Not long after Wang Jianqian left his residence, he ran into two familiar figures.
Chen Jiaojiao and Niu Shouren?
Wang Jianqian raised an eyebrow.
He hadn't paid much attention before, but now that he thought about it, it seemed more than two months had passed since he last saw Chen Jiaojiao.
At the same moment Wang Jianqian spotted them, the two also noticed him.
Chen Jiaojiao's expression flickered, her eyes evasive, while Niu Shouren's face was filled with mocking disdain.
"Well, if it isn't Trash Wang," Niu Shouren sneered. "Why isn't a useless waste like you hiding indoors? What are you doing out here embarrassing yourself?"
Hearing his words, Wang Jianqian lifted a brow, thoughtful.
So that's why Chen Jiaojiao hadn't sought him out for so long—it seemed something had happened.
His gaze lingered on Chen Jiaojiao, and information about her surfaced in his mind.
When he saw her favorability toward him had dropped to just ten points, his suspicions only deepened.
"So it's Shouren," Wang Jianqian said cheerfully, as if he hadn't heard the insult at all. "Uncle also attended the recent outer sect competition. I saw your match—eliminated in the very first round, weren't you? I hope the beating didn't leave you too badly hurt?"
Niu Shouren's lips twitched.
Indeed, he had competed, and indeed, he had been knocked out in the first round—and badly injured too, taking half a month to recover.
For someone as proud as him, the memory was humiliating. Now that Wang Jianqian had dragged it into the light, his face burned hot with shame.
"Hmph, I only entered for the experience. The results mean nothing to me," he said stiffly.
"Of course," Wang Jianqian nodded as if agreeing.
Niu Shouren's expression eased slightly, only for Wang Jianqian's next words to follow like a knife:
"With your strength, you couldn't have achieved much anyway."
Niu Shouren froze, tongue-tied.
"Hmph! Trash Wang, spare me your nonsense. Jiaojiao and I were on our way to find you. Didn't expect to run into you here—it saves us the trouble."
"Oh? Looking for me? And what might you want?"
Wang Jianqian's eyes shifted toward Chen Jiaojiao.
She avoided his gaze, lips pressed tight, not speaking.
Seeing this, Niu Shouren continued coldly, "Naturally, we came to cut ties with you. From this day on, there will be no connection between us and you, old waste."
"Are you sure?" Wang Jianqian chuckled. "Back then, Jiaojiao put quite a bit of effort into easing relations with me."
Niu Shouren blinked. "Easing relations?"
Chen Jiaojiao's face changed. "Wang Jianqian! Shouren has made it clear enough. From now on, there is nothing between us. Don't entangle yourself with us again."
With that, she tugged Niu Shouren back the way they came.
From Wang Jianqian's angle, her retreat looked almost hasty—bordering on shameful.
As the two walked away, their voices drifted faintly on the breeze.
"Jiaojiao, what did that trash mean just now? What easing relations? Did you beg him?"
"You still dare to bring it up? If it weren't for your stubborn temper refusing to deal with him, I wouldn't have had to coax him myself."
"So that's it. Jiaojiao, you've suffered for me."
Jiaojiao lowered her eyes, lips tightening. Deep inside, her heart stirred with a fleeting pang of unease. Though she told herself firmly that cutting ties was the right choice—that following Shouren was safer, more promising—a faint guilt gnawed at her when she recalled the years with Wang Jianqian. Yet under Shouren's pressing gaze, she pushed the feeling aside, wrapping herself in stubborn pride.
Wang Jianqian, hearing their words drift away, couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Chen Jiaojiao's betrayal hardly touched him.
He had never placed much hope in that ungrateful woman. Otherwise, he wouldn't have hidden his skills in alchemy from her all along.
Not a single Perfect Yunxia Pill had he ever given her. Even the Perfect Qingling Pills—only four, no more.
What puzzled him, though, was that Niu Shouren's cultivation had previously been close to Chen Jiaojiao's. Both had just broken through to the seventh level of Qi Refining.
