Hua Jian had a dream—a dream whose meaning she herself couldn’t fathom.
It felt as though she had turned into a flower, and then… after that, she remembered nothing at all.
When she opened her eyes, the memories of the dream faded away even more quickly, vanishing from her mind like reflections in a mirror or the moon on water, leaving not a single trace.
Clutching her head, Hua Jian sat up in bed and glanced around, spotting Linglong sitting cross-legged nearby in quiet meditation—it seemed Linglong had accompanied her for the entire night.
Looking down at her own clothes, Hua Jian had a vague guess about what happened yesterday.
She had probably passed out in the medicinal bath and then had been fished out by Linglong, who tossed her into the blankets.
Wow, how embarrassing! Who on earth passes out from just taking a bath?!
Hua Jian forced herself not to think about how her clothes got put on, or how she ended up under the covers.
Once her mind wandered there, she couldn’t help but feel as though she’d lost her innocence.
…But Linglong was a girl too, so it shouldn’t be a big deal, right?
Hua Jian could only comfort herself with this logic, even though she knew that the world she lived in now wasn’t nearly as conservative as what she’d once imagined.
“You’re awake?” The soft rustle of Hua Jian sitting up stirred Linglong from her meditation.
Upon seeing that Hua Jian was awake, a look of clear joy flashed across Linglong’s face.
So it was just a pleasant dream for Hua Jian after all, nothing serious happened. That was a relief.
“Mm, have you ever passed out in a bath?” Hua Jian countered, asking Linglong.
She wanted to know if this was a normal thing—maybe it wasn’t her fault, but the medicinal bath’s?
But obviously, that wasn’t the case. Linglong shook her head, indicating that she’d never experienced anything like this.
Hua Jian’s situation was an exception.
“I’ll ask the Venerables about it later…” Hua Jian muttered under her breath.
According to previous arrangements, the Lingcaifeng Master was supposed to come that morning to teach her the basics of spirit-flower cultivation.
But just before class time, a shijie from the Hudaosi delivered a message from the Lingcaifeng Master, saying that she and Fenghua Venerable had something urgent and Hua Jian should train by herself today.
The message left Hua Jian a bit stunned.
Her intuition told her it was odd for both the Lingcaifeng Master and Fenghua Venerable to be busy at the same time, but with her current knowledge, she couldn’t guess the reason.
Could it be because of her?
Hua Jian entertained a bold guess, but quickly tossed it out of her mind. Even if it was related to her, surely the two Venerables wouldn’t keep it from her.
She decided it was best to just focus on what she should be doing, and not overthink it.
“If the Venerables are busy, then I’ll train with you today.”
Linglong’s gaze was bright and intent as she looked at Hua Jian.
Truthfully, Hua Jian was still laying her foundation; neither her spirit nor her body had truly begun the path of training.
At this stage, Linglong was more than qualified to be her temporary teacher.
Laying the foundation for refining the body was something Linglong had plenty of experience with.
After years of illness, Linglong had trained under her mother from a young age.
More than ten years of experience had made her a master at these things—teaching a beginner like Hua Jian was a breeze.
Under Linglong’s intense gaze, Hua Jian felt a chill run down her back.
She sensed a pitfall lurking in this proposal, but no matter how she looked, she couldn’t see where it lay.
She had no grounds to refuse, so she simply scratched her head and agreed to Linglong’s suggestion.
Come to think of it… was she forgetting something?
As Linglong, bubbling with excitement, dragged her out of the room, Hua Jian had a strange feeling, like she’d made another promise to someone else.
Who was it again?
She hadn’t figured it out yet when Linglong’s energetic voice rang out nearby, “Let’s start with some boxing for a warm-up!”
Boxing?
Hua Jian froze. “I don’t know how!”
“I’ll teach you!”
……
“Strange, why hasn’t she come?”
Huan Rui, who’d waited for Hua Jian all noon in the chapel, scratched her head, thinking she’d been stood up.
“Who’s little Xiaorui waiting for? Your sweetheart?”
Qian Feixue crept up behind Huan Rui with a mischievous grin, startling her.
Huan Rui nearly jumped out of her seat.
When she saw it was Qian Feixue, she looked at her with a pitiful expression, hoping to guilt her a little.
But Qian Feixue, who could spar verbally with Huaxinyuan, a core disciple of Wanhuagu, was no stranger to such tactics.
In terms of shamelessness, she was on par with the people of Wanhuagu, so Huan Rui’s puppy eyes had no effect at all.
It was an ancestral lesson: when you need to be shameless, be shameless.
“It’s not like that. I’m waiting for Hua Jian. She promised she’d come find me today.”
Seeing that her look didn’t work, Huan Rui could only honestly answer Qian Feixue’s question.
Her shijie had specially warned her that Qian Feixue was very strong, perhaps not weaker than Huaxinyuan, and that the force behind her was in a rather ambiguous relationship with Wanhuagu.
Some things that weren’t too sensitive could be spoken of openly.
For example, waiting here for Hua Jian was no big secret.
As for the Chai Family Patriarch, Huaxinyuan had chosen to cooperate with Qian Feixue—both sides would support a mutually agreeable candidate.
So, from all angles, Qian Feixue was, for now, considered Huan Rui’s superior, and she had to answer when her superior asked.
“Oh, that little shimei, huh? She’s at the Hudaosi right now. It’s normal if she can’t get away.”
Qian Feixue remembered Hua Jian well—such a beautiful young lady was hard to forget.
Plus, Huaxinyuan’s special interest in Hua Jian made her even more curious about what secrets this girl might hold.
“True, she’s at the Hudaosi now.” Huan Rui nodded.
Just thinking of Hua Jian in that intimidating place, she felt it was totally normal to be stood up.
