Inside the Heavenly Pavilion of Hundred Lotus Sect, a long sigh suddenly echoed.
"Aaahhhh—"
A middle-aged man in a rose-colored robe sat cross-legged inside a spirit-gathering array. His brows were furrowed, his face full of gloom.
This man was none other than the Sect Master of Hundred Lotus Sect: Ye Ao, a cultivator at the mid-stage Core Formation realm.
In the Zhou Star Realm, a realm where Core Formation Realm cultivators roamed like common folk and Nascent Soul Realm experts were as numerous as dogs, someone like him could only hunker down on a remote mountain, living cautiously and barely scraping by.
Ye Ao didn't have lofty dreams of immortality or power. He just wanted his family to be safe, to live peacefully in this little sect of his, maybe retire in comfort someday and bounce a granddaughter or grandson on his knee.
But now?
Forget grandchildren—his son was going to be the death of him.
"Aaaahhhh—"
A woman doing her hair nearby turned her head and shot him a glare.
She was Kong Yulan, Ye Ao's wife.
"Old man, can you stop sighing? You're getting on my nerves."
"It's that brat Ping'er! I'm worried… I'm so worried…"
"What about Ping'er?"
Ye Ao sighed heavily. "That kid's already at the age to marry, but with his personality… what girl would ever want to marry him?"
Kong Yulan scoffed. "Ping'er's so handsome. Plenty of girls want to marry him."
"Plenty, my ass," Ye Ao snapped, shooting her a glare. "That little bastard bullies that Pei girl every damn day! Do you even know what people are saying about him outside? That he's some spoiled, violent young master who gets off on tormenting girls!"
"Who dares say that about my Ping'er?! I'll go chop them up right now!"
"Heh. Everyone within a hundred miles of the sect is saying it. Even the little spirit beasts in the back mountain know. Go ahead—chop them up, too."
"…"
Ye Ao sighed again. "Back then, I brought that Pei girl into the sect because she was well-behaved and her spiritual roots were average. I figured, if Ping'er couldn't find a wife when he grew up, she'd be a good match."
"But ever since she came here, he's been bullying her non-stop for ten years. At this point, I'm too embarrassed to even bring up the engagement."
Kong Yulan shrugged, completely unfazed. "Didn't Ping'er say it was all part of her training?"
"You believe that crap?! Dislocating her joints? Leaving her out to freeze in the snow? What kind of training is that?!"
"Tough training," Kong Yulan said as she finished tying her hair and stepped into the spirit-gathering array. "I heard that's how cultivators trained a few thousand years ago. Besides, didn't that Pei girl just hit Peak Qi Refining Realm last month?"
"…"
"…"
"…Huh?" Ye Ao blinked. His expression froze. He frowned and looked at his wife. "What did you just say? She reached Peak Qi Refining? Are you serious?"
Kong Yulan opened her palms. "Why would I lie? She's only fourteen and already hit Peak Qi Refining. Even the big clans rarely have kids that talented. Honestly, our Ping'er's amazing."
Ye Ao remembered Pei Lengxue being just a mediocre Trinary spiritual root cultivator.
How in the world could she reach Qi Refining Realm at fourteen?
Wait a minute—could it be that his son's insane training methods actually… worked?
But those training methods… weren't they all things he picked up from those ridiculous storybooks?
If those storybooks really worked, they might as well throw out all the cultivation manuals in the library!
Ye Ao was silent for a long moment before suddenly realizing something.
"Wait a second— That brat himself is still only at the third layer of Qi Refining Realm, isn't he? And he's got better spiritual roots than that Pei girl!"
Kong Yulan replied matter-of-factly, "Doesn't that just prove Ping'er is a great teacher?"
Ye Ao's face crumpled like a weathered old man.
"That stinky little brat? A teacher?"
"Sect Master! Something terrible's happened!!"
Suddenly, a frantic voice called out from outside the Heavenly Pavilion.
Ye Ao's fingers formed a sword sign, and with a flick, the doors flew open.
Seeing Xiao Die rushing in in a panic, he immediately asked,
"What happened? Did that brat throw Pei girl off the mountain again?"
"…No." Xiao Die was completely out of breath from sprinting up.
"Then did he poison her or something?"
"…N-No… not that either."
"Then what is it?! Spit it out!"
"I—haah… haah…"
SMACK!
Kong Yulan couldn't hold back anymore and smacked Ye Ao on the back of the head.
"Old man! Can't you see she just ran all the way up here? Let her breathe for a second, will you?!"
She got up and walked over to Xiao Die, gently patting her back.
"Xiao Die, take your time. What happened?"
After several deep breaths, Xiao Die finally managed to say:
"Young Master is about to get beaten to death by Junior Sister Pei!"
"WHAT?!"
Kong Yulan's cat-like body jolted, and her freshly tied ponytail burst apart like an explosion.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"
"I said, Young Master is—"
But before Xiao Die could finish repeating it, Kong Yulan had already transformed into a streak of sword light, shouting:
"AAAHH! MY PING'ER!!"
