Tianmo Sect, outside the mountain gate.
When Lu Ning appeared there with Gu Qinghuan and Alin, the noisy chatter of the crowd came to an abrupt halt.
Soon, those Tianmo Sect elders and disciples who had gathered to watch the commotion were temporarily dismissed by Lu Ning.
At this moment, a person was kneeling outside the gate—a woman who looked extremely disheveled.
Her simple, elegant white dress was already stained and mottled with dust and blood.
Her face, which should have been breathtakingly beautiful, was covered in exhaustion.
Only her eyes suddenly burst with a startling light when she saw Lu Ning appear.
“Master!”
Murong Xi’s voice carried a hint of trembling and excitement.
Over these two months, she had experienced far too much.
She had faced pursuit from her former sect, scorn from the righteous path, and misunderstandings from the world.
She had been trapped in desperate situations several times and had hovered on the edge of life and death repeatedly.
But she had survived it all.
What had supported her was that figure in the mountain forest who had given her a new hope for life.
Now, she had finally met him again.
On the other side.
When Gu Qinghuan saw the woman’s face clearly, her cold eyes were instantly filled with wariness and hostility.
‘Murong Xi! She’s actually here!’
Furthermore, she had called her Master “Master”?
An absurd and unacceptable thought surfaced in Gu Qinghuan’s mind.
She snapped her head around to look at Lu Ning beside her, the meaning in her gaze self-explanatory.
However, Lu Ning did not pay her any attention at all.
Lu Ning just quietly watched Murong Xi, who was kneeling before her with a determined look, and felt a wave of emotion in her heart.
She hadn’t expected the other girl to actually come to the Tianmo Sect.
This level of character and perseverance was truly rare.
“Master.”
Just then, Gu Qinghuan’s icy voice rang in Lu Ning’s ear.
“Is she… the nominal disciple you mentioned before?”
“Correct.”
Lu Ning nodded, her face showing a matter-of-fact expression.
Upon receiving this affirmative answer, Gu Qinghuan was completely stunned, her eyes filled with unbelievable shock.
It was only after seeing it with her own eyes that Gu Qinghuan confirmed it was actually true!
Immediately, an indescribable fury exploded within Gu Qinghuan’s heart.
“No!”
Gu Qinghuan’s voice suddenly became sharp.
She took a step forward, blocking the space between Lu Ning and Murong Xi, her icy eyes fixed deathly on Murong Xi.
“I don’t agree!”
“Master, you can only have one disciple!”
Her words sounded extremely domineering and paranoid.
However, this time, Lu Ning was not moved at all.
She even felt a little like laughing.
She recalled back when she was in the Sovereign Hall and had merely mentioned taking a nominal disciple, only to be harshly “punished” by this rebellious disciple for an entire night.
She had remembered that incident clearly.
Now, the tables had turned.
It was time for this rebellious disciple to experience a taste of her revenge.
Lu Ning slowly took a step forward, her eyes scanning over Gu Qinghuan who stood in her way.
The corners of her mouth curled into a playful arc.
“Qinghuan.”
“Please mind your status.”
“Currently, you are only this seat’s personal maid.”
“Do you have a right to speak here?”
As soon as these words were spoken, Gu Qinghuan’s body shook violently.
She slowly turned her head, looking at Lu Ning in disbelief.
Her Master… she actually refused to give her any face in public.
Even the distant elders of the Tianmo Sect were equally shocked into silence upon hearing this.
Her Highness the Holy Maiden… is the Sovereign’s personal maid?
Just… what was going on?
However, Lu Ning did not care for their strange looks at all.
She bypassed the dazed Gu Qinghuan and walked slowly to the front of Murong Xi.
She gently helped the white-clothed woman, who was also looking on in bewilderment, off the ground.
“Get up.”
Lu Ning’s voice was very gentle, forming a sharp contrast with the cold tone she had used with Gu Qinghuan just now.
Murong Xi slowly stood up, her bright eyes filled with excitement and gratitude.
