If there's one thing Ye Ziyun wasn't expecting to see upon coming out to her residence, it was the sight of Xue Hui sitting cross-legged in their courtyard, alone and meditating.
Tidying her dress, Ye Ziyun opened her mouth but hesitated a little before pushing past her nerves and calling out to him.
"Xue Hui, what are you doing here?" Ye Ziyun asked while walking in his direction.
Seeing her, Xue Hui broke into a wide smile. He stood up and raised his arm, waving at her, which prompted Ye Ziyun to quicken her steps.
"Oh, hey Ye Ziyun, how are you? I heard you went on a journey with Brother Li Jiang, how did that go!?"
Hearing his words, panic crept into Ye Ziyun's heart. She quickened her footsteps and placed her hand over Xue Hui's mouth to stop him from blurting out her unsanctioned adventure.
"D-don't say it out loud! My father and mother would hear you. They didn't know I went out into the outside world. If they find out, I'll be in big trouble, so please keep it quiet."
In her panic, Ye Ziyun hadn't noticed that her body was leaning against him.
Thrown against him, Xue Hui found himself pushed back and losing his balance. Instinctively, his hands moved and held onto Ye Ziyun's waist for support.
At the same time, the sudden closeness caused Ye Ziyun's nostrils to be bombarded by Xue Hui's unique scent, making her aware of their position.
The close contact made her face flushed red, Ye Ziyun's entire body stiffened. The warmth of Xue Hui's breath tickled her palm.
Ye Ziyun immediately withdrew her hand, placing both of them behind her back. With a reddened face, Ye Ziyun awkwardly created some distance between the two of them.
Deeply embarrassed, Ye Ziyun averted her eyes, not daring to meet Xue Hui's gaze. She fidgeted and tried to open her mouth to say something, but found that the words were stuck in her throat.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to expose you like that, Ziyun. How are you? I heard that you guys were attacked by a horde of Blue-Armed Apes."
Thankful for breaking the awkward silence, Ye Ziyun shook off her embarrassment and proceeded to tell Xue Hui what had happened during their trip.
Recounting the events, Xue Hui managed to gather some important bits of information from Ye Ziyun.
First was how Nie Li only took one treasure among the mountain of wealth.
And based on Ye Ziyun's description, that treasure was probably the Spirit Lamp, a treasure used to trap a demon spirit called the Shadow Devil.
An assassin-type demon spirit that used void-type concealing skills.
Xue Hui inwardly cursed himself for not getting his hands on that demon spirit.
The Shadow Devil was extremely tricky to deal with due to all of its void combat abilities.
Not only that, it was a perfect demon spirit for Yue Ling, who had been practicing the Void God Cultivation Technique. That demon spirit would increase Yue Ling's combat prowess tenfold.
'What a waste,' Xue Hui exclaimed inwardly. The trio of girls had all stepped into the Silver Rank, meaning that they could now integrate with demon spirits.
Xue Hui still needed to search for suitable demon spirits for all of them, including Chen Linlin. The demon spirit she was currently integrated with was not that strong and couldn't even harness the full strength of her Moon Glaze Eternal Lotus Physique.
Another bit of information Xue Hui got was about the mysterious stone coffin that Nie Li and Ye Ziyun found underground in the Holy Orchid City Ruins.
Unfortunately, Ye Ziyun passed out when she tried to approach the coffin and was unable to see what was inside, other than an abstruse gemstone that Nie Li gave to her.
With the awkward incident earlier completely forgotten, Ye Ziyun and Xue Hui sat on the grassy field, sharing stories and catching up.
Xue Hui also talked about his adventure to Heavenly Luster Mountain and how he and Xiao Ning'er discovered the Soul Prison Labyrinth.
Ye Ziyun had a look of both wonder and awe on her face while listening to Xue Hui's stories.
Compared to the Ancient Orchid City Ruins, Heavenly Luster Mountain seemed far more exhilarating and eventful.
