Xiao Qi was a pure and kind girl.
Upon learning of Hua Jian’s ability, her first reaction was not jealousy, but a completely harmless sense of envy.
Even though Hua Jian possessed an ability she didn’t have, it didn’t bother her at all.
Her only thought was, ‘Wow, that’s such a useful power.’
“Sister Hua, why don’t you ask it how it’s feeling now? Is it any better?”
“I can only sense a little bit of the emotions it transmits. I can’t actually talk to it,” Hua Jian quickly clarified.
She didn’t want Xiao Qi to pin too many strange hopes on her.
These small flowers were very ordinary and rarely possessed spirituality.
Their usual purpose was merely for decoration. Such plants didn’t have any regular capacity for thought.
They only possessed the most basic instincts of life.
Hua Jian herself couldn’t even be certain if what she felt was truly their “emotions.”
“Oh, I see. But even so, it’s still incredible,” Xiao Qi remarked.
At that moment, Senior Sister Qiao walked in from outside. Xiao Qi excitedly recounted what had just happened to her.
Senior Sister Qiao had already known about Hua Jian’s ability since yesterday, so she remained quite calm.
“Don’t make such a fuss. Could someone personally brought here by your Senior Sister Luo be ordinary?”
If she didn’t possess some extraordinary skill, why would the top Inner Disciple of Lingcaifeng so enthusiastically take Hua Jian on a tour of the grounds? Everything happened for a reason.
“You’d better attend your lessons diligently. Don’t let Hua Jian surpass you even though you’re her senior.”
“Senior Sister, you’re making things difficult for me. Sister Hua has such great talent; how could I possibly compete with her?” Xiao Qi lowered her head and muttered dejectedly.
She had only started learning a few months before Hua Jian and had just barely mastered the basics.
Against Hua Jian’s special talent, those few months of head start weren’t nearly enough.
“Then study even harder!”
Senior Sister Qiao huffed, knocking Xiao Qi on the head before beckoning to Hua Jian.
“Hua Jian, come here. Today, I’ll first see how much basic knowledge you’ve acquired.”
“Okay!”
The basic knowledge assessment Senior Sister Qiao spoke of was not simple.
After a morning of testing, Hua Jian felt like a university student with a blank, innocent stare—her head was empty, and if she tapped it, she swore she could hear an echo inside her skull.
Her ability to sense the emotions of plants was indeed useful, but its utility was limited.
What was the point of knowing a plant was uncomfortable?
She didn’t know specifically what was wrong with it or how to treat it.
These weren’t problems that could be solved by feeling alone.
She had to study.
“Being able to perceive whether a plant’s state is good or bad is your natural advantage. You must learn to utilize that properly…” After gauging Hua Jian’s current level, Senior Sister Qiao began the real lecture for the day.
During these first few days, she wouldn’t teach Hua Jian anything too profound.
Everything had to progress from the shallow to the deep.
Hua Jian listened with great interest. Although it was basic knowledge, she had never learned any of it before, so everything felt quite novel.
Furthermore, since this was exactly where her interests lay, her motivation to learn was immense.
Senior Sister Qiao rarely encountered a student with such an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
Comparing her to the other girl she was currently teaching, the difference was simply indescribable.
‘Truly, comparisons are odious,’ she thought.
For the next few days, Hua Jian continued to learn from Senior Sister Qiao.
In just a short time, she learned the optimal growth conditions for various common flowers and what kind of nutrients they preferred.
However, after today’s lesson ended, Senior Sister Qiao told Hua Jian that she didn’t need to come for class tomorrow.
When Hua Jian curiously asked why, Xiao Qi gave her an answer that was both expected and unexpected.
“Tomorrow is the rest day we have every ten days. Sister Hua, do you want to go to the Outer City to play together?”
The Saint Sect didn’t follow the concept of a weekend, but for Senior Sister Qiao, teaching students all day was mentally exhausting.
This one rest day every ten days served as a chance for her to catch a breath.
Hua Jian had arrived right in the middle of a ten-day cycle, so she encountered her first rest day after only a few days of study.
“Since you plan to go to the Outer City tomorrow, take these flowers to the flower shop there for me,” Senior Sister Qiao said, glancing at Xiao Qi and treating her like an errand runner.
“Huh?”
“What do you mean ‘huh’? Are you unwilling?” Once she stepped out of her teaching mode, Senior Sister Qiao shed her gentle mask and revealed her true self.
While she was generally kind and gentle, when faced with a certain girl who was quite old in years but not at all in personality, even the gentlest person would show a fierce expression.
Xiao Qi trembled and quickly stated that serving her Senior Sister was only natural and right—there was no question of willingness.
As for Hua Jian, she didn’t immediately accept Xiao Qi’s invitation. “I don’t know what I’m doing tomorrow yet. I’ll go back and ask my companions.”
