His lips were parted.
It had been a long, long time since Chen Yuyang had shown such a shocked expression.
Wait, this… what did this mean?
Becoming Dao companions?
Had something gone wrong with his ears!
Junior Sister actually wanted to become Dao companions with him.
Where did this suddenly come from?
Could it be that Junior Sister was worried about him leaving and had been so emotionally stimulated that she wanted to use this method to keep him?
Sigh, this silly child.
Am I, Chen Yuyang, the kind of person who forgets favors and violates justice for profit?
Chen Yuyang thought to himself, shaking his head helplessly.
“Junior Sister, I appreciate your kindness, but there is no need for such a thing.”
Chen Yuyang turned around, his face solemn.
“Once I have made a decision, I will not leave.”
“You can just rest easy.”
Ling Xi was stunned, and her heart suddenly filled with confusion.
No need?
What do you mean, didn’t you confess to me first?
Now you’re telling me there is no need!
She had finally summoned the courage to say those words….
“Senior Brother, why… you, didn’t you decide to stay for me?”
Her voice trembled slightly, and the young girl bit her lip hard, deciding to speak plainly and clarify the matter.
Hearing this, Chen Yuyang was stunned again.
“For you? Junior Sister, you must be joking. Being for you is one aspect, but on the other hand, I am also doing it for the other Senior Sisters, Junior Sisters, and even Master.”
Chen Yuyang smiled and said, “To me, you are all the same （family）.”
“What!”
Hearing these words, the girl’s face froze as if struck by lightning, and she stood frozen in place for a long time without any reaction.
What did he mean by “all the same”…
Could it be that Senior Brother didn’t just like her, but also liked the other Senior Sisters, Junior Sisters, and even Master… Senior Brother… could it be that he regarded this Acacia Sect as his personal harem!
Thinking of this unbearable possibility, Ling Xi only felt a rush of blood to her head.
Her cheeks flushed red, filled with both shame and anger, and her chest heaved violently.
No longer caring about her reserve, she clenched her small fists and began pounding on Chen Yuyang’s chest.
The fists fell softly against Chen Yuyang’s chest, lacking any real strength.
However, this sudden action still left Chen Yuyang a bit dazed.
The youth’s brow furrowed, his face full of bewilderment: “Junior Sister? This… what’s wrong now?”
Was it because he had rejected her, so she felt wronged and angry, wanting to vent her emotions in this way?
Fine…
Chen Yuyang could more or less understand this.
After all, Junior Sister had just summoned such great courage to say she wanted to become Dao companions, only to be rejected by him.
To her, who already had good feelings toward him, this could indeed be considered a significant blow and injury.
Looking at Ling Xi’s slightly reddened eyes, as well as those tightly bitten, trembling lips, a trace of pity and helplessness could not help but arise in Chen Yuyang’s heart.
Unfortunately, in my heart, I, Chen Yuyang, already have Master.
By being with me, Junior Sister, you will not find happiness.
Chen Yuyang thought to himself, while also telling himself this very point.
“Alright, alright, don’t be angry anymore.”
Chen Yuyang softened his tone and gently patted the girl’s back, attempting to comfort her, “It’s all Senior Brother’s fault. Just forgive me, okay?”
“Hmph, you big pervert, I won’t forgive you…. To actually, to actually harbor such thoughts toward me, toward the Senior Sisters, the Junior Sisters, and even Master…. Senior Brother, I misjudged you!”
Chen Yuyang became even more confused, realizing the problem lay in the words he had just spoken.
However, before he could figure out exactly what Ling Xi had misunderstood, a powerful divine sense swept majestically from the neighboring room.
Chen Yuyang’s eyes flashed, and Ling Xi also immediately looked toward the direction of the neighboring room.
Master has awakened!
“Master!”
Sensing Tai Lingxuan, Ling Xi immediately abandoned Chen Yuyang and ran into the next room, looking pitifully aggrieved.
Chen Yuyang frowned slightly, still unable to understand what his Junior Sister had misunderstood.
Was treating everyone in the sect as family such an unforgivable thing?
Or was it that Junior Sister liked him too much, so she couldn’t accept his attitude of only regarding her as family?
Thinking it over, Chen Yuyang felt this guess was the most reasonable.
Shaking his head helplessly, Chen Yuyang followed Ling Xi into Tai Lingxuan’s room.
Upon entering, Chen Yuyang saw Ling Xi throwing herself into Tai Lingxuan’s arms, shaking her head with an expression of grievance and sadness as she said, “Master, Senior Brother, he… he… he molested me!”
Although Ling Xi was furious, she ultimately did not dare to say in front of Tai Lingxuan that Chen Yuyang regarded the entire Acacia Sect, including her, as his harem.
She was afraid Tai Lingxuan would be so enraged that she would directly expel this bastard Senior Brother from the sect.
“Molested you?”
Tai Lingxuan’s eyebrows twitched as she looked at Chen Yuyang, who had followed closely behind.
With a slightly serious expression, she asked, “Yuyang, did something happen?”
Chen Yuyang smiled bitterly and shook his head: “A misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding.”
“It is not a misunderstanding! Hmph, Senior Brother is a huge bastard!”
Ling Xi turned back and gave the youth a fierce glare.
Seeing that Ling Xi couldn’t explain the cause or reason, and combined with her understanding of the youth, Tai Lingxuan secretly guessed it really was just a misunderstanding, so she didn’t say more.
