Chapter 65: The Woman in White

Qin Changsheng smiled and said nothing.

If Guo Tao leaving ahead of schedule in the Eastern Wasteland Secret Realm could be forgiven as human nature, then pushing Qin Changsheng out to duel with the Sword Obsession this time was sheer malice.

Qin Changsheng did not care about Guo Tao's petty tricks and sat down alone in a corner of the Academy's camp. As long as the Wasteland Saintess arrived, the Academy could pack up and return, so he was in no hurry.

However, despite wanting to keep a low profile, the previous incident made it impossible. Leng Ningxue, the Academy's iceberg beauty, walked over, hugged her sword, and sat down beside him.

At first, Qin Changsheng thought she had something on her mind and waited for her to speak, but after waiting for a long time, nothing happened.

The iceberg beauty just sat there quietly.

The surrounding disciples were all dumbfounded. The iceberg beauty had actually taken the initiative to approach a man, and had been sitting there for so long.

The most absurd thing was that the guy known as the Book Obsession was actually so calm, just sitting there quietly as well.

"One is an iceberg who hasn't spoken to anyone in a year, and the other is a book obsession who hasn't stepped out of the Scripture Pavilion in a year. You have to admit, seeing the two of them sitting there together, they look inexplicably well-matched."

"Tsk tsk tsk."

A group of people whispered among themselves. Leng Ningxue did not care and continued sitting quietly, but Qin Changsheng began to mind. He knew all too well that a beauty could be a disaster; if Leng Ningxue kept sitting like this, how could he maintain a low profile in the future?

So many gazes had been drawn over here, especially since he had just defeated the Sword Obsession.

Given all this, he could no longer remain silent.

Cultivation was not just about refining one's strength; it was also about worldly sophistication.

Qin Changsheng turned to look at that cold, pretty face and finally spoke:

"Does Senior Sister Leng have business with me?"

Leng Ningxue nodded.

Yet she still did not speak.

"What business?"

"I wish to spar in swordsmanship with Junior Brother Book Obsession." She finally spoke, and her voice was exceedingly pleasant.

Qin Changsheng was slightly stunned, but quickly understood. This woman must also be someone obsessed with swordsmanship, so seeing him defeat the Sword Obsession, she wanted to spar with him to improve herself.

Only.

Right now, he needed to keep a low profile.

Therefore, Qin Changsheng shook his head: "I am sorry, Senior Sister. Junior Brother still has many books to read, so I may not have the opportunity to spar."

With that, Qin Changsheng took out another book and began reading it, cultivating his persona as a book obsession.

Leng Ningxue was slightly taken aback, then gave a helpless, bitter smile and shook her head. "Since Junior Brother is busy, once Junior Brother has time, Ningxue will seek you out to spar again."

This was her first time taking the initiative to show goodwill to someone only to be rejected.

Leng Ningxue left, but the way many disciples looked at Qin Changsheng had completely changed. Leng Ningxue was widely considered one of the top beauties of the Academy, hailed as the iceberg beauty among the Ten Great Beauties.

And now, their dream goddess had actually been rejected by someone. One could easily imagine how eyesoresome that person was.

However, Qin Changsheng was currently at the zenith of his momentum, having just defeated the Sword Obsession, so even if they felt dissatisfied, no one dared to cause him trouble.

Everyone understood that this fellow had the capital to be proud, so they could only swallow their grievances.

On the other hand, the three people who had once formed a team with Qin Changsheng all wore complicated expressions.

They too had once possessed the opportunity to deepen their friendship with Qin Changsheng, only to fail to grasp it. Sun Xiaoya, in particular, shook her head with deep regret: "What a pity."

Guo Tao clenched his fists tightly, a fierce surge of jealousy welling up inside him.

When all was said and done, they had been willing to team up with Qin Changsheng in the first place only because they felt he was roughly on par with them. Now that Qin Changsheng had surpassed them, their inner equilibrium was naturally shattered.

Such was human nature.

Qin Changsheng shook his head and said nothing more.

Soon, his wait came to an end.

The main force of the Academy and the people of the Wasteland tribe slowly approached.

Su Fei, the Saintess of the Wasteland tribe, held her head high as she walked amidst the crowd. She exuded an extraordinary grace, standing out like a crane among chickens. Many Academy disciples were completely overshadowed by her, their presence rendered dull and lackluster by her peerless beauty.

