Jun Mu Kong and Jun An Shi

Gu Changyuan was slightly taken aback.

It was the system.

Ever since the system had announced that it needed to slumber and recover due to excessive energy consumption, he hadn't taken the initiative to disturb it.

The talent assessment functions were all running automatically; there was no need for the system to intervene personally.

Now, the system, which had been silent for so long, suddenly spoke up. It was clear that it placed great importance on these two.

......

Down below on the riverbed.

Jun Mukong and Jun Anshi stood back-to-back. Their clothes were somewhat torn and bloodstained, and their auras were weak.

But they were still standing.

Jun Anshi gripped her broken sword, her vigilant gaze fixed on the enemies slowly closing in from all sides. Suddenly, she twitched the corner of her mouth and spoke with a hint of self-mockery:

"Brother, I really fell for your nonsense."

Her voice was hoarse, yet she still had the leisure to joke, maintaining a bit of her usual playfulness.

"Listening to you say there were fortunate encounters and treasures in this barren mountain, I just ran away from the sect with you. Well, now we don't have to worry about whether we should go back later."

Hearing this, a flash of embarrassment crossed Jun Mukong's face.

"I didn't expect this to happen either..."

he muttered in defense.

"I had a dream the day before yesterday that a fortunate encounter would appear here. Who could have imagined it would turn out like this?"

"A dream?"

Jun Anshi's voice instantly pitched up a few notches. She whipped her head around to glare at her brother, her eyes full of disbelief.

"What you told me back then was—'Through the sect's ancient texts and astrological deductions, I discovered that a rare treasure is emerging here'!"

"Uh..."

Jun Mukong's gaze started to dart around.

"That... counts as artistic embellishment..."

"Artistic embellishment my foot!"

Jun Anshi ground her teeth in anger. If she weren't severely injured right now, she would love nothing more than to kick this brother who had totally scammed his own sister.

"If I had known you just dreamed it, I wouldn't have come with you even if you beat me to death!"

"Alright, alright, it's too late to talk about this now..."

Jun Mukong said sheepishly.

Watching the enemies drawing ever closer, Jun Anshi took a deep breath and suddenly let out a long sigh at the sky:

"Ahhh—I can't take it anymore!"

She tightly gripped the broken sword in her hand, a flash of resolve crossing her eyes.

"If there's a next life, I definitely want to be the older sister! How can there be a brother who screws over his sister like this!"

Jun Mukong's pupils shrank, and he closely followed her lead.

The two charged toward the weakest point of the enemy line. Even if they had to exhaust all their strength, they wanted to carve out a bloody path of survival in their final moments.

However—

The gap in strength was simply too vast.

They hadn't even charged out ten rods before they were jointly blocked by several cultivators.

Amidst the flashing blades and sword shadows, several more bone-deep wounds were added to their bodies. Blood splattered, and their auras grew increasingly faint.

In just a moment, the two were knocked back again. Blood spilled from the corners of their mouths as they staggered and bumped into each other. They had truly reached the end of their ropes.

Just as the black-clad cultivators' butcher blades were about to fall, a figure crashed down like a falling meteor, landing abruptly beside Jun Mukong and Jun Anshi.

"Boom!!!"

A figure suddenly crashed down beside the two.

In that instant, an utterly terrifying shockwave frantically expanded in all directions, centered on that figure.

The cultivators who had been closing in only felt an irresistible, massive force slam into their faces, instantly sending them flying backward.

However, this wasn't over yet—

The moment that figure landed, a strand of spiritual energy as thin as a hair shot out from his body, slashing with unparalleled precision across every cultivator flying backward!

"Pfft pfft pfft pfft—"

Dozens of muffled sounds rang out almost simultaneously.

Those cultivators didn't even have time to scream before they were unanimously decapitated by that slicing spiritual energy.

Blood splattered, dyeing the entire riverbed red.

The sinister sneers from right before their deaths still lingered on their faces, frozen forever in that instant.

Immediately after—

Another wave of spiritual energy rippled out from the figure. Wherever it passed, the mutilated corpses and splattered blood instantly vanished into nothingness.

The riverbed was restored to its pristine state, as if that bloody slaughter had never happened.

Jun Mukong and Jun Anshi stood frozen in place.

They stared wide-eyed at the scene before them, their minds completely blank.

Dead?

Those people... were all dead?

They... survived?

Jun Anshi's legs gave way, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.

She panted heavily, her eyes stinging, but she stubbornly refused to let the tears fall.

Jun Mukong was in a similar state. Supporting his sister, he took several deep breaths before barely managing to steady his mind.

Then, the two simultaneously looked at the figure standing in front of them with his back turned.

Jun Mukong took a deep breath, stepped forward, and offered a deep bow behind the man:

"Thank you, Senior, for coming to our rescue. My sister and I will never forget your great kindness!"

"Are you alright?"

Gu Changyuan slowly turned around, looking at the siblings with a gentle gaze. His tone was flat, yet it carried a reassuring strength.

Jun Anshi raised her head, wanting to answer—

And then, she froze.

Sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, a straight and prominent nose. His facial features were deep and well-defined, yet they exuded a gentle, jade-like temperament.

It wasn't just mere handsomeness, but the true charm of a mature man radiating from the inside out after the precipitation of years.

With just one glance, it was impossible to look away.

Jun Anshi had to admit—the man before her was the best-looking man she had ever seen, aside from her own brother.

She subconsciously restrained her previously disheveled demeanor, straightened her back, and tried her best to make her expression look more dignified.

Even her voice unconsciously softened, taking on an imperceptible gentleness:

"Senior, we're fine. We only suffered a few minor injuries, nothing serious."

Hearing his sister's sudden gentle voice, Jun Mukong stiffened all over, instantly breaking out in goosebumps.

He whipped his head around to look at his sister, his eyes full of disbelief.

This voice... whose was it?

That normally careless, heartless sister who loved nothing more than to bicker with him every day could actually produce a voice like this?

He coughed lightly and probed:

"Senior, I'm fine too, just some superficial wounds.

It's just... An'an, why does your voice sound a bit weird? Is there blood stuck in your throat?"

Hearing her brother's words, Jun Anshi ground her teeth in anger, forcefully holding back the urge to kick Jun Mukong right then and there.

The smile on her face remained unchanged, but deep in her eyes, a trace of murderous intent flashed.

She shifted a step to the left, getting closer to Jun Mukong. Using her body to hide her hand, she then—

Viciously pinched the soft flesh at Jun Mukong's waist and twisted hard.

"Not at all."

She still wore a proper smile on her face, her voice remaining gentle.

"Isn't my voice the same as usual?"

Jun Mukong grimaced in pain but didn't dare make a sound. He could only bite the bullet and nod, cursing his sister eight hundred times in his heart.