***
"Student Zhang is also visiting the mall."
Xu Xing and Zhang Yunlu had just come out of the mall when they ran straight into a middle-aged man wearing a suit and leather shoes with his hair slicked back, followed by several students wearing blue and white school uniforms.
Zhang Yunlu hesitated for a moment, but still greeted him respectfully.
"Hello, teacher."
It turned out to be her teacher.
"Haha."
That teacher smiled and looked toward Xu Xing.
"I am Fang Chi, Student Zhang's teacher, and I have yet to ask...?"
At this question, Zhang Yunlu did not know how to answer for a moment.
"I am the tutor hired by Student Zhang," Xu Xing said casually.
Giving her guidance in her cultivation could indeed be considered tutoring.
However, upon hearing of his identity, the students behind Fang Chi looked at one another, and his own expression stiffened slightly.
"So that is how it is; Student Zhang truly is hardworking."
Fang Chi nodded slightly.
"The combat test is the day after tomorrow, and it seems Student Zhang will achieve a very good result."
Afterward, he led the several students past the two of them and walked into the mall.
"Your teacher’s perception of you does not seem to be very good; care to tell me the reason?"
This was especially true when he had stated he was Zhang Yunlu's tutor.
This was not something that could not be spoken of.
"Teacher Fang... he started a supplementary tutoring class at the beginning of the school year, and I was the only one in the whole class who did not go. Since my grades in class are quite good, a dozen or so others followed suit and withdrew from the tutoring class as well."
It was essentially from that incident onward that the teacher had targeted her, though he did not dare to do so openly, as Zhang Yunlu did have a bit of a reputation within Xuanjian City's Third High School.
However, he intentionally or unintentionally ignored her in the classroom and during various matters; if her psychological fortitude had not been quite good, she probably would have long since become withdrawn.
But at the very beginning, he had clearly stated that the tutoring class was voluntary and that those who did not want to go did not have to.
Sometimes things were just like that; even when one did not intend to offend someone, they ended up offending them inexplicably.
"Then do you hate him?" Xu Xing asked.
Hate?
Hating her own teacher?
That seemed a bit too much like a deep-seated grudge, but hearing him ask this, her heart truly did feel a bit uncomfortable.
"I do not know," she spoke the truth.
Hearing this answer, Xu Xing was not surprised.
This sort of thing could be either large or small; Zhang Yunlu’s own psychological fortitude was very good, and she would not blame others or complain about her lot in life because of such a matter.
She herself probably would not even think about these aspects normally.
But whenever someone else mentioned or asked about it, she would feel aggrieved upon careful reflection.
The emotions of youth came quickly and left just as fast; one might feel gloomy because they remembered some instance where they had suffered a loss, but they would forget everything in the next moment after encountering something happy.
"Then do you want him to pay a bit of a price?"
Pay a price?
Various scenes from the past surfaced in her mind one after another, and the more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, so she nodded her head forcefully.
"I do!"
"Since you want to, then let us go."
Xu Xing waved his hand and hailed a car.
More than ten minutes later, the two of them returned to the villa.
As soon as Zhang Yunlu entered, she looked around curiously; she had heard of this place, but had never been here before.
Xu Xing turned on the "air conditioning" formation and adjusted it to the most comfortable temperature, then turned around and spoke directly.
"You have only just advanced to the ninth level of Qi Refining, so there is no rush regarding matters of cultivation for now; I shall impart a set of sword techniques to you."
He raised his hand and pointed; a streak of spiritual light flew out, arriving in an instant and rapidly merging into the space between Zhang Yunlu's eyebrows.
Just as the spiritual light entered her brow, she felt a bout of trance-like dizziness before her eyes, as if something had been added to her mind out of thin air.
When she came to her senses, there were nearly a thousand words laid out extensively; looking closely, it was actually a manual of sword techniques.
The Flowing Cloud Sword Technique.
It was a sword technique that primarily followed a light, agile, and elegant path; the sword moves were exquisite, emphasizing borrowing force to counter force, using softness to neutralize hardness, and using skill to overcome brute force.
For practitioners in the Qi Refining stage, because of the inherent limitations of spiritual power itself, the cost-effectiveness of practicing spells was very low; this type of close-quarters combat art was instead the most suitable.
