Chapter 38

Before dawn, the stream flowed quietly through the forest, a white deer drinking from the stream’s edge, and a celestial magpie flapped its wings, suddenly flying upwards into the sky.
The vast wilderness, lush with greenery, was quiet before the break of dawn. On the ridge of a field, someone led a yellow ox slowly across, giving the scene an air of peace. Meanwhile, above the clouds, a huge flying ship emerged from the mist and sped towards the edge of the Milky Way.
The ordinary citizens of the Immortal Realm were unaware of the ongoing war, and the disciples heading to the battlefield had no idea that below the clouds, the common people’s busy yet ordinary day was just beginning.
For the people on the flying ship, day and night seemed to have lost all meaning. Zou Jibai had just crawled out of the training room, slept for half an hour, and was already being called up again by his clan to draw lots for the order of the training rooms.
A fellow Zouyu clan youth walked beside him and asked, "Xiao Bai, why did the rules change today, and we have to draw lots to decide the order of training rooms?"
Zou Jibai was exhausted, thinking back to the tragedy of training room A yesterday, and for the first time guessed the intentions of the examiners: "It’s probably to balance the number of people, to prevent some training rooms from being overcrowded while others remain empty."
His companion didn’t quite get it: "And how does drawing lots relate to that?"
Zouyu people tended to be a bit slow on the uptake. Zou Jibai’s lips moved, and the explanation was already on the tip of his tongue but he hesitated.
He was known in his clan as a tough guy, so if his clansmen found out that he had been trapped in the examination formation and almost didn’t make it out, how could he ever face the females?
His companion, still a bit confused, mumbled an answer and didn’t pursue the matter further.
Fortunately, his companion was a bit thick-headed and soon forgot the conversation. They were a close-knit group in the Zouyu clan, and his companion carelessly asked, "Why didn’t you show up for dinner yesterday? Were you feeling unwell?"
Zou Jibai’s face revealed a trace of malice: "I’m fine."
His companion sighed in relief: "As long as you’re not sick. Yesterday we went to room B to practice, and we were wondering why you didn’t come along."
Thinking about what happened yesterday, Zou Jibai felt his blood boil. He gritted his teeth and angrily said, "I'm training with you all today, and I'm not going out again."
His ancestors' words were indeed correct—he should always stay with his clan, not venture off to do his own thing. If he hadn't changed his mind at the last minute and stayed in the Training Room A yesterday, he would have spent a leisurely and relaxing afternoon with his clan, had a meal together, and then gone back to his room to sleep comfortably until morning.
Instead, he ended up trapped in an array, mentally exhausted, and only managed to crawl out near dawn.
In fact, Zou Jibai was the last to emerge, while Luo Han had already left early in the evening. Zou Jibai and a few others, who were all struggling, kept failing and trying again throughout the night. Finally, they just barely met the requirements.
Zou Jibai relied on his thick skin and strong body, never dodging attacks in his usual trials. As long as his punches were strong enough, he could defeat the opponent before the attack even came. Who could have known that one day, he'd be tossed into an array, competing in agility against dragon races capable of flying?
Even more frustrating was that he had heard that Ling Qingxiao had half-dragon blood. Dragon races had wings, meaning they were agile.
Bird races were agile but weak in attack. Land races were strong but slow. However, dragons could walk and fly—this was cheating! And Ling Qingxiao was a hybrid of the Azure Dragon and the Ying Dragon. He had the strength of the Azure Dragon and the agility of the Ying Dragon, making him well-rounded with no weaknesses.
Zou Jibai, who was born big and slow, was furious. That night left a deep psychological scar, and if possible, he never wanted to compete with Ling Qingxiao again in the future.
But unfortunately, he had no choice. As soon as he woke up, he received the first bad news of the day: training rooms could no longer be freely chosen; they had to draw lots.
A chill ran down Zou Jibai’s spine.
