“Ha——”
A hoarse growl escaped from the girl’s delicate lips, making even the surrounding air tremble slightly.
“Is this… a Soundwave Spell of the Space Magic type?” Lin Shu was visibly shaken.
To comprehend such an advanced Space Magic spell during the Qi Refining stage—Tong Yao was truly a top-tier genius.
After all, aside from the few basic attribute spells, Space Magic and Time Magic were the hardest to grasp.
Ye Qing’s comprehension of Time Magic was largely thanks to the complete system of the ‘Reverse Flow Art’ and the lessons passed down by her predecessors.
Yet, the Duan Yao Mountain where Tong Yao resided had never been renowned for these two kinds of spells.
Come to think of it, Duan Yao Mountain was always at the bottom among the original five super-grade immortal sects, and its overall strength wasn’t particularly outstanding.
Especially after Tianque Sect’s promotion, a popular topic emerged: “Between Duan Yao Mountain and the newly promoted Tianque Sect, which one ranks dead last among the super-grade immortal sects?”
There were even renowned cultivators who debated this fiercely every year, holding academic debates, and sometimes even coming to blows.
Before Tianque Sect’s rise, Duan Yao Mountain’s heritage couldn’t compare to that of Cloud-treading Immortal Sect; their spell collection was outmatched by Myriad Arts Immortal Sect; and when it came to martial prowess, they couldn’t beat the forever child-faced, bald-headed fellows from Qiyun Temple.
Naturally, Duan Yao Mountain being last was an unspoken fact.
But after Tianque Sect arrived, things changed. Duan Yao Mountain could admit defeat to the other three, but to a rookie like Tianque Sect? No way!
So Duan Yao Mountain decided to challenge Tianque Sect to a match to decide who would be last. Tianque Sect, not to be outdone, accepted the duel.
Of course, the fight never happened. Da Qian would never allow two super-grade immortal sects to damage relations over something so trivial. Master Jiang stepped in to mediate, and both sides had to give him face.
But our wise and benevolent (and ever eager for excitement) His Majesty thought that bottling it up would do neither side any good, so the martial contest was changed into a scholarly one.
In other words, it became a debate—whoever convinced the other side would be the winner.
For that match, Duan Yao Mountain sent out its only two Tribulation Stage Confucian cultivators, planning to awe the country bumpkins from Tianque Sect, who didn’t even have any Confucian cultivators. Tianque Sect, realizing the odds, had no choice but to fight back with all they had. Thus, Lin Shu’s master, Jiang Cha, was entrusted with the mission.
On the day of the debate, the two sides were on edge. Over a dozen people came from their side, while Jiang Cha alone faced the crowd, his words as sharp as a blade.
“What do you Duan Yao Mountain people have to compare with us at Tianque Sect? If it’s about the lowest of the low, you definitely aren’t as low as us!” “And as for shamelessness, no one in the super-grade immortal sects can match Tianque Sect! Just ask Cloud-treading Immortal Sect—do they dare say anything?”…
In the end, Duan Yao Mountain was left speechless. Tianque Sect won in a manner that was neither graceful nor pretty—in fact, it was downright ugly…
As a side note, after this event, the biggest contributor, Jiang Cha, was grounded for a year by the sect master, for reasons unknown…
Although there was a winner and loser, it was all in good fun. In recent years, the two sects had engaged in plenty of both open and covert competition.
When he first met Tong Yao, Lin Shu was surprised at how friendly this junior sister was, unconcerned about the enmity between their sects and even actively engaging with him.
But now, this scene seemed much more in line with the reality between them.
“Ha——” Tong Yao’s pupils narrowed sharply as she crouched defensively, tensed and wary of Lin Shu.
“Junior Sister, what’s going on with Tong Junior Sister?” Lin Shu whispered.
At Duan Yao Mountain, disciples initially trained by imitating demon beasts, and only later did they merge and fight alongside them. Rumor had it that Duan Yao Mountain’s White Capture Immortal could even invite the ancestral spirits of ancient demon beasts to possess their body, greatly enhancing their power.
Tong Yao’s current posture seemed to embody the essence of a Duan Yao Mountain immortal.
“Ahem! After eating Uncle Lin’s cooking, Tong Yao went back to meditate,” Lu Zhiyun replied.
“At first, I saw her dazedly staring at the tiger soul from the slain demon tiger, and I was a bit worried.”
“Later, she told me that when she watched me duel the demon tiger that day, she realized that if the tiger had mastered the Soundwave Spell, she would’ve been done for. So she decided to comprehend the Tiger Roar.”
Lin Shu thought for a moment, sensing that something was off. He pointed at the huffing Tong Yao and asked, “Are you sure this is Tiger Roar?”