“Since you have kept our agreement, from this day forward, you are my, Lu Ning’s, nominal disciple.”
Lu Ning’s voice rang out again, firm and powerful.
“Disciple Murong Xi greets Master!”
Murong Xi no longer hesitated and respectfully performed the grand salute of a disciple to a master.
“Good.”
Lu Ning nodded in satisfaction.
She looked at the woman before her who, although she had lost her cultivation, possessed a sword heart that had become purer than ever before.
Lu Ning’s heart was full of expectation.
She believed that before long, this future number one sword cultivator of the continent would surely shine with a brilliance more dazzling than ever.
While Lu Ning was secretly making her calculations…
A voice filled with catastrophic rage suddenly exploded behind them.
“Murong Xi!”
Gu Qinghuan watched the humble Murong Xi standing before Lu Ning, her eyes filled with bone-deep killing intent.
“You want to be my Master’s disciple?”
“Pass my test first!”
As her voice fell, a pressure belonging to the Great Ascension Perfection stage radiated from her body.
The entire mountain gate of the Tianmo Sect trembled violently under the influence of this pressure.
The disciples with weaker cultivations were even more crushed by this pressure, finding it hard to breathe as they retreated repeatedly.
The moment Murong Xi felt this pressure, her expression changed drastically.
Although she had long known that Gu Qinghuan, who was of the same generation, possessed unfathomable strength…
She never expected that the other girl had already reached the Great Ascension Perfection stage.
However, despite her shock, there wasn’t a trace of fear in her heart.
She slowly turned around and took out the “Wentian” immortal sword wrapped in coarse cloth from her embrace.
She bowed slightly toward Gu Qinghuan, her posture humble, but her tone was filled with unyielding battle intent.
“Senior Sister, please grant me your guidance.”
However, before she could make a move…
Lu Ning’s voice, carrying a hint of playfulness, rang out once more.
“Disciple, you are mistaken.”
“She isn’t your Senior Sister.”
“She is merely this seat’s maid.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Gu Qinghuan’s already icy face instantly turned deathly pale.
Beside them, Alin also moved her short legs to Lu Ning’s side, echoing with a face full of agreement.
“Right! The bad woman is just Sister Lu Ning’s maid!”
“You are Sister Lu Ning’s disciple!”
“By the way, I am your Martial Aunt…”
As she spoke, she actively reached out her small hand to pull Murong Xi’s hand, her gaze as if she were looking at a long-lost relative.
Murong Xi: “…”
Gu Qinghuan: “…”
Watching the scene before her, Gu Qinghuan felt her rationality being completely extinguished at this moment.
Her Master… not only did she take her arch-rival as a disciple in front of so many people…
She even let that little brat who came out of nowhere join in on the humiliation.
Fine, very well.
Since it’s come to this, don’t blame this disciple for being heartless.
“Master.”
Gu Qinghuan slowly raised her head, her gaze looking somewhat hollow.
It was the dead silence before the storm.
“This disciple will say it one more time.”
“Your disciple can only be me.”
As her voice fell, a power of Taiyin, even more violent than before, exploded within her body.
The entire world instantly lost its color.
Within a hundred miles, the temperature plummeted, and even the air was frozen.
Pieces of crystal-clear snowflakes manifested out of thin air, slowly drifting down.
Amidst the dancing snow, Gu Qinghuan’s figure slowly rose into the air.
Behind her, a giant ice-blue crescent moon manifestation slowly appeared, emitting a terrifying power that made the heavens and earth tremble.
Her aura also surged wildly at this moment in an incredible fashion.
Great Ascension Perfection…
Half-step Tribulation…
Early Tribulation Stage!
Boom—
The entire heaven and earth of the Northern Region trembled violently at this moment, as if unable to withstand this power that surpassed the laws.
Lu Ning stared blankly at the rebellious disciple in the sky, who was now like a deity with her full aura released.
Her mind went completely blank.
‘I really did underestimate this girl’s potential…’
‘She actually broke through at a time like this?’
‘This time, things seem to be going a bit badly.’
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