ARLQLCC chapter 22

The opening ceremony had already entered its final stage. With a sweep of the Great Elder’s hand, 40 prizes were placed onto the storage platforms in front of each arena, floating midair and emitting dense spiritual energy as a form of encouragement for the competition.

Su Ji withdrew along with the crowd and Xie Qinghuai followed closely behind him. When the event dispersed, disciples from every sect returned to their originally agreed meeting points.

After stepping down from the spectator stands, Xie Qinghuai said goodbye to Su Ji and disappeared into the crowd.

Su Ji guessed he was going to find his fellow disciples. After greeting him, he walked to the chain bridge they had come from, waiting for Yun Xicheng and the others to come find him.

Half the day had passed. The food he had eaten in the morning had already been digested. Although Su Ji wanted to try the cooking of that Chef Lin, he still prepared for both possibilities.

If it really was too hard to swallow, he would just go back to the courtyard and cook some instant noodles to get by.

However, there were simply too many people at the martial arena. Looking up, all he could see were disciples in various uniforms standing shoulder to shoulder, completely blocking any sign of Yun Xicheng and the others.

Just as Su Ji was considering whether to send a message and change the meeting location, his shoulder was lightly patted.

He thought it was Yun Xicheng and the others who had arrived, and turned his head to speak: “You guys ca—”

The word “came” had not even left his mouth before Su Ji stopped abruptly upon seeing the person in front of him.

The young man wore the Chenxin Sect uniform, a crescent-shaped jade pendant hanging at his waist. His ponytail was tied high, his expression tense.

Beside him stood another Chenxin Sect disciple holding a folding fan, his gaze shifting between the two of them, a strange smile on his lips.

Su Ji found the two of them familiar but could not quite remember where he had seen them before. Just as he was about to ask, he heard the young man who had tapped his shoulder stammer: “Su… Su shixiong¹Shixiong (师兄) = senior brother, long time no see. I wonder if you still remember me?”

Su Ji was slightly startled and said in a low voice: “I am no longer a sect disciple. I do not deserve to be called shixiong.”

Hearing this, Yuan Chenxin’s heart trembled. He hurriedly said, “S-sorry, that’s not what I meant, Su… Su…”

He was flustered, looking as if the sky had collapsed. Su Ji felt a bit awkward watching him and said, “Just call me Su Ji.”

Yuan Chenxin’s ears turned red, his voice almost inaudible: “Su… Su Ji…”

An Jingcheng on the side felt his teeth ache just watching. He covered his face with his fan, thinking his friend’s reaction was extremely embarrassing.

In the sect, this guy had once been a proud genius, untouchable and distant to others. Yet now, after just a few words with him, he was so shy he looked like he was about to catch fire—there was not even a trace of the Sword Peak’s chief disciple demeanor.

His foot under the robe moved slightly and kicked Yuan Chenxin.

Stop stuttering—just get to the point!

Unfortunately, the other party completely failed to receive the hint. His eyes were glued to Su Ji and did not respond at all.

Hopeless.

An Jingcheng thought.

I’ll just have to smooth things over myself.

He coughed once, snapped his folding fan shut with a “pa,” and went straight to the point: “Young Master Su, I am An Jingcheng.” Then he used the fan to point at his friend, “He is Yuan Chenxin, personally chosen chief disciple of the Sword Peak. Previously, during a mission to the Mingxuan Secret Realm, you once saved his life in the territory of the three-eyed demon fox. I wonder if you still remember?”

When An Jingcheng mentioned the Mingxuan Secret Realm, Su Ji had some impression. He had not done many missions, and that one could be considered one of the more dangerous ones.

When the three-eyed demon fox went berserk and detonated its core, he had indeed risked himself alone to save a disciple.

But at that time, Su Ji did not remember the other person’s appearance at all. He eventually forgot about the matter, and only now did it surface again.

Looking at the tall, embarrassed young man in front of him, Su Ji could not connect him with the thin youth from his memory.

So he could only say: “I have some impression.”

An Jingcheng was unwilling to give up: “Only some?”

Su Ji countered: “Then a bit?”

An Jingcheng: “……”

What’s the difference between “some” and “a bit”?

Since he said so, both Yuan Chenxin and An Jingcheng understood that Su Ji truly did not remember well. Yuan Chenxin was a little disappointed and said softly: “Ah… it’s normal you don’t remember after so long, Su Ji.”

Su Ji nodded and politely asked: “Is there anything else?”

His tone was clearly patient and gentle, but when Yuan Chenxin heard it, he immediately stammered: “No… no… ah!”

Before he could finish, An Jingcheng pressed his folding fan against his mouth. Yuan Chenxin shot him a look mixed with anger and confusion, but An Jingcheng ignored him and smiled at Su Ji.

“It’s like this, Young Master Su. After leaving the Mingxuan Secret Realm, Chenxin has always wanted to thank you in person.”

“Unfortunately, he was badly injured that time and needed a long period of recovery, so he missed the best opportunity to express his thanks. Meeting you again at the Sword Trial Tournament can also be considered fate. Why don’t we become friends? It would also fulfill one of his wishes!”

In an instant, Yuan Chenxin’s eyes lit up. He silently praised An Jingcheng several times in his heart and looked at Su Ji expectantly.

Their gazes both fell on Su Ji.

Su Ji was silent for a moment and did not respond.

In principle, he had already left the Chenxin Sect, even using the decisive method of severing all ties. He did not want further involvement with Chenxin Sect disciples in the future.

But Yuan Chenxin was the personal disciple of the Sword Peak master. That person had once been the first to stand up for him on the day of public judgment. Although he had not openly protected him, he had at least set a precedent for the other peak masters.

Without that initiation, Fang Que might not have so easily agreed to let him leave.

