Yun Liu slapped his forehead, almost forgetting.
The protagonist walked out of the Illusion Pavilion in almost an instant, completely unhindered, handing in a perfect score answer sheet.
There was only one word on it: Heart.
Don’t underestimate this single word.
If the Sea of Consciousness is empty, putting pen to paper would become infinitely difficult, as if a mountain was pressing down on your hand.
You could say a fool has a fool’s luck; with a childlike heart, the Path of Immortality has no barriers.
Yun Liu shook his head, correcting Huangmao’s misunderstanding.
“You only helped me clean up at the end, it’s not enough to call you my lifesaver. Even without you, I was confident I could cut down all the Demon Cult Disciples before exhausting my strength. It’s just that my Qi Sea would have depleted faster, that’s all.”
“Tch, bragging without even thinking it through. I wonder who was the one who dove in headfirst just now!”
“This is the truth.”
“Alright, alright, I get it. Boys care about their pride, that’s normal. From today on, I’m a Divine Radiance Disciple too! From now on, I’ll hang out with junior sisters, eat well, drink well, and this whole hill is under my protection!”
“That’s really not necessary…….”
Looks like this joke is one Huangmao will be playing for a lifetime.
Ji Shiyu nudged Oily Boy with her elbow, her eyes dancing with excitement, and joined in to watch the Daoist Arena Martial Training.
A bunch of half-grown kids were fighting back and forth with the clumsy Sword Puppets.
It was also the Illusion Pavilion’s Heart-Questioning test, but Xiao Xinran was a little slower.
Even so, she still scored Top Grade Aptitude. As soon as she came out, she saw the two flirting, completely ignoring her!
The girl in red was fuming, charging straight in and bumping Huangmao aside.
“Xiao Yun, don’t pay her any mind, stupidity is contagious.”
“It is not!”
Ji Shiyu clutched her waist and grimaced, locking eyes with Xiao Xinran in a fierce stare-down.
Ao Tian sighed. Isn’t this admitting you’re the stupid one?
The Phoenix Hatchling hopped down from the chattering Ji Lord’s head, bounced onto Yun Liu’s shoulder, and stretched its feathers, looking ever so pleasing to the eye.
If those two joined forces, and split the fortune of the Nine Provinces, even if Shiyu was an idiot, she could soar to the Nine Heavens and ascend with destiny!
Yun Liu took a step back, keeping a little distance from the two, just about to slip away when a contemptuous laugh sounded from behind.
“Ouch!”
A tall woman approached with graceful steps, short chestnut hair, a lithe figure, and an oval face with exquisite makeup.
Her Qi Sea fluctuated around the ninth stage of Qi Refinement, an impressive strength.
“Senior Brother Yun, with your status as the Chief Senior Disciple of Celestial Phenomena Peak, you’re here instructing the new students in martial training?”
Ao Tian blinked and muttered, “Hiss, her legs are longer than my life. Another one of your girls?”
“How could that be.”
Yun Liu’s expression was strange.
Unbelievable, the Phoenix Hatchling actually spoke to someone other than the protagonist!
With the noble bloodline of the Nine Heavens Phoenix Chick, it never speaks to foolish mortals—except for Ji Shiyu.
This visitor is clearly up to no good.
This scene was also expected in the plot.
Yun Liu wanted to avoid it, but it was too late.
The chestnut-haired woman wore a mocking expression, several companions following behind, each with a mocking gaze. All were Outer Sect disciples.
“Ah, my bad, my bad, I almost forgot you’re already a cripple now. Soon you’ll be struck from the Inner Sect’s Five Peaks and sent back to Sighing Peak. It’s perfectly normal to come here and get used to it.”
She feigned sudden realization, her tone dripping with sarcasm, deliberately emphasizing the word “cripple.”
“Who’s that?”
Ji Shiyu was baffled. What a sharp-tongued little woman, clearly here for Yun Liu.
“An… old friend.”
Yun Liu rubbed his brow, choosing not to respond.
This part of the plot actually had nothing to do with him. It was purely Feng Aotian’s solo performance.
And the pitiful person opposite was just an early-stage minor antagonist for the protagonist to show off against.
