Whether this victory was really just Chen Yuyang humoring a child, at the moment she heard him personally admit it, Ling Xi’s mood instantly turned sunny, and a smile she couldn’t suppress spread across her face.
“See? Hard work in cultivation really pays off~”
The girl proudly lifted her chin, gave a humph, and then said to Chen Yuyang in a sarcastic tone: “Oh my, the senior brother who was always stronger than me can’t even block my sword anymore. Could it be that during your training outside, you got too caught up in carnal pleasures and drained your stamina?”
Chen Yuyang found her words both amusing and frustrating, but he couldn’t be bothered to argue or explain, so he just shook his head.
Yan Luo and Yun Lian, listening nearby, wore helpless expressions.
‘Carnal pleasures? The two of them would have been happy if Chen Yuyang actually indulged in carnal pleasures. Unfortunately, that guy was a block of wood.’
“Alright, Ling Xi, junior sister.”
Gu Qiushui, seeing Ling Xi getting more and more outrageous and afraid that Yan Luo, an outsider, would laugh at them, quickly stepped forward and said to Ling Xi: “Yuyang just returned from training outside. He must be tired. Let him go back and rest first.”
Ling Xi glanced at Chen Yuyang, gave a slight nod, and then said loudly: “Senior brother, I’ll come find you for another sparring match tomorrow. Don’t disappoint me~”
With that, the girl followed Gu Qiushui and turned to leave the martial arena.
Chen Yuyang shook his head again and also walked out of the field, heading toward Tai Lingxuan and the others who had been quietly watching from outside.
“Yuyang, you’re back.”
Looking at the young man, Tai Lingxuan’s eyes held a gentle smile.
Although Chen Yuyang had said he would return soon, she hadn’t expected it to be even faster than she anticipated—a truly pleasant surprise.
Chen Yuyang nodded at Tai Lingxuan in acknowledgment, then gestured at Yan Luo beside him and said to Tai Lingxuan: “Shizun, this is Yan Luo of the Yan family. She will also be participating in the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking Battle and will be staying as a guest in our Hehuan Sect for a while.”
Tai Lingxuan smiled politely at Yan Luo: “Miss Yan’s willingness to grace us with her presence is truly an honor for our Hehuan Sect.”
“Not at all, not at all. Sect Master Tai, you flatter me.”
Yan Luo responded equally politely, keeping a low profile without any trace of a young mistress’s arrogance.
Especially because she knew that her relationship with Chen Yuyang would ultimately require Sect Master Tai’s approval, so she dared not show the slightest disrespect.
Then Yun Lian stated that she needed to go into seclusion to stabilize her cultivation, so she took her leave first.
Following that, Tai Lingxuan had someone arrange a quiet courtyard for Yan Luo to stay in temporarily.
After all these trivial matters were settled, only Chen Yuyang and Tai Lingxuan remained, walking side by side toward the Great Hall.
Chen Yuyang looked at the brand-new halls and pavilions on the various peaks within the sect’s territory and softly remarked: “The sect has changed quite a bit.”
“Yes,” Tai Lingxuan replied quietly.
“The outer area has been expanded a lot, and all the old courtyards have been renovated. Except for… your courtyard. Since you weren’t around, it hasn’t been touched.”
“How much did this expansion cost in total?”
Chen Yuyang asked next.
A bitter smile appeared on Tai Lingxuan’s face: “Well… at the moment, there are only sixty thousand high-grade spirit stones left in the treasury.”
Hearing this, Chen Yuyang raised an eyebrow, his voice rising: “Spent that much?”
“Ah~” Tai Lingxuan lowered her head a little sheepishly, feeling like a junior in front of Chen Yuyang at this moment.
“I thought, since we were building, I might as well do some parts in one go to avoid trouble later… so I accidentally went over budget…”
Chen Yuyang looked at Tai Lingxuan speechlessly.
His own Shizun was absolutely top-notch when it came to cultivation talent, but when it came to management and planning skills, it could only be described as a tragedy.
Shaking his head, Chen Yuyang said nothing more, casually took out a ring and tossed it to Tai Lingxuan.
“This is…” Tai Lingxuan caught the ring, not checking its contents, and asked in confusion.
“Inside are two million high-grade spirit stones.”
Chen Yuyang cleared his throat and turned his face away a little awkwardly as he answered.
Tai Lingxuan was stunned.
Two million high-grade spirit stones?
Was she hearing wrong?
That was two million—high-grade spirit stones.
Where did Yuyang get so many?
Snapping back to reality, she blurted out almost instinctively: “Yuyang, you didn’t… you didn’t stoop to selling yourself to the Yan family, did you…”
Chen Yuyang: “…”
The veins on the young man’s temples twitched, and he said helplessly: “Shizun, can you please not have such a wild imagination?”
“Then where did you get those two million?”
Tai Lingxuan’s eyes widened as she pressed further.
“Did you kill people and steal their goods… rob other rogue cultivators?”
Her disciple had brought back so many spirit stones after one trip, and she was worried he had done something bad.
Chen Yuyang’s mouth twitched: “Shizun, tell me yourself, am I that kind of person? Can’t it be that I earned it with my own abilities during my training outside?”
Tai Lingxuan was even more baffled, her face full of disbelief: “Making spirit stones is that easy now?”
As a Mahayana Realm cultivator, she had no way to earn two million high-grade spirit stones in half a year.
But this kid…
Yet, Yuyang was sensible…
That meant the spirit stones did come from a clean source…
Thinking this, Tai Lingxuan’s mood became complicated.
