Xia Qingyue followed Yun Wuji into the palace silently, the amount of information she had received was too much for her. It reshaped her worldview and left her feeling depressed.
She had always believed that reaching the Sovereign Profound Realm would allow her to meet her mother, but now she had been told that even being that someone at the Sovereign Profound Realm is not even qualified to go to the Realm Of The Gods.
"Wait here; I'll call the others," Yun Wuji said before heading off to wake up the nephew and aunt pair.
"Oh," Xia Qingyue mumbled, snapping out of her daze. She watched Wuji's retreating figure with her gaze following him as he walked away.
"Wake up!" Yun Wuji shouted, kicking the door of the room where Xiao Che was sleeping. He stormed in, grabbed Xiao Che, and threw him out of the room.
"Ahhhh!" Xiao Che cried out, shocked and disoriented. A flood of emotions hit him all at once, leaving him unable to make sense of what was happening. "What? Where? Who?!"
"Get up; we're starting your training today," Yun Wuji said, standing in front of him.
"Ah! Young Master!" Xiao Che exclaimed, finally waking up and looking surprised.
"Call me Teacher or Master from now on," Yun Wuji said, giving Xiao Che a light knock on the head.
"Teacher? I am now your disciple?!" Xiao Che asked, he vaguely remembered the scene yesterday before he passed out.
"That's right. Go clean up and meet me in the garden," Yun Wuji replied before heading off to find Xiao Lingxi.
"Wake up, little girl," Yun Wuji said, pinching Xiao Lingxi's cheeks to rouse her.
*Not her butt cheeks, you creep!*
"Hmm," Xiao Lingxi groaned, trying to push his hand away.
"Hey, get up!" Yun Wuji said, pulling on her cheeks.
"It hurts, stop~" Xiao Lingxi complained, slowly opening her eyes to see who was disturbing her sleep.
"Ah! Young Master, what are you doing?" she exclaimed.
"Get up. I'll be waiting in the garden. You've got 10 minutes," Yun Wuji said, ignoring her reaction as he walked away.
-----
"I've opened your profound entrances. There are some pills that can help you in the storage room," Yun Wuji said, tossing three silver bracelets to them. "These are gravity bracelets. To prevent you from accidentally harming yourselves, I've limited the gravity to a max of three times."
"I'll check your progress every week, and when you reach the Nascent Profound Realm, I'll start teaching you some profound art," Yun Wuji said. After giving his instructions, he turned around and left.
Even though he claimed he would be their master, Yun Wuji wasn't planning to spend too much time teaching them. He still needed to focus on his own cultivation, and besides, they were all too weak to start learning anything just yet.
"...Understood, Master," Xiao Che and Xiao Lingxi nodded blankly. They were still reeling from the shock of having all their profound entrances opened so easily.
They recalled Xiao Lei telling them that having more than ten entrances was considered a sign of genius and that even opening a single additional profound entrance was incredibly difficult.
"..." Xia Qingyue, on the other hand, remained silent, her gaze fixed on his receding back.
Yun Wuji walked around the garden. The palace was incredibly vast, covering more than three million square meters, with the garden occupying more than half of that space. After wandering for a long while, he chose a quiet corner with a small artificial lake and sat down.
He took out the fire seed and began to examine it. Ever since he had taken it from the scarlet dragon, he hadn't had a chance to look at it closely, as he'd been busy with more pressing matters, like studying human anatomy with Yuechan.
It had been gathering dust in his Sky Poison Pearl. Now that he finally had the time, he decided to investigate whether he could replicate the abilities of Ni Xuan. After all this little thing could easily change the environment around it.
Watching him leave, Xia Qingyue sighed in disappointment. She wished he could have stayed a bit longer. It was the first time in her life she felt this way about a man, especially one she had just met.
She shook her head and put the bracelet he gave her on her wrist.
"You're Xia Qingyue, right?" Xiao Lingxi suddenly spoke up, feeling that as fellow disciples, they should build a close relationship.
"Yes," Xia Qingyue nodded.
"Wow! You're even more beautiful than the rumors said!" Xiao Lingxi exclaimed in admiration.
Xiao Che nodded, blushing. He had never seen a woman this beautiful before; she was even more stunning than his fiancée.
"...Thanks," Xia Qingyue said, nodding before walking away to find a place to cultivate.
"How cold," Xiao Lingxi remarked, surprised by her distant attitude. But she didn't dwell on it and began to fiddle with the bracelet.
Xia Qingyue activated the gravity bracelet, and instantly, she felt her body weight double. The increased gravity pressed down on her, making her limbs feel heavy and her movements sluggish. Her internal organs were subjected to intense pressure, causing an uncomfortable, constricting sensation in her chest and abdomen.