“Alright,” Xiao Qi muttered, her head drooping like a large dog abandoned by its owner.
“There, there, don’t cry.” For some reason, Hua Jian reached out and rubbed Xiao Qi’s head twice.
This caused Senior Sister Qiao to let out a soft “pfft” of laughter.
It also caused Xiao Qi to flush bright red after a moment of stunned silence.
“Hua Jian!”
She stood up in embarrassment and anger, but Hua Jian had already sprinted out of the house before she could explode.
All that remained was Hua Jian’s faint fragrance and a muttered comment that made Xiao Qi even more flustered.
“Senior Sister Xiao really did look like a cute big dog just now.”
……
“Rest? Then what are your plans?”
“I don’t have any plans. I just found out I don’t have class tomorrow. How could I have plans?” Hua Jian spread her hands as she answered Shiqi’s question.
Linglong had returned quite early today. She was currently sitting cross-legged nearby with her eyes closed in cultivation, appearing as though she didn’t want to get involved.
Hua Jian felt she should ask Linglong, as she was the host. “Linglong, do you have any recommendations?”
Hearing the question, Linglong didn’t even open her eyes. “I have things to do tomorrow. Do as you please.”
Hua Jian could rest, but she couldn’t. After arriving here, the duties of the Saintess had been piling up one after another.
She would be busy for a while before she could finish. Therefore, for the time being, she wouldn’t have much time to play with Hua Jian.
“Then how about coming to the Outer City with me? It seems you haven’t been there yet,” Shiqi suggested.
Hua Jian hadn’t left since entering the Inner City. Wouldn’t it be nice to take this opportunity to wander around the Outer City?
There truly wasn’t much to see in the Inner City right now.
Hua Jian couldn’t enter the Core Region of the Saint Sect’s headquarters, and the places she could visit were filled with cultivators working hard to catch up on their progress.
If she stayed nearby for too long, she was afraid some senior brothers or sisters might draft her into labor.
Thinking about it that way, visiting the Outer City seemed like a good choice.
Since she had come to Ascension City, staying cooped up in a Cultivation Chamber all the time wasn’t the way to go.
Having experienced the currently indescribable Inner City, she had to experience the real Ascension City as seen by the masses.
“Alright, then I’ll go to the Outer City with you tomorrow!”
Once Hua Jian made her decision, Linglong sighed softly.
She actually wanted to go with Hua Jian too, but she couldn’t get out of tomorrow’s obligations.
She could only leave Hua Jian entirely to Shiqi.
Fortunately, Shiqi was a girl as straightforward as her sword. Linglong didn’t have to worry about Shiqi spiriting Hua Jian away one day.
With Hua Jian’s personality, there was absolutely no way she would run off to the Jian Sect.
…..
Early the next morning, Shiqi woke Hua Jian up. After briefly packing their gear, the two of them headed toward the Outer City together.
To make travel easier, Hua Jian borrowed the Door-plank Flying Sword from Linglong and flew directly toward the Outer City.
Ascension City didn’t have a no-fly rule, but if cultivators wanted to fly, they had to stay within specific altitude layers.
The distance between the layers was quite large to prevent interference.
Since the Jade Pool’s Sky City was located in the highest altitude layer, as soon as Hua Jian left the Sky City’s perimeter, she had to maneuver the flying sword downward.
Her power wasn’t sufficient to support long-term flight at such a height; she had to reach the lowest altitude layer.
There were quite a few Saint Sect cultivators out early for work. Cultivators were flying everywhere.
Fortunately, the space was large enough; otherwise, the sky would surely be congested with people.
Among these early-rising cultivators, a small portion were headed toward the Outer City like Hua Jian and her companion.
Some were going to manage shops they owned there, while others were heading out to handle business.
Hua Jian and Shiqi were both carrying Tokens that allowed them to freely enter and exit the Inner and Outer Cities.
The barrier separating the two areas was no longer an obstacle for them.
Following the main flow of people out of the city, Shiqi, who was already familiar with parts of the Outer City, began to lead the way.
They planned to have breakfast in the Outer City first before doing anything else.
“I’ve been having breakfast here these past few days. This shop makes very authentic Northern Territory dishes.”
Just as Shiqi finished introducing the breakfast shop, the middle-aged shopkeeper working inside greeted her warmly. “Yo, Miss Shiqi brought a friend today?”
“Yes, I brought her here to get familiar with Ascension City.”
The two sat in vacant seats, and the shopkeeper quickly brought out the breakfast they ordered.
Since there weren’t many customers at the moment, the shopkeeper began to describe which places in the Outer City were worth visiting.
After listening for a while, Hua Jian noticed a pattern.
The places most worth visiting in the Outer City were actually the various shops established by the Five Great Sacred Sects.