Faced with Gu Qingying’s retort, Gong Shangyu abruptly stood up, her eyes filled with disbelief.
“Impossible! We both know Mo Qingyou’s talent—she’s even worse than I am! With her aptitude, how could she possibly form a Jindan faster than us?”
Gu Qingying clenched her fists, her fingertips tightening instinctively, a flicker of contemplation shining in her eyes.
“What if… she didn’t achieve her Jindan through proper cultivation?”
“And don’t forget, right now she’s mixed in with those Yin Corpse Sect Disciples. What if… Mo Qingyou really has fallen to the Demonic Path?”
“After all, Demonic Path Cultivation Methods always progress rapidly, but the price is extremely high…”
Gu Qingying paused for a moment, then continued her analysis.
“And besides, we know very little about Mo Qingyou’s background. Other than Master from our previous life, none of us truly know her origins.”
“All we do know is that, like you, she was picked up by Master during his travels outside the sect, just like the rest of us.”
“And back during the great battle between righteous and demonic paths in our previous life, because of her unpredictable methods, many Peak Lords and Elders within the sect often suspected her of being a Demonic Path spy…”
“In the end, it was only because Master staked his life as a guarantee that she barely managed to survive.”
“Fallen to the Demonic Path? Her, of all people?”
Gong Shangyu frowned deeply and shook her head.
“Even if she did fall, with her talent and brains, there’s no reason she could advance so much faster than I do! It just doesn’t make sense!”
“If that’s the case, then there’s only one possibility left.”
Gu Qingying raised her head, her gaze sharp as she stared at Gong Shangyu before her.
“Other than advancing in cultivation realm, there must be some other System upgrade path that we don’t know about.”
Gu Qingying pressed forward, asking, “Senior Sister, think carefully—when your Time Pause System upgraded, did the System mention any potential upgrade requirements besides cultivation breakthroughs?”
“Or… did your Time Pause System give any hidden hints?”
Gong Shangyu was stunned by Gu Qingying’s questioning.
Instinctively, she calmed her mind and carefully recalled the prompts and those complicated explanation messages from when the System upgraded.
After a long while, Gong Shangyu irritably rubbed her temples.
“No! At least, my System only explicitly mentioned that breakthroughs in cultivation can increase its level!”
“As for any other ways to upgrade… I didn’t notice any special prompts.”
Just as the two women were at a loss, familiar footsteps and spiritual fluctuations suddenly sounded in the courtyard outside!
Ah!
Master is back!
Sensing Lu Li’s return, Gu Qingying and Gong Shangyu’s expressions changed almost simultaneously!
All those serious discussions about the System from earlier vanished into thin air, replaced by a guilty panic as if caught in the act.
Gu Qingying hurriedly stuffed the pillow in her arms directly into her Storage Pouch, while Gong Shangyu quickly tidied up the Sect Rules she’d been copying halfway on the table, trying to hide her dismal progress.
A moment later, the Jingshi door opened, and Lu Li’s figure appeared at the entrance.
Though there was a trace of fatigue on his face, seeing his two disciples present, he still offered a gentle smile.
“I’m back. Hm? You’re both here?”
Lu Li’s gaze swept over the slightly messy black elm desk in front of Gong Shangyu, then at Gu Qingying, whose posture seemed a bit too proper, and he casually asked,
“While I was out just now, did you two get along well?”
As soon as Lu Li finished speaking, a bizarre scene unfolded in the room.
The very same Gu Qingying and Gong Shangyu who, just before separating from Lu Li, had been digging pits for each other, threatening, even haggling at the gate of Duanqing Peak, instantly put on a different act!
Gu Qingying’s face immediately bloomed with an incredibly pure and friendly smile.
She briskly walked over to Gong Shangyu, very naturally slung her arm around her shoulder in a show of intimacy, and surreptitiously pinched hard.
Gong Shangyu’s body stiffened slightly, but her face instantly broke into a sunny, cheerful smile as well.
