Chapter 63: Sparring

Since Ruan Xiu was no longer maintaining her silence, there was still room for redemption between them, preventing the stalemate from lasting indefinitely.

Su Ling sighed, smiling as he gave an affirmative nod.

"Don't worry, about this matter, apart from the two of us, it will never be exposed to a third... or fourth person."

Su Ling spoke with absolute certainty, his tone resolute and convincing. Yet Ruan Xiu still wore a look of skepticism, leaving him rather helpless.

"Second, regarding what my father mentioned, you are not allowed to agree to it, and you must not go around spreading it either!"

"Huh?"

What kind of ghost request was this? Why had he no recollection of it? Could it be that after he left, some misunderstanding had occurred behind his back without his knowledge?

Question marks popped up in Su Ling's mind. Lacking the mental capacity to process it, a headache began to form.

"..."

On the other side, seeing Su Ling's bewildered expression, Ruan Xiu bit her lip and reminded him with a hint of anger.

"Are you trying to ruin this young lady's reputation! Do you agree or not?!"

At this moment, Ruan Xiu's roar, laden with boundless fury, reached his ears. Su Ling felt a sudden exhaustion, but he still forced a stiff smile, appeasing Ruan Xiu, whose fiery aura rivaled the midday sun.

"I disagree, I just disagree..." Although he was clueless about what Ruan Xiu was specifically referring to, at this juncture, chiming in to appease her was the wisest course of action.

"That's more like it..."

Seeing Su Ling honestly admitting his fault, the stern expression on Ruan Xiu's face softened considerably, shedding the ready-to-strike posture she had maintained moments before.

Though the misunderstanding remained unresolved—and perhaps a new one had even been born—this particular affair could be considered temporarily settled.

Just as Ruan Xiu stepped out of the blacksmith's shop, she suddenly turned around, feigning a fierce expression as she issued a final warning to Su Ling.

"Right, one last thing: this young lady did not see your... your body at all. You'd better remember that clearly!"

"..."

"Understood..."

What else could Su Ling do? He could only yield to Ruan Xiu's words; otherwise, in the next second, she might just rush over and gift him a physically-induced memory loss that he would never forget.

Regarding this, he felt not the least bit surprised. After all, with her father acting the way he did, Ruan Xiu, being his daughter, was likely no better...

Seeing Su Ling lower his head in submission, Ruan Xiu let out a haughty, cold huff. Without looking back, she hurried out of the room as if the place were unclean.

Witnessing this scene, Su Ling let out a stifled breath. He had finally managed to send this vexing young miss away; otherwise, he truly wouldn't have known how to handle her next.

A moment later, after simply tidying up the items he would need for the following day, Su Ling fell fast asleep in his own bedroom.

Before long, a somewhat weary sound of gentle snoring echoed through the room, making it clear that Su Ling had entered a deep sleep. Unless a crisis struck, it would be very difficult to awaken him with external noises.

—

Early the next morning, as the sky began to brighten, a stray cloud drifted from afar, its shadow moving at a steady pace across the Immortal Graveyard below.

At the Immortal Graveyard ruins, standing in front of a massive stone statue half-tipped and buried deep in the mud, were two figures.

One of them wore extravagant blue-green robes, his silver hair neatly groomed, his eyes half-closed as an aged, withered hand casually stroked the goatee beneath his chin.

This person was none other than the most renowned apothecary shopkeeper in the small town, and also one of the deepest hidden and most powerful beings within the Liuliu Grotto-heaven.

In his other hand, Old Yang held a water-pipe with blue smoke rising from its tip, standing in place and waiting somewhat idly for someone to arrive.

As for the other person, it was his eldest disciple—a burly man named Li Er, whose strength and character were quite exceptional, though he lacked the distinguished air of his master.

Li Er wore nondescript gray peasant garments, and the skin exposed beyond his clothing was deeply tanned, resembling a farm laborer who spent year-round toiling in the fields.

Compared to Old Yang beside him, Li Er gave off an utterly ordinary impression, which was further compounded by a somewhat dull and wooden aura about him.

If not for the exceptionally captivating depth flashing in the very depths of Li Er's eyes, no one would ever have guessed that this man was the supreme martial artist who had reached the ninth realm of the martial dao.

Li Er was a pinnacle-realm martial artist, possessing formidable strength and bearing the tyrannical title of the undisputed number one in the ninth realm of martial arts.

"He's still not here..."

Old Yang took a sip from his water-pipe, exhaled a puff of blue smoke, and glanced casually into the distance.

Then, his figure flickered, and the next moment, he suddenly appeared atop a huge boulder not far away, lying sideways on its smooth surface and closing his eyes to rest his mind.

"Master, do we really have to do this?"

Seeing this and recalling his master's prior instructions, Li Er twitched at the corner of his eye, finally unable to hold back his question.

After all, his master actually wanted him to have a bout with Su Ling, that freak of nature. As for the purpose, he wasn't clear, but he knew very well in his heart.

If he were to spar in martial arts with a junior whose physique and strength were as monstrous as Su Ling's, he could forget about walking away with his limbs intact...

Thinking of this deeply distressing matter, Li Er turned his head, his gaze carrying a trace of shock as he looked into the distance ahead at the massive canyon that resembled a natural chasm.

The depths of the canyon were pitch-black, stretching endlessly across the surface of the earth in a truly terrifying manner.

Hoo-hoo...

Eerie, mournful wailing sounds drifted over. Following the sound, one realized it was merely a gust of wind sweeping through the canyon—giving the chilling sensation that a legion of malevolent spirits and wicked ghosts lurked within its depths, sending spine-chilling echoes through the air from time to time.

Hearing such horrifying wind-howls, Li Er felt he simply had to speak his mind. Although he was confident that in a one-on-one fight, as long as his opponent had not stepped into the upper five realms of martial arts, he had absolute certainty of defeating them.

Yet that premise was based on normal circumstances. Assuming his opponent was Su Ling, such assumptions could be completely discarded, because that monster Su Ling was simply not a mere pinnacle-realm martial artist.

Instead, his strength and physical body were millions of times more formidable than those of a pinnacle-realm martial artist, resembling a towering mountain piercing the heavens that could never be judged by conventional logic.

"Rest assured, with your master here, you won't die."

"..."

Hearing this, Li Er's cheek twitched a few times. What kind of terrible karma had he accumulated to be forcibly ordered by his master to engage in a non-lethal martial arts spar with Su Ling?

Though with his master—a supreme mighty figure—presiding over the match, his life would be secure, if the combat became too intense, there was still a probability that Su Ling might accidentally kill him without paying attention.

Li Er was not a man afraid of death, but if his death were to result from a meaningless spar, he would die with eternal regret even down in the nine springs of the netherworld.

Li Er had no desire whatsoever to participate in this martial arts duel, but he could not resist his master's absolute decree. What else could he do? It was his own master, so he just had to indulge him...

This impending battle, which threatened his very life, was completely meaningless to him. Yet for his master, it seemed to harbor some unknown, deep-laid scheme.