"For the upcoming combat test, using this sword technique will be enough."
"Two days... I am afraid I will not be able to learn it."
It was not right; was this not overestimating her a bit, to learn a sword technique in two days?
"You need not worry about that; you will naturally know once you return."
Xu Xing did not truly intend to let her teach herself.
"After you return to school tomorrow to report your realm and gain a detailed understanding of matters concerning Foundation Establishment, come back here. If you have the heart to build a Heaven-Formed Dao Foundation, I will impart to you a suitable cultivation mantra and the method for gathering and refining the essences of the sun and moon, as well as a natural treasure of heaven and earth."
As he spoke, he took out a small wooden token from a drawer and tossed it to Zhang Yunlu.
"This is the passage token for the formation; hold onto it and do not lose it."
A few minutes later, Zhang Yunlu left the villa, still in a bit of a dazed state.
So it turned out that having her come over was just to get a key for the formation?
And what did he mean by not having to worry; did he really believe in her talent that much?
Emm...
Could it be that she was actually a hidden genius of the sword dao?
She stood by the roadside of the residential area and let her thoughts wander for a while.
"Xiao Lu?"
A figure stepped upon a long sword and slowly descended.
"Brother?"
Zhang Yunlu was startled.
"Why are you here?"
"I came to hand in a report," Zhang Xiu explained.
As the first person to discover the great cultivator emerging from seclusion, he had to submit a report detailing the process according to the standard procedures.
"What about you, why are you here?"
"This..."
How should she say this?
Should she say she met a big shot who had emerged from seclusion on the road, and then that big shot found her pleasing to the eye and wanted to give her an opportunity?
Could she even say that?
Seeing her hesitant appearance, Zhang Xiu’s heart could not help but sink, though his face still wore a gentle smile.
"It is fine; if it is not convenient to say, then do not say it."
At worst, he would quietly sneak back at night to investigate.
"Mhm."
Zhang Yunlu nodded slightly, feeling a bit guilty in her heart.
"Let us go."
Zhang Xiu smiled gently.
The two of them walked outward together.
After all, for sword cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage, they could not carry people while flying on a sword, and it was impossible for him to return alone, so they could only hail a taxi.
"Still no clues."
In a villa not far away, a figure in white looked at the backs of the siblings, his gaze indifferent.
Behind him stood another person, who was none other than Immortal Xiaoning, the one who had stepped forth to battle the demonic cultivator youth when he was refining the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.
Immortal Xiaoning was feeling very helpless at this moment; it would have been fine if anyone else had come, but why did it have to be this particular Martial Uncle?
"Martial Uncle, since the Sword Sect has already admitted that the cultivator who emerged from seclusion belongs to their sect, we do not need to keep holding onto this matter without letting go, right?"
The Dao Integration powerhouse of the Supreme Dao Sect turned around and looked calmly at Immortal Xiaoning.
"That emerging cultivator caused such a massive disturbance, yet he did not take the initiative to come and explain to this seat, and even deliberately hid himself. This seat has reason to suspect that the Sword Sect cultivator who emerged is in collusion with demonic cultivators, intending to slaughter the city to refine a Ten Thousand Soul Banner."
Immortal Xiaoning: "..."
Martial Uncle, can you please not use "this seat" in every sentence; according to the terminology of the Sacred Emperor Abyss, this is truly very "chunibyo!"
And this is clearly a case of personal retaliation, is it not?
The events of that year were clearly because your nephew’s heart was not upright, sacrificing the souls of infants to refine unorthodox demonic methods, which led to him being slain by a passing Sword Sect cultivator who had emerged from seclusion.
Sigh~
That matter caused quite a stir back then, even alarming the Sect Masters of both sects, and was only resolved with great difficulty.
Everyone thought that everything had settled down, but after this Martial Uncle advanced to the Dao Integration stage several years ago, he immediately applied to be stationed at the Ancient Cultivator Response Department within the Sword Sect's territory.
Quite clearly, he had not forgotten.
"This seat is also acting according to the regulations now."
Purple qi swirled within the eyes of the Dao Integration powerhouse.
"What? If they can do it, why can this seat not do it?"
***