She smashed straight through the roof window of the Heavenly Pavilion and flew off at lightning speed.
Ye Ao stood there dumbfounded, staring at the roof window he had just repaired two days ago.
He held his forehead and sighed deeply.
"Damn it… why can't that crazy woman just use the door like a normal person?!"
—
Meanwhile, Ye Anping lay flat on the ground, staring up at the blue sky and white clouds.
Though his whole body was wracked with pain, inside he felt nothing but deep, unshakable satisfaction.
Watching the little girl he raised with blood, sweat, and tears grow into a majestic phoenix—It was the same pride a father feels when his daughter fulfills her dreams.
Just moments ago, he had taken up a sword and fought Pei Lengxue in a full-force, no-holding-back duel.
The only rule was:
"As long as you don't die, beat the other like you're trying to kill them."
After ten rounds of offense and defense—Ye Anping had over a dozen broken bones and was coughing up blood on the ground.
Pei Lengxue?
She had… lost a few strands of hair.
Even though Pei Lengxue was still a level below "Wu You," the cultivation gap didn't matter much anymore.
Because his training plan had gone perfectly.
Those poison Gu and magical tools Wu You wielded were now completely useless against her.
Now, all she needed was to seize the right moment, strike fast and hard, and pierce his heart with a single sword.
Then, the great crisis looming over the Hundred Lotus Sect would be resolved.
Pei Lengxue walked over and squatted beside him, lightly poking his cheek with her finger.
With a wry smile, she asked:
"Senior Brother… are you still alive?"
Ye Anping turned his head and looked at her, eyes full of genuine pride.
"That clueless little girl from back then… has really grown up."
"To think she can now hang her Senior Brother up and beat him senseless…"
"Truly… I'm proud."
Pei Lengxue stared coldly at Ye Anping, pinching his cheek.
"Senior Brother… have you developed some weird masochistic tendencies?"
"Doesn't this hurt?"
Ye Anping, still lying broken on the ground, replied calmly, "A little pain now is nothing compared to dying at that guy's hands later."
Pei Lengxue sighed.
"Ugh… you're starting again. There's no such person, okay? Even if there were, if some demonic cultivator really came charging up the mountain, wouldn't we still have the Sect Master and Elders to handle it?"
"They won't be able to beat him."
"…If even the Sect Master can't win, then how am I supposed to fight him? I'm still in the Qi Refining Realm!"
Ye Anping smirked, lips curling as he lay sprawled on the ground.
"That's why I've been training you specifically to deal with that person for the past ten years. All we need is the right moment—once he slips up, not even running will save him."
Pei Lengxue narrowed her eyes.
"So, feeding me poison, throwing me off cliffs, making me freeze in the snow… all that was training, huh?"
"Exactly! And look at you now—immune to poisons, tougher than some Core Formation cultivators, and with spiritual energy reserves bursting at the seams. Isn't that incredible progress?"
"… …"
A vein pulsed at the corner of Pei Lengxue's eye.
Honestly, she hadn't even realized it until he pointed it out.
Surviving to this point suddenly felt like nothing short of a miracle.
She'd been swallowed by spirit beasts, frozen solid in glacial springs, poisoned countless times…
There were multiple moments she thought Ye Anping was actually going to kill her.
Now, seeing him lying there with most of his bones broken—thanks to her own fists—she felt an odd kind of satisfaction.
A justified sense of revenge.
And yet…
For some reason, her heart ached just a little.
This terrible person who made her childhood a living hell…
Had also been the one to sit by her bedside every time she was sick or injured.
Had always shared the precious pills given to him by the Sect Master.
Pei Lengxue honestly didn't know if Ye Anping was good to her, or just messed up.
Staring at him, tangled emotions surged inside her chest, making her feel… irritated.
And whenever she got irritated—
BAM!
She kicked Ye Anping in the ribs.
"AARGHH—!!"
That one kick was a bit too strong.
He went airborne, spun three and a half times, then slammed into the ground face-first.
Pei Lengxue crossed her arms and looked away, scoffing:
"Hmph. Stupid Senior Brother."
"… …"
A few seconds passed.
Ye Anping didn't respond.
Pei Lengxue's heart skipped a beat.
'Did I… just kick him to death?!'
She shrank her neck and quietly called out:
"Senior Brother? You still alive?"
"… …"
Still no response. He lay there like a corpse.
Her face instantly went pale, and she rushed over to check on him.
But just as her hand touched him—
Ye Anping suddenly spun around and punched her in the face, landing a clean blow to her jaw.
CRACK
Her jaw snapped sideways with an audible click.
"How many times have I told you? You need to finish the job! If I were him, you'd already be dead right now!"
A thick vein popped on Pei Lengxue's forehead.
With a cold smile and zero hesitation, she grabbed Ye Anping by the collar—
WHAM!!
And slammed him into the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw.
"SENIOR BROTHER, JUST GO DIE ALREADY!!!"