“Senior Brother, Senior Brother, how do I cultivate this move?”
“Don’t aim too high, start with the basics.” Xia Zheng was instructing the young girl in front of him.
The girl, with hair as dark as a waterfall and skin as smooth as jade, had delicate eyebrows and sparkling almond eyes. She was both adorable and charming.
She was the newly accepted disciple of the Dao Summit- Lan Lian.
“Senior Brother, who is stronger between you and the Sect Meader?”
Lan Lian asked as she practiced her punches.
“The Sect Master is the master of the sect, so naturally, he is more powerful.”
“But I heard that when you sparred with the Sect Leader, you weren’t at a disadvantage at all. Senior Brother, just tell me, what is your real cultivation level right now?” Lan Lian acted coquetted and spoiled.
Xia Zheng found it difficult to resist and could only lightly tapped her with a twig as a form of punishment.
“Focus, and don’t get distracted.”
This lively and adorable junior sister was indeed a real prodigy. She remembered the technique perfectly after being taught just once.
In just one year, she had advanced from the Qi Refinement Realm to the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm and felt that it wouldn’t be long before she could enter the Foundation Establishment Realm. He believed that she was not far from reaching the Golden Core Realm.
As for Xia Zheng, he was still at the Qi Refinement Realm. However, he had made some progress over the past year and was on the verge of reaching the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm. In another year or two, he should be able to enter the Foundation Establishment Realm without a problem.
Lan Lian was very interested in Xia Zheng’s legendary stories and often asked about various things, even posing some questions beyond what Xia Zheng could answer, such as whether or not he had felt any differences after reaching the Golden Core Stage, and if not, then what about the Nascent Soul Stage?
At first, Xia Zheng tried to think of some answers to deceive Lan Lian, but he soon realized that she was just trying to probe his true cultivation level.
“What if I say I’m at the Qi Refinement Realm? Would you believe it?” I’m coming clean; I’m weak and only at the first realm.
Upon hearing this, Lan Lian was momentarily stunned but then nodded seriously, “Senior Brother wants to tell me not to reveal my true cultivation level when outside. I understand now!”
“Eh… just, just take it as that.” Xia Zheng realized that no matter what he said, no one would believe him. Well, whatever. Xia Zheng was too tired to explain anymore; no one believed him anyway, and he had already explained to exhaustion.
At that moment, their master, Jiang Cheng Zhou came out of the small house. Seeing the two disciples practicing martial arts, he suddenly remembered something and spoke. “How long has Lan Lian been in Dao Summit?”
“More than a year.”
“Hmm, then pack up your things and go.”
Hearing his words, Lan Lian suddenly panicked and asked, “Master, are you kicking me out?”
“Xia Zheng, accompany your junior sister on this trip. I’ve been feeling unwell lately and can’t accompany you. Cough, cough…” Jiang Cheng Zhou started coughing again.
Xia Zheng bowed and said, “Disciple understands.”
After giving his instructions, Jiang Cheng Zhou went back inside, and the coughing continued.
It seems Master’s condition is not optimistic. Xia Zheng squinted his eyes. Master treats me as his own, but I’m currently unable to repay him. Sigh…
Xia Zheng then told Lan Lian to quickly pack up their things since they were going to go out.
“Senior Brother, where are we going? You’re not really trying to kick me out, are you…” Lan Lian lowered her head and spoke softly, “I- I’ll practice for an extra half hour in the future!”
“We’re going to your home. Also, I heard what you just said; you’ll practice for an extra half hour from now on.”
Xia Zheng decided to properly train his junior sister. In the future, when fighting, he could just call his junior sister. Moreover, compared to him, his junior sister was more talented and was pretty much a prodigy.
“Eh? Wh- why are we going to my home?”
“To sever mortal ties.” Severing mortal ties meant resolving karmic debts and stepping onto the path of cultivation.
Of course, it didn’t mean completely cutting off ties with her family, but rather resolving the karmic ties for the time her parents raised her.
“Oh, that’s a relief. You scared me… No, no, what I said earlier doesn’t count! Senior Brother is the best; please don’t add that half hour.” Saying this, Lan Lian grabbed Xia Zheng’s hand and shook it.
“Ahem, hurry up and pack up, or I really will add that half hour.”
“Senior Brother is the best!” With that, Lan Lian happily ran off.
Seeing Lan Lian, Xia Zheng smiled. Having such a lively and adorable junior sister made the otherwise monotonous path of cultivation feel a bit lighter.
Soon, Lan Lian returned with multiple packages.
Xia Zheng frowned, “Why so much?”
“These are daily necessities, these are pills for emergencies, these are life-saving pills, and these…” Lan Lian pointed out the purpose of each package.
Xia Zheng was confused by all the explanations and quickly told her to stop. He put the packages in a storage ring and threw the ring to Lan Lian.
“This, this is for me?” Lan Lian looked at Xia Zheng with delight.
“Yes, it’s a small gift from Senior Brother.”
“Wow! Senior Brother is the best!!”
Bright Tranquil City…
This was where Lan Lian was born, and was quite a distance from the Mysterious Cloud Sect, requiring about half a month when traveling on foot. Someone at the Golden Core Stage could reach it in about a day by flying.
Unfortunately, Xia Zheng was still at the Qi Refinement Realm and couldn’t fly. However, this didn’t pose a problem for him. During previous sparring sessions with various peak masters, he had obtained some good items.
Among them were many cultivation techniques, and Xia Zheng had also specifically asked for a means of transportation, just in case he needed to go out and travel long distances.
With a wave of his hand, a paper kite flew out of his sleeve and instantly grew in size.
“Senior Brother, don’t we have Second Senior Brother?”
Hearing Lan Lian’s question, Xia Zheng’s face twitched.
“That’s Master’s mount. We shouldn’t use him recklessly.” Xia Zheng didn’t want to be a cultivator who rode a pig; that would be too disgraceful.
“Oh.” Lan Lian nodded in apparent understanding.
Then Xia Zheng helped Lan Lian onto the paper kite, jumped up himself, and told the kite to take off in his heart, flying straight toward Bright Tranquil City.
The sky seemed like a vast dome covering the earth, above the blue sky, clouds drifted and spread apart.
Xia Zheng didn’t have time to appreciate the scenery. At that moment, his only thought was to not crash land.
This was one of his few times going out. When he practiced with the kite, he never had a chance to fly far, so he was somewhat worried. Thus, Xia Zheng carefully controlled the kite and didn’t dare to be negligent, afraid that a slipup would cause both of them to lose their lives.
Senior Brother is so handsome. Looking at Xia Zheng’s back, Lan Lian was momentarily mesmerized. Unconsciously, she reached out and hugged Xia Zheng.
The sudden hug startled Xia Zheng, causing the kite to wobble violently and nearly throwing both of them off.
“Don’t fool around!” Fortunately, Xia Zheng reacted quickly or they might have fallen for real. After stabilizing the kite, he immediately scolded her.
“I was scared.”
Unexpectedly, Lan Lian hugged him even tighter after being scolded. Xia Zheng could only shake his head helplessly.