After that, Mu Qingxue had no idea what happened to her father that night. She only knew he didn’t go to the company for the entire next day.
Today was the Sect Grand Competition.
Mu Qingxue logged in early.
To her surprise, Chen Xiaoyan had logged in even earlier than she did.
[Mu Qingxue: Yan Bao, how come you’re on so early today? Usually you don’t show up until eight or nine.]
In the Zhenmo Tower of the Tianxiang Sect.
Chen Xiaoyan was helping Chongchong and Xianyun, the two girls, get familiar with the puppets in preparation for the upcoming sect competition.
“A puppet isn’t a real person. It doesn’t scream in pain, and it won’t show you anything. So you both need to watch with your eyes and sense its state with your heart.”
“Okay,” the two girls nodded obediently.
Second floor of the Zhenmo Tower, Hell difficulty, three players and two puppets.
Chen Xiaoyan didn’t join the training; it was pointless even if she did. For this sect event and competition, the championship was already hers, so her only job was to coach.
“Whether you’re playing Shushan c-position for DPS, Shence as the tank, or Zhenwu for a half-DPS, half-tank, each has its own strengths. Personally, I suggest Chongchong use the Shushan Puppet—go in hard and wipe out the opponent, don’t give them any chance to counterattack.”
“But the Shushan Puppet is very fragile. Chongchong, remember to keep Healing Art on hand, and don’t use up all your skills in one go, leaving yourself with nothing. In dungeons, your teammates can wait for your cooldown, but in a match, your opponent won’t be so patient.”
“As for you, Xianyun, your spiritual energy doesn’t overwhelm the others like Chongchong’s does, so pick Zhenwu—it’s got decent defense and output, just take it slow and steady.”
The championship was already in her pocket, but not the runner-up spots.
Second and third place still had rewards, and she wasn’t about to let outsiders take them. She’d rather keep them in the family.
Chongchong was a hundred percent guaranteed to be in the top three.
Only Xianyun was still a bit uncertain.
Right now, among the Tianxiang players, several had passed the Abyssal Gorge, and their spiritual energy was already at seven or eight hundred. One had even broken a thousand, and had already unlocked the second Outworld Realm.
However, they were all being groomed by Wushuang Tower, so it wasn’t likely to lure them over.
After practicing for half an hour,
the three left Zhenmo Tower.
Players are human—their thinking is nothing like monsters—so just getting used to the puppet’s playstyle was enough.
“You two go practice Fragrant Intent in the small courtyard, I’ll go to Tianxin Pavilion for a bit and be right back.”
“Going to Tianxin Pavilion for Shen Qingqing again? Did that NPC give you a special quest or something? Lately you have to go there every single day,” Chongchong pouted with displeasure.
Xianyun quietly watched from the side, silent.
The way these two top dogs got along—their tone and interactions—if Sister Xiaoyan were a guy, they’d really look like a couple stuck together like glue.
“It’s just a Master’s task.” Chen Xiaoyan smiled helplessly, joking.
After that, she turned and walked into Tianxin Pavilion.
Chongchong stared, her eyes wide with shock, and blankly watched Chen Xiaoyan’s retreating back.
Then she looked at Xianyun beside her.
“Did you just hear her say ‘Master’s task’?”
Xianyun smiled mysteriously without answering, then turned and left the mountain.
“Hey!”
Chongchong glanced at the gate of Tianxin Pavilion, then at Xianyun vanishing into the distance.
She stomped her feet in frustration.
Damn riddle-speaker.
Today was the day of the sect competition. Chen Xiaoyan had arranged for the two to log in early and get used to the puppets.
But all of this had been at Shen Qingqing’s request.
Of course, it suited her own wishes too.
“I heard the new disciples have produced a third Outworld Realm cultivator.”
A familiar pool, familiar faces.
Familiar spring sunshine, familiar urges stirring.
Only the peach tree was unfamiliar… oh no, it shouldn’t be called a peach blossom tree anymore—just a peach tree.
Because the flowers were all gone.
Chen Xiaoyan was already used to seeing Shen Qingqing bathing whenever she came over.
No matter how beautiful something is, if you see it too often, it loses that special thrill of the first time.
She slipped off her bandeau skirt, got into the pool, and sat beside Shen Qingqing.
The whole process was smooth and practiced.
“Yeah, I think her name is Yunyun Doesn’t Want to Heal.”
“She hides her skills well,” Shen Qingqing said indifferently.
Chen Xiaoyan shrugged.
“In that case, there’s still some suspense for second place in the competition.”
Seeing Shen Qingqing so dismissive of Chongchong, Chen Xiaoyan reflexively objected, “With Chongchong’s strength, she shouldn’t lose to a rookie who just entered the realm.”
That girl might seem unreliable most of the time, but in dungeons, her healing skills were solid.
As long as she remembered what she’d been told, she’d most likely win.
Unless her opponent was a cheater too.
“You have a lot of faith in her?”
Chen Xiaoyan shook her head.
“I don’t have faith in her—I have faith in her experience. Besides, the gap in spiritual energy between them is more than a little.”
Yunyun Doesn’t Want to Heal probably had spiritual energy between 1000 and 1100.
But Chongchong had already broken 1300.
If the difference is only two digits, it might not matter. But three digits? That’s a serious gap.
With puppets of equal skill, healing is what determines victory.
That girl’s healed with me for nearly a hundred dungeons—I trust her healing more than Yunyun Doesn’t Want to Heal’s.
“Then I’ll just wait and see.”
“Don’t worry, Sister Shen. If Chongchong loses, I’ll make her climb Tianxin Mountain a hundred times myself.”
Shen Qingqing’s cool, delicate face twitched a little at those words.
Since when was this girl so ruthless?
Did she even know how tall Tianxin Mountain was?
A hundred times… If you don’t use flight, even she wouldn’t dare say that.
“No need for that. If she loses, just have her come stay with me for a few days.”
“Sister Shen wants to personally guide her?”
“Mm.”
“Then I’ll thank you on her behalf, Sister Shen. But I don’t think I’ll be sending her to you.”
“Good.”
“By the way, Sister Shen, can you tell me what the first place reward is for the sect competition?”
Shen Qingqing’s lips curled, eyes sparkling with amusement as she looked at her.
“So that’s why you came to see me so early today—ulterior motives, huh?”
“Hehe.” Chen Xiaoyan gave a sheepish laugh.
“I just couldn’t help being curious. Hope you can satisfy that curiosity, Sister Shen.”
“The championship is already yours, so it’s fine to tell you in advance.”
“The sect competition’s first place will be formally acknowledged as the senior disciple, managing the new disciples. If any of them make a mistake, you’ll have the authority to punish them on behalf of the sect.”
The Tianxiang Sect didn’t have a law enforcement hall. All the punishments in the sect were handled by Liu Fufeng and Shen Qingqing.
Tianxiang was one of the eight great sects—a true powerhouse—so why didn’t it have a law enforcement hall?
Anyone wishing to join Tianxiang had to pass a strict test.
Anyone who made it into Tianxiang was virtuous and kind-hearted without exception.
Those who were cowardly, quick to anger, narrow-minded, or greedy for life could never pass.
Almost none of the new disciples nowadays could measure up to these standards.
Even Chen Xiaoyan herself was no exception.
Don’t be fooled by how she dominated the player base—if those senior NPC sisters in the sect became players themselves,
each of them would be several times, even dozens of times stronger than her.
Cultivation is not only about spiritual power, but also about the heart.
Liu Fufeng: Guess why I went to learn martial arts?
Yue Qifang: Because your (noob) talent (is so) terrible (you might as well die) at cultivating Fragrant Intent.