As they talked, they arrived at the training room. Standing at the entrance was a woman in white, her face veiled. She wore the uniform issued by the flying vessel, with narrow sleeves and a belt at the waist. Her skin was fairer than snow, and she tied her hair and belt with pale blue ribbons. After changing into the tight-fitting training outfit, she appeared even more graceful—slim waist, long legs, and a delicate neck, giving off an elegant yet heroic aura.
From the side, it was hard to make out her expression, but her long lashes were striking. Zou Jibai couldn't help but glance at her, and his companion beside him stared longingly in her direction.
In the Zouwu clan, there were more males than females. During the mating season, young males had to show their wealth and strength to win a female's favor. So, when they suddenly saw such a beautiful woman, even though she wasn't one of their own, the young Zouwu males couldn't help but steal glances at her.
Although she was veiled, the eyes that peeked through were so beautiful that they were breathtaking. Zou Jibai’s companion quietly asked him, "Do you know her?"
“I do know her,” Zou Jibai replied without hesitation, extinguishing his companion's budding interest. “But forget about it. She’s with the Zhongshan team and is practically inseparable from Ling Qingxiao. You know Ling Qingxiao, right? That cold, crazy guy who’s the top of Zhongshan.”
As soon as Zou Jibai mentioned Ling Qingxiao, he couldn’t suppress his anger, and his tone became agitated. His companion’s budding crush was quickly crushed, and he sighed before taking one last longing glance at Luo Han.
"If she’s from the dragon clan, then fine. But if she’s a female dragon—well, forget about it. Even if we fought and won, we'd still be crushed by the in-laws. Dragons have too much power."
Zou Jibai tried to cheer his companion up: "Look on the bright side, you’ll have plenty of females inviting you over after you make a contribution."
His companion was still downcast. He drew his number, and it turned out to be for the B group.
"Was Ling Qingxiao in A group yesterday?" his companion asked.
Zou Jibai hesitated and nodded, unsure of his friend's intentions. His companion sighed regretfully. “Why did I get B? I wanted to see his real abilities.”
Despite giving up, he was still unwilling to accept it.
After a while, his companion stepped aside and said, “Go ahead, Zou Jibai. You draw.”
Zou Jibai’s hand hesitated in the air, a sense of dread sweeping over him. He steeled himself, telling himself: "Know yourself and your enemy, and you’ll win every battle." He decided to ask Ling Qingxiao which room he would be in.
Without wasting another moment, Zou Jibai dashed over to Luo Han. “Luo Han, did you draw your number yet?”
Luo Han nodded. “I did. How about you?”
“I haven’t,” Zou Jibai whispered, secretly asking, “Do you know which group Ling Qingxiao is in?”
Ling Qingxiao had left a deep psychological scar on Zou Jibai. Until he knew for sure which group Ling Qingxiao was in, Zou Jibai didn’t dare draw his number.
“A group,” Luo Han replied with a smile. “I saw him draw it myself.”
Luo Han and Ling Qingxiao had left together. Upon arrival, they had just drawn their numbers when Ling Qingxiao was called away by Tianyu Xingjun. Luo Han didn’t want to face the Xingjun, so she let Ling Qingxiao go alone while she quietly waited outside the door.
Zou Jibai nodded. “He’s in group A. What about you?”
Luo Han’s eyes brightened, and she smiled. “I’m in group B.”
At that moment, it was as though the sky had become brighter for her. She had been trapped for five or six hours yesterday, but with Ling Qingxiao’s guidance, she just barely passed the test. Her young heart had been deeply hurt, and now, she didn't want to compete alongside Ling Qingxiao again.
Zou Jibai rubbed his hands and suddenly started to panic, "I've always had bad luck. Every time I draw lots, I get unlucky. It can't possibly be the same this time, right?"
Luo Han changed her perspective and noticed that the luck around Zou Jibai was indeed very poor, almost like a black hole. Seeing his situation, Luo Han, feeling sympathy for her fellow struggler, secretly gave him a bit of good luck.
