ETR | Chapter 66

Because Qin Lou mentioned it, he went to that old shop and bought a flower cake to eat.

The cakes there were made in batches using molds, not as finely crafted as Nan An’s, nor as meticulously made as Qin Lou’s.

The taste was alright, a bit on the sweet side; otherwise, the shop wouldn’t have stayed open for so long based on this one skill.

Xiao Xueman silently ate one but didn’t buy any more and left straight away.

The way he lowered his head and seriously ate the cake was adorable—at least in Qin Lou’s eyes—making his heart soften.

Of course, some things in the city hadn’t changed, like the places they had briefly stayed.

Unlike the Sixteenth Heaven, where they would exaggerate and turn it into the Dijun’s former residence, when they lived here, it wasn’t so high-profile, and maybe not many people even knew Wang Tian Dijun had stayed here.

The two of them walked around the place, didn’t say much, and then turned and left.

Xiao Xueman was a bit lost in thought initially, but now his mood gradually calmed down, allowing him to pay attention to Qin Lou beside him.

Because he was coming to the Thirteenth Heaven, he wore that black cloak again.

However, this cloak was a bit different from before because Xiao Xueman had pierced his shoulder, and naturally, the cloak suffered some damage.

There was a very noticeable repair mark—probably Jiang Yan’s handiwork—who made the repair mark look like a print, not too unsightly.

"Is your injury healed?"

Xiao Xueman suddenly asked.

Qin Lou was taken aback, looked at his shoulder following his gaze, and said, "It's fine, it's already healed."

Xiao Xueman didn't ask further and silently took another piece of cake from the box. Seeing that he liked it, Qin Lou softly asked, "Shall I bring you more next time?"

Xiao Xueman glanced at him, "If I really like it, I can learn to make it myself."

He didn't explicitly refuse, so Qin Lou smiled and replied, "I'll have Su Mingming bring it to you."

Xiao Xueman: "..."

He didn't say anything more.

The two of them slowly walked around, retracing all the paths they had walked together before, even going around the woods outside the city. Some scenes had changed, some hadn't.

Xiao Xueman couldn't really find anything related to Nan An here; it was more like a moment of calm for himself.

By the time they returned from the woods, it was already dark.

For some reason, more people were in the city, almost as if everyone had come out of their houses, making it bustling.

"Is there a festival?"

Xiao Xueman asked.

During the day, there were already many decorations along the roadside, but they weren’t very noticeable until they were lit up at night, creating a lively festive atmosphere, and everyone seemed to be in high spirits.

Qin Lou said, “Probably.”

He hadn’t seen this scene when he came before.

It might be some kind of festival or blessing ceremony. Besides those decorations and arrangements, there were also some impromptu spiritual power performances.

Above Xiao Xueman’s head, two huge blue spiritual powers intertwined like two ribbons dancing, probably controlled by several water-element spirit cultivators.

After a while, the ribbon-like spiritual power exploded into blue stars, falling on everyone on the street.

Xiao Xueman looked up; it was just some spiritual power trick.

The blue light spots landed on his eyelashes, and when he looked back at Qin Lou, the stars on his eyelashes twinkled, making his eyes seem to glow.

“It’s a bit noisy,” Qin Lou noticed him frowning, the light blue sparkles on the corners of his eyes and eyebrows trembling with his movements, “Let’s go somewhere else.”

Qin Lou’s heart secretly trembled.

They were just friends now, and he couldn’t do anything extra.

But, at this moment, Xueman looked really beautiful.

As he moved, the blue light spots on him gradually dissipated with his movements.

His figure seemed to carry an illusion, attracting many people’s attention, even making the nearby spiritual power performances lose their appeal.

Qin Lou quickly caught up, blocking some people’s view, and they moved to the opposite street where there were fewer people.

Qin Lou saw someone selling small items by the roadside, mostly a kind of lamp.

It wasn’t a spirit instrument, just made with a little trick. By putting a bit of one’s spiritual power inside, the lamp could float up by itself, and many people used it to make wishes.

These lamps weren’t valuable, and some larger shops would even give out a few for free to attract business.

Probably because Xiao Xueman looked good, the shop assistant directly handed him one.

Xiao Xueman was taken aback, hesitated for a moment, but still accepted it.

There were a few lines of poetry on the lamp, probably meaning happiness and good fortune.

“I don’t believe in this,” Xiao Xueman didn’t really want it, but the shop assistant who handed him the lamp was all smiles, and it’s hard to refuse a smiling face, so he didn’t reject it.

“I never make wishes.”

He indeed never relied on the heavens to give him anything.

“Can I have it?” Qin Lou asked.

Xiao Xueman naturally handed it over to him.

It was Qin Lou’s first time doing this, and he discreetly observed others’ actions, then closed his eyes and silently made a wish in his heart.

Xiao Xueman watched him from the side, a bit curious about what Qin Lou would wish for.

His first thought was that it might be related to himself?

In this regard, Xiao Xueman wasn’t wrong.

