“Zhao Dahe, you’ve arrived just in time!” Tan Hu laughed heartily. “We were about to go look for you.”

　　Chu Li said, “Why would you waste your energy trying to find me when you can’t kill me anyway!”

　　“That’s not necessarily true!” Tan Hu replied with a laugh. “This time, we’ll never let you get away!”

　　“Anyone can talk big!” Chu Li retorted scornfully.

　　He reached out and wrapped an arm around Li Ruolan’s waist.

　　Startled, Li Ruolan glared coldly at him with her charming, bright eyes.

　　Chu Li pretended not to notice it as he increased his speed.

　　Li Ruolan felt a sudden push at her waist and as his hand kept nudging her forward. He was much faster than she was and the surroundings flashed past her in a blur.

　　She sighed to herself. A month ago, he was someone she could have single-handedly defeated. At that point of time, only a month passed and he was already far more powerful than her now. She did not expect this at all and found it hard to wrap her mind around it.

　　Chu Li’s cultivation level was already higher than Tan Hu’s, so by using both the Divine Light Body and Time Steps, he was able to raise his speed to the highest he could go. Although Tan Hu had used his secret skill, Chu Li still managed to increase the distance between them.

　　Tan Hu scoffed in anger and pounded his fists against each other. At once, a tiger silhouette appeared between his fists and shot toward Chu Li.

　　Chu Li launched a Divine Light Fist at the tiger silhouette. However, the fist force passed through it and charged at Tan Hu instead, forcing him to change his body’s position. He slowed down slightly as he moved his body to dodge the fist force and the distance between them increased again.

　　Chu Li abruptly dove into the forest.

　　Tan Hu followed suit but quickly collided into a tree. They heard a loud rumbling noise and the tree seemed as if a huge rock crashed into it and looked like it was about to be uprooted.

　　Chu Li kept his arm around Li Ruolan’s waist as he moved through the forest as swift as a swimming fish.

　　Through the Omniscient Mirror’s observation, he could check the path ahead of him in advance and see where the tree branches were at, where he should turn, as well as where there would be gaps between the trees. By having a clear idea of his surroundings beforehand, he managed to find his way through the forest without having to slow down at all.

　　Although Tan Hu had followed him into the forest, he began to fall behind more and more until Chu Li eventually lost sight of him and heard his angry, furious roar echoing from afar.

　　Chu Li chuckled and said, “Miss Ruolan, what do you think of my ability to escape?”

　　Li Ruolan understood that his reaction speed was more superior to most people after having witnessed how easily he maneuvered through the forest without slowing down at all. Indeed, he was a genius blessed by Heaven and she could never compare to him.

　　“Hmm?” Chu Li turned his head and glanced behind.

　　Meng Wu’s tall and slim figure had appeared two hundred meters away. He was gliding over the treetops and charging ahead like a strong gust of wind as he gradually got closer to them.

　　Chu Li frowned. “This old guy is so difficult to deal with!”

　　“There are the Eight Grand Elders in White Tiger Sect, and he’s one of them,” Li Ruolan informed in a low voice. “You mustn’t underestimate him. He was very famous earlier on and had fallen under the radar in recent years only because he had been keeping a low profile as an elder of White Tiger Sect. Nonetheless, his cultivation level would’ve gotten stronger.”

　　Chu Li asked, “He managed to become an elder with such a cultivation level?”

　　He felt somewhat disappointed. Although Meng Wu’s cultivation level was higher than his, the gap was not that big. It felt roughly the same as when he had first encountered Fang Qingyang.

　　Li Ruolan scoffed and replied, “These elders aren’t like young people. While young people would usually claim to be more powerful than they really were, these old guys would typically hide thirty percent of their abilities and reveal only the remaining seventy percent. They would never show their true power unless the situation requires them to, so be careful of him!”

　　Chu Li laughed. “We’ll be able to get away from him no matter how powerful he is!”

　　“You haven’t learned the Secret Technique of Great Light. I’m afraid…” Li Ruolan shook her head.

　　Chu Li asked, “Why didn’t the Saint transmit the Secret Technique of Great Light to me?”

　　“Perhaps she’s afraid that you might use it,” Li Ruolan said. “The Secret Technique of Great Light reduces your lifespan.”

　　“Well, that’s better than dying right away,” Chu Li muttered.

　　Li Ruolan remained silent as she was not sure of the reason behind it as well. However, she knew that the Saint would certainly have a reason for doing so and that it was definitely not because it had slipped her mind.

　　While they were speaking, Meng Wu continued to catch up to them until he was only a hundred meters away.

　　In a flash, Chu Li turned and ran in another direction.

