For a moment, I just stood there, frozen like a statue. "Lian Xin?"

"Yep."

Lian Xin smiled and watched my face for a moment. Suddenly her expression changed, and she asked with a pout, "Maybe it’s just me, but why do you look like you’re engaging in debauchery, Lu Chen?"

"Excuse me?" I felt like dying. It had been years since we saw each other, and this was the first thing she asked? How embarrassing was that?

……

"Who is she, Little Cheat?" Lin Yixin asked me from afar.

I replied, "Er, she’s one of us…"

But Lian Xin’s eyes turned steely as she said, "Who’s that dumb woman? Hey you! Why are you calling my Lu Chen a little cheat? Do you want to die?"

Chiang!

Lin Yixin unsheathed her weapon immediately. "You wanna fight?"

"Why not?"

I tried to stop her while shouting, "Stop!"

……

However, Lian Xin was faster than I was. She used Blink to pass by me and ran straight toward Lin Yixin.

Worse yet, Lin Yixin was running toward the mage herself! Unbelievable! The two bullish girls were actually going to butt heads with each other!

Swhoosh!

First, Lian Xin hit Lin Yixin with a Gravity Trap and slowed her movement speed by 75%. Then, she cast 7 Origin Force Fields in a row in an attempt to trap the wanderer in the center. If she succeeded, then she was free to rain spells on her opponent until she died.

However, the Fruit Knife Goddess was a smart woman, and she identified the threat to her being immediately. While Lian Xin was still in the middle of casting, she locked onto a small animal nearby and activated Charge, escaping the danger zone in an instant. After that, she dismounted from her Moonchaser Tiger and unveiled a glint of steel behind her palm. The silver light flashing across her purple pupils was none other than Moon Gaze.

Lian Xin calmly backed away from her opponent and slapped down another three force fields to block her advance. At the same time, she cast a matrix of stars right beneath the wanderer and hit her with a storm of spiraling ice blades! It was the 5x5 yard Ice Spiral Matrix!

Boom boom boom!

Lin Yixin stifled a groan as the spell cut into her body and inflicted a huge amount of damage—78262!

Lian Xin’s Magic Attack was just too high. Not even Lin Yixin with her Magic Resist could withstand it.

Thud thud thud!

However, Lin Yixin shrugged off the attack and continued zigzagging around the Origin Force Fields. For one, she wasn’t a quitter, and two, she knew that it was perfectly natural for the mage to land the first couple of hits in a fighter versus mage duel.

Lin Yixin continued to leap toward the mage until suddenly, a flaming ice sword burst into existence!

Lian Xin let out a cry of surprise and Blinked away in a hurry. She could see the threat it represented and acknowledged it would be dangerous to take a direct hit.

Swhoosh!

Lin Yixin locked onto the empty space next to Lian Xin and used Charge again. Her dagger passed through the mage’s Magic Shield as she executed Extreme Break!

Pssh!

Cracks started forming all across Lian Xin’s Telekinetic Shield. The damage it took was finally about to exceed its durability.

Lin Yixin immediately switched back to her sword and raised it high up into the air. Cloak flapping behind her back, she brought the blade down in one mighty swing!

"Mm…"

Lian Xin stifled a cry and parried the attack with her scepter. Naturally, she was sent skidding toward the back by Lin Yixin’s strike.

Lin Yixin was too fast for the mage. Before the mage could react, she ran up to her and kicked her in the torso!

Bang!

Finally, the Telekinetic Shield lost all of its durability and shattered into nothingness. A trace of satisfaction flashing across Lin Yixin’s eyes, she thrust her sword forward and attempted to skewer her opponent with a Barrier Break!

Lian Xin wasn’t about to give up though. Gritting her teeth and crying out in determination, she opened her palm and placed an Origin Force Field right between herself and the wanderer, pushing them apart. At the same time, she waved her scepter and cast both her super wide AoE skills, Dimensional Storm and Ice Spiral Matrix. There was a high chance the wanderer wouldn’t survive this if both spells scored a direct hit!

