Ning Ying: I suspect Master is secretly gossiping too.
Remembering that she had defeated those few Qi-refining outer disciples with a single move, she knew she had to explain herself. So she said, “Master, actually, I’ve already broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage. I don’t need the Foundation Establishment Pill anymore…”
To be safe just now, she had deliberately only displayed the strength of the Foundation Establishment stage. Otherwise, if she had struck with her full Grand Ascension stage power, those disciples wouldn’t just be lying on the ground—they’d be dead or crippled.
Yun Qingyuan swept a glance over her and said coolly, “It seems diligent cultivation is indeed quite beneficial. Now, come back with me to practice swordsmanship.”
Ning Ying’s face instantly fell, looking completely under her master’s thumb.
Seeing her reluctance, Yun Qingyuan added, “Come back and practice swords, and I won’t pursue the matter of you attacking your fellow disciples today.”
Ning Ying: QAQ
Disciples lying on the ground: We know the Immortal Lord plays favorites, but this is too much!
“As for you all,” Yun Qingyuan’s lashes drooped slightly as he glanced at the fallen disciples, “go to the chores department and accept your punishment willingly.”
“Immortal Lord, spare us!” “Immortal Lord, we were wrong!”
The disciples quickly begged for mercy, but the silver-haired beauty’s cool gaze had already moved away from them.
“You’re called Chu Shuo?” Yun Qingyuan looked at the youth in blue robes. “You have a good temperament. Come with me as well. I’ll take you to Bixu Peak.”
Ning Ying knew Bixu Peak—it was where Uncle-Master Ye resided. Uncle-Master Ye was also an interesting character. In a sect full of people striving endlessly, he had mastered the essence of “lying flat”—if he could recline, he would never sit. Yet he was a sword dao prodigy. Although he was the youngest of her master’s generation, he was famous throughout the land, having once slain seventy-two demon lords in succession and earned the title “Sword Master.”
【Ding! New mission unlocked!】
【Help the male lead Chu Shuo become a disciple of Sword Master Ye Juan. Reward: 1000 spirit stones.】
Ning Ying: …
Who are they bribing with this pittance?
Still, it wasn’t a difficult task. She had a good relationship with Uncle-Master Ye; he would probably listen to her. Besides, her master bringing Chu Shuo to Bixu Peak was likely intended to give their slacker uncle-master something to do. Once he had a disciple, Uncle-Master wouldn’t be able to sleep in all day.
And this way, she could reasonably slack off in the afternoon without going back to practice swords!
“Master, I want to go too~” Ning Ying poked her head out from behind Yun Qingyuan, both hands tightly clutching the cloud-patterned corner of his robe. “I haven’t seen Uncle-Master Ye in so long!”
The silver-haired beauty sighed helplessly, patting the top of her head with a slender, cool hand. “Very well. You and your uncle-master do get along well.”
He swept his wide sleeve, and ethereal clouds enveloped the three of them, flying toward Bixu Peak.
Bixu Peak.
The casually dressed, stubbly Sword Master was drinking wine. He reclined slanted on a couch, holding a jade pot filled with fine liquor, but his drinking posture was far from elegant—he drank directly from the spout, his robes slightly open, seemingly unaware of the wine trickling down his chest.
Ning Ying took one look and quickly averted her eyes.
She had to admit, Uncle-Master had an excellent physique. If he would just tidy up his appearance a bit, he could rank on the Yaoyue Sect’s beauty list. For the record, the perpetual number one on that list was her master.
Sensing someone approaching, Ye Juan couldn’t be bothered to speak, drinking his wine as if waiting for Yun Qingyuan to speak first.
“Junior Brother Ye,” Yun Qingyuan said calmly, his tone quiet and ethereal, “I took the liberty of accepting a disciple on your behalf.”
“A disciple?” Ye Juan didn’t even lift his eyelids, waving his hand lazily. “I’m not taking disciples. You’ve wasted your trip, Senior Brother.”
Yun Qingyuan’s tone was unruffled. “Aren’t you always fond of challenges?”
“Challenges? Hah.” Ye Juan closed his eyes. “There’s nothing in this world that can challenge me anymore. And you won’t spar with me, Senior Brother. How boring.”
“Here is a disciple with low talent and a mixed spirit root,” Yun Qingyuan said. “If you can train him to become the next Sword Master, I’ll spar with you a few times.”
Ye Juan’s lashes fluttered, but he roared irritably, “I said I’m not taking disciples, and that’s final! What use are disciples? They can’t even—”
Before Uncle-Master could finish, Ning Ying quietly squeezed behind him and began massaging his shoulders. “Uncle-Master, please calm down. If you take a disciple, he can go down the mountain to buy wine for you…”
She had been in the Yaoyue Sect for several months and knew that Uncle-Master had once accepted several true disciples. But they had been killed by demons in a secret realm, enraging him so much that he slaughtered seventy-two demon lords and severely wounded the Demon Lord himself. From then on, he sealed his heart, stopped taking disciples, and grew increasingly despondent.
“Little Ning, you’re here too.” Ye Juan sighed. “Try to talk some sense into your master. I really can’t be bothered to take disciples.”
“I beg Sword Master to accept me!”
Chu Shuo fell to his knees with a thud. The youth’s back was straight, his starry eyes shining brightly, filled with longing for the sword dao.
Ye Juan waved his hand listlessly. “What Sword Master? If you want to learn swordsmanship, you should apprentice yourself to Senior Brother Yun. Before I forged my path through slaughter, he was the true Sword Master. I’m just someone who idles away his days with an empty title.”
“Uncle-Master is no idler,” Ning Ying whispered beside his ear. “Though I never witnessed it myself, I can glimpse your glory days of slaying demons from the storybooks!”
