Ye Ling fell into a deep sleep in An Lin’s arms, and her body was completely relaxed and vulnerable. She would only completely let down her guard like this when she was with someone that she could trust with all her heart.
Xu Xiaolan instantly appeared before An Lin and looked down at Ye Ling with a tense expression.
“It’s alright, she’s just too depleted from overexertion.” Xu Xiaolan heaved a sigh of relief after doing a brief check on Ye Ling’s condition.
She glared at An Lin with a cold expression. “You sure are a cruel master! If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to bear doing this to her.”
Xu Xiaolan was Ye Ling’s second master, and her heart was throbbing with pain at the sight of her bruised and battered body.
An Lin didn’t want to hurt Ye Ling either, but he had his own reasons. “She has been cultivating for so long, and she wants nothing more than my approval and acknowledgment. If I were to go easy on her earlier, she wouldn’t be happy even if she defeated me! I had to fight her with my full strength to give her the respect that she deserves. Didn’t you see how happy she looked?”
Xu Xiaolan heaved a forlorn sigh.
An Lin was right.
“What a foolish child…” Xu Xiaolan caressed Ye Ling’s delicate cheek with a sympathetic expression. She was obviously aware of Ye Ling’s thought process.
An Lin waved a hand to summon the Sword to Send You Safely On Your Way before putting it away into Ye Ling’s storage ring.
After that, he carried Ye Ling back to her living quarters along with Xu Xiaolan.
This earth-shattering battle between the master and the disciple finally drew to a conclusion.
All of the spectating disciples were well and truly satisfied. Not only had they witnessed a live demonstration of how powerful their sect leader was, but they had also realized how bad*ss their sect’s cultivation methods were.
“The Four Nine Sword Techniques are awesome! I’m going to work really hard on them from now on!”
Not only had the disciples witnessed an epic battle, but even their dao hearts had also benefited as a result. They were now more confident and full of hope about the future.
An Lin stood outside on the balcony and looked up at the two moons in the sky.
Xu Xiaolan and Su Qianyun were bathing Ye Ling’s wounds and changing her clothes.
An Lin couldn’t do the honors here as Xu Xiaolan would bash him to death if he tried.
Hence, he could only wait outside.
Beside him were Xuanyuan Cheng, Da Bai, and Tina, who were also doing a bit of moon gazing.
“What’s going on with Big Sister Chang’e? A hundred years has already passed, and she still hasn’t defeated that mysterious powerful being?” An Lin was quite confused as he looked up at the crimson moon and the pristine, white moon.
He recalled that Chang’e had the upper hand before he left, but now, the two moons appeared to be on even footing with one another. In other words, Chang’e was slowly being forced onto the back foot!
Xuanyuan Cheng heaved a faint sigh. “Chang’e is by far superior in this battle of Dao Integration, but she cannot combat the will of the heavens.”
An Lin’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What do you mean by that?”
“During the tenth year following your disappearance, the crimson moon was completely dull and was on the brink of defeat.” Xuanyuan Cheng explained, “However, we all overlooked one thing, which was that Chang’e was a part of the human race…”
An Lin could already sense where this was going.
“The dao of the true moon is an exclusive dao. It is a dao that is connected to the essence of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. There cannot be two moons in the sky at the same time. This is a law of the heavens.
“But now, the Heavenly Dao is trying to destroy the entire human race, so will it still allow a human to control the sole moon? Clearly not…”
Xuanyuan Cheng was getting quite enraged as he continued, “Hence, the will of the Heavenly Dao was actively impeding Chang’e. Chang’e wanted the moon, so the heavens refused to give it to her. The Dark Wing Tribe also wanted the moon, so the heavens sided with them… Hence, the only way to emerge victorious in this battle of Dao Integration is to defeat them!”
An Lin fell silent.
He understood the situation that Chang’e was in now, and he could also understand why this Dark Wing Tribe mighty figure was able to slowly force her back.
Chang’e was participating in an unfair battle that she had no chance of winning.
The only thing she could do now was to hold on and persist until the heavens were toppled…
“Wait… Dark Wing Tribe mighty figure?” An Lin was a little bewildered.
“That’s right. We’ve already verified that it is the Moonlit Night Monarch of the Dark Wing Tribe that is currently trying to progress to the Dao Integration Stage. However, we don’t know where she is at the moment, so we can’t do anything about this,” Xuanyuan Cheng replied.
An Lin’s heart jolted in shock upon hearing this. So, it was the Moonlit Night Monarch… Thinking back, she had tried to take his Evil-Slaying Sword and was severely wounded as a result. Who would have thought that she was already progressing to the Dao Integration Stage now!
An Lin made a decision to visit Chang’e someday to see if there was some way he could help her!
The cry of a phoenix suddenly sounded from the distance.
A crimson streak of light flashed through the air before landing lightly on the banister beside An Lin with a section of a golden tree branch between its beak.
The phoenix was in its miniature form now and was only just over a meter long. Its body was shaped like a peacock, but it was countless times more prestigious and majestic than a peacock. Even in its miniature form, it still evoked a sense of reverence and respect.
“Little Huang, what have you got there?” An Lin stroked the phoenix’s head to find that it was very pleasant and warm to the touch.
Even though Little Huang had established a beast pet contract with Xu Xiaolan, An Lin still enlisted it into his beast pet team. After all, he had given it its name, so it was his bird no matter where it went.
The phoenix shrugged off An Lin’s hand before glaring at him with an arrogant expression. Perhaps because it was averse to being stroked by An Lin, or perhaps it was unhappy with An Lin for calling it Little Huang…
Right at this moment, Xu Xiaolan made her way out onto the balcony and was just in time to see this, upon which her expression darkened. “Little Huang, An Lin is your true master. Who do you think you’re glaring at there?”
The phoenix shuddered, and its tail feathers stood up on end.
It immediately dove into An Lin’s arms and sidled up to An Lin’s body in an extremely enthusiastic and fawning manner.
An Lin: “…”
For some reason, he was suddenly feeling quite sympathetic toward this phoenix.
Just what horrors had it endured to make it so obedient to Xiaolan?
This was a high and mighty mythological beast!
In his mind, the only creature that could compare with this phoenix was the Nine-Colored Divine Vermilion Bird of the Southern Heavenly Wing Nation. However, their beauty was different from one another’s.
An Lin felt like it was time to learn from Xu Xiaolan. If he could make Little Gu, Xiao Hong, and Little Na as obedient as this phoenix, then his life would be complete…