Chloe Cao stayed alert for a while, but when the Leech Fiend didn’t show up again, she got back to rescuing people—she hauled more than twenty survivors from the wrecked pleasure barge and tossed them all onto Ian Song’s vessel.
She lingered there a little longer, but when the Leech Fiend still didn’t appear, she returned, looking a bit disappointed.
“Brother Cao, I never thought you’d turn out to be a martial arts expert—seriously impressive!”
Hansel Han said, his face full of admiration.
In the Valeguard Kingdom, they don’t favor scholars over warriors—both are equally respected. If you’re a scholar, you can take the imperial exams; if you’re a martial artist, you can compete for the title of martial jinshi.
“Yeah! Brother Cao, you’re the definition of a scholar-warrior!”
Another scholar joined in, praising her.
Then the rescued passengers all crowded around to thank Chloe Cao.
She waved them off. “No need for all that—I just happened to be in the right place at the right time!”
Hansel Han asked again, “Brother Cao, what kind of monster was that in the water just now?”
"I’m not sure either!"
Chloe Cao shook her head, then went to sit aside, clearly not wanting to say more. Once seated, she gave Ian Song a curious look.
Seeing this, Ian Song immediately understood—she must have sensed his breakthrough to the Innate realm just now when his aura leaked out.
With the water monster incident on the lake, the pleasure cruise was clearly over, so the barges began heading back.
More than an hour later, everyone was back on land, many still shaken by the ordeal.
"Brother Song, how about grabbing a drink together?"
Just as they were about to part, Chloe Cao suddenly called out to Ian Song.
"Sure!" Ian Song nodded and agreed.
A quarter of an hour later, Ian Song and Chloe Cao were seated across from each other in a private room at a restaurant in the prefectural city.
"I didn’t expect Brother Song to be such a young master!"
Chloe Cao smiled, her eyes sharp with curiosity. Just now, while battling the water monster, she’d sensed an Innate martial artist’s aura drifting from Ian Song’s pleasure barge. Once she locked onto it, she realized—to her astonishment—that it was coming from Ian himself.
For a moment, she was genuinely intrigued. Ian was only thirteen or fourteen, yet had already stepped into the Innate realm. She herself had reached Innate at seventeen, which made her the Cloudwater Sword Sect’s prodigy of the century.
“Brother Cao, you’re too kind! Compared to you, my skills are nothing special,” Ian replied, keeping his tone humble.
Chloe smiled. “Brother Song, you’re far too modest. By the way, I’m Chloe Cao from the Cloudwater Sword Sect. May I ask which sect you hail from?”
“Uh… Sorry to disappoint, Brother Cao—I don’t belong to any sect,” Ian admitted with a slightly embarrassed smile.
“What?”
Chloe’s eyes widened in disbelief. "How could that be? You’re only thirteen or fourteen and have already reached the Innate realm—how could you not have a sect?"
So shocked was she that Chloe forgot to mask her real voice. Her true voice rang out, clear and melodious—like a songbird echoing through the valley.
“Brother Cao, your voice—?”
Ian feigned surprise, raising his brows in mock confusion.
Chloe instantly realized her slip—she’d exposed herself as a woman in her panic. But then, a thought flashed through her mind: Ian had no sect. If she could bring such a genius into the Cloudwater Sword Sect, it would be a huge accomplishment.
“Sorry, Brother Song—I kept my true identity from you. I’m actually a woman, traveling in male disguise for convenience. My real name is Chloe Jing Cao. I hope you won’t hold my little deception against me.”
“No worries,” Ian said with an easy smile, waving her concern away.
“Since you’re unaffiliated, why not join our Cloudwater Sword Sect?” Chloe Jing looked at Ian with hopeful eyes.
“Well, could you tell me more about the Cloudwater Sword Sect?” Ian asked, genuinely curious.
Ian looked at her expectantly.
“You really don’t know about the Cloudwater Sword Sect?”
Chloe Jing blinked in surprise.
“Honestly, I don’t,” Ian replied, shaking his head.
“Alright, let me introduce you. The Cloudwater Sword Sect is the strongest sword sect in all of Mingshan Prefecture. Our sect master is a Grandmaster-level expert, and there are more than ten Innate elders. On top of that, we have hundreds of ordinary disciples…” Chloe said, her tone brimming with pride.