Chapter 12: 12.第12章 这就是弱肉强食的世界！

“Brilliant, simply brilliant! To defeat an opponent without drawing a single drop of blood—Yun Jin, you have truly opened my eyes!” Murong Yuchen clapped his hands and leapt down from the tree. His white robes fluttered, and paired with his peerless, handsome face, he looked like an immortal descended to the mortal realm.

Yun Jin spread her hands and shrugged. “It can’t be helped. I have no cultivation, so I can only rely on tricks.”

Murong Yuchen furrowed his long brows and reached out to grasp Yun Jin’s wrist. He could feel that the spiritual energy within Yun Jin’s body was extremely pure and powerful, surging incessantly. In this state, how could she fail to gather spiritual energy?

He looked at Yun Jin, his eyes flickering. Could it be that this girl didn't trust him enough and was hiding something?

Seeing him frown, Yun Jin understood his thoughts at a glance. She pulled her hand away and began to make an effort to gather spiritual energy.

A cyan light began to glow in her palm, flickering a few times before returning to stillness.

Yun Jin gave him a smile. “There’s nothing to hide from you; it’s just like this.”

Murong Yuchen held her wrist, feeling the spiritual energy throughout her entire body rushing toward her palm, yet miraculously, it could not coalesce. Even with his profound cultivation, he could not discern why Yun Jin was unable to gather spiritual energy. It seemed he would have to ask his Martial Uncle for guidance some other day.

Seeing his handsome brows knit together, Yun Jin smiled. “It doesn't matter. Even without cultivation, I can carve out my own path. Haven't you seen it?”

Murong Yuchen recalled his earlier doubt. “Your moves are very peculiar. I have never seen them before. It seems... they are not techniques from this Qinglan Continent?”

Yun Jin froze, not expecting him to have spotted the anomaly. She didn't particularly mind others knowing, but since she currently lacked cultivation, this was her trump card. Not to mention, she could not yet place her full trust in the man before her.

She smiled faintly. “They are merely moves I stumbled upon myself.”

The brightness in Murong Yuchen’s eyes dimmed; she still refused to trust him. But that was fine; there was plenty of time ahead, and the one named Murong lacked nothing more than patience.

Thus, he changed the subject. “What about them?” He pointed to the bear demon unconscious on the ground and the wolf demon still circling in place.

Yun Jin recalled the suspicious manner in which those two demons had acted earlier, suggesting they held some secret. She raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Make him hand over what he has.”

“And then?” Murong Yuchen arched an eyebrow.

“And then kill him,” she said, crisp and decisive.

“Are you not afraid of being hunted by the Bear Clan and the Wolf Clan?”

“Do you think if I don't kill them, they won't hunt me?” Yun Jin spread her hands. The grudge had already been formed; since it could not be resolved, she saw no need to be polite.

Murong Yuchen nodded and smiled. This smile was like a garden in full bloom; his porcelain-white skin shimmered under the sunlight, and his star-like eyes were exceptionally bright. As expected of the person he had set his sights on—she was cunning enough and decisive enough.

Yun Jin looked down at her jade-white palms, feeling a sense of pity that these hands would henceforth be stained with blood.

Murong Yuchen stepped in front of her. “I’ll do it.”

Yun Jin shook her head, her voice firm. “I’ll do it myself.” In this world where the strong prey on the weak, life is exchanged for the blood of one's enemies. Therefore, she could not run away.

It was a pity that after living two lifetimes, she still could not escape the fate of having blood on her hands.

Murong Yuchen tried to stop her. “You don't actually like this.” Therefore, there was no need for it.

Yun Jin looked up, meeting his eyes directly, her lips still wearing a calm smile. “Do you like it?”

Murong Yuchen froze, suddenly unsure of how to answer.

With her back to him, Yun Jin walked toward the circling male wolf. Her calm yet resolute voice drifted on the wind: “The world we live in has always been one where the strong prey on the weak. So, even if we dislike it, we still cannot escape such a destiny.”

Whether in her past life or this one.

The mountain wind blew her water-green skirt and her long hair; her slender silhouette looked as if it might be swept away by the wind at any moment, yet the words she spoke carried an incomparable tenacity and resolve.

With a bitter smile, Murong Yuchen looked at the fragile woman before him. “With me here, you actually don't have to be like this.”

Yun Jin suddenly turned her head and gave him a brilliant smile. “Then, how long can you stay by my side? A day, a year, or a lifetime?”

This young girl was always so resilient that it made one's heart ache. Using her slender, fragile shoulders and her body devoid of cultivation, she struggled with all her might in this world where strength was everything.

Murong Yuchen stood in place, silently hardening his resolve. Even if the heavens and earth were to collapse, he would stay by her side!