Chapter 97: Welcome, both of you, to join my grand Tang realm.

These two left a deep impression on Xiao Kaitian. The woman in the black trench coat possessed combat strength of 517, and her body brimmed with an intensely powerful force from the fourth dimension. As for the girl in the wheelchair, she was even more astonishing; if Xiao Kaitian had not seen her in this dimensional world, he would have sworn she was a native creature of the Central Axis Universe.

These two were Zhao Qixi and Bai Kou, and the reason they had come to the exhibition was, in truth, for Xiao Kaitian.

It had been Zhao Qixi’s suggestion. Bored out of her mind, she had no one knew what idea, and Bai Kou was equally speechless about it. The two of them were clearly betrothed to one another, yet they pretended not to know each other at all, and were having a rather good time of it.

“Hi.” Xiao Kaitian lifted his right hand in greeting. Zhao Qixi said nothing, keeping her head lowered. Bai Kou glanced around the exhibition hall. “What a pitiful exhibition hall. It doesn’t even have any traffic. The location is pretty good, though. Does this company really have that much spare money?”

“In my view, whether you look or not makes no difference. After all, there are more staff members here than visitors.”

Xiao Kaitian felt somewhat awkward. His hand froze in midair. This was the first time he had met someone like Bai Kou, and he had no choice but to draw his hand back and rub his face. “I’m Xiao Kaitian. And you two are...?”

“I’m Bai Kou. This one is Little Seven.” Bai Kou pushed the wheelchair forward without breaking stride. “I attended your discussion forum last time and thought it had real substance. I originally wanted to come see the exhibition, and the products you were displaying, but who knew it would all be rubbish. Nothing worth looking at.”

Xiao Kaitian licked the corner of his mouth and said nothing. Zhao Qixi, however, was extremely serious; she directed Bai Kou to stop before one product after another, examining each one carefully, yet saying nothing at all before moving on to the next.

Xiao Kaitian followed behind them. They were a very strange pair, and perhaps they carried the secret to the next dimension.

The tour went on for nearly two hours, and before they knew it, afternoon had arrived. None of the three had any mind for food; they simply wandered at an unhurried pace, while the staff members around them all wore looks of astonishment.

At last, when Zhao Qixi had finished looking at the final product, Bai Kou pushed her toward the exit. Xiao Kaitian called out to stop them. “If you don’t mind, let’s talk.”

Bai Kou halted, waiting for Zhao Qixi’s answer. The entire room fell still at once. The movements of the surrounding people seemed suddenly to slow. Zhao Qixi placed both hands on her knees, her head lowered. After a long while, she finally squeezed out a single word: “All right...”

Xiao Kaitian took the two of them to the exhibition’s VIP reception room. Once they entered, the door clicked softly shut, and the electronic lock gave off a series of beeps.

“Sit.” Xiao Kaitian pointed to the opposite side of the large round wooden table. He poured two glasses of lemon water and set them before them, but Bai Kou remained standing, and Zhao Qixi also sat motionless in her wheelchair.

“Let me make this brief.” Xiao Kaitian did not mind. He extended a finger and quickly tapped between Zhao Qixi’s brows. Bai Kou’s expression changed slightly, and a stream of divine essence had already entered Zhao Qixi’s body.

Once that force was infused, the body that had already been utterly exhausted immediately surged with renewed strength. She could not help but let out a soft, involuntary sound.

“You’re a martial cultivator?” Bai Kou was shocked. She knew Xiao Kaitian’s background inside and out, but the one thing she had never expected was that he would actually be a martial cultivator, and from the look of things, he seemed to have released inner force outward. That was at least the level of the Earth Realm or above. Since when had a scion of the Xiao family possessed such ability?

“What exactly did you do?” Regardless of Xiao Kaitian’s identity, his action against Zhao Qixi was something Bai Kou could never permit. The atmosphere in the room instantly cooled, and Bai Kou was already poised to strike.

The inner force around her body began to circulate rapidly. In the quiet room, a current of air spun outward. A full-powered strike from someone of grandmaster rank was likely more than Xiao Kaitian could withstand.

“Bai Kou...” Zhao Qixi slowly lifted her head. She shook it slightly. “Explain...” The latter part was addressed to Xiao Kaitian.

“I think I can trust you two.” Xiao Kaitian chose his words carefully. He was not familiar with them, yet he felt an inexplicable fondness for them, and he attributed that feeling to Zhao Qixi’s origin.

It was a sensation like meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land. If Zhao Qixi truly was a being from the Central Axis Universe, he felt he had a duty to help.

“Her body...” Xiao Kaitian pointed at Zhao Qixi. “At this rate, she probably won’t last more than two or three years. I think you understand that medicine in this world has no way to save her.”

“If you came here to talk to us about Little Seven’s body, then I see no need to continue this conversation.” Bai Kou cut in coldly. He did not know how Xiao Kaitian had seen through it, but what he said was the truth, and she did not like that truth.

“It is necessary.” Xiao Kaitian’s tone deepened. “Because I have a way to treat her.”

This was the second time Xiao Kaitian had mentioned Zhao Qixi’s problem. A trace of expectation flashed in Bai Kou’s eyes, but she did not speak, leaving the decision to Zhao Qixi.

“Go on...” Zhao Qixi replied slowly.

“Your weakness is not caused by any defect in your organs. On the contrary, it is because the elements of this world cannot support the operation of your organs, and that is why this has happened.” Xiao Kaitian chose his words carefully, doing his best to make the problem clear. “To solve your condition, there is only one way...”

“To go to a higher-dimensional world.” That was Xiao Kaitian’s greatest secret, yet he said it aloud.

He had expected astonishment, shock, perhaps even disbelief. But to his surprise, both of them remained very calm, as though they had known the answer all along.

“You don’t seem very surprised.” Xiao Kaitian could not help asking.

“Why should we be surprised?” Bai Kou sneered. “You could go from an idiot to what you are now. Why should we be surprised by what you’re saying?”

“Besides, I’m a martial cultivator, a grandmaster. Whether this higher-dimensional world of yours is real or not, I don’t know, but such a saying does exist in the martial world.” Bai Kou looked thoroughly bored. Xiao Kaitian had kept her guessing with such secrecy and ceremony, only to reveal this little. She found it rather dull.

Yet Xiao Kaitian was even more astonished. They had accepted something like this so calmly.

“Little Seven’s illness—my master once mentioned a similar idea in his early years, but it is almost impossible to achieve.” Bai Kou glared at Xiao Kaitian. “The path of martial cultivation is to cultivate the body and the heart, to refine qi and truth. And what is it all ultimately for, if not to attain the Dao one day?”

That was also part of why she acknowledged Xiao Kaitian. After all, there were not many people who could speak in such terms.

“But Little Seven is not one of the martial world. What do you intend to do?”

Now that the matter had been laid so openly on the table, Xiao Kaitian instead felt at ease. He stood with a smile. “Of course I have a solution. But Grandmaster Bai, I need your help with certain matters concerning martial cultivation.”

“On the condition that it is for Little Seven.” Bai Kou was not foolish; she would not help Xiao Kaitian unconditionally.

“No problem.” Xiao Kaitian wore a broad smile. “Then welcome the two of you to join my Tilted Tang Empire.”