Fang Jueqian was dumbfounded.
The air was permeated with a bone-chilling cold, as if he had been teleported from the equator to the Antarctic in an instant.
Fang Jueqian shuddered and asked weakly, “Wait, Husband, why did it turn into ice when you cast it?”
Su Nisheng: “Oh, that’s because I have an ice spiritual root.”
So that was it.
Although the spiritual roots of cultivators in the cultivation world were generally dominated by the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, there were also extremely rare lucky individuals who possessed mutated spiritual roots, such as the ice and wind elements.
Recalling his own four spiritual roots, Fang Jueqian couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy, jealousy, and hatred. He couldn’t help asking, “Husband, are you a single heavenly spiritual root?”
“No, I am a dual spiritual root.”
Huh?
Fang Jueqian gave a start and opened his eyes wide in astonishment.
In his understanding, how could someone like her husband, who possessed the script of a web novel protagonist, not have the absolute best aptitude in terms of qualifications? It wasn’t like he was following the trope of a good-for-nothing making a comeback.
“Then what is your other spiritual root, Husband?”
Just as Fang Jueqian finished asking, he saw deep purple beams of light flashing faintly through the touching-the-sky ice layer, and then,
Rumble.
A succession of deafening thunderclaps resounded in the sky.
The once magnificent ice waterfall turned into ice chips finer than sand in a single second, falling down like rain.
“It’s a lightning spiritual root.” Su Nisheng snapped his fingers, and the falling ice chips seemed to gain consciousness, dodging around them one after another without touching a fraction of their clothes.
Fang Jueqian: “(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻”
Fine, as expected, it was still a web novel protagonist script.
However, this was simply too cool!
While shivering, Fang Jueqian looked at the Dao Lord with respectful eyes while fantasizing about how great it would be if he were this powerful too.
Su Nisheng turned his head, saw him shaking almost like a quail, and couldn’t help raising an eyebrow, “Are you very cold?”
Fang Jueqian nodded frantically. Seeing that the Dao Lord seemed to ponder for a moment and his gaze fell upon his own clothes, he instantly perked up.
Was it coming?
That extremely classic scene!
It was the classic action of one party taking off their thick outer garment and draping it over the other in a freezing cold night!
Filled with love, warmth, and consideration, it had touched countless readers and viewers beyond the fourth wall, making people believe in true affection and true love in this world, and thus it was emulated by numerous film, television, and literary works.
Fang Jueqian got ready and shook his body even harder.
“Is it this cold?” The Dao Lord seemed somewhat doubtful.
“Yes!” Fang Jueqian said with full vim and vigor.
The corners of Su Nisheng’s lips curled up, “Do you want to warm up your body quickly?”
Of course he did.
Fang Jueqian nodded heavily. Seeing that the Dao Lord still hadn’t taken off his clothes, he thought to himself, could this be the Dao Lord hinting that he should take the initiative to speak up?
Oh my, wouldn’t this be a little too embarrassing?
Blushing, Fang Jueqian said with coy hesitation, “Husband, I’m so cold right now.”
And then that was it. After all, he, Fang Jueqian, was also a person who cared about his face.
Crack.
A glowing white fireball ignited.
The blazing firelight illuminated Fang Jueqian’s bewildered face.
The oncoming heat made people feel as if they were in the middle of summer. At this moment, not only did Fang Jueqian not feel cold, but he was actually so hot that he wanted to take off his clothes.
“You already possess a fire spiritual root, how come you don’t even know how to use the most basic fireball technique?” Su Nisheng instructed him with a smile, “Considering this is your first time, I will reluctantly demonstrate it for you. You must remember it for when you are cold in the future.”
Fang Jueqian: “(^_-)”
Thank you so much; he definitely wouldn’t forget it.
The thrilling night finally passed. Once dawn broke, it was almost time for Fang Jueqian to go to school.
The Dao Lord was a person who attached great importance to the right to education.
