A faint pale glow appeared on the horizon as dawn’s first light illuminated the bed scattered with red plum blossoms—crimson and enchanting, breathtakingly beautiful.
“Huang’er, it’s time to get up.”
Gu Shenzhi gently nudged the snow-haired girl on the fragrant couch. The Scarlet Lotus Saintess was still deeply asleep, her jade-like form weary and exhausted, her delicate pale body still bearing the marks of last night.
The quilt, mixed with a few red plum blossoms, casually covered her lower half. The alluring curves of the Scarlet Lotus Saintess’s feminine figure were outlined clearly; her bare, flawless body resembled a lotus emerging from the water—pure and beautiful.
The long practice session in calligraphy had been overly exhausting, and Gu Shenzhi’s technique was anything but graceful, even a bit rough, so by the final moment, Su Linghuang was in a half-conscious, half-awake state.
Her eyelashes lightly fluttered on her forehead, lips moving silently as she turned over, still somewhat dazed. Then she grabbed the exquisite embroidered pillow beside her and covered her head.
“I’m not getting up. I’m dead tired,” she grumbled.
“But it’s almost the hour of Yin now. Huang’er, you should be up practicing swordsmanship at this time every day,” Gu Shenzhi reminded her softly.
Thanks to the ample experience gained under his master’s guidance, for him, although last night had been wild, it was nowhere near exhausting enough to leave one dead tired like a plowing ox.
“Then I’ll practice tomorrow!” Su Linghuang interrupted him quite petulantly, tossing the pillow aside and pulling the quilt over her head to continue sleeping.
The black-clad young man hit by the immortal treasure pillow wielded by the Scarlet Lotus Saintess was helpless. After closing the curtain for his lady, he quietly returned the pillow to its place.
The room immediately grew dim. Not daring to disturb Su Linghuang’s heavy waking mood, he formed a sword formation and quietly left with [Luomei] and [Liuhong].
The Qihuang Courtyard was elegant and picturesque, filled with artificial hills and stones, flowers, trees, pavilions, and towers. The shimmering lake nearby made it feel like a paradise on earth.
Such a beautiful residence, Gu Shenzhi naturally did not want to damage it. Mounting his flying sword, he sped straight toward the Sword Inquiry Platform at Zhan Yun Peak.
Although Gu Shenzhi had long since joined the disciples of Zhan Yun Peak, in just a few days, he had defeated all the administrators and elder instructors within the peak in swordsmanship.
Therefore, apart from sparring with Huang’er, he had seldom come to this sacred training ground.
Because it was still early, the Sword Inquiry Platform appeared especially empty. Only a glimpse of a girl in blue could be seen desperately practicing her sword skills.
Horizontal slashes, upward parries, thrusts, fierce cuts… these were the most basic sword techniques. Among the inner disciples of the Moon Shadow Sect, such skills were usually effortless, yet this girl not only practiced but did so with extraordinary seriousness.
Each time she swung the sword vigorously, the bell at her waist rang crisply.
“Junior Sister Mo, practicing swordsmanship so early?”
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Mo Xiaonian stopped swinging her sword and turned to look. Standing before her was an exceptionally handsome young man in black.
Since returning from the Mo Mansion, Gu Shenzhi had discarded his blue-and-white Taoist robe and returned to wearing the Dark Mo Jiao Robe, which suited him better now.
He had worn white during the martial marriage contest deliberately, presenting himself as an abandoned disciple of the Spirit Sword Sect to defeat the Spirit Sword Sect, thereby preserving the reputation of the top sect of Muyun Continent.
Just as Bai Qi had said, Gu Shenzhi could disregard her teaching favor because she bore the sin of lust; he could also ignore the bonds of fellow disciples because many had betrayed him.
But he had to consider Gu Yunqian, the former sect master—his biological father. Even if he didn’t repay his upbringing, he could not bear to see years of hard work destroyed in vain.
In terms of his previous life’s understanding, this was clearly moral coercion. Yet in this matter, Gu Shenzhi showed a rare sensitivity, revealing one of the few sparks of conscience he possessed.
It had to be admitted, that woman truly understood him—both mentally and physically.
“Senior Brother Gu, you came early today. It’s rare to see you at the Sword Inquiry Platform,” Mo Xiaonian said.
“Thanks for the reminder. Ever since I won first place in the sect’s minor tournament and joined Zhan Yun Peak, I have indeed grown somewhat lax in my swordsmanship,” Gu Shenzhi replied indifferently.
Though he spoke of slacking off, his actual efforts far surpassed others. After breaking through the sword heart barrier in swordsmanship, the external “sword in hand” became less important.
What mattered more was nourishing the sword intent and clarifying the sword heart, and he was almost always engaged in these two tasks.
“Senior Brother, you flatter me. With your sword cultivation, I’m sure you can rank among the top ten of the young generation in Muyun Continent,” Mo Xiaonian said earnestly, no hint of perfunctory speech, her starlit eyes full of admiration.
After all, this senior brother had easily taken the head of the Blood Blade Sect’s scion within six leagues, and defeated several true disciples of the four sects on the martial marriage contest platform, including Lin Yongning, the new young master of the Spirit Sword Sect.
“Really?” Gu Shenzhi replied skeptically. “I thought I could hold a steady top three and even fight for first place. Seems I still have room to improve in swordsmanship.”
Listening to his rather dull speech, Mo Xiaonian was speechless for a moment before asking, “Senior Brother, do you have time to spar with me?”
The seemingly unrelated topics of Mo Xiaonian and sword practice again awakened the deep-seated fear in Gu Shenzhi’s heart of being dominated by his junior sister.
More than eighty times in less than a month, he had been forced to spar with her. Not even a Sword Master One Realms expert could endure that.
Of course, the practice had to be serious swordsmanship; last night’s “practice” with Huang’er certainly could not be called proper.
“If Senior Brother is busy, we can do it next time!” Seeing his hesitation, Mo Xiaonian smiled softly.
Hearing this, Gu Shenzhi shook his head. “Since Junior Sister Mo wants to, I shall accompany you to the end.”
With that, a flash of white light appeared as [Liuhong] Spirit Sword was drawn, and Mo Xiaonian summoned [Yuwu], assuming a defensive stance.
At that moment, a stunningly beautiful girl dressed in a red plum blossom cheongsam—actually a young married woman—rode a sword and slowly descended between the two.
The girl was ethereal and flawless, her eyes like autumn water, eyebrows like ink strokes, a small and exquisite jade nose. Her snowy white hair was pinned high in an elegant bun with a jade hairpin reflecting the soft sunlight.
Seeing Gu Shenzhi, she was quite angry and coquettishly scolded, “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“…………” Gu Shenzhi was speechless and could only wave his hand, admitting defeat.
“Admit you’re in the wrong, huh?” Su Linghuang snorted lightly, shifting all the blame for her laziness onto him.
From a certain perspective, it was indeed Gu Shenzhi’s fault.
Mo Xiaonian stood quietly nearby, watching the two flirt and tease, unable to help but chuckle softly.
Yet after the laughter, an inexplicable sadness stirred deep in her heart.
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