A bright light burst forth from the sky, and a drop of blood from each of their foreheads mingled together, forging a bond of shared life and death.
He was very domineering and forceful, and without consulting the other person's opinion, he concluded the contract like a thug.
With this contract, Xuan Yan can find Shen Muqing's location no matter where he is in the world. The two share lifespans; if they can't be born together, then they can die together.
Unaware of what was happening, Shen Muqing smacked her lips, turned over, and continued sleeping.
Xuan Yan entered and left silently, and no one noticed what he was doing. Having just come out of seclusion, he still had some things to deal with. If he didn't explain things clearly to those stubborn old guys, they would probably bother him every day again.
The night passed, and early in the morning, Shen Muqing was woken up by Yun Ruoyue's loud voice.
"Shen Muqing! How could you sleep like that? Have you forgotten your situation?"
"The early bird catches the worm. Get up and start your cultivation. I will personally supervise you."
Yun Ruoyue pulled back her blanket and shouted in her ear, "If you don't get up, that bitch Jiang Duxue will kick you out of the Qingyun Sect."
"What?" Shen Muqing asked groggily, completely woken up by Yun Ruoyue's shaking. "Yueyue, isn't your behavior a bit too different?"
In public, Yun Ruoyue is the devoted and selfless senior sister of the Qingyun Sect, deeply in love with Ling Yeyao; in private, she is a quirky and silly person, not gentle at all.
"Don't you know? If it weren't for the system, would I be feeling so frustrated?"
Early in the morning, Yun Ruoyue began her oral exercises. If saliva could drown people, it could have drowned countless systems.
"Qingqing, get up quickly and start your cultivation."
By the end, Yun Ruoyue's mouth was dry, and Shen Muqing admired her for remembering to tell her about cultivation after talking so much.
"But I haven't eaten yet, I'm hungry."
Shen Muqing looked at Yun Ruoyue innocently, with a pitiful expression.
"Cultivate first, and I'll get you some food after you're done. And let me tell you, the food at the Qingyun Sect is delicious!"
The mention of delicious food energized Shen Muqing, who immediately jumped out of bed, full of fighting spirit, "Alright! I'll make it."
In the bamboo forest, Yun Ruoyue first explained the most basic cultivation knowledge to Shen Muqing, but Shen Muqing was completely confused. The knowledge entered her mind and then left without a trace.
"By the way, did you take a talent test? How was it?"
"I don't know."
Seeing her clueless expression, Yun Ruoyue sighed and said, "Let's see how talented you are."
She took out the talent stone and gestured for Shen Muqing to place her hand on it. "The brighter the color, the higher your talent; conversely, the darker the color, the lower your talent."
Shen Muqing placed her hand on it as she instructed, and it took a long time for the talent stone to emit a faint light, so faint that it was almost imperceptible.
"Is Yueyue's stone broken?"
“No way.” Yun Ruoyue said, placing her hand on the stone, which instantly emitted a dazzling white light. “It’s not broken. Try again.”
"good."
The light still didn't come on. "Yueyue, I don't want to live anymore," Shen Muqing said, feigning tears. She regretted not trying; she had been humiliated twice.
"It's okay, it's okay."
"Why isn't it lit up?"
Yun Ruoyue hugged her, unsure how to comfort her, and finally said, "Qingqing, don't worry, you can stay in Qingyun Sect if you become my disciple."
"Don't you look down on me? I can't do anything right."
"We're like brothers, I've decided to take you as my apprentice."
"I'm so touched, so can I rest now? I'm so tired, Yueyue."
"No." Yun Ruoyue pushed her away sternly, pointing her finger at her brow. "Continue now. Talent isn't important; what matters is your effort."
"Follow my method to refine it. I'm not exaggerating. Like that leopard from a few days ago, you can kill a hundred of them with one sword strike."
"Okay! I'll refine it."
In this world, the strong are respected, and strength is the only truth. It's a dog-eat-dog world, and no one will pity or spare you just because you're weak.
By the end of the day, Shen Muqing's hands were aching terribly. She had practiced swordsmanship all day, but there was no improvement. She hadn't even learned to fly on her sword.
She was somewhat frustrated. Was this the difference between them?
She was so untalented that she questioned her existence; surely no one was worse than her.
And what she had been eagerly anticipating for lunch was that it consisted of only two steamed buns, plain white steamed buns. Yun Ruoyue explained that cultivators do not care much about food and drink, and steamed buns are the simplest and most delicious food. The higher one's cultivation level, the less one needs to eat.
"What a clever scheme," Shen Muqing said. "Yueyue, that's not what you said this morning."
"That was to wake you up, wasn't it? Okay, baby, go to sleep now, we'll continue tomorrow~"
"good."
Shen Muqing replied weakly. After a long day of hard work, all she had to eat was steamed buns. She didn't even have the strength to hang herself. Life was so bitter that she felt like she could poison herself by licking her own lips.
On the bed, she lay there like a dead fish, her mind filled with the sword moves Yun Ruoyue had taught her during the day. She skimmed through them, her earnest expression making Yun Ruoyue think she had learned them, but in reality, she hadn't learned them at all.
As she pondered, drowsiness crept in. Knowing she had to get up early the next day, Shen Muqing sighed deeply. "I should go to sleep early," she thought, "I can dream about whatever I want to eat or do."
The night was silent. Moonlight filtered through the bamboo forest and fell on the ground, casting shadows on the bamboo leaves. A tall figure walked slowly on the ground in white boots with gold lettering.
The bamboo forest still carried Shen Muqing's aura. He chuckled, knowing from the marks on the ground how the girl had cultivated during the day.
The door to Shen Muqing's room creaked open. It was nighttime again, and no one had noticed. Xuan Yan was clearly more skilled than the first time. He went straight to Shen Muqing on the bed as soon as he entered.
His gaze was immediately drawn to the swollen, red hand on the blanket. Xuan Yan's eyes were filled with heartache as he gently lifted the girl's hand.
He placed a light kiss on it, tenderly stroking his swollen palm.
He then took out the healing elixir, Soothing Cream, and applied it to Shen Muqing's hands. Both hands were quickly covered with the cream. He then channeled his spiritual energy, and a stream of cyan spiritual energy flowed from Xuan Yan's body into Shen Muqing's body.
Perhaps because of the bond, Shen Muqing did not reject his spiritual power; on the contrary, she felt comfortable with it, and her brows, which had been furrowed with fatigue, relaxed as she fell asleep.
Xuan Yan dared not send too much spiritual energy to her, and could only send it little by little. Shen Muqing's cultivation, which had been stagnant for a long time, finally moved and rose one level to the fifth level of Qi Refining.
Seeing the girl's expression no longer pained, Xuan Yan felt relieved. He stared greedily at her sleeping face, but it wasn't enough. Looking at her only satisfied his superficial desires. He wanted more, he wanted to possess all of Shen Muqing.
Perhaps it was his gaze that was too intense and eerie, but Shen Muqing opened her eyes half-asleep and saw a stunningly handsome face before her.
Just as she was about to react, Xuan Yan raised his hand and covered her eyes, his voice carrying a magical quality, "Sleep."
Now is not the time to meet. Wait for him. He will appear before her openly and honestly, not as a spy.
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