The Gift of Strength

Chen Xing'an and Li Yu were chatting while constantly glancing in Su Luo's direction. They were well aware of the treacherous nature of the world outside, but had it not been for the senior's intervention earlier, they would have struggled to escape with their lives.

"If only I had the senior's strength," Li Yu murmured enviously, her mind still replaying Little Yu's breathtaking sword strike.

Alas, she was still a fledgling cultivator, barely dipping her toes into the path of immortality.

Chen Xing'an tried to comfort her. "We’ll reach that level someday."

Li Yu shot him a skeptical look. "Really? Are you already daydreaming?"

The two had joined the Seven Stars Sword Sect together and, before that, had been childhood friends from the same hometown.

"It’s not daydreaming—I will grow stronger," Chen Xing'an retorted, unwilling to admit defeat. He truly believed he had the potential to become formidable.

They talked well into the night before finally drifting off to sleep.

By dawn, Su Luo and the others had already departed, showing no interest in the two youngsters. Though their talent seemed promising, Su Luo had no intention of taking on disciples.

When Chen Xing'an and Li Yu woke to find them gone, they hurried after them. Fortunately, Su Luo's group wasn’t in a rush, so they caught up quickly.

"Senior, you’re heading north too, right? We’re from the Seven Stars Sword Sect—could you let us travel with you?" Chen Xing'an pleaded.

After discussing it half the night, the two had resolved not to give up so easily. They were determined to see the north for themselves.

Though weak, they knew an opportunity like this came once in a century.

At the moment, not many demonic cultivators were heading north, but the journey was still fraught with demonic beasts.

That’s why they wanted to follow Su Luo.

"No," Su Luo refused flatly.

Li Yu and Chen Xing'an hastily offered everything they owned. "Senior, this is all we have. Will this suffice?"

They were sensible enough to know they had to offer something in return.

But to Su Luo, their possessions were practically worthless.

Su Luo sighed. "The reason we won’t take you isn’t about payment—it’s because we carry the weight of a sin darker than the void, yet shimmering with color."

Chen Xing'an: ?

What kind of nonsense was "darker than the void, yet shimmering with color"?

Su Luo pointed in a direction. "There’s someone coming that way. Ask them instead."

The approaching group belonged to the Radiant Light Sect.

There was no way Su Luo would take these two along. Babysitting held zero appeal.

"Do you think they’ll take us?" Li Yu fretted.

They were painfully aware of their own weakness—heading north would only make them burdens.

Chen Xing'an was equally worried. Being rejected was one thing, but if they were outright forbidden from going north, that would be disastrous.

The only reason he dared ask Su Luo was that the senior hadn’t stopped them from going.

That small allowance meant everything to Chen Xing'an.

Su Luo paid them no further mind and left.

Little Yu remarked, "I thought you might actually bring them along."

"Do I seem that kind-hearted?"

"Occasionally."

Her suspicion wasn’t unfounded. They weren’t even traveling in their true forms, nor were they in a hurry.

Su Luo, ever the one to seek amusement, might have indulged them.

He’d traveled with others before—like that one person, what was their name again?

Su Luo chuckled. "Haha, for now, I’ll stick with you all."

Jiang Ningshu commented, "I always knew you were a loner, but this really confirms it."

From her perspective, Su Luo truly was isolated. The number of people he could call friends could be counted on one hand.

"What, you all want me to take them?"

"Of course not," Jiang Ningshu said, cherishing her time with Su Luo.

Yet before long, they crossed paths with Chen Xing'an and Li Yu again.

Clearly, the Radiant Light Sect had also refused them.

At the Qi Condensation stage, their strength was simply too lacking—bringing them north would only slow others down.

The Radiant Light Sect had tried to force them to turn back.

Chen Xing'an and Li Yu had agreed, but as they retreated, their faces burned with frustration.

So they secretly doubled back, now more resolved than ever to see the north for themselves.

"Senior, please take us with you," Chen Xing'an pleaded, dropping to his knees before Su Luo.

"You’re really set on this? You’ll die."

"If we just observe from a distance, surely it won’t be that bad?"

"You really don’t understand cultivation yet, do you? You’ll die."

Su Luo’s certainty was mostly to scare them. Death wasn’t guaranteed, but the odds were high.

Nine out of ten chances, they wouldn’t make it back.

Yet Chen Xing'an’s expression remained unshaken.

"Aren’t you going to talk him out of it?" Su Luo asked Li Yu.

"If he’s set on it, I can’t stop him. I’ll go with him," Li Yu replied, her own resolve firm. She wouldn’t back down now.

Jiang Ningshu interjected, "Need me to help? One slap, and they’ll be sent flying back to the Seven Stars Sword Sect—completely unharmed."

She assumed Su Luo was struggling to refuse, so she offered.

But Su Luo had no trouble rejecting them. He was simply curious—how far would their determination take them?

Chen Xing'an and Li Yu paled at Jiang Ningshu’s words.

After struggling so hard to get this far, being slapped back would be devastating.

Chen Xing'an: "No, no, please!"

Li Yu added pitifully, "Senior, you’re so beautiful and kind-hearted—you wouldn’t do that, right?"

Jiang Ningshu glanced at Su Luo.

Su Luo shook his head. "Even if we send them back, they’ll just come out again."

Chen Xing'an and Li Yu nodded vigorously.

Without another word, Su Luo took out two spirit stones and began inscribing formations on them.

After infusing them with spiritual energy, he handed one to each.

"These will allow you to channel the power within. The energy stored here is equivalent to a Nascent Soul cultivator’s strength. If you can’t make it to the north with this, then you might as well die."

"Th-this..." Chen Xing'an and Li Yu stared at the spirit stones in awe, sensing their immense value.

"That’s all. Don’t follow us. You have the power now—if you’re truly determined, go."

With that, Su Luo, Little Yu, and Jiang Ningshu left.

Su Luo was curious—how would they use this borrowed strength?

It took a while for Chen Xing'an and Li Yu to snap out of their daze. "Thank you, Senior!"

They’d never held such a treasure before. With these stones, they could wield Nascent Soul-level power.

Though the energy would deplete with use, to them, it was nothing short of a divine artifact.

Now, they at least had some measure of security.

They hurried after Su Luo’s group once more to express their gratitude before setting off ahead.

Su Luo’s party was moving too slowly, and he wouldn’t let them tag along, so Chen Xing'an and Li Yu had no choice but to go on without them.

Jiang Ningshu remarked, "Wouldn’t it have been simpler to just slap them back to the Seven Stars Sword Sect?"

"How can such icy words come from your 37-degree lips?"

Jiang Ningshu: ?

"What’s icy about it? At their level, they’re just marching to their deaths."

"True," Su Luo conceded. But he could see it—they wouldn’t give up until they hit a wall.

So...

Su Luo suddenly shouted, "A person’s dreams... will never end!"

Jiang Ningshu: ?

The more you explain, the less I understand.

Su Luo felt a pang of awkwardness—it had been so long since her last episode that she suddenly found herself out of practice.

"To put it simply, their resolve is quite commendable."

That was all there was to it.