Lu Zhiyun shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips, “Of course not! I told her that, where we’re from, all tigers learn their skills from Cats, so aren’t Cats even stronger?”
“If she only masters the demon tiger’s Tiger Roar, won’t she be suppressed by a Cat if she encounters one? Why not take it a step further and comprehend the Cat directly?”
Lu Zhiyun waved her hand and said, “Though I don’t really know why, somehow she ended up comprehending a Soundwave Spell with Space Magic effects…”
Honestly, having too much talent isn’t always a good thing!
Watching Tong Yao huffing determinedly, Lin Shu felt a complicated mix of emotions. The lively, adorable Tong Junior Sister had turned into this… and, somehow, it was kind of exciting!
Lin Shu reached out, intending to pet Tong Yao on the head, but she slapped his hand away and let out another long huff at him.
“Ha——”
“Senior Brother, that’s not how you do it!” Lu Zhiyun stepped forward to demonstrate.
Facing Tong Yao’s huffing, Lu Zhiyun lowered herself, squatting and extending her palm.
Sure enough, Tong Yao relaxed at once. She placed her chin on Lu Zhiyun’s palm, letting her gently stroke her.
“Come on! Senior Brother, you try too?” Lu Zhiyun offered while petting her.
“No, no, no!”
Lin Shu shook his head like a rattle drum, goosebumps all over.
Who knew if she’d remember this later? If she did, wouldn’t his elegant, cultured image as Senior Brother be ruined?
Good thing this was inside the secret realm. If anyone from Duan Yao Mountain saw their heavenly prodigy being treated as a Cat by a mere three-spirit-root brat from Tianque Sect, they’d probably lose sleep for three days.
Almost as if she understood Lin Shu’s concerns, Lu Zhiyun pulled out several Image Stones and said:
“Don’t worry, Senior Brother! Even if she remembers later, it’s fine—I recorded it all!”
Startled, Lin Shu grabbed the Image Stones to check. The scenes inside showed Lu Zhiyun using a stick to make Tong Yao leap and pounce, feeding her snacks, and the most damning—Tong Yao nuzzling against Lu Zhiyun, acting all cute…
It’s over! Why did she record so much of this?
“Wait! Junior Sister, why did you record all this?”
“You always have to have a backup plan! Isn’t that what Qingluan Peak teaches us?” Lu Zhiyun countered.
Upon hearing it was from Qingluan Peak, Lin Shu breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness it wasn’t another “Under Senior Brother’s guidance” kind of situation…
Wait! Since when did Qingluan Peak teach this?
Lu Zhiyun explained, “Last time, in Qingluan Peak’s Legal Precepts Secret Realm, Senior Brother Wu simulated a False Accusation Case. The involved cultivator was blackmailed because he hadn’t recorded with an Image Stone in advance, so he taught us: always have a backup plan!”
She brandished the Image Stones, righteously declaring, “See! In the footage, it’s always Tong Yao coming to play with me. That way, even if she remembers later, she can’t do anything to us.”
Watching Lin Shu’s pensive expression, Lu Zhiyun was secretly delighted.
Yes! Once again, her methods perfectly matched the mind of a demonic cultivator.
Bold yet cautious, careful not to leave any evidence!
If she guessed right, Lin Shu would take these Image Stones to keep for himself.
Lin Shu did want to lecture his junior sister, as this method might hurt feelings. But before he could speak, the system presented him with options.
[Scold her harshly, and use the stick Lu Zhiyun teased Tong Yao with to smack her bottom. Root Bone +10,000]
[Praise her, giving a thumbs up to encourage Lu Zhiyun. Spirit +5,000]
[Take the Image Stones, and leave a few for Lu Zhiyun as mementos. Random Attribute +1]
Although he wanted to correct Junior Sister’s thinking, the allure of a random attribute was too great.
Sorry, Tong Junior Sister, you know how it is! I have no choice!
In the next moment, Lin Shu took most of the Image Stones from Lu Zhiyun’s hands, leaving her just a few.
“Let’s go! Junior Sister, let’s check if Wang Junior Brother is okay!”
As expected! Demonic cultivators are demonic cultivators!
Lu Zhiyun had guessed his intentions, but didn’t understand why he left her a few.
But now wasn’t the time to think about that. Lin Shu was already preparing to leave and check on the last disciple’s safety, so Lu Zhiyun had to lead the way.
Just as she was about to open the door, a violent explosion rang out from the courtyard, accompanied by a pillar of fire shooting skyward.
Tong Yao, startled, huffed again! She dove straight under the bed.
“Hahaha! Hahaha! I did it! I, the great Daoist, have done it!”