11. Zhou Yan

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“Are you so bold as to declare before everyone that the master and disciple relationship is a mutual choice? You must know that Lin Jiange’s condition for apprenticeship was to bring her younger sister along. Do you dare to say that?” Junlin’s eldest uncle said coldly.

“I do,” Junlin replied, somewhat out of breath.

“Junlin, go back and train properly. You’re far behind.” Without Lin Jiange, this generation’s Sword Master would have looked decent enough. But then Lin Jiange appeared.

“Yes, Uncle,” Junlin responded.

The same exchange happened with the other Sword Masters who had arrived today.

Meanwhile, Lin Jiange, who claimed to be in seclusion, was sweating as she swung her sword. Except for her face, which looked a bit pale.

“Jiange, your peachwood sword is broken. I’ve made a new one for you from black ironwood. Make do with it,” Li Yun said, though his tone was somewhat lacking.

Lin Jiange said nothing, mechanically swinging the sword. Compared to peachwood, black ironwood weighed at least two hundred jin; she was essentially wielding the weight of ten little blessings. But when it came to her younger sister, Lin Jiange’s movements became mechanical and her thoughts scattered. If she could clear her sister’s meridians in advance, would her sister’s future cultivation be easier?

Once the thought sprouted, Lin Jiange couldn’t stop it. After finishing her sword practice, she trembled as she soaked herself in a medicinal bath.

The long-lost soreness made Lin Jiange let out an involuntary hiss.

These days, the medicinal bath not only strengthened the body but also greatly aided injury recovery. Her primordial energy had been sealed by her master; pushing herself too hard had caused cracks in her meridians, which was detrimental to her upcoming cultivation. So she had to slowly nurture herself with medicinal baths.

As usual, she ran her cultivation method, feeling the familiar soreness. Lin Jiange gritted her teeth—she had brought this upon herself and must bear it.

“You reckless fool, three pills from me would have healed you, but you don’t believe me,” Wudao Yuanzun scolded, coaxing Lin Jianci away from chasing butterflies.

“No, although unwilling, your magic surpasses mine,” Li Yun shook his head.

“Then why?” Wudao Yuanzun was puzzled. Though they quarrelled daily, they presented a united front to outsiders. Internally, despite their disdain, Li Yun would shield Wudao Yuanzun from harm, and Wudao Yuanzun would provide logistical support for Li Yun. This was why Li Yun’s reputation was widespread and no one dared to attack him. You can’t simply call him a reckless brute—he had an all-powerful support team behind him!

However, the two senior brothers had quite eccentric standards and tastes when accepting disciples. Now that Wuzhan Douzun had taken on disciples, many had their eyes on Wudao Yuanzun, who was like a walking encyclopedia.

“Jiange is growing too fast. She isn’t like me—she has you—so she must learn to grow on her own,” Li Yun said with concern. From their sparring, Li Yun sensed his disciple’s knack for getting into trouble had surpassed his own. He needed to train her thoroughly—at the very least, if she got into trouble outside, she’d still have enough breath left for him to rescue her!

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Wudao Yuanzun said nothing, silently revising the medicinal formula. Lin Jiange only had one thought: the consequences of showing off really hurt.

Three months later, Li Yun unsealed Lin Jiange’s primordial energy. Before she could say anything, she turned pale, crossed her legs, and sat down, guiding the flow of her energy. Fine flakes of skin appeared on her body.

“To directly break through to the sixth level of Wufan—such talent, even you, reckless one, can’t compare,” Wudao Yuanzun said, surprised as he watched Lin Jiange. This child seemed born for the sword, yet why was she the sword of protection? She was clearly more suited to assassination!

“Master, Uncle,” Lin Jiange stood up, cast a cleansing spell, frowned, and thought to wash soon. Yes, even though she knew cleansing spells, Lin Jiange still felt her clothes weren’t clean enough and insisted on washing them with water!

“Senior Uncle, Uncle, little junior sister, little blessings, you’re all here,” Zhou Yan’s voice came from afar.

“How could Junior Brother bring his disciple here? Isn’t he afraid she won’t be able to return?” Wudao Yuanzun stroked his beard. His sect leader junior brother was worried that they might corrupt his disciple and was watching closely.

“He must have been persuaded,” Li Yun said.

“Senior Uncles, Master sent me to learn formations with Senior Uncle,” Zhou Yan happily said. Though the target was wrong, his free time was his own. He could train his strength with Senior Uncle—or rather, practice swordsmanship. He was determined to bulk up during this period!

“?” Wudao Yuanzun was speechless but watched Zhou Yan. Zhou Yan was calm because this was the truth!

“Follow me,” Wudao Yuanzun took Zhou Yan away, bringing along the little blessings to let the young girl witness just how formidable he was. It was just that her sister was an accident!

“Disciple, you may practice swordsmanship by the waterfall. Once you wield this sword smoothly, you can compare your current state with before,” Li Yun instructed.

“Yes, Master.”

Afterward, every morning Lin Jiange practiced swordsmanship, while Zhou Yan took the little blessings to learn formations. Since Zhou Yan’s arrival, aside from sleeping and finding his sister, Lin Jianci had become Zhou Yan’s little shadow. In the afternoons, Zhou Yan enthusiastically accompanied his junior sister to practice by the waterfall and noticed she had sealed her primordial energy, focusing purely on sword techniques. Zhou Yan didn’t understand but followed suit. No one disturbed the other.

Outside this courtyard, a group of people gritted their teeth. They used to occasionally glimpse Senior Brother Zhou Yan’s radiant face, even if just a fleeting glance. Now, they couldn’t see even a strand of hair, and that place was off-limits to them…

“Junior Brother, you did this on purpose,” Li Yun appeared in the main hall.

“Sigh, Senior Brother, the runes laid out with Senior Brother are starting to loosen,” the sect leader sighed.

“What? Didn’t they last until he completely shed his mortal coil?” Li Yun became serious.

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“That child’s constitution only shows minor effects in your place. Elsewhere, I fear there won’t be enough remains to collect,” the sect leader said without exaggeration.

“Has the Zhou family patriarch sent any word?” Li Yun asked solemnly.

“My elder brother is contacting him, but the patriarch hasn’t responded yet. So he wants Senior Brother to see if he can make some preliminary remedies,” the sect leader was troubled.

“I’ll go back and tell the old bookworm to keep Ayan with me for now,” Li Yun understood the gravity of the situation.

“Shouldn’t you send your disciple somewhere else for a while?” the sect leader suggested.

“No need. Wait, Junior Brother, I’ll tell you once I’m sure,” Li Yun disappeared, leaving the sect leader puzzled.

Li Yun stood high above, watching the two practicing by the waterfall without disturbing each other. According to Junior Brother, Ayan’s aura was spreading widely and was very attractive. Yet his disciple remained single-mindedly focused on swordsmanship, and her sword intent carried the killing aura! So, could this be a solution?

“Reckless one, I heard about it. Do you have a solution?” Wudao Yuanzun appeared beside Li Yun.

“Old bookworm, look,” Li Yun pointed.

“Oh, Senior Nephew’s swordsmanship has become much more fluid, and Ayan’s swordplay is shaping up nicely. Huh, both Jiange and Ayan sealed their primordial energy independently—quite resourceful,” Wudao Yuanzun said. Though mediocre in combat, his eye for detail was sharp.

“Look closer.”

Wudao Yuanzun fell silent. After a moment, his eyes widened, and his voice distorted.

“How is that possible!”