After making his wish, he used his spiritual power to light the lamp’s wick.

This thing wasn’t a spirit instrument and was very fragile. Even though Qin Lou’s power was suppressed, he was afraid he might not control it well, so he carefully drew out a trace of fire-type spiritual power to slowly light the thin wick.

The lamp then lit up, and the spiritual power light merged with the color of the outer lampshade, turning into a warm red glow.

Everything was going smoothly, and the lamp slowly left Qin Lou’s hand, starting to ascend.

But halfway up, the wick flickered, and Qin Lou’s carefully suppressed aura slipped a bit.

His fire-type spiritual power was quite special, even a trace carried a strong aura.

The lamp was fragile and couldn’t withstand it, and Xiao Xueman saw the lamp wobble in mid-air before it exploded with a bang.

If it was just one exploding, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

But there were many people releasing lamps on this street, some releasing several at once, making the air a bit crowded.

After Qin Lou’s lamp exploded, the sparks ignited the nearby lamps, causing them to explode one after another like a chain reaction.

A series of lamps exploded in the air, and those farther away survived.

The event happened so quickly that many people didn’t notice which lamp exploded first.

Qin Lou: "..."

He really didn't mean to.

Xiao Xueman wasn’t initially concerned, but seeing the scene, he chuckled softly.

He thought for a moment, waved his hand slightly, and the lamps that had exploded were enveloped by his wood-type spiritual power, instantly restored to their original state.

They swayed slightly in the air and continued to float upwards.

This was a wood-type recovery technique, common among wood-type spirit cultivators, but to restore dozens of lamps that had exploded into ashes in the blink of an eye—only he could do it.

The passersby on the street exclaimed in surprise, looking around to see who had done it.

“Let’s go,” Xiao Xueman said. “Maybe your wish was too heavy to be fulfilled.”

Though he said this, he also restored Qin Lou’s lamp. Before leaving, Qin Lou glanced back and could still recognize the one that was a bit out of place.

His powerful fire-type spiritual power couldn’t be put in, replaced by Xiao Xueman’s green wood-type spiritual power.

“I have to go back. I came here just to clear my mind,” Xiao Xueman said. “Anyway, thank you for accompanying me today, and for the snacks.”

Qin Lou thought to himself, also grateful that Xiao Xueman allowed him to accompany him.

Walking slowly on this road with him, most of the time, they didn’t speak—just stayed quiet—but that was already good.

This half-day was one of the happiest moments Qin Lou had experienced in nearly a hundred years.

Xiao Xueman paused for a moment, then continued, “Nan An’s matter won’t be forgotten in my heart for a long time, but as she said, there’s still a long time ahead. The most profound memory between Nan An and me isn’t the moment she left.”

People have to accept reality and look forward.

When Xiao Xueman left the Thirteenth Heaven, he saw the floating lamps above the city, glowing like stars, creating a beautiful scene.

“You should go back too,” Xiao Xueman said to Qin Lou. “Wangtian Immortal Gate has important matters recently—the Blue Sea Competition. I’ve heard about it.”

Su Mingming had mentioned it to him months ago, and Yu Zhengrong had also brought it up.

It was indeed an important matter, and it involved not just Wangtian Immortal Gate but the entire Upper Realm.

In the Spirit Realm Continent, a place with obvious hierarchies, competitions were naturally indispensable.

Moreover, officially organized and influential competitions of all sizes had almost become the norm, with the popularity of arenas being one of the manifestations.

The upcoming Blue Sea Competition was a top-tier competition famous across the continent, named after its founder.

Even though the first sect had changed several times over the years, the Blue Sea Competition remained, even getting better.

According to the rules, it was held every twelve years, and this year coincided with the 200th edition, making it a significant event in the Upper Realm.

It was mainly a stage for the younger generation. According to the rules of the Spirit Realm Continent, anyone under a hundred is considered young.

For fairness, it’s further divided into age groups for internal competition, usually including team and individual events.

The demon clan and major sects would send participants, leading to a melee.

This year, coinciding with the 200th Blue Sea Competition, the Alchemist Association and Artifact Refiner Association included alchemy and artifact refining competitions, making this edition unprecedentedly lively.

As the first sect, Wangtian Immortal Gate couldn’t relax at such a time.

Qin Lou had been diligently handling sect affairs in recent years, not forgetting Xiao Xueman’s advice.

For the Blue Sea Competition, the sect had already gone through several rounds of selection. Even Su Mingming was busy, and he had to grab some potential talents from the Dan Pavilion for intensive training.

Besides Wangtian Immortal Gate, almost everyone Xiao Xueman knew in the Upper Realm was preparing for this event—including Yu Zhengrong, Shen Guan, and even Feng Yiyan, who didn’t have time to pick fights anymore.

Most importantly, this matter involved Xiao Wan, which is why Xiao Xueman was particularly concerned.

“Xiao Wan wants to participate,” Xiao Xueman didn’t intend to hide it. “He’s going with Yun Rong.”