Spectating the Angsty Romance of the Master and Disciple from the Sect Next Door Chapter 51

For a long time, Li Jin’an didn’t go to the Dao Sect again. She didn’t know if the Dao Sect people were used to it, but Chixin Sword Lord certainly wasn’t. She even made a special trip to Jijin Peak to see if her disciple was alright.
Poor thing, don’t tell me she’s already a Sword Sovereign, and still being demoralized by the good child next door.
But upon seeing Li Jin’an’s appearance, Chixin Sword Lord immediately felt the same speechless and amused emotions as Li Jin’an did when she saw the ‘bird-person’ Tan Yanyi. “Are you still a child? Are you throwing a tantrum with Qingxiao and wearing a blanket over your shoulders?”
As a master and elder, Chixin Sword Lord still viewed Li Jin’an and Xie Huaixue with her old perspective. She thought Li Jin’an was depressed again because she couldn’t defeat Xie Huaixue, never considering the possibility of her being troubled by love.
Li Jin’an, sitting cross-legged with the blanket draped over her, listlessly lifted her eyelids. She gave her master a look that conveyed annoyance and a desire to be left alone, gesturing for Chixin Sword Lord to help herself.
Chixin Sword Lord also couldn’t be bothered to enlighten her unlucky disciple, whose brain rusted whenever she encountered the Immortal Venerable next door. She was just a little curious, so she sat down and asked directly, “So, your competition with Qingxiao now isn’t about martial arts, or disciples, but about scholarly pursuits?”
“What do you mean by that?” Li Jin’an looked at Chixin Sword Lord in confusion, thinking, Master has a lot of confidence in me. Does she think my knowledge is profound enough to compete with Xie Huaixue?
“First, Qingxiao went into seclusion, then you emerged from Qingxiao Peak with unsteady steps and even came back on a Dao Sect spiritual boat. How intense must your ‘exchanges’ have been!” Chixin Sword Lord said reasonably, “Yet, you two didn’t fight. So this master is really curious how you found a loophole, to the point where you could contend equally with Qingxiao!”
She even wore a falsely proud expression, her face clearly showing, ‘My child has grown up.’
“…Master, how did you connect ‘exploiting a loophole’ with ‘scholarly competition’?”
Li Jin’an felt that her reputation in the cultivation world had fallen to an unprecedented low. Half of the blame lay with her good master!
Chixin Sword Lord pondered for a second and answered decisively, “Based on your past way of handling things.”
Li Jin’an took a deep breath and pulled the blanket off her body. “Can you stop worrying needlessly? Qingxiao and I are perfectly fine, no messed-up unorthodox methods involved!”
“…”
Chixin Sword Lord was silent for a moment, then scrutinized Li Jin’an again with an extremely strange gaze. She hissed, her gaze sharp, as if pondering her disciple’s little secret.
Compared to Jiang Fengmian, Chixin Sword Lord was the most familiar with Li Jin’an and Xie Huaixue’s interactions and knew even better what kind of person her disciple was.
Her disciple was the most stubborn and arrogant person she knew. It was absolutely impossible for her to say ‘Qingxiao and I are perfectly fine’, and even more impossible for her to define her past foolish acts as ‘unorthodox methods’!
Even if she knew she was wrong, she would never admit it verbally. Giving in would kill her. She could be called ‘rather die than yield’.
But now, not only had the sun risen from the west, but the sky of the cultivation world was about to change!
Jijin Sword Sovereign actually said she was ‘perfectly fine’ with Qingxiao Immortal Venerable!
Li Jin’an immediately felt uneasy. She leaned back slightly and casually asked, “Why are you looking at me like that, old one?”
Chixin Sword Lord ‘tched’. “Has anyone ever told you that when your three disciples feel guilty, their expressions are exactly like yours?”
“Now they have.” Li Jin’an narrowed her eyes at her master and said exasperatedly, “What exactly do you want to ask or say? Just ask or say it. Don’t make it sound like I’ve ruined the neighbor’s prize cabbage. Whose master are you, anyway?!”
“Although I am your master, my conscience has not yet been extinguished.”
Li Jin’an scoffed, “Easy to say. Isn’t that bit of conscience only there because of Yinyue Monarch?”
Otherwise, why don’t we see Chixin Sword Lord radiating warmth to others whom Li Jin’an has bullied?
Chixin Sword Lord, far from being ashamed, took pride in it. “At least I successfully ‘ruined’ someone. What about you?”
Li Jin’an rolled her eyes, successfully falling for the provocation. She blurted out, “I’m different from you. I don’t need to become family with a Dao Lord. It’s Xie Huaixue who wants to ‘ruin’ me, and I’m still hesitating!”