After all, Hua Jian’s position was awkward.
As a Wanhuagu cultivator, she had to move about in the Hudaosi—it must be difficult and nerve-wracking for her.
“No need to worry. If you really need to find her, I can get a message to her. I have a few connections in the Hudaosi,” Qian Feixue said with a smile.
“It’s nothing urgent. She’s just interested in the Chai Family Patriarch matter too. I saw her go to the Chai Clan not long ago.”
Huan Rui fidgeted shyly, revealing information that surprised Qian Feixue.
That little shimei had contact with the Chai Clan too?
“Oh? I hadn’t heard that. Xiaorui, can you tell me more?”
……
“You’re really going all out?!”
“I’m warning you, my patience is limited! Don’t force me to get serious!”
“Wow, bullying someone younger—shameless!”
In the small courtyard, Hua Jian was being chased in circles by Linglong, drawing the attention of passing Hudaosi cultivators, who couldn’t help but stop to watch the spectacle between the two girls.
Watching for a bit, some of them burst into laughter. The fight was just too amusing.
The white-haired, golden-eyed shimei had a solid foundation; every move and stance was precise and airtight.
But her opponent, the black-haired shimei, was far less skilled—her moves had no technique at all.
She’d throw a punch without thinking of the follow-up, often leaving herself open for the white-haired shimei to exploit, getting thrown to the ground again and again.
Although she tried hard to learn from her failures and retaliate, the gap in experience left the fight entirely one-sided.
The Hudaosi shixiong and shijie onlookers weren’t mocking Hua Jian—they could tell with a glance that Linglong’s moves were secret techniques from the Jade Pool, while Hua Jian was a complete amateur.
If a Jade Pool shimei couldn’t beat a peer from the wandering cultivators, they’d have to seriously check the quality of their current generation.
Of course, Hua Jian’s tragic state was largely due to the fact that neither of them was using any spirit power—they were relying purely on strength and technique.
Without a doubt, that was the biggest unfairness toward Hua Jian.
Her fighting power relied almost entirely on spiritual energy.
Without it, she couldn’t summon her fog, and her combat ability dropped to near zero.
Linglong, meanwhile, had Dragon Race blood in her veins, her physical strength far above normal cultivators, plus years of close combat training—she had every advantage.
If both went all out, at this range, Linglong would’ve been knocked out by Hua Jian’s confusion mist countless times by now.
Did they not understand the true meaning of Close Combat Invincibility?!
Sure, her hand-to-hand skills were zero, but anyone who got close was guaranteed to be knocked out—wasn’t that a kind of Close Combat Invincibility too?
After getting thrown again by Linglong’s over-the-shoulder toss, Hua Jian just lay on the ground, refusing to get up.
“No more, no more. If we keep going, you’ll break me into pieces.”
Linglong mentally calculated the time and agreed that Hua Jian had persisted long enough.
She’d expected Hua Jian to give up much sooner, but to her surprise, she held out for quite a while.
Taking a pill from her Storage Pouch, Linglong walked over and held it to Hua Jian’s lips.
“Eat it now—the effect is best.”
Hua Jian opened her mouth, curling her tongue around the pill Linglong gave her.
This time, the pill lacked the familiar hint of sweetness; instead, it tasted a bit dry, with the aroma of herbs.
One taste and Hua Jian knew there was no Longxian added—what a world of difference that made!
She felt she was being thoroughly PUA-ed by Linglong.
At first, she couldn’t stomach the dragon saliva pills, and now she found the ones without it almost tasteless.
The pill dissolved in her mouth, turning into a warm current that flowed into her sore limbs, giving her the illusion of growing stronger.
If she had a system right now, it would surely pop up with “Physique+1” on the panel.
“So bitter! Did you mess up the refining?” Hua Jian smacked her lips as she sat up.
“This is a Strong Body Pill made by shijie in the sect. It’s low grade—it can’t possibly be botched.”
Linglong didn’t catch Hua Jian’s hidden meaning, assuming she really meant the pill was a dud.
Linglong’s matter-of-fact reply made Hua Jian sigh as she got up and patted the wrinkles from her clothes.
Though she’d been thrown several times and rolled all over the ground, her clothes were still spotless.
That was the magic of the Jade Pool Robe—each garment had dustproof and self-cleaning abilities.
Only Saint Sect disciples could wear such outfits as everyday attire.
Glancing up, she saw the sun already slanting westward. Unknowingly, she’d spent the entire day training with Linglong.
Time seemed to pass quickly—maybe because she enjoyed training with Linglong?
Hua Jian couldn’t say for sure; she just knew being with Linglong wasn’t unpleasant.
“Linglong, let’s go out for dinner tonight. I’m sick of the food here,” she said, turning to Linglong with an invitation.
Saint Sect disciples able to serve at the Hudaosi were at least Ling King level, who could basically survive on Bigu.
Plus, most of them had that overachiever tendency, so the daily meals provided by Hudaosi were rather plain.
Filling, yes—but not exactly tasty.
Hua Jian had stayed here for days, and food was her one complaint.
Now in a good mood, she figured it was a great chance to explore with Linglong.
Tianbei City wasn’t small. Situated at the border of the Central Continent and Beijing, it was quite lively.
Thanks to Beijing’s influence, you could find plenty of things here that were rare deeper in the Central Continent—like food with a distinctive northern flavor.
Hua Jian was curious about these dishes and now finally had time to try them.
“Okay.” Linglong naturally had no objections.
It was rare for Hua Jian to take the initiative and invite her—how could she refuse? She wasn’t crazy.
Since the Lingcaifeng Master’s arrival, it wasn’t just Fenghua Venerable who felt a sense of crisis—Linglong felt it too.
One feared losing her favored disciple, the other feared losing her future shimei.
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