Spectating the Angsty Romance of the Master and Disciple from the Sect Next Door Chapter 59

Li Jin’an didn’t look at the arena; instead, she stared at Xie Huaixue with a doubtful expression for a long time.
This feeling of being tricked was all too familiar, compelling her to overthink.
She always felt that Xie Huaixue had tricked her countless, countless times like this… so many she couldn’t even count.
Alas, Xie Huaixue’s expression remained unchanged. Seeing nothing, she half-believed, half-doubted, then shifted her gaze, leisurely crossing her legs and focusing her attention on the arena.
Jingting Dao Lord was speechless. She’s not suspicious anymore? Sure enough, she’s still that muddle-headed fool who acts as if thinking too much would kill her!
She felt intensely frustrated with Li Jin’an’s lack of progress, angered by her failure to strive.
But then she reconsidered: with Li Jin’an’s brain, what good would it do to think more? She wouldn’t grasp anything and would only be fooled into becoming even dumber by Xie Huaixue.
What expectations could one have for those sword cultivators next door anyway?
Someone like Xie Huaixue, who relentlessly sticks with one sword cultivator, is truly a minority.
Thinking this way, she felt relieved.
Li Jin’an and Xie Huaixue paid no mind to Jingting Dao Lord’s thoughts; both quietly watched the arena.
Lan Ci was already at the Golden Core Great Perfection stage, while Qi Lingzi was slightly less advanced but still at the late Golden Core stage. They were now fighting evenly in the arena, drawing cheers and encouragement from both sects’ disciples.
Li Jin’an stole a glance at the Heavenly Tome, which shimmered with golden light in her Sea of Consciousness at all times. Her eyes were unfathomable, and her fingertips casually tapped the armrest of her chair.
She was wondering whether her previous actions of wantonly disrupting the Heavenly Tome’s plot and diverting luck to Lan Ci had been effective, and if so, to what extent.
According to the original plot, Lan Ci would still be at the late Golden Core stage at this moment. The three troublemakers had not been to Purpleleaf Town, nor did they possess such a strong sense of urgency. Lan Ci hadn’t gone out for training either; the three troublemakers were all circling within the Dao Sect, their daily routine being to vie for favor and suppress other fellow disciples.
However, during this period, the three troublemakers could be said to have cultivated like mad, for nothing was more pressuring than the Jijin Sword Sovereign.
In the Heavenly Tome, her Jijin Peak disciples didn’t even have a single proper appearance. How could the three protagonist troublemakers, after being thrashed, beaten, and having their memories erased, not unite internally and strive for improvement?
Xie Huaixue’s attitude towards the three troublemakers, both within and outside the book, could only be described as a difference between cold and very cold.
In the book, she was already very indifferent, unmoved by anything the three troublemakers did, not even sparing them a glance. Outside the book, it went without saying; she was not only indifferent but also very lenient towards Li Jin’an, so the three troublemakers had no time to frame their fellow disciples, only thinking of getting rid of Li Jin’an as quickly as possible.
But is rapidly breaking through while their luck diminishes truly a good thing?
It’s like how Li Jin’an favored those who boosted their cultivation stages by relying on pills. At the same stage, a single sweep of her sword would fell a large swath of opponents, easier than cutting grass.
For such people, saying their cultivation was unstable was already a compliment. Sometimes, cultivators of lower stages who defeated them in cross-level battles wouldn’t even dare to speak of it outside, mainly because they were too useless, and there was simply no sense of accomplishment.
In contrast, there was her Qi Lingzi.
Because her innate talent wasn’t exceptional, having dual fire-earth spiritual roots, Qi Lingzi took every step steadily, her foundation solid, never hasty, and her control over spiritual energy was arguably meticulous.
One must know that many cultivators, upon newly breaking through and experiencing a surge in strength, would find three or four tenths of the spiritual energy they released unable to condense due to insufficient control, merely dissipating into thin air.
Previously, Li Jin’an would dislike her eldest disciple for being too mature and steady, silent and lacking vitality, not quite like herself. Was a sword cultivator who didn’t stir up trouble even a good sword cultivator?
Now she no longer thought that way. How good was maturity? Only with stability could one have a chance to surpass the protagonist of the Heavenly Tome!