This was reflected not only in the fact that as soon as dawn broke, the Dao Lord announced that this remedial session was officially over, but also in the fact that when Fang Jueqian finally mustered up the courage to request half a day off to go back and catch up on sleep, he was rejected on the spot by the Dao Lord.
With no other choice, Fang Jueqian dragged his exhausted body to the classroom, only to find that he had arrived too early and Class Wu was completely empty. While yawning, he began comparing the timetable to choose which class would be best for catching up on sleep.
Just as he was comparing the schedule and hesitating between the General Knowledge class and the Meditation class, a scream rang out from beside his ear:
“Fang Jueqian, have you heard? Something huge happened on Qingyun Peak last night!”
Fang Jueqian looked up in surprise and found that it was Classmate A, who right then had an ecstatic expression and a flushed face, looking as if he had mastered some earth-shattering secret news.
Qingyun Peak? That name sounded a bit familiar.
Lacking sleep, Fang Jueqian’s brain was a bit muddled, and it took him a second or two to remember that this was the place he had just visited.
Did something big happen on Qingyun Peak? How come he didn’t know anything about it?
Gaining a tiny bit of interest, Fang Jueqian yawned and asked him, “What happened?”
The listener’s enthusiasm was depleted, and Classmate A was somewhat displeased. However, with no other listeners around besides Fang Jueqian, Classmate A had no choice but to continue sharing his earth-shattering gossip with this less-than-ideal listener:
“It is said that last night, a loud roar echoed on Qingyun Peak, and the barrier of a grotto-heaven was actually slashed open by a sword. Frost and snow ran rampant for three thousand miles, spreading even to other places.”
“Not only that.” Classmate B walked in from the door, dropping his schoolbag while continuing to add in a smug tone, “My second aunt’s third uncle’s cousin works as a clerk on Qingyun Peak. He said that the largest mid-mountain grotto-heaven on Qingyun Peak was directly booked out for three months, and yesterday’s commotion came from right there.”
That still sounded a bit familiar.
No, wait, this completely sounded like things that happened entirely to him!
Fang Jueqian’s sleepiness instantly vanished without a trace. Pretending to be thirsty, he opened his cup, while actually pricking up both ears to eavesdrop on his classmates’ conversation.
Finally having someone to exchange intelligence with, Classmate A was extremely happy. Abandoning Fang Jueqian, he couldn’t wait to say to Classmate B:
“So your second aunt’s third uncle’s cousin works as an official on Qingyun Peak? That really is a good job. Did you find out what the reason was?”
Classmate B: “I heard it’s a romantic entanglement.”
Fang Jueqian, who was drinking water: “Pfft.”
Wiping his face and the desk, he turned to Classmate A and B and said, “Sorry, I accidentally choked. You guys go ahead, don’t mind me.”
Classmate A and B then continued their chat:
“What kind of romantic entanglement could actually poke a hole in the barrier?”
“I heard a big shot discovered that his dao companion was rendezvous-ing in private with a paramour, and he became so furious he threw all caution to the wind, instantly drawing his sword to fight that person until the sky darkened, the earth turned dark, the water ran dry, and the stones crumbled.”
Classmate A and B whispered among themselves for a while, then nodded, both wearing knowing smiles on their faces.
Fang Jueqian felt terribly guilty, wishing he could shrink himself smaller and smaller.
Right at that moment, another burst of footsteps came from the entrance. Classmate C pushed open the door with excited steps and eagerly spoke before even putting down his schoolbag:
“Have you guys heard? Yesterday, two mighty figures fought to the death over a secret treasure on Qingyun Peak! They actually poked a hole in the grotto-heaven barrier!”
