Yun Jin was only at the Nascent Soul stage, yet when those golden orbs entered her sea of consciousness, it was as if a single drop of water had vanished into the ocean. Not a single ripple appeared.
Buried deep within Yun Jin's soul was a terrifying power. Although that power couldn't be released for now, the golden orbs were sealed the moment they entered, held back by the same force.
Once Yun Jin became strong enough to withstand it, she would be able to unleash all of it at will.
In essence, the sealed power had become a massive container—one that could temporarily store all the orb energy she absorbed.
Whenever Yun Jin needed it, she could take it out.
In fact, she even had a strange feeling…
If she wanted to, she could probably drain the entire River of Enlightenment dry.
But for now, she could only absorb the orbs that came to her on their own.
What a pity.
Still, it was her own sect's river. Even if she skimmed off just a little, that was fine too.
If the Tian Po Sword could hear Yun Jin's thoughts, it would probably spit blood on the spot. This was why distance mattered—not just between people, but between a person and their sword as well.
Yun Jin pushed forward and absorbed all seven golden orbs in one go.
Then she moved on to the orange ones.
She counted twenty in total.
Not bad, not bad.
Absorb them. All of them.
At first, the Tian Po Sword kept up a calm front, but when he saw Yun Jin continuing to absorb more, his entire sword body froze in place.
He was completely dumbfounded.
What was he supposed to think?
Was he even allowed to think?
He was a sword—he wasn't even a person to begin with.
But Yun Jin was a person. And she wasn't doing anything a person should.
Was this really okay?
He could only watch as Yun Jin absorbed the rest of the green and white orbs. Not one was left behind.
The Tian Po Sword was completely numb.
Heh. So what if she absorbed a few extra?
So what if she absorbed over a hundred orbs in total?
So what if even someone at the Mahayana stage couldn't absorb that many?
What of it!
It was all perfectly normal!
"Is that all?" Yun Jin looked around at the now-empty space. She licked her lips, still unsatisfied.
A dry laugh escaped the Tian Po Sword, sounding from deep within his throat.
Yun Jin glanced at him. "Senior, are you alright? Are you thirsty or something?"
The Tian Po Sword steadied his tone and said, "No, I just felt a bit sentimental all of a sudden. Young Master, pay me no mind."
Yun Jin gave him a suspicious look.
"Why was the Tian Po Sword acting so strange today?Forget it. That wasn't important. What mattered was that this haul was enormous."
Once she finished absorbing everything, her strength was sure to grow by leaps and bounds.
With this many top-tier orbs, if she found multiple orbs of the same attribute, she might even directly form a Law in one stroke.
And if she could grasp a complete Law while still in the Nascent Soul stage…
She would be the first in history to do so.
Just as Yun Jin was caught in her thoughts, she was teleported to the riverbank.
Everyone appeared on the opposite shore of the River of Enlightenment at nearly the same time.
Most had visible joy in their eyes. Clearly, everyone had gained something from the experience.
Except the disciples of Qingxiao Pavilion, led by Duan Yiwei, whose expressions were especially sour.
It wasn't until they emerged that they realized everyone else had made gains—everyone except for them. The disciples of Qingxiao Pavilion had come back completely empty-handed.
If this wasn't being singled out, what was?
Qingxiao Pavilion was one of the four Holy Lands. When had they ever suffered such humiliation?
This needed an explanation.
Duan Yiwei stepped in front of Yun Jin and demanded, "Yun Jin, everyone else gained something. Why is it that only the disciples of Qingxiao Pavilion encountered violent winds and crashing waves, and came back with nothing? Shouldn't you give us an explanation for this?"
Oh? Qingxiao Pavilion really gained nothing at all?
Everyone's expressions shifted slightly.
They had faced no incidents during the trial and had all reaped solid benefits.
Yet Qingxiao Pavilion, and only Qingxiao Pavilion, had gotten nothing.
It didn't seem like mere coincidence.
Was Yun Jin targeting Duan Yiwei because of some prior grudge?
That thought crossed everyone's mind.
"Hmph, and you still have the nerve to speak?" The Tian Po Sword grumbled in Yun Jin's mind. "My master and the others sacrificed themselves to protect this world from the outer-realm demon clan, blocking them at the cost of their lives. But what about the people from Qingxiao Pavilion? Every last one of them chose to side with the demons at the final step of the Heart-Testing Staircase! Those bastards have the gall to ask us for favors now? Dream on. Young Master, don't you be afraid of him. Not even a single thread or needle from Wushuang Sect will go to Qingxiao Pavilion!"
Yun Jin arched a brow. So it had been the Tian Po Sword's doing.
But so what?
The resources of Wushuang Sect belonged to them. They could give them to whomever they pleased.
The people of Qingxiao Pavilion were never worthy.
Something had clearly gone wrong in that sect—top to bottom, their hearts had all turned rotten.
Giving them anything would be no better than feeding it to dogs.
Yun Jin smiled faintly at Duan Yiwei. "There are times when strange phenomena occur within the River of Enlightenment. If your group happened to all run into them… maybe you were just unlucky?"
Duan Yiwei exploded. "Unlucky? All of us? Yun Jin, do you hear yourself? Isn't that utterly absurd?"
Yun Jin replied calmly, "It's perfectly reasonable. If our Wushuang Sect were truly stingy, we could've kept the River of Enlightenment hidden altogether. But as you can see, all the other disciples gained something. That proves we had every intention of sharing."
Several people nodded in agreement.
"As for your situation," Yun Jin said with a shrug, "I do feel sorry for you. But if you all failed together, maybe there's something wrong with Qingxiao Pavilion's Luck. Perhaps one of your sect's artifacts that anchors your Luck has been compromised? I'd recommend checking on that when you return."
"Nonsense!" Duan Yiwei shouted. "How could Qingxiao Pavilion's artifact have issues? You're clearly targeting us on purpose!"
Yun Jin remained unfazed. "You can interpret it however you like. If you're not happy about it, shall I just send you out now?"
The disciples of Qingxiao Pavilion all glared at her in outrage.
Duan Yiwei's voice turned cold. "So what you're saying is, you're looking down on Qingxiao Pavilion? Yun Jin, do you even know what you're saying?"
A faint trace of killing intent flickered in Duan Yiwei's eyes.
But Yun Jin didn't back down in the slightest. Her tone was icy. "If that's how you want to interpret it, then sure. So what now? What will you do?"
"You…" Duan Yiwei hadn't expected Yun Jin to answer so directly. Several Qingxiao Pavilion disciples immediately summoned their magic tools.
Yun Jin laughed coldly. "This is Wushuang Sect's territory. You really think you can start a fight with me here? Go ahead, I don't mind."
Duan Yiwei's gaze flickered. He raised a hand to stop the others, then growled, "We'll settle this after we leave."
She had dared to humiliate Qingxiao Pavilion like this? Once they were out, he'd make sure she paid the price.