Heaven Basin Secret Realm

After a few minutes passed, Meng let go and Yufeng took a few steps back while rubbing her eyes.

When she looked up and saw Meng looking at her with a faint smile, she was extremely embarrassed and just remembered what just happened.

'I have cried so much in front of junior and even hugged him back, what have I been thinking at that time!'

"Please don't stare at my face like that..." She said while hiding her face behind her loose sleeves. Her eyes were still red and a few wet marks on her face remained, making it easy to tell that she has been crying for some time.

"Why? I think that Yufeng looks exceptionally beautiful right now...Emotions are what makes us humans, just now, you have displayed a great variety of emotions which in my opinion was very beautiful and that's something those from Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace you are jealous of so much can't just show. They are training in arts that remove their emotions which practically makes them inhuman in the wrong sense. I believe every human should have some emotions and treasure them instead of trying to get rid of them. That's why I think Yufeng's current face is exceptionally beautiful and not just anyone can match it because it is not just appearance or complexion itself that makes your face beautiful at the moment...it's those remaining bits of emotions you just released through the tears." Meng knew that his words might sound a bit cheesy but he truly meant them. For him, she looked exceptionally beautiful and he would rather remember her current appearance full of emotions instead of Xia Qingyue's emotionless goddess-like face.

Even Meng found himself observing Yufeng's face despite not having any real reason to do so until she called it out.

"hehe" Hearing his words, Yufeng couldn't help but chuckle before she stopped hiding behind her sleeves.

"...I must thank you, Meng. I didn't believe that crying could make me feel better but I am glad that I still did it. I feel much better. Now that I think about it with a completely clear head...maybe I can understand why was my father so against my marriage..." Yufeng said with a smile before looking down with a slightly sad expression when she mentioned her father.

"Yufeng's father? I apologize but I couldn't help but overhear a few things during my stay at the Heavenly Sword Villa...Yufeng's status around here is quite high...some might even say abnormally high. Is perhaps the father you are talking about from Mighty Heavenly Sword Region?" Meng asked and if it was as he suspected then everything would make sense now, well, almost everything.

'Her father opposing her marriage...Heavenly Sword Villa being the strongest sect out of all 4 major sects while also having ties with Mighty Heavenly Sword Region on top of it. Then who was Ling Kun to her? He must be someone who knows very well both Yufeng and her father. His purpose of visit must have been also to check up on her. Yufeng seems to think that her father resents her but if he was opposing her marriage with Ling Yuefeng...maybe he was truly just worried about his daughter's future. *sigh* What a fucked up situation, it's even worse than I expected...' Meng thought. He knew that if Yufeng was truly someone from one of the four sacred grounds, she practically threw her future away for Ling Yuefeng, yet what she got in return? NOTHING!

It was the first time for Meng when he felt so much anger towards someone who did nothing against him or anyone close to him. He spent with Yugeng only a few nights of talking so it was probably too early to call her someone too close to him but he was still extremely angry at Ling Yuefeng.

Yufeng was shocked when she heard his words, staring at him with wide-open eyes before she calmed down a bit to respond.

"...That's right, you can probably imagine how angry he must be at me. At that time, I went completely against his wishes. If he were to discover my current situation, I don't even want to imagine what would happen...Would he ridicule me? Make fun of me?" Yufeng muttered with an absentminded expression while staring at the ground.

"Hmm, I don't think so." Meng said casually while rubbing his chin which caused Yufeng to raise her head questioningly.

"If I were to be a father and my daughter would want to marry someone I don't approve of, I too would have become angry and pretend that I wouldn't want to talk with her anymore but that's because I would care about her future. Which father would hate his own daughter but still let her do as she wishes? Hasn't Yufeng said that her father is from Sacred Ground? How is it possible that there were no interferences all those years? I would bet even the prizes in the tournament were directly from there." Meng shook his head with a faint smile, imagining such a situation with closed eyes.

"I see...It seems like you know what to say no matter the situation, Meng. Thank you for spending time with me despite not being obligated to do so..." Yufeng said with a faint smile after hearing his words.

"Huh? Really? I just speak out my thoughts, I don't really think about what to say that much. And don't make it sound like I am not here out of my own volition, however, maybe I should take my leave already, tomorrow is the day when the Heaven Basin Secret Realm will open." Meng said with a slight bow.

