Tang Lin was dragged back to the house by Kong Liu: he still couldn't stay that day.

Kong Liu said that he would take him back to the Imperial Beast Sect to register his identity, receive the disciple jade plate, and mark "his spirit pet" with the exclusive mark of the Imperial Beast Sect, so as not to "let others eat it", and wait until the first qiē procedure has been gone through and Tang Lin has officially become his disciple, he will let Tang Lin go, and it is best to build a foundation by the way before leaving.

Thinking that he would be able to accompany Xiao Zibai for a few months soon, Tang Lin didn't care about this time, and followed Kong Liu's words to "return to the sect with a spirit pet". Xiao Zibai's eyes were already very unkind when he looked at him, but Tang Lin still put on a posture of being a complete gentleman with a broken jar mentality.

He raised his chin slightly, beckoned to the Hua Yu Big Bird in Xiao Zibai's arms, and said lazily: "Let's go, let's go back." ”

Then Tang Lin changed his perspective, sank his spiritual sense into the bird's body, raised his head and rubbed Xiao Zibai's cheek, and firmly broke away from the child's embrace, raised his wings and flew onto the shoulders of his own body.

Xiao Zibai looked betrayed, looking at the bird on Tang Lin's shoulder in disbelief, Tang Lin was addicted to acting, clapped his palms to attract Xiao Zibai's attention, and then said slowly: "You remember, this is my spiritual pet, not your ball, I brought it to see you to fulfill your fate of raising it for several years, you don't have to make an inch." ”

Xiao Zibai raised his head sharply when he heard this, and glared at Tang Lin fiercely, Tang Lin did not avoid it, and looked at him directly, and the eyes of the two were almost bursting into sparks.

Kong Liu coughed lightly, stepped sideways and inserted himself into the center of the two, interrupting their gaze, and arched his hand at the head of Ling Shan: "I took my apprentice away, your apprentice teaches him well, don't see everything as your own." ”

The head of Ling Shan glanced at the big bird on Tang Lin's shoulder, and said "yes" when he wanted to speak.

Xiao Zibai ignored Kong Liu, he looked at the "ball" on Tang Lin's shoulder and asked, "Are you really leaving?" He glanced at Tang Lin, pointed at him and asked, "You didn't come back because of this person?" Are you leaving me because of him? ”

Tang Lin: ......

, why did he think this kind of thing sounded so strange, a bit like the appearance of the Shura field...... There is a feeling that I have been my own junior......

Tang Lin felt a little embarrassed, he looked at Xiao Zibai, cleared his throat and was about to speak, but Xiao Zibai interrupted him abruptly: "I know, you still have to go." ”

"I'm not strong enough to protect you, so you're leaving?" Xiao Zibai whispered, he looked at Tang Lin, and that gaze made Tang Lin a little uncomfortable.

"Can this person protect you? He's better than me, so you'd rather stay with him? Xiao Zibai stretched out his finger and pointed at Tang Lin, and said to "Tuanzi" in a deep voice: "Is it that one day when I am strong enough, stronger than him, and more able to protect you, you can come back?" ”

Tang Lin couldn't help but say, "...... Did you misunderstand something? ”

Xiao Zibai ignored him at all, just looked at "Tuanzi" directly, and said loudly: "I will definitely become stronger, stronger than everyone else, and can protect you!" I'll definitely get you back to me! ”

After hearing this majestic declaration, Tang Lin's whole person was stunned, even the bird on his shoulder was confused, Kong Liu chuckled inexplicably, nodded casually towards the head of Ling Shan, and pulled Tang Lin to walk outside the house.

And Tang Lin was still immersed in the shock of becoming "the original partner that the protagonist swore to take back from Xiao San's side", and he did not resist the whole time.

