Not long after, the food they had ordered arrived. An Xiao looked at it with wide eyes. It was very different from sect food.

The aroma of the food before her was strong with spices.

There were vegetables and meat inside, and the broth felt thick and warm, sweet and slightly spicy.

Only An Xiao ate at the table. Lin Tian did not. The woman did not mind that, because she fully knew that a Nascent Soul Master like Lin Tian did not need to eat like a mortal.

Lin Tian simply stayed silent while watching An Xiao, occasionally pouring green tea from the teapot into his wooden cup.

"Eat slowly. We won’t return to the sect tonight," Lin Tian said.

"Eh?"

"You and I have been tired enough today. It would be better to continue the journey tomorrow night," Lin Tian said.

An Xiao listened and immediately understood what Lin Tian meant. She also had to admit it.

Her hunger had come together with the exhaustion in her body.

If she did not rest, she feared something bad might happen during the journey later.

"Look! Isn’t that the robe of the Shuzhou Sect?" several people asked.

"That’s right. There’s no mistake. That woman is a disciple of that sect."

A man from another table stood and walked toward An Xiao.

There were about two of them, and they wore black robes. Lin Tian did not know which sect they came from.

"Are you a disciple of the Shuzhou Sect?" the man asked, crossing his arms.

An Xiao swallowed the food in her mouth and turned to look at the man.

"I’ve already left that sect. These are only the clothes I have left."

"Disciples of the Shuzhou Sect are full of lies and tricks. I won’t be fooled by you so easily," the man said.

"Listen! Your sect killed my friends when they were in Yellow Spring Valley. I already swore upon the heavens that I would kill anyone from them who wore the robe of the Shuzhou Sect!"

"If you don’t want to die, take off your clothes and show us your naked body, HAHAHA!"

The woman in front of Lin Tian began showing an annoyed expression, even stopping herself from eating the food on the table.

However, when An Xiao was about to act, Lin Tian had already moved first.

Lin Tian’s eyes sharpened, staring strongly at the two men beside their table.

His cultivation pressure immediately struck them with only a slight nod from Lin Tian.

The two men instantly fell to their knees on the restaurant floor, shocking the other cultivators until they stood from their seats and stepped away from the conflict.

Lin Tian’s cultivation pressure caused the wooden floor of the restaurant to crack. One of the female servers came over.

"Please calm your anger, Master Immortal," she pleaded in panic.

The two men raised their heads while vomiting blood, looking toward Lin Tian with panic on their faces.

Both of them clearly saw Lin Tian’s pupils glowing white.

"She has already left the Shuzhou Sect. If you want to kill all of them, why don’t you attack them directly in their sect?" Lin Tian asked firmly, his voice echoing.

"Master... Nascent Soul?" they asked.

"Please forgive our insolence, Senior Daoist."

Lin Tian stopped the cultivation pressure on them, allowing them to break free and stand properly.

They cupped their hands and lowered their heads obediently, slowly stepping away from Lin Tian and An Xiao.

Lin Tian’s hand swung briefly to the side, using qi manipulation to repair the damage to the restaurant’s wooden floor.

When the server saw that the damage had been repaired, she immediately thanked Lin Tian for his humility.

"Thank you, Master Lin Tian."

"Continue eating, An Xiao," Lin Tian said.

An Xiao nodded obediently.

The woman returned to eating the food she had ordered and began enjoying it without needing to fear any threat.

Lin Tian continued waiting while finishing the green tea in his cup.

Half an hour passed, and An Xiao felt satisfied. Her stomach was comfortably full, and her strength had recovered to normal.

She praised the food, saying that the meat and vegetable soup tasted better than any food from the Shuzhou Sect she had ever eaten.

"There are many things you can discover once you decide to leave the sect. An Yue can help you later," Lin Tian replied.

"I can’t wait to meet Yue’er."

Lin Tian smiled. He invited An Xiao to leave after paying for the meal there.

Several cultivators inside the restaurant still watched Lin Tian leave the place.

It was very rare to see a Nascent Soul Master in a small city. Usually, they would only find many Nascent Soul cultivators in large cities or great sects. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Lin Tian and An Xiao arrived outside the restaurant, looked around the area, and found an inn.

They clearly were not lucky because that small city did not have a spiritual vein room, a place usually used by cultivators to stay while cultivating more effectively.

But Lin Tian did not mind that much. The most important thing to him was letting An Xiao rest, then continuing the journey tomorrow.

"We’ll rest at that inn."

"Tomorrow morning, we’ll go to the Lingxian Sect."

An Xiao looked ahead toward the two-story inn, "Of course. I’ll follow you."

***

The next morning.

Lin Tian and An Xiao left immediately after sleeping one night at the inn.

An Xiao slept on the bed while Lin Tian stayed awake all night, recovering his strength through cultivation.

Right after sunrise, the two of them flew quickly out of the small city with the goal of reaching the Lingxian Sect.

"It will be tiring if you fly for half a day."

"Stabilize your balance. I’ll increase your flying speed with my spiritual qi," Lin Tian said.

An Xiao responded with a nod.

Lin Tian’s hand swung to the side, releasing a white qi light orb that entered An Xiao’s flying qi sword.

The sword’s flying speed increased several times over. At first, An Xiao was startled, but Lin Tian was beside her to protect her.

With flying speed equal to a Nascent Soul cultivator, they could reach the Lingxian Sect in less than two hours.

"It turns out a Nascent Soul Master can do many things," An Xiao said.

"Nascent Soul is the highest realm in the early formation of the soul. A Nascent Soul cultivator’s power rises drastically compared to when they were still in Core Formation," Lin Tian replied.

"Even so, reaching Nascent Soul is not easy. There are many risks and dangers waiting along the way," Lin Tian continued.

"That is why there are far more Core Formation cultivators in the kingdom than Nascent Soul cultivators."

"I understand, Master Lin Tian," An Xiao said.

Their two-hour journey was finally rewarded when Lin Tian saw Gui City ahead.

If Gui City was already visible, then the Lingxian Sect was close to their current position.

An Xiao turned and looked at Gui City, a city that felt so familiar to her, a city that awakened memories for her.

"Yue’er," An Xiao whispered.

Lin Tian increased their flying speed until they finally arrived in the sky before the Lingxian Sect, still outside.

Yun Yun and Ji Xue turned forward. Yun Yun looked shocked, her eyes widening.

"S-Senior Sister An Xiao?" Yun Yun asked.

"Yun’er?" An Xiao greeted, her eyes shimmering with tears.

Lin Tian glanced ahead and called An Yue. The girl immediately ran from the sect’s backyard when she heard Lin Tian calling her.

However, when she arrived at the sect’s front courtyard, her steps froze.

Her face stiffened, her mouth hanging open. Her eyes widened, shimmering with tears as if she was holding back emotion. Her hands and legs trembled, and her heart pounded wildly.

"Yue’er?" An Xiao called, waving her hand while tears fell from her eyes.

An Yue cried loudly as she ran from the sect’s front courtyard toward the outside of the sect gate.

An Xiao quickly landed and ran toward An Yue.

The two embraced each other, crying loudly with deep emotion as many sect disciples watched from the front courtyard.

Yun Yun and the others also cried happily.

"Sister An Xiao," An Yue whispered.

"I... missed you so much, Sister!"