She reached around and hugged Gu Qingying’s waist, her fingertips quietly pinching the soft flesh at her side.
The two women leaned closely shoulder to shoulder, then spoke in unison to Lu Li, though a hint of gritted teeth could be detected in their voices.
“Harmonious! Extremely harmonious!”
“Hehe~ Master, rest assured! My relationship with Senior Sister Baiyu couldn’t be better!”
“Yes, that’s right. We were just studying and sharing our insights into cultivation together!”
“Yes… Sharing insights! Very rewarding!”
Lu Li was briefly stunned by the heartwarming sight before him, his two disciples acting like loving siblings.
Hmm?
Strange…
Before he left, these two couldn’t even see eye to eye—one was tattling, the other was being punished to copy rules.
How is it that after just a short while, they’re suddenly so close?
Especially this shoulder-to-shoulder pose—Lu Li felt the two were perhaps a bit too friendly?
A rather absurd thought flashed through Lu Li’s mind like lightning!
Ugh…
These two…
Could it be they’re “cut sleeve” after all?
Lu Li was so startled by his own thought that a cold sweat instantly broke out on his back!
He subconsciously took a half step back, his gaze growing a bit uncertain.
But soon Lu Li regained his composure and frantically shook his head inwardly.
Tsk…
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Qingying and Baiyu are still just half-grown kids—they couldn’t possibly have developed any strange tastes like that.
Besides, Baiyu once said he wasn’t a virgin, so he must have visited a Qinglou and liked girls!
Right…
Right!
This is just normal friendship!
How could I use such dirty suspicions on my own disciples!
That’s truly inappropriate!
I’m their Master, after all!
Suppressing the chill in his heart, Lu Li worked hard to tell himself he was overthinking it.
His disciples getting along well was obviously a good thing—it showed their unity and camaraderie.
Since that’s the case, as their Master, he should feel pleased!
“Uh… Harmonious is good, harmonious is good.”
Lu Li coughed awkwardly, then turned to Gong Shangyu to change the subject.
“Baiyu, how’s your copying of the Sect Rules? Qingying, have you been properly supervising your Junior Brother?”
Gong Shangyu immediately released Gu Qingying, straightened her back, and put on a sincere smile.
“Reporting to Master, this disciple is diligently copying and will not fail your expectations!”
Gu Qingying also took the chance to step aside, respectfully replying,
“Hehe… Please rest assured, Master. I’ve been accompanying Junior Brother Baiyu as he copies.”
“Mm, that’s good.”
Lu Li nodded.
Though he still felt something odd about their atmosphere, he decided it was just a sign of deep brotherly bonds.
“Mm… Carry on, you two. I’ll go sort out the medicinal herbs I just purchased.”
Watching Lu Li’s departing back, Gu Qingying and Gong Shangyu almost simultaneously let go of each other, quickly springing apart as if they’d touched something filthy.
“Tch! Disgusting!”
Gong Shangyu slapped the shoulder where her Junior Sister had just touched, her face full of loathing.
“Oh? You think I wanted to touch you?”
Gu Qingying was just as disdainful, tidying her robe with slow deliberation.
The two glared at each other, and the previously harmonious scene shattered instantly.
Yet thanks to Lu Li’s interruption, the tense atmosphere from discussing Mo Qingyou and System upgrades had dissipated somewhat.
After a moment, Gong Shangyu returned to her desk, looked at the thick Sect Rules, sighed in resignation, and picked up her brush.
Gu Qingying patted the pillow inside her Storage Pouch, then cast a complicated glance at Gong Shangyu before finally turning to leave the side hall of Gong Shangyu’s Jingshi.
Though the clue regarding Fourth Senior Sister had run cold, at least she’d managed to snatch Master’s pillow, and she’d also learned from Gong Shangyu that simply raising her cultivation could upgrade her System.
So in the end, it wasn’t a loss.
However, the message from Gu Hongchen’s memory fragments—that Mo Qingyou might have mastered a level three System—still lingered like a cloud over her heart.