Within the Heavenly Pavilion of the Hundred Lotus Sect, a long sigh suddenly echoed.
"Ah..."
A middle-aged man dressed in pink robes was seated cross-legged within a gathering formation. His brow was furrowed, and his face was filled with worries.
This man was the Sect Master of the Hundred Lotus Sect, Ye Ao, at the mid-stage Core Formation stage of cultivation.
In a world where Nascent Soul cultivators were as common as dogs and Core Formation cultivators were everywhere, Ye Ao, as a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, had no choice but to stay hidden on a small mountain, leading a cautious and low-profile life.
Ye Ao didn't seek eternal life or grand ambitions; he simply wished for the well-being and happiness of his family. He hoped to peacefully spend his days in the Hundred Lotus Sect, and someday hold his grandchildren in his arms.
However, now that he couldn't even see a trace of his granddaughter, he was nearly driven to frustration by his own son.
"Ah..."
Beside him, a woman was braiding her hair, and upon hearing Ye Ao's constant sighs, she turned her head and gave him a glare.
The woman was Ye Ao's wife, Kong Yulan.
"Old man, why do you keep sighing? Aren't you annoyed?"
"Isn't it that brat Ping'er! I'm worried, worried..."
"What happened to Ping'er?"
Ye Ao said with a heavy tone, "That boy has reached the age to marry, but with his personality, which girl would be willing to marry him?"
Kong Yulan rolled her eyes at him and clicked her tongue, "Ping'er is so handsome. There are plenty of girls who want to marry him."
"Plenty my foot." Ye Ao gave her a disdainful look. "That brat bullies Pei Lengxue all the time. Do you know how people describe him outside? They call him a spoiled tyrant who delights in tormenting girls."
"Who dares to say that about Ping'er? I'll go chop them up."
"Huh, people within a hundred li radius of the Hundred Lotus Sect say the same thing. Even the little demon beasts we raise on the back mountain know about it. Go ahead, chop them up."
"..."
Ye Ao sighed heavily, "Back then, I saw how well-behaved that Pei girl from the Pei family was. Her spiritual roots were also fairly mediocre. I brought her back to the Hundred Lotus Sect from the Pei family, thinking that if Ping'er couldn't find a wife as he grew up, we could consider her. But what happened?"
"Ever since Pei Lengxue came to the Hundred Lotus Sect, Ping'er has been bullying others. It's been nearly ten years of bullying. Now, I can't even bring up the idea of a childhood engagement with Pei Lengxue."
Kong Yulan shrugged nonchalantly, "Ping'er says he's helping her cultivate."
"You believe whatever he says? What kind of cultivation involves breaking someone's bones and letting them freeze outside in the winter?"
"Practice makes perfect," Kong Yulan finished braiding her hair and also entered the gathering formation, sitting down nonchalantly. "I've heard that even cultivators from thousands of years ago used to train like that. Besides, didn't Pei Lengxue achieve the perfect Qi Refining last month?"
"..."
"..."
"Huh?" Ye Ao suddenly froze, blinked his eyes, and squinted, "What's going on? What's this? She at the Peak Qi Refining stage? Is it true?"
Kong Yulan shrugged and spread her hands, saying, "Why would I lie to you? Achieving Peak Qi Refining at fourteen years old is a feat so amazing that you can't find many like that even among those prestigious families. As expected, our Ping'er is amazing."
Ye Ao remembered that Pei Lengxue had ordinary Trinary Spiritual Roots. How could she achieve Peak Qi Refining at the age of fourteen?
Could it be that his son's chaotic cultivation method was actually effective?
The cultivation methods he used were from those storybooks, right?
If things from those storybooks were effective, then they might as well throw away all the martial arts manuals in the sect's library.
Ye Ao fell into silence for a while and suddenly thought of something.
"Wait, that brat Ping'er is only at the third level of Qi Refining himself, right? And his spiritual roots are even better than Pei Lengxue's."
"Doesn't that show that Ping'er's guidance is effective?"
Ye Ao showed an elderly expression, "That immature kid is giving guidance?"
-"Sect Master, something's not right!!"
At this moment, a panicked voice suddenly sounded from outside the Heavenly Pavilion. Ye Ao made a sword-finger gesture with his hand and quickly opened the door.
Seeing Xiao Die rushing in, he immediately asked, "What happened? Did that brat throw Pei Lengxue down the mountain again?"
"...No." Xiao Die ran up as if her life depended on it, gasping for breath.
"Then did he poison Pei Lengxue?"
"...Not that either."
"What is it then? Just tell me!"
"I... Ha—ha—"
Kong Yulan couldn't hold back and slapped the back of Ye Ao's head.
"Old man, didn't you see how Xiao Die rushed over? Can't you take it easy with her?"
She stood up and walked over to Xiao Die, patting her on the back, and asked, "Xiao Die, what happened? Take your time and explain."