Xiao Zibai stood in the room and clenched his fists, watching them go all the way, and when Tang Lin and Kong Liu's figures completely disappeared from sight, the head of the Lingshan Sword Sect said slowly: "Boy, didn't you say that you want to become stronger?" Do you know how to get stronger? ”

Looking at Xiao Zibai, who still seemed to be indifferent, the head of Ling Shan smiled, and added a bargaining chip to himself: "I am the sword immortal, the sharpest of all the law cultivators." Hold Dan Dao inside, show Jin Feng on the outside, and practice a sword with his life. When cultivation is shallow, you can use the sword to eliminate evil and evil, and eliminate demons and defend the way; When cultivating to a high level, you can crisscross the world and split mountains and rivers with swords! I ask you, will you come under my door? ”

He thought that Xiao Zibai would definitely be moved by this, but Xiao Zibai only asked him: "Can you become stronger than the two people who went out just now?" ”

The smile on the face of the old man in charge of Ling Shan froze, and he couldn't help but think of Kong Liu's glorious deeds of slaughtering the three major demon sects with one person and one bird, he coughed unnaturally twice, and replied in a different way: "You are extremely talented, and you are very suitable for my technique, if you study hard, you will definitely be able to be stronger than the kid who took away the dumplings." ”

Xiao Zibai's eyes lit up immediately, and he kowtowed without hesitation, vowing to defeat the big villain Tang Lin and snatch back his own group.

Tong Guò "snatched the group", Tang Lin had the honor of squeezing into the people of Xiaojia Village, and left his name on Xiao Zibai's small book.

"Something seems wrong with the kids today." After returning to the Imperial Beast Sect, Tang Lin, who didn't know that he was already a villain, recalled Xiao Zibai's expression that day, and a terrible guess slowly emerged in his heart: "...... He seemed to sense what was going on in my mind. ”

Tang Lin was full of hope that this qiē was just his own delusion, but unfortunately, it was true: Xiao Zibai was indeed able to feel Tang Lin.

In the Lingshan Sword Sect, Xiao Zibai slowly raised his head and glanced at Tang Lin from a distance in the direction where Tang Lin was.

It's good that he felt the dumplings again just now. pressed the position of his chest, and the corners of Xiao Zibai's lips hooked slightly.

Since he woke up, Xiao Zibai found that he could vaguely feel the existence of "Tuanzi", and even occasionally and occasionally, he could also feel some hazy thoughts and feelings in Tuanzi's heart. Although this kind of induction is not very clear, and it comes and goes, for Xiao Zibai, such an induction is enough: as long as there is a dumpling, he will feel a warmth that makes him feel extremely reassuring, so that he has the courage to face the next qiē.

With this reassuring warmth, Xiao Zibai clenched the heavy iron sword in his hand, took a deep breath, and plunged into the clear pool of water in front of him.

This is a pool of cold water that is colder than ice, and it is also where Xiao Zibai has been practicing for a while. He held his sword and held his breath as he let himself sink slowly like a stone, silently looking up at the blue sky above him, counting his heartbeats one by one.

Bang knock, bang knock, bang knock.

In the time of three heartbeats, Xiao Zibai's body had already touched the bottom of the pool. He straightened up, kicked his feet, paddled through the pool, and moved forward a short distance under the interference of buoyancy. Then in the water that gradually became more and more cold, Xiao Zibai stopped, raised the iron sword with a layer of frost flowers in his hand, drew his sword, and slashed horizontally.

There was silence in his ears, only the sound of his own blood hitting his eardrums, the pool of water had completely submerged his body, and the outside world seemed to be cut off all of a sudden, so quiet that he could hear his own heartbeat.

This cold pool is like an isolated abyss, a world that is so quiet that it is a little dead, and the qiē outside seems to have nothing to do with it, only a few flashes of sky light above your head, reminding you that you are still alive. This cold pool is so calm, there is no undercurrent, no whirlpool, just quiet silence, but it always releases a biting cold, silently killing almost every creature who dares to approach it.

Except for Xiao Zibai, there is not a single living creature in this cold pool, and occasionally a few broken bones can be found at the bottom of the pool, and the bottom of the cold pool is as silent as a cemetery.

