Chapter 4: The Overpowered Protagonist’s Triumph (3)

In Qin Yang’s impression, Su Bai had never been particularly diligent about her sword practice.

She studied the sword only because Qin Yang did, and she joined the Wuji Sect only because Qin Yang wanted to become a disciple of the Carefree Sword Venerable here.

As the only daughter of the Lord of Luowa City, such a dazzling status inevitably attracted a crowd of short-sighted young men—some were talented first-generation cultivators with genuine skill, while others were arrogant second-generation scions with prominent family backgrounds.

Yet, the tone Su Bai used when speaking to them was always laced with distance. Only when facing Qin Yang would she reveal her soft underbelly like a spoiled kitten, carrying a mix of three parts coquettishness and three parts intimacy. Consequently, even though Qin Yang lacked a powerful family background, Su Bai’s reliance and admiration for him were enough to earn him plenty of envy and jealousy from his peers.

Some disciples with keen instincts, hoping to build a connection with the Luowa City lineage, would turn to befriend Qin Yang when they saw that Su Bai was impenetrable.

It could be said that half of the reason Qin Yang was able to mingle so widely within the Wuji Sect and cultivate with such frightening speed was due to the wealth and prestige of Luowa City standing behind Su Bai.

Qin Yang never felt there was anything wrong with this. He and Su Bai had grown up together, and he was accustomed to the conveniences brought by the name "Luowa City," just as he was accustomed to Su Bai’s obedience, reverence, and reliance on him.

But now, he faintly sensed that something was gradually changing.

In just two short years, he had advanced from the early stage of the Heart-Impulse Realm to its peak, and he had returned to the Wuji Sect accompanied by the chief disciple of the Valley Master of Huichun Valley to exchange alchemy experiences. Such alarming cultivation speed and the prestige of Huichun Valley should have, by all rights, made him the object of everyone's envious gazes once again.

Yet, for some reason, Qin Yang always felt that the way others looked at him and Yun Zhu was not quite right.

Those gazes were hesitant, full of unspoken words. Beyond the expected envy and jealousy, there was a hint of mockery, a touch of sudden realization, and even a trace of imperceptible condemnation.

However, an exchange between the Wuji Sect and Huichun Valley was a perfectly normal affair, and the gender boundaries in the cultivation world were no longer as rigid as they once were. It was true that he was betrothed to Su Bai, but did that mean a male cultivator with a fiancée could not have any interaction or sparring with other female cultivators?

As one of the rare geniuses with the mutated Heavenly Thunder Spirit Root, and the third disciple since the founding of the Wuji Sect to receive the inheritance of a great master in the Hall of Thousand Formations, wasn't it only natural that he would have a few young women admiring him?

There must be another reason.

Qin Yang pondered and fretted, only then realizing that he had been back in the sect for five days and hadn't even caught a glimpse of Su Bai.

That was truly a strange occurrence.

However, Su Bai’s responses to his messages were far too perfunctory, leaving Qin Yang with no choice but to track her down himself.

Qin Yang waited at the entrance of Su Bai’s courtyard from the hour of the Dragon (7-9 AM), but unfortunately, she had left at the hour of the Rabbit (5-7 AM). After waiting all morning without seeing her, he sent her a message, only to receive a vague reply: "I'll be back when I finish my task."

Seeing Qin Yang’s desperate look, Yun Zhu became displeased and questioned, "In your eyes, who is more important—that City Lord’s daughter, or me?"

Qin Yang frowned slightly. "I treat Jiaojiao like a younger sister. Even if she is angry, it is only right for me to go and coax her."

Yun Zhu gritted her teeth. "Then stay here and wait! I’m going to have tea with Elder Qianji!"

Qin Yang waited until the moon hung over the treetops before he finally saw Su Bai.

Two people traveled side-by-side on their swords. Su Bai stood on one, and on the other stood a man dressed in the robes of an inner-sect disciple, with hair neatly tied and bright, starry eyes, his features refined and handsome.

The two were engaged in a heated discussion, not noticing Qin Yang standing below at all.

"Junior Sister, that move of yours, 'Wild Geese Descending on the Sandbar,' truly left us in awe! It is clearly a common sword technique practiced by outer-sect disciples, so why does it possess such power in your hands?"

"That is because 'Wild Geese Descending' emphasizes speed. You must concentrate your energy in the very instant you swing the sword, then supplement it by slowly pushing the force out with spiritual power. At this moment, you must focus your mind on controlling every strand of spiritual energy. When your state of mind is open, you will be able to experience the relaxed and expansive feeling of geese taking flight and landing."

