Chapter 14. She fell asleep in her yard. I hadn't taught her that before...
Jun Lintian sat in the training room in a disheveled state, the delayed pain belatedly spreading throughout his body, causing him to close his eyes and frown.
He had just emerged from a secret realm, crushing the head of its guardian beast. The price was the complete breakage of three ribs on his left side, and a searing pain in his soul as if it were being burned.
[Congratulations, host, on completing the secret realm challenge and receiving the reward: Heavenly Rank Crimson Phoenix Demon Core.]
[Mandatory Task Issued: Within twelve hours, the host must completely refine the demon core and break through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm. The host must not waste this rare and precious treasure that everyone covets but which you alone possess.]
[Punishment for mission failure: Nascent Soul stage cultivator suffers the pain of electric shock during a tribulation.]
The system's cold voice exploded in Jun Lintian's mind, causing him even more pain in his soul.
He opened his hand, revealing a red elixir coiled with golden electric snakes, radiating a powerful and alluring energy fluctuation.
This treasure, which would drive everyone crazy in the outside world, was like a hot iron in Jun Lintian's eyes.
Each time they obtain a supreme treasure, they are forced to cultivate it.
But what is the point of cultivation? Is it to trample those mindless NPCs underfoot? Can anyone really feel pleasure from this?
Maybe.
Jun Lintian closed his eyes wearily, feeling his mind in complete chaos.
The system's voice suddenly turned shrill: [Warning! Host's "suspicion" has been detected, and corrupting factors are active!]
A strange electric current surged through his body, and Jun Lintian, caught off guard, collapsed to the ground.
Having received such an immense opportunity, how could the host dare to become complacent? Power is the only meaning!
Jun Lintian numbly gripped the inner bladder. Before putting the demon core into his mouth, he heard a sudden, slightly mocking voice.
"Reign Supreme!"
Jun Lintian put away the demon core and calmly looked towards the door: "Come in."
Xiao Jin, who had just entered, was clearly startled by Jun Lintian's disheveled appearance, but then said as if it were commonplace, "You went to some unknown secret realm again?"
"Hmm." Jun Lintian's breathing was not very stable.
Xiao Jin sized him up: "You seem to be out of danger, so I'll continue to bother you."
"I've always thought you were a gopher in your past life, able to find all sorts of remote and eerie secret places."
"What happened?" Jun Lintian asked calmly.
Although Xiao Jin is usually a bit unreliable, he is kind and warm-hearted. The fact that he sought him out after seeing him injured must mean something important happened.
Xiao Jin, who seemed to have something important to say, asked mysteriously with a gossipy look on his face, "Hey, you've gotten together with your junior sister, haven't you?"
"Cough cough..." Jun Lintian almost spat out a mouthful of blood he had been holding back.
What?
He looked at Xiao Jin in disbelief: "When did this happen? How come I didn't know?"
Xiao Jin winked and said, "Still pretending? Keep pretending! It's only been a short time, but you've already acted quickly. I didn't realize you'd marry a sword."
Jun Lintian frowned: "I really don't know who started this rumor?"
Damage to his reputation is not a big deal, but his junior sister is new to the sect and is innocent and naive. If she is burdened with public opinion pressure for no reason, it may affect her future cultivation.
Seeing his serious expression, Xiao Jin realized he wasn't faking it and stammered, "Really, really, we didn't talk about it?"
"You can't just say things like that. Where did you hear that from?"
Xiao Jin scratched his head and honestly handed over his communication jade slip: "Look, it's in the sect forum. There are pictures to prove it."
Jun Lintian accepted the jade slip, while the posts on the forum continued to pile up, and the rumors became more and more outrageous.
[177L: I've never seen the senior brother have time to give pointers to anyone.]
[178L: My junior sister is learning quite well! It can't be that she memorized it after just one look, right? Who would believe that, hahaha.]
[179L: Agreed, the senior student must have been secretly teaching him for a long time.]
[180L: Looks like the training hall hasn't even opened yet, but my junior sister is already studying diligently. So hardworking! [thumbs up]]
"Although the image on the recording stone is blurry, it's still barely visible. Look, Junior Sister used your swordsmanship. Isn't it quite impressive?" Xiao Jin crossed his arms and sat cross-legged next to Jun Lintian, his face full of interest.
“I never taught her any sword techniques,” Jun Lintian said calmly.
Xiao Jin's smile vanished abruptly, like a goose caught by the neck and unable to move.
After regaining his senses, Xiao Jin's mouth dropped open: "So, you mean, Junior Sister only watched your moves once below the arena and managed to imitate them?"
Jun Lintian nodded.
Xiao Jin thought of what he had said to Shi Liuying by the arena earlier.
"Junior sister, just look at his form, not his spirit; just look at his movements. Don't try to understand anything more in-depth, as you can't understand those things yet."
Yes, my junior sister really couldn't understand the deeper parts.
But she understood one shape and then learned to imitate it to about 80% accuracy?
Jun Lintian was intently looking at the images on the communication jade slip.
The young girl, dressed in light blue, gracefully twirled her sword: "The one who attacked first has no right to accuse me of sneak attacking!"
Then he resolutely rushed out.
This sword technique belonged to Jun Lintian, so he could tell at a glance that his junior sister's movements were a bit immature and her spiritual energy circulation was quite sluggish. She only grasped the form, but was far from capturing the spirit.
Yet every turn, every sword strike, was imbued with an almost obsessive focus.
Especially the final wrist movement, which was exactly the same as his usual motion. Like a kitten that seemed unintentional but was intently focused on its target, his whole body was tense, and even the tips of his hair carried pure pride.
This uplifting emotion was so powerful that it even crossed the screen and reached Jun Lintian.
Xiao Jin stared wide-eyed and exclaimed, "My goodness! Our Myriad Manifestations Sect has gained another genius!"
