Chapter 40: Cruel Truth and Budding Feelings

  Xiao Chen originally only asked out of curiosity, not expecting Ling Shuiyan to answer him, after all, Xiao Chen had asked before, but Ling Shuiyan coldly changed the subject.

  Xiao Chen thought this time would be the same result, but Ling Shuiyan's answer made Xiao Chen stunned.

  "Perhaps you will never understand, when a foolish boy is willing to sacrifice his life for another foolish girl, the spiritual storm that bursts out can be so strong."

  Ling Shuiyan's demeanor, which had previously been cold and unfeeling, changed as she spoke these words. Although her tone wasn't soft and gentle, it still carried a hint of feminine tenderness. Her already stunning beauty, which had seemed icy and unapproachable, melted ever so slightly at this moment, becoming breathtakingly beautiful and captivating, leaving one's heart aflutter.

  At this moment, Xiao Chen's heart suddenly shook violently, as if a fierce tiger in his heart had awakened. His soul inexplicably felt an intense impulse, wanting to express the suppressed emotions in his heart.

  "What does Sister Ling mean by this? Is she implying that back then I helped her pick a golden lotus, and thus opened the door to her maiden heart?"

  Even if his heart was racing with a strong urge, Xiao Chen didn't dare to say it out loud. Ling Shuiyan wasn't the type of girl who would be coy or reserved; she was as cold and beautiful as ice, and her status was extremely high, being one of the top leaders of the sect's first hall, second department, and third chamber.

  Xiao Chen's status, on the other hand, was as lowly as an ant, and his strength was inferior by tens of thousands of miles. The gap between Xiao Chen and Ling Shuiyan was like the difference between a swan and a sparrow.

  Will a swan fall in love with a sparrow? Would a sparrow dare say "I love you" to a swan?

  It's definitely impossible.

  So Xiao Chen naturally didn't dare say it out loud, what if he guessed wrong and provoked Ling Shuiyan?

  So he could only speculate in his heart, but this time Ling Shuiyan was not so cold after all, which warmed Xiao Chen's heart a lot, as if he had seen some hope.

  "By the way, how did you end up in the Blood Sea Cave? This isn't a place you should be coming to, nor is it possible for you to come here." Ling Shuiyan saw that Xiao Chen didn't react and casually changed the subject, no longer mentioning that past matter.

  Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen told everything that had happened. Ling Shuiyan listened calmly, even when Xiao Chen mentioned the brutal battle in the alley, Ling Shuiyan didn't show any reaction.

  What made Ling Shuiyan move was when Xiao Chen mentioned getting the Purple Flame Lotus in Xingyuan Heaven Pit and Xiaodoudou, Ling Shuiyan only asked a few curious questions and then stopped.

  As for Zhao Wumian, Ge Xiangqian, and Zhong Chongshan, these people seem to be nothing more than ants in Ling Shuiyan's eyes, not even worth a mention, and if they die, so be it.

  "Do you want to be an inner disciple?" Ling Shuiyan exclaimed excitedly after hearing Xiao Chen's words.

  Xiao Chen felt that when talking to Ling Shuiyan, he had to be fully focused, otherwise he would miss a crucial point if he wasn't careful.

  "Of course I want to, but Sister Shao, you've already helped me a lot. This time, I want to rely on my own efforts. As a martial artist, if one cannot be self-sufficient and relies on others everywhere, then they will not be able to go far on the long path of martial arts."

  Ling Shuiyan heard it was over, her mouth corners moved slightly, seemingly smiling, but she didn't say a word, just nodded.

  The topic seemed to have ended there, with Xiao Chen and Ling Shuiyan not speaking up until Yue Ling woke up from her injuries and said a sentence, which made everyone feel pressured again.

  Yue Ling said in a weak voice: "Xiao Chen, you fool, Ling Shijie is here now, why don't you ask for her help? The fact that you killed Zhong Chongshan has already been exposed, and his cousin Ge Xiangqian will not let you off."

  Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen suddenly remembered this important point. Although Ge Xiang was injured by Ling Shuiyan, Ling Shuiyan did not kill him directly. Once they returned to the sect, with Ge Xiang's status, it would be as easy for Xiao Chen to deal with him as eating and drinking.

  Xiao Chen's eyebrows furrowed involuntarily, but unfortunately he had spoken too confidently earlier, solemnly swearing that he didn't need Ling Shuiyan's help, so how could he bring himself to ask now.

  Ling Shuiyan seemed to be testing Xiao Chen's determination, not saying a word, silently urging his horse forward with an icy demeanor.

  Xiao Chen was not that kind of weakling, relying on others for everything. He thought to himself: "Ge Xiangqian took a palm from Ling Shuiyan and will probably take ten days to half a month to recover. But by then, with the help of the Zi Yan Lianzi, I can break through the Ninth Heaven of Condensing Spirit. Even if I'm not his match, I'll be able to defend myself. Once I advance to the inner sect and our status is equal, he won't be able to do anything to me."

  Xiao Chen quietly calculated in her mind, her spirit gradually calming down, and her eyebrows relaxed. To others' eyes, this matter was no longer on Xiao Chen's mind.

  Ling Shuiyan saw everything about Xiao Chen's performance, and was secretly curious in her heart, not knowing what kind of confidence Xiao Chen suddenly burst out with.

  After all, Ling Shuiyan didn't know that Xiao Chen had so many Zi Yan Lianzi, and Xiao Chen only mentioned it to her without saying how many he had.

