Chapter 83: The Master Jian's Path
Since Ji You and Pei Ruyi successively left Tianshu Academy for the ruins, Cao Jinsong's actions outside the academy had been low-key for a long time.
On the one hand, he thought Ji You might not return, thus laying the foundation for Ji You's feigned death outside.
On the other hand, he was indeed overly worried about the safety of both of them, to the extent that his Divine Soul was restless all day.
Especially when the divine lightning shook the nine provinces, he didn't sleep all night.
It wasn't until he received a message from Ji You that he now stood on the Ascension White Jade Platform, looking as if he had returned to his twenty-year-old self, in his prime, full of vigor.
He was full of confidence.
"What happened?"
"It seems to be related to Dan Sect. I heard a lot of talk about hot-headedness and blood, which is quite creepy—"
"The content isn't important, but from the situation—it seems Ji You is coming back."
Under the night sky at this moment, an immortal ship traversed the Nu River, its bottom glowing with immortal light, gathering into a sharp sword edge that cut through the oncoming wind and waves.
Ji You returned from Bai Rulong's room, holding a note, and began to meditate cross-legged, his Qi surging around him.
After entering the Tong Xuan Realm, he felt a profound understanding of everything around him. Whether it was the movement of wind or the flow of water, even without direct visual observation, he could perceive it clearly.
This Realm greatly amplifies one's five senses to observe a more microscopic world, thereby comprehending Magic .
And truly cultivating the Dao begins from this point.
Ji You could feel the Spiritual Qi flowing continuously, far more vast than before.
After a long time, there seemed to be a tiny ball of wind in his palm. Although it was invisible to the naked eye, the flow of Qi in the room was changed by it.
During the battle in the ruins with the Rongdao Realm, no one was seen using techniques because the Heavenly Dao could not sense them.
If it weren't for this, transcending a Realm to kill an enemy would be impossible.
He exhaled, retracting the Qi around him, and the scattered wind blew away the paper and pen on the table.
"Tremble, Celestial Book Institute Head Teacher."
"The fierce bandit is back."
Ji You muttered to himself, his ambition to torment the old man stirring.
The letter sent to Tianshu Academy should have been received. His return this time should be like returning home in glory.
He slowly opened his eyes, then looked up and saw Zhuo Wanqiu standing at the door, looking at him pleasantly.
At this moment, she was holding a sword and a pre-prepared hot towel in her hand.
"Young Master, wipe your sweat."
"Uh, thank you—"
Ji You took the towel and wiped his sweat, thinking that it was clearly agreed that she was here to protect the Yuan family siblings, but the favoritism of Lingjian Mountain Disciple seemed too obvious.
He suddenly remembered that Zhuo Wanqiu had let slip something about calling him Master Jian's wife when she arrived.
Although marrying a rich woman was his ideal, he had never thought of becoming a live-in son-in-law.
He always preferred to eat soft rice the hard way.
"Has your family's little Master Jian returned to the mountain?"
"Yes, I've received the message. Tianjian Peak's strength has greatly diminished. At the Sect conference, they proposed the idea of merging with Wenjian Peak.
Wenjian Peak must have been promised benefits and has privately agreed with them. Although Master Jian holds the spirit mirror, the position of Lingjian Mountain Head Teacher is still with Tianjian Peak, so she is very annoyed."
Lingjian Mountain is divided into three main branches: Tianjian Peak, Xuanjian Peak, and Wenjian Peak.
Among them, Tianjian Peak is the strongest and has the deepest foundation, while Wenjian Peak is the weakest, ranking last.
Now that Tianjian Peak's strength has been damaged in the ruins, they want to make up for it from Wenjian Peak.
Human desires have always been this way, overly strong, rising and falling, and this has continued for a thousand years.
A thousand years ago, this situation also existed, but it was not so intense.
It is said that a thousand years ago, the development of Qingyun World was still dominated by the succession of secular Dynasties, and Immortal Sects were merely secluded places hidden on immortal mountains.
