‘This doesn’t make sense…’
‘Why is Senior Sister praising me?’
‘I’m so incompetent, yet she says she’s satisfied?’
He Qiu’s gaze remained confused for several seconds.
Ultimately, acting on his immediate reflexes, he nodded and returned the gesture.
“Thank you for the praise, Senior Sister.”
“Mhm, continue.”
An Lingran withdrew her right hand from He Qiu’s face and stood silently to the side, continuing to watch him.
After a brief daze, He Qiu realized that his Senior Sister didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving.
She said to continue…
Did she mean for him to “continue” practicing his sword forms?
Was she going to stand there and keep watching to give him pointers?
With so many people watching him, He Qiu didn’t dare think too much.
For the time being, he followed his Senior Sister’s wishes, raising his wooden sword for a second performance.
In fact, he had already thoroughly mastered the Fine Snow Sword Manual over the past few days.
Simply swinging the wooden sword now wouldn’t lead to much progress or growth.
Therefore, he didn’t quite understand why Senior Sister wanted him to keep demonstrating with the wooden sword.
He Qiu felt that his time would be better spent sitting in meditation for a few hours to carefully reflect on his previous experience with the Sword Spirit, then advancing into a new realm to complete his breakthrough.
However…
Senior Sister seemed very happy and gratified to watch him practice his sword dance.
‘Fine, I’ll treat this as a return gift for the sword dance she showed me earlier. I’ll perform a few more sets for her.’
“Stop, don’t move.”
Halfway through his form, An Lingran spoke up.
He Qiu froze, holding his wooden sword in his left hand and maintaining a forward-leaning lunging posture.
He didn’t dare move an inch.
‘What is she doing?’
Just as the thought surfaced in his mind, he saw An Lingran walking toward him.
She reached out and grabbed the arm holding his sword, gently pressing and squeezing the muscles beneath his sleeve.
“When lunging, constrict the spirit spring in your back and rely more on the meridians in your waist for power…”
An Lingran began to point out the details of his movements on the spot.
She repeatedly touched He Qiu’s arms and back, earnestly correcting the errors in his sword dance posture, showing no hesitation regarding physical contact between a man and a woman.
Because they were so close, He Qiu could clearly smell An Lingran’s fragrance and the naturally cold spiritual energy inherent to the Saintess.
Her Double Spirit Veins were truly a rare and exquisite phenomenon.
He Qiu could sense that the cold spiritual energy in An Lingran’s scent wasn’t just a simple “ice attribute” spirit vein; it also contained a quiet, fragrant, and natural immortal aura.
The Primordial Saintess’s second spirit vein was surely anything but simple!
While He Qiu’s mind wandered, An Lingran continued her serious coaching.
“When performing a side-wing slash, step back with your left leg and draw power from your spirit spring. At the same time, relax the meridians in your left arm and keep them supple…”
He Qiu stopped his idle thoughts and listened quietly.
He began to follow her instructions, secretly trying to correct the flow of spiritual energy within his body.
After a long while, He Qiu had a sudden realization.
‘So that’s how it is. There are actually these techniques to the sword dance—vital points regarding the springs and meridians that weren’t mentioned in the Fine Snow Sword Manual at all…’
‘Senior Sister Lingran is so meticulous!’
Originally, He Qiu thought his sword art was already perfected, but after being personally guided through the details by An Lingran, he realized he was still far from it.
Many combat essentials were things he could never have understood through solitary cultivation.
With An Lingran’s pointers, He Qiu’s sword skills were enough to break through to another level.
‘So the reason Senior Sister won’t let me practice the higher-level Sword Spirit is because my foundation isn’t solid enough…’
Thinking this way, He Qiu suddenly understood why he had been unable to summon the Sword Spirit earlier.
If his basic skills weren’t solid, how could he skip steps to use high-level sword arts?
‘Has Senior Sister seen through this long ago?’
‘Admirable, truly admirable.’
Nodding secretly, He Qiu didn’t dare say more and carefully savored every word An Lingran spoke.
In the Spirit Cultivation Realm, there weren’t many opportunities for a novice Mortal Cultivator to be personally guided by a master.
He Qiu knew he had to grasp every detail and not waste this precious opportunity in his cultivation journey.
An Lingran taught, and He Qiu listened.
An Lingran danced with the sword, and He Qiu observed.
An Lingran let He Qiu practice, and He Qiu danced with the sword.
An Lingran discovered new problems and continued to teach, and He Qiu continued to listen.
The two of them went back and forth like this, discussing their art deep within the Cultivation Ground for the entire afternoon.
During this time, countless disciples came and went, and the crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger.
Even many Outer Gate disciples had gone through great trouble to sneak into the Inner Gate just to catch a glimpse of the Primordial Saintess’s true face.
However, no matter how lively the perimeter of the Cultivation Ground became, He Qiu and An Lingran, who were practicing seriously inside, remained unaffected.
The two seemed immersed in their own world, completely ignoring their surroundings.
Before they knew it, evening had arrived.
The sky began to turn a deep crimson.
“Move! Everyone move!”
Among the crowd, a young master with an angry expression pushed through the disciples on the periphery to reach the front row.
Along the way, he was heavy-handed, pushing down many innocent disciples.
Finally, the young master squeezed to the very front and saw with his own eyes the silver-haired Saintess and the youth in white clothes interacting and practicing together deep in the Cultivation Ground.
At this sight, Zhou Hang’s face instantly turned a shade of green.
