"Turns out, I thought you looked a bit like that portrait back then," Jiang Yun said as he realized, "The reason you told me about the Tianjian Sect might not be because of our connection when I rescued you in the Qingyang Cave. In reality, you didn't have to. In that situation, if we hadn't joined forces, both of us might have been trapped and died inside."
After Jiang Yun came to his realization, he continued, "Of course, not at all. I told you about the Tianjian Sect because I saw your exceptional talent in swordsmanship. With your talent, achieving greatness is only a matter of time. This was also for the sake of the sect's considerations."
Lü Yao, hearing Jiang Yun recount the incident of being trapped, blushed slightly. She had behaved terribly back then, far from the composed image she had thought she projected. When faced with life and death, she still proved to be weak.
"Definitely not. It's because I saw your extraordinary talent in the path of the sword that I thought of bringing you into the Tianjian Sect. With your talent, achieving something great was inevitable. I was considering the sect's interests as well."
Lü Yao's words were true. That was indeed her intention back then, though whether personal motives were also at play was known to no one.
"Have you mentioned me to others in the sect?"
Jiang Yun recalled the hostility he faced from certain inner disciples whenever his name was brought up. It was starting to make sense. Lü Yao, now dressed beautifully and possessing innate talent, would surely attract admiration from many inner disciples within the Tianjian Sect. If it was Lü Yao who spread the information about his situation, leading to envy and jealousy among the inner disciples, Jiang Yun's situation wouldn't be surprising.
"How did you know?"
Lü Yao did mention Jiang Yun to some inner disciples, and she did speak highly of him, but admitting this was embarrassing. Could she say that she actually admired Jiang Yun and maybe even held him in high esteem?
"Lü Yao junior sister, so you're here."
At this moment, a young man in black appeared at the entrance, his demeanor proud and arrogant. He glanced casually at Jiang Yun, then turned to Lü Yao and said, "Junior sister, this is the Jiang Yun you mentioned, right?"
Although he was discussing Jiang Yun, he didn't spare Jiang Yun a second glance, his attitude making it clear that he held no respect for him.
"Senior brother Luo Qi, why have you come here too? Do you need something from me?"
Lü Yao's expression turned sour. Luo Qi's attitude toward Jiang Yun was displeasing to her. After all, she had recommended Jiang Yun. The way Luo Qi was treating Jiang Yun and treating her were no different.
A hint of jealousy flickered in Luo Qi's eyes. Lü Yao rarely let others affect her emotions, but now, because of Jiang Yun, she was showing her displeasure. It was evident that Jiang Yun had already carved out a certain place in her heart.
Luo Qi turned his head, his gaze sharp as he looked at Jiang Yun. The aura of a True Martial Realm expert instantly locked onto Jiang Yun. Without any visible action, Jiang Yun felt as though he were shouldering a mountain, the pressure overwhelming.
Jiang Yun clenched his fists tightly, activating the Nine Li Divine Technique. Confronted with Luo Qi's imposing presence, every muscle in his body tensed. Despite this, he couldn't resist the suppression from Luo Qi's True Martial Realm aura; his knees slightly bent.
Luo Qi looked on with satisfaction at Jiang Yun, whose face had turned bright red within an instant. This sensation of absolute dominance gave Luo Qi a profound understanding. What "genius"? Wasn't it all just because of Lü Yao's favor? Yet even so, in front of him, Luo Qi, they had to bow their heads and bend their knees.
"Phew!"
Jiang Yun spewed out a mouthful of blood. The pressure from Luo Qi was causing his meridians to strain. Some of the weaker meridians showed signs of breaking. This absolute suppression of strength made Jiang Yun feel a deep sense of humiliation.
Nevertheless, Jiang Yun kept his head held high, staring directly into Luo Qi's eyes, flames of determination burning within his own. He bit his lip until it bled, and despite his knees initially bending due to Luo Qi's pressure, they slowly straightened. The proud Jiang Yun would never back down even an inch when facing Luo Qi.
"Luo Qi, that's enough!"
Lü Yao roared, her eyes blazing with anger as she looked at Luo Qi. She hadn't expected Luo Qi to suddenly apply pressure to Jiang Yun. She also hadn't anticipated that Jiang Yun, whose sword power had been sealed, would be unable to withstand Luo Qi's aura.
Luo Qi withdrew his pressure when he saw Lü Yao's reaction, his disdainful gaze fixed on Jiang Yun. He said, "Remember, from now on, when you see me, address me as senior brother."
Jiang Yun felt as if his bones were about to shatter. He glared at Luo Qi through gritted teeth and replied, "Very well, you've made sure I'll remember you."
With a swift movement, Lü Yao caught Jiang Yun, whose body seemed ready to collapse. She faced Luo Qi with anger and said, "Luo Qi, have you had enough?"
The jealousy in Luo Qi's eyes intensified. The more Lü Yao defended Jiang Yun, the more it angered him internally. However, with Lü Yao present, he couldn't continue his outburst.
"Lü Yao junior sister, are you really going to get angry at me because of him?"
Luo Qi's face darkened, and he added a hint of warning to his words.
"Luo Qi senior brother, I never expected you to be so narrow-minded. Just because I said Jiang Yun has better talent than you, you're treating him this way?" Lü Yao looked disappointed as she spoke to Luo Qi.
"Do you think it's because I'm jealous of his talent?" Luo Qi laughed in anger. He had feelings for Lü Yao, something all the inner disciples of the Tianjian Sect knew. Yet, Lü Yao acted as if she were unaware. Now, because Lü Yao was showing concern for Jiang Yun, Luo Qi's anger flared up, making Lü Yao think he was envious of Jiang Yun's talent.
This somewhat echoed Jiang Yun's joking remark in the Qingyang Cave: "I originally directed my heart toward the bright moon, but the bright moon illuminates the ditch." Yet, this wasn't the version of "I see the charming beauty of the green hills; the green hills see me as I am."
"Alright, alright, alright." Luo Qi repeated the word "alright" three times, each word almost squeezed between his teeth. Then, he glared at Jiang Yun and said, "She said I'm jealous of your talent. Well, I want to see what kind of talent you can display."
Suddenly, Luo Qi felt a bit despondent. The world's greatest distance is not the separation of life and death, but rather when I stand in front of you, and you don't know that I love you. He was feeling something like this right now.
Watching Luo Qi walk away, Lü Yao turned to Jiang Yun with an apologetic expression and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't think it through. I made it sound too exaggerated."
Jiang Yun breathed heavily, shaking his head. Luo Qi's aura had severely damaged his meridians. He was experiencing waves of pain from inside his body. He didn't have the strength to say much; he just gestured towards the room, indicating for Lü Yao to help him inside to rest.
Lü Yao also noticed that Jiang Yun's injuries were quite serious. It would be best to help him lie down first to prevent his condition from worsening. Guiding him to the bed, Lü Yao took out a pill from her pocket and was about to feed it to Jiang Yun.
"This is a healing pill my master refined. It's very effective for internal injuries. You should take it first."
The pill in Lü Yao's hand was milky white and emitted a faint fragrance. It was clearly not an ordinary product. Jiang Yun didn't decline Lü Yao's kind offer and opened his mouth to let her place the pill inside.
The pill melted upon entry, transforming into a warm stream that flowed into his abdomen. After passing through the damaged meridians that Luo Qi had affected, the warmth began to slowly mend the injuries.