At that time, the common people had heard of the mysterious powers of cultivators, but they didn't feel envious, because sitting in deep mountains was not something everyone could accept.
It wasn't until the Central Plains warlords fought amongst themselves that the Immortal Sects, due to their offerings, became involved and discovered the sweetness of power, thus becoming unstoppable.
Subsequently, Worldly Sect united, Immortal Sects intermarried, and even Dan Sect continuously sought out live-in sons-in-law, constantly consolidating their strength, step by step becoming the behemoths they are today.
The reason for this is that very few people can truly achieve Ascension, so more people care about the power they hold in the present.
Ji You handed the towel back, his hands on his knees: "How is she on the mountain?"
Zhuo Wanqiu smiled faintly upon hearing this: "Master Jian is very dignified on the mountain, always appearing cold and aloof. She is the goddess in the hearts of all young Disciples of Lingjian Mountain, but no one would have thought that she would be so playful when she is with Young Master."
"She doesn't have many friends?"
"Since the spirit mirror chose Master Jian, no one dared to call her a friend anymore. Later, because of Ding Yao's matter, she also deliberately distanced herself from others and no longer made deep friendships."
Ji You frowned upon hearing this: "Ding Yao?"
Zhuo Wanqiu nodded: "Master Jian initially insisted on calling Ding Yao her sister, saying she didn't like people bowing their heads when they saw her. Later, Senior Sister Ding Yao became increasingly distinguished, forming cliques within the Sect, and her temperament became increasingly eccentric—"
"No wonder."
Zhuo Wanqiu raised her eyes: "Did Master Jian and Young Master meet by chance?"
Ji You recalled the events on Void Mountain and nodded: "Yes, that's right."
"That's not surprising. Master Jian hates a life that is arranged for her; deep down, she has a kind of—"
"Rebellious?"
Zhuo Wanqiu coughed, thinking, 'Master Jian is yours, of course you can say that, but I can't.' Then she continued: "It is said that when Master Jian was young, she didn't want to be the Head Teacher. She threw the spirit mirror away many times, and once even sank it into the Xuán Hǎi, which scared the entire Lingjian Mountain."
Ji You pictured a mischievous little girl, running barefoot to the beach, insisting on throwing the spirit mirror away.
"What happened later?"
"Later, Xuanjian Peak Disciples were always bullied by Tianjian Peak, probably also influenced by the little Master Jian's attitude. Everyone felt that since the little Master Jian was so resistant, the spirit mirror would eventually return to Tianjian Peak."
Zhuo Wanqiu recalled: "Under the influence of the atmosphere, Xuanjian Peak Disciples were dispirited all day, allowing themselves to be bullied. After Master Jian found out, she never said she didn't want to be the Head Teacher again."
"Later, Master Jian confined herself to the mountain, meditating all day, and became the strongest direct Disciple of her generation."
Ji You and Yan Shuyi met at Tianshu Academy, but he didn't have a deep understanding of her life and background.
She secretly came to play in winter, and they had chatted, but she always said she was the great Master Jian, the strongest direct Disciple of her generation, and the future Head Teacher of Lingjian Mountain.
But in fact, her life had always been monotonous, guarding the broken spirit mirror and meditating all day.
She knew that the entire mountain was watching her, and even the entire Qingyun World was watching her.
Now, facing Tianjian Peak, she had to protect Xuanjian Peak, and when she became the Head Teacher in the future, she would face other Immortal Sects and protect the entire Sect.
Ji You, as a friend she personally knew, was different to her.
"Then what's the deal with Asked the Dao Sect's direct Disciple? Why does he always keep an eye on her?"
Zhuo Wanqiu spoke upon hearing this: "Asked the Dao Sect's direct Disciple is named Shang Xiyao. He is the direct Disciple second only to Master Jian and Chu Xian, and many women admire him."
Ji You narrowed his eyes: "Is he as good-looking as I am?"