Xiao Zibai stood at the bottom of the silent pool, repeating the action of drawing his sword and slashing over and over again, his body became clumsy and heavy under the deep water, and it took great strength to swing the iron sword in his hand. But he still slashed and slashed horizontally, and he was not willing to slack off.

Unlike other children from the Lingshan Sword Sect who were born in the Xiuzhen family, Xiao Zibai did not have any foundation in cultivation, and even when learning swordsmanship, his cousin was not as good as those who were accepted in the apprenticeship ceremony: most of the disciples who could understand the path of the heart were physically strong, while Xiao Zibai was bullied in his childhood and did not have a good body since he was a child. Although Tang Lin raised him for a period of time, in the end, his foundation was too poor, and he could only swing seven or even five swords when he learned the kung fu of ten swords.

Such a table is completely unworthy of the titles of "head disciple", "genius of Shan Bing Linggen", "excellent seedling who was entered after the apprenticeship ceremony" and so on. Besides, Xiao Zibai is not good at communicating, and he was faintly affected by his previous dreams, and he always felt that "everyone wants to rob/kill the group", and he was not willing to get close to those fellow disciples who were "destined to betray".

Such a sharp child, among the disciples of the Lingshan Sword Sect of similar age and seniority, would never be welcomed, and even Xiao Zibai was faintly suppressed by everyone, if it weren't for the minimum conscience to suppress them, I am afraid that the story in the Xiao family village would be repeated.

Xiao Zibai never wants to fall into that situation again, and he never wants others to look at him in a different light, he absolutely, absolutely never wants to be the "monster" who was bullied again. He wanted to straighten his back, wanted to gain a firm foothold in the cultivation realm, and wanted to snatch the ball back from that Tang Lin's hand in a bright and bright way......

What does it matter about talent and aptitude, and what does it matter if you need twice as much effort to swing a sword than others. He swung his sword ten times, and he swung it twenty or thirty times...... One day he will be able to catch up with them, and one day he will be able to bring back the dango!

He will definitely be able to protect the group from anyone!

Xiao Zibai pursed his lips, the muscles on his forearms had trembled slightly from excessive fatigue, and his face had become whiter and whiter because he had been in the depths of Hantan for too long, but his expression was always as calm as Hantan, and there was no mistake in swinging his sword.

…… The two thousand nine hundred and ninety-seventh sword.

The two thousand nine hundred and ninety-eighth sword.

The two thousand nine hundred and ninety-ninth sword.

- The third thousandth sword!

The moment the third thousand sword was swung, Xiao Zibai kicked the bottom of the pool violently, swept through the surface of the pool with his arm, and hugged a half-exposed rock on the shore and gasped. He was sore and sore all over, his lungs, which had not breathed air for a long time, were about to explode, and he would have collapsed on the shore if someone else had changed, but Xiao Zibai was gasping for breath, but he was still thinking in his heart:

"I still haven't held my breath long enough, I'm in a hurry this time, and the last slash of the third thousand sword didn't turn as expected."

He completely forgot that as a mortal who had not yet built a foundation, how difficult it was to go into the water and hold his breath and swing his sword three thousand times a day, not to mention that in that cold pool full of dead silence, he had to endure the loneliness forgotten by the world.

Xiao Zibai didn't feel Tang Lin's existence every day, but he had to practice his sword in this cold pool every day, three thousand slashes, and never stopped.

Xiao Zibai leaned his body half against the stone, slowly gasped for breath, and was about to go up to the shore to try to vomit, when he suddenly heard a sound of moving grass and trees in the woods near Hantan, and at the same time there was a faint sound of talking. He listened intently for a while, and a few bits and pieces drifted by the wind:

“…… Biling Secret Realm ......"

“…… The Imperial Beast Sect ......"

“…… We ......"

