Shen Qian’s cavern dwelling.
Shen Qian sat on a meditation cushion, a jade slip spread open before her, but her mind was completely elsewhere.
All she could think about was what she had just witnessed—Qin Qiwu, the young mistress of the Return to Void Pavilion, the woman even her master treated with great courtesy, had actually come to see Ye Qingyi of her own accord.
Why?
Shen Qian bit her lip, her nails digging deep into her palms.
She had cultivated at the Supreme One Sacred Sect for ten years, diligently currying favor with her master, the elders, and every single person who might be of use to her.
She fought for the sect’s resources, competed for spots in the secret realms, and paid a heavy price to reach her current position—the one closest to becoming a direct disciple.
Everyone said she was the most likely candidate to become her master’s next direct disciple.
But the moment Ye Qingyi arrived, she had nothing.
That wild girl who popped out from who knows where became a direct disciple the moment she entered the sect.
Her master personally brought her back, personally bestowed cultivation techniques, personally arranged her dwelling—and now even the young mistress of the Return to Void Pavilion made a personal visit.
Shen Qian suddenly hurled the jade slip to the ground.
“Why? What gives her the right?”
Her voice echoed through the empty cave dwelling, but no one answered.
…..
“Senior Sister?”
A timid voice came from the entrance of the cave dwelling.
Shen Qian took a deep breath, and the twisted expression on her face instantly melted into a warm smile.
She turned to look at the newcomer—a round-faced young man, one of her subordinates, Wang Xiu.
Earlier, she had been lurking near Ye Qingyi’s dwelling.
When she saw the master arrive, she had hurriedly run away, leaving Wang Xiu to keep watch for her.
Now he must be back to report.
“What is it?” Her voice was soft and pleasant, as if nothing had happened at all.
Wang Xiu walked in and scratched his head.
“Senior Sister, about that matter you asked me to look into…”
“Speak.”
“On Ye Qingyi’s side… I found out a few things.”
Wang Xiu lowered his voice.
“Someone splashed red paint at the entrance of her dwelling today. I don’t know who did it.”
The corner of Shen Qian’s mouth twitched slightly.
That was her doing.
She had planned to disgust Ye Qingyi and see her flustered, but before she could enjoy the sight, she noticed Qin Qiwu coming, so she had to hide.
What made it worse was that Qin Qiwu set up a formation, and she couldn’t see anything at all.
After Qin Qiwu left, she went back to check, only to find the paint had been cleaned up completely.
In her reluctance, she wanted to repeat the trick, but the master showed up again, and she had to leave to avoid being caught.
Shen Qian gritted her teeth.
“Anything else?”
“There’s more…” Wang Xiu hesitated.
“This afternoon, the master went to Ye Qingyi’s dwelling.”
“What for?”
“I don’t know. But it looked like… the master was in a good mood when he came out. He gave Ye Qingyi quite a few pills and spirit stones.”
Shen Qian’s fingers clenched tightly.
Pills and spirit stones—signs of the master’s favor, everything she had ever dreamed of.
Now that Ye Qingyi was here, the master wouldn’t spare her a second glance.
“And…” Wang Xiu’s voice grew even quieter.
“I heard that Ye Qingyi has already mastered the Clarify Heart and Free Mind Technique.”
Shen Qian shot to her feet.
“What?!”
Wang Xiu was startled by her reaction and took two steps back.
“Senior Sister, it’s… it’s true. A lot of people already know.”
Clarify Heart and Free Mind Technique.
The Supreme One Sacred Sect’s foundation technique, one that countless geniuses had spent their entire lives failing to even approach the threshold of.
Ye Qingyi had been here for how many days?
One!
And she had already mastered it.
Shen Qian felt a surge of foul air stuck in her chest, unable to rise or fall, suffocating her until she could barely breathe.
She had cultivated for ten years and hadn’t even touched the threshold of the Clarify Heart and Free Mind Technique.
Ye Qingyi mastered it in one day.
From now on, there would be no room for her to stand out in the sect.
“Senior Sister… are you alright?”
Shen Qian took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger in her heart, and forced a smile.
“I’m fine. You may go.”
Wang Xiu, relieved, turned and ran off.
The cave dwelling was left with only Shen Qian.
