At the base of Sect Master Peak…
Yun Hao sprinted the entire way.
After half a quarter-hour of teleportation and hurried travel, he arrived at the teleportation array at the base of Sect Master Peak.
He flipped his hand.
The jade token immediately appeared.
As the white light shone and a wave of dizziness washed over him, he returned to the top of Sect Master Peak.
Yun Hao steadied his mind.
After the dizziness faded, he looked toward the osmanthus tree below.
He had originally thought he would see Senior Sister at a glance.
However, Senior Sister—who had been there almost every day for the past ten or so days—was not sitting on the stone bench comprehending the heavens and earth today.
Yun Hao was a little surprised but did not find it too strange.
Senior Sister had her own matters to attend to and could not stay on Sect Master Peak every single day.
Just as he was about to turn and head toward his small wooden house, Luo Shuiling’s voice came from the elegant pavilion.
It carried a trace of languidness and charm that was hard to detect and rang beside his ear.
“Why have you returned so early today? Don’t you usually come back at the You hour?”
Yun Hao heard the slightly unusual cool tone in Luo Shuiling’s voice and realized Senior Sister was actually inside her elegant pavilion—she simply had not come out to sit.
He turned toward the pavilion.
“Senior Sister, this junior brother received his first sect mission today, so I came back earlier to make some preparations.”
After listening to Yun Hao’s answer, Luo Shuiling seemed to recall something.
She pondered for a moment, and her voice returned to normal.
“I had actually forgotten about that.”
She then rose into the air and landed beside Yun Hao.
She guided him to the small stone bench where they usually sat.
The two faced each other.
“What is the mission the sect assigned you this time?”
Yun Hao told her everything that had happened at Elder Lin Xian’s cave residence.
This included the Hunyuan Pearls Elder Lin had given him and all the warnings.
However, he did not mention the brocade pouch Lin Shengyu had given him.
Ever since the day Senior Sister had asked whether he liked Lin Shengyu, he had made a point of avoiding any suspicion in front of her.
It was better that Senior Sister not know about the brocade pouch his junior sister had given him.
Luo Shuiling listened quietly while thinking whether there were any oversights.
Only after Yun Hao finished did she gently close her beautiful eyes.
A moment later she spoke.
“Elder Lin has already told you everything that needs attention. You only need to remember it firmly. In addition…”
While she instructed him, Luo Shuiling extended her slender, fair jade hand and flipped it.
A seemingly extraordinary spirit sword appeared on the stone table.
It glowed with a cyan-white hue.
Although the blade remained sheathed, one could still sense threads of cold sword intent.
The sword tassel was dyed vermilion, like fresh blood or rouge.
The scabbard was covered in various runes and mythical beasts; merely looking at it for too long could make one lost in fascination.
Luo Shuiling placed the cyan-white sword in front of Yun Hao.
“In addition, you have been in the sect for two months now and still do not have a sword of your own. This sword is named Cloud Abyss. It is something I obtained in the past and suits you quite well. Consider it a gift from me. Take it.”
Yun Hao saw that the Cloud Abyss Sword was clearly a precious item.
He lightly waved his hands, wanting to decline.
“Senior Sister already included an iron sword inside the sect token you gave me last time. This mission only requires slaying some early Qi Refining demon beasts. There is no need for such a valuable treasure sword.”
Luo Shuiling’s expression turned slightly displeased when she heard this.
Her beautiful brows furrowed faintly.
She disliked it when Yun Hao resisted her; it made her feel irritated—especially when she was showing concern for him.
Moreover, he had accepted Elder Lin’s Hunyuan Pearls but was unwilling to accept her spirit sword.
Did that not make it seem as if she were inferior to Elder Lin?
Luo Shuiling’s voice sank slightly.
“Take it! Even if you don’t need it now, won’t you need it later? Or do you think this sword is not as good as the Hunyuan Pearls Elder Lin gave you and you don’t want it?”
Yun Hao saw that Senior Sister was rarely angry.
He panicked a little.
He quickly stood up and explained to Luo Shuiling.
“This junior brother never thought that. It is only that this spirit sword is far too precious. With my current strength, I fear it would be wasted in my hands.”
“It is fine. You only need to accept it. You can think about those unnecessary matters after your strength improves.”
Seeing how insistent Luo Shuiling was, Yun Hao feared he would displease her again.
He could only accept the Cloud Abyss Sword and store it inside his sect token.
His qi sea was still too small to hold large items.
A spirit sword nearly three feet long like the Cloud Abyss could only be kept inside the sect token.
Luo Shuiling watched Yun Hao obediently put away the Cloud Abyss Sword and felt satisfied.
Whatever Elder Lin could give, she, Luo Shuiling, could not fall short.
She would use these things to slowly bind Yun Hao to her side.
