In a flash, half a year passed.
Several months had gone by since the promotion selection, and the first semester of the Four Academies was about to come to an end.
Winter break was approaching, bringing relief to the disciples of the Five Peaks, for this winter was especially harsh for the Shenhua Sect.
The celestial phenomena of the sea of clouds were blanketed in white snow, turning it into a solitary peak amid the snow.
The mountain paths were swept by cold winds, and only Sword Riding could get you through—making it feel like the days when no one cared had returned.
The disciples of Clear Mist Peak, being the closest, complained incessantly.
Even just breathing inside the training grounds required spending spiritual energy to protect the body, as if they were training under extra weight.
The grand disciple was gone, the little junior sister had vanished, and Celestial Phenomena Peak was accompanied only by wandering spirits and ghosts.
Since that day at Sighing Peak, no one had seen the Aunt Master again.
Except for a certain rebellious disciple who defied their master—a traitorous child.
Yun Liu still regarded the Aunt Master as the closest person to him, never neglecting her.
He would often visit the Ice Fairy during the day, cook a meal, and leave it at the door, bringing some calming and warming spiritual herbs along the way.
Only when he came did the wind and snow cease, and the clouds part to reveal the sun.
The frozen palace was like a crystal coffin, sealing away the memories of Celestial Phenomena Peak, forever stopping at the moment someone left.
During these days, there was no response.
Yan Bingling seemed to be in seclusion—or perhaps she was just spacing out, struggling to answer that question, never showing herself in the daylight, like a gloomy, reclusive shut-in.
The youth would sit quietly for a while, then step onto his sword and return, not at all anxious.
And at the same time, a window in a small pavilion would be secretly opened a crack, a pair of complicated blue eyes watching the youth’s ever-maturing figure fade into the distance, wanting to speak but stopping short.
Yun Liu was waiting for an answer.
Yan Bingling knew, but she didn’t know how to face the child she had watched grow up.
But she only had two chances left—!
The calmer Yun Liu was, the more panicked Yan Bingling became.
When power taken for granted was stripped away, Yan Bingling suddenly realized she had made the same rookie mistake as a certain fool.
Worst of all, she had fallen into the same predicament as Xiao Xinran, stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Aside from her stubborn, rebellious child, the Ice Fairy had never admitted defeat in her life.
At most, she would apologize—I’ll still dare next time.
But sorry, it was too late.
Yun Liu’s attitude was clear.
He was done with someone switching between pretending to be his mother and acting as a strict, harsh Master—hot and cold, unpredictable.
Ever since entering the Inner Sect, he had suffered hunger, cold, and backbreaking training every morning, enduring hellish death drills that tormented the grand disciple endlessly, eventually twisting his personality into its current form.
Since it was like this, the Aunt Master had to take responsibility!
When the truth was revealed, the situation reversed, and now the one with the upper hand was Yun Liu.
Apologies weren’t enough.
He wanted to drag the Ice Fairy down from her lofty perch, off the cold moon, and let her fall to the mortal world.
Inside the pavilion, the ice-sculpted beauty shut her eyes tight, her knuckles turning white from gripping too hard.
Countless times she wanted to rush out and surrender, but always held back.
Admitting it was impossible.
This life, she could only rely on the two chains of mother and disciple to bind Liu’er tightly by her side, living in pretended calm to comfort a bit of selfish joy.
But when it came to truly cutting ties, Yan Bingling couldn’t bear it.
How could she just hand over the perfect husband she had raised with her own hands?
Never!
“Hmph, so what if you’re the East Extreme Pavilion Master? When you were wetting the bed, you still clung to my leg and cried. I know all your secrets—even which way your little sausage points. As long as I hold out a bit longer, you won’t bear to leave me to grow old alone… Right?”
Yan Bingling muttered to herself in a small voice, almost fooling even herself.
Luckily, she had hidden a hug pillow that hadn’t been confiscated, a life-sized doll dressed in a moon-white cloud robe, even fitted with stolen underwear and socks, full of her beloved child’s scent—ready to be hugged and sniffed at any time.
If not for it, the Aunt Master would have already succumbed to her illness and couldn’t hold out any longer!
“Uuhuu… Eeyhum…”
Yan Bingling buried her face in the hug pillow, greedily breathing in, clutching “Liu’er” tightly in her arms and rolling on the bed, making unintelligible noises.
Speaking of which, the place that changed the most this semester wasn’t Celestial Phenomena Peak but Sighing Peak.
Several expansions had renewed the wall of cloud and sea.
The Shanhai Pavilion played a crucial role, investing both money and effort.
Of course, it wasn’t just charity for the poor sword sect.
With the arrival of the Shanhai Pavilion, various powers were drawn in.
Once the East Extreme Pavilion Master took charge, they drafted contracts with the Academy, seeking greater rights for merchants and collecting a portion of commissions regularly.
From then on, the merchant halls and associations between the pavilions became their own system, with the Shanhai Pavilion at the center.
Strictly following Shenhua rules but operating independently of the Inner and Outer Sects, they served both Shenhua disciples and all cultivators of the Eastern Pole.
Thanks to the Shanhai Pavilion, the shops of Shenhua Pavilion flourished.
The street thrived, and even wandering cultivators who had once settled in Mist City after traversing the peaks would now pause here—to submit requests or hunt for treasures—finding a place to belong in the southern realm of the Royal Family.
Any guest registered under the Nine Provinces and Seas could ascend from the mountain foot to Jueyun Peak and enter Shenhua Pavilion, where the Arcane Law was more reliable than the grand protective formation.
No one dared cause trouble under the shadow of Ying Shadow.
Even if the main body was nowhere to be seen, any conflict would be seen as a challenge to the Shanhai Pavilion.
The Pavilion Chief and the little steward were a bold pair—one dared to dream, the other dared to act.
With the silent approval of the Sweep Old Man, what started as an unremarkable plot of land on Summon Wind Terrace became ever more prosperous.
By next semester, Academy City was expected to rival Mist City, long dominated by the Xiao Clan.
The street evolved day by day, gradually connecting the desolate mountain under the Four Academies, transforming Jueyun Peak into the heart of Academy City.
And Yun Liu was the mountain king there, the boss of the neutral zone.
At this rate, even the Retired Senior Brother might become the second-largest shareholder in the Shenhua Sect after the Zhusheng Dynasty, wielding significant influence over the Sect’s development.
Mention the promising young master of Jueyun Peak, and instructors from all departments would give a thumbs up, thinking how wonderful it was to have such a capable (graduated) disciple.
Outer Sect Instructors strolled through the pavilions in comfort, enjoying not only faculty discounts but also dividends.
The many luxury shops of the Cloud Sea treated them with respect, and life grew ever more enjoyable, to the point that even higher-ranking Inner Sect Elders envied the lives of Outer Sect instructors.
The mischievous Kanban Girl had her own conspiracy theories, snickering daily, admiring the boss’s outstanding talents and her own foresight.
The enthusiastic citizen You Little was happy to see the boss taking revenge in her own way against old acquaintances who once looked down on her.
Now, they were like parasites within the fallen Shenhua, slowly draining these foolish sword cultivators.
First, rural encirclement of the city.
Then, the Outer Sect surrounded the Inner Sect.
Finally, the guests became the hosts and took over, sidelining old Shen.
A bloodless coup—changing dynasties!
A brilliant move.
It’s reasonable for the Cloud Sea to be renamed Yun, right?
But Boss Yun didn’t care about such trivial matters.
It was all part of the blueprint for lying flat, an inevitable expansion of Jueyun Peak.
The convenience brought by the position of East Extreme Pavilion Master only sped up the process.