Even as the atmosphere in the room grew incredibly tense, the restaurant manager's expression remained completely unchanged.
He simply raised his hand and pointed to the gilded sign hanging high above the entrance, his tone calm and unhurried.
“Please take a look, everyone.”
Following the direction of his finger, everyone looked up. Engraved on the simple, ancient plaque were four bold and vigorous characters: Sword Heroine Tavern.
“Sword Heroine Tavern... Sword Heroine... The Sword Heroine, Lin Wanqing!”
The blood-red-robed youth's gaze suddenly froze. His previous rage instantly stiffened on his face, and he could not help but whisper the name.
At the same time, the Jingshui Yaotai woman in green martial arts attire also felt a massive jolt in her heart, instantly realizing the connection.
The Five Geniuses of Qingyun were famous throughout the entire kingdom. Aside from Fairy Bai Ling, who had fought just yesterday,
the one who was vaguely considered the leader of the five—whose talent and strength were the most unfathomable—was none other than Lin Wanqing, who held the title of Sword Heroine.
Moreover, practically everyone in the Qingyun Kingdom knew that this peerless genius was a native of Yunshui City.
At this realization, most of the arrogance in the hearts of the disciples from both sects was instantly extinguished, and a chill crept up their spines.
The Jingshui Yaotai woman in green cast aside all her pride. Stepping forward with a solemn expression, she spoke respectfully.
“May I ask, Manager, is this Sword Heroine Tavern related to the leader of the Five Geniuses of Qingyun, the Sword Heroine Fairy Lin Wanqing?”
Hearing this, a faint smile finally appeared on the manager's face as he nodded unhurriedly.
“This tavern is indeed a direct property of the Lin family, to which the Sword Heroine Lin Wanqing belongs.”
The moment those words fell, all the noise in the first-floor lobby vanished without a trace.
Whether they were disciples of the Burning Heaven Martial Academy or Jingshui Yaotai, all their fighting spirit and anger vanished instantly. They did not dare harbor even the slightest thought of arguing further.
The name of the Five Geniuses of Qingyun struck awe into the entire younger generation of the Qingyun Kingdom. This was especially true for Lin Wanqing, the undisputed leader of the five, whose terrifying talent and unfathomable strength truly forced all other geniuses of her generation to bow their heads.
Let alone ordinary outer sect disciples like them, even the True Disciples or core disciples of their respective sects would never dare to start a fight on Lin Wanqing's turf.
The two groups instantly quieted down, completely checking their attitudes.
Seeing that everyone had backed down, the manager unhurriedly dropped another bombshell.
“Furthermore, I am Lin Wanqing's father.”
At these words, a solemn silence fell over the entire room. The leading blood-red-robed youth and the woman in green martial arts attire were deeply shaken, and they hurriedly bowed in unison.
The Jingshui Yaotai woman was the first to smooth things over. “So you are Uncle Lin. We were ignorant and nearly caused trouble on your premises. We hope you can forgive us.”
“This was merely a verbal misunderstanding between our two sects' disciples, and it has now been resolved.”
As she spoke, she turned and gestured to the youth from the Burning Heaven Martial Academy.
The blood-red-robed youth's face twitched, but he did not dare act insolently in front of Lin Wanqing's father. He could only grit his teeth and chime in.
“Yes, it was just a small misunderstanding.”
Hearing this, the manager laughed. “That is good then.” He then returned behind the counter.
The two leaders knew very well that continuing today's farce would only bring humiliation upon themselves.
Thus, the disciples of both sects quickly paid for their meals. Leaving their tables of barely touched food behind, they hurriedly departed with their fellow disciples in embarrassment, not daring to linger for even a second.
Inside the private room on the second floor, Ye Ling and Ye Chen watched the entire farce come to an end.
Ye Chen's expression relaxed, and he chuckled. “I didn't expect this ordinary tavern to be owned by the family of Lin Wanqing, the top of the Five Geniuses of Qingyun.”
“Speaking of which, since you are both True Disciples of the Qinglan Sword Sect, why don't you use your connection to get us a discount on the bill?”
Ye Ling replied seriously, “I do not know Lin Wanqing at all. Your idea is bound to fail.”
