NOVPUBA battle at the level of Lin Yun and Lin Mengmeng, if it took place on the battleship, lacked the space needed.
Heavenly Bamboo Holy Land, the arena.
The place where Lin Yun last fought Star Blue.
It was reinforced during this period and could withstand a battle between average eighth-level cultivators. Moreover, with Moon One and Moon Two taking care of the surroundings, it had no problem handling the fight between Lin Yun and Lin Mengmeng.
"Boom!"
After Lin Yun and Lin Mengmeng exchanged few words, Lin Mengmeng was the first to make a move, and the fight began.
They were going back and forth, and in a blink of an eye, dozens of moves were made.
Because there was a significant gap in strength between the two, Lin Yun quickly understood Lin Mengmeng’s strength, roughly equivalent to an average late-stage Dazzling Star Realm martial artist.
Even so, Star Blue was very shocked.
He had never seen any of Lin Yun’s companions in action, and seeing it now astonished him.
She had just broken through to the Dazzling Star Realm and already possessed the strength equivalent to an average Dazzling Star Realm late-stage martial artist. Even compared to his own strength, it wasn’t far off.
However, he had been cultivating for over a thousand years, and it was only with the help of the Cosmic Trading System that he achieved his current realm. She, according to his detection from the Cosmic Trading System, was only in her twenties?
Just like Lin Yun, he was also only in his twenties!
"Really..." Star Blue didn’t know what to say at the moment.
He was even more convinced that Lin Yun and his team were humans from a very advanced civilization, even a super civilization.
"I won’t fight anymore, the gap is too big..."
After a few hundred moves, Lin Mengmeng stopped fighting, pouting her lips in frustration. Her stunning face looked very cute.
"Moon One, suppress your strength and let’s spar a bit." Lin Yun smiled, waited for Lin Mengmeng to step down from the platform, then looked at Moon One and spoke.
"Yes, master." Moon One respectfully replied.
"Whoosh...whoosh...whoosh..."
"Thud...thud...thud..."
They were teleporting and exchanging blows time and time again so fast that it left people dazzled. People of lower strength couldn’t see the specifics of the battle; they could only understand the intensity of the situation from the frequent impact on the platform and the extent of the platform’s damage.
The platform couldn’t cope up with Lin Yun’s and Moon One’s back-and-forth. Luckily, with Moon Two guarding nearby, it didn’t affect the surrounding people.
"Master’s current strength is approximately equivalent to a late Stellar Nebula Realm martial artist."
Half an hour later, the two halted their fight, Moon One pondered and spoke.
"Stellar Nebula Realm late-stage..."
Many are astonished.
They knew, the late Stellar Nebula Realm was equivalent to a late eight-level cultivator. Had Lin Yun, who had just broken into Dazzling Star Realm, already acquired the strength of the late Stellar Nebula Realm?
"As expected, Lin Yun’s current strength is indeed sufficient to combat a late eight-level cultivator."
Star Blue gave a slight nod of agreement.
Lin Yun could fight a Domain Realm late-stage martial artist when he broke through to the Golden Core Realm.
Now, Lin Yun, having just broken through to the Dazzling Star Realm, could fight against a late Stellar Nebula Realm martial artist.
Lin Yun’s ability to challenge above his rank hadn’t declined at all. This was indeed a rare phenomenon.
Only Lin Yun knew, the ability to challenge above his rank had not diminished because he had gained some knowledge on cultivation and martial arts from those immortals and heavenly beings. He learned a lot from this experience; he sorted out and deeply reflected on his previously learned knowledge, thus maintaining his strong ability to challenge above his rank.
Nevertheless, this data made Lin Mengmeng even more frustrated.
This implied that the gap between her and Lin Yun was massive.
"Now, my rate of cultivation has surpassed yours. I’ll definitely catch up with you." Lin Mengmeng clenched her small rosy fists, grumbled.
...
Inside a room in the black battleship, on a large bed.
Beneath a luxurious brocade cover, the sounds of heavy breathing could be heard.
After a romantic encounter, a perspiring Xia Qingqing snuggled on Lin Yun’s chest and laughed softly, "Mengmeng said today that she’s definitely going to catch up with you..."
"Are you jealous?" Lin Yun smiled.
"No, I’m not." Xia Qingqing blushed lightly and gently shook her head.
Even though her heart felt a bit sour, she would never admit it.
"Mengmeng’s talent in martial arts is really high. She has already broken through to the Dazzling Star Realm. Others just reached the late stage of Domain Realm, and each realm breakthrough is a hurdle. It’s still unknown how long it would take to reach the peak of the Domain Realm, and I just crossed the early stage of the Domain Realm..."
Xia Qingqing said softly.
"You’re different from her. She has been practicing martial arts since childhood and has a deep understanding of martial arts. You have no background in martial arts, and breaking through to the early stage of the Domain Realm this quickly is already very good." Lin Yun shook his head.
"But what about uncle Lin? Uncle Lin has been practicing martial arts for decades, and he taught Mengmeng martial arts. Doesn’t he have a more profound martial arts foundation? And now, he is also just in the Domain Realm late-stage." Xia Qingqing argued.
