34. When It Comes to Disciplining His Disciples, He Is a Professional

The two swords selected the ores they required and joyfully absorbed them to advance their grade.

Lin Jiuge watched helplessly as the two swords leveled up right in front of her. Was it possible that only her swords could advance simply by consuming ore? She hoped her master and her master's senior brother wouldn't notice.

Li Yun and Venerable Wudao stood outside, watching the black-red and golden light flickering within Lin Jiuge's room, accompanied by the occasional leakage of sword energy.

"It seems there really are two swords," Venerable Wudao said, stroking his beard.

"Old Bookworm, do you know of any sword more powerful than the Ten Great Famous Swords?" Li Yun asked.

"You brute, there are none. Not even in those ancient records or lost manuscripts," Venerable Wudao shook his head.

"Junior Brother has been making progress lately. He’s captured quite a few people and locked them in the Discipline Hall, but the big fish are hiding very deep," Li Yun said, shifting his gaze away from the sword light.

"Indeed. It is fortunate that we discovered them early," Venerable Wudao replied, feeling a lingering sense of fear. His junior brother had taken over as sect leader, while they served as Guardian Elders. In reality, they oversaw the sect’s covert operations; once they intervened, it meant something of great significance was afoot. As for the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, their uncle had yet to find a successor.

"I will head to the Discipline Hall tonight," Venerable Wudao said.

"Rest assured, I will keep an eye on Jiuge and A'Yan," Li Yun nodded.

Inside the room, Lin Jiuge was unaware of what her master and senior uncle were planning. The golden sword finished absorbing its fill first, its blade dimming considerably. It seemed to understand its own status, as it continued to emit a faint glow even after it was full, providing cover for the nameless sword.

The only witness, Lin Jiuge, could only think: Are swords this sophisticated nowadays?

After finishing the ore, the nameless sword circled the remaining scraps with a sense of lingering attachment.

"Jiuge, Jiuge, my body has been repaired again!" the nameless sword happily carved, its excitement evident in every stroke.

"Good," Lin Jiuge said, looking at the cracked blade. Only a tiny fissure had been mended. It seemed she would need to work hard to fully restore it.

"Jiuge, Jiuge, let’s practice swordsmanship!" The nameless sword was so cheerful that Lin Jiuge found herself infected by its mood.

Ensuring Lin Jiuchi would not wake, Lin Jiuge quietly slipped out the door and headed toward the waterfall.

For the first time, she drew the nameless sword openly, and she felt a distinct, deeper harmony with it. As she danced with the blade, she felt every move and posture differed significantly from the golden sword. With the final strike, the sword's energy cleaved the waterfall in two.

Lin Jiuge revealed an "as I thought" expression. The cave from before was gone, as if it had all been a dream.

Emboldened, she took the nameless sword in her left hand and the golden sword in her right. The two rays of light—one sharp, one restrained—were unexpectedly in sync.

After putting the swords away, she returned to her room without disturbing Lin Jiuchi. Perhaps because it was her first time dual-wielding, her mood was excellent, and even her cultivation felt smoother. She knew it was better to cultivate with origin stones, so she tried it for the first time that night, but they all crumbled into useless dust within moments.

Having consumed over a hundred, she calculated that she was quite a drain on resources. Relying on the ambient spiritual energy in the air was too slow, so she had to work harder to accumulate more origin stones—she needed to use them, and in the future, Jiuchi would need them too!

The next day, a refreshed Lin Jiuge practiced with Zhou Yan, who had returned in the middle of the night—she with her sword, he with his fist techniques.

The two were perfectly in sync, but as soon as they finished, they saw Li Yun standing nearby, smiling kindly. Yet, both of them read a clear message in his expression: "You two are finished."

"Jiuge, your master's senior brother will look after Jiuchi. A'Yan, I have already spoken to your master. From now on, I will be the one training you both."

"By the way, I have sealed your cultivation bases. For the next month, be prepared; I will be training you at any time." As Li Yun spoke, he sealed their powers. Lin Jiuge suddenly felt as if her body were bound by something, and Zhou Yan felt the same.

So, this was the real punishment! They realized it instantly.

As soon as Li Yun finished speaking, he struck. Lin Jiuge reacted by grabbing Zhou Yan and dodging, but then the cat-and-mouse game began. Whenever they prepared to dodge an attack from behind, the leaves in front would inexplicably grow large to block their path.

*Bang!* The two of them fell to the ground in a sprawl, covered in dust. They sensed something falling from above, and *boom*—their sleek hair turned into a frizzy mess, and their fair faces were scorched black!

Spitting out a puff of black smoke and seeing each other’s disheveled state, they grew angry and rose to fight back, only to be one-sidedly crushed.

Even when they tried to sleep, Li Yun would launch surprise attacks. That wasn't all; even when they took medicinal baths, they had to remain hyper-alert or risk exposure. After all this turmoil, the two successfully developed dark circles under their eyes.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Lin Jiuge wondered what kind of suffering could give her dark circles at such a young age—it was her master! She had to retaliate! Even if it was her own master, and even with her internal energy sealed, physical attacks were fair game.

For the rest of the time, they dodged while secretly hunting for his weaknesses. Because Li Yun’s methods were so unpredictable, their intuition improved rapidly, and their reaction time became two seconds faster than before!

After being struck down again, they lay on the ground, refusing to get up. Li Yun habitually stepped forward to offer a sarcastic remark, but before he could speak, the two threw two black spheres at him and bolted.

*BOOM.*

"The senior uncle should be fine, right?" Zhou Yan asked uncertainly, staring at the thick smoke.

"He’ll definitely be fine!" After being zapped so many times, they had observed that "Heavenly Thunder Beads" at most caused annoyance and superficial wounds to a Venerable-level expert.

"Junior sister, is it really okay to do this?" Zhou Yan felt a bit panicked.

"The master said it was a sparring session, and sparring naturally involves give and take," Lin Jiuge said righteously, especially as she touched the three-centimeter-long dark bags under her eyes, her tone growing more determined.

"But..."

"No buts. While he hasn't recovered, let's run!" Children needed rest, after all. It was her master's fault she wasn't growing taller!

"Lin Jiuge! Zhou Yan!" A roar echoed, and the two ran in perfect synchronization.

They saw a bristling Li Yun unleashing attacks as if they cost nothing. *Those two little brats! Where did they get Heavenly Thunder Beads?* He had been wondering why they had conceded so quickly today—it turned out they were saving up a nasty surprise for him.

That evening, Venerable Wudao, returning from the Discipline Hall, successfully encountered two piles of black sludge.

"You two, what happened?" Venerable Wudao was baffled. The brute couldn't have been that heavy-handed, could he?

"Senior uncle, you must seek justice for us!" Upon seeing Venerable Wudao, Lin Jiuge felt as if she had met a relative, her voice trembling with simulated sobs.

"Grandmaster, he's gone mad!" Zhou Yan actually cried. He used to be the senior uncle's favorite, and the change in their dynamic was heartbreaking.

"Ahem." The two wailing figures immediately shut their mouths.

"Pfft." Venerable Wudao looked at Li Yun’s current state and couldn't help but laugh. *Ahem*, so the brute had finally met his match.

"You really are... forget it. My business is finished. Tomorrow, I will come over."