Surprise Visit

After killing the Yin Yang Heavenly Lion, Wu Tianyi slumped onto the ground with an exhausted expression.

"Are you okay?" Jia Nanfeng asked him.

"I am only experiencing qi exhaustion from using all of my spiritual energy. I'll be able to move after a few minutes of rest," he said to her before closing his eyes.

"..."

Jia Nanfeng silently stared at him, seemingly dazed.

[How was he able to consume the thousand-year-old Spirit Fruit at the Qi Condensation realm without any backlashes? How was he able to release so much power despite being only at the Foundation Establishment realm? And even though he had a breakthrough, why does it feel like he is still in the Qi Condensation realm?]

Jia Nanfeng had a bunch of questions for Wu Tianyi, but due to her reserved character, she remained silent.

However, there was one question that she wanted to ask him no matter what.

"Who are you, really?" she mumbled.

"I am Wu Tianyi," he responded unironically.

A few minutes later, Wu Tianyi finally recovered enough energy to stand up.

He then walked to the Yin Yang Heavenly Lion's corpse and used his sword to dig out two pearls, one white and one black.

"Here you go." Wu Tianyi casually tossed the black pearl to Jia Nanfeng.

"That's the Yin Core. Eat it and use its spiritual energy to reinforce your Dantian."

After giving her the instruction, Wu Tianyi tossed the Yang Core into his mouth and sat down to cultivate.

Jia Nanfeng followed his actions a moment later and also consumed the Yin Core.

Half an hour later, Jia Nanfeng opened her eyes, feeling an indescribable feeling in her body.

[He's not done yet?] she pondered as she silently waited for him to finish.

An hour later, a domineering aura exploded from Wu Tianyi's body, shocking Jia Nanfeng.

[He's having another breakthrough?!]

She couldn't believe what she was witnessing. Wu Tianyi's cultivation speed was simply too terrifying. Even though he's only at the beginning of the Foundation Establishment realm, it shouldn't be possible to breakthrough so shortly after his previous one.

Even the geniuses within the Heaven's Justice Sect would require many months of preparation in order to breakthrough, yet Wu Tianyi managed to do it in a little bit over an hour! Before Wu Tianyi's presence, these so-called geniuses are worth as much as dirt on the floor!

After his breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment realm, Wu Tianyi slowly opened his eyes to see Jia Nanfeng staring at him with wide eyes.

"It looks like you've successfully absorbed the Yin Core." He smiled.

Hopefully the Fairy Swordsman will achieve further in her cultivation path in this life because of the Yin Core.

"Yes…" Jia Nanfeng nodded with a dazed face.

For some odd reason, she could feel some sort of connection between herself and Wu Tianyi, almost like they were meant to be together. Perhaps it was the effects of the Yin Core and his Yang Core, but she felt attachment towards him.

[No, this can't be possible. I can't be attracted to someone whom I just met…]

Jia Nanfeng tried to shake this feeling away, but alas, it only grew stronger the longer she looked at him.

"Hey, are you forgetting something?" Jia Nanfeng suddenly said to him.

"The Azure Jade Lotus, right? I didn't forget. Here you go." Wu Tianyi retrieved the glowing lotus and handed it to her.

After securing the Azure Jade Lotus, Jia Nanfeng nodded and immediately began walking away. She didn't want to stay here with Wu Tianyi any longer, as she was afraid that her feelings for him might grow into something more serious.

[I should leave too.]

Sometime later, Wu Tianyi left the Valley of Death.

"Look! That kid who went inside alone is actually still alive!"

The campers outside the entrance remembered Wu Tianyi's appearance and were shocked to see him still alive, especially when it's been many days since he entered alone.

"How did he do it?"

"He probably hid in a bush or something the entire time."

Once he left the Valley of Death, Wu Tianyi proceeded to run back to the Unwavering Sword Academy.

After many days of continuous running and without any breaks, Wu Tianyi has finally returned to the Unwavering Sword Academy after two weeks of absence.