"This time, you’ll definitely have good luck. Go ahead."
Zou Jibai, with his sleeves rolled up, went out but came back crying and wailing. The moment Luo Han saw his expression, she had a bad premonition: "Did you draw...?"
Zou Jibai, with a long face, held out the token to show Luo Han: "Group A."
Luo Han was speechless. How could this happen? She had just added good luck to him. She had no solution either and could only try to comfort him: "It's fine. You can go to Group A to improve your abilities and become a better version of yourself."
Such comforting words could no longer deceive Zou Jibai, who had grown up. Seeing him look as if life were not worth living, Luo Han couldn’t stand it anymore and whispered an idea: "I see many people want to challenge Ling Qingxiao in Group A. How about you secretly swap with them?"
Yesterday, Ling Qingxiao had made a name for himself in battle, and his name quickly spread among the disciples in a peculiar way. There were six training rooms in total, and the other five had no shortage of strong contenders. These strong individuals were proud and aloof. When they heard about Ling Qingxiao’s record, many of them didn’t accept it and announced they would defeat him.
A familiar figure suddenly appeared in Zou Jibai’s mind. While feeling guilty about betraying his friends and selling out his fellow, he went to swap his token with his companion.
Zou Jibai returned proudly, showing off his muscles like a peacock. He struck a deep pose and displayed the token to Luo Han: "Group B."
Luo Han played along and gave him a thumbs up: "Congratulations."
Only those who had been in Group A’s training room yesterday truly understood the weight of this "congratulations."
Ling Qingxiao had returned from the corridor and, through the crowd, immediately saw Zou Jibai, proudly displaying his muscles like a flower peacock in front of Luo Han. Luo Han didn’t avoid him but instead laughed and chatted with him.
A sudden chill swept through Ling Qingxiao's heart.
Luo Han didn't know the customs of the Zou Yu tribe, but Ling Qingxiao did. The Zou Yu tribe still retained some ancient tribal customs. They didn’t have a one-on-one marriage system. Women gave birth and raised children, and the children lived with their mothers. For a man to earn mating rights, he had to offer rich goods or prey to win the woman’s heart.
Having a young, handsome body and strong muscles was clearly one of the prerequisites for strength. Although times had changed, and marriage in the Zou Yu tribe was no longer as primitive as in ancient times, some habits still remained.
For example, showing off strength and muscles in front of a desired woman was one of the ways of courtship.
Ling Qingxiao stopped behind a corner and quietly watched this scene. The surrounding disciples were chatting with their peers when they suddenly felt a chill next to them. They turned around in surprise and saw that the wall had frozen over.
The ice had turned jagged and sharp, no longer the smooth hexagonal shape it used to be.
"What's going on? Is there a malfunction with the flying boat?"
This exclamation startled many people. A crowd quickly gathered around the corner, and Ling Qingxiao, standing behind the corner, dispelled the ice spiritual energy from the walls and the floor silently. He stepped back and changed direction, crossing through another path.
Zou Jibai looked at the Group B token in his hand, feeling so happy that he almost wanted to kiss it. Luo Han noticed his behavior and couldn't help but ask, "When did you go back yesterday?"
"At the Yin hour."
Luo Han calculated the time and was surprised: "So, you basically didn’t sleep?"
Zou Jibai showed a face full of misery: "Right. Luckily, I swapped groups today. Otherwise, if I had to train like yesterday…"
Just saying it made Zou Jibai feel uncomfortable. Luo Han, truly pitying him, shared her own painful experiences to cheer him up: "You’re doing better than me. In the past, I had to recite the Light Body Technique the night before, and the next day, he threw me onto the floating stone to practice courage. There was even one time when I was about to eat, and he randomly checked if I had memorized my scriptures. He can do everything perfectly, so he thinks others can do it too. He doesn’t really mean any harm."