This time, Li Jin’an didn’t pull any outside tricks. After all, she had done everything she could. If she were to divert luck again, the Heavenly Dao would go mad with rage.
From a master’s perspective, she simply hoped her own child would bring glory, openly defeating the troublemaker in the arena, thereby trampling that wretched book underfoot and telling the Heavenly Dao that sword cultivators would never concede defeat, and that they were absolutely not mere characters in some book!
With the book having been in her Sea of Consciousness for so long, Li Jin’an understood one truth: the Heavenly Tome’s plot could only serve as a reference; it could not be fully trusted.
Every person she saw through her own eyes could not be simply summarized as a book character; that was too shallow and simply couldn’t constitute a living, breathing person.
The only exception were the troublemakers; they were made of pig excrement, otherwise there’d be no explanation for how unbelievably outrageous they were.
Li Jin’an looked at Lan Ci, who still seemed quite at ease, raised an eyebrow, and smiled, saying to Xie Huaixue, “If this incompetent disciple of mine wins, what would Immortal Venerable propose?”
“Propose what? Your disciple can just call Huaixue ‘Master’s Wife,’ couldn’t she?” Jingting Dao Lord clapped her hands, highly spiritedly.
It was clear that she genuinely wished to facilitate this marriage, to the point of leaving no stone unturned.
The elders of both sects, seeing the Daoist once again interject into the Sword Sovereign’s and Immortal Venerable’s conversation, felt utterly exhausted. They sacrilegiously thought that the old Daoist had become obsessed with matchmaking, to a degree even professional matchmakers among mortals couldn’t match.
Can these immortal sect leaders even be reformed? One dedicated to welching on debts, another enthusiastic about matchmaking… the cultivation world is doomed to end eventually!
The less discerning individuals still thought the Sword Sovereign and Immortal Venerable agreeing to the marriage pact was due to their competitiveness and giving face to the Daoist. They hadn’t quite grasped the situation, but the intelligent ones were already watching the curve of Li Jin’an’s lips.
Never had Li Jin’an found Jingting Dao Lord as agreeable as she did now. Although the Daoist was disrespectful of her age, loved to say inappropriate things, and impolitely treated people as entertainment… her various offenses were truly too numerous to record, but when it came to business, she truly delivered!
These words resonated deeply with Li Jin’an.
She found this suggestion excellent.
As for the three troublemakers, let alone relying on them, it’s good enough if they don’t disgust people. The heavy responsibility of succeeding Qingxiao Peak’s Daoist lineage would either be shelved or passed to new disciples. Before that, it would be perfectly natural for Qi Lingzi and the others to provide for Xie Huaixue in her old age and call her ‘Master’s Wife.’
As the saying goes, ‘Train a disciple for a thousand days, use them for a moment!’
Li Jin’an’s lips curled up, and she asked again, “What does Immortal Venerable propose?”
Evidently, this ‘what’ referred to Xie Huaixue’s thoughts on the Daoist’s words.
Everyone else, including Jiang Fengmian, whether clever or slow-witted, was straining their ears to eavesdrop.
Xie Huaixue’s face remained impassive, her gaze profound. “That depends on whether the Sword Sovereign wishes for it.”
She threw the question back to Li Jin’an.
“I wish for it!”
By this point, Li Jin’an had finally understood. She had developed ‘impure’ thoughts toward Xie Huaixue; she wanted to drag her back to her own nest, or perhaps she would marry into Qingxiao Peak. In any case, she naturally couldn’t miss any opportunity!
At this moment, her erratic mind finally triumphed over her stubborn mouth.
Li Jin’an beamed at Xie Huaixue, her phoenix eyes sparkling. “If that’s the case, we’d be family, speaking frankly with each other. Does Immortal Venerable not wish for it?”
“Qingxiao naturally wishes for it as well,” Xie Huaixue said softly.
Jiang Fengmian, who was listening in, had a very complex expression. She thought, ‘If only I had known this day would come, why bother with the past?’
She shouldn’t have gotten involved with these two back then. Now look, these two are displaying affection, and here she is, caught between a rock and a hard place, with Li Jin’an’s disciples dumped on her hands.