However, Lin Yixin reacted immediately by altering her speed and direction, dashing behind the mage. Then, she used Barrier Break again and thrust it at the mage’s back. At this point, both of them were sure to suffer grievous injuries or worse, die, if their skills landed!

……

Chiang!

It wasn’t the easiest thing to pull off, but I had finally caught up to the girls to interrupt their duel. First, I put my sword in the Barrier Break’s path and blocked the skill. Next, I hit Lian Xin’s scepter with Magic Piercing Punch and interrupted casting of her two spells.

"You!"

"You!"

Both girls glared at me and burst out at the same time.

I glared right back and said, "For fuck’s sake, would it kill the both of you to listen to what I have to say?!"

Lin Yixin finally lowered her sword and pouted. "Fine, say your piece…"

Lian Xin also lowered her scepter and asked, "Who is this dumb woman, big brother Lu Chen?"

"Stop calling me dumb woman!"

"But you are a dumb woman!"

I hurriedly stopped them before they could go for another round. "Stop arguing, or I’ll die in front of you both! Anyway... This is Lian Xin. She is one of the four original elders of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, the ‘Star’ elder. She left the country to study abroad, which is why her ID was created in the Northern Alliance. Her ID is Lian Xing, and her real name is Lian Xin."

Lin Yixin nodded in realization. "I see."

Next, I looked at Lian Xin and said, "She is the guild leader of Snowy Cathaya and my friend. Ever heard of Wind Fantasy? This is her..."

"I see…"

Lian Xin looked back and forth between Lin Yixin and me before asking, "Is she your girlfriend? Is this why you look like your life has been sucked out of your body?"

I almost spat blood at the comment. "What the fuck are you talking about? I haven’t even gotten her first time yet!"

It was Lin Yixin’s turn to glare at me. "WHAT DID YOU SAY!? I DARE YOU TO REPEAT THAT TO MY FACE!"

Lian Xin immediately raised her scepter threateningly and raged, "Stop bullying my big brother! This is not how a girlfriend should act around her boyfriend, you violent woman! Hmph!"

……

Lin Yixin’s face was white with fury. Lian Xin’s complexion wasn’t much better than hers.

Finally, I, the guy stuck between the two girls, couldn’t hold in my own anger any longer. "Cut it out, you two! Yiyi, don’t you have a boss to kill? Lian Xin, what were you doing before we came?"

Lian Xin immediately complained in an aggrieved tone, "I was fighting that python boss with a couple of university friends when that shameless Candle Dragon sneaked up on us. That Outer Flame almost killed me during the first battle! After we retreated, we reorganized for a bit before returning to take back what’s ours. You know what happened next. The boss escaped, and I was ganged up on the moment I exited the valley. Who are these noobs, by the way?"

The corner of Warsky’s mouth twitched once. "What did your girl say, Lu Chen? My ears must be deceiving me…"

I hurriedly let out a placating laugh and distracted him. "Nothing! Nothing. By the way, why are you still here? Candle Dragon’s about to steal the boss from you!"

"Holy shit, you’re right! I’d better stop them right away!"

After Warsky was gone, I turned Lian Xin toward my guild members and declared loudly, "Brothers and sisters, it looks like the light of hope of the guild has returned! This beautiful girl next to me is the one of the four elders of the guild, the Star Elder Lian Xin! Even better, she’s a super mage, hahaha~~"

Li Chengfeng’s eyes lit up. "Wow, the Star Elder is so cute!"

Gui Guzi also said, "A player who can solo the likes of Warsky, Blue Sky Scar and Tempest Shadow and go even against the Fruit Knife Goddess herself? Super mage indeed, hahaha! Spring has finally come to Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls!"

