When Senior Sister Zhao visited Li Fan the following day, she was startled to find that he had already achieved a large degree of mastery in the Taiyuan Unity Art. Only some final refinements remained.
She was pleased for him, yet an inexplicable emptiness welled up inside her.
"Senior Sister, spar with me!" Li Fan said suddenly.
"Huh?" Senior Sister Zhao blinked. "What?"
"What’s your current cultivation realm, Senior Sister?" Li Fan asked.
She hesitated briefly, then answered honestly. "Late-stage Foundation Establishment. Why?"
Li Fan showed no surprise at her rapid progress. Instead, he clapped and praised her warmly. "Senior Brother Zhang was right about you. Your talent really is exceptional."
The compliment brought a faint flush to her cheeks.
"Still," Li Fan continued, "you can't just bully someone weaker. In our match, you're only allowed to use strength up to late-stage Qi Refinement at most. Senior Sister, watch out!"
Before she could fully react, he charged at her.
Startled, she faltered for an instant. But her cultivation ran a full realm above his, and her control of spiritual qi and combat reflexes far exceeded Li Fan's.
After a little more than a dozen exchanges, Li Fan was thoroughly beaten.
He climbed back to his feet, coughed softly, and resumed his praise without missing a beat. "You're incredible, Senior Sister!"
"Are you hurt?" She rushed over with concern and a trace of guilt, checking him carefully. Only after confirming he was fine did she relax.
"Again!" After a short rest, Li Fan spoke with solemn determination, and they began sparring once more.
With such an exacting training partner, Li Fan's practical combat ability improved at a remarkable pace. Senior Sister Zhao also taught him techniques like Void-Splitting Blade and Wind Flash, greatly expanding his fighting power.
But the peaceful routine didn't last. Her daily visits to Qingning Peak in the outer sect were eventually discovered by her master, Zhang Wangshuang.
After a thorough scolding, Senior Sister Zhao was confined.
Still, after repeated pleading, she was allowed one final meeting with Li Fan.
Seeing her on the verge of tears, devastated and reluctant to go, Li Fan felt a stab of remorse as well.
He stepped forward, pulled her into his arms, and gently patted her back. "Don't be sad, Senior Sister. If your master won't allow you to come to the outer sect, then I'll enter the inner sect to find you. No matter what, I won't leave you behind. Focus on your cultivation and wait for me."
Senior Sister Zhao stared at him with misty eyes, her heart racing.
Li Fan kissed her deeply, and they stayed that way for a long while.
Only when the time her master had permitted was nearly up did Li Fan finally let go of the struggling Senior Sister Zhao. Nestled against him, she murmured a few soft words before leaving reluctantly.
Back in the small cabin, Li Fan steadied himself and put the intimacy behind him. He sealed the door, activated the protective artifact Senior Sister Zhao had given him, and began attempting Foundation Establishment.
But this body's innate aptitude was truly lacking.
All three attempts failed.
Forcing further attempts risked damaging his foundation, so with no other option, Li Fan reluctantly swallowed the Foundation Establishment Pill she had given him. This time, aided by external power, he finally succeeded.
With Foundation Establishment achieved, he was at last able to formally become a disciple of the Great Dao Sect.
Unfortunately, breaking through by external means inevitably limited his future prospects. His cultivation aptitude was genuinely mediocre, and unlike Senior Sister Zhao, he failed to catch the eye of any senior in the sect. He was accepted as a disciple only by the Nascent Soul cultivator Zhuang Yunxuan through the standard procedure, becoming a fifth-generation disciple of the Great Dao Sect, one generation behind Senior Sister Zhao.
When Senior Sister Zhao saw him, she was genuinely happy. She set aside all formality, telling him that when no one else was around, he could keep calling her "Senior Sister."
Now that they were both inner disciples, visiting one another was far easier. Although Senior Sister Zhao had already advanced to the Golden Core realm, Li Fan still found excuses to see her whenever he could.
His cultivation might have been on the weaker side, but Li Fan was impeccable in his manners—polite to everyone, always wearing a friendly smile. Even when others mocked or belittled him, he took it in stride, nodding calmly and agreeing with disarming humility.
Over time, his unruffled responses left the whisperers feeling faintly embarrassed. On top of that, Senior Sister Zhao's master Zhang Wangshuang never objected to their relationship, and little by little, everyone quietly grew used to Li Fan being around.
Seeing him resolve a situation that had long weighed on her so effortlessly, Senior Sister Zhao felt both astonished and relieved. With her last concern gone, the look she gave Li Fan grew increasingly tender.
Time passed. Three years went by in what felt like a blink.
Unburdened by distractions, Senior Sister Zhao's cultivation surged forward. She advanced to late-stage Golden Core and began preparing to form a Nascent Soul. With her support, Li Fan had no shortage of methods or pills, and his own progress was swift as well. He reached the peak of Foundation Establishment and stood on the threshold of core formation.
As the saying goes, "swallow a Golden Core and your fate is no longer heaven's to dictate." The gulf between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core was enormous—crossing it meant defying the heavens and rewriting one's destiny; after that, life would be entirely different.
Li Fan knew his talent was limited and that core formation might not go smoothly. To be absolutely safe, he chose to enter seclusion, consolidating his cultivation and waiting for the right moment.
Two months later, just as he felt a stirring within himself and sensed that the time to form his Golden Core was near, a single message arrived and forced him out of seclusion ahead of schedule.
It came from Jiang Ningjun, Senior Sister Zhao's junior brother and Zhang Wangshuang's youngest disciple.
He warned that Senior Brother Qin Shou of the Lianshan Branch had recently begun an aggressive courtship of Senior Sister Zhao.
Qin Shou was young yet already a Nascent Soul cultivator. His master, Qu Hanfeng, also shared a warm relationship with Zhang Wangshuang, who himself seemed quite pleased at the prospect of the two becoming Dao Companions.
Qin Shou was handsome and charismatic, with striking bearing. On the surface, he and Senior Sister Zhao looked like a perfect match.
In the few months Li Fan had been in seclusion, the Yuehua Branch's favor toward Qin Shou had already far eclipsed anything Li Fan had ever received.
Only Jiang Ningjun, the junior Li Fan was closest to, and someone who deeply disliked Qin Shou's hypocritical manner, had taken the risk of sending the warning.
The moment Li Fan heard the news, he decided to delay his core formation.
Reaching Golden Core could wait; he could break through whenever he chose. But if Senior Sister Zhao were taken by someone else, she would be gone for good.
He trusted her. But the world was full of uncertainties, and he understood clearly that everything he had achieved so far was inseparable from her support.
Whoever dares steal my soft rice is cutting off my path to the Dao.
No matter who it is, I'll fight them to the death.
A cold, ruthless glint flashed in Li Fan's eyes.