Thinking of this, Su Ji softly sighed. Under Yuan Chenxin’s increasingly nervous gaze, he nodded.

The other’s eyes lit up, and that excitement felt strangely familiar to Su Ji.

As if he had seen it somewhere before.

He could not recall at the moment, but Chu Zhaoye knew clearly in his heart.

This Yuan Chenxin, who had appeared out of nowhere, looked at Su Ji exactly the same way that Yan Shao did!

As a little cat that could not speak, he listened to the entire conversation from start to finish and confirmed his earlier suspicion.

Su Ji really did have ties with the Chenxin Sect. Although he was now a rogue cultivator, he had once been a disciple of the Chenxin Sect.

Being able to learn about Su Ji’s past was very valuable to Chu Zhaoye. He had been listening properly, but the situation was getting stranger and stranger. And just now, when Su Ji nodded, Chu Zhaoye suddenly realized—why had another guy who wanted to become Su Ji’s Dao companion appeared!

The little cat was so annoyed that it felt like it was on fire. It impatiently pawed at Su Ji’s palm, successfully getting his concerned attention.

Chu Zhaoye patted his stomach: I’m hungry, stop talking to them.

The first sentence was not entirely true, because he was not that hungry.

The second sentence was very true—because he really did not want Su Ji to keep talking to Yuan Chenxin.

As expected, Su Ji understood immediately. He pinched its front paw and said he got it. Then he looked up and said to Yuan Chenxin: “If there is nothing else, my friend is still waiting for me. I will take my leave.”

Yuan Chenxin let out a soft “ah,” reluctance filling his eyes, but still said: “Then… then go ahead. Goodbye.”

After nodding to the two of them, Su Ji turned and left, leaving Yuan Chenxin standing there blankly, staring after him.

An Jingcheng could not bear to look. He pushed his shoulder and said, “Hey, stop staring. They’re already gone. Look at you—so useless!”

An Jingcheng: “You’re already lucky he agreed to be friends with you at all, given your sect’s situation. And you still want his spiritual communication?”

Yuan Chenxin absentmindedly said: “I knew it… he really doesn’t remember me.”

An Jingcheng: “I told you already, so much time has passed. You’ve changed a lot. It would be weird if he recognized you.”

Yuan Chenxin murmured: “I’ve changed a lot, but he doesn’t seem to have changed at all.”

An Jingcheng: “…………”

Damn, where did that disgusting line even come from?

He punched Yuan Chenxin.

“Get back to normal! Stop grossing me out!”

Only after Su Ji’s figure completely disappeared on the chain bridge did Yuan Chenxin finally withdraw his gaze and turn to look at An Jingcheng. His previously warm expression gradually returned to calm.

“Let’s go. The sect still has to gather.”

With that, he walked off without looking back.

An Jingcheng: “?”

He jumped in rage behind him: “You ungrateful guy! If it weren’t for me, would Su Ji even agree to be your friend!”

“Next time I won’t say a word! Let’s see how you handle it!”

……

On the way, Su Ji sent a spiritual communication to Yun Xicheng and learned that they were still stuck in the crowded martial arena, so they agreed to meet at the entrance of the courtyard.

There was still some time before lunch. Worried that the cat cub would be hungry, Su Ji took out a piece of peach blossom pastry from his storage artifact and placed it into the little cat’s paws, coaxing: “Ma Tuan, eat this first to fill your stomach. There’s still some time before lunch, okay?”

Chu Zhaoye held the peach blossom pastry and ate it slowly, while rubbing against his palm to show he was fine.

Originally, saying he was hungry was just an excuse. The most important thing was that Su Ji had already left them and was no longer talking to that Yan Shao lookalike. Chu Zhaoye did not care what he ate for lunch.

Even drinking cold water would be fine.

It was just that people like that were clearly not easy to shake off. Not to mention Su Ji had agreed to be friends with him—the guy’s eyes were practically glowing like candles. Wouldn’t he keep finding excuses to cling to Su Ji?

Annoying.

He once trained so hard he had hiccups all morning and it still wasn’t this annoying.

Chu Zhaoye angrily bit into the pastry.

He needed to find a way to contact his subordinates. Relying only on Su Ji’s cooking speed to recover was too slow for his current urgency. He needed pills to speed things up.

But the demon race had never participated in the Sword Trial Tournament, so contacting them would be difficult.

With his current recovered spiritual power, he could open a portable space, but long-distance transmission would likely be impossible.

However, just as he was thinking about this, the sun overhead suddenly disappeared, and half of Yunxian Sect was shrouded in shadow.

Sand and dust rose. Branches and leaves swayed.

All disciples in the sect looked up. In the sky only dozens of meters above, a giant beast with a bird’s head and tiger claws hovered, its four wings spread like a small mountain, exuding overwhelming pressure.

Each wing had feathers like steel blades, created violent gusts of wind with every flap.

The demon race had not appeared for a long time, and many younger disciples did not recognize this giant beast, their faces full of confusion.

In Su Ji’s arms, Chu Zhaoye’s eyes lit up sharply.

The only ones in the demon race who could control this beast were him and his trusted subordinates.

What perfect timing—Just when you get sleepy, someone brings you a pillow.²真是刚瞌睡就有人给送枕头 literally means “Just as someone is getting sleepy, someone brings them a pillow.” This idiom describes a situation where someone happens to need something, and that exact thing appears at just the right moment.

Author’s Note:

Ma Tuan transformation countdown ( : 」 )

You can read the full completed story here with instant full access. ✨

• 1
  Shixiong (师兄) = senior brother
• 2
  真是刚瞌睡就有人给送枕头 literally means “Just as someone is getting sleepy, someone brings them a pillow.” This idiom describes a situation where someone happens to need something, and that exact thing appears at just the right moment.