She had spent years cultivating behind closed doors, practicing structured and orthodox techniques, but she sorely lacked real combat experience in life-or-death struggles and tricky situations.
With this thought, Ye Ling immediately suppressed her killing intent, no longer seeking a quick victory.
Using the opportunity of this close struggle, she calmly dismantled each of his lethal moves, quietly learning from them to hone her own combat instincts.
The longer Lin Jie fought, the more shocked and enraged he became.
He was fighting for his life with every ounce of his cultivation, yet the young girl before him moved with effortless grace, advancing and retreating at will. She was completely using him as a sparring partner to polish her own techniques!
Humiliation and resentment surged within him. His eyes turned blood-red, and he let out an angry roar.
“Since you want to use me to practice, I will show you everything I have learned in my life!”
“Though my deeds have been despicable and my reputation notorious, my life was forged through real blood and battle. It has been exciting enough!”
As soon as his voice fell, Lin Jie's saber play erupted. Every move was desperate, every strike fierce. Pouring all the combat insights of his entire life into his blade, he swept toward Ye Ling like a violent tempest.
Delight flickered in Ye Ling's eyes, and she replied clearly, “Bring it on!”
Once more, the light of their blades and swords intertwined as they fought fiercely for hundreds of rounds in the late-night courtyard.
Over the course of hundreds of exchanges, Lin Jie fully displayed all his tricky wilderness combat tactics, life-or-death adaptabilities, and sneak attacks.
Ye Ling absorbed it all, making up for her greatest shortcoming in real combat. There was no longer any need to prolong the fight.
Lin Jie also knew deep down that he had exhausted all his trump cards and was defeated. With death looming over him, any further struggle was meaningless.
Before he could gather momentum for a final, desperate counterattack, a cold gleam flashed from Ye Ling's Qinglan Sword, and the blade light swept past.
With a clean and decisive strike, she sliced right through his neck.
In a flash of blood, Lin Jie died on the spot. His massive body collapsed heavily to the ground, bringing a complete end to the fierce battle in the courtyard.
With a calm expression, Ye Ling bent down to retrieve Lin Jie's head, putting it away into her storage bag.
This was the proof required to verify the completion of her sect mission, which she had to bring back to the Qinglan Sword Sect.
Although tonight's opponent was an extremely heinous criminal, the battle had taught her plenty of real combat experience that she could never have learned within the sect, benefiting her immensely.
Taking his storage bag, Ye Ling turned around and headed back toward the Qingshi City Lord's estate.
At this moment, inside the main hall of the City Lord's estate, the City Lord was pacing back and forth, unable to sit still, his heart filled with anxiety and trepidation.
He believed in the formidable strength of a personal disciple of the Qinglan Sword Sect, but Lin Jie was a ruthless character at the Xiantian Realm Great Perfection who had even killed an inner sect disciple. His fearsome reputation was immense.
A heavy weight hung in the City Lord's heart, fearing that some unexpected accident might happen during the fight.
If Ye Ling suffered even the slightest injury and the sect held him accountable, he, as the city lord who failed to clear out the criminal beforehand, would definitely not escape punishment.
Just as he was gripped by panic and caught in a dilemma, steady footsteps echoed from outside the door.
Looking up, he saw Ye Ling walking in, dressed in her green robe. She stood tall and poised, without a single scratch on her.
The heavy weight hanging in the City Lord's heart crashed to the ground, and he let out a long sigh of relief.
The anxiety on his face vanished completely, replaced by absolute gratitude and respect.
He hurriedly stepped forward, bowed, and said with heartfelt emotion, “Thank you for your help, Personal Disciple Ye! You have rid my Qingshi City of this terrible scourge!”
“Lin Jie committed countless atrocities. Today, you have eliminated a great evil for the people, and the entire city will remember your kindness.”
Ye Ling raised her hand slightly and said calmly, “It was just a minor effort. I only came for the sect's bounty mission, so there is no need for such thanks.”
As her words fell, her gaze swept across the hall, only to pause slightly.