Saintess Su Fei had come to join the Academy, making her a fellow disciple as of today. However, with her peerless beauty and cultivation base, it was likely that no one in the entire Academy could overshadow her.

Even Saintess Nangong Ruoxi had chosen to leave early upon hearing this news, because Nangong Ruoxi had not yet entered the Saint realm and was thus no match for Su Fei. As for Su Fei's strength, it could rival the sect masters of certain major powers; her decision to join the Academy today was purely to study human cultivation techniques and maintain peaceful relations between the Wasteland tribe and humankind.

Walking beside Saintess Su Fei was a disciple of the Academy's Sword Dao branch named Zhou Peng. It was rumored that he had made great contributions during the campaign against the Wasteland tribe, and his cultivation had even broken through to the peak Nascent Soul realm, leaving him just a step away from the Soul Formation realm.

Therefore, he was the disciple tasked with escorting Saintess Su Fei into the Academy this time.

Zhou Peng held his head high and chest out, neither servile nor overbearing, walking alongside Su Fei.

"Your Holiness the Saintess, please!"

Catching sight of the Academy's base camp outside the Eastern Wasteland Secret Realm, Zhou Peng made a gesture of invitation. Su Fei nodded and followed him forward.

This was Su Fei's first time stepping out of the Eastern Wasteland, and her first time beholding the boundless, vast world. She took a deep breath. "Is this the Eastern Land continent? Truly a place of longing and awe. Our Wasteland tribe huddled away in a remote corner; we did not suffer unjustly by losing to such a vast world."

Thinking of that fire-stealing thief who had plunged her Wasteland tribe into a crushing defeat, Su Fei's eyes flashed with a hint of hatred. If that person hadn't taken away the greater part of the Sacred Fire's origin, the Sacred Fire would have been able to unleash the strength of an Immortal; how could the Wasteland tribe have suffered such a disastrous defeat?

Guided by Zhou Peng, Su Fei walked toward the Academy's flying ship.

Sitting nearby, Qin Changsheng forced himself to remain calm the moment he saw Su Fei. After all, he had spent a period of time in the Wasteland tribe's Sacred Fire Valley; if this woman recognized him, all his framing efforts would be rendered meaningless.

As Su Fei passed by Qin Changsheng, she suddenly felt her bloodline stir, as though the flames within her had sensed something. Su Fei looked at Qin Changsheng in surprise, only to find that this unfamiliar, delicate-looking young man was also raising his head, looking at her with "curiosity."

Su Fei felt the resonance within her slowly fade away.

She sighed softly, but nonetheless imprinted Qin Changsheng's appearance in her mind.

Su Fei and Qin Changsheng brushed past each other.

Inwardly, Qin Changsheng let out a quiet breath of relief. Good thing he had reacted at the critical moment and used the power of the Longevity Monument to thoroughly suppress the power of the Sacred Fire inside his body.

Otherwise, this Saintess would undoubtedly have realized that he possessed the power of the Sacred Fire. This wasn't due to carelessness on his part, but rather because he hadn't anticipated that Su Fei's sensitivity to the Sacred Fire would be so terrifying.

Zhou Peng, walking beside her, frowned slightly, glanced back at Qin Changsheng, and suddenly remembered something.

He uttered a soft "oh," but welcoming the Saintess took precedence right now, so he didn't say anything more.

Qin Changsheng knew that Zhou Peng had remembered him.

With Su Fei's arrival, the Academy no longer had any reason to linger. After the guardian elder shouted an order to "return to the academy," multiple flying ships belonging to the entire Academy soared into the air.

Qin Changsheng stood at the edge of the flying ship, watching quietly, until his gaze caught sight of a plump-figured woman wearing a white, wide-sleeved immortal gown walking out from the entrance of the secret realm. At that instant, the soul contract that had lain dormant within his body for so long re-established its connection.

"Xiao Bai???"

Qin Changsheng was momentarily stunned.

Just as Qin Changsheng looked over, the newly emerged maiden also trembled violently, looking toward the flying ship in shock.

"Master, you've returned??"

The white-clad woman flew toward the flying ship in joyous surprise.

A voice transmission rang out in his mind: "It is inconvenient to acknowledge each other right now. Wait for me to find you."