"Lin Xiaoxiao?" Tianming almost did a double take. "Why Lin Xiaoxiao and not Lin Xiaoting?!"
Right after coming to the Archaion Sect, his new neighbour was actually called Lin Xiaoxiao. Tianming recalled the girl who bore the same name that had left home on a journey after Lightning Manor was taken out.
"If she really did make it to this sect, I'll call her my mom," Ying Huo said as it played in the courtyard's pond. Tianming’s residence was about the size of the one he had used as an astral general back at the dao palace, so it was large enough for Lan Huang to run around in.
He continued cultivating, but the noises from next door were growing louder. It appeared that the sect didn't really care much for discipline among their disciples, especially when it came to the Human Branch. According to the books he got, the Human Branch had ten times the number of disciples of the Earth Branch, and a thousand times that of the Heaven Branch. The descendants from factions all over Archaion came here to cultivate.
"Fu Bo, I obtained the Nine Yang Sword at the Old Deepstar Path. Even if you head to Judgment Hall, you won't be able to take it from me," said a hollow female voice with a hint of melancholy.
Tianming and Ying Huo froze when they heard the voice. The world was big, and it wouldn't be surprising if there were people who looked alike, but it was hard for there to be people who spoke at exactly the same tone, tempo, and cadence.
"No way." Ying Huo flew toward the direction of the sound with Tianming tagging along. Neither of them could believe what they were hearing.
Leaning against the tall wall, they peeked over it and saw a few men and women at the entrance of the neighboring courtyard surrounding a girl clad in black. The man who led them was a head taller than the girl and looked really brutish. He crossed his arms and smirked, but didn't speak, preferring to let his minions do the talking and bullying.
Tianming could only see the other girl's back, but it seemed really familiar. It couldn't have been another person, given how her name, voice and silhouette were identical.
"It's impossible! Xiaoxiao was only at Spiritsource when she left Ignispolis! The farthest she could go was the Grand-Orient Realm. There's no way she'd be able to make it to the Archaion Sect!" Tianming said.
It was already a miracle for him to come all the way here from Ignispolis in such a short time, to say nothing of Lin Xiaoxiao. His emotions were now all over the place.
"It can't be her, right? I won't believe it until she turns around," Ying Huo said.
"We'll wait and see."
Back at the courtyard, the man called Fu Bo finally spoke. "I was the one who obtained the Nine Yang Sword. I have five witnesses who can prove that you snuck into my place to steal it. Stop arguing, Lin Xiaoxiao. The Judgment Hall will definitely straighten this matter out."
The others chuckled when he finished.
"Your father is the elder of the hall. It's no surprise he'll do 'fair' by you," the girl in black said.
"I'm glad you're aware. We invited you to join the Dragonmight Faction to give you face, yet you still put up your holier-than-thou act. If you don't lay low and listen to others, you'll be crushed in the Archaion Sect one day," Fu Bo said as he gave her a leer.
The girl kept her head lowered without talking back.
"Grab hold of her and take her to Judgment Hall. As a disciple of the sect, she’s embarrassed us by engaging in the lowly act of theft. I believe that she’ll be excommunicated and return from whence she came," Fu Bo said with a laugh, and the others joined in.
His expression turned grim when he tried grabbing her. At that moment, the girl took out a crimson longsword, upon which nine blazing sun-like jewels were embedded. The sword actually had ninety-nine saintly heavenly patterns and was comparable to the Three-Thousand Starfield. No wonder the others were giving her trouble over such an impressive item. While something like that wasn't a big deal in the sect as a whole, it was definitely a treasure to the disciples of the Human Branch.
"Take it and stop bothering me," she said weakly.
"If only you'd done this earlier. However, I’ll ask you again whether you'll join Dragonmight. Lin Xiaoxiao, you broke through three levels within the two months after you joined the sect. I admire your cultivation speed, hence my invitation. I don't mean anything else by it," Fu Bo said, in no hurry to take the sword. Instead, he continued to look down on her imposingly.
"If I join, I'll have to train with you and you'll be able to find opportunities when nobody else is around to bully me, right?" she said coldly.
Stunned, Fu Bo said, "It's one thing if you're a cute loner that doesn't mingle like an animal, but why are you so smart?"
