Chapter 99: Unfathomable

Yu Yan was able to obtain Grade Nine Quru meat, and she tossed it to him—a stranger—without a second thought, as if it meant nothing. Do not doubt! That was Grade Nine, the highest tier of earthly spirit beast meat. Even if he had saved Yu Wan’s life, so what? Not to mention he only acted according to the circumstances. Even if he had risked his life for her—though saying so would only inflate others’ esteem and diminish his own. Yet the world is brutally honest: he simply wasn’t worth a piece of top-grade earthly spirit beast meat, let alone that he’d never tasted even Grade Four beast meat. All the more, this underscored the preciousness of Grade Nine Quru meat, did it not?

For Yu Yan to act so generously, it showed her magnanimity and that she truly valued the favor of saving Yu Wan’s life. Furthermore, Lou Yuhui reasonably guessed that she must possess more than just one or two pieces of Grade Nine beast meat—perhaps even more than one kind. This was why Yu Yan could be so free-handed and untroubled afterward. After all, the poor lack the confidence and means to be generous.

And under what circumstances could a person have so much Grade Nine beast meat? Excluding certain special cases, it could only be because her strength was unfathomably deep—at least in some domain, surely exceeding Grade Nine of the earthly tier!

Thus, Lou Yuhui “reasonably” deduced that these mere Grade Five peak monsters were nothing but trifles to Yu Yan. Yes, it seemed perfectly logical.

Yu Yan: …Sorry, you’re overthinking.

If not for her powerful transformation skill, facing these dungeon monsters, she would only have the option to run away. As for some domain or strength beyond Grade Nine of the earthly tier, it was utterly nonexistent.

She was, at best, a cunning opportunist, exploiting the adaptation phase when monsters could only display ten percent of their power, and making use of the advantage from being reborn with foreknowledge. She targeted their weaknesses with precision, preparing exclusive traps for each one, sometimes for groups. That was how she had managed to obtain so many treasures by sheer luck!

Of course, being reborn and having privileged information were forms of strength in themselves. Yu Yan would never foolishly explain how she acquired these treasures. Let those who only vaguely knew her assume her strength was unfathomable! This way, she could avoid many unnecessary troubles.

For example, if Lou Yuhui knew her true strength was only peak Grade Four, and in terms of individual ability, she was indeed weaker than him, a Grade Five ability user—would he be so obedient, so willing to charge bravely into battle at her command? Certainly not.

Yu Yan, deeply versed in the subtleties of human nature, understood the intricacies of the heart. Sometimes, excessive candor and honesty do not yield loyalty and devotion from subordinates, but rather produce results one does not desire.

Below, Lou Yuhui fought valiantly against the flying horses. Despite his agile movements and desperate dodging, the sheer number of monsters meant that some of the flying horses’ wing blades or skills inevitably struck him. Fortunately, most were below Grade Four, causing only injuries and bleeding, but not threatening his life.

Each time Lou Yuhui was wounded, he instinctively glanced at Yu Yan’s position. Seeing her calmly standing on the treetop, her robes billowing in the wind, her posture steady as a mountain, he immediately realized his injuries were not fatal! Moreover, Yu Yan was always attentive to his situation; should he encounter danger beyond his endurance, she would never stand idly by! Filled with confidence, Lou Yuhui gradually immersed himself in the world of the Flying Flower Sword.

The sensation of not needing to worry about his own life, being able to attack freely and hone his sword technique, was simply exhilarating!

Yu Yan had not lied to him; in just one night, his skills had advanced greatly. His body’s reaction speed, the attack speed of the Flying Flower Sword, his endurance for injury, and his recovery after bleeding—all had improved beyond recognition from just a day ago. The only thing that troubled him was the new spiritual power in his body, so different from inner force, for which he had yet to find the optimal use.

It was not that he couldn’t unleash Wind Blades, or anything like that. Upon refining the Quru meat, a special channel for spiritual power had opened within him. It was a mysterious sensation; instinctively, Lou Yuhui knew that as long as he released spiritual power along the channel, he could launch Wind Blade attacks just like Yu Yan. In fact, he could unleash more Wind Blades at once than she could!

Of course, that referred only to quantity. In terms of attack strength and accuracy, his Wind Blades were definitely inferior to Yu Yan’s. But he did not mind.

What Lou Yuhui cared about was that, after more than twenty years, he was accustomed to the presence of the Flying Flower Sword. Whenever he encountered an enemy, he instinctively drew his soft sword from his waist and used the Flying Flower Sword technique. To release Wind Blades, he had to pause his sword technique—he even had to re-wrap the soft sword around his waist to make the most of the Wind Blades. It was a bothersome process.

More than twenty years of day-and-night practice had ingrained this habit so deeply that it was not easily broken. Because of this habit, and the delay inherent in unleashing Wind Blades, Lou Yuhui fumbled and suffered quite a few setbacks at first. Most of his dozens of wounds came from this.

Eventually, he gave up on using Wind Blades altogether, focusing solely on the Flying Flower Sword. With his undivided attention, he was less likely to be wounded. Only the few flying horses above Grade Five, able to match or surpass his own tier, occasionally left fresh scars on him.

When the fiercest flying horse’s belly swelled, hooves braced for the ground, clearly about to unleash its ultimate skill, Yu Yan finally moved from the tree.

Her figure was ghostly, elusive. In the blink of an eye, the Grade Five peak flying horse’s skill was interrupted, leaving it stunned and motionless. Lou Yuhui wondered why the horse had suddenly frozen—only to see blood erupting from its neck like a fountain.

In no time, the Grade Five peak flying horse collapsed, eyes wide with unwillingness!

Yu Yan’s form reappeared on the branches, her robes fluttering as before. Had Lou Yuhui not been certain he hadn’t imagined it, he might have thought the flying horse hadn’t been killed by Yu Yan at all!

How had she done it?

Ah, she possessed a skill capable of masking the presence of herself and those nearby. This ability was powerful enough to fool a Grade Five monster’s spiritual senses, allowing her to approach the peak flying horse unnoticed. Perhaps, even as it died, it never understood why its neck had been slit.

No wonder it died with eyes open in disbelief.

If it had been him, he too would have died with eyes unwilling to close!

Cold sweat trickled down Lou Yuhui’s back; once again, he witnessed Yu Yan’s unfathomable depth.

And the reason he could see Yu Yan standing on the branch was likely because she allowed it. Otherwise, he would be as blind to her as the flying horses were, oblivious to her presence and disappearance.