‘I’ve been bitterly pursuing the Saintess for three years, and after being away from the Sect for only half a month, she’s already hooked up with some pretty-boy scholar?’
‘And they’re even flirting while practicing in public? Are they showing off their love right here?’
Enraged by jealousy, Zhou Hang’s composure shattered.
“Dammit, who exactly is that little scholar!”
He grabbed a minor cultivator at random and interrogated him with a booming voice.
The minor cultivator had only just entered the Inner Gate and was at Level 2 of the Spirit Realm.
He had never seen such an intimidating aura from a senior, so he hurriedly stammered an explanation.
“That… that is Junior Brother He Qiu, the disciple newly accepted by Grand Elder Xueyin…”
“Huh? Grand Elder Xueyin took a disciple?”
Zhou Hang frowned, his cultivation suddenly erupting.
In an instant, Level 4 Sword Intent from the Spirit Realm enveloped the surroundings.
“Are you kidding me! How many years has it been since Grand Elder Xueyin took a disciple while in seclusion? Does that little scholar, who’s only at Level 1 of the Spirit Realm and can’t even practice a sword art properly, even deserve it?”
“Back then, I was at Level 2 of the Innate Spirit Realm with a Rare Thunder Spirit Vein, and Grand Elder Xueyin didn’t even spare me a glance. Why does that little scholar get to?”
Terrified by Zhou Hang’s shouting, the minor cultivator didn’t dare speak further.
At this time, the surrounding onlookers couldn’t bear to watch and stepped in to help the innocent cultivator.
“Young Master Zhou Hang, that junior isn’t lying to you. He Qiu really is Grand Elder Xueyin’s new disciple!”
“That’s right. He Qiu came to the Inner Gate two weeks ago. You weren’t in the Sect at the time, Senior, so you didn’t know.”
At this critical moment…
“Senior, please don’t be angry!”
A shifty-eyed, rat-faced cultivator stepped forward and began to curry favor.
“Everyone knows that as the Seventh Young Master of the Zhou family, you have admired the Saintess for a long time. Your rage is perfectly understandable.”
Zhou Hang huffed coldly and nodded, signaling the cultivator to continue.
The rat-faced cultivator gave a few sycophantic laughs and then slowly began his explanation.
“Actually, none of us Inner Disciples are satisfied with this He Qiu guy either!”
“I heard that in the entrance examination, he only placed sixth and even has a Wasted Spirit Vein, yet Grand Elder Xueyin made an exception to bring him into the Inner Gate…”
“Based on our deductions, he’s just someone with connections!”
“Connections?”
Hearing this, Zhou Hang crossed his arms and began to ponder.
“So you’re saying that little scholar has a significant background? Is that why Saintess An Lingran is personally and intimately guiding him?”
“Exactly!”
The rat-faced cultivator continued indignantly, “There are things you don’t know, Senior! That Junior Brother He Qiu hadn’t even been in the Sect for three days before the Saintess personally visited him and gifted him a Seven-Grade High-Quality Sword Manual!”
“She visited him personally? And gave him a Seven-Grade sword manual?”
The veins on Zhou Hang’s forehead bulged.
The more he heard, the more furious he became.
The jealousy in his heart was practically written on his face.
He quickly searched his memory but couldn’t find anyone named He Qiu.
If the boy were a descendant of a prominent family with a major background, a capital city young master like Zhou Hang could not possibly be unaware of him.
This was strange…
Who exactly was this He Qiu?
Seizing the opportunity, the minor cultivator continued with a flattering smile.
“Senior, I heard that the Saintess came to the Central Training Ground today to guide Junior Brother He Qiu personally. The two of them have frequently engaged in intimate physical contact. This matter has already reached Grand Elder Xueyin’s ears!”
“Think about it. Even if He Qiu is incredibly calculating, shouldn’t he at least avoid suspicion when facing the Saintess of the Longyin Sect? That kid is bold; the Saintess graced him with her personal guidance, yet He Qiu openly made no effort to avoid physical contact with her! He’s been staring at her sword dance so intensely it’s as if he’s waiting for his eyes to fall out. He practically has his face pressed against her to watch!”
“Tell me, Senior, when Grand Elder Xueyin catches them later, that kid will definitely be in for a harsh scolding!”
“Hoh, there is some truth to that.”
As Zhou Hang listened, he felt it made sense.
A Saintess was meant to be a “heavenly girl with a pure and flawless body, destined for greatness.”
Saintess An Lingran was one of the Longyin Sect’s greatest icons.
How could she not maintain distance between genders?
How could she have such intimate movements with a man in broad daylight?
Couldn’t she just give verbal instructions?
Did she really have to use her hands to touch him?
Look at this!
What has become of propriety?
What has become of propriety!
Just as Zhou Hang was fuming, his rat-faced lackey suddenly spoke up excitedly.
“Senior, look! Grand Elder Xueyin is actually here!”
“Look at the Grand Elder’s anxious expression. He must be here to scold that brat He Qiu!”
Hearing this, everyone looked back.
They saw a white-bearded old man hurrying toward them, looking exactly like an enraged master rushing to discipline an ignorant and rebellious disciple.
“Heh…”
Zhou Hang let out a cold laugh.
He knew a good show was about to begin.
Seeing this, the rat-faced lackey followed suit, fueling the flames by calling out to the others.
“Hey, everyone, be sensible and move aside! Make way for our Grand Elder Xueyin! Fast, fast!”