The water blades closed in.
Closer.
Closer still.
At that moment, the warmth Yu Jin had been ignoring since she woke suddenly trembled inside her.
It felt as though something had been touched—or awakened.
Without warning, the warmth erupted from the center of her chest.
Yu Jin’s breath caught.
The heat spread through her meridians at an astonishing speed, rushing through her body before she had time to understand what was happening.
Her entire body stiffened for a split second.
What—
She did not have time to finish the thought.
The power inside her had already reacted.
The water blades were less than half a step away when they suddenly stopped.
All at once.
The razor-thin blades hung motionless in midair, trembling slightly as though they had struck an invisible barrier surrounding Yu Jin.
But there was nothing in front of her.
No visible shield.
No spiritual formation.
Nothing at all.
Yet no matter how fiercely the water blades trembled, they could not move forward.
For one brief moment, they remained suspended before her.
Then—
Pop!
A soft sound broke the silence.
Every water blade collapsed at the same time.
The sharp streams instantly lost their shape and burst apart into countless droplets.
A fine mist spread through the air, briefly catching the morning light before fading away.
Silence fell over the spiritual spring.
Even the gentle flow of water suddenly sounded unusually clear.
Lin Qiqi stared blankly ahead.
She had gone completely still.
Her gaze moved from the fading mist to Yu Jin, then back again, as though she could not understand what she had just witnessed.
The anger on his face disappeared for a moment, replaced by undisguised disbelief.
Yu Jin herself was no less surprised than either of them.
She remained completely still, staring at the place where the water blades had shattered.
After a moment, she slowly lowered her gaze to her hand.
Her fingers were relaxed.
Her palm was empty.
There was no spiritual light, no mark, and no trace of any visible power.
She had not even raised her hand.
Yet the water blades had stopped in front of her.
Then they had shattered.
Yu Jin’s brows gradually furrowed.
The warmth inside her body was still there, but now it felt different.
Before, she had only been vaguely aware of it.
It had felt like a tiny flame buried somewhere deep within her, so quiet that she sometimes wondered whether she had merely imagined it.
Now, however, she could feel it clearly.
It flowed slowly through her body, following her meridians with every breath she took.
Warm.
Steady.
Real.
It was as though something that had been sleeping deep within her had finally begun to stir.
Yu Jin moved her fingers slightly.
The warmth followed the motion, faint but unmistakable.
A strange feeling passed through her heart.
What exactly is this?
Was it connected to that dream?
The thought had barely surfaced when a voice came from nearby.
“Who allowed you to attack?”
The voice was not loud, nor did it carry any obvious anger.
Yet the moment it sounded, the atmosphere around the spiritual spring seemed to sink.
The tension that had filled the air changed immediately.
Du Ziheng’s expression stiffened. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
He turned around sharply.
Yu Jin looked up as well.
At some point, another figure had appeared at the top of the stone steps.
A man dressed in white stood beneath the morning light.
The breeze moved past him, lightly stirring the hem of his robe.
His aura was restrained, almost completely concealed, yet his presence was impossible to ignore.
He stood there quietly, but the disciples nearby instinctively lowered their voices.
He did not look at Yu Jin.
From the moment he appeared, his gaze remained fixed on Du Ziheng.
The atmosphere tightened once more.
Du Ziheng’s expression changed.
The anger and resentment on his face were quickly suppressed, and his earlier arrogance visibly diminished.
After a brief hesitation, he lowered his head and cupped his hands respectfully.
The man in white looked at him.
“When did Qingqiu begin allowing disciples to attack one another in private?”
His tone remained calm.
Not a single word was spoken harshly, yet every syllable carried clearly through the quiet morning air.
Du Ziheng’s fingers tightened slightly.
His expression grew increasingly unpleasant.
“I…”
He paused, seemingly searching for an explanation.
“I only wanted to spar with Junior Sister Yu Jin.”
The man in white did not respond.
He simply looked at him.
It was only one quiet glance, nothing more.
Yet Du Ziheng’s heart tightened instantly.
Even his breathing seemed to stop for a moment beneath that gaze.
The silence lasted only briefly.
Then the man in white spoke.
Just one word, calm and unquestionable.
“Go back.”