“I see.” Chixin Sword Lord suddenly understood, wearing an expression that said, ‘You’ve struck it rich’. “It seems Qingxiao’s taste needs improvement. So what are you still hesitating about?”
Li Jin’an mumbled incoherently, unable to say anything.
“Are you hesitating because agreeing too quickly would make you seem not demure, or are you hesitating whether to make Qingxiao anxious for a while to avenge your thousand-year long grudge?” Chixin Sword Lord said, hitting the nail on the head. Suddenly thinking of something, she let out an ‘oh’. “Oh right, I almost forgot your sword brain. Don’t tell me you still haven’t opened your mind and think Qingxiao’s actions are interfering with your dao heart?”
“…You, old one, are truly experienced in romance and widely knowledgeable.” Li Jin’an looked in surprise at her master, who in recent years had cultivated herself into a lonely old person.
However, Master still didn’t understand the principle that ‘a scholar who has been away for three days should be regarded with new eyes’. These were all fleeting thoughts she had before. After the ‘living lessons’ from her three disciples, she was no longer the Li Jin’an of yesterday!
What she was now conflicted about was what to wear to see Xie Huaixue, what to say when she met Xie Huaixue, and if Xie Huaixue directly expressed her feelings, whether to agree immediately or be reserved for a while before agreeing…
Chixin Sword Lord was startled and hastily tried to salvage her reputation. “Nonsense! This master has only ever been involved with Yinyue. You are not allowed to add baseless romantic entanglements for this master!”
“Yes, yes, yes, it’s just that your family gained a Jingting Dao Lord, that’s all.”
Chixin Sword Lord choked and retorted unreasonably, “You don’t understand, Yinyue cares about me the most!”
Li Jin’an pursed her lips. She even thought Yinyue Monarch cared about her. She figured Jingting Dao Lord and Xie Huaixue also thought the same.
She really couldn’t bear to look at her master’s pathetic appearance. She felt that none of the sword cultivators in their lineage, young or old, were reliable. She was the only promising one!
Happiness derived from comparison.
Li Jin’an’s eye corners lifted, she raised her chin, feeling incredibly proud.
Chixin Sword Lord found her deadpan expression even more unbearable. She said earnestly, “Our family finally gets to shine once, don’t play hard to get. If Qingxiao’s taste returns to normal, where will you go cry then!”
She said with great emotion, “Back then, I even thought you would be the one to fall for Qingxiao first, and then throw a tantrum and coax her into your hands. Who knew…”
…Who knew Li Jin’an just wouldn’t wise up, no matter what. She only ever sought Xie Huaixue for one thing—a fight!
Chixin Sword Lord had long since given up on her. Who knew! Who knew the child would actually amount to something!
She vowed to record this on their lineage’s clan genealogy, so future generations could see that even sword cultivators could find spring!
In the duel between a sword brain and the Emotionless Dao, the sword brain surprisingly won by a slight margin!
“Go on, pull up your little blanket, I won’t tease you anymore,” Chixin Sword Lord sighed, patting Li Jin’an’s shoulder. “You’ve achieved something so great, bringing glory to all sword cultivators under heaven. Your master is truly relieved.”
“…”
Li Jin’an remained silent. Even on the day she became Jijin Sword Sovereign, Chixin Sword Lord hadn’t been so emotional or excited. It was as if, in an instant, she had become the benchmark for all sword cultivators.
Wasn’t being the Sword Dao’s champion enough to be a benchmark for all sword cultivators? Did she have to charm away an Immortal Venerable from the Dao Sect to qualify?
She was speechless for a moment before hesitantly asking, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll break Xie Huaixue’s Emotionless Dao?”
Just as Yinyue Monarch favored Li Jin’an, Chixin Sword Lord also liked children from fated relationships, feeling that Xie Huaixue was far superior to her own overbearing, short-tempered disciple.
She thought Chixin Sword Lord would oppose this matter.
Chixin Sword Lord looked at her with extreme surprise. “Your master doesn’t think you have that ability. How did you study when you went to the academy before? Jin’an, you manage to shock your master with new levels of ignorance every single time.”
“The Emotionless Dao embodies the Great Dao’s dispassion; a supreme being who attains it is rational and just, unmoved by external joys or personal sorrows, yet it doesn’t mean they cannot experience emotion!”
“If cultivating the Emotionless Dao meant completely abandoning all emotion, would that still be considered following nature and the Great Dao of non-action?”
Chixin Sword Lord then shifted her tone: “Of course, the most fundamental reason is that Yinyue Monarch approved of your relationship, having foreseen this day. At the time, I even thought she was going to forcibly arrange a marriage for you two. Otherwise, I really couldn’t imagine how you two would ever end up together.”
