Hearing this somewhat familiar voice, Bai Shuanglian froze for a moment before turning her gaze toward the source.
There, a young and beautiful woman who looked only a few years older than Bai Shuanglian was approaching gracefully.
She wore a water-blue ruqun that didn’t fit modern times at all, resembling someone who had stepped straight out of history.
Bai Shuanglian hadn’t noticed her approach—as if the woman had been standing there all along—but this was perfectly normal.
After all, the newcomer’s cultivation far surpassed hers, so it was only expected that she wouldn’t sense her.
“Grandma Qiuyin?”
Bai Shuanglian looked at the woman in the ruqun, seemingly surprised that she would appear here, and said, “Why did you come ou—”
But before she could finish, Bai Qiuyin, now close, interrupted her.
Pinching her chin, Bai Qiuyin sized up this long-unseen “grandniece” and said appreciatively, “Not bad. In such a short time you’ve already reached the point of breaking through, and your foundation looks very solid. Since there’s still some time before the Xuantian Martial Tournament, we can let you break through first and head over afterward—no rush.”
She paused, then added, “Though if you do that, your grouping in the Xuantian Martial Tournament will shift to the Nascent Soul stage bracket.”
“If you had broken through a bit earlier and had some time to get familiar with Nascent Soul stage power, I could guarantee the championship would be yours without question.”
“But the timing isn’t ideal right now. You might very well miss out on the title because you’re still unfamiliar with Nascent Soul stage strength.”
With that, Bai Qiuyin looked at Bai Shuanglian and asked seriously, “So, Shuanglian, do you want to break through first and then participate in the Xuantian Martial Tournament, or wait until after the tournament is over to make the breakthrough?”
Facing Bai Qiuyin’s gaze and listening to her rattle off so much on her own, Bai Shuanglian paused, looking somewhat helpless.
She knew it was for her own good.
Still, she was quite familiar with this elder’s style—although a bit prone to talking to herself, the intentions were always kind.
So Bai Shuanglian thought it over carefully, and for some reason her mind drifted back to that battle with the Demon Bishop at the pier.
Although she and Ling Xiaoyou had easily killed the Demon Bishop together back then, upon reflection—if that Demon Bishop had been a little stronger or prepared a few more tricks—the arriving little You might have gotten hurt… or even…
It was just her own speculation, but Bai Shuanglian didn’t want such a thing to happen.
She didn’t want any danger coming near Ling Xiaoyou.
Moreover, they had gotten entangled in the devils’ schemes—who knew what other dangers awaited them?
So she had to become stronger—strong enough to protect little You properly.
With that thought, Bai Shuanglian’s gaze grew resolute.
Looking at Bai Qiuyin, she said, “No need, Grandma Qiuyin. I’ve decided to break through as soon as possible—even if it means I might lose in the later matches because of it.”
After a brief pause, she continued, “Besides, I don’t think that just because I break through and haven’t fully mastered Nascent Soul stage power yet, those opponents can beat me.”
Hearing this, Bai Qiuyin was momentarily stunned.
Looking at Bai Shuanglian’s calm expression, she seemed to understand something.
It wasn’t arrogance—just pure confidence in her own strength?
With that realization, the corners of Bai Qiuyin’s mouth curved upward.
She gave Bai Shuanglian a big thumbs-up and said, “Well said! As expected of the kid I watched grow up—so satisfying!”
Beside them, Father Bai nodded repeatedly, his face practically screaming, ‘My daughter is indeed the best.’
Seeing their reactions, the corners of Bai Shuanglian’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, seemingly speechless at the two of them.
But she didn’t voice her inner thoughts.
Instead, she looked at Bai Qiuyin and finally asked the question she hadn’t finished earlier: “By the way, Grandma Qiuyin, weren’t you in secluded cultivation? Why did you suddenly come out?”
“Oh, that.”
Bai Qiuyin nodded, crossing her arms in a slightly troubled manner, and said, “Lately I’ve been feeling restless, like someone familiar is calling out to me. It kept me from settling down, and cultivation wasn’t progressing anyway, so I just came out of seclusion.”
With that, she glanced at Father Bai—who was standing to the side, clearly wanting to join the conversation but having no idea what to say—and continued, “Didn’t your dad tell you? For the upcoming Xuantian Martial Tournament, I’ll be leading the team. On top of that, I’ll also be in charge of security.”
At that, Bai Shuanglian paused and turned an inquiring look toward her father.
The latter scratched his head.
Although he was happy his daughter was looking at him, he felt awkward for not having told her sooner, and said, “Well… I actually meant to call and tell you, but since you were coming home soon, I figured I’d just wait until you got back.”
More truthfully, he had been afraid of an awkward silence if he called his own daughter and didn’t know what to say next—he’d probably want to die of embarrassment.
Bai Shuanglian nodded understandingly, not dwelling on her father’s words.
She turned back to Bai Qiuyin, and her mind suddenly recalled her earlier encounter with Hong Lingyan—and the message the other woman had asked her to pass along.
Bai Shuanglian’s movements paused almost imperceptibly.
After thinking it over, she decided it was better not to tell their family’s old ancestor about this.
After all, the matter involved privacy, and it had been overheard by a junior like her.
Even someone as carefree as Bai Qiuyin would probably feel so embarrassed she’d want to crawl into a hole.
Just as Bai Shuanglian was about to mentally seal that memory away, she saw Bai Qiuyin’s gaze suddenly shift toward her.
Frowning slightly, Bai Qiuyin asked, “Shuanglian, were you just thinking about me again? Did you run into something related to me earlier?”
At that, Bai Shuanglian froze, then grew surprised.
She hadn’t shown any outward signs— she’d merely thought about the matter in her mind—yet Bai Qiuyin had still noticed.
Then, as if realizing something, Bai Shuanglian asked, “Have you perhaps stepped into the next realm already?”
Otherwise, she couldn’t think of any reason Bai Qiuyin could detect something like that.
“Not yet.”
To her surprise, Bai Qiuyin shook her head and sighed lightly with some regret.
“That realm isn’t so easy to cross. Right now I’ve only touched the very surface.”
She looked at Bai Shuanglian and continued, “Still, even that little bit lets me faintly sense things related to me.”
Bai Shuanglian nodded in understanding and decided there was no point in hiding it anymore.
Since Bai Qiuyin had already noticed, concealing it would be meaningless—she might as well tell her directly.
Except…
Bai Shuanglian’s gaze shifted toward Father Bai, who was standing to the side, curiously watching the two of them as if they were playing some kind of charades.
Bai Qiuyin seemed to catch on as well, her eyes also landing on Father Bai.
The grandfather-granddaughter pair shared very similar gazes—both calm and unruffled like still wells—yet they made Father Bai extremely uneasy.
After a moment’s thought, he decided to leave first.
Though he regretted not being able to catch up more with his long-unseen daughter, he felt he wouldn’t be able to say much even if he stayed.
It was better to just go.
Clearly Bai Shuanglian was about to discuss something important concerning Bai Qiuyin—something others shouldn’t hear.
So he wouldn’t overstay his welcome and embarrass himself by lingering.
“Little Lian, remember to come home early. Your mother is still waiting for you at home.”
Before leaving, Father Bai reminded her once more.
Bai Shuanglian nodded understandingly, replied “I know,” and watched him depart.
Now only Bai Shuanglian and Bai Qiuyin remained, with no one else around.
Bai Shuanglian gathered her thoughts and roughly explained her earlier encounter with Hong Lingyan—omitting certain parts involving Ling Xiaoyou.