Chapter 2: Meeting Dingding Again (Part 1)

Guo Shier smiled and said, “Grandpa An, I came by to check in. I’ll be leaving soon. How have you been?” He greeted him. Although he hadn’t lived at Beifu Gate for long, the people there were kind and simple, leaving him a very good impression.
An Zhengyan wasn’t expecting Guo Shier to smile again, though his smile was rather fierce. He said, “Good, very good. I’m living out my days at Beifu Gate. My children are all doing well—they’ve all entered the inner sect. My eldest son is already a senior talisman martial artist. Hehe, even better than I was back then.”
The old man kept talking nonstop, and Guo Shier listened patiently. He had experienced aging himself and had memories from his past life, so he wasn’t annoyed at all.
“Wow, so he’s Guo Shier? I heard he’s really amazing…”
“Of course. It’s said that when he first entered the inner sect, the sect leaders almost fought over taking him as a disciple!”
“Really? I heard he went to another continent. How did he come back?”
“Idiot, this is Beifu Gate. He left from here, so of course he’ll come back!”
“…”
The chatter grew louder. Ying Mo turned and glanced over. The apprentices were so scared they quickly fell silent, but they couldn’t hide their envious expressions.
After chatting for a while, Guo Shier noticed more and more people gathering in the library. It turned out that those apprentices and low-level professionals had secretly sent small talisman messages—those paper messages for short-distance transmission. Apprentices and low-level disciples near the Talisman Market flocked to the library.
Ying Mo said with a smile, “Lao Luo, Shier is quite famous at Beifu Gate. That’s why so many people have come.” He saw many apprentices sending those small talisman messages.
Luo Zhan replied, “Everyone is just curious. It’s nothing serious.”
Guo Shier knew he couldn’t stay long. He said, “Grandpa An, you go ahead with your work. I just came by to check in. Hehe, I’ll visit you again when I have time.”
Only then did An Zhengyan realize that so many people had crowded into his library. He said, “It’s been a long time since so many people have come. Shier, you should get busy too. You don’t need to stay with an old man like me.”
Guo Shier took his leave. Realizing it was hard to move around freely at Beifu Gate, he shook his head with a wry smile and said, “Uncle Ying Mo, Uncle Luo, let’s go.” The three of them left the library and flew away, disappearing amidst gasps of surprise.
…
Back at Luo Jie’s manor, a servant respectfully delivered a message talisman, saying, “This is a message talisman from Chenxiao Sect, delivered specifically to the young master.”

Guo Shier took it, glanced at it briefly, and smiled, saying, “Master and Masteress have already joined the Fire Sect. Hehe, they won’t be leaving for a while.”
Eagle Demon asked, “Are they outer sect elders?”
Guo Shier shook his head. “No, they’re inner sect elders. They arrived at just the right time. The Fire Sect lost many experts last time, and after they went there, they were immediately put to good use… mainly because of Senior Han Yan’s recommendation.”
With Ku Mu and Monier—one an intermediate Great Saint Master and the other a junior Great Saint Master—their strength was enough to draw the sect’s attention.
Eagle Demon asked, “Are we going to the Fire Sect too?”
Guo Shier replied, “No. We’ll first go to Haicheng on the Xinkji Continent to see if Grandpa Nan Shan has sent any messages.”
Eagle Demon said, “That’s good. Let’s go to the Xinkji Continent first and bring a few clan disciples along. After Leopard and the others left, there aren’t enough people there.”
Now they could act completely independently. Neither the North Talisman Sect nor the Chenxiao Sect could restrict their movements. Guo Shier was already a high-level Saint Master and the strongest among the elders in the Chenxiao Sect, second only to the Grand Elder—a position only held by Great Saint Masters. Elders like him only had to unconditionally carry out the sect’s tasks in times of crisis that threatened the sect’s survival; otherwise, they were free to act as they pleased.
With a few newly joined clan disciples, Guo Shier and the others returned to the courtyard in Haicheng.
After Aunt Lan, Huo Bao, and the others left, the courtyard became much quieter, with only about a dozen clan disciples remaining. Guo Shier inquired and found that Qi Nan Shan hadn’t sent any messages. He wasn’t worried, knowing that it was common for professionals to be away for over a decade when traveling.
One of the disciples brought over a message token and said, “Master, this is a local message token received the day before yesterday.”
Guo Shier took a quick look—it was a message from Xuan Ai. He erased the original content, wrote his own message on it, then formed a virtual talisman with his hand. The message token turned into a faint shadow and disappeared.
Eagle Demon asked, “What’s the matter?”
Guo Shier shook his head. “It’s nothing important. Just that he asked me to send him a message token once I returned.”
Eagle Demon nodded. This was how professionals usually communicated. On the same continent, it was easy to find each other—by exchanging message tokens and leaving soul imprints. Friends could exchange more tokens, while ordinary acquaintances needed just two.
Guo Shier said, “Let’s rest for a couple of days before going to the Fire Sect. Master and Masteress are there, so we’ll go see them.”