Li Jin’an crossed her arms, feeling underestimated, and retorted indignantly, “I know! I was just a little worried.”
It wasn’t her ignorance; it was the Heavenly Tome’s ignorance!
The entire book depicted Xie Huaixue as aloof, cold-hearted, and detached. No matter how much the three scoundrels tried to act decent and meticulously curry favor with her, she remained unmoved. The core reason was that Xie Huaixue cultivated the Emotionless Dao.
Thus, the three scoundrels racked their brains trying to break her Emotionless Dao and make her less indifferent, which in turn made Li Jin’an a bit nervous and worried.
Chixin Sword Lord looked at her with amusement. “Still thinking about when you, young and ignorant, tried to break Qingxiao’s Emotionless Dao and make her lose to you?”
“No… wait, how did you know?” Li Jin’an looked up at Chixin Sword Lord in astonishment. She remembered acting very discreetly!
“How could I not know? Not just me, but Yinyue and Jingting know too. We probably watched the whole thing from start to finish,” Chixin Sword Lord said nonchalantly. “That place, Three Realms Mountain, is so ominous; how could we possibly let you two youngsters go there alone?”
From the moment they opened their eyes, Li Jin’an and Xie Huaixue were the prized protégés of the Sword Sect and the Dao Sect. Their authority surpassed that of ordinary elders. If anything were to happen to them in Three Realms Mountain, the Sword Sect and Dao Sect would undoubtedly join forces to unleash a bloody storm across the Vast Ocean Continent. Never mind the demonic race; even passersby would get a share of the misery and a slap in the face.
That was why Chixin Sword Lord wasn’t so shocked about her and Xie Huaixue’s relationship. After all, the groundwork had been laid quite well.
Seeing Li Jin’an’s darkened expression, it looked as if she was about to draw her sword, kill her master, and betray the Sword Sect.
Chixin Sword Lord coughed. “Don’t worry, don’t worry. We were just standing far away, providing support. We weren’t eavesdropping on your conversations.”
We… we…
Aaaah!
Chixin Sword Lord still had more to say: “You can’t be the only one eavesdropping on Jingting joining Yinyue and my conversations, and not us… Alright, alright, I won’t say anymore. Your master is leaving now.”
Seeing her unfortunate disciple truly about to draw her natal sword, Chixin Sword Lord immediately stopped talking, filled with emotion. She’d never seen this troublesome child Li Jin’an be so thin-skinned before.
Halfway gone, Chixin Sword Lord turned back, enduring the oppressive black spiritual energy emanating from Li Jin’an. As usual, she said, “Oh, right, don’t let your disciples wander out. The Grand Competition between the Sword Sect and Dao Sect disciples is about to begin. The internal trials will be held these next few days.”
As major sects in the Ringing Jade Domain, the Dao Sect and Sword Sect, though having minor frictions, were generally quite friendly. Otherwise, Li Jin’an would have long been kicked out. Every ten years, a competition between disciples was held, alternating venues between the two sects. The top thirty could enter the sects’ most cherished secret realms, and the top ten and top three received additional rewards.
This year, it was the Dao Sect’s turn.
Having finished, Chixin Sword Lord finally left.
A few seconds later, Chixin Sword Lord reappeared, standing outside the door. “My good disciple, when the time comes, I’ll make sure the Sect Master assigns you to the Dao Sect. No one will be able to snatch that opportunity from you, don’t worry!”
This time, she truly left, no longer feinting.
Li Jin’an snatched a blanket from the side, pulled it over her head, and with a look of utter despair, slumped sideways.
The Blazing Radiance Sword lay with her, but alas, it was merely a simple sword and could not empathize with its sword sovereign’s disheartened state.
Aaaah!
The more Li Jin’an thought about it, the angrier she got. She tossed the blanket aside, scrambled out of bed, and snarled at the air.
Can this wretched cultivation world ever be good again?!
Some disrespectful seniors are even more detestable than the Heavenly Dao!
How could they be like this!
Jijin Sword Sovereign, feeling her pride greatly wounded, didn’t even go to watch the Sword Sect’s internal disciple trials. She merely told her three foolish disciples fiercely that if they didn’t make it to the second round, they could expect to become wandering sword cultivators!
Until the day of departure for the Dao Sect, Peak Masters Xiaoxiang and Junxing, looking distressed and secretly wishing they could stab the Sect Master with a sword, respectfully bowed to Li Jin’an, who was clad in crimson brocade, radiant as a divine being.
Ancestor above, is history repeating itself? Is this scene far too familiar?