Chapter 2: Junior Sister Has Grown Up
A long sigh suddenly echoed from Tian Ge within the Hundred Lotus Sect.
“Sigh—”
A middle-aged man wearing a pink smock sat cross-legged within a Spirit Gathering Array, his brow furrowed and his face full of worry.
This man was the Sect Master of the Hundred Lotus Sect, Ye Ao, whose cultivation was at the mid-stage of Core Formation.
In this Zhou Xing Tian Yu, where Deity Transformation cultivators were common and Void Returning stage cultivators were everywhere,
A Core Formation cultivator like him could only obediently hide on a small mountain, cowering and surviving.
Ye Ao didn’t seek longevity or power. He only wished for his family’s happiness and well-being, to grow old peacefully within the Hundred Lotus Sect, and perhaps to hold his grandchildren someday.
But now, he hadn’t even seen a trace of his granddaughter, and he was almost angered to death by his own son.
“Sigh—”
The woman beside him, who was tying her hair, glared at Ye Ao when she heard him sighing constantly.
This woman was Ye Ao’s wife, Kong Yulan.
“Old man, why do you keep sighing? Aren’t you annoying?”
“It’s all because of Ping’er, that brat! I’m so worried…”
“What’s wrong with Ping’er?”
Ye Ao said in a deep voice, “That boy is already of marriageable age, but with his temperament, what girl would be willing to marry him?”
Kong Yulan glanced at him and clicked her tongue, “Ping’er is so handsome, there are many girls who want to marry him.”
“More nonsense,” Ye Ao rolled his eyes at her. “That boy has been bullying that Pei girl every day. Do you know what people outside say about him? A scoundrel and bully who enjoys bullying girls.”
“Who dares to say that about Ping’er? I’ll go chop them up later.”
“Heh, everyone within a hundred li of the Hundred Lotus Sect says so. Even the little demonic beasts raised behind the mountain know about it. Go ahead and chop them.”
“…”
Ye Ao sighed, “Back then, I saw that Pei family girl was well-behaved and had average spiritual roots, so I brought her back to the Hundred Lotus Sect from the Pei family. I thought that if Ping’er couldn’t find a wife when he grew up, she could be a backup. But what happened?”
“Ever since that Pei girl came to the Hundred Lotus Sect, Ping’er has been bullying her. He’s been bullying her for almost ten years, and I’m too embarrassed to even mention this engagement to her now.”
Kong Yulan shrugged indifferently and said, “Didn’t Ping’er say he was helping her cultivate?”
“You believe anything he says? Breaking her bones and making her freeze outside in winter, what kind of cultivation is that?”
“Hardship cultivation.” Kong Yulan finished tying her hair and also walked into the Spirit Gathering Array to sit down, saying indifferently, “I’ve heard that cultivators thousands of years ago trained like this, and didn’t that Pei girl reach Great Perfection of Qi Refining last month?”
“…”
“…”
“Huh?” Ye Ao was suddenly stunned. He blinked and turned to look at her, his eyebrows furrowed, “What? She reached Great Perfection of Qi Refining? Is that true or false?”
Kong Yulan spread her hands and replied, “Why would I lie to you? Reaching Great Perfection of Qi Refining at fourteen years old, you wouldn’t see many like that in those big families. It really shows how amazing our Ping’er is.”
Ye Ao remembered that Pei Lianxue was just an ordinary Three Spirit Root.
How could she reach Great Perfection of Qi Refining at fourteen?
Could it be that his son’s bizarre cultivation method actually worked?
Were those cultivation methods something the brat learned from storybooks?
If things from storybooks were useful, they might as well throw away all the cultivation manuals and secret techniques in the library.
Ye Ao fell silent for a while, and then suddenly thought.
“That’s not right. That brat himself is only at the third layer of Qi Refining? And his spiritual roots are better than that Pei girl’s.”
“Doesn’t that further prove Ping’er’s excellent teaching?”
Ye Ao showed an old man’s face, “He, a mere brat, is teaching her?”
—”Sect Master, it’s terrible!!”
At this moment, Xiao Die’s voice suddenly came from outside the door of Tian Ge. Ye Ao raised his hand in a Sword Finger gesture and quickly opened the door.
Seeing Xiao Die rush in in a panic, he quickly asked, “What happened? Did that brat throw the Pei girl off the mountain again?”
“…No.” Xiao Die seemed to have run a long way and was out of breath.
“Did he poison the Pei girl?”
“…N…No.”
“Then what is it? Tell me!!”
“I… *huff* *huff*—”
Kong Yulan couldn’t help but smack Ye Ao on the back of his head.
“Old man, can’t you see Xiao Die just ran in? Can’t you let her catch her breath?”
She got up and walked to Xiao Die’s side, patting her back and asking, “Xiao Die, what happened? Speak slowly.”
