"I’m glad you two are getting along nicely," Foyan remarked. "Though, Xuan, you should know she’s pretty influential. You two getting together is like a beggar marrying the emperor’s daughter. You do get where I’m coming from, right?"

Despite his words coming off as sarcastic, the pressure he emitted was serious. The killing intent in particular was something Xuan had only experienced once, and it was when he had met the Three Evil Kings of the Nether Sea.

Is he as strong as them? Shit, of course he is... Xuan sighed. Just like the Evil Kings, he’s a Spirit Grandmaster, one realm above Spirit Master and one below Spirit Lord.

His strength was definitely the real deal. That was why Xuan didn’t jump the gun with anything and decided to start off light.

"So which personality is the real you?" Xuan asked with a hum. "The lazy instructor who beats his students with a stick, or the ruthless cultivator who silences others with just his killing intent?"

"He’s an asshole," Hanbi chimed in.

Xuan inwardly facepalmed. "Stop saying that..."

Foyan raised a brow. "You corrupted the princess... I see. Well, the Grand Jade Temple will bury you with honor, dear Xuan. Or maybe I will bury you here myself if you fail to pass my test."

Without going into too many details, he tossed two vials toward them.

Yet when they caught the vials, a confused look appeared on their faces.

"It looks a little different?" Xuan mused.

"Definitely," Hanbi agreed. "It’s a little darker... It’s more potent, maybe?"

"Dunno, don’t ask me. I’m not a potion expert," Xuan replied, turning to Foyan. "So what’s up? Why the different potions?"

"They’re the same. You can trust me." Foyan rolled his eyes. "You think I’m stupid enough to seriously poison you two?"

Xuan was about to answer but held back upon seeing Foyan’s gaze.

Ah...

Jealousy.

Jealousy was clear in his eyes. Even his posture was off.

And when jealousy was involved, Xuan knew better than anyone the lengths a jealous person would go to in order to ruin someone.

There was also a tinge of regret, but his jealousy overshadowed it.

So with that in mind, Xuan’s frown deepened as he tossed his vial to the ground, shattering it. Not long after, he grabbed Hanbi’s vial and did the same.

In the end, Foyan was left staring at them speechlessly before finally letting out a hollow laugh.

"Hah... I see... You two don’t trust me. I understand. But you—"

"Shut up, you old coot." Mei Mei suddenly manifested, shocking Foyan.

As Foyan was about to speak again, Mei Mei carefully inspected the contents of the potion. After spotting a barely noticeable black worm, Mei Mei’s gaze turned cold.

"A demonic blood parasite? You are..." Mei Mei’s voice lowered as she whispered a few words in Hanbi’s ear.

In the next instant, Hanbi took a step back, frost gathering around her.

Xuan took the hint right away that something was wrong, and without an ounce of hesitation, he dashed toward Hanbi, standing side by side with her. If they were going to fight this guy, then they needed to work together.

Also... I might need to break my sealing cuffs. There’s no way I can deal with a Spirit Grandmaster without Qi.

Silence persisted for a few moments as Foyan’s gaze lingered on them menacingly. But then, he burst out laughing again.

"Hahaha... Truly, you two really are deserving of all the attention you’re getting. But fear not, I’ll put you out of your misery."

He unsheathed his sword. This time, it was real steel, not wood.

Aiming it at the two of them, he kicked off the ground right away, vanishing from sight.

This was the first fight they would actually engage in without any sensory limitations. Right away, the two noticed a significant difference.

Foyan was fast, but upon hearing the faint steps on the ground and the wind shifting in their direction, the two swiftly tilted their bodies sideways.

A slash narrowly missed the two of them. Foyan stood rooted in place, a puzzled look on his face.

"You two really dodged that...?"

"Mei Mei," Hanbi called out, completely ignoring Foyan. "Fetch me his family jewels."

A shiver ran down Xuan’s spine.

Mei Mei moved without question, summoning an ice dagger and shooting it toward Foyan’s little brother.

