The conversation between Ming Yuqi and the swordswoman was not loud. The audience could not hear it but the nearby participants could. Zhou Ziyun was among them and could discern the overall gist of it even if a few words here and there were washed out by other noises.
Ming Yuqi's emotional senses were on point. After some cajoling, the older woman admitted that the guess had been correct. The source of her mental distress was her family. And after hearing the details, it was no wonder. Any normal person would have found it difficult to move past it.
The incident happened two years ago when the swordswoman had gone to hunt those bandits previously mentioned. She left her young son and her husband at home to go on this mission which took several months. When she finally made it back, she found that her son had died under mysterious circumstances and her husband had taken in a concubine without prior warning.
She tried to find the culprit but the trail had gone cold. The people responsible disappeared into thin air. Her husband was also of no help, seemingly unbothered by the death of their child. She was the main provider for the family and yet he dared to take in a concubine without her permission. He ate, slept, and spent her money every day, an utterly useless person.
Sadness and anger overtook her. Her only child, one she had after much difficulty, was gone. With the accumulated wounds of countless battles, she probably would not be able to conceive again. On top of it all, she finally saw her husband for who he was.
These heavy losses lingered on her mind all this time. They affected her body, mind, and spirit. Cultivation was difficult under normal circumstances so it was impossible after such a blow. She had not been able to make a single improvement since that time and had even regressed. And even after hitting the lottery and coming to the metropolis, she still found it impossible to cast away the pains of the past.
Ming Yuqi patted the older woman's shoulder, "I understand now. Thank you for sharing your story with me. I promise that it wasn't in vain. Here."
She flipped her palm upward and revealed a small jade slip, "Do you want to have another child? With this jade slip, you will be my guest at the Eastern Light Clan. You can get the medicinal treatment to allow you to conceive and I can help you find another, loyal, husband."
"You…" Tears fell down the other woman's face, "You'll do that for me?"
Ming Yuqi smiled ever-so-slightly, "I will. The only thing that you need to do for me… is to attack that strength-testing totem once more. Take my offer. Look towards a brighter future. Let it fill your thoughts and unleash all of your strength!"
"Yes, Lady Ming!"
Ming Yuqi stood and backed away.
The swordswoman leaped to her feet and brandished her sword. Sharp energy wrapped around her weapon and also her figure. The sword intent she emitted was far sharper and more concentrated than before. Without any more hesitation, she lunged toward the strength-testing totem which showed the armored head of a turtle.
The clash was over in a flash. Where it previously showed four glowing balls after Huang Yaoying's advice, there were now five glowing balls. It was an irrefutable victory!
"I admit defeat," Huang Yaoying said cheerfully, "Sister Yuqi's perception is so amazing. I am unable to keep up with regards to judging emotions."
Ming Yuqi still didn't engage with him. She gave him a sideways look and walked away. Huang Yaoying wasn't discouraged and followed after her like a pesky mosquito.
Zhou Ziyun didn't care about the one-sided love affair. Instead, her mind was focused on the swordswoman and what had just happened. She never expected one's mentality to affect one's Dao so much. It was an important learning opportunity.
If she had to describe herself, she was more oriented toward practicality. She didn't easily get emotional and she also looked down on other women who let their emotions affect them. She had difficulty connecting with others on a deeper level and it took a lot of effort on her part. Perhaps this was why her comprehension ability was not able to pick up the swordswoman's mental weakness.
She recalled something Wu Qianyu had said some time ago. Sister Wu was especially attuned to the emotion of pain. She could sense it when other living beings were suffering from tremendous pain, whether it was physical pain or emotional pain.
What Ming Yuqi had just displayed was somewhat similar to Wu Qianyu's ability. They both had sensitivity towards emotions. One came from the First Light of Zhulong, a powerful cultivation art born from divine dragons. The other could not yet be completely explained and was even more mysterious.
Zhou Ziyun sighed.
"What's wrong?" Chen Wentian's drifted over.
She glanced to her right and saw a shadowy speck on her shoulder. She shrugged and leaned back in her seat, "Just resting my mind a little. Trying to comprehend that previous swordswoman's emotions was way too tiring."
"Oh? What happened?" He asked
Zhou Ziyun gave him a brief summary through her own spiritual voice. She briefly wondered why she was doing this. With his shadow powers, he could see and hear everything she could. She humored him and it surprisingly paid off. After explaining everything, she felt as if she suddenly had a brand-new understanding of the situation.
Ming Yuqi was able to discern something she couldn't because of specialization. Ming Yuqi specialized in mind arts and mental abilities and this was why she seemed so impressive to the point of suppressing all others. Huang Yaoying had a similar effect on the competition because of his specialization in martial arts and cultivating the body.
The two geniuses were both amazing but they were two sides of the same coin. They both had a narrow specialization but neither could do anything in the other's area. Asking Huang Yaoying to connect with another person emotionally would probably be as effective as talking to a pig. Conversely, Ming Yuqi mostly likely had limited knowledge of the physical body and so she didn't dare to step up and challenge Huang Yaoying until she had found a suitable situation.
But Zhou Ziyun had no such need for specialization. Her comprehension ability seemed to work for a variety of subjects. She had seen it in action for different immortal cultivation arts. She had experienced it while studying so many different cultivators and their many flaws.
Chen Wentian's voice came again, "Smart girl. You managed to reach the correct conclusion even without any hints from me."
"Hmph." She snorted and crossed her arms, "Didn't you know? I am pretty smart."
He laughed.
She also relaxed and stretched her neck. The morning was almost over. She had gone into this Dao preaching event with total focus and seriousness. It would be difficult for anyone to maintain perfect concentration for so many hours.
He saw the opportunity and used his shadow to knead her tense muscles. She didn't protest and eventually sighed in a much more relaxed fashion. He knew how hard she worked. Out of all of his disciples, he relied on her the most. He was proud of her and he also would know what to do without her.
"Are you tired?" He asked.
"Mmm… a little."
"Alright, just relax. Leave it to me." He said as he activated more shadow energy.