"Does Master think Qing Jun is a fool? If Qing Jun goes over, Master will definitely knock on my head again!"
Qing Jun’s slightly elongated eyes, with the ends slightly tilted up, carried a hint of slyness like a little fox and an obvious disdain.
She was small in stature, with silver hair reaching her hips.
One hand on her hip, the other a fair little hand with a slender index finger pointing mockingly at Chen Ye.
Sure.
Looks like the recent beatings were in vain, this little girl naturally comes with some rebellious bones, not that easy to convince.
Veins throbbed on Chen Ye’s forehead as he forced a cold smile: "So, Qing Jun didn’t actually have a breakthrough? Or why so guilty, afraid to show Master?"
"Are you trying to provoke me, Master? Such a trick to deceive a three-year-old, don’t use it on Qing Jun!"
The clever little girl saw through her Master’s scheme at a glance.
"Alright, Master even prepared a gift for Qing Jun’s breakthrough."
Chen Ye spoke regretfully as he retrieved an exquisite food box from the storage bag.
He deliberately slowed his actions, opening it slowly in front of Qing Jun.
Inside the box were strands of Dragon Beard Cake, white as snow.
Qing Jun, who had never eaten Dragon Beard Cake, was instantly attracted by the novel pastry, her dark, phoenix-shaped eyes wide open.
"Since our Qing Jun didn’t have a breakthrough, Master will have to enjoy this breakthrough gift himself. Oh, I was thinking, if Qing Jun broke through, this rare Dragon Beard Cake would be hers. It’s said to melt in your mouth, sweet and delightful..."
Chen Ye shook his head regretfully, picking up a piece of Dragon Beard Cake, pretending to bring it to his mouth.
"Gulp—"
A loud swallowing sound came from Qing Jun’s direction.
The little girl’s eyes were fixed on the Dragon Beard Cake in Chen Ye’s hand, her cute little nose twitching slightly, clearly enticed by its sweet aroma.
She instinctively licked her pink lips, the previously smug expression long gone, replaced by a child’s craving look.
"Master..." Qing Jun’s voice involuntarily softened, shuffling her feet, a hint of clinginess, "Qing Jun... Qing Jun really broke through..."
As she spoke, she shuffled to Chen Ye’s side, her small hand nervously clutching the corner of her clothes, her bright phoenix eyes longing as they eyed the food box, afraid that Master would really eat all that delicious-looking Dragon Beard Cake himself.
Chen Ye held back his laughter, raising an eyebrow in feigned surprise: "Oh? Really broke through? Then why wouldn’t you let Master see earlier? Were you... intentionally hiding it to make Master anxious?"
"No... no such thing!" Qing Jun’s face flushed, hurriedly defending, "Qing Jun just... just wanted to give Master a surprise! Yeah, a surprise!"
She straightened her small chest, trying to look more confident.
"Since it’s a surprise, it’s not too late to let Master see now, right?" Chen Ye played along.
The little girl squinted, sighed: "Then let Master see, okay, Master is really something."
She obediently stretched out her slender white hand, letting her Master’s broad hand hold it.
Chen Ye’s fingertip touched her delicate wrist, spiritual power exploring within, carefully feeling the changes in Qing Jun’s meridians.
Sure enough, Qing Jun really broke through to the Third-Layer of Qi Cultivation.
Chen Ye pondered internally:
"Breaking through so fast? Fifteen days ago, she was still at Qi Cultivation Second-Layer, and isn’t Qing Jun’s talent yet to show?"
Moreover, what surprised Chen Ye the most was the capacity of spiritual power in Qing Jun’s dantian was far beyond ordinary cultivators!
Almost comparable to Chen Ye’s Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer spiritual power!
Such talent could only be described as terrifying!
But, considering Qing Jun’s original storyline position, Chen Ye found it reasonable.
After all, she’s the future World-Ending Demoness.
Luckily, Chen Ye had a golden finger, otherwise, in a few years, this little girl’s strength might far exceed his own.
