The late autumn morning light spilled down, and the mountain mist had already dispersed.
A group of young men and women holding swords were practicing in neat rows on the square, their expressions focused.
“Heh!” “Hah!” Their shouts accompanied sharp sword moves, executed with vigorous strength and youthful energy.
“Head up, chest out, steady steps, and do not let your waist go stiff.”
A cold Fairy in white with white hair, carrying a long sword on her back and holding a wooden staff, walked slowly past the ranks.
Looking at her appearance, she seemed not much older than these Foundation Building disciples, yet her brow held a sense of detachment and composure.
Her voice was not loud, but it spread clearly across the entire square with the fluctuation of Spiritual Power.
“This move is wrong.”
Yun Xuechang suddenly stopped in front of a short-haired youth swinging his sword.
She lightly lifted her wooden staff, propping his sword-hand wrist up by 3 inches.
“Relax your shoulders; your wrist must be flexible.”
“Yes! Elder Yun!”
The short-haired youth swallowed nervously. Unexpectedly, the white-haired Fairy before him did not punish him with extra practice.
She merely gave him a cool glance before moving on to guide others.
The youth hurried to focus his mind and resumed his stance.
…
“Hey, don’t you think Elder Yun has become much gentler lately? In the past, whenever we messed up a move, when were we ever spared from extra laps? She actually let me off today.”
During the break, the short-haired youth who had made the mistake held his water bottle and nudged his companion with his elbow, lowering his voice.
“Who knows? Maybe she’s in a good mood because she broke through her cultivation realm.”
The companion wiped the water from the corner of his mouth and shrugged.
This was not a lie. Ever since that great battle at the Wendao Peak Discourse Arena, Yun Xuechang had successfully broken through to the Spirit Severing Stage.
Not only was she officially promoted to the rank of Elder, but she had also taken over as the Peak Master of Mianyun Peak, a position that had been vacant for a long time.
The succession ceremony for the new Peak Master had been very grand.
Rumor had it that even Peak Master Ji Ling of Danxia Peak — who was notoriously eccentric and had never gotten along with Yun Xuechang — had sent a Rabbit Demon from her peak to offer congratulations on the day Yun Xuechang took office.
“Oh, forget the breakthrough! Didn’t Elder Yun keep that same cold expression when she broke through before? If you ask me, that’s not the reason at all!”
Another gossip-loving disciple overheard them and immediately leaned in, winking repeatedly.
“Who doesn’t know by now? Elder Yun has brought both her Dao Companion and her daughter into the sect! And who doesn’t know that her Dao Companion is as beautiful as a flower with profound cultivation? The two of them are as sweet as honey! They even pick up and drop off their daughter from the schoolhouse together every day!”
“If you ask me, Elder Yun must have someone considerate by her side now, which is why her personality has softened!”
The two boys looked at each other after hearing this and couldn’t help but nod.
“Waaaah… My Senior Sister Yun… now she’s Elder Yun, she has such a beautiful Dao Companion, and even her daughter is so big… My first love…”
The three of them turned their heads at the sound, only to see a female disciple in grey clothes crouching nearby, sighing deeply.
If Hua Yan were here, she might have recognized her — this was the same disciple who had been sweeping the square when she first arrived at the Xiaoyao Sword Sect.
“Junior Sister, look on the bright side. There are plenty of fish in the sea. Since Elder Yun has already started a family, don’t be so obsessed.”
The short-haired youth stepped forward and patted the grey-clothed girl’s shoulder. His own face turned slightly red as he scratched his cheek bashfully.
“Actually, after a heartbreak… you could look at the other people around you. For example…”
“Right! Senior Brother, you have a point!”
The grey-clothed disciple’s eyes suddenly lit up. She grabbed the boy’s hand, her eyes sparkling.
“Doesn’t Elder Yun still have a daughter? Little Junior Sister Rongrong is so cute; she’ll definitely be a top-tier beauty when she grows up! I still have a chance!”
She squeezed the short-haired youth’s now-stiff hand, her face full of gratitude.
“Thank you for the advice, Senior Brother! If I ever form a Dao Companion bond with Little Junior Sister Rongrong in the future, I’ll never forget you!”
“It seems you all are quite idle if you have the time to sit here joking — was the practice just now not enough?”
A familiar female voice suddenly rang out behind them.
The young men and women froze, slowly turning around.
Yun Xuechang was standing quietly behind them, looking at them expressionlessly.
“Everyone, extra practice for five hours. You are not allowed to eat until you finish.”
“Yes! Elder Yun!”
The group instantly straightened their backs and responded in unison.
The two disciples who hadn’t even participated in the ‘pursuing Little Junior Sister Rongrong’ topic were currently on the verge of tears.
‘Junior Sister… oh, Junior Sister… you’ve really doomed your Senior Brothers!’
…
At noon, Yun Xuechang nodded to the Golden Core Stage disciple who had come to take over the teaching duties and left the square.
In truth, the outer gate sword arts instruction was supposed to be handled by disciples from various peaks on a rotating basis.
However, Mianyun Peak had always only had her alone. Furthermore, she was extremely serious about teaching the sword, always viewing teaching as a form of cultivation.
She had always been very strict with the disciples in the past, which was why these outer gate disciples had a particular psychological shadow regarding the awe-inspiring ‘Senior Sister Yun’ — who was now ‘Elder Yun’.
Once she was out of the square’s range, Yun Xuechang took the Autumn Water Sword from her back and stepped onto it with a light tap of her toes.
But she did not fly toward Mianyun Peak; instead, she rarely changed her direction and sped toward the sect’s exit.
‘As sweet as honey… Dao Companion…’
While practicing Sword Kinesis, the idle chatter of those young disciples surfaced in Yun Xuechang’s mind for no reason.
‘In the eyes of outsiders… are Yan’er and I actually in that kind of intimate relationship?’
‘But we clearly haven’t formed a formal pact yet…’
That bright, smiling face seemed to appear before Yun Xuechang’s eyes again, along with the image of the red-haired girl with disheveled clothes and watery eyes in the illusion during the contest.
She, who had never understood the affairs of the human heart, did not quite understand what this lingering emotion in her chest was.
But whenever she thought of the scenes from that day, her heart would involuntarily race.
A secret, itchy sensation, like a feather lightly brushing against her, would well up in the depths of her soul, refuse to go away.
‘What am I thinking about…’
Yun Xuechang shook her head slightly, dispelling those chaotic images from her mind.
If it were her usual serious self, she would have certainly found every person who believed the rumors and explained the situation clearly if they were mistaken for Dao Companions without a pact.
But now, she didn’t do that.
Firstly, there was still Rongrong between them. The child was young and simple; she didn’t want to break the daughter’s belief that her ‘two mothers’ were on good terms.
Secondly, she couldn’t explain the reason herself, but every time she heard others misunderstand her relationship with Hua Yan as being intimate, a strange sense of joy would bloom in her heart.
It was as if… she was also quietly looking forward to it. Looking forward to getting even closer to Hua Yan.
‘Perhaps it is because Yan’er is beautiful and always has so much to say to me.’
The white-haired Fairy on the sword pulled her lips into a slight smile, her cold eyes curving gently.
Her speed increased as she flew gracefully toward the mountains.
Alright, next — it was time to handle that matter.
After all, she had already discussed it with Rongrong.
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