CHAPTER 188: 188 - SAME SMELL

Regaining his composure, Qingyi immediately bowed. "This humble one greets the guardian and asks forgiveness for the disrespect!"

"Don’t worry about it, little one." Yanxiao raised a claw and a small flag emerged from Yulei’s clothes, floating into Qingyi’s hands.

"Long Qingyi, right?" Yanxiao smiled.

"Many carry dragon in their name, but few are truly worthy of it.

You’re only the fifth one I’ve met in over sixty thousand years of life. Hahaha."

"The guardian praises this humble one too much." Qingyi said, only to get another laugh from Yanxiao.

" Good, knowing when to be humble is a virtue. Most of those who carry dragon blood barely know the meaning of that word."

Yanxiao paused for a moment, studying Yulei’s unconscious body before shaking his head.

"You can go now, I’ll take care of the rest."

Bowing one last time, Qingyi left.

"Ah... what do you think of this one, Sect Leader?" Yanxiao raised his head.

"A black dragon..." A female voice sounded, sweet, soft and serene, like a heavenly symphony for mortal eardrums. "Have you ever seen one that didn’t represent calamity?"

"I’ve never seen a dragon that didn’t represent calamity, be it black, red, gold or white." Yanxiao shook his head. "This is the only one who managed to defeat a disciple with a flag. We should pay attention to him."

"Not the only one." The Eternal River leader’s cracked and scarred lips curved into a smile as she looked at the horizon.

"Hm... this is a year full of surprises." Yanxiao also smiled and, after a moment’s hesitation, asked: "Why does that boy smell like you?"

"Like me?" The sect leader raised an eyebrow, looking as surprised by this as Yanxiao himself.

"Not exactly, not even his smell in reality, just a smell that is in him. It’s similar to yours, almost identical, like that of a..." The tiger sniffed the air "Sister or brother..."

After these words, Yanxiao watched the sect leader’s expression fade slightly.

He still had some doubts, but his sense of smell didn’t fool him, it never had.

"If there’s nothing more to see here, I’ll leave." The sect leader turned and left immediately.

The tiger just let a muffled sigh escape his lips as he focused on the young master of the Zhao family, whose body soon began to float beside him.

Since the accident 29 years ago, his sect leader had not been the same as the one he had known for the previous 3,000 years.

Her smell and even her Qi control had changed, as if she had been used to using a completely different type of energy before suddenly needing to use Qi.

It was strange, but he didn’t spend much time thinking about it.

He had to get Yulei to the sect doctor soon.

The fact that Yulei had been castrated was problem enough and Yanxiao really didn’t want to hear the complaints of the patriarch of the Zhao family if that young man died in his hands.

***

On the platform where the test was to be completed, a solitary figure could be seen.

It was a woman of transcendental beauty, kneeling elegantly on the marble of the platform as she waited, her large bosoms rising with each soft breath.

Around her, several cultivators whimpered as they clutched their severed hands and legs.

These were opportunists, waiting to ambush those who had completed the challenge and steal their flags.

Her long white hair fluttered in the gentle breeze and her face lifted, watching a figure on the horizon.

The coldness in his gaze melted immediately and, without even realizing it, his full, rosy lips lifted into a smile.

"So... yours was easy too?" Qingyi approached, taking Qingxue in his arms, feeling the softness of her breasts pressing against his chest.

"A disgusting fellow, more interested in flirting than fighting," Qingxue replied, snuggling into Qingyi’s embrace.

"I see... mine was a disgusting guy too." Qingyi kissed her before, together, they just watched the horizon.

It wasn’t long before the first to complete the challenge began to appear, almost all of them with their bodies covered in scars, their eyes focused on Qingyi’s figure with envy.

The handsome young man just ignored those stares as he stroked Qingxue’s long silver hair.

After almost three hours of waiting, the more than fifty flags were finally fully retrieved.

There were still fights over the flags taken, especially against those who seemed weaker, but those fights stopped the moment the figure of a giant fire tiger cut through the sky.

"Well done!" The tiger laughed, watching as two figures appeared beside him, a man and a woman.

"As you may already know, your resources will be based on merit and competence." He spoke, the space around him distorting as silver tokens appeared in the air.

They were similar to the tokens offered by the Ascending Dragon sect, both in use and appearance.

The only major difference was the quality and quantity of Qi that each token stored.

Right after handing over the token to each of the disciples, Yanxiao only gave a short, basic explanation of each disciple’s duties and rights.

It wasn’t much different from those of the Ascending Dragon Sect, the only real change was the scale.

After finishing his speech, Yanxiao released the new disciples of the Eternal River Sect, dividing them between the two instructors who would take them to their accommodation.

"You two will stay," Yanxiao said, directing his voice to Qingyi and Qingxue, who stopped their steps.

"Something wrong, guardian?" Qingyi asked.

"No, we just need to talk for a while." Yanxiao turned around. "Come with me."

The couple exchanged glances, but in the end they just nodded and followed the tiger.

"The boy you castrated, do you know who he is?" Yanxiao asked, looking at Qingyi.

Those words immediately made Qingxue shudder.

What had this miserable fellow done to be castrated by her husband?

"I know his father has a lot of power," Qingyi replied.

"He does. The second most powerful man in the Zhao family, who has taken root in White Peak City like an cancer. Yulei is too proud to ask for his father’s help, but if it happens, you’ll both be in danger."

"I thank you for your concern, guardian. But-"

"I’m going to give you the position of inner disciple. You’ve already proven your power and this position will give you both extra protection." Yanxiao spoke, ignoring Qingyi and Qingxue’s surprised looks.

Inner disciples? So easily?

"Don’t let your pride blind you. It’s a great achievement, but nothing more." Yanxiao focused his gaze on Qingyi specifically.

"The secret realm of the supreme beast will open in a few days. If you’re interested in a spirit mount, I recommend that you advance to the Burning Blood Realm as soon as possible."