"How did he even grow up? He’s only about ten years older than me, but he’s proficient in literature, martial arts, swordsmanship, and the four arts. Does he never sleep?" Zou Jibai said, feeling worse as he went on, "I can't even hear his name right now. Every time I hear those two words, all I hear in my ears is the sound of the formation announcing the highest score. I even dreamed about it yesterday...luckily, I won’t hear it today."
"You won’t hear what?"
Zou Jibai, with a suddenly stiffened expression, froze as the muscles on his face tightened. Ling Qingxiao slowly walked up from behind, looking calm and composed, just like usual: "What are you talking about?"
Luo Han and Zou Jibai instantly fell silent. Luo Han didn’t dare tell Ling Qingxiao that they were just complaining about him. She forced a smile, laughed awkwardly, and quickly changed the topic: "Oh, nothing. By the way, what did Star Lord Tianyu want with you?"
Ling Qingxiao looked quietly at Luo Han. She had changed the topic too obviously, and from her expression, it seemed like she didn’t want him to know what they were talking about. Ling Qingxiao lowered his gaze but didn’t ask any further questions. Instead, he followed Luo Han’s lead and changed the topic: "He just talked about some matters concerning the formations."
Luo Han understood, realizing what had happened. Good students were always given special attention by their teachers, and since she had a "bad student" mentality, she decided to leave it at that and not ask more.
Ling Qingxiao wasn’t a talkative person, and just seeing him made Zou Jibai feel suffocated. He couldn’t even talk to Ling Qingxiao calmly. So, when Luo Han stopped talking, a strange silence settled between them.
Luo Han suddenly realized that the atmosphere felt awkward, something that had never happened before. Was there really a lull in the conversation today? Thankfully, the training room door opened, and Luo Han quietly let out a breath. She pretended to be at ease as she said goodbye to Ling Qingxiao: "Okay, I can go in by myself now. You don’t have to send me. You can go train yourself. Today, you don’t have to worry about anything. You can train for as long as you want."
Ling Qingxiao glanced at Luo Han and Zou Jibai standing together, then at the clear look of ease on Luo Han's face. His heart grew colder.
It felt as though he was sinking into an icy lake, descending helplessly and futilely.
He had just been telling himself that Luo Han might simply have been talking to Zou Jibai casually, and what he had seen could have been a misunderstanding. But now, all the signs were telling Ling Qingxiao that he had been lying to himself.
It was as though scenes from the past were replaying. Ling Qingxiao watched helplessly as his greatest fear came true once more in Luo Han's life.
His father favored Ling Zhongyu, both of his mothers favored Ling Zhongyu, and even Yun Menghan, who had known Ling Qingxiao first, in the end, like everyone else, preferred Ling Zhongyu.
It felt like a curse. Whenever the two children stood together, no matter how perfect Ling Qingxiao was, no matter how much effort he put in, in the end, everyone would be drawn to Ling Zhongyu.
As a child, he accepted that his parents didn't love him, and as a teenager, he accepted that his fellow disciples didn’t like him either. Throughout his long cultivation journey, he watched over and over again as those around him were drawn to Ling Zhongyu, forcing himself to accept the truth.
He was born unlikable.
So later, Ling Qingxiao stopped trying to make new friends or build connections with others. If he never had anything, he wouldn’t lose anything. He even thought that since neither his parents nor friends needed him, he would at least become someone of significance to the public. He did everything to the best of his ability, making himself perfect and the first in Zhongshan, a model with no flaws.
If he wasn't in the hearts of the people, then at least he would be in the temple. Even if Zhongshan had to maintain its facade, it wouldn’t ignore him.
But on the day of the thunder tribulation, Ling Qingxiao realized that he was still a dead man. He didn’t exist anywhere.
He was severely injured and fell into the Abyss of Absolute Spirits, watching as everyone surrounded the cliff, yet no one tried to save him.