Some elders, who weren’t entirely foolish, gradually regained their senses, seriously pondering a question: Could Jingting Dao Lord’s ‘face’ truly be enough to support these two getting happily married?
Given Jijin Sword Sovereign’s temperament, upon hearing such an unreasonable request, shouldn’t she immediately make the Daoist lose all face?!
Or perhaps, for the Sword Sovereign, this wasn’t an unreasonable request at all…?!
If the Jijin Sword Sovereign and Qingxiao Immortal Venerable were to form a pact…
Heavenly Dao above, is the cultivation world about to change?
No, no, no, that’s impossible. She must be overthinking it!
Li Jin’an was unaware of their complex emotions. She was transmitting a message to Xie Huaixue: “My several incompetent disciples still require Master’s Wife’s generous guidance.”
After speaking, she also found time to glare at Jingting Dao Lord, who was undoubtedly eavesdropping.
Jingting Dao Lord, who was indeed eavesdropping, felt no shame, but rather pride. She shot Li Jin’an a smug look, as if to say that without her, Li Jin’an wouldn’t have had such a good fortune.
Li Jin’an silently rolled her eyes. Without Jingting Dao Lord, would Xie Huaixue really be unwilling to become her silly disciples’ Master’s Wife?
Xie Huaixue glanced at her with a smile, also transmitting a message: “Very well, I won’t disappoint Hero Li’s expectations.”
Li Jin’an fell silent, blushing as she turned to look at Qi Lingzi in the arena, as if trying to gaze a flower into existence from her eldest disciple.
Jingting Dao Lord, still eavesdropping, was utterly baffled. What on earth happened in the places she couldn’t see? When did Li Jin’an become Hero Li?!
It seems she missed out on a new spectacle. What a pity, what a pity.
After regaining her composure, her eyes focused, and Li Jin’an couldn’t help but frown. Lan Ci’s moves were far too heavy-handed and malicious.
The situation in the arena shifted from Lan Ci and Qi Lingzi fighting evenly, exchanging blows, to Lan Ci gaining the upper hand and Qi Lingzi constantly retreating.
On the arena, life and death were decided by fate.
If the match were fair, and if Qi Lingzi had been killed before conceding defeat in a place Li Jin’an couldn’t see, even Li Jin’an wouldn’t have been able to say much, at most retaliating afterward.
As a disciple, one could charge forward recklessly, disregarding life and death. But as a master, it was difficult not to care for a disciple’s life.
Even someone as free-spirited as Li Jin’an now wished to directly pull Qi Lingzi off the arena.
Because this final match was no longer a competition; it was humiliation!
Lan Ci’s moves were vicious, like a cat toying with a mouse, refusing to deliver a swift end. She even sought to destroy Qi Lingzi’s appearance and meridians, effectively crippling her!
Having suffered a setback at the hands of her master, it was natural for her to seek redress through the disciple.
In truth, Lan Ci didn’t want to act this way, but if she dared to do so privately, Li Jin’an wouldn’t let her off. Only in the arena could she wantonly humiliate and suppress Qi Lingzi.
She didn’t want to ruin her image in front of her master and the crowd, but if she didn’t find an outlet, she would truly develop an inner demon because of the Jijin Sword Sovereign.
Li Jin’an’s expression was utterly grim.
Even a benevolent person like Jiang Fengmian couldn’t help but frown, stating truthfully, “This person’s disposition is ruthless, her methods venomous. She is unsuitable for great tasks.”
Given her temperament, such an evaluation was clearly unsparing.
The expressions of the other elders were also unpleasant. Earlier, when Li Jin’an had spoken thus, they had thought the Sword Sovereign was merely slandering the Immortal Venerable’s disciples as usual. Now it seemed, the Sword Sovereign was the one who understood Qingxiao Peak best.
If Lan Ci had simply and decisively heavily injured Qi Lingzi, they wouldn’t have reacted this way. It was truly Lan Ci’s actions that were too disgraceful.
Li Jin’an, who should have been the most enraged, instead calmed down, staring fixedly at Qi Lingzi, who was clutching her chest and spitting blood.
Suddenly, Xie Huaixue, who was beside her, took Li Jin’an’s hand.