Spectating the Angsty Romance of the Master and Disciple from the Sect Next Door Chapter 16

The cultivation world was the most unchanging place. What it was like ten thousand years ago, it still was now. And the most fundamental rule was that the strong reigned supreme.
Even if Jijin Sword Sovereign and Immortal Venerable Qingxiao had been enemies for a thousand years, it was no reason for Lan Ci and the others to glare at Li Jin’an. Just as no matter how much she gritted her teeth, she still had to respectfully salute Jingting Dao Lord.
Giving them a lesson was only proper. No one could say a word against it.
Li Jin’an chuckled softly, ignoring the resentful glares of the three below. She casually lifted her three disciples by their collars from thin air, and, familiar with the route, arrived at Qingxiao Peak’s guest courtyard.
The layered formations beneath the entire guesthouse had been generously gifted by the Divine Mechanism Sect when the back mountain’s formations were first set up. Spiritual gathering formations, cleansing formations, dust-removing formations, sound-shielding formations, and more, were all fully equipped. One could simply move in with just their belongings.
Li Jin’an took her seat, barely sparing a glance for her three disciples, who were completely unconstrained even in a strange place. She said irritably, “You always say you inherit your master’s profession, learning my habit of losing to the Qingxiao lineage. Well, now you can learn up close how the Immortal Venerable teaches her disciples. If you still lose fights after this, it would be inexcusable, wouldn’t it!”
Tan Yanyi and Ling Qiu immediately stood with their feet together, heads bowed, fidgeting with their hands. They immediately started acting like idiots on the spot.
They had thought coming to the Dao Sect would allow them to escape the Academy. Who knew they would encounter an even greater tribulation?
The Immortal Venerable was indeed good. When their Master bullied them mercilessly, they truly had the thought of coming to Qingxiao Peak to prostrate themselves and seek refuge, asking the Immortal Venerable to rein in their unscrupulous Master. But thoughts were just thoughts; they hadn’t intended to change their sect. The Immortal Venerable was merely stronger than their Master; she definitely couldn’t compare in terms of being unreasonable. How had their Master proactively helped them achieve this?
Qi Lingzi was silent for a moment, then asked, “What about you, Master?”
Li Jin’an raised an eyebrow, and said righteously, “Naturally, I’m the same as you all, observing Immortal Venerable Qingxiao’s cultivation secrets up close!”
Hmm, mainly, she still wanted to observe firsthand the bustle and antics of the Qingxiao lineage.
Forceful appropriation was certainly out of the question. However, the drama of those three naughty brats openly and secretly vying for favor, that still greatly interested Li Jin’an.
Even Qi Lingzi couldn’t help but gape at her with ‘dead fish eyes’. The three of them stared at her intently, as if silently questioning if she had no shame in saying such words.
Although they hadn’t witnessed it themselves, they had heard that Jijin Sword Sovereign had more than once secretly learned Immortal Venerable Qingxiao’s cultivation methods and techniques. Yet, they hadn’t seen her make any notable progress.
Li Jin’an cleared her throat, her eyes glinting with a threat. “This Master believes my disciples’ gazes are quite rude. What do you think?”
They didn’t think so, but instinctively averted their gazes, to avoid giving their Master an excuse to make trouble.
Master is getting harder and harder to placate!
Li Jin’an saw this and decided it wouldn’t do. She decided to have a heart-to-heart talk, and asked earnestly, “Now that Qingxiao Peak’s third mischievous… general has returned, you’ve all seen their conduct. To say their virtue doesn’t match their position wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Are you willing to lose to such individuals?”
Ling Qiu blinked her eyes.
Just as Li Jin’an thought she was about to make a solemn vow, and declare a decisive battle against those three naughty brats.
“Master, you used a four-character idiom!” Ling Qiu exclaimed. “Virtue doesn’t match position!”
Li Jin’an closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “This isn’t Jijin Peak! This Master can do whatever she wants on Qingxiao Peak too. Do you want to experience it?”
The three disciples all shook their heads. They didn’t want to at all.
The last person who provoked Master on Qingxiao Peak almost ended up kneeling there. They weren’t that stubborn.