Ye Chen laughed helplessly. “You are still as dry as ever.”
“I thought you might become a bit more cheerful after joining the sect.”
Ye Ling did not banter with him and went straight back to business.
“Let's not delay. We should set off immediately as well.”
“If we are too late, the spirit grass might be consumed by the demon beast beforehand, or someone else might beat us to it, and we will have missed this opportunity for nothing.”
Ye Chen's expression turned serious, and he nodded solemnly. “You're right. We can't delay any longer.”
The two quickly settled their bill, rose from their seats, and left the Sword Heroine Tavern to head toward the demon beast's cave.
Flying through the air, they traveled at extreme speeds, sweeping across the sky.
Ye Chen took the opportunity to explain the backstory. “That cave is within the borders of Yun'an Commandery, and the sect mission I accepted was also within Yun'an Commandery.”
“After completing the mission, I happened to be inspecting the local mountain veins and earth qi when I discovered that hidden cave.”
“By chance, I discovered two stalks of Spirit-Converging Green Grass inside.”
“I originally planned to return directly to the sect to ask a senior brother among the True Disciples to help me seize the grass. However, on my way back, I heard that Bai Ling and Xiao Jinheng were going to duel on Tianyuan Peak.”
“So, I made a detour to watch the fight. Because of that, I ended up getting targeted by Yang Zhaojin on Tianyuan Peak.”
Ye Ling raised her eyebrows slightly. It turned out both the prince and the princess had traveled to Tianyuan Peak specifically to scout the geniuses.
Then she asked the crucial question, “Where exactly is the cave?”
Ye Chen replied, “At the border of Yun'an Commandery and Heishui Commandery, deep within the territory of Tianfeng City.”
“Tianfeng City?” Ye Ling's figure paused slightly.
She had never expected that despite staying in Tianfeng City for so many days, she had crossed paths with such a peerless opportunity without even knowing it.
Ye Chen keenly noticed her momentary distraction. “What is it?”
Ye Ling suppressed the sigh in her heart. “It's nothing. Let's keep moving.”
A day later, they arrived deep in the mountains on the outskirts of Tianfeng City.
Here, the mountains stretched endlessly, and ancient trees reached toward the sky. It was far from human civilization, and the depths of the forest were thick with a savage aura and beastly pressure, marking it as a territory occupied by demon beasts.
Ye Chen pointed ahead to a valley where the mist was dense and the vegetation was exceptionally lush. “That valley is the territory of the Tyrant Spirit Tiger. The cave is inside.”
Gathering his focus, he laid out their tactics. “We have two plans. First, I can launch a frontal assault to draw its attention while you seize the opportunity to rush in and grab the grass.”
“Second, you attack, and I grab the grass.”
“But to be honest, both are extremely risky. The Tyrant Spirit Tiger possesses ancient White Tiger blood, and its combat strength far surpasses ordinary beasts of the same rank.”
“It's not something we can face head-on. Our only chance of success is to act swiftly, snatch the grass amidst the chaos, and retreat immediately without lingering.”
Ye Ling's expression remained calm. “There's no need for such trouble. You and I can just hold off the Tyrant Spirit Tiger together from the front.”
Ye Chen was taken aback. “Hold it off together? Do you have another helper?”
Ye Ling nodded slightly. She reached down, took the beast-taming bag from her waist, and tapped it with a sliver of spiritual light from her fingertip.
A grey mist landed on the ground with a soft thud.
The Miasma Demon Frog had been curled up inside the bag, contentedly chewing on Quiet Heart Grass, when it was suddenly tossed out without warning.
Its chubby body landed steadily. Looking around in confusion, it turned and saw Ye Ling, then immediately shook its body and quickly wrote on the ground with its claws.
“Why did you let me out all of a sudden? Didn't you say you'd only let me out after we reached the sect?”
After writing that, it caught sight of Ye Chen standing nearby. It startled instantly and hurriedly added, “Why is there an outsider?!”
Ye Chen's gaze instantly locked onto the Miasma Demon Frog, and intense delight erupted in his eyes.
“Is this... a Miasma Demon Frog?”
He immediately recognized the demon beast before him.
“Has it already awakened its Xiantian bloodline divine ability, Void Evasion?”
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