Spectating the Angsty Romance of the Master and Disciple from the Sect Next Door Chapter 91

As time progressed, Li Jin’an became increasingly anxious and restless.
She would easily pace in circles after standing for a while; she couldn’t sit still, her backside would immediately spring up the moment it touched a chair. Every time she tried to do something, she ended up causing more trouble due to her clumsiness. Anyone unaware would think she was deliberately sabotaging things. Chixin Sword Lord, exasperated, sent her back to Qingxiao Peak, telling her to peacefully guard her future Dao Companion and stop being clumsy and annoying.
She quieted down, but Qi Lingzi, Tan Yanyi, and Ling Qiu couldn’t. To avoid continuing to sweat on the sparring arena, they inexplicably became Chixin Sword Lord’s perpetual grand-disciples, doing whatever they were told, being ordered around until they were dizzy. They were like three obedient and hardworking old oxen, starting their labor with a “moo,” working whenever their eyes opened and closed.
The three privately reached a consensus that they were definitely taking the fall for their Master again.
If there were no surprises, Master had provoked Grandmaster again, but Grandmaster couldn’t do anything to Master, so she could only settle for less and vent her anger on them.
But it was fine; they also had someone to vent on.
— Lan Ci and Ning Zhufeng, who were about to become family with them.
For some reason, they just couldn’t stand these two.
If Zhong Fei hadn’t died, they would have one more person they couldn’t stand.
Jijin Peak and Qingxiao Peak were about to form a union. Logically, the disciples below should all get along well and at least feign harmony, but they were still very hostile towards Lan Ci and Ning Zhufeng, unwilling to even put on a facade.
They held their Master’s wife in extreme respect and admiration and deeply felt that their Master was simply a fool with good fortune to be able to form a Dao Companionship with Immortal Venerable Qingxiao. Past experiences and deeds all proved one thing: if Immortal Venerable Qingxiao hadn’t generously given their Master chance after chance, countless times, their Master would definitely have been destined to be a lonely old sword cultivator!
That was Immortal Venerable Qingxiao, who had slain the previous Demon Lord and ventured into the demon realm as if strolling through an uninhabited land!
Their sword cultivators were stubborn, reckless, poor, and overbearing, but not fools. They knew what was good and what was bad, and naturally revered Immortal Venerable Qingxiao to the point of prostrating themselves in admiration.
But this reverence and love for their Master’s wife couldn’t make them love everything associated with her; aversion was aversion, they couldn’t feign it even a little. On the contrary, they felt that having these two people on Qingxiao Peak was truly superfluous.
Furthermore, Lan Ci and Ning Zhufeng held storage pouches that didn’t belong to them, making the three disciples even more critical and fault-finding towards Lan Ci and Ning Zhufeng.
Coincidentally, Lan Ci and Ning Zhufeng also didn’t want to stay under Li Jin’an’s watchful eye. When they went out, they ran into Qi Lingzi and the other two. Hearing their provocative words, they accepted the challenge to a fight without much hesitation.
After seeing the future scenes, when Lan Ci saw Qi Lingzi again, the feeling of humiliation in her heart grew even stronger. How could she lose to such an unknown nobody?
She was a Revered Master Ling Xu; she should have had smooth sailing, unrivaled among cultivators of her generation. The cultivation world was merely her backyard, where she could dig for resources at any time.
Yet, she had lost to Jijin Sword Sovereign’s eldest disciple in front of everyone. Thus, everyone knew that Lan Ci was inferior to Jijin Peak’s head disciple, Qi Lingzi.
If she had been humiliated by Jijin Sword Sovereign, it would have been fine. But she was defeated by Qi Lingzi, which meant she not only couldn’t kill their Master but also couldn’t even defeat the disciple. For Lan Ci, who held herself in high regard, this was no different from breaking her proud spirit and fiercely trampling it into the ground.
Lan Ci knew that if she couldn’t defeat Qi Lingzi and kill Jijin Sword Sovereign, Jijin Peak would become her eternal nightmare and inner demon.
