Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The terrifying aura from the depths of the pool immediately dispersed. Yun Die fell in place, her face pale white. Without caring about the pain that wracked her body, she cried out a mourn-filled "Teacher!" before rushing toward the pool. A flash of brilliance had finally appeared in her dark and dreary life, and her teacher was the lighthouse that guided her path. If her teacher died, her future would fall into darkness once more.

Teacher, please be okay! Please be okay! The brief period when she ran over to the edge of the pool was a time of incomparable suffering for Yun Die. She wanted to make sure her teacher was safe and fine, but she was also afraid of seeing something she couldn't accept. The fierce clashing of feelings in her heart caused her to ignore Rong Wei's loud shouts of "Danger!"

If her teacher had vanished, then perhaps leaving together with him was a good choice…this thought appeared in Yun Die's heart. Then, in the next moment, she arrived at the edge of the pool. She nervously looked down and then froze in place.

Rong Wei and the others were watching Yun Die from behind. They sighed as they saw her reaction. They had guessed the final outcome of what happened. Was there any need to consider it? Even Yun Die had been stunned; she had clearly been shaken by the 'tragedy' she saw.

The blood drained from Xiang Ziyue's face and pain filled his eyes. How could this be? Mister Ning Qin was their final ray of hope, and yet he had discarded his life in such a careless manner. If the dark star ice serpent could not be treated then his teacher wouldn't be able to escape the false charges that the sect brought against him. It seemed that his destiny was doomed.

Si Jia's eyes widened. She never thought that this magnificent and accomplished Mister Ning Qin would end his life in such a ridiculous way.

This was too irresponsible of him. Not only had he died, but he had dragged others down with him. When she glanced at Rong Wei's heavy face, she sighed gently inside and couldn't help but worry.

"Miss Yun Die, tragedies happen all the time and they cannot be reversed. We must leave immediately. Once the dark star ice serpent goes out of control once more, you and I will not be able to resist it!" Rong Wei shouted out loud. He needed to go inform the sect to assemble their experts and suppress the beast, otherwise there was sure to be a storm of blood and chaos!

He had already made up his mind to leave before. Even if that was no longer a possibility now, he still didn't want to see the Hidden Fog Sect suffer from the backlash of a spirit beast he cared for.

But just as his voice fell, Yun Die, who was standing on the edge of the pool, suddenly fell over as if she had lost all strength in her legs. She crashed down into the pool.

"Miss Yun Die!" Rong Wei cried in alarm.

This…this was…was she burying herself with her teacher…

Xiang Ziyue and Si Jia were both left dumbfounded.

But at this time, strong winds whipped up from the depths of the pool. Rong Wei's complexion changed, "This is bad, we must leave!" He had clearly underestimated the speed of the dark star ice serpent. Before the three could leave the cave, a massive shadow flew out from the pool.

Resolve shined in Rong Wei's eyes. Even if he managed to escape this cave alive, he was bound to suffer a pitiful end anyway. If so, then he might as well die fighting here and give Xiang Ziyue and Si Jia a chance to escape. If he died, then perhaps the Hidden Fog Sect would look upon this in a favorable light and wouldn't implicate his disciples.

With his heart firmed, he grabbed the other two and flung them away. He roared, "Run and don't look back!"

At this time, Rong Wei turned around, welcoming the dark star ice serpent that flew out with courage and decisiveness.

Flying through the air, Xiang Ziyue shook his head with bitter pain. Si Jia looked at his back, sorrow in her eyes.

But this heart-wrenching farewell scene didn't continue for long. As Rong Wei summoned the entirety of his cultivation and was about to punch out, he froze in place. His eyes widened and his face filled with disbelief.

The airborne Xiang Ziyue and Si Jia had similarly shocked expressions.

Because on top of the head of the dark star ice serpent that flew out of the pool, there was a figure squatting down. A black robe covered his body but couldn't conceal the noble and righteous aura he emitted. He held his hands in front of him, carrying Yun Die who had just fallen into the pool to 'bury' herself.

At this time, the dark star ice serpent gently exhaled. The white air that gushed out from its nose condensed into clouds of ice. It slowly swirled around and dropped to the floor. The teacher and disciple that stood atop its head seemed as if they were legends emerging from some mythical world.

"Mister…Mister Ning Qin…" Rong Wei uttered, nearly losing his composure. Although he believed he had a firm will, he was still left in a bewildered daze right now.

This was even more so for Xiang Ziyue and Si Jia. Their blank expressions were asking - who am I, where am I, what am I seeing?

Qin Yu leapt down with Yun Die in his arms. He landed with a steady 'pa' and set her down on her feet.

"Are you alright?"

"Ah…no…I'm fine…" Yun Die finally regained her senses. Her face flushed red. If there was a crack in the ground, she really wanted to dig her way in.

When she had seen the dark star ice serpent crawling beneath her teacher and allowing him to stroke its horn, her legs weakened and she tumbled forward. Fortunately, her teacher had responded quickly enough. He had controlled the dark star ice serpent and grabbed onto her, otherwise wouldn't she have ended up plunging to her death?

This was too disgraceful!

Not only that, but when she was hugged by teacher against his chest, his body heat felt truly warm in the ice cold environment. She even wanted to stay in her teacher's hug forever.

Don't think about it, don't think about it…this was completely shameless!

Yun Die lowered her head. All of her previous calm had disappeared, and she seemed like a frightened little bird.

