Tianlin found a quiet spot and waited for the Golden Generation trio to finish training.
With the concealment talisman, no one could see him. Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong wouldn't be so bored as to wander around.
"Nana, you're sweating so much. Let me walk you back to rest," sycophantic Yan flattered Hu Liena.
"No need, I'll go myself. Yan, I advise you not to hover around me. Isn't your goal to surpass Tianlin? Use your extra time to cultivate." Hu Liena rejected him as usual, striding off the field.
"Nana, don't be like that. Yan cares about you," Xie Yue said. He actually approved of Yan liking his sister—after all, among their peers, only Yan was worthy, as all the others with matching talent were in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, their rivals.
Hu Liena couldn't be as cold to her brother, so she sighed, "Fine. I'll give him a chance. When he defeats Tianlin, I'll marry him."
With that, she left without looking back.
One man was left sighing, the other overjoyed.
"Xie Yue, did you hear? Nana said she's willing to marry me!" Yan was ecstatic, and the surrounding temperature rose with his Fire Lord martial soul.
Xie Yue didn't know why Yan was so happy. From his perspective, Hu Liena had clearly rejected Yan—she agreed to marry him, but only if he defeated Tianlin.
Give Yan fifty years, and he still might not reach Tianlin's level.
But he didn't say this. Watching Yan train hard with hope was better than leaving him in despair.
Hu Liena returned to her quarters, where two maids awaited.
"Saintess, the hot water is ready. You may bathe at any time."
Girls love cleanliness. Bathing after training was Hu Liena's daily routine.
She nodded. "Alright, you may go."
The maids left. The Saintess disliked being served while bathing—they knew this well.
"Sigh, bathing… girls sure are troublesome. Guess I'll wait!" Tianlin sat down. If it were anything else, he'd go straight to Hu Liena, but not while she was bathing. Even if he could control her, he wouldn't cross that line. Otherwise, he'd be no better than Yun Che.
Tianlin wasn't a good person, but he still had some bottom line. You can't look down on others unless you hold yourself to a standard.
…
Half an hour later, Hu Liena finally finished and emerged dressed.
Tianlin instantly appeared before her, tearing off his concealment talisman. Hu Liena was startled. "Lord Tianlin, why are you here?"
"Shh!" Tianlin quickly took her back to her room, closed the door, and whispered, "I have a favor to ask. I wanted to find Sister Xue, but she's probably in seclusion for her Angel God Trial, so I have to trouble you."
"Please command me!" Hu Liena said respectfully.
"I told you not to call me that… never mind, look at this first." Tianlin handed her a note—the one Oslo had found on Yu Luomian, recording Bibi Dong's humiliating past.
The more Hu Liena read, the more shocked she became. Her noble teacher, Bibi Dong, had such a tragic history.
"Lord Tianlin, are all these… true?"
"All true," Tianlin said. "Don't doubt it; it really happened. I'm here today to ask you to help me spread a message across the continent."
Hearing this, Hu Liena suddenly knelt. "Please have mercy, Lord. If this is true, then my teacher's early life was miserable enough. If this becomes public, she'll lose all dignity and truly go mad."
She misunderstood, thinking Tianlin wanted her to spread the secret and ruin Bibi Dong. Though her mind was controlled, her feelings for Bibi Dong hadn't changed.
"No, you misunderstand. I don't want to destroy Bibi Dong, but help her. Also, I don't need you to spread this message, only to deliver a phrase to Sister Xue for me: 'Heavenly Snow.'"
"Heavenly Snow, got it. But Lord Tianlin, you really won't harm my teacher?" Hu Liena asked worriedly.
"Don't worry. I'm not lying. This information was intercepted from someone else. If we don't spread it, others will. That person's goal is to destroy Bibi Dong. Even if their plot fails now, they'll try again with someone else."
"I don't know who or where he is, so I can't stop him directly. But I have a way to dissolve his plot completely," Tianlin smiled.
"What way?" Hu Liena was very curious. If it could help her teacher, she wanted to help.
Tianlin didn't hide it from someone under his control. "Come closer."
He whispered his plan in her ear. Hu Liena's expression kept changing—admiration, joy, and something hard to describe.
"Lord Tianlin, you're really shameless. Only you could think of such a plan."
Tianlin laughed. "Just say, will it work?"
Hu Liena nodded. "Definitely. Lord Tianlin, besides passing your message to Qian Renxue, can I help with this too? I want to support my teacher."
Tianlin thought for a moment. "Sure. Listen, here's what you need to do."
This time, it was Hu Liena's own request to help, not an order—so he agreed.
As night fell, Tianlin finished assigning tasks and prepared to leave. Hu Liena suddenly stopped him. "Wait, Lord Tianlin, do you know a clone technique? If so, please leave one. I have an idea to help the plan, but it'll wrong you a bit."
"Wrong me? You mean…" Tianlin guessed her plan. He'd originally planned to drag Ning Fengzhi into this; now he'd be dragged in too. "I don't mind, as long as it works. Immortal Cloud Body Technique!" Tianlin created a phantom and left immediately.
As long as no one touched it, the phantom would last a while.
An hour later, Hu Liena made sure Tianlin was far away, then shouted loudly, "Jun Tianlin, you actually peeped on me bathing and ruined my innocence! Die!"
Instantly, the previously calm Spirit Hall was thrown into chaos.
…
Far from Spirit City, Tianlin suddenly felt a chill, sensing something bad had happened. It was the same feeling Ning Fengzhi had when Tianlin left the sect—he knew he'd suffered social death.