Xiao Yi followed Shao Cheng with a puzzled look, as he led her to a spot.
It was the highest point of Tian Yu Peak.
From this vantage, one could overlook all the buildings below. Standing there, the entire landscape of Tian Yu Peak was laid out beneath their feet.
Xiao Yi's eyes fell on the open space in front of the gate and the large tree that stood there. Despite the distance of several miles, as a cultivator, she could clearly see her second senior brother, Lü Shaoqing, lying leisurely on his hammock.
The little red bird perched on Lü Shaoqing's head remained motionless, appearing to be asleep.
Seeing Lü Shaoqing's carefree demeanor, Xiao Yi gritted her teeth in frustration. Damn Second Senior Brother.
She asked curiously, "Shifu, why did you bring me here?"
Shao Cheng pointed downwards and smiled, "Take a look."
Below them lay the entire structure of Tian Yu Peak, many of its areas unoccupied.
Xiao Yi stared for a while but couldn't find anything unusual.
It was dark and nothing particularly interesting stood out.
Xiao Yi was still puzzled by Shao Cheng's intentions. She had been here before and had seen this view.
Seeing the confusion on Xiao Yi's face, Shao Cheng pointed again, this time to a different spot. "Look over there."
Finally, to the right, Xiao Yi saw something she would never forget.
A dragon—a white dragon—danced mid-air, weaving in and out of the clouds, appearing and disappearing as if it were a divine beast descending upon the world, awe-inspiring and magnificent.
"Big… Big Senior Brother?"
Xiao Yi was shocked.
So, Shifu brought her here to witness her senior brother's cultivation?
She had seen that dragon before.
When she entered the sword cave for the first time, a small white dragon had tormented her.
The little white dragon that bullied her looked exactly like this one, only smaller in size.
Sword Intent Transformation.
Xiao Yi's eyes shone with admiration. It was incredible.
Despite its manifestation as a white dragon, Ji Yan's sword intent emitted no discernible aura.
If Shao Cheng hadn't pointed it out, Xiao Yi wouldn't have noticed it for a long time.
After watching for a while, Xiao Yi exclaimed, "Big Senior Brother is amazing."
To be able to control sword intent to such a degree.
Shao Cheng smiled slightly and pointed to where Lü Shaoqing was. "Now, look at your second senior brother."
The moment Xiao Yi heard about Lü Shaoqing, her expression soured.
That damned Second Senior Brother, that detestable Second Senior Brother, making me work to pay off a debt.
Xiao Yi looked for a while but saw nothing unusual.
"Shifu, there's nothing special about Second Senior Brother; he's just being lazy."
"There's such a huge gap between Big Senior Brother and him."
One was diligently cultivating, while the other was lazing around. They were polar opposites.
Xiao Yi seemed to understand something. "Shifu, are you trying to tell me not to follow Second Senior Brother's example?"
"Does this mean I don't have to listen to him anymore?"
Great! If I don't have to listen to Second Senior Brother, I won't have to work at the restaurant or put up with those people's attitudes.
Worst case, she could just have her family send over some spirit stones and pay Boss Fang back.
Shao Cheng shook his head and asked Xiao Yi, "Do you know how they both became my disciples?"
Xiao Yi replied, "Second Senior Brother told me. He said that back then, Shifu, you were not that powerful, and no one was willing to be your disciple."
Hearing this, Shao Cheng's mustache quivered with rage.
"Did he really say that?"
"What else did he say?"
"That little rascal!"
Xiao Yi shrank back a little and continued, "He said that when Big Senior Brother was still an ordinary person, he was very arrogant and got beaten up, and Shifu, you saved him and used the opportunity to make him your disciple."
Shao Cheng snapped angrily, "Just as I thought—what a rascal!"
Xiao Yi asked, "Isn't that true?"
"Of course not," Shao Cheng huffed. "When your Big Senior Brother came to seek apprenticeship, no one wanted to accept him. He was already eleven years old and still an ordinary person."
"At that age, cultivating would be slow and challenging, with limited future prospects."
"But I saw his steady and determined nature, so I decided to give him a chance and took him as my first disciple."
Shao Cheng's voice softened with a hint of pride. "I never expected that taking him in would bring Tian Yu Peak its best disciple ever."
"Gifted, hardworking, determined, and courageous—never backing down. A true genius. He is the best disciple I have ever accepted."
Xiao Yi felt a mix of admiration and indignation upon hearing this.
"So Second Senior Brother was lying to me all along."
I really am too naive.
"Shifu, what about Second Senior Brother? How did you take him in?"
Shao Cheng asked in return, "Did he tell you how he became my disciple?"
Xiao Yi answered, "He said you knelt and begged him to become your disciple."
"That rascal!"
Shao Cheng was fuming, feeling an overwhelming urge to draw his sword and rush down the mountain to teach Lü Shaoqing a lesson.
To tarnish my reputation in front of his junior sister like that—does he think I have no dignity as a shifu?
Xiao Yi asked timidly, "Shifu, that can't be true, right?"
"Of course not," Shao Cheng replied, his tone exasperated. "Back then, when your Big Senior Brother was being picked on, only your Second Senior Brother stood up for him."
"Later, when I offered to take your Big Senior Brother as my disciple, he insisted that I take your Second Senior Brother too; otherwise, he wouldn't acknowledge me as his teacher."
"So I took him in as well."
"Otherwise, who would want such a troublemaker?"
As Shao Cheng continued, he clutched his chest as if he was experiencing heart pain.
"You have no idea how much trouble this little rascal has caused me since joining."
"Back when your patriarch was still around, Tian Yu Peak was always commended during sect meetings."
"At that time, Tian Yu Peak was the model of Ling Xiao Sect."
"But ever since your Second Senior Brother joined, we've been singled out during meetings, mostly to be criticized by the sect master."
"I've lost all face. Everyone in Ling Xiao Sect knows that Tian Yu Peak has a lazy bum."
"If it weren't for your Big Senior Brother holding up our reputation, I wouldn't even have the face to stay in Ling Xiao Sect."
Xiao Yi watched as Shao Cheng clutched his chest, his expression filled with anguish.
For some reason, she felt a little better.
Compared to her, Shifu was the real victim of Second Senior Brother's antics.
Compared to the trouble Shifu had endured, the mischief Second Senior Brother had caused her wasn't that bad.
"Shifu, did you bring me here just to tell me not to be too angry?"
"Is Second Senior Brother just like that?"
"Ahem, well, that's not exactly the reason…"