She stood alone in the empty room, her smile fading bit by bit, revealing a face twisted by jealousy.
“Ye Qingyi…” She clenched her teeth, speaking word by word.
“Just you wait.”
…..
Early the next morning, Ye Qingyi was cultivating in her courtyard.
After the master left yesterday, Ye Chu had, under the pretense of training, beaten her up thoroughly again, leaving her body still aching faintly.
But after circulating the Clarify Heart and Free Mind Technique, the feeling of her qi becoming more abundant and condensed put her in a good mood.
Ye Chu, on the other hand, had a headache.
Ye Qingyi’s current cultivation was at the early Foundation Establishment stage, with actual combat power comparable to a late Core Formation body cultivator.
But there was a fatal problem she hadn’t solved yet: she couldn’t land a hit.
After Ye Chu’s testing, if Ye Qingyi’s strength was limited to below Foundation Establishment—that is, at the Qi Refining level—her attacks could actually hit people.
She had to lower her strength by one entire realm just to land a hit.
What kind of nonsense was that?
And what could Qi Refining-level strength possibly accomplish?
Once her strength exceeded Foundation Establishment, she couldn’t hit anyone.
She had to rely on that so-called “A Knight Does Not Die by the Hand of a Foe” system to summon the Divine Persona Mask and have Ye Chu fight for her.
When Ye Chu fought in her place, he could exert the strength of a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator.
With soul power enhancement, he could reach… Ye Chu hadn’t tried that yet, since it would be a considerable drain on him, but he estimated it could reach mid-Nascent Soul.
The Divine Persona Mask’s effective time was twelve hours, with a twelve-hour cooldown.
Facing a strong enemy or certain dangerous environments would be tricky.
Ye Chu had to find a way for Ye Qingyi to hold her own during the other twelve hours as well.
….
Just as Ye Chu was deep in thought, trying to find a solution, his brows furrowed.
That sneaky little brat was back again.
After the previous stinky red paint and Qin Qiwu incidents, Ye Chu realized he had been too lax.
People were targeting them, and he hadn’t even known.
So after Qin Qiwu left, he had been closely monitoring the surroundings.
And then he spotted this sneaky brat.
And now, the brat was even about to knock on the door.
Ye Chu became interested and decided to see what tricks he would play.
He wasn’t planning to warn Ye Qingyi.
As he had said before, he only had suspicions, not solid evidence.
Moreover, if he said too much and triggered Ye Qingyi’s rebelliousness, it would be a hassle.
People teach people, but people don’t learn.
Experience teaches a lesson that leaves a deep impression after just once.
…..
Wang Xiu knocked on the door.
“Qing… Qingyi Senior Sister?”
Ye Qingyi opened the door.
“Hm?”
“I… my name is… Wang Xiu.”
“I’ve heard senior brothers say that Qingyi Senior Sister is… beautiful and moving, unlike mortals. I didn’t believe it, but now that I’ve seen you… I realize that Senior Sister’s beauty is ten thousand times better than they described.”
“It’s… not that good…”
Ye Qingyi scratched her head awkwardly.
Being complimented by a cute junior brother made her happy… well, not exactly happy.
“Has Qingyi Senior Sister already reached Core Formation?”
Wang Xiu pressed further.
“Hm…”
Can’t you tell?
I wasn’t hiding my cultivation at all.
Ye Chu: It’s because I suppressed it for you.
You still haven’t noticed.
You’re the worst student I’ve ever taught!
“Then could you take us to the secret realm?”
Wang Xiu quickly said.
“Secret realm?”
This time Ye Qingyi was taken aback.
“Yes.”
Wang Xiu nodded.
“There’s a secret realm in the back mountain of the sect, filled with spirit beasts and spirit herbs. Many disciples go there to train. I heard that Ye Senior Sister is new here and not familiar with the place, so I wanted to take you to see it.”
As he spoke, Wang Xiu displayed his cultivation level: early Core Formation.
Ye Qingyi was dumbfounded.
Wow, this cute junior brother looked younger than her, yet his cultivation was higher than hers.
Truly, there are heavens beyond heavens and mountains beyond mountains!
Wait… Was the junior brother inviting her on a date?
Ye Chu: ???