She slowly began to move around, adjusting to the increased gravity. After a while, she settled into a meditative position and started to cultivate.
At just 12 years old, she was already at the 10th level of the Elementary Profound Realm.
A few days later...
Bang!
Profound energy surged through Yun Wuji's veins, and with a thunderous bang, he broke through to the 7th level of the Sky Profound Realm. His aura flared intensely, crushing the ground beneath him and turning it to dust.
"With the help of the Purple Veined Divine Crystal, I only need two to three weeks and I'll reach the 10th level." He stood up and stretched his back, he already anticipated this breakthrough long ago and didn't feel excited bout it.
"Master!" As he was about to prepare something to eat, Xia Qingyue came running up to him, excited. "I broke through to the Nascent Profound Realm!"
Since she didn't practice the Frozen Cloud arts, her personality was a bit cold but still quite different from how she was portrayed in the novel.
"Good!" Yun Wuji said, giving her a pat on the head in praise. "I'll cook something for you to celebrate."
"Hmm," Xia Qingyue blushed at the pat, feeling quite comfortable with his touch.
In the past few days, whenever she hit an obstacle in her cultivation, she'd come to him for guidance. At first, it was just about seeking his help, but eventually, she started using it as an excuse to spend more time with him.
She liked being around him; his warm, gentle, and pure aura gave her a sense of peace she never felt before.
"Hmm, who's this time?" Yun Wuji said, sensing someone at the Sky Profound Realm entering the city and heading his way.
His senses could easily cover the entire city, and he regularly spread them out to keep an eye on things. You never know, Jasmine might have shown up a few years or months earlier.
"What?" Xia Qingyue asked, hearing his murmur.
"We've got some guests. Let's go meet them," Yun Wuji said. With that, he teleported them both outside the palace.
Meanwhile, Cang Yue and Dongfang Xiu were flying toward the expert they'd been searching for months. A few days ago, they'd received word that he had appeared in this remote city.
They received the news late because Floating Cloud City is so remote. Major clans and sects rarely pay any attention to it, and even the royal family seems to have forgotten about it. If it hadn't been for the commotion Wuji caused when he arrived, no one would have known he was there.
"Strange, why would someone like him choose a backward place like this to settle down?" Dongfang Xiu wondered as they approached the palace.
"Yeah, it is odd," Cang Yue agreed. "This city is barren, with no resources, and the profound energy here is so thin."
When they reached the palace, Dongfang Xiu landed with Cang Yue.
Just as Dongfang Xiu was about to use his profound energy to call out, two people suddenly appeared in front of them. Alerted, he quickly pulled Cang Yue behind him and stepped back, creating some distance between them.
Only then did he take a careful look at them. One was a very handsome man, and the other was a beautiful girl standing beside him. Dongfang Xiu was surprised to realize that the handsome man was the very person they had been searching for.
"Who are you guys?" Wuji asked, his gaze shifting between the two. He studied the middle-aged man briefly before turning his attention to the girl behind him. The man was only 10th level Sky Profound Realm and he could also be called Half-Step Emperor Profound, if one wanted to flatter him.
The man was too weak for Wuji to pay much attention to, but the girl definitely caught his eye.
She looked to be around 15 or 16, with exquisite features on her beautiful face. Her skin was fair, and her eyes sparkled with a captivating brightness. She had a slim waist and a well-endowed figure for her age, with D-cup breasts, a shapely big butt, and long, slender legs. Her thighs were curvaceous and round.
'Teenagers these days mature quickly,' thought the guy, who was still only 17 himself.
'But her legs would look great in black stockings or a garter belt,' Wuji thought, his eyes lingering on her legs. 'I haven't tried a tightjob or feetjob with Yuechan.' Maybe it was because he had only recently tasted the pleasure of flesh or perhaps the dragon blood had increased his lust, but he noticed that he had become quite lustful recently.
"I'm Dongfang Xiu, and this is Her Highness, Princess Cang Yue. We came here specifically to meet you," Dongfang Xiu introduced himself and the princess.
"Oh, so you're Princess Cang Yue," Wuji said, nodding to Dongfang Xiu and then smiling at Cang Yue. "I'm Yun Wuji. It's a pleasure to meet you. May I ask why you and Princess Cang Yue traveled all the way from the capital to see me?"
He had only met kids recently, so he was pleased to finally come across someone closer to his own age.
"...we are—" Dongfang Xiu began, taking a moment to gather his thoughts and start explaining their purpose.
"We finally found you, little bastard!" But before he could continue, a fierce Emperor Profound aura erupted, cutting him off. Several Sky Profound auras followed, their intense presence filling the air.