"Ah, it's already this late...? I haven't noticed, I am sorry for keeping you here so long." Yufeng looked out of the window at the moon and replied with a slightly surprised expression.

Meng shook his head with a smile before approaching the doors with Yufeng right behind him but when he wanted to open the door, Yufeng grasped his right wrist, making him turn at her with a questioning gaze.

"...That...good night" She said in low voice with a faint blush creeping up her face.

"Good night, Yufeng" Meng saw that something was troubling her but if she didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't force it.

'Why can't I do it now? I have already done it once so why is it so hard for the second time?! Is it because of my clearer head now?' Yufeng thought with a slightly depressed expression but once she raised her eyes and saw slowly leaving Meng's back, she clenched her teeth and stepped forward...

"?" Meng suddenly felt someone hugging him from behind which slightly surprised him but the next thing that happened surprised him even more...

"Don't go to Heaven Basin Secret Realm, there is no one in your group capable of fighting Fen Moli and I don't have anyone to send with you." She had pressed her face against his back and whispered but he was still capable of hearing her words.

'Is she worried about me? Is this similar to how my comrades felt when leaving their wives to go perform their duties?'

"Yufeng, do you trust me?" Meng asked also in a whisper.

"...I do" There was a long pause before she replied as she probably already knew what he is going to say.

"Then you have nothing to worry about. I can tell you that there is no one under Emperor Profound Realm capable of killing me. I would be more afraid of dangers awaiting inside instead of some lowly shameless Great Elder of Burning Heaven Clan." Meng said with a clear and confident voice which finally caused after a short pause Yufeng to let go of him.

Meng turned around to look at her and when he saw her troubled expression while staring down, he knew that his words had a little effect.

He placed his hand on top of her head despite knowing that it's quite rude...

"I will return so we can have a few more small talks at night, how about it? There is no way I would die knowing that I have yet to talk about many things with Yufeng. Plus...if I were not capable of dealing with a single Great Elder how could I be called Young Spear Saint?" Meng said with a bright smile before finally opening the door and sneaking out.

When Meng finally left, Yufeng remained standing in front of the doors, looking at the ground for several minutes before she looked up at the doors.

'Why is it always someone with lower status? Uncle Ling wouldn't accept my request to protect him...Is all I can do truly just wait? No...' Yufeng thought before she wanted to go out to find Ling Kun...

.

.

"Yufeng, what is it that you need so late at night?" Ling Kun asked.

"Uncle Ling, I would like to contact my father as soon as possible!" Yufeng cupped her fists and said with a determined voice.

"?! Wha-? Are you sure about that, Yufeng?" Ling Kun asked in shock as he was aware that she was afraid to face her father after what happened.

"Yes! This Yufeng wants to contact her father!" She replied with a strong voice which once again surprised Ling Kun.

'I have sacrificed too much for this lowly family, I will try to take Yun'er and Jin'er back to Mighty Heavenly Sword Region' Yufeng thought with a completely clear head. Before she came here, the memories of all those years she wasted here replayed within her mind which made her so much determined. She wanted to be completely honest with her father but she knew that if he is no longer angry, he truly will be once she tells him some things...

---

In the morning of the next day, several people were at the flat clearing direct north of Heavenly Sword Mountain Range. Those people were top 10 ranked sects from the tournament, ready to enter Heaven Basin Secret Realm once it opens.

"Heaven Basin Secret Realm can only take at most fifty people at a time. With that said, each sect can only send five representatives. As for which five, you are free to choose. After entering the realm, you will only stay for two days." Ling Yuefeng said to everyone.

Meng glanced at Hengjun and saw him having the face of a scammed person.

'Well, I also thought that to enter the secret realm, one needs to place in the top 10. I didn't take into account the sect itself.' Meng thought with an amused smile. Hengjun noticed his smile so he also sent him a troubled smile.

Once the ark opened, all people present entered, Meng and Hengjun were probably the only ones who entered without their seniors as they have already discussed it.

When they entered, the surroundings completely changed to a snowy region.

"What a harsh environment for others but I guess it feels quite refreshing to me." Meng muttered with a carefree smile while looking around. He could barely contain himself to go running all around to explore as much as he could within those 48 hours.

"Refreshing...ha-ha" Hengjun next to him awkwardly laughed as he felt a bit uncomfortable due to the cold.