Ming Dynasty.
Twenty-Eighth Restaurant.
Ten miles outside the stationed area of Mount Heng Sect disciples.
"So that's what it is, Junior Sister Yi Lin. I was wondering why you kept sneaking away from the sect every so often. Turns out you've been hiding out here to train in secret!"
"You'll make your master and senior aunts worried by doing that."
"It's dangerous outside these days. You shouldn't wander too far from our camp."
With soft footsteps, a surprised voice echoed in the distance.
On a massive green boulder, a stunningly beautiful young nun, around sixteen or seventeen years old, slowly opened her eyes. Her refined features shone in the light as she looked calmly at the handsome young man in front of her.
"Senior Brother Linghu, why are you here?!"
"Did I interrupt your cultivation?"
"These past few days were a critical period for my breakthrough, so I came out alone to train."
Yi Lin spoke with a hint of apology.
"Huh? Yi Lin, aren't you training in Mount Heng's techniques?"
"Does Master Ding Yi know about this?"
Linghu Chong frowned and asked in confusion.
"My master doesn't know. I don't know how to explain it to her."
"I see. I understand how you feel."
Linghu Chong nodded.
Yi Lin's situation was similar to his own when he learned the Dugu Nine Swords.
Everyone has their own secrets.
"Yi Lin, your strength is impressive. How about a sparring match? Maybe you'll break through after all."
There was a glint of interest in Linghu Chong's eyes.
Yi Lin was not as harmless as she appeared on the surface.
He wanted to test her.
"Senior Brother Linghu, unless absolutely necessary, I don't want to fight anyone."
Yi Lin lifted her head. A faint flash of Buddhist light passed through her eyes, so subtle it was almost imperceptible.
In that instant, nearby insects and small animals seemed frozen in place.
Linghu Chong, no ordinary martial artist, immediately sensed something unusual.
His hairs stood on end.
Danger.
He instinctively raised his guard.
"Yi Lin… you…"
He stared at her in shock.
There was no killing intent, only a righteous and upright aura, yet Linghu Chong felt as if his life could be ended in the blink of an eye.
Sensing his reaction, Yi Lin quickly retracted her energy and softly chanted a Buddhist prayer.
"Amitabha… may I be forgiven."
"He once told me that great strength must be accompanied by great inner peace."
"You must hold firm to your heart and never be ruled by power."
"Before cultivating martial arts, one must first cultivate the mind..."
Yi Lin recalled the past in her heart.
A year ago, she became separated from her fellow disciples during an outing and encountered the infamous pervert Tian Boguang.
In her moment of despair, he descended from the sky and slew the villain.
He also taught her a supreme martial art, then brought her back to Mount Heng's gates before vanishing.
Now, a year has passed.
Thanks to that divine skill, her strength had steadily grown.
She felt that even if her master and senior aunt joined forces, they still might not be her match.
Sometimes, even when not actively cultivating, her power seemed to grow on its own.
Months ago, she had already reached the Great Perfection Grandmaster Realm.
These days, she was not out here to break through to Great Grandmaster level.
On the contrary.
She was trying to suppress her cultivation and remain at the Grandmaster realm.
She didn't want to advance too quickly.
She wanted to temper her heart and soul alongside her martial training.
Until her Buddhist cultivation reached a proper standard, she would keep suppressing her progress.
Each act of suppression felt like a purification of her soul.
If her heart wavered, her cultivation might soar rapidly.
But that would defeat the purpose.
And bring more harm than good in the future.
She deeply believed in his guidance.
So for a whole year, she had not dared to be careless.
"Hahaha, a discarded disciple of Mount Hua and a little nun from Mount Heng, secretly meeting out here?"
"Didn't expect a nun to be lovestruck, did you?"
"Hahaha, how amusing!"
Just as Yi Lin fell into her memories, a sneering voice rang out.
In the next moment, over a dozen masked men in black quickly surrounded them.
"Stop pretending. You're from Mount Song, aren't you?!"
Linghu Chong shouted and drew his sword.
"Nonsense. We are from the Demon Cult, not hypocrites from the so-called righteous path."
"No need for more talk. Kill this traitor who consorts with the Demon Cult, and the lustful little nun too. We have more important things to do."
"What are your intentions?"
Yi Lin asked calmly, without a trace of panic.
The aura from these men was weak. They posed no threat to her.
"You're trying to ambush my master and fellow disciples, aren't you?"
"Hahaha, clever little nun. But it's too bad, you're about to die!"
"Before taking out those old nuns, we'll eliminate you first."
As they finished speaking, several masked men raised their swords and charged toward Yi Lin and Linghu Chong.
Linghu Chong's expression changed.
Such overwhelming power.
These men were all Grandmasters.
How had Mount Song gathered so many experts?
He was sure these men were helping Mount Song.
But they definitely weren't trained by the sect itself.
Could it be that Mount Song, in its ambition to unite the Five Peaks, had allied with external forces?
Even with his Dugu Nine Swords, he could barely handle one or two of them.
But there were over ten enemies here!
He was no match.
Should he run?
But if he fled, not only would Junior Sister Yi Lin be in danger, but his fellow disciples from Mount Heng would surely be slaughtered.
While Linghu Chong hesitated, Yi Lin simply stood still, quietly watching the swords coming her way as if unaware of their power.
She let out a soft sigh.
"I only want to cultivate in peace. I don't want to fight. Why must you force me?"
"Glaze Lotus Seal."
Yi Lin moved her hands through a series of intricate gestures.
In an instant, a radiant lotus manifested before her.
It emitted a dazzling Buddhist light, majestic and pure.
She struck forward.
As the sword met the lotus, the masked men's expressions changed drastically.
Within the lotus, Buddhist energy surged.
It simultaneously created and destroyed all things in its path.
The black-clad men felt like small boats caught in a massive storm, unable to resist even for a moment.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Moments ago, these men had been full of confidence and menace.
Now, with just one casual strike from Yi Lin, they were heavily injured and thrown back.
Buddhist energy surged into their bodies, rendering their Grandmaster-level strength completely unusable, as if their cultivation had been crippled.
"What… what just happened?"
"How can that little nun be this powerful?"
"We couldn't even fight back?"
"Is she… a Great Grandmaster?"