This became Ling Qingxiao's unshakable nightmare. That day in the Abyss of Absolute Spirits, he nearly went mad several times. He even felt that he had already fallen into madness.
His existence was completely denied. Ling Qingxiao didn’t understand why he was still alive.
The only thing that kept him from going mad was Luo Han. Luo Han had fallen from nowhere, with no spiritual power, no means of self-protection, and no knowledge of the immortal realm. Ling Qingxiao protected her as they left the Abyss together, entered the Biyun Secret Realm, returned to Zhongshan, and went to the Western Sea. The time spent together was so long that Ling Qingxiao had grown accustomed to her presence. It felt as though she had always been there.
But now, once again, he watched his past nightmare unfold before his eyes. He and Luo Han had known each other for nearly nine months, while Zou Jibai had known her for just four days. But now, Luo Han clearly leaned more towards Zou Jibai and felt more at ease around him.
It seemed that no matter how much time had passed, no matter how much effort he had put in, nothing had changed. He was still that weak, isolated, powerless, illegitimate child. Everyone liked Ling Zhongyu, and all the good things in life were never for him.
After Luo Han spoke, she suddenly felt a chill. It wasn’t an awkward silence or emotional coldness, but the kind of cold that made goosebumps rise on her arms.
Luo Han subconsciously hugged her arms and quietly called out, "Ling Qingxiao?"
Ling Qingxiao’s eyelids flickered slightly before he slowly looked at Luo Han. His eyes were perfectly calm, devoid of joy, sorrow, desire, or longing, but Luo Han immediately felt a shiver run down her spine.
She had just been summoned back to the battlefield between immortals and demons, and when she saw the future Emperor of Heaven, Ling Qingxiao, a thousand years later, his gaze was just like this.
Luo Han’s scalp tingled. What was going on? She had only been distracted for about ten minutes—how had he become like this?
Had something happened in these ten minutes that she didn’t know about?
Luo Han deeply regretted it, vowing never to slack off again. She would follow Ling Qingxiao wherever he went from now on. She lowered her voice, terrified that a slight increase in volume might trigger the transformation of the dark prince into an even darker version of himself: "What happened to you?"
"It’s nothing." Ling Qingxiao calmly shook his head and showed her the token in his hand. "I’m here too. Token B."
Luo Han paused for a moment when she saw the ancient and solemn "B" on it. Zou Jibai, who had already walked off, perked up his ears at Ling Qingxiao's voice, as if struck by a bolt of lightning: "What did you say? You’re also in Group B? Luo Han, didn’t you say…"
Luo Han and Zou Jibai exchanged a glance, both understanding. Ling Qingxiao had just gone to Tianyu Xingjun, and if he had asked to exchange tokens, Tianyu Xingjun would have agreed on the spot.
Zou Jibai stood frozen for a moment, then suddenly reacted: he had drawn a token with the "A" label.
He had deliberately traded it for a "B."
Luo Han gritted her teeth in silence. She knew her luck aura for Zou Jibai shouldn’t have failed, but it seemed it truly had! Zou Jibai was an absolute black hole of luck—nothing could pull him out of it.
Taking a deep breath, Luo Han said, "I believe you now. Your luck really is terrible. Since we’re so fated, and in the same group, let’s head in."
Ling Qingxiao remained calm, with no change in his expression. Luo Han and Ling Qingxiao walked into the training room first, while Zou Jibai stood there for a while, drifting in like a lost soul.
People in the training room turned to look when Ling Qingxiao entered. They paused for a moment, especially those who had been in the "A" group the day before. Seeing Ling Qingxiao, their expressions shifted.
How did he get here? Wait a minute—they had just crawled out from the array next door. Were they going to be locked up again?
Author's Note:
Luo Han: I’m taking good care of the big villain. He won’t turn evil.
Ling Qingxiao: Corruption Points +1 +1 +1