Just then, a message token flew through the air. Guo Shieru reached out and grabbed it, knowing it must be from Xuan Ai. Sure enough, it was from Xuan Ai, with a message telling him not to rush away as she would be there soon.
Guo Shieru was curious, wondering what matter Xuan Ai had.
A few hours later, Xuan Ai arrived at the door. Guo Shieru immediately got up and went to the door with Ying Mo. Luo Zhan didn’t come out—he was busy preparing food.
Xuan Ai said excitedly, “Shieru, some friends have arrived, haha.”
Seeing the person standing behind Xuan Ai, Guo Shieru was stunned. He exclaimed in surprise, “Zhou Xiaoling! Dingding!”
Zhou Xiaoling stood at the door with a radiant smile. She was no longer the naive girl she used to be; she was tall and well-proportioned, wearing a lake-blue long dress and a black leather belt that accentuated her slender waist. Two strands of hair hung down from her cheeks, and traces of runes occasionally flashed on her fair face. Her big, lively eyes sparkled with a mischievous smile.
Guo Shieru was amazed—this girl had changed so much.
Zhou Xiaoling said cheerfully, “I didn’t expect you to still be in Haicheng.”
Xuan Ai said, “See? I didn’t lie to you!”
Zhou Xiaoling suddenly sensed something was wrong. She studied Guo Shieru carefully and exclaimed in shock, “Shieru, you…” She pointed at his face.
Guo Shieru wondered, “What’s wrong? Dingding, is there something on my face?” He touched his face.
Zhou Xiaoling exclaimed, “You’ve advanced to a high-level Saint Master? How… how is that possible! In just a few years! Oh no, I can’t take it! Comparing oneself to others… it’s infuriating!”
Xuan Ai was also stunned. He shouted, “Shieru, you pervert!”
In the large sect where Zhou Xiaoling and Xuan Ai belonged, if a disciple could advance rapidly, all the sect’s resources would be directed toward them, and their status in the sect would be very high. The ability to turn potential into strength was what the sect valued most. Just a few years after leaving the Land of Bloodshed, Guo Shieru had already reached the level of a high-level Saint Master—such rapid advancement was unbelievable.
Zhou Xiaoling had also advanced to a Saint Master, but only at the beginner level. Back in the Bloodthirsty Secret Realm, both she and Guo Shieru were high-level Masters. After just a few years apart, Guo Shieru was now two levels above her, which drove her crazy.
Guo Shieru said innocently, “Heh, I advanced without even realizing it.”

Zhou Xiaoling said, “It’s so unfair! I worked so hard to reach the rank of Junior Holy Master, while you’re almost at the rank of Grand Holy Master… Never mind, you’re just a pervert! I won’t argue with you anymore!”
Guo Shier muttered, “Little chili!”
Zhou Xiaoling paid no attention to what Guo Shier said and said, “Hey, Shier, are you planning to stand at the door forever?” She looked up and saw Eagle Demon, immediately smiling brightly, “Hehe, Uncle Eagle Demon, it’s been so long!” After taking a quick look, she exclaimed in shock, “Wow! I can’t live! Uncle has reached the rank of Intermediate Holy Master, second only to that pervert!”
Everyone was speechless—this girl really spoke without any restraint.
Guo Shier said, “Come in, let’s go to the living room.”
Eagle Demon said, “The little girl is getting more and more beautiful, but she’s still so noisy. She needs to be more ladylike…” He put on an air of authority.
Zhou Xiaoling rolled her eyes and said with a smile, “I won’t be ladylike! What’s so great about being ladylike? I… uh, I’m free now, and that’s great!” She waved her hand and stepped lightly into the courtyard. If she didn’t speak, she looked like a beautiful woman, but once she spoke, her boldness as a professional came through.
Xuan Ai smiled bitterly and followed inside.
The group went to the living room and sat down. Family disciples brought in trays, placing a glass of juice in front of each person.
Zhou Xiaoling had never seen this before and asked, “What is this?”
Xuan Ai replied, “This is juice made by Shier. It’s very delicious. You can make it yourself in the future—it’s easy.”
Zhou Xiaoling took a sip and immediately showed a pleased expression. “Huh, it’s really delicious! Shier, give me some later so I can take it back and drink it slowly, hehe.” She wasn’t polite at all.
Guo Shier laughed and said, “No problem. Dingding, I’ll give you a bottle now.” He threw a talisman bottle, which Zhou Xiaoling caught quickly and examined briefly. It was a talisman bottle that could hold 200 jin, filled to the brim with juice. She happily put it away and said, “Thanks, Shier.”
Guo Shier said seriously, “You’re welcome!”
Zhou Xiaoling couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Haha, don’t be so serious! I think you were cuter when you were a kid!”
Guo Shier was speechless for a while before saying, “Little troublemaker, you’re even more mischievous now than when you were a kid…”
Zhou Xiaoling was embarrassed and snapped, “Shier, you!”

Xuan Ai hurriedly said, “What’s wrong with you two? As soon as you meet… you just…” She couldn’t finish her sentence. Eagle Demon smiled and said, “It’s fine. Little guys just like to make noise; it’s normal.”
Guo Shier looked at Eagle Demon speechlessly. He actually had no intention of competing with Zhou Xiaoling. He quickly changed the subject and said, “Dingding, how did you end up in Haimen? By the way, which continent and sect do you belong to? I never knew.”
Zhou Xiaoling asked back, “You didn’t know?”
Guo Shier replied, “You never mentioned it… Of course I didn’t know.”
Zhou Xiaoling suddenly remembered what happened in the Bloody Secret Realm. Guo Shier had later left with two super experts, while they were driven out of the realm. She couldn’t help asking, “By the way, Shier, what happened to the Bloody Secret Realm later? Our sect has canceled that trial task now. Is that ancient soul altar still there?”