He pulled Jun Lintian aside to confirm: "Promise me again, you really haven't taught your junior sister any martial arts techniques in private?"
Jun Lintian: "I really didn't teach her anything before."
Xiao Jin was still in awe of Shi Liuying's talent when he suddenly heard Jun Lintian say with great interest, "But things might not be so simple after that."
Xiao Jin: "??? What do you mean?"
Jun Lintian remained silent, leaving only his back view.
The clown's nose was already on Xiao Jin's face: "You just left? You just left like that? You should at least answer me!"
-
The moonlight, like a ribbon, quietly spilled over the eaves, bathing the small courtyard in its gentle glow.
A night breeze swept by, causing the lanterns in the corner to sway and flicker, and the cloud patterns on Shi Liuying's sleeves to move slowly in sync.
But her hand hesitated and paused.
She was holding a communication jade slip, looking at the hot posts on the sect forum's homepage.
[192L: The eldest brother created his own sword technique, but he never teaches it to outsiders, tsk tsk tsk...]
"So it wasn't taught by Master?"
Shi Liuying's beautiful eyebrows were twisted together.
This is the first thorny problem she has encountered since joining the sect.
This is even more difficult than climbing Tianji Peak for a whole month.
Because the memory of sword techniques is in her mind, it won't be automatically erased.
Can apologizing to your senior brother while carrying the memory of this sword move be considered a sincere apology?
Shi Liuying drew circles on the soles of her feet with her fingers, and finally decided that she had to apologize regardless of whether her senior brother forgave her.
If she doesn't forgive him the first time, she'll go twice; if that doesn't work, she'll go three times...
She must make sure her senior brother sees her sincerity.
If all else fails, we'll wait until she becomes even more powerful so she can go outside and collect rare and precious treasures for her senior brother. She won't use them herself; she'll just give them all to him.
Anyway, my senior brother looks sickly and needs a lot of nourishment.
However, for this first apology, she didn't have any precious treasures in her possession.
Shi Liuying then thought of her favorite Nanhua cake.
She went to the small kitchen without a word, and half an hour later, she came out of the kitchen again, carrying the familiar little basket.
"This must have upset my senior brother, I have to go apologize." Shi Liuying gripped the small basket tightly, her gaze firm, brave enough to admit her mistake and take responsibility.
In the stillness of the night, a clear and melodious sound, like the gentle murmur of flowing water, stood out.
Are you looking for me?
Shi Liuying looked up and felt that the sound was coming from the roof.
She stepped back a little to get a better look.
The person on the rooftop sat up as if sensing something.
He leaned back, one hand resting on his casually bent right leg, and when he smiled, a shallow dimple appeared at the corner of his mouth.
The senior brother at night seems quite different from the one seen on the arena during the day.
He wore a light cloud-colored cross-collar robe, with narrow cuffs and a red collar, which made him look very healthy. His hair was tied up with a rope, making him look very energetic, and the stray hairs on his forehead swayed gently in the evening breeze.
Shi Liuying looked at him again and again, and felt that the senior brother who appeared this time did not seem very weak. Even his dark circles under his eyes had faded a lot.
"It seems that Senior Brother rested well after the last competition," Shi Liuying remarked.
Jun Lintian smiled wryly: "It's our first meeting, Senior Brother was too rude."
There's no reason for someone to faint before they've even finished saying hello at their first meeting.
And he didn't sleep for long last time either; he only closed his eyes briefly before opening them again.
As for his junior sister's opinion that he rested well, perhaps it's because he just climbed onto her roof and took a nap.
For some reason, he would fall asleep whenever he was near her; it was something he couldn't control.
Overwhelmed by drowsiness, he simply dozed off for a while on the thatched roof.
This was the most relaxing sleep he had had in eight hundred years, even though it lasted only an hour.
Jun Lintian leaped down from the rooftop, light and silent.
After standing in front of Shi Liuying, he felt that drowsiness come back, so he took a few steps back to maintain a proper distance.
Shi Liuying took in everything.
...Senior Brother, it must be because she secretly learned swordsmanship that you're unhappy.
She didn't mean to; those sword moves just popped into her head uncontrollably during the fight.
"Senior Brother, I..."
"You have a high level of comprehension." Jun Lintian looked at her admiringly.
Shi Liuying's forehead was beaded with nervous sweat.
This is sarcasm, isn't it? How can her rudimentary, copy-and-paste skills compare to her senior brother's?
Jun Lintian came here not only because he noticed something unusual about this junior sister.
If it was just to investigate something, he could have followed her to the disciple's residence that very day.
What truly brought him here was the image captured on that photographic stone.
What moved him? Was it her talent? Or her firm tone? Or perhaps her indomitable spirit?
Jun Lintian himself couldn't explain it clearly; he just wanted to come and see, so he came.
It's like... an animal's phototaxis.
"You wield your sword well," Jun Lintian said.
Shi Liuying's palms were sweating and her heart was racing.
Here they come! Before she could even apologize, her senior brother came to interrogate her.
I definitely need to give her a good scolding, and then...
Shu Lang's voice interrupted Shi Liuying's daydream: "Here you go."
Shi Liuying instinctively reached out, and a delicate little peach wood sword appeared in her hand.
"Follow my movements and do it again."
The figure in light cloud-colored clothes moved, revealing a more vibrant color at the seams as the garments fluttered.
It's like a piece of warm and calm ancient jade, suddenly revealing a sharp edge that hasn't been carved yet.
Somehow, a mature and steady person suddenly develops a youthful spirit.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Chong Cang, who witnessed everything from outside the courtyard, was devastated: The Nanhua cake you gave me, you made it for him too?! The Nanhua cake you gave me, you really made it for him?! [Crying]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