　　When Meng Wu saw that Chu Li had suddenly disappeared, he hesitated for a moment. Soon after, he was gaining speed on him again.

　　The mountain range they were on stretched endlessly and Chu Li swiftly traveled through the forest without stopping. He turned left and right from time to time as he kept changing his directions.

　　After running around for some time, Chu Li came to a stop and the two of them stood together in the wind at the top of a mountain.

　　The sun was shining brightly in the sky but it was not scorching.

　　A strong wind blew and Chu Li’s clothes fluttered about as he looked at Li Ruolan who was standing in front of him.

　　Li Ruolan had more or less recovered from her earlier injuries. Her clothes clung tightly to her body in the wind, vaguely revealing her graceful curves. Yet, the wind did not manage to lift her veil.

　　He had encountered the uniqueness of this veil before. It could prevent others from peeking into her mind, so his Omniscient Mirror could not read her thoughts. He did not expect it to be able to withstand high wind conditions as well.

　　“Miss Ruolan, let’s part here,” Chu Li said.

　　Li Ruolan nodded. “Zhao Dahe, thank you.”

　　Chu Li waved a hand in dismissal. “What are you thanking me for? It’s only right for me to do this. If something were to happen to you, I really wouldn’t know what to do then!”

　　Li Ruolan rolled her eyes at him and then said, “Will you be going back there now?”

　　“Of course not,” Chu Li replied in anger. “I have to find a place to cultivate the Light Blade Technique. After I master it, I’ll go and settle scores with them. If I go back there now, I’ll just keep getting pursued and beaten up by them. That’ll be too stifling for me!”

　　“Right, you should work on your martial arts first.” Li Ruolan nodded.

　　Chu Li said, “Miss Ruolan, you must be very busy. Just leave first. This mountain seems like a pretty nice place. I think I’ll stay here and cultivate.”

　　“… I’ll stay and be your guardian then.” Li Ruolan offered.

　　Chu Li waved a hand and laughed. “I’m not cultivating the Great Light Scripture anyway. I’m just cultivating the Light Blade Technique. This doesn’t require a guardian.”

　　Li Ruolan stared at him and then slowly nodded.

　　She sighed to herself, unable to decide whether he was just straightforward or slow. He had such a good opportunity to make her stay but chose to let it go instead. She found his unromantic nature both funny and extremely embarrassing.

　　Li Ruolan did not start to have feelings for him but she just felt that Chu Li was so simple-minded.

　　Although she did not like him, she had intended to repay his kindness for saving her life by watching over him for a few days, so that he could be at ease while cultivating.

　　However, he had turned down her offer instead. He was really such a…

　　As her thoughts reached this point, she said, “Alright then. Be cautious of Meng Wu. I’ll go back to report to the Saint first.”

　　“Okay.” Chu Li seemed reluctant to watch her leave and kept his gaze fixed on her lovely eyes.

　　Nevertheless, Li Ruolan appeared unmoved by this as she waved her hand and glided away; vanishing into the forest a moment later.

　　Before she entered the forest, she looked back and saw Chu Li still standing there unmoving, as though he would always be there.

　　At that moment, she felt slightly moved. It was quite a wonderful feeling to have someone that liked her so wholeheartedly.

　　As Chu Li watched her disappear into the forest, he felt a sense of sadness.

　　Although he had not truly fallen for Li Ruolan, it still felt rather depressing to watch such a beautiful woman leave. When he had a beautiful woman by his side, the world seemed so more wonderful, and time seemed to pass by swiftly.

　　Soon, he kept his thoughts under control and came to a precipice at the top of the mountain to start cultivating the Light Blade Technique.

　　Since he was proficient at using the Eternity Blade, there was no need for him to practice his accuracy anymore. He had already achieved the state where he could become one with his blade, so his precision and accuracy were top-notch. This was usually the most basic and effort-consuming stage in terms of cultivating flying blade techniques. Nonetheless, he had already mastered that part. All that was left now was to learn how to let the flying blade act in unity with the heart technique.

　　This was why he had been so confident that he could master it in a short amount of time. Given that he had learned how to become one with his flying blade, he did not have to waste much effort working on his precision.

　　On top of that, he had a unique advantage when it came to mastering complicated heart techniques. His strong spiritual force enabled him to circulate his inner energy as easily as moving his arms, so no matter how complex a heart technique was, he could still stimulate it with ease.

　　When evening came, he had advanced from the first level of the blade technique to its second level, followed by its third level, fourth level, and fifth level. As he cultivated all the way to the fifth level of blade technique in one go, he advanced rapidly in his capabilities.