Qi Lingzi stepped forward to take charge, and vowed solemnly, “Master, please rest assured, your disciples will definitely lead our junior sisters to diligently ‘steal’ from and seriously learn Qingxiao Peak’s cultivation secrets. We will never disappoint your good intentions!”
Tan Yanyi added, “Yes, we will defeat those three who are completely unworthy of being Immortal Venerable’s disciples as soon as possible. We’ll make them realize that not just anyone can be Immortal Venerable Qingxiao’s disciple. We’ll make them so ashamed they’ll retreat in the face of difficulty!”
Ling Qiu behind them vigorously nodded, indicating she meant the same thing.
Li Jin’an found her second disciple’s words quite ambiguous. Did she look like she cared about Xie Huaixue taking in naughty brats as disciples?
Perhaps it would be better to disappoint her, since she wasn’t being kind-hearted anyway.
Completely unable to get through to her own disciples, after leaving behind a curt instruction to ‘cultivate well’, Li Jin’an continued on to bother Xie Huaixue.
Use power while you have it, or it will expire and be gone.
Li Jin’an finally realized. She had just been fooled by Xie Huaixue!
In the past, she hadn’t needed any conditions to fight Xie Huaixue. Now, she had wasted such a huge leverage just on fighting?
That utterly rotten person, fooled her again!
Li Jin’an walked to the entrance of the cultivation abode, and happened to see the three naughty brats walking out dejectedly.
Evidently, Xie Huaixue didn’t want to bother with her own disciples, and had mercilessly driven them away.
How… delightful to see.
Because of Li Jin’an’s interference, the three naughty brats hadn’t gone to the back mountain at all, nor had they suspected Xie Huaixue’s physique issue.
Li Jin’an, feeling she had done Xie Huaixue a huge favor, aggressively barged into the cultivation abode. She entered the bedroom, without ceremony, and went straight to the point. “Xie Huaixue, I have leverage against you. Quickly concede the first place to me. Oh right, and my disciples must also win against yours.”
As a Master who cared for her disciples, such good things naturally had to include her disciples.
Xie Huaixue, who couldn’t read or meditate to cultivate, had lain down to rest with her eyes closed. Her body stiffened. She silently rolled over, turning her back to Li Jin’an.
For some reason, this scene seemed to hit Li Jin’an’s funny bone. She let out a chuckle, and happily stepped forward, tirelessly poking Xie Huaixue’s shoulder with her hand.
“Hey, hey, hey,” she cooed. “Let’s talk properly. Why are you ignoring me?”
As she spoke, Li Jin’an laughed again, sitting on the edge of the bed, and diligently poking Xie Huaixue.
Time had passed, and circumstances had changed. After becoming the Sword Sovereign and Immortal Venerable, apart from necessary spars and social interactions, they had gradually drifted apart. Their private time together had greatly diminished. For the past few hundred years, Li Jin’an had only encountered the cold and uninteresting Immortal Venerable Qingxiao in public, not the Xie Huaixue who softened with a poke, as she was now.
This Xie Huaixue, when she didn’t want to talk, would also silently turn her back and ignore people.
In an instant, the high and mighty Immortal Venerable Qingxiao transformed into the tangible Xie Huaixue that Li Jin’an could see and touch.
How truly magical.
If it weren’t for that Heavenly Tome, even if Li Jin’an had come to today’s disciple-acceptance ceremony, she would have only caused trouble. She wouldn’t have seen this side of Xie Huaixue.
Li Jin’an’s eyes gleamed, as she proudly declared, “I’ve already recorded you in this state using a Soul-Recording Stone!”
In the blink of an eye, in merely a breath’s time, Xie Huaixue changed her posture. She sat side-by-side with Li Jin’an on the edge of the bed, quietly watching her.
“Why are you so afraid?” Li Jin’an innocently shrugged and spread her hands. “Using a Soul-Recording Stone creates spiritual energy fluctuations. I doubt I have the ability to conceal spiritual energy fluctuations right under the Immortal Venerable’s nose.”
This had nothing to do with realm differences. It was purely because they were so familiar with each other. They could detect each other’s spiritual energy fluctuations in a crowd with their eyes closed.