At this moment, Chen Ye’s dissatisfaction with Bai Susu quietly decreased a lot.
Though she acted capriciously, putting the two disciples in danger, she was indeed secretly protecting them, perhaps truly intending to awaken the two disciples’ potential through life and death crises.
Although there were two Foundation Establishment cultivators besieging her later, seeing Bai Susu’s relaxed demeanor afterward suggests the two Foundation Establishment cultivators posed no threat, not affecting her role as Guardian for her two disciples.
"Thinking this way, do I owe Bai Susu a favor?"
Chen Ye mused silently, then pushed the food box to Qing Jun, his tone gentle,
"Not bad, keep working hard, Master is very pleased."
Qing Jun blinked her lively eyes, cautiously taking the food box.
In between, not forgetting to glance vigilantly at Chen Ye:
"Hmm? Is it purely to give Qing Jun something tasty? Isn’t Master planning to knock on Qing Jun’s head?"
Chen Ye was amused by her little expression: "What else? When did Master ever say he’d knock on your head."
"Oh..."
The little girl originally thought Master wanted to lure her over with food to find an excuse to scold her.
Simply put, she’d play dumb and let Master succeed.
After all, this big fool of a Master couldn’t trick her anyway, instead looking so pitiful that the little girl’s heart softened.
Unexpectedly, she misunderstood her Master.
The little girl licked her lips, happily eating the Dragon Beard Cake.
"Mmm!"
The white pastry melted in her mouth, the little girl’s eyes lit up, mumbling indistinctly in praise,
"Delicious!"
Master’s culinary skills are truly exceptional!
Oh no, she could never leave Master for the rest of her life!
Chen Ye seized the opportunity, reaching out to ruffle Qing Jun’s soft white hair, the little girl so engrossed in eating that she had no time to mind Master’s hand.
Until Qing Jun was full, did she deftly tilt her head to dodge.
"Hmm! Master shouldn’t touch Qing Jun’s head! Unless... unless Master brings more tasty treats in exchange!"
Qing Jun, hugging the food box, was growing increasingly audacious.
"Alright, alright, I won’t touch, I won’t touch." Chen Ye raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, "So what does our Great Cultivator Qing Jun plan to do next? Are you going to soar high and leave your master far behind?"
Upon hearing this, Qing Jun quickly glanced at Chen Ye.
She cleared her throat dramatically, "Master, rest assured! When Qing Jun becomes more powerful than master, I will definitely repay you generously! I’ll also make you delicious sweet and sour fish!"
By the end, the little girl couldn’t help but grin, showing rows of neat white baby teeth.
Cute, with a hint of mischief.
"..."
Chen Ye was speechless for a moment. Repaying is one thing, but what does it mean to repay generously?
Forget it, Qing Jun is still young, using the wrong words is common.
He thought to himself, one of these days, he must send these two little girls to the Lingyin Sect’s school for proper education.
He points out cultivation to his disciples daily and handles sect affairs, already stretched thin, with no additional time to teach them reading and writing.
Moreover, he himself has never received a systematic education in the cultivation realm, and if he were to teach, he might misguide them.
"Qing Jun, do you want to go to school?" Chen Ye asked with a mischievous smile.
The clueless little girl wiped her dirty little mouth and looked confused, "School? What’s school? Can it be eaten?"
"You’ll find out one day."
"Hmm??"
The ’little student’ seemed puzzled.
Chen Ye, however, did not continue to explain and turned his gaze to another room.
Fifteen days ago, he already knew that Zhiwei’s Purity Glaze Body had awakened again after experiencing that life-and-death crisis, becoming a pure Single Water Spiritual Root!
Single Spiritual Root, also known as Celestial Spiritual Root, is considered the pinnacle of a cultivator’s talent, aside from various spirit bodies.
Such talent is extremely rare even in the entire cultivation realm.
For instance, Bai Susu from the Bai Family, known as the little demoness, has a Single Gold Spiritual Root and successfully established her foundation at the age of nineteen, making her famous in the Yan Kingdom.