"He's a little bit worse than Young Master, but not by much."
"That's still incredible! There's such a remarkable man in the world—"
Zhuo Wanqiu held her breath, thinking, 'Indeed, they look like a couple. My Master Jian is also this confident.'
Ji You then spoke again: "So, what does this have to do with Lingjian Mountain?"
"Asked the Dao Sect and Lingjian Mountain are not far apart. If they want to strengthen their power, their first choice is to unite with Lingjian Mountain. The little Master Jian is extremely disgusted by such matters, but it is said that Master Jian's parents strongly approve, and Senior Sister Ding Yao has also become extremely close to Asked the Dao Sect because of this."
Zhuo Wanqiu then added: "Lingjian Mountain is experiencing for the first time a situation where the Master Jian and the Head Teacher are not the same person. This is actually very dangerous for the Sect, because Master Jian is becoming increasingly powerful, and the Disciples below no longer know who to listen to."
Ji You looked up after hearing this: "Once the two factions completely fall out, Tianjian Peak will resort to desperate measures?"
"Exactly. Master Jian is ultimately one person, but Tianjian Peak's foundation is very strong. Only if Xuanjian Peak forms a marriage alliance with Asked the Dao Sect can the problem be solved easily."
"Within an Immortal Sect, it's actually so complicated."
Zhuo Wanqiu looked at Ji You, wanting to say that the increasing intimacy between Master Jian and him was indeed an extremely risky matter for her.
However, she also felt that Master Jian hadn't said she would marry him, so it wasn't appropriate to say these things now.
Since childhood, Master Jian had been constantly making choices between what she wanted to choose and what she had to choose. Perhaps she herself had once wished to abandon everything.
During the few days she stayed in the small courtyard, her speech was always sometimes cold and sometimes warm, and the internal conflict in her heart was probably also derived from this.
"Oh, Young Master, Fairy Wen came once just now and asked you to come down for dinner."
"Let's go then."
Then the two went to the ship's dining hall, one after the other. Wen Zhengxin was already at the table, with Ban Yangshu and Bai Rulong sitting beside him, chatting with the Yuan family siblings across from them.
Initially, they only talked about cultivation matters at Tianshu Academy, and then they moved on to Ji You.
Because cultivation was extremely boring, but there seemed to be many stories to tell about Ji You.
"Why isn't Ru Long Immortal Emperor eating? Doesn't he like it?"
"Just now, I encountered a fierce bandit—"
Wen Zhengxin put down his chopsticks and looked at him: "You've already been robbed once, do you still have money on you?"
Bai Rulong was silent for a long time: "I signed an IOU."
Ban Yangshu grinned, thinking to himself, 'I don't even know what to say; your sword must be ashamed to be with you.'
Just then, Ji You walked in with Zhuo Wanqiu.
The Tianshu Academy group looked up and felt a slight pleasantness seeing them walking one after the other.
The Lingjian Mountain Disciples had come on board with them under the guise of "protecting the Yuan family siblings," but in reality, it seemed not to be the case.
Zhuo Wanqiu did not always stay by the Yuan family siblings' side, but would send a few Disciples to accompany them.
She herself often followed Ji You, and whenever Ji You was alone and there was no one around, they would always be vigilant in the surroundings.
It felt as if protecting the Yuan family siblings was an incidental task, while protecting Ji You was the top priority.
They had also learned during their previous conversations that Junior Brother had not been staying with them alone these past few days; the little Master Jian of Lingjian Mountain was also present.
Was it because Junior Brother had shown mercy to her Sect's people, so Lingjian Mountain felt the need to repay the favor?
Ji You pulled aside his robe and sat down at the dining table: "Where's Senior Sister Pei?"
Wen Zhengxin couldn't help but say: "She's in her room, hasn't come out yet. I've sent someone to call her."
Ji You nodded, then looked at Bai Rulong: "Hmm? Why isn't Ru Long eating? Doesn't he like it?"
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