When Cheng Ziying first crossed paths with Lin Qifeng, he was still an outer court elder.
Back then, Cheng Ziying was only an ordinary outer sect disciple helping out at the Training Grounds. As her cultivation advanced, she began to gain a bit of a reputation within the outer court.
Then one day, unexpectedly, Outer Court Elder Lin Qifeng sent someone to summon her.
“I heard you know Chen Yan?”
Cheng Ziying had just stepped into the Fate Inquiry Hall when this elder, personally appointed by the Sect Leader, spoke so bluntly.
“Yes. I used to know Chen… senior brother. We were acquaintances once, but we have no contact now.”
She replied.
“Go find that brat and bring him to me.”
At that time, Lin Qifeng issued the order with no expression, and when he looked at Cheng Ziying his gaze carried only lofty indifference and calm disdain.
“Seat Chief Cheng, long time no see.”
This Alchemy Hall elder from Kongyuan Mountain greeted her with a broad smile.
Then he launched into his spiel, saying that when he saw Cheng Ziying back in the outer court he already knew she would accomplish great things, and he rattled off the usual benefits she would gain by serving as a Daomen Xingzou.
“Becoming a Daomen Xingzou has always been Chen Yan’s dream. If his spirit watches from the heavens, knowing an old friend who grew up with him rose to become the sect’s Daomen Xingzou, he would surely be comforted.”
In the end, Lin Qifeng said it with a melancholy smile.
And so, Cheng Ziying became a Daomen Xingzou of Kongshan Sect.
As mentioned before, it’s possible Cheng Ziying once harbored some feelings for Chen Yan, but that was in the past.
That is how she believed it.
Still, Cheng Ziying would feel regret and pity over Chen Yan’s death.
Much like how Chen Yan had once felt toward Cheng Ziying during his first cycle of reincarnation.
An old friend’s last wish?
Thus, Cheng Ziying became Kongshan Sect’s Daomen Xingzou.
Time returned to the present.
She was also astonished at the little girl on the arena platform who looked only five or six years old.
A Martial Spring Realm at that age was unheard of.
“When Qing Yu first entered the Martial Spring Realm she was already thirteen. This child…”
Sitting beside Cheng Ziying, Yan Huaimeng sighed.
On the platform.
Shangguan Chen narrowed his eyes. He was very cautious and did not underestimate the opponent just because she was a girl not even half his height.
A Martial Spring Realm at such a young age was unheard of.
So she must have something unusual.
But no matter what, she was still a child, and thus Shangguan Chen wanted Si Youyou to take the first move.
One should keep appearances, and cultivators even more so.
“Please.”
Shangguan Chen folded his hands behind his back and called out in a clear voice.
The instant his words fell, Si Youyou vanished from her spot and reappeared at Shangguan Chen’s left.
Xun Wind Step.
So fast!
That thought flashed through Shangguan Chen’s mind, and Si Youyou immediately launched a fierce assault toward him.
She was only six.
Her limbs were short, and against a cultivator of the same realm she was at a strength disadvantage.
Therefore, Shangguan Chen could barely handle it.
Though she was genuinely Martial Spring Realm, she was after all just a child.
Shangguan Chen secretly breathed easier.
He began thinking about how to end the match with dignity.
Beating a five- or six-year-old girl wasn’t something to boast about, even if she was a Martial Spring Realm prodigy.
Unless he could make it look effortless.
Dodging backward while constantly shifting angles, Shangguan Chen only made the occasional symbolic counterattack.
To the onlookers, it was purely an adult toying with a child.
But the Daomen Xingzou on the viewing stand didn’t see it that way.
“That footwork…”
Ge Yu’s expression was grave. He had been watching Si Youyou’s steps closely.
Ge Yu had participated in the Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquiry twenty years ago. Though his ranking wasn’t top-tier, his footwork had been the most outstanding at that event.
The footwork displayed by the little girl Si Youyou—both in speed and rhythm changes—was on par with his own back then.
Xiao Bo’an, who sat beside Ge Yu, was focused elsewhere.
“…Thousand Clouds Transformation?”
His face was equally serious; his index finger kept tapping the armrest.
This was the secret method of the Guixu Tower of Mirage Palace.
It resembled it by seventy to eighty percent, yet something about it felt off.
As a disciple of Weaving Dreams Tower, Xiao Bo’an naturally had not practiced Guixu Tower’s Thousand Clouds Transformation.
But even if you had never eaten pork, you’d seen a pig run.
“But why…”
Xiao Bo’an squinted, then shifted his gaze toward the youth in the crowd and the young cultivator wearing plain daoist robes.
…
Si Youyou pressed forward like a series of killing steps, launching wave after wave at Shangguan Chen.
Shangguan Chen feinted, evading while condensing true qi, preparing to counterattack.
Si Youyou instinctively slipped to the side, which played right into Shangguan Chen’s plan.
He found the flaw exposed by her evasive footwork and lifted his foot to trip her.
That single sweep would completely disrupt the rhythm of the little girl’s movement, and then defeating her would be a trivial task.
This was Shangguan Chen’s strategy: defeat the opponent lightly and elegantly, showcasing his supreme skill.
But as his foot descended and success seemed imminent, Si Youyou’s foothold changed direction at a strange angle.
Reality shifted.
The mobility of Xun Wind Step combined with the mutability of Thousand Clouds Transformation produced an effect greater than the sum of its parts.
Si Youyou planted a foot on the top of Shangguan Chen’s planted foot, the other foot on his calf.
Then, as if using him like a bridge, she walked a few steps and stood atop his thigh.
At that moment, Si Youyou’s little head was even half a head taller than Shangguan Chen’s.
She raised her hand; her small palm was wrapped in true qi.
Smack!
She slapped Shangguan Chen’s left cheek hard.
This was Si Youyou’s first effective strike against Shangguan Chen since she stepped onto the arena.
That crisp smack silenced the entire venue instantly.
“Pfft!”
Someone finally couldn’t hold it and burst out laughing.
The most talented disciple Cangkong Pavilion had produced in nearly a century, Shangguan Chen, had been slapped across the face by a five- or six-year-old girl at the Floating Light Summit Dao Inquiry.
All the composure he had just displayed evaporated.
A small handprint slowly appeared on his cheek.
The smile that had always been the picture of poise on Shangguan Chen’s face froze completely.
Not nearly dignified enough.