Listening to Xue Hui's stories, Ye Ziyun was suddenly struck by a feeling of jealousy, both because she wasn't able to visit Heavenly Luster Mountain and because Xue Hui and Xiao Ning'er spent so much time together.
"I didn't know that you two were that close," Ye Ziyun exclaimed. In her mind, she originally thought that Xiao Ning'er's relationship with Xue Hui was just like hers, simply friends.
But it turned out that their relationship was much deeper than she thought.
Ye Ziyun gently nibbled her lip. She had known Xue Hui far longer than Xiao Ning'er had, and yet, unlike her, Xiao Ning'er had been able to deepen their relationship.
And for some reason, that thought made Ye Ziyun's chest feel heavy.
Noticing the sudden dampening of Ye Ziyun's mood, Xue Hui shifted in his seat and scooted closer to her side. Lifting his finger, he lightly flicked Ye Ziyun's forehead, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Ow!" Startled, Ye Ziyun reached up and rubbed her assaulted forehead. Glancing at Xue Hui, Ye Ziyun puffed up her delicate cheeks, looking both annoyed and flabbergasted. "That hurts! What was that for?"
Being the City Lord's daughter, there was almost no one willing to lay even a finger on Ye Ziyun, afraid of the repercussions they would incur from the City Lord and Lord Ye Mo.
Not receiving any response as Xue Hui just chuckled to himself, Ye Ziyun's annoyance grew. Pouting, she moved her hand and flicked Xue Hui's forehead as well, making him stop laughing as his head snapped backward from the force of her flick.
"Ow!"
With exaggerated cries, Xue Hui's entire body fell backward. He lay on the grass with a weirdly pained expression on his face.
The sight made Ye Ziyun let out a snort before bursting into laughter. Her melodious laugh filled the surroundings with a heartwarming atmosphere.
"W-what's with that face! Xue Hui, you look funny, it's hilarious."
Watching her double over with laughter, Xue Hui pressed his lips together before breaking into laughter himself.
The noise they made attracted the attention of nearby people, causing them to look in their direction curiously.
For the people of the City Lord's Mansion, this was the first time they had ever heard Ye Ziyun laugh so freely. Usually, she carried herself with an elegant demeanor, always proper and reserved.
Eventually, the two of them regained their composure and let out long, shaky breaths.
Xue Hui, who was still lying on the grass, raised both of his arms toward Ye Ziyun, gesturing for her to help him up.
Seeing this, Ye Ziyun extended her hand and bent down. Grasping his hands, Ye Ziyun let out a soft grunt before pulling Xue Hui up and helping him stand on his feet.
Meeting each other's gaze, they realized that they were standing very close to one another.
Before things could turn awkward, Ye Ziyun averted her gaze and pointed at her forehead, asking once again why Xue Hui had flicked her there.
"Well, you looked like you were beating yourself up over something, so I thought I'd stop you before you spiraled any further."
This drew another pout from Ye Ziyun before she explained to Xue Hui that she felt left out when he invited Xiao Ning'er on an adventure with him and didn't ask her.
Xue Hui's expression softened. He realized that he might have been neglecting his friendship with Ye Ziyun too much.
First, he never reached out to her after they met when they were little. And now, he barely spent time with her outside of academy classes.
"Sorry, Ziyun. My trip with Ning'er was coincidental. I met her before I left the city, and Ning'er asked me if she could come with me, so I brought her along."
Ye Ziyun nodded. She didn't want to sound spoiled by asking Xue Hui for something unreasonable.
But Ye Ziyun was tired of not doing anything and not being true to her feelings. She wanted to be friends with Xue Hui, to know him better, to grow closer to him, and to stop feeling awkward every time she was around him.
"How about this? Next time I go on an adventure, I'll bring you along. Is that alright?"
Ye Ziyun's pout morphed into a beaming smile and nod. That was all she wanted, more opportunities to get closer to Xue Hui.