And Zhiwei, since awakening her Single Spiritual Root, has been advancing at an astonishing speed in her cultivation.
It took only fifteen days for her to break through from Qi Cultivation Third-Layer to Qi Cultivation Fourth-Layer!
It’s worth noting that when Chen Ye arrived in this world, his starting cultivation was only at the Qi Cultivation Fourth-Layer.
Chen Ye arrived at Zhiwei’s door and knocked lightly.
"Master." Came Zhiwei’s calm voice from within.
Chen Ye pushed the door open and saw Zhiwei sitting cross-legged on a meditation mat. The water-blue spiritual qi around her flowed and shimmered, growing more condensed and refined compared to last time, a clear indication of her Qi Cultivation Fourth-Layer level.
As soon as she saw Chen Ye enter, she slowly finished her cultivation and stood up. Her black hair was loosely tied with a green jade hairpin, making her delicate and serene face appear even more composed.
"Zhiwei, in your cultivation these past few days, have you encountered any obstacles?" Chen Ye asked gently, carefully observing her.
The little girl had grown a lot taller recently, already surpassing Qing Jun by a good head.
Though she had been well-nourished these days, all the nutrition seemed to go into her height, as she still appeared slender.
Pairing that with her naturally refined and cool face, there was a budding elegance of a young lady, which filled Chen Ye with a sense of "my girl is growing up" pride and... well, a tiny bit of inexplicable protective instinct.
Zhiwei slightly shook her head, her dark eyes fixed on Chen Ye, "Master, the Frost Splendor Record functions smoothly, but... Zhiwei can still only sense the Water Spiritual Qi."
The older girl appeared a bit disappointed.
Her world was small, containing only a master and a junior sister.
And in that small world, her master, with all five elements, was considered a towering existence.
Therefore,
Zhiwei believed that having all five elements like her master was the highest talent in the world.
"That’s a good thing."
Chen Ye chuckled lightly; if it were any other Loose Cultivator, they might think Zhiwei was flaunting.
There was even a hint of envy in him, "Only being able to sense Water Spiritual Qi means you won’t be disturbed by other mixed spiritual powers, making cultivating the Frost Splendor Record much more efficient, surpassing ordinary people. In the cultivation realm, countless cultivators dream of having your aptitude..."
"But Zhiwei doesn’t care what others think."
The black-haired girl’s face remained calm, as she looked silently at her master, speaking with stubbornness,
"In Zhiwei’s eyes, master’s Five Spiritual Roots are the strongest spiritual roots in the world. When master stands atop the cultivation world with Five Spiritual Roots, not only will Zhiwei, but everyone will think so."
Moreover,
No matter how strong a spiritual root is, it doesn’t bring her as much peace as master’s Five Spiritual Roots.
Capable of healing Spirit Plants, earning Spirit Stones, ensuring they have no worries.
Also able to deploy Geng Metal Technique and Flying Sword Technique, protecting them in times of danger...
Zhiwei’s tone was calm, but the meaning behind those calm words moved Chen Ye.
To think that in Zhiwei’s heart, he had such a high and respected image?
Did the older girl even think he could stand at the top of the cultivation world?
Hiss...
Zhiwei, this girl, seemed aloof, yet why did her words become more and more straightforward?
A while ago, she even said master was her destiny.
Unable to help himself, Chen Ye glanced at his eldest disciple, only to see her expressionless and utterly free of embarrassment.
With a wry smile, he said:
"I didn’t expect Zhiwei to think so highly of master... but when Zhiwei’s physique fully awakens, it might truly be all-encompassing in the Five Elements."
Saying this, Chen Ye increasingly felt that Zhiwei was extraordinary.
A fully awakened Zhiwei would also possess the Five Spiritual Roots, but each of her spiritual roots could compare to a Celestial Spiritual Root!
"Really..."
The older girl’s cold eyes finally sparkled with a hint of anticipation.
Could she also become a powerful cultivator like master?