Fang Jueqian: “(눈_눈)”
Half an hour later, as more and more people arrived and information from various channels converged, the rumors in Class Wu had successfully evolved into:
A chapter-based novel integrating childhood sweethearts, mutual slaughter born of deep love, the seven-year itch, an unfaithful wife, proximity breeding affection, substitute angsty romance, killing for wealth, a broken mirror reuniting, and reuniting only to break again, complete with causes, processes, and results, distinct character designs, clear motives, and sound logic.
Weakly slumping over his desk, Fang Jueqian marveled at how the gossip he heard earlier always came to be, while praying that this matter had better not reach the Dao Lord’s ears.
Judging by the usual survival cycle of gossip, this round of rumors should have lasted at least two or three days before ending. Fang Jueqian originally thought this time would be no exception, but to his surprise, a turning point arrived by the afternoon.
[Class Wu Secret Base]
[Yunxiu: Bound by love, definitely bound by love, there’s no other possibility! The question is, who on earth?]
[Rainbow: Exactly, exactly!]
[Sun Crow: Latest news! Those rumors are all wrong! The mid-mountain grotto-heaven on Qingyun Peak was booked by Dao Lord Lingxiao. Everyone disperse, stop spreading false information, and delete the previous content to avoid causing a joke if it spreads and creating a bad influence.]
Fang Jueqian stared dumbfounded as the previously full screen of discussion on the paper cleared line by line. Some even directly claimed their codenames were stolen, executing a lightning-fast disassociation from their previous remarks before adopting new codenames and being reborn on the spot.
[Shui Xiu: I said it, how could it be being bound by love! It’s universally known within the sect that Dao Lord Lingxiao is deeply affectionate toward that Madam; how could anyone else possibly intervene?! Which bastard spread this news, aren’t they afraid of being struck to death by lightning one day?]
[Blue Basket: Exactly, exactly!]
[Sun Bird: Shui Xiu makes sense; this rumor is truly too outrageous. How can they fabricate stories about a Mahayana Dao Lord? Have they grown tired of living?!]
Fang Jueqian was full of admiration.
[Pastry: Is that Madam referring to Dao Lord Lingxiao’s dao companion?]
[Shui Xiu: Yeah, who else could it be besides that person? The Dao Lord protects his dao companion far too well. Aside from the people inside Qinging Peak, not a single person has ever seen that Madam, and nobody even knows his last name, so everyone can only use “that Madam” as a substitute.]
[Pastry: Then that’s truly a pity.]
[Sun Bird: But we aren’t completely in the dark. According to rumors, he is an extremely demure, poised, and beautiful man. Just a few months ago when he first arrived at the Guiyuan Immortal Sect, separated by a gauze curtain, he made many disciples feel that he transcended worldly conventions.]
Choking, Fang Jueqian covered his face and coughed.
[Shui Xiu: It is also said that that Madam is immensely favored by Dao Lord Lingxiao. Because of this, the Dao Lord’s possessiveness toward him is off the charts, keeping him hidden in a golden house, completely unwilling to let any irrelevant person set eyes on Madam’s true appearance.]
[Sun Bird: Furthermore, it is rumored.]
With a dumbfounded expression, Fang Jueqian watched the text scroll by.
It seemed that the disciples of the Guiyuan Immortal Sect generally remained in a state of extreme fanaticism toward Dao Lord Lingxiao, who had lived to become a legend of the present age. Consequently, loving the house and its crow, they held his dao companion in extremely high regard as well.
After all, Dao Lord Lingxiao was so formidable; how could the dao companion he chose be bad?
The more Fang Jueqian read, the more ashamed he felt.
In the end, he solemnly decided: in order to preserve the wonderful image they held in their hearts, he had better keep his secret identity hidden well.
The thought was wonderful, but he didn’t expect that within just a few hours, Fang Jueqian would narrowly escape having his face slapped.
During recess, Classmate D, the one he had seen in the main hall of Qingyun Peak yesterday, found him privately. With an expression of waiting to watch a good show, he sneaked over and whispered to him:
“Fang Jueqian, you hide yourself way too deep. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have known you already had a sweetheart.”