"I see! I am enlightened, Junior Brother Shen!"

Late at night, a man and a woman alone—this was highly improper!

This boy was already at the Golden Core stage, yet he went out of his way to seek advice from Jiaojiao, who was only in the early stage of the Heart-Impulse Realm. His ulterior motives were plain to see!

Suppressing his anger, Qin Yang flew his sword over to them.

"Jiaojiao, I have been away from the sect for two years, and I had no idea you had made such a friend."

The young man had handsome features, his sword-like eyebrows slanting into his temples, and a high bridge to his nose; his facial features were as if carved by a master artisan. He stood on his sword with his hands behind his back, full of youthful vigor.

Today, Su Bai and Senior Brother Shen had worked together to complete thirty Profound-rank tasks and five Earth-rank tasks. Senior Brother Shen had praised Su Bai’s sword moves endlessly, stunned by the speed at which she dispatched monsters and impressed by her tireless spirit. What made him respect her even more was that she never once used medicinal pills to replenish her spiritual energy!

As a result, Senior Brother Shen seemed to have awakened a competitive spirit himself. After completing all the tasks, the two became even more energized, agreeing to return to Su Bai’s courtyard to discuss sword techniques throughout the night.

This pleasant mood was shattered by that unobservant, questioning male voice.

Su Bai looked up. Although the man before her was handsome and elegant, his flying sword was less than five feet from hers—if she had been a second slower, she would have collided directly with him.

"Senior Brother Qin, do you think that flying a sword exempts you from following traffic rules?"

Su Bai said with disapproval, "You flew straight at me like that; isn't that a bit too reckless?"

Qin Yang did not understand what "traffic rules" meant. Instead, he frowned at Senior Brother Shen and asked in a deep voice, "I do not know this Senior Brother's name?"

...

"My name is Shen Xing, a disciple under the Supreme Elder." Shen Xing bowed.

Qin Yang sneered, "Senior Brother Shen is an inner-sect disciple; surely you know the principles of conduct. Following Jiaojiao home so late is disrespectful to her reputation."

"…?" Su Bai raised an eyebrow. "It is common for disciples of the Wuji Sect to discuss sword techniques throughout the night. How could that possibly involve one's reputation?"

Is this man an idiot?

Qin Yang was stunned, clearly not expecting Su Bai to contradict him this time.

"Exactly!" Shen Xing, who finally had a name, chimed in, "What? When you brought back a female disciple from Huichun Valley, you didn't mention gender boundaries, did you? Junior Sister Su and I are kindred spirits discussing swords; does that require suspicion of impropriety?"

"Qin Yang, let me give you a word of advice: don't be such a double-standard hypocrite!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Yang actually felt a sense of relief.

So, it was because Yun Zhu was angry!

He looked at the woman standing coldly on her sword, his eyes complex. He had not yet sorted out whether his feelings for Su Bai were those of a brother or something else... something romantic.

After a moment of hesitation, Qin Yang spoke carefully, "Jiaojiao, it is not what you think between Yun Zhu and me."

Su Bai remained emotionless. "I know. And it is not what you think between the Senior Brother and me."

"I am a sword cultivator and inevitably get injured, while Yun Zhu is an alchemy cultivator who can refine healing pills and happens to need protection. It was a matter of necessity that we teamed up while training outside."

Seeing that Su Bai remained unmoved, Qin Yang continued.

Su Bai nodded. "I understand. It is the same for the Senior Brother and me."

"Right, Senior Brother?"

Shen Xing nodded like a chick pecking at rice, acting much like a sycophant. "Junior Sister’s sword techniques are exquisite; naturally, I am willing to learn from her!"

A Golden Core cultivator seeking advice from a Heart-Impulse beginner—there was no such absurdity. This kind of person was likely only here for the status of being the only daughter of the Lord of Luowa City.

Qin Yang sneered inwardly, though he didn't show it. He looked at Su Bai and asked, "Jiaojiao, if you are angry, why must you punish me by using irrelevant people..."

Su Bai: "...?"

"Are you sick in the head?"

She couldn't help but ask sincerely.

Everything had been fine when Qin Yang and Yun Zhu were training together for two years for mutual progress. Why couldn't she and Senior Brother Shen make progress together?

Besides, if it weren't for Senior Brother Shen, a Golden Core cultivator, leading the way, she wouldn't even be able to take on Earth-rank tasks from the Righteous Hall!

Su Bai had never spoken harshly to Qin Yang before. At this moment, Qin Yang’s brain stalled from her question, and he stammered, "I, I..." but couldn't get a word out for a long time.

