Busy all day.
Chen Ye was not in a good mood.
The reason is simple: if it weren’t for Kong Hongxuan, why would he risk hunting in the Three Thousand Great Mountains?
He could just stay at home, with his soft and fragrant disciples by his side.
He could calmly improve his proficiency.
"Strange, both disciples are ignoring me?"
The words rolled twice in the snow, yet inside the house, it was unusually quiet.
Chen Ye paused his steps, the flickering light glowed slightly from the crack in the door, and the crisp sound of ice breaking could faintly be heard.
He pushed open the door.
Inside, Qing Jun was curled up in the bed with her back to the door, only the back of her head visible.
Zhiwei’s hands were in her sleeves, but the tips of her fingers leaked ice shards, leaving deep water stains on the floor.
"Master."
As the black-furred ball stood up, she kicked over the copper basin, spilling hot water on the ground.
Unusually, she did not clean it up, just stood there with her head bowed, her long hair covering half her cheek.
Chen Ye keenly sensed something was off,
one disciple facing the wall pretending to sleep, the other silently looking down, a kind of tension filled the air.
He glanced at the water stains on the floor and then at Qing Jun’s slightly trembling shoulders.
"Granny Li made you winter clothes."
Chen Ye deliberately put the package on the bed. Usually, at this time, Qing Jun would have pounced on it to rummage, but now she didn’t even turn her head.
Zhiwei mechanically untied the knot, her fingers trembled slightly when touching the thick cotton coat.
The rough inner lining was sewn with dense stitches, and the collar was embroidered with a small black dog, showing the old woman’s care and tenderness.
Her gaze, which was a bit cold, gained a touch of warmth.
But when she looked at Chen Ye, that warmth disappeared without a trace:
"...Thank you, Master."
Her voice was like it had been soaked in ice water, making Chen Ye’s heart tighten.
This girl was usually aloof but had never spoken with such a barrier in her tone.
"How strange."
Honestly, Chen Ye felt a bit uncomfortable inside.
Granny Li sewing clothes for them could move them.
But what he had provided them in these days was far more than just winter clothes?
Comfortable living conditions, ample food, and his meticulous care...
Forget it.
Chen Ye recalled the eldest girl crying yesterday for the snow cat’s sake.
He felt relieved.
After all, he is human, but the two disciples are also living people with their emotional fluctuations.
Occasionally having small tempers is normal.
Besides, they probably still remember how their predecessor treated them.
Maybe...
In the future, they might even have rebellious phases.
The path of cultivation is destined to be dull; a bit of concern over the two disciples is no harm.
Chen Ye became enlightened, holding the eldest disciple’s cold little hand.
"Master..." The girl’s little finger moved slightly in his palm.
"Could it be that Zhiwei is upset because the snow cat was broken?" Chen Ye opened her damp little hand, vaguely seeing a pile of ice shards.
"It’s not." The eldest girl wanted to withdraw her hand.
Without further ado, Chen Ye led the eldest disciple to the courtyard.
Night had already fallen,
the snow in the courtyard reached knee-high.
Six points of golden light rose from Chen Ye’s fingertips, transforming into six flexible arcs of light in the eldest disciple’s pitch-black pupils.
They weaved through the snow, carving out six ice sculptures of various postures.
"Whew..." Chen Ye wiped a cold sweat.
Though his Geng Metal Qi had broken the limit, manipulating six points of Geng Metal Qi to carve different ice sculptures at the same time was still a challenge for Chen Ye.
But seeing the elder disciple’s blank expression, Chen Ye suddenly felt it was worth it.
"And you say it’s not because you’re upset about the snow cat." He took the opportunity to ruffle the eldest girl’s fluffy head.
"Master... doesn’t understand anything."
The black-furred ball raised her small face, silently glancing at Chen Ye.
The man’s face bore exhaustion, with patches of bloodstains, showing clearly he’d been busy outside all day.
But when he returned home, he still had to carve ice sculptures that only kids would like for her...
At this moment, his face showed a hint of confusion: "Then why is it?"
Chen Ye, idiot!
The black-furred ball lowered her head: "Because...it’s not a snow cat, it’s an ice cat!"
This girl, is she teasing her master?
Chen Ye flicked her on the forehead: "Master is really busy, hunting demon beasts outside, and when back, still has to coax you two girls."
The black-furred ball’s head lowered even further, keeping silent.
Back at home.
The little girl was sitting on the bed looking around blankly, suddenly crying "wah" and jumped into Zhiwei’s arms, trembling:
"Sister...Qing Jun, had a nightmare! Dreamt again that master hit Qing Jun... hey, master!!"
Qing Jun, belatedly realizing that Master was still here!
Frightened like an ostrich, she buried her little head into her sister’s frail body.
Zhiwei looked at Chen Ye again, gently patting her back:
"Sister is here, Qing Jun don’t be afraid."
Seeing this, Chen Ye hopelessly went into the cultivation room, giving the two disciples time alone.
"Sister, was I being a bad child again just now?"
The answer she received was a voice lighter than falling snow:
"Don’t be afraid, sister is here..."
The panic on the white-furred ball’s little face eased, becoming a touch of reassurance.
As long as sister is here, no matter how scary the thing is, it’s not scary!
...
Chen Ye reviewed the day’s hunt and discovered a key issue.
That is, while his Geng Metal Technique’s realm was sufficient, his cultivation couldn’t keep up.
His cultivation was only at the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer, and this flaw resulted in his spiritual power being insufficient.
He could cast the Geng Metal Technique only ten times before depleting his spiritual power, severely affecting his sustainability.
When hunting the Red-tailed Bird, Chen Ye didn’t dare to cast multiple Geng Metal Qi at once, afraid of exhausting his spiritual power in the Three Thousand Great Mountains.
Besides that, inadequate spiritual power also undeniably weakened the power of Geng Metal Qi.
"Panel!" Chen Ye thought.
[Name: Chen Ye]
[Life Age: 40/82]
[Spiritual Root: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth]
[Realm: Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer]
[Cultivation Technique: Evergreen Technique Perfection: 310/400; Heavy Body Technique Great Success: 52/200]
[Skills: Bone-Scraping Whip Minor Achievement: 50/100; Culinary Skill Great Success: 180/200; Disease Removal Saber Technique Perfection: 220/400; Fostering Technique Great Success: 100/200; Cloud Rain Technique Great Success: 100/200; Geng Metal Technique Limit Break: 21/800]
He focused on the Evergreen Technique.
Currently, if he had enough Qi Replenishing Pills, he would need four months to break through to Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer.
Sounds fast,
but the predecessor had already been settled in the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer for several years, and now he’s also on a spirit vein, Evergreen Technique nearing Perfection, resources are plentiful.
With all these factors combined, it still takes four months!
The young cultivator next door, Xue Chengjun, was less than thirty years old and already at Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer.
And Lin Qiongyu, around twenty, was also at Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer.
"Comparison indeed is infuriating...thankfully there’s still a panel, otherwise before the disciple grows up, I’d have died of old age." Chen Ye clicked his tongue.
No way around it, after all, he has Five Spiritual Roots.
Although Five Spiritual Roots allowed him to master most cultivation realm’s magic, it also brought a slow cultivation speed...
"But once the cultivation technique breaks its limit, it can compensate for all of this!"