High status, illustrious family, always making trouble for the protagonist’s group in the Outer Sect arc at Shenhua Academy.
Xiao Xinran let out a cold laugh. She was never so polite to others, and even less tolerant of anyone slandering Yun Liu.
She immediately retorted sharply, “Jing Tan’er, after all this time cultivating, you still haven’t advanced to the Inner Sect. You dare to talk?”
Xiao Yun was injured because of her. From today on, I’ll be the one to protect him!
The long-legged woman’s attendant immediately shouted, “Insolence! What lowborn dares be rude to the Imperial Princess!?”
Princess?
Ji Shiyu found it amusing. A country princess from East Pole Province dares to throw her weight around here?
Jing Tan’er clicked her tongue and shook her head.
“Heh, why should I be embarrassed? It’s not like I was the one rejected from a marriage. When did the Xiao Family Little Princess fall so low, even a cripple doesn’t want you?”
“You!”
The villainess made her grand, arrogant entrance, sharp-tongued as always.
The other girls joined in the mockery, making the heroine so angry smoke seemed to come out of her head.
Both Yun and Xiao were no strangers to this little princess.
She was the very royal princess from the Zhusheng Dynasty who once tried to recruit the Yun Clan’s young master as her Prince Consort.
In East Pole Province, ordinary people wouldn’t dare provoke her.
Yun Liu, bound by a marriage contract, refused her without even meeting, giving her no face at all.
Isn’t this like some dynasty’s princess, worth a fortune, being less desirable than a little girl who still smells of milk?
As a royal, Jing Tan’er couldn’t swallow this humiliation and saw it as a lifelong stain.
The moment she heard Yun Liu was crippled, she came running to “congratulate” him.
“Come on, show me a couple moves, let your senior sister see what you’ve learned from that cripple.”
Jing Tan’er beckoned, ordering like a servant, signaling the newcomers to step into the arena and spar with the Sword Puppet for everyone to see.
If not for fear of being accused of bullying the weak, she’d have loved to personally drill Xiao Xinran and show the little girl the cruelty of the cultivation world!
Strangely, the white-clad youth said nothing, unfazed by honor or disgrace, only looking quietly at Jing Tan’er, his gaze full of sympathy.
That only made Her Royal Highness angrier. What the heck?
Both at the ninth stage of Qi Refinement, Jing Tan’er’s real intention was to provoke Yun Liu into action, then defeat the man who once looked down on her, proving he’d made the wrong choice!
“You’ll regret this!”
Xiao Xinran’s anger surged. She showed no fear, and her target wasn’t the Sword Puppet but the villainess herself.
This girl is even more annoying than Ji Shiyu.
Here’s my chance!
Huangmao and her servant exchanged a glance, perfectly in sync.
“Since senior sister is so interested, why not give me some pointers first?”
Just as Xiao Xinran was about to step forward, the blonde girl suddenly spoke up.
Ji Shiyu rolled her wrists, golden hair flying, and strolled onto the field. Her timing was flawless.
“You?”
Jing Tan’er frowned in surprise.
Even as a fellow female cultivator, she had to admit this girl had fairy-like grace—she couldn’t help but feel inferior.
“I am Ji Shiyu, a friend of Xinran and Brother Yun. Greetings, Senior Sister Jing.”
“I am not friends with someone so lowly!”
Huangmao had barely finished before the heroine smacked her down, forcing an awkward grin.
This foreign freshman with golden hair and starry eyes… there was some rumor about Yun Liu breaking off his engagement with the Xiao Family for her?
No doubt about it—Xiao Xinran’s attitude says it all.
She might say they’re friends, but she’s clearly here to protect her man before the main wife!
Jing Tan’er’s gaze burned with jealousy and hostility.
The two locked eyes. Both were intent on disrupting someone else’s relationship, but the villainess was clearly less forceful than Huangmao.
The difference is, one wins big (pending), the other loses everything.
“Sparring with wooden men is boring. I want to experience the Shenhua Sword Art.”
Ji Shiyu’s lips curled into a smile as she beckoned at Jing Tan’er with a finger.