Of course, he missed completely, but that gave Xuan and Hanbi the time to get a better position, right beside the cave wall.

"I’m stronger than you, so stay behind me," Hanbi said sternly.

Xuan shook his head, getting slightly in front of her. "I’m more durable. You’re like a glass vase. Even one hit will kill you."

A pout appeared on her face, but before she could voice her thoughts, Foyan moved again.

A slash came from above as the two dodged once more, then rolled, ducked, and even sidestepped.

It was easy. Surprisingly easy.

The wind was in their favor, and so was the ground.

Their practice wasn’t for show, and seeing that, Xuan was greatly satisfied.

However, as the repetitive battle continued, Foyan suddenly switched tactics.

Slashing his sword, he created hundreds of wind blades, all of which were headed directly for them.

Xuan didn’t aim to dodge. He stepped in front of Hanbi and tanked all the hits. To his own surprise, the wind slashes didn’t even manage to pierce his skin.

Although, what happened next was something he wasn’t expecting in the slightest.

"Ugh..."

"You are..." Hanbi’s eyes widened as she stared at his chest.

His veins began to glow a bright green color, almost as if those wind blades somehow carried poison.

But how...?

Hanbi placed her hands on his chest, sending her Qi directly toward his heart. A soothing sensation enveloped him as the poison was expelled.

It seemed like everything was going great. He was healed, and they were perfectly avoiding Foyan.

However, the eerie silence that had ensued from the moment she began healing him puzzled him.

She would normally be calling him careless, perhaps shouting at him for not dodging the attacks... but Hanbi didn’t speak.

Droplets hit the ground one after the other. It was almost rhythmic.

Yet when he heard them, Xuan’s heart sank as he raised his gaze. To his sheer horror and disbelief, there was a steel sword sticking out of Hanbi’s chest.

Her expression was one of shock, as if she hadn’t processed what had just happened.

Behind her stood Foyan, a wide smirk on his face as he pulled the steel sword out of Hanbi’s chest, making her collapse onto the stone floor.

Mei Mei flew to her rescue, turning transparent and flying directly into the wound in her chest, freezing it.

But that action went completely unnoticed by Xuan, who blankly stared at Foyan.

"Pfft... How senseless. Turning her back to the enemy... Tsk tsk," Foyan remarked, clicking his tongue repeatedly. He pointed his sword at Xuan, his smirk widening.

"Care to join the princess on her deathbed?"

"..."

Xuan couldn’t describe what he was feeling, but when Hanbi’s blood reached his feet, he felt an immeasurable rage build up within him.

Faint cracks formed on his Qi-sealing cuffs. With every passing moment, the cracks grew larger until eventually, the cuffs slid off his wrists, falling to the ground and scattering to dust.

The Void Qi that had been suppressed for over two months was unleashed, causing the surroundings to distort as small spatial cracks appeared all throughout the cave and much further beyond.

He couldn’t care less about the bet he had made with Huizhen. At least, not at the moment.

Xuan might still be a Spirit Warrior, but the killing intent and Qi pressure he unleashed made Foyan instinctively step back.

The month they had spent together flashed in his mind. The many times they shared a meal, the nonstop training... All that ended in the blink of an eye.

Xuan snapped as his Void Qi ran rampant, oozing uncontrollably. The spatial cracks widened, bleeding into the surroundings and transforming the entire area into a space-like domain, with thousands of stars painting the cave’s ceiling, which had now turned into an endless cosmos.

Hanbi faded from the space domain, and in the end, Xuan and Foyan were left standing on a shallow pool of water that reflected all the stars above.

Xuan took a deep breath, calmly entering a fighting stance. But deep down, he was anything but calm.

So after locking eyes, Xuan made his intentions clear.

"I don’t care what your intentions were for coming here, but what you’ve done is unforgivable."

Taking a deep breath, he narrowed his eyes, his voice growing colder.

"That’s why... you will die here."