She keenly noticed that in the empty main hall, there was another middle-aged figure standing beside the City Lord.
Dressed in a grey cloth robe, the man was Zhou Kun, who had led the young talents of Qingshi City to Heishui Commandery for the sect selection last year.
However, Ye Ling only spared him a brief glance and did not linger for pleasantries. Turning back to the City Lord, she directly took her leave.
“City Lord, the criminal has been eliminated. Since there is nothing left for me to do here, I will take my leave.”
With the utmost respect, the City Lord quickly bowed and cupped his hands, bidding her a solemn farewell, “Farewell, Personal Disciple Ye! Qingshi City will never forget this great kindness. May your path ahead be smooth and your cultivation soar!”
Ye Ling nodded slightly and lingered no longer. She stepped out of the hall of the City Lord's estate and vanished into the cool night breeze.
Standing to the side, Zhou Kun had kept his eyes lowered and his body slightly bent the entire time, not daring to look directly at Ye Ling.
He knew very well that the sect's personal disciples held an incredibly lofty status, far beyond what mortal officials could ever hope to associate with.
Staring at her or speaking out of turn would only invite her displeasure.
It was only when Ye Ling turned around, her tall and straight figure in the green robe catching his eye, that Zhou Kun's heart suddenly stirred.
This cold, solitary back and her clean, calm demeanor gave him a strange sense of familiarity. It was as if he had seen this figure somewhere before, both blurry and vivid in his mind.
But after thinking for a moment, he still had no clue. He simply assumed the dark night and his own dazed mind had caused him to mistake her for someone else.
Suppressing the slight doubt in his heart, he remained standing respectfully with his head bowed, quietly watching Ye Ling depart.
The night had already reached its later hours.
The entire Qingshi City was completely silent. The streets were deserted, the lights extinguished, and even the wind had grown soft and quiet.
Without a moment's pause, Ye Ling soared into the air, using the clear night sky to fly straight toward the neighboring Baiyun City.
The two cities bordered each other and were very close. In just the time it took to burn a stick of incense, she crossed into the territory of Baiyun City.
Her hometown was still as peaceful and quiet as she remembered, shrouded in the deep darkness of the late night.
The entire city was silent, save for a few scattered homes that still had faint, warm lights flickering gently in the pitch-black night.
Familiar with the path, Ye Ling landed directly within the Ye family's estate.
The moment she touched down, her gaze swept around, and a wave of emotion touched her heart.
The Ye family had undergone a massive transformation compared to a year ago when she left.
The clan's houses had been renovated and neatly arranged, the roads widened, the courtyards refurbished, and the buildings made grander and more spacious. The entire estate looked increasingly prosperous and thriving.
It was clear that after she joined the sect, the Ye family's resources had grown abundant, and their situation was improving by the day.
Only the small courtyard where she lived alone remained completely unchanged, exactly as it was when she left home.
Ye Ling walked slowly into the courtyard and pushed open the door to her room.
The room was neat and spotless. The desk, the wooden bed, and the shelves were completely clean, without a speck of dust.
She understood in her heart that her mother must have come here often to sweep and dust, taking care of it day after day.
She had refused to let dust cover her daughter's dwelling, always keeping this place perfectly intact as a home for her to return to.
Having spent over a year in the sect, constantly tense from cultivation, Ye Ling's state of mind had always been cold and sharp.
But upon returning to this small courtyard where she had lived for over a decade, the tension that had gripped her mind for years finally dissolved completely.
This was the only place where she felt safe, the only place where she didn't need to keep her guard up.
She casually unbuckled the long sword at her waist, set aside her belongings and storage artifact, and shed the dust of her travels and the murderous aura of battle.
The familiar scent of the room enveloped her—warm, gentle, and carrying the unique scent of home.
Ye Ling lay down on her familiar bed and closed her eyes to rest.
Since entering the Qinglan Sword Sect to cultivate, she had never slept so soundly, completely letting down her guard like this.
Rate on N.U.