"I’ve been using the Cosmic Trading System longer than Mengmeng, so when compared, our starting lines are pretty much the same." Xia Qingqing sighed and said.
While their starting lines were similar, she had just broken through to the Domain Realm, while Lin Mengmeng had advanced to the Dazzling Star Realm. There was a significant difference in their martial arts talents, a fact she had to admit.
"Don’t overthink it. Everyone’s strengths are different. While Mengmeng’s cultivation speed is fast, you have excellent managerial skills. You’ve been handling the needs of so many people so well, aren’t you my little housekeeper? If you really want to cultivate faster, I can also use the Cosmic Trading System to help you..." Lin Yun gently touched Xia Qingqing’s head and laughed.
This girl, she was just overthinking things.
"You know how Mengmeng feels about you. You could actually make her your wife too... I really don’t mind..." Xia Qingqing bit her lip and said softly.
"There are very many young and beautiful girls among those 180,000 people who also have feelings for me. Should I marry them all?" Lin Yun replied laughingly.
"It’s not the same, you know it’s not. When you were injured, and the Sky Group was looking for you, Mengmeng risked facing danger, searching for you all over... She suffered a lot, even getting captured by the Sky Group..." Xia Qingqing shook her head.
Lin Yun fell silent.
"The example you used is not correct. When girls grow up, they usually marry. Among those 180,000 people, some girls get married and you might not care, but if Mengmeng marries someone else, would you be indifferent?" After a pause, Xia Qingqing said.
Lin Yun frowns.
In his mind, he pictures the beautiful, innocent girl resembling a fairy from heaven with her various gestures, gaze, and actions...
Although she always acted casually, his strong mental strength allowed him to sense many emotions. How could he not sense these emotions?
If she married someone else, would he be truly indifferent?
Lin Yun silently asked himself in his heart.
"After a girl is married, her mindset tends to change. They may serve their husbands wholeheartedly. Mengmeng has excellent martial arts talent, and in the future, her strength could surpass you. If she marries someone else, then you... what would you do?" Xia Qingqing asked hesitantly.
Originally, she wanted Lin Yun to accept Lin Mengmeng due to her physical strength and lifespan considerations. Now, however, Mengmeng’s martial arts talent had surfaced, causing her to consider another aspect.
Of course, Lin Mengmeng was her good friend and her feelings and sacrifices for Lin Yun were something she could not ignore. These were significant reasons too.
She wanted to be selfish, but feared she would feel guilty for a lifetime if she was truly selfish.
Now, her situation had changed from the past. Considering their prolonged lifespan, going through life with just Lin Yun could be monotonous, especially considering Lin Yun’s status.
"How could you think of such things..." Lin Yun gave a bitter smile.
Beside Xia Qingqing’s words, he couldn’t help but to think of the scene where Mengmeng, dedicated wholly to another man, got married. He had not thoroughly hypnotized Mengmeng and the others to be loyal to him, so this event could actually happen.
Thinking of such a possibility made him slightly uncomfortable.
Why would he have such thoughts?
Could it be that he really did like Mengmeng, wanting to marry her and not let her marry someone else?
Lin Yun felt gloomy.
Lin Mengmeng was indeed great... but he had decided to stop pursuing such thoughts!
In his heart, he was more traditional.
He already had Xia Qingqing, and he didn’t want to fail her.
However, why was Xia Qingqing always pushing him in another direction?
Did the girl want someone else to share what was hers?
Or, did Xia Qingqing not love him enough?
Suddenly, Lin Yun considered this possibility, and his heart skipped a beat.
But in the next moment, Lin Yun shook his head.
His strong mental strength allowed him to sense that Xia Qingqing deeply loved him.
This love far exceeded the emotions that many people had in this aspect.
It was because of this strong feeling that he didn’t want to fail Xia Qingqing.
Why would he have such thoughts?
Lin Yun blamed himself.
At this moment, he had sorted out his thoughts.
It was not that he wasn’t loved enough but loved too much. That’s why Xia Qingqing was so considerate of him in every aspect.
"Stop thinking about all these pointless things. If you paid more attention to cultivating martial arts, maybe there would be more progress." Lin Yun lightly tapped on Xia Qingqing’s head and laughed.
"Don’t worry, this lifetime, I only need you..." Lin Yun said after a pause.
The inexplicable mild affection made him plan to let go, and the deep love of Xia Qingqing made him cherish the girl more.
During his difficult times, she had stood by him unfailingly. Since he had made his choice, how could he fail her?
As for Lin Mengmeng, even if her strength surpassed him in the future, he wouldn’t stop her from making her choices.
However, before he could finish speaking, Xia Qingqing covered his mouth with her hand.
"I don’t need your promises, all I want is to be by your side forever. No matter what happens in the future, I hope you won’t abandon me or ignore me." Xia Qingqing put her delicate fingertips on Lin Yun’s chest and spoke softly.
Her extremely humble words caused Lin Yun’s heart to throb fiercely.
