Chapter 198: Chapter 198

An Ning raised her hand to wipe the faint trace of blood at the corner of her lips. After a moment, she smiled slightly:

"City Lord, as you've just witnessed, my constitution is no secret. What you can discern at a glance, others can too. At this point, do I really have any other choice?"

An ambiguous chuckle echoed through the space. Feeling the oppressive aura around her gradually dissipate, An Ning finally allowed herself a small sigh of relief.

Those three sword energies had merely been a pretense. What she'd truly wanted from the start was this person's overt protection.

Now that she knew her life wasn't in immediate danger, An Ning fully relaxed. Even so, when she was respectfully escorted out of the hall, the back of her robe was thoroughly soaked with sweat.

The people of West Flame City worked with remarkable efficiency. That very afternoon, the outer sect manager responsible for their group of disciples came to collect her disciple token with polite courtesy, even presenting her with various spirit medicines and magical artifacts in what seemed like an amicable parting.

The entire process was handled cleanly and efficiently. While they understood that someone personally selected by the City Lord of West Flame City must have extraordinary qualities, she was ultimately just a backgroundless outer sect disciple not worth offending such an esteemed figure over.

Jiang Yan, however, was another matter. Upon learning her friend was leaving, the girl cried her heart out. Without asking why An Ning was being taken away, she kept tugging at An Ning's sleeve, repeating:

"Of course we can. Just send letters when you can."

"Mhm... okay! I'll have Father buy me the best spirit pigeon as soon as we get back!"

The cultivation world offered numerous methods of correspondence. Beyond various spiritual artifacts, spirit pigeons were the most common, though owls and similar creatures weren't unusual either.

"A-Ning, you must remember to write back!"

Even at their parting, Jiang Yan kept clinging to her with endless chatter, to which An Ning responded with smiling assurances. If nothing else, given her friend's gossip-loving nature, An Ning had no intention of missing out on such an entertaining source of information.

By the time Chen Ping arrived, An Ning had nearly finished packing her meager belongings in preparation to leave with the West Flame City contingent. Despite several years at Xuqing Sect, she had shockingly little to pack—so pitifully little it might bring tears to one's eyes. Not a single magical artifact or talisman treasure, just the spirit stones she'd accumulated over the years and her notebooks on pill refining from the past two years that held some value.

Seeing she didn't appear angry, Chen Ping, who'd been anxious throughout his journey here, finally relaxed slightly. In that instant, his gaze grew complex.

He truly hadn't expected that in this second life, his simple attempt to latch onto a powerful ally would alter this golden thigh's life trajectory so dramatically. Was this the legendary "pull one hair and the whole body moves"?

Thinking about it, Chen Ping couldn't help but analyze: given this person's aversion to mundane affairs, without his help selling spirit herbs these years, she might not have accumulated spirit stones so quickly, let alone pursued pill refining. Thus, this current situation with West Flame City would never have occurred.

But a true expert remained a true expert. Even without standing out in the sect competition years later to become a elder's disciple, she'd still forge her own brilliant path. Considering the attitudes of those outside earlier and her capabilities these past years, Chen Ping's manner grew even more ingratiating.

Even if the golden thigh was leaving, leaving some slight favorable impression couldn't hurt.

"A-Ning, these are ice spirit grass seeds I recently acquired from a rogue cultivator with great difficulty, and these..." He handed her a bag containing various seeds.

Surprisingly, without questioning whether he might have leaked information, An Ning even gave him her remaining few bottles of Spirit Nurturing Pills before departing:

"Just tell me what you need me to do, A-Ning. Even if it means going through fire and water, this Chen Lao Yao won't hesitate."

Tsk, conversing with clever people was so convenient.

Without standing on ceremony, An Ning smiled at him: "No need for fire and water. Recently in the sect, I've consistently felt a gaze watching me... If after I leave, someone deliberately comes asking..."

"Don't worry, whatever that person says or does, I'll send you a complete report immediately!" Chen Ping instinctively thumped his chest in assurance. But then he paused—wait, surveillance?

As a cultivator, his first thought was spiritual awareness. But using spiritual awareness required at least Foundation Establishment stage and specialized techniques. That meant this person was likely an inner sect disciple. An inner sect disciple paying attention to A-Ning!

Having his own fortuitous encounter, Chen Ping immediately wondered—could there be others in the sect with similar opportunities? Otherwise, given that A-Ning had done nothing these years besides growing herbs and refining pills, why would she inexplicably attract the attention of those esteemed inner sect disciples? Just considering it hinted at unspeakable dangers.

But... gripping the pills tightly and looking at her smiling face, Chen Ping knew—could he refuse? Impossible! With his aptitude, without fortuitous encounters or pills, even advancing a single step would be a pipe dream, let alone successfully establishing his foundation. He'd be doomed to rot in the lower ranks his entire life!

"A-Ning, do you remember Baozhu?" Chen Ping suddenly asked as they parted, as if remembering something.

Zhang Baozhu—of course An Ning remembered. The girl had visited often when she first arrived, though less so in the past year or two.

Hearing her question, Chen Ping's expression grew complicated: "I only just found out—recently, she became a low-ranking concubine for an inner sect disciple from Sword Peak."

Concubine was too generous a term—given Baozhu's status and aptitude, she likely wasn't even a proper chamber maid. The news gave An Ning pause.

Was it surprising? Not really. The cultivation world was far crueler than imagined. Without talent or family background, one could only remain at the lower levels of Qi Refining, becoming a servant anyone could step on. Baozhu's choice wasn't unexpected.

Yet remembering that proud, pampered girl from their first meeting, one had to wonder—was this enviable opportunity truly a blessing or a curse?