Qin Yu didn't think much about it, nor was he bored enough to try to figure out the thoughts of his female disciple. Seeing that she was fine, he nodded and didn't speak further. When he saw Rong Wei and the others, he said, "My apologies. There was a minor accident but luckily nothing went wrong…mm, this could also be considered a small harvest."

When his palm stroked the dark star ice serpent's lone horn, he found that his blood energy could suppress its rampaging strength. Although it could only temporarily quell it, this was enough to earn precious treatment time.

Rong Wei let out a long breath of relief. He looked over at the dark star ice serpent that was lying prone on the ground, not even daring to move. When his eyes turned to Qin Yu once more, a look of incomparable earnestness and heat erupted from his pupils.

To use aura to directly suppress the out-of-control dark star ice serpent was something that only a mythical existence, someone that stood at the very pinnacle of beast trainers, could accomplish.

No wonder Mister Ning Qin had easily obtained a high-grade heaven-step mission evaluation result at Sky Declaring Pavilion. With his strength, that was a laughably easy matter.

Rong Wei took a deep breath. He walked several steps forward and cupped his hands together, bowing deeply. "Rong Wei greets…Mister Ning Qin. Rest assured that I will absolutely not reveal mister's status to anyone. If I dare violate this oath, I will perish by 10,000 bolts of thunder!"

Si Jia took a deep breath. She pulled over a still-stunned Xiang Ziyue and the two quickly bowed.

Grand Expert realm…this was the legendary Grand Expert realm…

Even looking across the entire world, such a character stood at the apex. They had no idea why Grand Expert Ning Qin decided to conceal his status, but they didn't dare to disobey the will of a Grand Expert.

After the shock and horror passed, what followed was joy and excitement. To study by the side of a Grand Expert was an opportunity that would leave any beast trainer red-eyed with envy!

Qin Yu was a bit confused. He really had no idea why Rong Wei and the other two would have such a sweeping change in attitude just now. In order to not give himself away, he had looked up some basic general knowledge of beast trainers. But, he hadn't looked deeply into records of a more profound realm. As a result, he naturally had no idea what sort of impact his actions had left on Rong Wei and the others.

Yun Die saw her teacher's silence. After suppressing her wavering heart, she stepped forward and said, "Mister Rong Wei, Miss Si Jia, fellow daoist Xiang, my teacher is wandering the world right now and is attempting to achieve the state of returning to his true self. If the three of you would not spread news of this to the outside world, I would like to thank you in teacher's place in advance."

Qin Yu: …

What is this? I have no idea what you are talking about and you are admitting everything for me?

Experiencing the world? Returning to my true self?

Yun Die, teacher has really misunderstood you. How could a beautiful and innocent young lady like you lie so easily?

In any case, on the surface this did appear to be the case. At the very least, in the eyes of Rong Wei and the others, they were fully and thoroughly convinced.

"Miss Yun Die, please do not worry. The three of us will keep our silence!" Rong Wei respectfully said.

This was the disciple of a Grand Expert. With just this title alone, her status was far higher than their own.

Qin Yu coughed. "That's enough. The dark star ice serpent's condition has stabilized for now, but it cannot last forever. Let's begin the treatment as soon as possible."

Yun Die moved to the side. As Rong Wei and the others bowed, they were left shaken once again. If Qin Yu hadn't mentioned it, they wouldn't have discovered that the dark star ice serpent's aura had stabilized considerably. Its storming out-of-control strength seemed to have encountered some kind of suppression.

Not only had such a short period of time passed, but they didn't even see what Qin Yu had done to accomplish this. It could be seen from this alone that Mister Ning Qin's Grand Expert level strength was worthy of its title!

At this time, the last bits of uncertainty in their hearts disappeared.

Rong Wei respectfully said, "Mister Ning Qin, please give us your treatment plan. The Hidden Fog Sect will surely help you to the best of their ability." In his opinion, if a Grand Expert was helping, then let alone the dark star ice serpent suffering from a backlash from its failed evolution, even if it had only a single breath of life remaining it could still be saved.

This couldn't be considered anything at all!

Everyone, including Yun Die, looked at Qin Yu with gleaming eyes.

How many people in this world had the good fortune to watch a Grand Expert at work?

To be crude about it, today's matter was enough for them to brag about for the rest of their lifetime!

Qin Yu took a deep breath. An unnoticeable stiffness crossed his face. This was a bit awkward…he had been able to camouflage himself as an unfathomably deep beast trainer, and it was true that his results had been astonishing until now. But if others wanted him to put out a treatment plan, that was really beyond his current level of knowledge. If he were to babble some random treatment plan, he feared this would cause everyone's image of him to collapse in their hearts.

Don't panic, stand firm!

Right now I am a fierce character! Why do I have to speak just because you want me to? The right to speak should lie in my hands.

"Mm, I do have a plan." Right now he needed to make the first move.

"But this is a good opportunity. Do you not want to give it a try?" Then throw in the bait.

"If you propose an acceptable treatment method, then perhaps I will use it." Continue baiting.

As his voice fell, Rong Wei, Xiang Ziyue, and Si Jia's eyes began to shine. To obtain the direction of a Grand Expert, cooperate with him, and even participate in the treatment of the dark star ice serpent, was there any greater temptation in this world?

"Mister, we are willing!"

They took the bait!

Qin Yu's lips curved up in a mesmerizing smile.

Yun Die glanced at him, respect and worship gushing out from her heart. Not only was he strong, but teacher had never been stingy about guiding others.

Such a vast heart and open mind…compared to those beast trainers who kept to themselves, the difference was as great as the heavens and earth.

To follow at teacher's side and become his true disciple, this was indeed her life's greatest lucky chance!