Once Elder Lin passed away in the future, Lin Shengyu would have even less advantage in competing for Yun Hao.
Elder Lin’s efforts would only be powerless struggles with no chance of changing anything.
Afterward Yun Hao stayed with Luo Shuiling and played a game of weiqi.
Once the match ended, he stood up, offered a respectful salute, and took his leave.
Tomorrow was the day set for the sect assembly.
He needed to adjust his condition properly now.
Yun Hao returned to his wooden house.
He regulated the distribution of spiritual power throughout his body and sank into cultivation.
…
The next day.
The distant sky was still dimly lit.
Sunlight had not yet torn through the clouds, and the full moon from the previous night still lingered in the air.
While most disciples of Proud Sword Sect were still cultivating or resting, Yun Hao had already finished preparing and risen.
He walked to the teleportation array.
His bright eyes gazed deeply at the elegant pavilion of Luo Shuiling, as if trying to imprint Senior Sister’s figure into his heart through the walls.
He relaxed his entire body.
After a burst of light, he vanished inside the teleportation array.
Inside the elegant pavilion.
Luo Shuiling, seated cross-legged on a cushion, slowly opened her lightly closed beautiful eyes.
Her captivating gaze turned toward the teleportation array that had just activated, and a faint sense of unease stirred in her heart.
This was Yun Hao’s first time training alone.
Some accidents might be beyond even her and Elder Lin’s expectations.
If something happened, could he handle it safely by himself?
But then she remembered that he carried the Hunyuan Pearls and the Cloud Abyss Sword, and Luo Shuiling’s heart calmed slightly.
As long as he does not provoke that Dao Integration realm demon beast, and with other Nascent Soul outer sect disciples present, nothing should go wrong.
Luo Shuiling did not realize that, as time passed, Yun Hao’s weight in her heart had grown heavier and heavier.
Especially after he had not returned for three days more than a month ago, her sense of unease had only increased…
She had actually grown somewhat accustomed to Yun Hao’s company.
…
Yun Hao arrived early at the mountain gate assembly point.
Some disciples were already there.
Most stood in their own groups.
Only a few who seemed to know each other beforehand gathered together and chatted softly.
Half a quarter-hour later, roughly a hundred disciples had gathered on site.
At that moment a middle-aged man slowly walked to the assembly point.
Everyone immediately turned serious upon seeing him.
The few cultivators who had been chatting stopped laughing and joking.
The previously somewhat lively area fell silent as a wintry pond.
The middle-aged man saw that the disciples were quietly waiting for instructions and unhurriedly took out a list.
He began reading the names aloud.
“Li Li!”
“Disciple present!”
“Zhang Mo!”
“Disciple present!”
…
…
For every name the middle-aged man called, a Proud Sword Sect disciple responded.
After a moment, he looked at the final name on the list.
His expression carried a trace of hesitation, and his tone grew somewhat hesitant.
“Yun Hao… Senior Brother!”
Yun Hao thought someone shared his name.
After hearing “Yun Hao Senior Brother,” he subconsciously looked around.
He did not believe he deserved to be addressed as “Senior Brother” by this middle-aged man.
Only when the middle-aged man called again did he confirm it was him.
“Yun Hao Senior Brother, are you here?”
He steeled himself and answered.
“Disciple present!”
The other disciples all showed strange expressions.
Yun Hao looked far too young—only sixteen or seventeen years old—and his cultivation was merely at Qi Refining.
How could he deserve to be called “Senior Brother” by Wang Yi, the hall master who was already at Nascent Soul?
But Wang Yi did not think that way.
After confirming that Yun Hao had arrived at the assembly point, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He was only an outer sect hall master.
No matter how high his status or authority was outside, he had no grounds to act superior in front of inner sect disciples who would at least reach Dao Integration in the future.
If Yun Hao had not shown up today and he had reported it fairly, he would fear future retaliation from Yun Hao.
If he let it slide, he would have trouble explaining himself to his superiors.
By addressing Yun Hao as “Senior Brother” in advance, he had given him plenty of face.
Yun Hao probably would not make things difficult for him.
In the future they might even build a connection and raise his own value.
He had seen too many proud and aloof inner sect disciples.
They possessed extremely high immortal aptitude and great influence.
He had suffered because of such people when he was young.
Now that he was middle-aged, he could not walk the same old path.
Smiling, Wang Yi ignored the envious gazes of the other disciples and respectfully invited the somewhat reserved-looking Yun Hao onto his own spirit artifact.
“Senior Brother Yun Hao may ride on my spirit artifact. There is no need to share the sect flying ship with the others.”
After doing this, he released a massive flying ship from his token.
This was the vessel Proud Sword Sect normally used to transport disciples for training.
Facing the rest of the outer sect disciples, Wang Yi spoke with full authority.
“Line up and board the spirit ship in an orderly manner. We depart in one quarter-hour!”