She had to avenge this humiliation!
Jijin Sword Sovereign perishes, Jijin Peak declines. From then on, this lineage would have no successors, its Dao tradition would be lost. This is the true ending Jijin Peak deserved!
With new grudges and old hatreds, there was no need for provocation; Lan Ci willingly took the bait.
Ning Zhufeng felt this was unnecessary and could easily complicate things, but the red-eyed Lan Ci clearly wouldn’t heed her advice. Ning Zhufeng’s heart stirred slightly, she said nothing, silently playing the role of a compliant and indecisive junior disciple, following behind Lan Ci to the training grounds.
…
Outside the Qingxiao Peak cave dwelling.
“And then?” Li Jin’an sat bored on a chair, propping her head up, her phoenix eyes fluttering slightly, barely stirring a sliver of interest, letting her gesticulating second disciple amuse her with stories to entertain her.
Tan Yanyi didn’t notice her Master’s sinister intentions and chattered excitedly, “We definitely couldn’t bring shame to you, Master! Senior Sister and Junior Sister displayed immense power once they got on the stage and in just a few moves, very cleanly and swiftly knocked Lan Ci and Ning Zhufeng off the stage, leaving them unable to stand! If the referee elder hadn’t intervened, Lan Ci and Ning Zhufeng would have had to kneel and beg for mercy!”
“Fortunately, they were sensible enough and knew to hand over what didn’t belong to them; that’s why we let them off the hook.”
Her face was full of regret. “If I had known, I would have suppressed my cultivation and had a little sparring match with Ning Zhufeng myself. After all, such good opportunities to both reclaim stolen storage pouches and beat up disliked people don’t come often. I wonder if they’ll agree to our challenge next time.”
Didn’t Li Jin’an know her second disciple? One part of achievement could be exaggerated to ten; if she didn’t inflate things to the heavens, it was only because her second disciple was having an off day.
“Qi Lingzi, you speak.”
The second disciple was too exaggerated; a practical eldest disciple was needed for supplementary explanation.
Qi Lingzi wasn’t as prone to bragging as Tan Yanyi. As the one who directly faced Lan Ci, she didn’t elevate herself by belittling Lan Ci.
“Lan Ci was difficult to deal with; compared to before, her troublesome nature had multiplied several times over.” Qi Lingzi, having mentally reviewed the fight, stated truthfully, “Her techniques have become increasingly strange and unpredictable. A slight lack of vigilance, and one would fall into her trap. Her weakness would be found, one would lose rhythm, and could only passively defend. Even if I controlled the pace of the battle, she would trade injuries to forcibly alter the situation. If it weren’t for my recent breakthroughs in sword intent and cultivation realm, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have won against her today.”
Tan Yanyi exclaimed “Ah,” “Senior Sister, your way of speaking has no grandeur! Anyway, the result was a win, the process doesn’t matter at all.”
Li Jin’an’s phoenix eyes narrowed and swept across Tan Yanyi’s face.
Tan Yanyi immediately quieted down, keeping her gaze fixed on her nose, nose on her mouth, mouth on her heart, just not looking at her Master.
Ling Qiu also shared the same sentiment and commented fairly, “Ning Zhufeng too, perhaps she turned her shame into courage, and her progress is very noticeable. Although she’s only at the Qi Condensation stage, the pressure she gave me was very strong. Fortunately, we haven’t left the sparring stage recently, so no matter how difficult to deal with, we can handle it.”
“As long as you won, that’s good work.” Li Jin’an nodded in praise.
Even if those two scoundrels no longer had immense luck, their talent was real. To be able to defeat them again wasn’t just because Qi Lingzi and Ling Qiu’s luck had risen, but also because they had thoroughly digested the high-intensity battles of this period, turned them into experience, integrated them comprehensively, turning them into muscle memory.
Thus, Li Jin’an was not stingy with her praise for her disciples.
“Master, we’ve brought glory to Jijin Peak once again, is there a reward?” Tan Yanyi looked up, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at her Master, trying to push her luck.