Xiao Die took a few deep breaths to calm down before saying, "Young Master is about to be beaten to death by Junior Sister."
"What?!" Kong Yulan's body immediately shook, and her neatly tied ponytail burst open in an instant. "What?!"
"Young Master is about to be... by Junior Sister..."
Xiao Die repeated, but she hadn't finished her sentence.
Suddenly, Kong Yulan turned into a streak of sword light. While shouting, "Ah! My Ping'er!" she burst through the skylight of the Heavenly Pavilion and flew out.
Ye Ao looked blankly at the skylight he had just repaired the day before, covered his forehead, and sighed.
"Damn it, does this old woman have to use the skylight instead of the door?!!"
...
Ye Anping lay on the ground, staring up at the azure sky. Despite his intense pain, he felt an overwhelming sense of contentment.
Seeing the little girl he had cared for, cleaned up after, and raised like his own daughter turn into a phoenix, he could empathize with his father's pride when his own daughter succeeded.
During their intense swordfight just now, he had demanded to be hit as hard as possible as long as it didn't kill him. After ten rounds of attack and defense, he had broken more than a dozen bones, vomited blood on the ground, while Pei Lengxue's hair had suffered a few breaks.
Although Pei Lengxue still had a considerable gap in cultivation compared to "Wu You," Ye Anping's meticulous training plan had yielded perfect results.
The poisons and artifacts wielded by "Wu You" were now completely ineffective against Pei Lengxue. When the right moment came, Ye Anping planned to strike swiftly, taking advantage of the opponent's unpreparedness and dealing a fatal blow to resolve the crisis facing the Hundred Lotus Sect.
Pei Lengxue crouched down by his side, poking his face with her fingers a couple of times, a faint smile on her face as she said, "Senior Brother, are you still alive?"
Ye Anping turned his head to look at her, his expression filled with satisfaction.
"The naive little girl from back then has grown up and is actually able to string up her Senior Brother for a beating. I'm truly gratified," he said.
"Senior Brother, have you developed some peculiar quirks?" Pei Lengxue said with an indifferent expression, pinching his cheek. "Doesn't it hurt?"
"The pain I'm feeling now is nothing compared to what would happen if I were to die in that person's hands later."
Pei Lengxue sighed, "Sigh, Senior Brother, there you go again. Who's this person you keep talking about? And even if what you said is true, won't the Sect Master and the Elders be there to protect us when that demonic cultivator arrives?"
"They won't be able to defeat him."
"If even the Sect Master can't defeat him, how can I possibly do it? I'm just at the Qi Refining stage."
"Heh." Ye Anping, lying on the ground, smirked, "For the past ten years, you've been training specifically to counter that person. As long as we seize the right opportunity, it will be impossible for him to escape."
"So, you've been poisoning me, throwing me down the mountain, making me freeze in the snow..."
"Exactly, and now you're immune to poisons, your body is stronger than a Core Formation cultivator's, and your Qi Sea is abundant. Doesn't it give you a sense of accomplishment?"
"..."
Pei Lengxue's eye twitched.
She didn't feel that way even a bit.
Right now, she felt like it was a miracle that she had managed to survive until now.
Being swallowed by a demonic beast, frozen into a block of ice in a cold spring, and fed countless poisons...
Several times, she thought she was going to be killed by Ye Anping.
Now, watching Ye Anping, who was lying on the ground with multiple fractures from being beaten by her, Pei Lengxue felt a strange satisfaction, a sense of revenge.
However, inexplicably, she felt a pang of sympathy as well.
Although this jerk had made her childhood a living nightmare, whenever she was bedridden or injured, he would stay by her side without fail, and he even shared the precious elixirs given by the Sect Master with her...
Pei Lengxue couldn't figure out whether Ye Anping was actually treating her well or not.
She stared at Ye Anping in a state of conflict, feeling increasingly restless. And as her restlessness grew, she couldn't hold back and kicked Ye Anping's body with her foot.
"Ah—!"
It seemed like her kick had too much force. Ye Anping was sent flying into the air, spinning three and a half times before landing face down on the ground.
Pei Lengxue crossed her arms, turned her head away, and muttered, "Hmph, annoying Senior Brother."
"..."
After waiting for a while without hearing a response from Ye Anping, Pei Lengxue's heart trembled.
Could she have kicked Senior Brother to death?!
She cowered and timidly called out, "Senior Brother? Are you still alive?"
"..."
Ye Anping still didn't respond, lying motionless on the ground.
This time, Pei Lengxue's face turned pale instantly, and she hurriedly approached.
But just as her hand touched Ye Anping, he suddenly twisted his body and punched her in the face, knocking her chin sideways with a distinct "crack."
"How many times have I told you? Learn to follow through! Look, if I were that person, this would be your end—killed by your own recklessness!"
Veins popped on Pei Lengxue's forehead. She grabbed Ye Anping and executed a shoulder throw.
"... Senior Brother, just go die!!"