Thinking of Baozhu reminded An Ning of her cousin, Chen Pandi. Both had mixed four spiritual roots, making cultivation similarly arduous. Having witnessed Baozhu's struggles, An Ning realized how exceptional her cousin must have been in her previous life—in both temperament and opportunities—to reach such heights.

But soon, she had no leisure for such thoughts. Unlike Xuqing Sect's flying boat they'd arrived in, West Flame City disciples—due to their cultivation methods—were nearly universally hot-tempered. The flight was so turbulent An Ning nearly passed out multiple times, only persisting by swallowing several pills in succession.

Thus, when they finally disembarked and she met the young commander assigned to settle her in, An Ning had absolutely no pleasant expression to offer.

After surveying her satisfactory accommodations, she immediately presented him with an exhaustive, multi-page list including:

Various materials currently needed for pill refining, spirit stones, numerous pill-related texts she'd heard about in the library... and naturally, a series of decorative items, clothing, and jewelry to maintain her comfort.

Beneath the commander's visibly darkening gaze, An Ning remained utterly unperturbed as she continued making demands:

"I've long heard of West Flame City's extensive library collections and wished to peruse them. When might the commander have time to accompany me?"

"Of course, if Commander Huo is truly too busy, simply pointing me in the right direction would suffice..."

"Additionally, I'll likely establish my foundation within a year, and my current techniques are no longer suitable. I'll trouble the City Lord for assistance—please relay this message!"

"West Flame City is renowned for its countless sword masters. Surely providing some guidance wouldn't be an issue..."

Without giving him any chance to protest or refuse, An Ning serenely sipped the supreme spirit tea a maid had just served before looking up: "If Commander Huo finds this inappropriate, you may first consult the City Lord!"

Watching the man leave with a darkened expression, confirming the big shot wasn't currently in the city, the system finally timidly emerged from its corner—only to see its host acting with shocking audacity, completely disregarding any notion of being a guest:

"Host, isn't this too brazen? Are you sure this is okay?" the system asked tremulously. That commander's face had turned completely green! More importantly, considering that person, the system couldn't help feeling terrified.

Meanwhile, An Ning had fully relaxed, even finding leisure to appreciate her tea: "Don't worry, he won't refuse."

Whether she succeeded in pill refining or achieved Nascent Soul early, it would only benefit him. Given his physical issues, he'd want her to achieve success even sooner.

"But host, how can you be sure he won't do anything before you reach Nascent Soul?"

"Because there's no value in it. Do you know the gap between Nascent Soul and Golden Core? It's like heaven and earth!" Even if he could seize her spiritual power, what use was a drop of water in a vast river?

Like in her previous lives—why had that person only acted after she reached Golden Core? Because Foundation Establishment cultivation was practically useless to him. Only Golden Core was his true target.

In fact, An Ning had already guessed that person's cultivation level in her previous lives. Thus she could confidently say that even if Xiao Tan eventually wanted her cultivation to enhance himself or resolve his issues, he'd only act after she reached Nascent Soul—or at the very least, late-stage Golden Core.

Before then, if she struggled to refine suitable pills, he might even assist her advancement. With such favorable conditions, why not take advantage? West Flame City's readily available resources far surpassed scavenging scraps from the sect or others, or risking life and limb in secret realms.

As for dual cultivation to alleviate his condition before then? Without draining her cultivation or damaging her foundation, given his level, it was hard to say who'd truly benefit!

"But what about after Nascent Soul? Host, have you considered that?"

Her host's indifferent tone answered: "Then we'll see who outmaneuvers whom!"

Would his techniques and realm prevail, or would her pills and poisons prove superior? Regardless, she'd never again be as powerless and vulnerable as now.

"Besides, A-Tong," An Ning sighed, "do you know how difficult reaching Nascent Soul is nowadays? Seriously, study the cultivation history of the past century!"

No matter how powerful West Flame City was, it remained just a city. Why did it command such respect that even major sects dared not provoke it? Ultimately, because its current City Lord, Xiao Tan, was the only cultivator in the past century to break through to Nascent Soul on the Xuanzhen Continent.

From her research, this continent had truly high-level cultivators two centuries ago. But for some reason, in recent decades, even Golden Core perfectionists found it nearly impossible to break through, with most perishing in the attempt.

The sole known exception was West Flame City's current lord—yet even his success seemed to have left significant lingering issues.

Understanding her host's thoughts, the system couldn't help twitching: "The City Lord isn't stupid. You're using his resources, exploiting his help to break through, then planning to turn on him—you think he won't take precautions?"

"So what?" Stroking the mermaid silk just delivered, An Ning chuckled. "As city lord, do you think he didn't see through my little schemes that day?"

"Huh? He knew? Then why would he—"

"Because he's a true powerhouse!" The last words carried unmistakable admiration.

As expected, the next day Commander Huo returned stiff-faced with a jade token:

"The City Lord says your requested items will arrive shortly. As for techniques, you may search the library yourself. With this token, you'll face no restrictions accessing the library—including the pill and artifact vaults within the City Lord's residence."

He continued through gritted teeth, his handsome face twisting with barely suppressed frustration, staring at her as if she were some monster who'd inexplicably won his revered lord's unprecedented favor:

"This contains West Flame City's sword techniques. If you wish to practice swordsmanship, simply send for me!"

Pretending not to notice his displeasure, An Ning cheerfully accepted the token: "Many thanks, Commander Huo. I look forward to your guidance!"

"Oh, and about that mermaid silk delivered earlier—it's quite lovely, though rather scant. I was thinking of making a canopy recently... I'll trouble you with that..."

The system witnessing this: "..."

Wait, this actually worked?!