  Xiao Chen's calm and composed demeanor in the face of a major crisis has earned him a newfound respect from Ling Shuiyan, who now sees Xiao Chen as having risen to an even higher level.

  "By the way, Ling Shijie, who is that Ye Shixiong?" Xiao Chen felt it was a bit dull with no one talking, so he found a topic to discuss.

  Upon hearing this, Ling Shuiyan glanced at Wang Dong and said calmly: "You feel that Ye Feilong took action to teach Yao Yi a lesson, with great righteousness. You think he's just, so you're interested in him?"

  "No!" Xiao Chen denied loudly.

  "Oh?" Ling Shuiyan looked at Xiao Chen with a surprised expression, she naturally understood Ye Feilong's character, which was why she wasn't cold or hot towards the great senior brother.

  But Xiao Chen had only met Ye Feilong once, how could he be so sure?

  "I feel that this Ye Shixiong is not being fair, he's obviously biased towards Yao Yi. Although in the end he slapped Yao Yi and flew away, leaving me puzzled, my intuition tells me that this person has a deep city and is very sinister." Xiao Chen said out loud his feelings.

  "You have a good sense of discerning people." Ling Shuiyan was also impressed by Xiao Chen's piercing gaze, and then said: "However, you can't interact with people at this level yet. Wait until the day you become a core disciple, then consider the issue of factions."

  Ling Shuiyan finished speaking and didn't say much more, but the words had already revealed that within the Yunjian Sword Sect, there was open strife and secret struggle, with undercurrents surging.

  On the way, Xiao Chen and Ling Shuiyan talked about several topics, and unknowingly they were talking about this task again.

  Xiao Chen said with a puzzled expression: "Ling Shizi, according to my speculation, the core disciples should have set out first for this task. But why didn't they go and take the map instead of letting the outer sect disciples guard it? And only when the outer sect disciples were almost completely defeated did they step in to take the map. Isn't that a bit too much?"

  "This is called training. A sect is like a vast ocean, and the disciples are like fish in it. The higher-ups are like the people who raise the fish, they won't just provide nutrients to the big fish while neglecting the small ones. Otherwise, the ocean will be empty, the fish will become extinct, and a sect will lose its future strength, becoming a third-rate sect or even disappearing."

  "But... isn't this trial too cruel? The outer sect disciples are almost completely annihilated!" Xiao Chen still felt it was hard to believe.

  Ling Shuiyan smiled calmly and said, "This is just a small death. You should know that the outer disciples of Yunjian Sword Sect number in the tens of thousands. These disciples are not here to guard the mountain gate, but to be tempered through trials and tribulations, to select the excellent ones, let them survive in desperate situations, force out their potential, and only then will they have the opportunity to become inner disciples."

  "While inner disciples still die in large numbers, the best among them are selected to become elite disciples. Elite disciples are a sect's backbone, and the sect will consider their lives, but only consider. The most important ones are always the core disciples; only when they have been promoted to core disciples will the sect value their lives, and they will be nurtured with all one's might, with every request answered."

  "As for the other disciples, they are all objects of continuous screening under cruel rules, their lives are like ants. Otherwise, with the history of Yunjian Sword Sect for over 3,000 years, how could there be only tens of thousands of outer sect disciples, thousands of inner sect disciples, hundreds of elite disciples, and 72 core disciples?"

  Ling Shuiyan's words were like a thunderclap that shook the sky, opening up Xiao Chen's eyes to a new world and making him realize even more clearly the coldness and ruthlessness of this world.

  In this world, under Tongxuanwu, everything is an ant!

  "What about the War Body disciple?" Xiao Chen asked again.

  "The disciples of the War Body Sect are the lifeblood of the sect, and naturally will not be casually discarded. Their trials are ten times more brutal than those of ordinary disciples, but they do not have to worry about their lives. The Grand Luo Palace of the sect is where they undergo their trials."

  "So, are you saying that disciples of the War Body Clan live a life of luxury? Without any threat to their lives, how can they unleash their potential?"

  "Born in the world, who can be free from disaster and tribulation? The sect's requirements for martial body disciples are even higher! Martial body disciples must advance to a new realm within a year, otherwise the sect will throw them into the secondary yuan space to undergo the trials of death and killing, forcing them to burst forth with potential. However, most of them die in the secondary yuan space, and only a few can come out."

  "However, if one can survive from the dimensional space, their cultivation will inevitably soar. Among the current top ten core disciples, two of them are those who escaped from the dimensional space."

  Ling Shuiyan chatted endlessly, normally a man of few words, but today he was unusually talkative, explaining the clear waters of the Xuanyun Sword Sect to Xiao Chen.

  After listening to Ling Shuiyan's many explanations, Xiao Chen had a clearer understanding of the Yuxing Sword Sect. Although it was also recorded in 'Shenmo Zhi', compared to what Ling Shuiyan said, the details were obvious.

  Today, Ling Shuiyan analyzed and explained it to Xiao Chen so thoroughly, not just on a whim, but with heart and soul. The original intention was still to take care of Xiao Chen, so that he would know the road ahead had several bends and wouldn't go astray.

  In the end, Ling Shuiyan still can't put down the past when she was Cinderella, and there was a silly boy who was willing to sacrifice his life to help her. That figure in her heart is indelible.

  Xiao Chen is not a fool and can naturally sense it, but he has always been unable to break through that layer of membrane, precisely because of the gap in status and strength.

  Xiao Chen secretly thought: "One day when I achieve spiritual enlightenment, I will definitely take her as my wife!"