The image of Su Bai being understanding and gentle was too deeply rooted in Qin Yang's memory. Out of habit, he subconsciously assumed she was worried about him.

But his reason told him she was scolding him.

Ultimately, his emotions took the lead, and Qin Yang replied firmly, "I am not sick!"

"It's just that this Shen Xing is clearly not a good person!"

Su Bai was quite annoyed by his unreasonable attitude.

"Are you too idle, having nothing to do, that you have to revolve around me? Senior Brother Qin, do you not have your own life?"

"Senior Brother Shen doing tasks with me is for my own good. Are you jealous because you can't do Golden Core tasks yourself? Don't be bitter; proper cultivation is the right path!"

"You don't make progress yourself, yet you won't allow others to? You aren't ambitious, yet you label others to stop them from being ambitious?"

"Senior Brother Qin, you have disappointed me too much."

Qin Yang’s figure trembled, and he looked at her in shock.

The deep disappointment in the girl’s eyes did not look fake.

Qin Yang had never seen such an expression on her face before. The panic in his heart grew uncontrollably under her gaze, and countless thoughts swirled through his mind.

Qin Yang remained silent for a long while before saying, "Yun Zhu likes you very much. With the inner-sect assessment approaching, she specifically refined an Earth-Profound Grade One Enlightenment Pill for you."

An Enlightenment Pill!

Su Bai didn't speak, but Shen Xing, standing to the side, widened his eyes.

As expected of the chief disciple of the Huichun Valley Master, anything she produced was certainly no ordinary item.

The Enlightenment Pill was a pill capable of rapidly enhancing a cultivator’s spiritual sense. After taking it, a Heart-Impulse cultivator’s progress would be like a thousand miles a day, with the hope of forming a Golden Core within fifteen years.

If the gap between one's spiritual sense and strength was too great, one could easily become unstable and succumb to inner demons. However, if the spiritual sense was far stronger than one's physical strength, there would be almost no bottlenecks in cultivation. Because the Enlightenment Pill’s function was precisely to increase the strength of one’s spiritual sense, it was pursued with almost fanatical fervor among cultivators.

Unfortunately, for Su Bai, who possessed an SSS+ level of mental strength, the Enlightenment Pill was the most useless item of all.

Su Bai let out a cold "Heh," remaining unmoved.

"Using pills to forcefully increase one’s spiritual sense, taking shortcuts—there will inevitably be consequences. I advise Senior Brother Qin: relying too heavily on pills will only lead you further away from the Great Dao!"

"Furthermore, there is no such thing as a free lunch. I have no connection or ties with the chief disciple of Huichun Valley. In reason and sentiment, I will not accept this pill."

Now it was Qin Yang and Shen Xing’s turn to show expressions of shock.

This was the first time anyone had remained indifferent to an Enlightenment Pill!

At an auction, a Profound-Grade One Enlightenment Pill could fetch a price no less than an Earth-Grade One Healing Pill!

Shen Xing couldn't help but clap in applause. "Good! Good! Such character from Junior Sister Su; I am truly ashamed by comparison!"

Qin Yang took this moment to truly look at the "little sister" he hadn't seen in two years.

She stood on her sword with her arms crossed, her slender, upright figure half-immersed in moonlight and half in shadow, looking like nothing less than a sword unsheathed.

This little sister who had grown up with him had always been as unreachable as a goddess in the eyes of others. Yet, every time she looked at him, those phoenix eyes—usually so aggressive—would droop slightly, curving into little crescent moons as she affectionately called him "Brother Qin."

Now, she called him "Senior Brother Qin," word by word.

And his good little sister was staring at him coldly, saying with visible displeasure, "Senior Brother Qin, if you insist on wasting my time for sword practice, do not blame me for drawing my sword!"

Drawing her sword?

How had things between them fallen to the point of drawing swords?

It had only been two short years; had he lost all status in Jiaojiao’s heart?

In an instant, Qin Yang turned pale, his hands hanging limp at his sides.

All his justifications for holding her back now seemed so pale and ridiculous. Since he had asked Su Bai to be understanding about him and Yun Zhu being away for two years, he naturally couldn't use gender boundaries to stop Jiaojiao from sparring with Shen Xing.

Qin Yang watched helplessly as that inner-sect senior brother passed through the locking array without obstruction, his fists clenched tight.

A Golden Core inner-sect senior brother going to seek sword advice from a Heart-Impulse outer-sect junior sister—no one would believe such a story.

He certainly couldn't just stand by and watch Jiaojiao be deceived by such a good-for-nothing pretty boy!