Xiao Die took several deep breaths to calm down before saying, “Young Master is about to be beaten to death by Junior Sister Pei.”
“Ah?!” Kong Yulan’s body trembled instantly, her hastily tied ponytail exploding outwards. “What?!”
“Young Master is about to be beaten by Junior Sister Pei…”
Xiao Die repeated, but hadn’t finished speaking.
Seeing this, Kong Yulan instantly transformed into a sword light and, while shouting “Ah! My Ping’er!”, broke through the skylight of Tian Ge and flew out.
Ye Ao stared blankly at the skylight he had just repaired the day before yesterday and sighed, covering his forehead.
“Damn it, this old woman never uses the door, why does she always have to go through the skylight?!”
…
Ye Anping lay on the ground, gazing at the azure blue sky.
Although his whole body was in immense pain, his heart was exceptionally satisfied.
Seeing the young girl he had painstakingly raised become a phoenix was the same feeling as an old father watching his daughter soar.
Just now, he had truly fought Pei Lianxue with swords and spears, demanding to be beaten to death if he wasn’t.
After ten exchanges of offense and defense, he had broken more than a dozen bones, spitting blood on the ground, while Pei Lianxue had only lost a few strands of hair.
Currently, there was still a significant gap between Pei Lianxue’s cultivation and “Wu You’s,” but his nurturing plan was perfect.
The蛊虫 (gu worms) and magical artifacts in “Wu You’s” hand were now completely ineffective against Pei Lianxue.
At that time, as long as they found a good opportunity, they would strike swiftly, like cutting weeds to remove roots, and before the opponent could react, a single sword thrust through the heart would completely resolve the crisis of the Hundred Lotus Sect.
Pei Lianxue walked to his side and squatted down, poking his face twice with her finger, and said with a bashful smile, “Senior Brother, are you still alive?”
Ye Anping turned his head to look at her, his face full of relief.
“The naive little girl from back then has grown up. You can actually hold your own against Senior Brother. Senior Brother is truly gratified.”
“Senior Brother, have you developed some strange habit?” Pei Lianxue asked coldly, pinching his face, “Doesn’t it hurt?”
“This little pain is nothing compared to dying at his hands later.”
Pei Lianxue sighed, “Sigh—Senior Brother, you’re at it again. Who is this ‘he’? And even if it’s as you say, if that demonic cultivator attacks the mountain, aren’t there still the Sect Master and the Elders?”
“They can’t defeat him.”
“Even the Sect Master can’t defeat him, so how can I? I’m only at Qi Refining.”
“Heh.” Ye Anping, lying on the ground, smiled wryly, “So for the past ten years, you’ve been training specifically against him. As long as we find the right opportunity, it will be impossible for him to escape.”
“So, you fed me poison, threw me off the mountain, and made me freeze in the snow…”
“Yes, see? Now you’re immune to all poisons, your body is sturdier than a Core Formation cultivator, and your Qi sea is abundant. Don’t you feel accomplished?”
“…”
Pei Lianxue’s eye twitched.
She hadn’t felt it so strongly until Ye Anping mentioned it.
Now, she suddenly felt that her survival to this point was nothing short of a miracle.
She had been inside demonic beasts, frozen solid in a cold spring, and fed countless poisons…
Several times, she thought she was going to be killed by this Ye Anping.
Now, looking at Ye Anping, who was covered in broken bones from being beaten by her, Pei Lianxue felt a sense of satisfaction, a feeling of revenge.
However, for some reason, she also felt a pang of heartache.
Although this scoundrel made her childhood miserable, whenever she was bedridden or injured, he would always stay by her side, and even share the precious pills given by the Sect Master…
Pei Lianxue didn’t know if Ye Anping was good to her or not.
Looking at Ye Anping with confusion, she suddenly felt annoyed.
And when she got annoyed, she couldn’t help but kick him.
“Ah—!”
She seemed to have misjudged the force of her kick, sending Ye Anping flying three and a half somersaults in the air before he landed face down on the ground.
Pei Lianxue crossed her arms and turned her head away, cursing:
“Hmph, you stinky Senior Brother.”
“…”
After waiting for a while and seeing no response from Ye Anping, Pei Lianxue’s heart trembled.
Did she accidentally kick her Senior Brother to death?!
She shrunk her head and timidly called out again, “Senior Brother? Are you still alive?”
“…”
Ye Anping still didn’t react, lying motionless on the ground.
At this, Pei Lianxue’s face instantly turned pale, and she hurried over.
But as her hand touched Ye Anping, he suddenly turned over and punched her in the face, dislocating her jaw with a “crack.”
“How many times have I told you, you need to learn to finish the job! See? If I were that person, you would have been counter-killed!”
Veins bulged on Pei Lianxue’s forehead. She grabbed Ye Anping and executed a judo throw.
“…Senior Brother, just die already!!”
…
