—
When Jiang Tong returned to his seat and sat down, Jiang Yueliu had already regained her composure. She simply lifted her eyes and stared at him without moving.
Jiang Tong felt unnatural being stared at. “Master, why are you looking at me?”
“I’m not.” Jiang Yueliu shook her head, her voice softening slightly. “Master just wants to know, where did you learn your sword technique?”
“Sword technique?”
“That move just now, that swift ‘whoosh’ of a strike…” Jiang Yueliu gestured a few times with her small hands, her movements possessing a bit of a contrasting charm.
“Oh, that.” Jiang Tong nodded. “While I was walking by Leaf-Viewing Lake, I happened to comprehend that sword technique while watching the way the willow trees swayed.”
He could not help but feel curious. “Would Master actually be interested in this technique?”
Though he possessed the Sword Fetus, the Fine Willow Sword Manual was not a very sophisticated manual; it was merely considered excellent among basic sword techniques.
“It was decent enough, so I asked.” Jiang Yueliu offered a faint compliment, yet her fingers were already tightly pinching the corner of her clothes.
She recalled what the mysterious and unpredictable Master of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion had said: if a person reincarnates, there will always be shadows that overlap with their previous life.
In her view, if everything Jiang Tong had done until now was a coincidence, then there were simply too many coincidences.
She had been skeptical before, but now she was eighty percent certain.
Her Master really had used some means to enter reincarnation.
He had not been scattered to the winds, nor was he just comforting her, but rather…
Jiang Yueliu turned her face away to steady her breathing. A hint of tenderness faintly emerged within her cold eyes.
It did not matter.
Even if Jiang Tong did not remember, she still remembered everything.
The ironic thing was that the Master had become the disciple, and the disciple had become the Master. The two of them had lived together day and night for over a decade…
Thinking of this, Jiang Yueliu’s Transparent Sword Heart, which had been still for a long time, actually rippled slightly.
In this life, she would properly play the role of the Master, just as her Master had treated her in his previous life.
Gentle, encouraging…
Now that she possessed great strength, she would never let her Master leave her side again…
Jiang Tong looked at his silent Master, somewhat confused.
“Master?”
Just as he spoke, a fair and tender little hand was placed on top of his head, patting him in a somewhat hesitant manner.
???
Jiang Tong looked at his Master in disbelief.
Jiang Yueliu looked toward the arena with some embarrassment, her profile lowered, yet her stroking movements did not stop.
“You… you fought very well.”
She simply closed her eyes and offered an awkward compliment. “As expected of Master’s disciple.”
“Master…”
“What?!” she said coldly.
“I’m a bit afraid to say it.”
“Speak!” Jiang Yueliu bit her lip, a hint of shameful anger in her eyes.
She rarely praised people; if she did, it was usually a faint “mm” or “not bad.”
Such was the nature of the Transparent Sword Heart; she had no choice in the matter. If not for the restless agitation of her Sword Heart, how could she have taken the initiative to offer praise?
“Master…” Jiang Tong shrunk his neck and said tactfully, “I still prefer the way Master usually is…”
Jiang Yueliu froze on the spot. Cracks seemed to appear all over her body, as if she were about to shatter in the next second.
“It’s not that I don’t like Master this way,” Jiang Tong sensed the atmosphere was wrong and hurriedly tried to fix it. “It’s just that Master is usually so cold and aloof, this doesn’t seem like something my Master would do…”
Crack, crack.
Jiang Yueliu silently withdrew her hand, bit her pink lips, and then drew her sword.
“Master, there are so many people here, stop!”
A few moments later.
Jiang Yueliu stopped her hand, leaving only a lump on Jiang Tong’s head.
Watching Jiang Tong rub his forehead and cry out that Master was too painful, a slight curve rose at the corner of her mouth.
Jiang Yueliu suddenly discovered that she quite enjoyed this feeling.
Regardless of what happened in the previous life, Jiang Tong undoubtedly had no memories of that time. In this life, he was simply her disciple.
She did not need to deliberately try to act like her Master had; she would just let nature take its course and discipline him according to her previous methods.
Even if she hit him, beat him, or bullied him, she was the Master, and Jiang Tong would be unable to resist.
Thinking of this, a strange flutter arose within Jiang Yueliu’s calm heart.
She subconsciously wanted to resist it, but that Transparent Sword Heart actually showed signs of being faintly shaken, forcing her to close her eyes to stabilize it.
An unknown amount of time passed.
In the darkness, her left shoulder grew heavy, and a trace of warm breath touched her skin.
Jiang Yueliu opened her eyes and tilted her head slightly. What entered her vision was Jiang Tong’s face.
He had become truly exhausted while waiting and could no longer hold out. His head had tilted, and he had slumped softly against his Master’s shoulder.
The daring Master…
The daring disciple…
Jiang Yueliu pushed her sword out of its scabbard by a centimeter before shoving it back in, her cheeks feeling somewhat hot.
She did not push Jiang Tong away. Her stiff body moved a negligible distance toward him and then became still.
In a corner shadow that no one noticed.
The Master and disciple quietly maintained this posture, even as the flashes of blades and shouts of battle continued incessantly on the arena stage.
—
“Next match, Jiang Tong versus…”
Jiang Tong woke up with a start, feeling as though someone had kicked his shin. He subconsciously straightened his body.
He had actually fallen asleep while waiting…
“What are you dazing off for? Go on.” Jiang Yueliu looked at the arena and spoke flatly.
Hearing that familiar tone, Jiang Tong picked up his sword with a bit of emotion.
This was the familiar Master.
Usually, he always hoped Jiang Yueliu would praise him; even a “not bad” was enough to make him happy, and he wished for more.
To his surprise, when Jiang Yueliu finally became gentle and tried to give him some encouragement, he had felt afraid instead…
Humans truly were strange creatures.
Jiang Yueliu watched his departing figure and let out a small breath of hot air, reaching out to touch her cheek.
Just now… no one saw, right?
He flew onto the stage and entered the next round of combat.
From the second round onward, there was not much rest time, and the rhythm of the battles gradually accelerated.
Against a late-stage Foundation Establishment opponent: Victory.
Top 32, against a Great Circle Foundation Establishment opponent: Victory.
Top 16, against an early-stage Golden Core opponent: Victory.
Top 8: Victory.
Top 4: Victory.
Jiang Yueliu did not blink throughout the entire process, watching the familiar sword techniques being executed move by move, her eyes holding a hint of nostalgia.
Once upon a time, she was the one on the arena competing against others while Jiang Tong watched her use these sword techniques.
And now, the roles were reversed; she had become the one hoping for her disciple’s victory.
Only four people remained on the arena. Very fortunately, Ji Nianxue and Jiang Tong had not yet faced each other.
The disciples below the stage could no longer sit still. A tidal wave of discussion broke out as startled, confused, and questioning gazes… all landed on Jiang Tong.
“Jiang Tong actually suppressed his cultivation on his own and even broke through to Foundation Establishment… when did he start being able to cultivate?”
“You forgot, his realm was just tested a few days ago. That can’t be faked.”
“That means in just these past two days…”
“Is that even possible?”
“So what? He still can’t possibly defeat Ji Nianxue…”
Ji Nianxue’s eyes turned toward him. Jiang Tong met her gaze and blinked.
After a few seconds, she lowered her head and tightened her grip on the wooden hairpin in her hand, feeling a bit aggrieved in her heart.
Jiang Tong, you jerk.
I won’t let you have this first place.