The girl's shoulders shook with discomfort. Tianming couldn't bear continuing to watch this. It wasn't that he pitied her; he just wanted an answer to whether she really was Lin Xiaoxiao. The longer the others were there, the more time he would waste.
The Archaion Sect is truly amazing, for Fu Bo to be as powerful as the palace lord when he's only in his twenties... Tianming figured this was the level of the average disciple in the sect. Someone like Xuanyuan Yuheng was probably a genius that even Fu Bo would have to hail as a god.
It seemed that Tianming was rather suited to the Human Branch. At least he would have some say here. Fu Bo's minions were only sky saints, so he didn't bother himself with them.
Right as Fu Bo was about to take the sword away, a flash of starlight could be seen. Fu Bo backed away and saw that the sword was gone. "Who is it?!" he roared when his hard-sought item was gone before he could get his hands on it.
His minions immediately spotted a white-haired youth jump down from the walls to take the Nine Yang Sword. They roared and charged toward him. But with a swing of Tianming's chain, they were whipped at their mouths faster than they could see it. They all cried out from the pain and collapsed to the ground, bloodied and slightly disfigured.
"You're just a sky saint, but you dare challenge me? Don’t you know who I am?!" Fu Bo roared as he marched towards Tianming. All three saint stages exuded a kind of aura that was plain to see at first glance. For an empyrean saint like Fu Bo, he could even tell what level Tianming was at.
According to the sect rules, fights were permitted. While the Grand-Orient Sect and Decimo Dao Palace forbade their disciples from fighting, the Archaion Sect didn't have such a restriction.
It made for a fiercely competitive environment.
"This sword is indeed a rather good one," Tianming said, then gave the sword a thrust the moment Fu Bo approached. The Myriad-Demise Sword came exploding out from the Nine Yang Sword, instantly striking Fu Bo and sending him rolling across the ground as he cried out from the pain. His chest had been pierced into a bloody mess, and some of his bones were visible.
Only Li Wudi had been able to defend against that move, and only in his Bloodfiend form. Normal people didn't really stand a chance. Back during the fight against the autarch, Tianming's Imperial Will grew infinitely close to the sixth level after he shattered the Cyclic Mirror. It had been half a month since then, and he’d properly broken through and become a sixth-level sky saint. Now, even without Feiling, he was easily able to fight off first-level empyrean saints.
"Get out of my sight," he said.
"What's your name?" Fu Bo said, staring at him fearfully. He knew that had Tianming not held back, his chest would've been pierced completely through and he would've died.
"I'm Lin Feng, loud and proud," Tianming said.
"Alright! I'll remember this. You’d better watch out! Let's go!" Fu Bo left with his minions, giving him angry stares along the way. After he left the compound, he spat, "Check everything about Lin Feng's background! If nobody's backing him, kill him!"
"Senior Brother Fu Bo, there’s too many people with this name—the sect alone has three hundred. How are we to check?"
"Fool! There's only one Lin Feng living next to Lin Xiaoxiao!"
"Understood!"
......
Back at the courtyard, Tianming stood with a phoenix on his shoulder. He stroked the sword with his palm and looked at the black-clad girl with his heterochromic eyes.
The girl took a couple steps back and bumped against the wall as she stared at him, wide-eyed with shock. Her lips were open, but no words came out. Her slender fingers clenched the wall in her nervousness, making a few marks in the process.
Tianming noticed that the color of her eyes had changed, but that wasn't the only thing that was different. The air about her was completely different from before. The average girl from back then had grown into a true beauty. She was still petite, but the aura she exuded was hard to grasp, like that of an abyss. That was the exact feeling he got when he looked at her crimson eyes. They seemed lonely and desolate, yet still retained signs of a struggle.
"When I got to know you, you were only fifteen. It appears that you've grown," Tianming said, locking his gaze with hers.
Lin Xiaoxiao shook as she backed against the wall and slid to the side to avoid him. "Why... why are you here?" she asked in a hoarse voice of disbelief.
"That should be my question. Why are you here, Lin Xiaoxiao?" As he said that, he thrust the sword toward her. It embedded itself in the wall, but left a fine cut on her fair-skinned neck.