Instead, she asked: “How much time has passed for this teacher?”
This time, Tai Lingxuan had been too immersed and had lost track of time.
“It hasn’t been very long, Master, only one day and one night.”
Chen Yuyang didn’t want to continue that topic either, so he took the initiative to answer.
“One day and one night…”
Tai Lingxuan nodded slightly, but immediately, her expression changed.
“That’s not right. Since only one day and one night have passed, shouldn’t you be participating in the final round of the competition right now, Yuyang? This is only the first day, and you…”
Tai Lingxuan suddenly realized something, and her pupils couldn’t help but dilate.
“Ah—speaking of which, Master, about this matter…”
Hearing this, Ling Xi also remembered the events at the Pill Assembly and was about to speak.
But immediately, Tai Lingxuan stopped her voice and said with a relaxed expression.
“This teacher… this teacher understands.”
“Master, you know?”
Not only Ling Xi, but even Chen Yuyang was somewhat puzzled.
Master had just woken up from her epiphany, how did she know?
Tai Lingxuan revealed a calm smile, stepping forward to gently pat Chen Yuyang’s shoulder: “It doesn’t matter, Master won’t blame you.”
“You are still young after all. It’s your first time participating in such a grand event; you’ll get nervous, you’ll make mistakes. Master completely understands.”
Ling Xi: “? ? ?”
Chen Yuyang: “? ? ?”
What was Master saying?
Nervous?
Mistakes?
He did have a mistake, but where was the nervousness?
“It’s fine. Wait a few more years, and then at the next Pill Assembly, you will surely be able to have an even more outstanding performance, Yuyang.”
Tai Lingxuan continued to speak gently, stroking the youth’s head.
In her view, since Chen Yuyang had finished the competition in less than a day, some mishap or accident must have occurred.
Perhaps he slipped up, or perhaps the cauldron exploded.
But regardless of the result, Tai Lingxuan had no intention of blaming Chen Yuyang.
This child had already done so much, too much, for the sect and for her!
Perhaps he had performed poorly today precisely because he was still accompanying her the previous night.
Thinking this way, Tai Lingxuan instead felt self-reproach and a sense of indebtedness.
“Master, you’ve definitely gotten something wrong!”
However, at this moment, Ling Xi also reacted and immediately spoke up.
“Although Senior Brother had a small mistake, he still successfully completed the pill refinement.”
“A mistake is a mistake, it’s no big deal. It’s just a failed refinement; for an alchemist, it’s even more… Wait a minute, what did you say? Successful refinement?”
As Tai Lingxuan spoke, she suddenly reacted.
Her beautiful eyes widened as she looked at the youth in disbelief.
“You… you refined it?”
Chen Yuyang smiled bitterly and cupped his hands: “Although your disciple nearly slipped up, in the end, I luckily formed the pills.”
Hearing this, Tai Lingxuan’s face showed a look of pleasant surprise.
“To refine it so quickly, not bad!”
As for the quantity and quality of the pills…
Tai Lingxuan didn’t ask, because she followed that thought by thinking that since he had slipped up, the final result must not be very good.
If she asked, she feared it would only strike a blow to Yuyang’s self-confidence.
It didn’t matter.
For Yuyang’s first time participating in the Pill Assembly, being able to successfully refine a pill was already very impressive.
“Master, aren’t you going to ask how many pills Senior Brother refined and of what quality?”
Although Tai Lingxuan didn’t ask, Ling Xi couldn’t hold it in.
“That’s all irrelevant. The fact that Yuyang could refine it already makes him superior to many others.”
Tai Lingxuan said with a calm expression.
“Master doesn’t think that even though Senior Brother refined them, his results were very poor, right?”
Ling Xi secretly rolled her eyes, having guessed Tai Lingxuan’s thoughts.
Hearing this, the expression on Tai Lingxuan’s face changed slightly, making it difficult to maintain her feigned calmness: “Could it be… Yuyang’s results…”
“Seventeen top-grade Qi Gathering Pills.”
Ling Xi reported this result with some triumph.
That proud look made it seem as if the one who had achieved this result wasn’t Chen Yuyang, but herself.
In contrast, Chen Yuyang, who was standing to the side, appeared much more indifferent.
“Seventeen… top-grade…”
Tai Lingxuan immediately sucked in a breath of cold air!
There was an upper limit to how many Qi Gathering Pills could be refined from a standard portion of materials.
Tai Lingxuan happened to know this theoretical limit.
That was twenty-four pills.
But no alchemist had ever been able to achieve that.
The reason was simple.
Refining pills, after all, involved deviations and mistakes.
The only difference was the degree of deviation and the number of mistakes.
Even if a high-grade alchemist went to refine Qi Gathering Pills, being able to refine twenty-three pills would already mean their technique was transcendent and their state was excellent.
For a low-grade alchemist, being able to refine twenty-three at once was definitely not a small amount.
Moreover, those were top-grade quality Qi Gathering Pills.
Thinking of this, Tai Lingxuan couldn’t help but become excited.
This result…
Wouldn’t Yuyang’s passage through the first round of the Pill Assembly be guaranteed?
“Yuyang… you…”
Tai Lingxuan looked at the youth.
For a moment, she didn’t even know what words of praise would be best to say.
However, before she could speak, Tai Lingxuan suddenly sensed it.
Several powerful divine senses were approaching!