Tan Yanyi indeed didn’t go on the sparring stage, but she felt that even if she had no merit, she had put in effort, saying this without any guilt.
Li Jin’an pursed her lips speechlessly. “I’ll reward you by having you swing your swords three thousand times. Go on.”
The light in Tan Yanyi’s eyes instantly vanished. She gave an awkward smile. “Suddenly remembered Grandmaster had something for your disciple, Master, see you later!”
After Qi Lingzi and Ling Qiu bowed to Li Jin’an, they also hastily followed their second junior sister/senior sister’s footsteps.
They also had rivals in the Sword Sect and Dao Sect. If those twenty-five people saw them still swinging swords like newly inducted disciples, they would be utterly humiliated!
Li Jin’an inelegantly rolled her eyes, tapped her fingertips on the table, and instantly dismissed those two scoundrels, Lan Ci and Ning Zhufeng, from her mind.
Now, the main task for those two scoundrels was to not lose so quickly the next time they fought Qi Lingzi and Ling Qiu, rather than coveting those they shouldn’t.
Under these circumstances, if Li Jin’an still treated those two scoundrels as formidable enemies, that would truly be giving them too much face.
Li Jin’an looked up and sighed leisurely, her gaze constantly drifting towards the bedroom, her mouth unconsciously pouting.
The reason she had time to listen to her disciples’ stories was, of course, because Xie Huaixue didn’t allow her to get close; otherwise, how would she have the leisure to bother with those little fools?
After being anxious and restless and sent back to Qingxiao Peak by her Master, she had nothing to do and could only cling tightly to Xie Huaixue to alleviate her inner tension.
Xie Huaixue was sitting properly, reading a book. Li Jin’an then tightly embraced her from behind and insisted on pressing their faces together.
Just sticking together wasn’t enough; that would be so boring. So Li Jin’an and Xie Huaixue tried some activities beneficial for body and mind.
It seemed she might have overdone it, to the point where Xie Huaixue, who rarely refused her, finally lost patience and pushed her away.
When they were alone, neither used spiritual energy to protect their bodies; thus, whatever they did to each other easily left marks on their overly fair and delicate skin.
After Li Jin’an’s relentless efforts, Xie Huaixue’s chest was eventually covered in mottled teeth marks left by her—some deep, some shallow, bruised green and purple—like a large cat gnawing at a delicious piece of meat it couldn’t bear to finish, repeatedly savoring and grinding, licking and biting, until this piece of meat, unable to bear it any longer, pushed her away…
Until the night before the spiritual union, Li Jin’an was still trying to make amends for her mistakes, though not very sincerely. While massaging Xie Huaixue’s shoulders, she was muttering “stingy ghost, drink cold water.”
Because she wasn’t reflecting on her mistakes, but had learned a lesson. To prevent bad consequences from spreading further, she could only swallow her anger and endure.
Li Jin’an didn’t act humble for long; her patience quickly ran out, and she brazenly put her hands on her hips and declared, “Just you wait, once we’re spiritually united, I’ll be the one who calls the shots in this home!”
Xie Huaixue casually glanced at her. “Mm.”
She was being perfunctory, far too perfunctory!
Li Jin’an didn’t accuse Xie Huaixue of being dismissive, but reacted the same way her unlucky second disciple did when glared at, immediately quieting down and hesitantly squeezing closer to Xie Huaixue. Eventually, contentedly, they slept in the same bed.
…
The next day.
The wind carried the scent of flowers; rain washed away the spring dust.
People thrived with spring’s beauty; spring was kind to people.
After a drizzling spring rain in the early morning, the sky cleared, the sunlight was gentle, and the Dao Sect’s scenery was magnificent, capturing all the spring light.
Guests flocked like clouds before the Dao Sect’s mountain gate; even celestial cranes, rarely seen on ordinary days, were cheerfully calling out.
Righteous sects, large and small, and powerful rogue cultivators from across the cultivation world, all arrived.
Jijin Sword Sovereign and Immortal Venerable Qingxiao’s spiritual union ceremony officially began.