‘Is it that I’m too useless? I can’t even match my own disciple in anything… At this rate, I’ll just become the mascot of the Hehuan Sect.’
“Two million—that’s… that’s too much…”
Tai Lingxuan came back to her senses and said immediately: “I already owe you too much…”
“Just take it, Shizun.”
Chen Yuyang added with a grin: “It’s not like you owe me any less than this anyway.”
Tai Lingxuan thought about it carefully and realized that was true.
After a moment, the woman accepted the ring openly.
‘Fine, since I can never repay him in this lifetime, I might as well focus on building up the sect. Worst case, I’ll pay him back with my body. One time counts as ten thousand high-grade spirit stones… Ten times a night… I could pay it off in a month…’
Tai Lingxuan silently calculated.
‘I just wonder if that kid’s body can handle it.’
The two continued walking.
From time to time, disciples passed by, and upon seeing them, they stopped to bow respectfully and greet: “Greetings, Shizun!”
Tai Lingxuan nodded in acknowledgment while softly introducing these disciples’ identities to Chen Yuyang.
As she did, the disciples’ gazes also fell curiously on Chen Yuyang.
As the only male disciple of the Hehuan Sect, walking beside Tai Lingxuan, he naturally stood out.
However, the disciples had long heard that there was indeed a senior brother in the sect, and he was a top-tier prodigy.
‘Senior brother is so handsome…’
‘So young…’
That was almost every disciple’s first impression of Chen Yuyang.
Disciples came and went, busy with their tasks.
The entire sect was showing a new atmosphere.
“All of this really owes a lot to you,” Tai Lingxuan continued walking and sighed sincerely.
But Chen Yuyang didn’t take up her words. Instead, he said: “Right now, what our sect lacks most are experts who can hold the fort.”
He paused, then continued: “Now that the sect has more people, we must cultivate our own alchemists, artifact refiners, and formation masters. Additionally, before the younger generation of disciples can truly take on major responsibilities, the sect needs a few powerful cultivators to serve as guest elders and help stabilize the Hehuan Sect.”
Hearing this, Tai Lingxuan gave a bitter smile: “You’re right about everything, but… where am I supposed to find these people?”
Chen Yuyuan also shook his head; he had no good solution for this.
If they simply hired people with spirit stones, they couldn’t trust their character, and they might even bring wolves into the house.
But without such core strength, the Hehuan Sect was still too weak.
There would be no one to consult in times of trouble, and if Tai Lingxuan was absent, something could go wrong.
“Shizun, when you roamed the Realm of Cultivation in your early years, didn’t you make any friends?”
Chen Yuyang thought for a moment.
“I did,” Tai Lingxuan nodded.
“Where are they?”
“Either… either they’re already dead, or they… they’ve cut ties with me…”
Tai Lingxuan’s voice grew softer, and even the corners of her mouth twitched as she spoke.
Chen Yuyang: “…”
‘Forget it. Might as well not have asked.’
“Ah well, this kind of thing can’t be rushed…”
Chen Yuyang rubbed his forehead.
“Maybe in eight or ten years, when the senior and junior sisters grow up, they can fill these roles. If not, I’ll give them a hand to help them break through realms quickly. But Shizun, you need to start thinking about a development plan for this aspect.”
Tai Lingxuan nodded seriously.
The thought that even these matters had to be pointed out by her disciple filled her with guilt and shame.
‘I really am a useless Shizun.’
“Shizun, have the rules for the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking Battle been announced yet?”
On the other side, Chen Yuyang stopped dwelling on it and changed the subject.
“Yes,” Tai Lingxuan quickly replied.
“This time it’s a random elimination tournament format. Contestants are not allowed to use more than three spirit artifacts above third-grade in battle. For formation masters or specialized artifact controllers, the restrictions are slightly looser, but they can only carry as many spirit artifacts as they can control, and still no more than third-grade. Of course, if you personally refined the artifact or equipment, there’s no grade limit.”
She paused and added: “Also, during combat, medicinal pills and talismans are prohibited. However, if the contestant is an alchemist or talisman master, they may carry three pills or talismans corresponding to their own grade. Additionally, secret techniques or evil arts that damage one’s foundation or have severe aftereffects are forbidden. The entire battle order will be completely randomized each round to maximize cheating prevention. Combat must be restrained—no intentional killing.”
After listening, Chen Yuyang nodded slightly in understanding.
“In the past, there were no such restrictions on equipment, but this year they specifically added this rule,” Tai Lingxuan added.
Chen Yuyang understood: “After all, the main purpose of this Heavenly Prodigy Ranking Battle is to screen for true talent, not to let people compete based on family background.”
Tai Lingxuan agreed deeply: “Indeed, this is a good rule for our Hehuan Sect.”
Hearing this, Chen Yuyang gave Tai Lingxuan a slight sideways glance and couldn’t help teasing: “Shizun, in that case, why don’t you go ahead and get some treasures for the senior and junior sisters?”
Tai Lingxuan stuck out her tongue sheepishly: “Ah~ it’s just that there aren’t enough spirit stones… I want to equip them all with good magical artifacts, but a full set of fifth-grade artifacts costs at least tens of thousands of spirit stones, and for better ones, it’s over a hundred thousand. How can I afford that?”
Chen Yuyang could only smile wryly.
He was already the sect’s alchemist; he couldn’t very well become an artifact refiner too.
‘Forget it, I’ll figure these things out later. Since the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking Battle has restrictions on equipment, this gap isn’t too important for now.’