“What storybooks?” Ye Juan’s focus had clearly shifted. “Good heavens, Little Ning, you’ve been hiding storybooks and not sharing them with your uncle-master?”
Yun Qingyuan raised an eyebrow slightly. “Storybooks? Haven’t I confiscated enough of them yet?”
Ning Ying: …
To avoid having them confiscated by her master, she hastily pulled out a stack of treasured storybooks and some gossip rags from her robes and stuffed them into her uncle-master’s arms.
Ye Juan looked overwhelmed by this generosity. “Th-these are all for me? For free?”
He was a man of leisure, his hobbies limited to reading and drinking, occasionally enjoying some gossip. This gift was too precious.
“Of course they’re free,” Ning Ying said softly. “We’re fellow disciples. How could I possibly charge you, Uncle-Master?”
Before Ye Juan could rejoice, the clever girl added, “If Uncle-Master is willing to accept Junior Disciple Chu as your apprentice, I’ll regularly deliver the latest serialized storybooks and share any gossip with you immediately…”
Ye Juan had to admit, he was somewhat tempted.
He cleared his throat lightly, but his face pretended nonchalance.
Ning Ying seized the opportunity to give him an out, gently shaking Ye Juan’s sleeve. “Uncle-Master Ye, please do this favor~ Junior Disciple Chu is always being bullied in the chores department. I just can’t bear to watch…”
“Alright, alright.” Though Ye Juan still had some reservations internally, his mouth had already agreed.
A hint of cunning flashed in Ning Ying’s eyes as she subtly exchanged a glance with Chu Shuo.
Chu Shuo remained kneeling dumbfounded, his expression somewhat dazed.
…Was it really this easy to become Sword Master’s disciple? They said Sword Master accepted no bribes or favors—countless prodigies and noble ladies had tried to become his disciple, only to be repeatedly rejected. Senior Sister Ning just said a few words, and the Sword Master agreed to take him on?
He cast a grateful look toward Ning Ying.
【Ding! Mission complete. Reward: 1000 spirit stones.】
Ning Ying ignored the system. Such a paltry sum—how embarrassing.
After leaving Chu Shuo at Bixu Peak, Ning Ying followed her master back.
Behind them, Uncle-Master Ye shouted without caring about his dignity, “Don’t forget what you promised me! I want that storybook, the one written by ‘Demon Lord’s Little Fangirl’—After the Substitute’s Death, the Immortal Lord’s Regret Crematorium…”
Ning Ying stumbled, quickly pulling her master to leave.
But Yun Qingyuan stopped, an intrigued look on his face. “This is what you usually enjoy reading?”
“No, I don’t, stop lying,” Ning Ying denied it three times rapidly, deflecting the blame. “These storybooks were all given to me by Second Senior Brother!”
Yun Qingyuan nodded calmly. “It seems I need to have a word with your senior brother.”
“Senior Brother! Senior Brother!” After practicing swords all afternoon, Ning Ying was finally freed and found her idle Second Senior Brother. “Master said he wants to talk to you. Quick, hide all those storybooks—I can keep them safe for you…”
“I could hear your scheme from miles away,” Senior Brother said helplessly. “You want storybooks, right? Take them all. ‘Demon Lord’s Little Fangirl’ started a new series—this time it’s After Being Abandoned by the Sword Master, I Won Over the Demon Lord. Second male lead gets promoted, crematorium literature.”
“Teacher ‘Demon Lord’s Little Fangirl’ really loves crematorium literature,” Ning Ying said, accepting the storybooks. “But why do they always write the Immortal Lord and Sword Master as scumbags?”
Senior Brother: …
He would never admit that he was “Demon Lord’s Little Fangirl,” doing all this to tarnish the righteous path’s image!
Ning Ying didn’t notice her senior brother’s shifting expression as she quickly opened a storybook and started flipping through.
“Oh, by the way, Master already talked to me.” Senior Brother stood behind her, his tone eerie.
Ning Ying: “?!”
“He wants me to supervise your sword practice.” Senior Brother revealed a delighted smile. “Junior Sister, want to practice with me?”
Glancing at the dark sky and recalling the afternoon’s painful training, Ning Ying’s eyes widened in horror. “I want to eat!”
“Hey, don’t run,” Senior Brother called lazily after her. “Just joking. Come on, I’ll treat you to dinner.”
Ning Ying finally relaxed, then showed a surprised expression. “Is this really my stingy senior brother?”
The corner of Senior Brother’s eye twitched. “When have I ever been stingy?”
“Ever been stingy?” Ning Ying looked thoughtful. “In the storybooks, the Demon Lord likes to call himself ‘this venerable one’ too. Senior Brother, you wouldn’t happen to be…”
Senior Brother’s pupils contracted sharply.
Damn, he’d slipped up. He couldn’t have his identity as the Demon Lord discovered this early!
“You wouldn’t happen to be a Demon Lord fan too, right?” Ning Ying finished slowly.
“Can you not pause like that?” Senior Brother tapped her lightly on the head with his slender fingers, praising himself very naturally. “The Demon Lord is handsome and majestic, unrestrained and free-spirited, with profound cultivation and decisive killing. Even though I’m a man, I admire the Demon Lord greatly!”
“Oh, oh…” Ning Ying nodded understandingly. “So you have that kind of hobby, Senior Brother.”
“No, don’t jump to conclusions,” Senior Brother said bitterly. “I just get too into character when writing storybooks.”
“Writing storybooks?” Ning Ying understood instantly. “So ‘Demon Lord’s Little Fangirl’ is your pseudonym, Senior Brother?”
To cover up his identity as the Demon Lord, Senior Brother was forced to nod in acknowledgment. “Yes, I am ‘Demon Lord’s Little Fangirl.'”