It was still the same story.
Xu Sheng never directly interfered with these women, except when necessary to let them make their own final choices or decisions.
Most of the time, he planted a seed within them and waited for it to slowly take root and grow.
That seed might be a seemingly casual remark from Xu Sheng, a flirtatious tease, or a particular gesture.
Influencing others through subtle, imperceptible means—that was the greatest form of PUA.
After finishing sorting out the spiritual energy within Zhu Yuexi’s body, Xu Sheng remained as calm and composed as ever.
What he had done was actually extremely dangerous; even the slightest mistake could have put both himself and Zhu Yuexi in peril.
It was something even Mo Ruxue wouldn’t dare to do. Yet Xu Sheng handled it with such ease.
Throughout the process, Zhu Yuexi could feel his relaxed demeanor, and the tension in her heart gradually eased.
She could feel her body slowly returning to a state of calm. The bottleneck that had been stuck these past few days was finally completely broken through.
She was now at the Fourth Realm.
In the martial world, this already counted as the level of a minor expert—let alone the fact that she was only eighteen years old.
Xu Sheng gave Zhu Yuexi’s shoulder a slight pat of approval from behind.
“Good work. I happened to break through along with you.”
“?”
Zhu Yuexi was confused.
What breakthrough are you talking about?
It was common knowledge that the Valley Lord of the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons was a Ninth Realm expert.
From the way Xu Sheng interacted with her master, there was no way the Ninth Realm status could be faked.
Then what he meant by breakthrough…
“It’s not exactly a breakthrough. I’m just at Half-step Tenth Realm now.”
……
Xu Sheng had no reason to lie to her. And once her master emerged from seclusion, Mo Ruxue’s cultivation would be at least Half-step Tenth Realm.
Any lie from Xu Sheng would fall apart on its own and only make him a laughingstock.
If anyone else had said those words, Zhu Yuexi would have thought they were insane.
But it was Xu Sheng…
Seeing the complex expression on Zhu Yuexi’s face—disbelief, shock, fear—all blended into one, Xu Sheng generously explained:
“Seek strength when weak, seek truth when strong—that’s roughly it. While sorting out your spiritual energy, I grasped a profound and elusive feeling, and so I broke through.”
Zhu Yuexi looked at him like she’d seen a ghost.
She’d struggled with her own bottleneck for so long just to reach the Fourth Realm, and you…
Xu Sheng wore only a faint smile, not appearing particularly overjoyed.
Zhu Yuexi still couldn’t quite believe it.
“How did you break through too?”
A voice came from behind her.
Zhu Yuexi’s heart sank.
…
Mo Ruxue’s emergence from seclusion was not exactly peaceful.
At the final critical moment, she grasped the profound feeling she had been contemplating for five days, causing heaven and earth to tremble.
Peach Blossom Spring was nearly exposed, and Xu Sheng had to act multiple times to stabilize the formation.
However, Xu Sheng didn’t deliberately mention this to Zhu Yuexi. Protected as she was, Zhu Yuexi remained unaware of what had happened.
Only Mo Ruxue knew just how terrifying it was that Xu Sheng had broken through his own realm while simultaneously diverting attention to stabilize the formation.
And apparently… he had also helped Zhu Yuexi break through.
It was shocking, to be sure. But if it was Xu Sheng… Mo Ruxue found it less difficult to believe.
Seeing Zhu Yuexi still standing safely before her, Mo Ruxue revealed a serene smile toward her.
Then she turned to Xu Sheng and bowed.
“These past days, thank you for your care, Doctor Xu.”
Xu Sheng waved his hand.
There was hardly any care to speak of… the only cost was a bit of strain on his kidneys.
Zhu Yuexi watched Mo Ruxue treat Xu Sheng with such respect.
She instinctively wanted to curl her lips, but as if remembering something, she simply turned her face away instead.
These little details were like a progress bar.
If this had been before, upon hearing Mo Ruxue say such things, Zhu Yuexi would at least have curled her lips and snorted coldly, even if she didn’t verbally mock Xu Sheng.
But now, her attitude toward him was quietly changing.
Xu Sheng noticed this progress bar and knew his efforts with Zhu Yuexi were more or less complete.
Fortunately, Mo Ruxue had now emerged from seclusion. His next focus would have to shift to her.
……
The welcome banquet was something Xu Sheng had long asked Li Qingqing to prepare.
So the moment Mo Ruxue came out of seclusion, Xu Sheng brought her to Langting.
As for why Langting—
One reason was that the dining area had been monopolized by Mo Ruxue for several days before, and Langting was indeed a suitable place to host a feast.
As for the other reason…
Langting held quite significant memories for Mo Ruxue.
From the beginning, where he and Mo Ruxue shared ambiguous moments there, to later when Mo Ruxue inadvertently witnessed Li Qingqing’s betrayal… all of it had happened at Langting.
When Mo Ruxue sat down, Xu Sheng could still notice a hint of unease about her.
It seemed that even after breaking through to Half-step Tenth Realm, her state of mind—or rather, her state of mind regarding this particular matter—hadn’t changed much.
Seeing Mo Ruxue’s discomfort, Xu Sheng took the initiative to open the conversation.
“These past days while you were in seclusion, some news came from the sect.”
One had to admit, she was still Mo Ruxue. She had been blushing moments before, but upon hearing news about the Linxian Sect, she immediately regained some composure.
She leaned forward slightly, as if wanting to hear carefully what Xu Sheng had to say.
But Xu Sheng only glanced at Zhu Yuexi, then said:
“This is your welcome banquet. Let’s not discuss too much business.”
Only then did Mo Ruxue realize that Zhu Yuexi was still present. From Mo Ruxue’s perspective, Zhu Yuexi still didn’t know Xu Sheng’s true identity.
She became aware of her own lapse and changed the subject:
“What welcome banquet… It’s not like I went anywhere. ‘End-of-seclusion banquet’ would be more accurate.”
Mo Ruxue no longer held herself stiffly in front of Xu Sheng either; even her choice of words had become more casual. This, too, counted as one of those subtle progress bars.
“But didn’t you also break through… I spent five days, yet you did it in an instant.”
“Didn’t Sect Leader Mo’s breakthrough also come from insight gained after listening to some of my words? You and I both know that this Tenth Realm breakthrough only happened a year ago. Your five days were more a period of gestation.”
Xu Sheng spoke correctly. And this time in seclusion, Mo Ruxue had gained a deeper understanding of cultivation. She had actually wanted to discuss it with Xu Sheng.
But Xu Sheng had also mentioned… that she had gained insight from listening to some of his words.
Mo Ruxue blushed slightly.
Those words were Xu Sheng’s attempts to comfort her.
The so-called “be yourself,” rather than “be Mo Ruxue.”
The real Mo Ruxue and the “real” Mo Ruxue—there was no good or bad, noble or base distinction between them…
Allow yourself to be yourself…
Once these truths became clear, Mo Ruxue felt her state of mind had undergone tremendous change, and the rise in her cultivation proved these principles were correct.
Mo Ruxue looked at Xu Sheng.
If Zhu Yuexi hadn’t been there when she came out of seclusion, there were many things she wanted to say to him.
…….