Song of Silent Promise

2. Silent Promise

Xue Rong could not believe that she had just been hurt by a mere Nascent Realm cultivator.

She looked at Shi Yan in disbelief, hurt, and anger, "Shi Yan, you!"

The young man slowly rose, carrying Meng Shuang's body close to his bosom,

"Because Ye Jing considered your teacher as her close friend, I will not kill you today," he said as he glanced at the person's sleeping face gently. Yet, his voice towards Xue Rong was frosty and threatening. Finally, his lips were drawn in a thin cold smile as he looked up slowly towards her. Xue Rong suddenly felt cold shivers running through her whole body. She should not be afraid of this man, who possessed a much lower cultivation level than herself. But Xue Rong felt fear.

There were only two other people who could ever cause such fear to her. It was as though the most primal instinct inside of her warned her to not ever cross paths with such a person.

One was her own teacher, Saint Huo. The other was Meng Shuang, who had clearly just died.

Now, add Shi Yan to the list.

She shook her head to console herself. Her inner core was already strengthened by the Flaming Cauldron Sect's various treasures. Her true essence that protected her inner core – where her Dao pillar resided – should not be easily shaken by a mere Nascent Realm cultivator's palm strike.

Granted, at twenty-eight, Shi Yan was the youngest Nascent Realm cultivator to have ever existed. Nevertheless, no one ever doubted his talent. Combined with having a teacher such as Saint Meng, his name being known throughout the seven continents was just a matter of time.

But Xue Rong herself had already broken through the Nascent Realm threshold, slowly stepping into the Spirit Realm cultivation level. Although it was only one level above the Nascent Realm, to reach Spirit Realm was just like attempting to cross a vast ocean full of dangerous turbulence. Plenty Nascent Realm cultivators could not solidify their Dao pillars properly, causing their true essence to possess lazy qi circulation.

Such weak true essence would not be able to protect a mountainous Dao pillar that was a crucial part to reach Spirit Realm. If they attempted to cross the boundary to forcefully reach the Spirit Realm, they would just cause further cracks in their Dao pillar.

Undoubtedly, there would be a time when Shi Yan surpass Xue Rong in the future, and Xue Rong would only be delighted to witness that. However, this was true only if Shi Yan were to be Xue Rong's husband! Such an excellent man, could only be hers!

"What are you being so surprised about?" Shi Yan's smile turned into a mocking sneer, "Ye Jing and I are ones you cannot possibly understand, let alone offend." He added,

"And you have offended Ye Jing. You have offended me. I was a fool to believe that you meant the best for her. Does Huo Bai know that you have stolen the Core Severing mirror from the Sect's vault?"

"I-," XueRong stammered, her ashen complexion turned lightly red, "My teacher gave it to me, so we – on behalf of the sect – can help you and Saint Meng solve your bottleneck problem!"

Shi Yan threw his head back and laughed loudly. Xue Rong stared agape. The man's laughter sounded anguished. It almost sounded like a string of strained cries instead, as if he was ridiculing himself. Then he abruptly stopped and looked at her, his dark phoenix eyes showing a reddish tint.

Xue Rong thought Shi Yan had actually just cried.

"That's right! That's right! It's all because of me. Ye Jing knew that the mirror would return my sixth core fragment. And as soon as it did, the sudden purification of my Dao pillar was almost too much for me to bear, that I almost went berserk!"