Having finished his first lesson with Mui, Xuan Hao turned towards the young girl as she was busy eating the multitude of different snacks Zhi Ruo had brought out for her to enjoy along with the tea that was still sitting untouched on the side.
"Mui, is there anything you didn't understand or want to know more about?"
"Hm? Not really, I feel like I understood what master said- Ah! If possible, I would like to know where these come from!" Not paying too much attention to what her master said as she was busy eating a small shortcake, Mui suddenly jumped up after realizing that she had a chance to figure out where the delicious snacks she had been eating came from.
This girl… Can she only think with her stomach…?
Following a silent sigh escaping his lips while thinking about this, Xuan Hao turned his attention towards Zhi Ruo, who had been quietly standing not too far away during the entire lesson in case Mui would need any new snacks. "Zhi Ruo, can you take care of Mui and show her how to make these snacks?"
"Yes, master, it would be my pleasure to show her how I made them!" Nodding her head with a far livelier expression than normal, Zhi Ruo happily agreed to take care of Mui and show her how she had made the different snacks that she had eaten during the lesson.
"Looks like you are lucky, Zhi Ruo here will be taking care of you while I go and check up on my other disciples."
"Thank you master!" Not wasting any time after thanking him, Mui excitedly ran towards Zhi Ruo before both made their way inside the palace. Heading in the direction of the kitchen that was located a short distance away from the entrance of the palace itself.
Why does she seem so much more excited about this than she was about my lesson…?
Shaking his head as he thought about this, Xuan Hao reminded himself that Mui had been an orphan who had been living on an empty stomach most of the time before becoming his disciple. Making it reasonable for her to be so much more excited at the different food and snacks she could now eat without having to worry about anything.
In time, she would calm down after adjusting to her new life in the Star Shattering Sect…
As this thought passed through his head, Xuan Hao turned around before leaving in the direction of the training ground next to the palace where Chu Yang and Qing Yi were busy training with each other in preparation for the mystic realm that they would soon enter.
…
At the same time Xuan Hao was busy teaching Mui, Chu Yang and Qing Yi had decided to engage in a spirited sparring session while waiting for their master to finish teaching their new junior sister.
"Go big sister Qing and big brother Chu!"
Not too far away from where they were fighting, Song Jia could be seen sitting with an excited expression on her face as she watched the sparring session between Chu Yang and Qing Yi. Even if she could not see anything since she was blind, she could still sense what was happening to some degree, as it looked like two massive clouds of energy were constantly clashing with each other.
As the two fought with each other, it was obvious for anyone watching the fight that Chu Yang was far stronger when compared to Qing Yi, as he effortlessly moved his spear to intercept and counter her attacks. Each movement carrying with it the weight of his cultivation base, allowing him to control the flow of the battle without giving Qing Yi any chance to launch a proper attack before being forced back by his spear.
However, Qing Yi was already aware of the fact that she was weaker than Chu Yang when it came to fighting. Especially considering that she had firsthand witnessed the effort he had put in to increase his strength during the two months that their master had been gone… But even with this, she still decided to do her best to show she was off her swift footwork and nimble maneuvers befitting someone practicing the sword.
The only problem was… Chu Yang was far faster than her, with his movements also being far more fluid due to continuous practice against the different Nascent Soul Realm Elders of the sect. Even if Qing Yi might have been able to do well against someone normal in the First Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm with her current lacking Nascent Soul Realm fighting experience, she stood no chance against Chu Yang who had already become strong enough to face off against someone in the Fourth Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm-
Ching~!
This became obvious as the battle intensified, and Qing Yi was forced to use all her strength to defend against Chu Yang's spear that constantly came whistling through the air towards her in a seemingly endless stream of attack that gave her no time to breath.
Bang-bang-bang!
With each clash of metal, small shockwaves were sent rippling through the training ground without damaging anything in the process, symbolizing just how good they were at controlling their strength and making sure none of it went to waste-
Boom-!
Well, almost everything, Qing Yi had after all still not managed to fully grasp her Nascent Soul Realm strength. Resulting in some of the energy shockwaves released by her being a little more destructive-
"Ah!?"
One even getting close to hitting Song Jia who was observing the fight between the two. Making Qing Yi turn her attention away from the battle and towards controlling her own energy in order to ensure she did not end up accidently hitting Song Jia.
Swish-!
As Qing Yi momentarily focused her attention away from the battle and towards the destruction that she had ended up causing to part of the training ground when almost hitting Song Jia, Chu Yang made full use of this opportunity to break through her defenses-
Zhing~!
Knocking her sword away before stopping just as the tip of his spear hovered only a short distance away from Qing Yi's neck. Signaling the end of the battle.
"I give up, you win!" Knowing that she had lost, Qing Yi helplessly put up her hands in defeat.
Although the fight did feel like it was long, it had only lasted for a little over a minute. Showing just how much stronger Chu Yang was compared to her, something she had somewhat already expected given just how much time Chu Yang had spent training in the Combat Hall over the past two months. Not to mention the fact that he had broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm before her and was already at the Peak of the First Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm. Only a single step away from reaching the Second Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm…
"That was a great sparring session! Even if you only just reached the Nascent Soul Realm, your strength has already surpassed that of some elders in the Second Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm that I've faced. Given you have time to familiarize yourself with the Nascent Soul Realm and get some more fighting experience, I don't doubt you will be able to reach my current level… But at that point in time, I would have already become stronger! With that in mind… How about another match before master shows up!?" Smiling happily as he said this, Chu Yang 's fighting spirited had already been ignited by the last fight, as he wanted to go again.
"That-"
"Good to see both of you are so lively even without me around."
However, before Qing Yi had a time to respond, the familiar voice of their master sounded out from the entrance to the training ground-
""Master!""
Causing both Qing Yi and Chu Yang to turn around with surprised expressions on their faces. Clearly, they had not expected their master to show up so fast. Having thought that the lesson with their new junior sister would last for a longer time considering that the first lesson they had with their master had lasted for the entire day.
"Elder Xuan!"
Song Jia on the other hand did not show a similar surprised expression and instead just happily bounced towards Xuan Hao before greeting him.
"It's good to see you again Song Jia, how have things been going since last? Is Elder Song back more often now?"
"Grandpa Song? Hm… Grandpa Song has indeed been back more often to play with me. Although he still complains about some of the elders under him being far too lazy…" Hearing the question from Xuan Hao, Song Jia tilted her head looking deep in thought for a short moment before answering with a smile on her face. Making it rather obvious how happy she was that Elder Song seemed to have more free time to spent with her now that he at least had some help in managing the sect compared to before…