She stuffed everything she might need into her storage ring, then quickly wrote a note.

*Don’t worry about me.*

*—Yao*

Once everything was ready, she quietly cracked open the door. As the gap widened, she peered outside. After confirming that no one was nearby, she slipped out, closed the door behind her, and sprinted toward the foot of Heavenly Martial Peak.

At that exact moment, a Heavenly Martial Peak disciple’s expression changed dramatically.

“Did any of you see a black shadow flash past just now?”

His cry drew the attention of the other disciples. They quickly scanned their surroundings but found no trace of the mysterious figure.

One disciple guessed uncertainly, “Could it have been Junior Sister Zhou’s little rabbit?”

The first disciple shook his head. “How could a rabbit run that fast? Besides, it wasn’t that small…”

As he spoke, he spread his arms wide to demonstrate its size.

“Did someone break into Heavenly Martial Peak?”

“Search immediately!” a senior brother ordered in a deep voice.

Everyone sprang into action.

They split up and searched along different routes, carefully combing through every corner without overlooking the slightest suspicious detail.