Yet now Chen Jiaojiao was still stuck at early Qi Refining Seventh, while Niu Shouren had somehow advanced to the ninth level.
After a moment's thought, Wang Jianqian shook his head and let it go, turning his steps toward the Hall of External Affairs.
Half a day later, Wang Jianqian returned to his quarters.
With a wave of his hand, five jade slips floated into view.
They were his preparations for the journey into the Cold Pool Secret Realm.
Three of them contained pill recipes, and two were blueprints for magical tools.
The three pill recipes were all first-tier advanced: Fuling Pill, Dihuang Pill, and Explosive Blood Pill.
The Fuling Pill accelerated spiritual energy recovery.The Dihuang Pill was a healing pill.The Explosive Blood Pill temporarily boosted strength but carried dangerous side effects—a pill for desperate battles.
The two blueprints were for the Xuangang Seal and the Swiftwind Boots, both advanced artifacts.
Ordinarily, outer sect disciples were forbidden from purchasing advanced designs. But for reasons unknown, once Deacon Dong Yue learned he was preparing for the Secret Realm, she had made an exception and sold him two.
Such fortune, of course, he would not refuse.
With these at hand, his journey into the Secret Realm would be far safer.
Focusing his mind, he examined each jade slip in turn.
Ding. Inferior pill recipe detected. Upgrade requires 30 cultivation points. Proceed?Ding. Inferior pill recipe detected. Upgrade requires 30 cultivation points. Proceed?Ding. Inferior pill recipe detected. Upgrade requires 30 cultivation points. Proceed?Ding. Inferior blueprint detected. Upgrade requires 30 cultivation points. Proceed?Ding. Inferior blueprint detected. Upgrade requires 30 cultivation points. Proceed?
"Proceed," Wang Jianqian commanded inwardly.
One by one, the system chimed again.
Ding. Fuling Pill recipe successfully upgraded to Perfect Fuling Pill recipe.Ding. Dihuang Pill recipe successfully upgraded to Perfect Dihuang Pill recipe.Ding. Explosive Blood Pill recipe successfully upgraded to Perfect Explosive Blood Pill recipe.Ding. Xuangang Seal blueprint successfully upgraded to Perfect Xuangang Seal blueprint.Ding. Swiftwind Boots blueprint successfully upgraded to Perfect Swiftwind Boots blueprint.
With everything optimized, Wang Jianqian took out prepared materials and began refining.
In the blink of an eye, a month passed.
The results were abundant.
He had stockpiled five hundred Perfect Yunxia Pills.
Over a thousand Perfect Fuling and Perfect Dihuang Pills each, for their frequent use.
Only twenty Perfect Explosive Blood Pills, for emergencies.
He also refined twenty each of the Perfect Xuangang Seal, Perfect Swiftwind Boots, Perfect Little Thousand Mountain Seal, Perfect Xuanshui Ring, Perfect Yunshui Coldlight Sword, and Perfect Shuiyue Robe.
The Perfect Ziyu Slippers were retired—superseded by the superior Swiftwind Boots.
"Senior Brother, the notice has come down," Wang Yuyao arrived one day, cheeks tinged faintly pink. "We're to head to Snowfall Mountain in three days."
Snowfall Mountain—the entrance to the Cold Pool Secret Realm.
"So, the Secret Realm is finally about to open…"
A gleam of anticipation flickered in Wang Jianqian's eyes.
This time, he didn't let Yuyao leave right away.
Instead, he took her hand, drawing the blushing girl toward the inner room.
Yuyao's heart pounded, a nervous flutter in her chest. She knew what her senior brother wanted, and though shyness burned her cheeks, she made no move to resist. Somewhere deep inside, she longed for his closeness, for the warmth and protection he offered.
Wang Jianqian, too, felt a tug at his heart as he looked at her—no longer the timid duckling, but a swan spreading her wings. He tightened his grip gently, as though silently promising that no matter what dangers lay ahead in the Secret Realm, he would shield her.
She lowered her gaze, lips trembling with unspoken words, then finally let out a soft breath, leaning lightly into his chest.
Having come this far, how could they not seize the moment?