And by the time he arrived, it was already near midnight.

"Junior Disciple, why were you outside until so late? Summer vacation ended last week." The guard asked Wu Tianyi the moment he got close to the entrance gates.

"I was on a mission." Wu Tianyi replied.

"What is your name?"

"Wu Tianyi."

"When did you leave the sect?"

"Around two weeks ago."

The guard then looked through the log book until he saw Wu Tianyi's name.

"Okay. Welcome back." The guard nodded and opened the gates for him after confirming his words.

Once he was inside the sect, Wu Tianyi went to the Mission Hall, where he showed the Sect Elder there the medallion he'd received from Yan Jinxuan from completing the mission.

After the Sect Elder verified the medallion, he nodded, "For completing this mission, you will be awarded with 100 Merit Points and one spirit stone, and you are no longer required to do another mission until next year."

Wu Tianyi accepted a spirit stone from the Sect Elder before leaving the building.

[100 Merit Points… I won't be able to buy anything that will benefit my cultivation in its current stage…]

Disciples have many chances to obtain Merit Points, which they can exchange for resources to assist their cultivation base or other valuable things that would normally require a lot of money or hard to obtain, and the most effective way to earn Merit Points is by doing missions, giving the disciples an incentive to do missions.

After leaving the Mission Hall, Wu Tianyi directly returned to his living quarters.

Upon arriving at his living quarter, Wu Tianyi opened the door and walked inside.

The instant Wu Tianyi stepped inside his house, he could feel a piercing gaze directed at him.

However, before he could even react, Wu Tianyi could feel something akin to an invisible hand grasp his neck, before dragging his entire body across the room and towards the figure that was sitting on his bed this entire time.

Once he was close enough to see the face of this figure, Wu Tianyi showed a slight smile on his face.

"Shi Jianqiao," he mumbled with a hoarse voice as the invisible hand tightly grasped his neck.

"Oh? So you really recognize me." Shi Jianqiao, the Master of the Wandering Shadows said with a surprised voice.

"However, I do not recognize you. My men mentioned that you were at the Qi Condensation realm when they met you, yet you are now at the Foundation Establishment two weeks later. Who are you? What do you know about me? And how did you learn of my Soul Withering Wine, something only I should know about? If you respond with anything that's not the answer to my questions, I will instantly break your neck and kill you."

Despite the grasp around his neck tightening with every passing second, Wu Tianyi remained calm, almost like he was confident that she would not kill him, and he said, "I know you more than you know about yourself, Shi Jianqiao."

"You…"

Shi Jianqiao squinted her eyes with killing intent, and the grasp around Wu Tianyi's neck tightened with enough strength that anyone at the Qi Condensation realm would instantly die.

"You can kill me if you want, but just know that you will never be able to enter the Shadow Garden without me," said Wu Tianyi with a small voice, as he had to literally squeeze the words out of his throat.

Shi Jianqiao's body trembled after hearing the word 'Shadow Garden', and her eyes widened with shock.

"W-Who are you?! How do you know about the Shadow Garden?! That is something only the Master of the Wandering Shadows should know about!" Shi Jianqiao was visibly shaken by his knowledge, and her grip on Wu Tianyi loosened.

Once he noticed that the grasp around his neck loosened, Wu Tianyi used the Disappearing Steps to escape from her grasp and retreated to the door, but he did not run away.

"That movement technique…!"

Before Shi Jianqiao could even recover from her previous shock, Wu Tianyi shocked her numb for a second time.

Although the movements appeared to be different at first glance, there were some similarities between the Wandering Shadow's movement technique, the 'Silent Steps', and Wu Tianyi's Disappearing Steps!

In fact, what Wu Tianyi displayed just now is obviously just a superior version of the Silent Steps, but this is something only someone that has mastered the Silent Steps would be able to notice.

"If you want answers, then you should calm down and forget about killing me." Wu Tianyi said to her with a nonchalant expression, almost like he is used to dealing with her.