"Oh, by the way, I need to know your soul force attributes." Changing the topic, Xue Hui took out an unused Soul Crystal and handed it to Ye Ziyun. "Just put a strand of your soul force into it and let me take a look."
Feeling that the situation was a little familiar, Ye Ziyun did what Xue Hui asked and injected her soul force into the Soul Crystal.
Which immediately exploded.
The two stared at each other in confusion before realization struck Xue Hui. He took out another Soul Crystal, this time an intermediate one capable of measuring the soul force of Silver Rank Demon Spiritualists, and handed it to Ye Ziyun.
Injecting her soul force into the Soul Crystal, Xue Hui proceeded to examine Ye Ziyun's soul force. His eyes widened upon seeing her soul realm talent.
"Cyan Soul Realm, soul form Ice Phoenix, attributes Snow Wind."
Who would have thought that Ye Ziyun's innate talent was even better than Xiao Ning'er's? Such a rare genius. Ye Ziyun was only second to Chen Linlin in terms of heaven-defying talent.
Confirming her talent, Xue Hui took out a blank scroll and a horn sheep pen and wrote down a cultivation technique perfectly suited to Ye Ziyun's physique.
"Celestial Frost Phoenix Nirvana Canon. Practice this cultivation technique and your strength will grow even faster. Breaking through to Legend Rank within a year is even possible."
"This..." Ye Ziyun was stunned, not because Xue Hui was giving her a cultivation technique, but because this was the second time one of her classmates had given her such a precious gift.
Hesitating, Ye Ziyun bit her lip before beginning to explain things to Xue Hui.
"Xue Hui, you see, I'm already practicing a cultivation technique that's suitable for my soul realm. It's called the Nine Revolving Ice Phoenix, and it was given to me by Nie Li."
Ye Ziyun suddenly felt a surge of panic in her heart. She wasn't sure why, but she felt slightly awkward telling Xue Hui that she and Nie Li were friends.
"The Nine Revolving Ice Phoenix? It seems that Nie Li is treating you very well. That cultivation technique is quite powerful. More importantly, it has life-saving abilities. It was obvious that Nie Li wanted to keep you safe. What a thoughtful fellow," Xue Hui exclaimed, not the least bit surprised that Nie Li knew such a supreme cultivation technique.
"You're familiar with the Nine Revolving Ice Phoenix?" Ye Ziyun was shocked that Xue Hui had such profound knowledge regarding her cultivation technique.
"The Nine Revolving Ice Phoenix is indeed suitable for you, but go ahead and keep the Celestial Frost Phoenix Nirvana Canon. You'll know when the time comes that you need to switch to it."
It sounded vague, but Ye Ziyun felt that Xue Hui's words carried a deeper meaning.
What Ye Ziyun didn't know was that the Celestial Frost Phoenix Nirvana Canon was the inspiration behind the creation of the Nine Revolving Ice Phoenix. But since the foundations were essentially the same, it was fine for Ye Ziyun to cultivate the Nine Revolving Ice Phoenix first before transitioning to the Celestial Frost Phoenix Nirvana Canon, only if she wished to reach a much higher realm.
"Okay, I'll accept this. Thank you, Xue Hui," Ye Ziyun bashfully accepted the cultivation technique. Opening the scroll, she began to read through it.
To her surprise, she felt more in tune with the cultivation technique Xue Hui had given her. But she still felt hesitant about changing her current one.
So Ye Ziyun decided to follow Xue Hui's advice. If she ever felt the need to replace the Nine Revolving Ice Phoenix with the Celestial Frost Phoenix Nirvana Canon, she would do just that.
While Xue Hui and Ye Ziyun continued to converse with each other,
Deep within the Holy Orchid Institute Hunting Grounds, two girls were about to confront one another.
Chen Linlin and Xiao Ning'er sized each other up, their intense gazes enough to drown the surroundings in a dangerous atmosphere.
End of Chapter 58
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