It wasn’t a telepathic connection. The reason was simple.
Anyone who had fought countless times with another person would become very familiar with that person’s every move, aura, spiritual energy fluctuations…
Just as Li Jin’an was thinking that such a Xie Huaixue was rare to see, and wondering if she should provoke her a bit more, so she wouldn’t regret it later if she didn’t get to see this side of her again, the two of them simultaneously looked towards the foot of Qingxiao Peak.
A moment later, a paper crane carrying Jiang Fengmian’s aura flew over, landing in Xie Huaixue’s palm.
“Didn’t we just part ways? Is it for you or for me? What’s the matter?” Li Jin’an, fully embodying the consciousness of being the master of Qingxiao Peak, asked repeatedly.
Xie Huaixue handed the paper crane to her, to satisfy her overly zealous curiosity. “I need to take Ning Zhufeng to light her Life Lamp.”
The Dao Sect’s Life Lamp and the Sword Sect’s Life Token were the same thing. A Master would inject a wisp of a disciple’s divine soul into it. A bright Life Lamp or Life Token indicated a disciple’s normal life status; if it dimmed, it meant the disciple was injured or even dying. Only with a Life Lamp or Life Token would one be considered a core disciple of the sect. Once a disciple encountered fatal danger, the sect could dispatch timely rescue.
Correspondingly, if something happened to the wisp of divine soul in the Life Lamp, its owner would also become very weak. In severe cases, they would fall gravely ill, even imperiling their cultivation foundation. It would take a long time to recover.
Originally, after the disciple-acceptance ceremony, Xie Huaixue should have taken Ning Zhufeng to light her Life Lamp. However, Xie Huaixue had left earlier than anyone. Including the two previous disciples who had been accepted through irregular channels, none of Qingxiao Peak’s three disciples had been taken by their Master to light their Life Lamps.
Li Jin’an originally wasn’t interested in this, but then she suddenly thought of Ning Zhufeng’s demonic identity. Her interest was instantly piqued. She wanted to see how this future Demon Lord would inject her divine soul into a Life Lamp of the human righteous path.
The Sword Sect’s place for Life Tokens was called Mingjing Hall, while the Dao Sect’s was called Mingdao Pavilion. Such vital places had defense levels second only to forbidden areas, the Sect Master’s Peak, and the Scripture Repository. They were guarded not only by elders of the Void Refinement and Integration stages, but also by formations layered upon formations, with restrictions covering them layer upon layer, like plaster on a wall. Let alone a demon, any person passing by had to undergo scrutiny from the guarding elders.
Looking back in history, it wasn’t unheard of for the demonic race to collude with evil cultivators, instigating disciples to destroy all of a sect’s Life Lamps. At that time, the sect involved was a major sect of the Five Sects and Four Families caliber. After that incident, they suffered a severe shortage of new talent and fell into decline, relegated to a mere first-rate sect.
From the book, it was clear that Ning Zhufeng wouldn’t easily stumble here. She would have plenty of opportunities to stir up trouble later on. However, Li Jin’an mainly wanted to study how Ning Zhufeng managed to extract a wisp of human divine soul.
“Let’s go, let’s go, I’ll go along and watch the fun.” Li Jin’an stated her purpose without any reservations.
Xie Huaixue seemed to briefly curve the corner of her lips. “Mingdao Pavilion is probably about to be honored with a visit.”
Normally, only the Master needed to accompany the disciple. Now, it was a ‘buy one, get one free’ deal, with an additional Sword Sovereign from an outside sect joining them.
Li Jin’an also realized this problem. Xie Huaixue and she, plus Jiang Fengmian who was just making up the numbers, all going together to Mingdao Pavilion to watch Ning Zhufeng light her Life Lamp—wasn’t that giving Ning Zhufeng too much face?
She found herself conflicted between giving Ning Zhufeng face and missing out on the excitement.
“You don’t want me to go? Could it be that Dao Sect disciples lighting Life Lamps hold some extraordinary secret?”
No need to fret. Just transfer her problems to others.
Xie Huaixue had already reached the bedroom door. She turned to look back at Li Jin’an, her eyes clear and serene. “Aren’t you coming?”