Lin Xian walked leisurely, looking completely unburdened as he tossed and caught two spirit balls in his left hand. Meanwhile, the other students were fighting with everything they had, staking their future on this.
"Too much fighting will only drain your energy. That's not a wise choice."
From a distance, Lin Xian saw a few participants surrounding a single person. They exchanged glances and then moved in.
Lin Xian stopped and crouched behind a bush. He observed their fight.
The person being ganged up on was Ahn Yue. A completely unmatched opponent. Lin Xian remained silent, assessing the girl's fighting style.
As he looked more closely, he saw a boy hiding on the other side. "Who's that kid?"
Lin Xian tried to recall the boy's face, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember any familiar name. That meant the kid wasn't a strong student in Lin Xian's previous life.
He wanted to ignore it, but then he looked at the kid again and remembered a name.
"Is he that boy named Qin Zhen?" Lin Xian asked himself.
From his posture, Qin Zhen didn't look strong. The qi flowing within his body was also weak. He shouldn't be a dangerous student. That's what Lin Xian thought.
Then, he saw Qin Zhen step out of the bushes and run very fast. He stole the spirit balls of the kids who were fighting—without them noticing.
Lin Xian burst out laughing. "He's not just cunning, but also brave."
A second later, Lin Xian regretted what he had done. The students who were supposed to be fighting each other now turned their eyes toward him. He clicked his tongue in frustration. Ahn Yue also looked in that direction.
"Damn. Idiot." He stood up and raised both shoulders. "I didn't mean anything. Just wanted to watch."
When Ahn Yue saw Lin Xian's face over there, she immediately got excited. Without thinking twice, she walked straight toward Lin Xian.
Seeing that, Lin Xian was irritated. At the same time, he felt something touch his spirit balls. When he turned, Qin Zhen was smiling while crouching.
Lin Xian's eyes widened in anger. "You…"
Qin Zhen just smiled and immediately ran off. Lin Xian wanted to chase him, but at the same time, an attack came from another direction. He had no choice but to let Qin Zhen steal his spirit balls.
"Just you wait!" Lin Xian shouted.
He blocked Ahn Yue's punch. A very powerful punch. Lin Xian's body was pushed back, and his hand froze where the punch had landed.
Ahn Yue channeled her qi and pushed forward with great force. Within seconds, she was right in front of Lin Xian. Just as Lin Xian tried to slash at Ahn Yue—
Suddenly, Ahn Yue seemed to disappear. But in truth, she had just moved very fast. She appeared behind Lin Xian.
"Got you!" Ahn Yue said.
However, at the same moment, Lin Xian was no longer in front of her. What she hit was just air. Ahn Yue turned around, but Lin Xian wasn't there.
She looked in the other direction, but the result was the same. Lin Xian was nowhere to be found. Even though she was sure he had been standing exactly where she was now.
"Does he have some kind of invisibility ability?" Ahn Yue was confused.
***
Lin Xian was still sitting, leaning against a tree. He watched Ahn Yue, who kept searching for him. When in fact, they were only a few meters apart. Lin Xian was right on the tree behind Ahn Yue.
"Cultivators with pure bodies possess terrifying strength." Lin Xian looked at his still-frozen hand. "They're stronger than average cultivators at the same level."
Ahn Yue was currently at mid-layer Foundation Establishment. She should've been equal to cultivators of the same level, but pure-body cultivators were equivalent to those one level above them.
Which meant Ahn Yue was equal to a Core Formation cultivator. Although—
"Isn't this unfair?" Lin Xian shook his head in disbelief. Not because he couldn't win, but because he didn't want to fail this test. "The world was never fair from the start. I should be used to that by now."
Lin Xian jumped down from the tree. Ahn Yue was no longer there. Nothing to worry about anymore.
"Don't you want to fight that girl just now?" someone asked from behind.
Lin Xian turned around and saw that it was Qin Zhen. Lin Xian's gaze instantly filled with anger. Qin Zhen immediately tossed back the two spirit balls he had stolen and raised both hands.
"I have no intention of making enemies with someone like you. That would be suicide," Qin Zhen sighed.
"But didn't you steal Ahn Yue's spirit balls? That should be even more terrifying."
Qin Zhen laughed loudly. "Ahn Yue is indeed very strong—she could probably beat both of us within ten minutes if we're talking about power." Qin Zhen pointed at his head. "But you and I have this. Something more dangerous than just strength. We can kill others without using our own hands. That's even scarier."
"You're too naïve. The mind will always lose to power. I've seen many like you," he said mockingly.
"That's because those people still relied on their feelings. That's the stupidity of smart people—they're sometimes so kind that they become dumber than muscleheads."
Lin Xian narrowed his eyes. Those words felt familiar. He turned away and started walking off. He didn't want to get too involved with Qin Zhen.
"You haven't answered my question. Why didn't you want to fight Ahn Yue?"
"Didn't you already know the result?"
"You would've won, right?"
Lin Xian was surprised. He turned and then laughed. After that, he continued walking. He waved his left hand.
"Looks like we'll meet again after this."
***
Qin Zhen sat with trembling hands and legs. He didn't expect to be this afraid of someone—especially someone only two years older than him.
"If I hadn't returned those spirit balls… I might've ended up dead in this test."
Just imagining it made him shiver. He looked at the clouds being blown by the wind and smiled.
Qin Zhen raised his hand. His hand was still shaking. "Mother, I will become a student of Misty Sky Sect and earn lots of spirit stones to heal you."
He gave a small smile. Qin Zhen had only one reason for signing up—and that was for the mother he dearly loved. He was a poor child born weak. His life was miserable, and all he could rely on was his intelligence.
"This time, I promise I'll make it. So wait for me."