After parting ways with Lu Changyou, the two wandered along the streets of Azure Dragon Town.

Xu Zimo smiled. “Do you think your Chancellor will agree?”

“What worries me more is the Blue-Parasol Ancient-Abyss,” Xie Changliu replied. “Whether he agrees or not, you were planning to go in anyway, weren’t you?”

Xu Zimo nodded slightly. “What exactly is the Blue-Parasol Ancient-Abyss?”

“You can think of it as the evil half of the Ghost God Kui,” Xie explained.

“What do you mean?” Xu Zimo asked, confused.

“I told you before, the Celestial Sage Academy is a branch of the Ghost God Collegium,” Xie said. “The Ghost God Collegium was founded by Ghost God Kui himself. In the past, when Kui turned from evil to good, he split his own nature in two, his good and his evil, and then cut away his evil self. But no one expected that his evil wouldn’t die. Instead, it escaped into the Mortal Ascension Heaven, wreaking havoc. Later, when the Ghost God Collegium established the Celestial Sage branch, they suppressed that evil within the Blue-Parasol Ancient-Abyss.”

“Is that evil will really so powerful?” Xu Zimo asked. “Why not just destroy it completely?”

“I don’t know,” Xie shook his head. “That kind of secret is far above my level.”

“That girl is still following you,” Xu Zimo said, glancing behind them with a smirk.

“I was actually thinking about taking her as a disciple,” Xie said after a moment of silence. “Having a disciple with an Eternal-Sword God-King Physique would be quite an honor for any master. But I never take disciples lightly. What matters most to me is character.”

“So you’re testing her,” Xu Zimo said.

“You could put it that way,” Xie replied. “Tomorrow I’ll visit the Celestial Sage Academy, see some of my old fellow students and talk to the Chancellor.”

Xu Zimo nodded in agreement, offering no objection.

They spent half the day wandering around Azure Dragon Town. The town was built halfway up Celestial Sage Mountain, yet it was as prosperous as any great city.

Still, Xu Zimo could sense something unsettling. Deep beneath the mountain, an evil energy seemed to be seeping upward. Though something was suppressing it, the presence was unmistakable.

By afternoon, the streets began to quiet down.

The two found an inn and rented two rooms. The girl, however, remained silently at the inn’s entrance.

Xu Zimo didn’t interfere, this was Xie’s business, and clearly he already had a plan.

Back in his room, Xu Zimo began cultivating the technique Zhurong's Inquiry.

Waves of fire elemental power flowed through him.

This secret art was vast in scope, it involved not just elemental mastery but also laws and principles.

In the ancient era, the primordial gods were the first to cultivate. They were like the pioneers of the desolate world, creating their own paths from nothing.

There were no established methods then; they carved out their own.

The so-called Path of Inquiry was exactly that, seeking the Dao where no one had walked before.

He trained throughout the entire night, yet felt as if he were just a lone boat drifting in an endless ocean. The depth of this art was truly immeasurable.

Outside the inn, a sudden commotion broke his concentration.

Xu Zimo stepped out of his room just as Xie Changliu emerged from the one next door.

“What’s going on?” Xie asked.

Xu Zimo leaned over the second-floor railing and looked down. A crowd had gathered at the inn’s entrance, broad-shouldered men glaring fiercely at someone in the middle.

“Master Lu, what should we do with this girl?”

“I say a life for a life! She killed Young Master Lu, she should pay with her own!” the crowd roared.

“She can’t be allowed to die so easily,” another voice said darkly.

When Xu Zimo and Xie came downstairs, they saw the girl huddled in a corner, trembling, surrounded by angry townsfolk.

“What’s going on?” Xie asked, stepping forward to stand in front of the girl. He frowned. “A group of men bullying one frightened girl, is that something to be proud of?”

“Who are you?” one of them barked. “Best keep your nose out of this.”

Then a middle-aged man gestured for silence, and the crowd immediately quieted.

“This girl killed my son,” the man said coldly, looking Xie over. “Isn’t a murderer supposed to pay with her life?”

“I didn’t mean to,” the girl stammered. “Your son tried to… to violate me. I panicked and lost control of the sword energy in my body. It killed him, I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

“She didn’t mean to kill him,” Xie said calmly, “but your son was the one who started it. He brought this on himself. This matter ends here.”

“Who do you think you are?” someone shouted.

“Master Lu, don’t waste words with him, just take them both down!” one of the Lu retainers said.

The middle-aged man, Master Lu, narrowed his eyes slightly. Then he said, “The world is small, traveler. We’ll meet again.

“Fine, I’ll remember this.”

With that, he turned and walked away. The crowd looked at one another, hesitant, but eventually followed him.

“They’re gone,” Xie said, turning to the girl. “What’s your name?”

“Chong Xiang,” she replied softly.

“Master, does this mean you’ll teach me?” she asked eagerly.

“You can’t call me that yet,” Xie said. “I’ll teach you for three days. If in that time you can’t comprehend the Sword Dao, then even the best physique in the world would only shame my name.”

“Alright!” Chong Xiang nodded excitedly.

“Come on then, let’s eat,” Xie said, walking back into the inn.

“Chong Xiang, where’s your family?” Xu Zimo asked.

In truth, the Ten God-King Physiques of the Nine Heavens were very different from the Hundred Battle Physiques of the Primordial Heartlands.

The Hundred Battle Physiques were unique to individuals, whoever obtained one, owned it.

But the Ten God-King Physiques could be inherited.

If an ancestor had once awakened one of the God-King Physiques, their descendants could carry that same bloodline.

That meant most bearers of God-King Physiques came from powerful families.

A girl like Chong Xiang, born with one but living as a stray, was almost unheard of.

“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve been an orphan since I was little. I grew up in a small town, living off the charity of others. But not long ago, monsters attacked and killed everyone there. I was the only one left. That’s when the Lu Clan’s young master found me. He took me to Azure Dragon Town…”

As she spoke, the two men began to understand the tragic life she’d endured.

“From now on, you’ll learn the sword from me,” Xie said. “Only strength can protect everything you care about.”

The inn boy brought out steaming plates of food. Chong Xiang, clearly starving, devoured them with little regard for manners.

After watching her for a while, Xie turned to Xu Zimo. “Once we finish eating, let’s head to the Celestial Sage Academy.”

“Will I be allowed in?” Xu Zimo asked.

“I’ll speak with Teacher Lu,” Xie said. “He’ll think of something.”

After a simple meal, the three made their way back to the grand hall they had visited the day before.

The gatekeepers recognized Xie Changliu and didn’t stop them, allowing the group to enter freely.