However, their comments caused Lian Xin to blush and ask me, "Big brother, is it just me, or do they look like bad guys to you? Is this the type of people we recruit these days?"

Tears immediately slid down Li Chengfeng and Gui Guzi’s cheeks.

……

It was at this moment I noticed that Candle Dragon was watching us, so I let out a hearty laugh and put my arms around Lian Xin’s shoulders. I declared in a proud tone, "Who’s the one who called our guild a cripple and said that we don’t have any super mage again? It looks like we’ll have to dispel those lies, starting by taking this boss for ourselves! No one will steal it from us!"

Candlelight Shadow’s expression looked incredibly ugly.

Blue Sky Scar approached him and asked in a soft voice, "Candlelight, should we attack Ancient Sword now? Their main force isn’t here. I’m sure we can beat them!"

Candlelight Shadow slowly shook his head. "Not now. That mage, Lian Xing, is too powerful, and she’s clearly on their side right now. Hmph, there’s no rush beating Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls. We can discuss this again after we kill the boss!"

"Got it!"

……

I wasn’t paying attention, but Beiming Xue had walked out of the forest and returned to my side. She asked with a smile, "Is this Lian Xin, big bro?"

"Yeah." I nodded affirmatively.

When Lian Xin saw Beiming Xue, she immediately shot her a friendly smile and said, "I know you! You’re Beiming Xue, the Dark Archer! You have no idea how moved I was when I watched you fight during the War of Dawn City!"

Beiming Xue smiled back. "You are plenty powerful yourself, Sister Lian Xin. By the way, when are you coming back to the country? Your ID is still red, you know. I really don’t want to risk friendly fire."

Lian Xin replied, "I was busy preparing my thesis defense, so much so that I haven’t even participated in the Nation War. The good news is that I’ll be graduating in a couple of days, so I’ll come back around that time!"

"That’s wonderful!"

While they were talking, the fashionably late Murong Mingyue had finally showed up. She looked as wholesome and graceful as ever.

When Lian Xin saw the priest, she immediately ran up to her and hugged her in excitement. "I miss you so much, Sister Mingyue!"

Murong Mingyue gave her a rub on the back and smiled back. "Yo, looks like someone grew a nice pair after they went to America. Did you find yourself a boyfriend?"

"What? Of course not!" Lian Xin denied it immediately.

I watched the two chat amiably with each other while smiling from the side.

Li Chengfeng asked from beside me, "Hey, the reunion is nice and everything, but we have a boss to tackle, right?"

"Yeah. The boss was started by Lian Xin and her classmates, so it’s only right that they get something out of it. We’ll take the experience and Immortal-grade equipment and give them the rest of the loot…" I declared generously.

Gui Guzi asked, "So, where are Lian Xin’s classmates?"

"They were annihilated by Candle Dragon a while ago…"

"Oh, yeah…"

"..."

……

We all turned toward Candle Dragon and the colorful python at the same time. By now, the boss's HP had dropped to less than 5%, and it was unlikely that it would last even another minute. So far, it looked like everyone was following the rules of friendly competition and fighting to score the last hit on the boss only.

"Let’s go!"

I, Lin Yixin, Gui Guzi and everyone else ran toward the boss together. Lian Xin was the first to kick off the assault by activating safe mode and casting Ice Spiral Matrix right beneath the boss. The super powerful spell dealt almost 100k damage to the giant python with each tick.

"Eh? What Famous General Skill are you using, Lian Xin?" Li Chengfeng asked suddenly. "How is your attack so powerful?"

Lian Xin let out a devious chuckle before replying, "Well, I stole big brother Lu Chen’s Martial God while he was looking away, so of course my spells are doing tons of damage…"

"Stole…?"

"Yeah…"

Lian Xin shared the details of her Famous General Skill with us without hesitation. We almost went spartan when we saw it—

Big Dipper: Steal target party’s stratagem. Divine General Skills cannot be stolen. Skill exclusive to Lian Xing.