The entire sect is obsessed with love, but I'm the only one who's truly insane.

"You still have roasted sparrows today? Junior Uncle, roasted sparrows are the best in winter, they're so delicious!"

After Lin Du took the initiative to speak to him that day, Yuan Ye dared to bring up topics with her himself.

Lin Du raised his voice, "We'll try some new dishes every now and then, as long as they taste good."

"Where did this sparrow come from? Our sect has plenty of spiritual energy, so the sparrows we raise are also very clever. I couldn't hit it when I was practicing my sword before; it flies incredibly fast."

Mo Lin picked up a sparrow, took a bite, and noticed that his junior uncle seemed to particularly like sweet and salty flavors. But to be honest, it was quite delicious.

Lin Du pondered for a moment, "Oh, it's too cold. The sparrow froze solid and fell off the tree."

Mo Lin first said "Oh," then took another bite. The sparrow was fried until crispy, and even the bones could be chewed up and swallowed directly. "It's really getting cold."

It's November, and Wushangzong is located in the high mountains of the north. Although it hasn't snowed yet, frost has already formed.

"But... this year is going to be a mild winter, isn't it?" Xia Tian didn't answer.

Lin Du's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly. "Yes, it was a mild winter. Maybe the sparrows that flew in from the south weren't used to it and just froze to death."

"That's true." Xia Tianwu was convinced.

"By the way, Tianwu, do you still have those useless pills you refined last time that exploded as soon as you threw them? Can you give me some? I'll throw them around like lightning bolts when I go to the secret realm."

Lin Du looked at Xia Tianwu with sincere eyes.

Xia Tian paused for a moment, then said, "Junior Uncle, that's a Fire Velvet Pill."

Despite its name containing the character for "fire," Huorongdan is actually an extremely mild elixir that nourishes yin and tonifies the kidneys.

Lin Du felt extremely apologetic. "I'm sorry, I didn't say you wouldn't..."

"What I mean is, the explosive power of the damaged Fire Velvet Pill isn't strong enough. How about we switch to the damaged Blazing Dragon Pill? That's much stronger."

Summer has no exceptionally beautiful face, only the cinnabar mole at the corner of her eye is particularly striking. When she said these words, her face still had no big expression, as if she were saying that this year was a mild winter.

Lin Du was relieved. He had initially thought he had hurt his second nephew's pride, but it was clear that few of the disciples of the Supreme Sect were on the same wavelength.

Lin Du felt that this kind of life was very good, so good that she almost forgot the purpose of coming to the Supreme Sect.

On the day she set off for the secret realm, among the hundreds of disciples in Zhongzhou, she encountered Du Shao, the female protagonist of the first dungeon she had completed.

Du Shao, who wanted to help the world and save people.

Du Shao also spotted Lin Du at a glance. It wasn't because she was deliberately looking for him, but because people from the Supreme Sect always stood out wherever they went, and among the four, Lin Du's aura was particularly captivating.

The child was no longer the skinny, yellow-haired girl she had first met in her shabby blue robe. She seemed to be doing very well, so well that she looked completely transformed. Apart from her still excessively pale skin, she exuded an aura of light snow on distant mountains, whether she wore brocade robes or coarse linen clothes.

Anyone who sees that child will feel a pang of pity and a desire to get closer—she looks so frail and lonely.

Lin Du noticed an unusually loving gaze, so unusual that she unsurprisingly recognized its owner as Du Shao.

That's how she viewed her cat's gradual plumping up back then.

Lin Du used to have a cat.

She once found an abandoned Scottish Fold cat that had already started to show signs of illness, and despite spending tens of thousands of yuan, she couldn't keep the cat for long.

When I found the cat, it had a bunch of bones on its back and was always sitting slumped over.

Lin Du knew that the cat was in a lot of pain, so she could only spend money as much as possible to slow down its condition. Finally, the flesh on its back gradually thickened, and it was no longer just a bony thing to touch. It would lie in her arms and purr.

That's how she looked at cats back then.

Now Du Shao sees herself in the same way.

Lin Du couldn't describe how she felt. She thought the cat had come to temporarily heal her hopeless life.

Perhaps she has come to heal their lives, which should not be hopeless.

Lin Du smiled at Du Shao from afar, unaware that many people were stunned by that smile.

That smile wasn't the casual, meaningless smile she usually wore. This aloof person's slight smile was like ice and snow melting in spring, instantly bringing the scent of spring water.

Not only was Du Shao stunned, but Ni Jinxuan was also mesmerized.

A few breaths later, questions rose and fell from the crowd: "Who is that green-robed disciple from the Supreme Sect?"

In Lin Du's words, today's secret realm is a battle of novices, with cultivators from various sects and factions all at the Qin Xin Realm and Feng Chu Realm, a small portion of whom are new disciples who joined this year.

Lin Du turned his head and snapped his fingers, and Ni Jinxuan suddenly came to her senses.

She calculated the time, "The secret realm will open in a quarter of an hour. Make sure you all have the map of the secret realm. Remember to call me if you encounter any danger."

The three disciples looked at their junior uncle in front of them, then exchanged glances, and felt that their junior uncle had probably said the opposite of what he meant.

Although her cultivation level is the highest among the four, she is physically weak and has no ability to protect herself. What will she do if she encounters danger?

It is said that the blue-green pine and crane patterned white fox fur coat that Lin Du was wearing was a magic robe that Feng Chao specially found from the sect's storeroom, and it was engraved with a second-level Xuan-grade defensive formation.

However, none of the three objected to Lin Du. They all nodded obediently, intending to find their junior uncle as soon as they entered the secret realm.

Their sect's disciple tokens are equipped with a sensing array, which allows them to locate nearby fellow disciples.

Lin Du could tell that they no longer believed her, but she didn't point it out.

Actually, being sickly isn't so bad. At least, the moment she arrived, she could clearly hear someone in the crowd bragging shamelessly.

"The number one talent on the Azure Cloud Ranking? I'll see today just how capable this number one talent is, and whether he can withstand ten moves from my sword."

"I wonder what kind of kid this 'Number One Talent' is. He's barely grown any hair, how could he possibly wield a knife?"

Lin Du heard this and simply chuckled.

These people were right; Lin Du really couldn't lift the knife.

As for whether he can withstand ten moves from a man's sword, that depends on whether he can actually execute ten moves.

To show respect, Lin Du indicated that he could leave the Floating Life Fan unused.

So when someone approached, introduced themselves, and then asked who Lin Du was, the three disciples simultaneously stepped in front of Lin Du, asking, "What business do you have with Junior Uncle?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to admire the demeanor of the most talented person."

The newcomer was a sword cultivator, who looked to be in his twenties or thirties. He had already reached the Great Perfection of the Qin Xin Realm, making him a young talent even in Zhongzhou, and one of the most outstanding cultivators present.

He glanced at the four people from the Supreme Sect, and finally fixed his gaze on Yan Qing, who was carrying a black iron broadsword. His eyes were blazing with desire.

Lin Du's eyelashes fluttered. After she established her foundation, she had undergone a complete transformation and had grown much taller. Thirteen years old is the golden age for girls to grow taller, and with the two combined, she had grown to be about the same height as seventeen-year-old Yan Qing. So even if three people stood in front of her, they couldn't really stop her.

She raised her hand, gently pushing aside Yuan Ye and Ni Jinxuan who were blocking her way, then calmly looked at the robust young man before her, "I am Lin Du, the ninety-ninth generation direct disciple of the Supreme Sect, ranked first in talent on the Azure Cloud Ranking. Are you looking for me?"