Thinking that Tang Lin, who had snatched the ball, was a member of the Imperial Beast Sect, he did not hesitate to dodge behind the boulder, half-submerged his mouth and nose in the water, and once again held his breath. The two of them who were talking got closer and closer, and finally seemed to be standing in front of the big rock where Xiao Zibai was hiding, and whispered very close to him:

"Are you sure? Will the Biling Secret Realm be opened in seven years? The man's voice was a little heavy, and he spoke with a little impatience. The other sneered lowly and said quietly: "Of course it's confirmed, it's not a secret thing." The Biling Secret Realm opened every three hundred years, and the last time it was opened was two hundred and ninety-three years ago, and the people in the sect who had participated in that secret realm trial grabbed a lot of them. Shen Bin, who married Jin Dan before, wasn't he the one who came out of the original set? Three hundred years ago, he was just a monk who had just laid his foundation. ”

"That's good!" This person was overjoyed at first, and then seemed to remember something, and there was some hesitation in his voice: "But that kid just started not long ago, if he can't build a foundation after seven years and can't enter the Biling Secret Realm, then wouldn't we have arranged it in vain?" ”

"What's this! Senior brother, when you first entered Lingshan, you built the foundation in less than a year, and the inner disciples have not built the foundation for more than three years. If this kid hasn't been able to build a foundation after seven years, it is obvious that he has no talent, and then he will not pose a threat at all. The other man said lightly. After a pause, he said again: "Senior brother, how you usually behave for others is obvious to all. A hairy kid who is casually taken by the head wants to steal your seat? We're sure we can't say yes. ”

Fang Honglang, the recognized "senior brother" among the inner disciples of the Lingshan Sword Sect, secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, but he still sighed: "After all, I didn't do well enough, otherwise how could the head of the sect choose an outsider as a disciple." ”

"How can that stinky kid be compared to the senior brother, it's just a moment of confusion to think about the real person in charge." The other person said disapprovingly: "It is a mistake in itself that the real person in charge of the sect to accept that kid as an apprentice, and someone needs to help correct this mistake - hasn't the Imperial Beast Sect always been very anxious and righteous." ”

"Will the Imperial Beast Sect really carry this black cauldron?" Fang Honglang asked uneasily, he looked at his junior brother Xu Xun, hoping that this fellow disciple, who had always been resourceful, could give him a positive answer.

Xu Xun secretly spat Fang Honglang's sentence "Cowardly as a mouse", but he didn't bring it out at all, but still said with a smile: "The opportunity to enter and exit the Biling Secret Realm The Imperial Beast Sect has always been willing to let go, and they will definitely send someone this time." The people of the Royal Beast Sect have always been a little bit of a temperament, and when the time comes, they will casually create some friction, and then push that Xiao Zibai out, and move some hands and feet slightly......"

Speaking of this, Xu Xun pretended to shake his head and made a sad face: "Pity my little junior brother, I originally listened to the words of the real person in charge and went to the Biling Secret Realm to try, but I never imagined that on that day, he would die in a fair duel in full view of everyone, what a jealous talent, a young man's life!" ”

So Fang Honglang laughed reassuringly, but when he laughed, he didn't expect that the mastermind who "moved a little bit of hands and feet" was Xu Xun, and the person who really wanted to do it was himself.

Fang Honglang wanted to kill Xiao Zibai because Xiao Zibai, a kid who suddenly appeared, robbed him of the position of the head disciple he had been interested in for a long time, he thought that if he killed Xiao Zibai and let the position of the head disciple be vacated again, the next person to sit on it would be replaced by himself. Xu Xun helped Fang Honglang kill Xiao Zibai, but it was all to seize Fang Honglang's handle, so that he could make trouble at a critical moment, so that Fang Honglang would die without a place to be buried.

The two men with their own ghosts stood beside the deserted cold pool and talked for a while, and after deciding on the implementation plan, they left the place separately. In order to avoid the suspicion of others, Fang Honglang deliberately took a step first, leaving Xu Xun to wait in place for a while before leaving.

After the two of them left one after another, Xiao Zibai silently stood up from the pool of water, looking at the direction in which the two left, without the slightest expression on his face.

In the depths of his mind, a hazy memory faintly surfaced.