On the peak, at the training grounds.
Li Yingling held her divine treasure sword, pale blue currents of water energy coiling around her body, and spoke in a detached tone:
"Junior Brother, there's no need to fight this match. The outcome is already decided."
Li Xingdong gripped his divine treasure great sword, Rainbow Edge, his body radiating a bloody aura that, in terms of sheer presence, dwarfed Li Yingling's by a clear margin.
With their master saying the situation outside remained uncertain and all travel temporarily suspended, the disciples were mostly limited to wandering Tianyan Sect and training. There was not much else for them to do.
For someone like Li Xingdong, who was on the quiet side, ordinary amusements held no interest.
Only sparring with a fellow disciple could get him truly fired up.
Li Yingling did not particularly mind — letting her junior brother experience a taste of his Eldest Senior Sister's profound abilities was rather fun, wasn't it?
Li Xingdong studied Li Yingling's expression of absolute certainty and felt a flicker of wariness.
His Eldest Senior Sister might not have extensive combat experience, but her aptitude was beyond question.
Her current aura of cultivated power was especially refined — even Li Xingdong could sense the danger radiating from her.
Even so, he did not believe he was certain to lose.
Li Xingdong asked: "We haven't even started. Why is Senior Sister so confident?"
Li Yingling smiled faintly, radiating an air of righteousness:
"Because righteousness has always triumphed over evil!"
Li Xingdong said nothing. He tightened his grip on his great sword and made his decision — no matter what, he would take down his outrageous senior sister today!
The two took their positions on opposite sides. Their overflowing spiritual energy began clashing before either had made a move.
Li Yingling's flowing, azure spiritual energy consistently maintained a slight edge over Li Xingdong's bloody aura.
Li Xingdong's expression remained calm. Who won and who lost — that was still far from decided.
At the very moment they were about to engage.
A ripple of spiritual energy pulsed outward from the breakthrough area.
Li Yingling's sword-swinging motion paused. She looked toward the gradually receding spiritual energy fluctuation and frowned slightly.
"Someone broke through? Cui Hao or the Green Snake? This array is rather troublesome — I can't sense clearly."
Li Xingdong, still holding his great sword, was quiet for a moment before asking:
"Are we still sparring?"
"We can spar anytime. Let's go take a look first." Li Yingling retracted her divine treasure sword. "Otherwise, Fifth Junior Brother might complain later that I did something wrong and say his Eldest Senior Sister has no fellow-disciple spirit."
Li Xingdong hesitated for a moment but withdrew his weapon as well, feeling a twinge of regret.
Still, his senior sister had a point. Compared to sparring, checking on their junior disciples was the natural thing to do.
Though it did feel rather like being scolded without being allowed to talk back.
The two of them headed toward the breakthrough chambers.
Li Yingling strode quickly to the breakthrough area and pushed open the door, peering inside.
She did not see Cui Hao, nor the Green Snake. Instead, she saw a humble-looking youth in green clothing sitting and drinking tea with her master and junior sister.
Li Yingling understood the situation at a glance. She stepped forward, studying Yun Li briefly:
"You achieved human form at the Golden Core realm?"
Yun Li immediately rose and cupped his hands in greeting to both of them:
"Eldest Senior Sister, Second Senior Brother."
Though he was not officially a disciple in the same vein, the convention within the sect was to address Li Yingling and the others by these titles.
Initially, Ning Qianqian had also agonized over how to address them, but eventually everyone settled on "Eldest Senior Sister" for convenience.
Apart from only calling Li Yingling by her leadership title, Zhang Miaoyu referred to Li Xingdong as "Second Senior Brother" as well.
It was an unspoken convention — a simpler way of addressing one another.
Li Xingdong gave a slight nod: "Congratulations on Golden Core."
"Thank you." Yun Li replied hastily.
Li Yingling glanced toward Cui Hao's closed breakthrough chamber, then looked back at Yun Li:
"Not bad, little Green Snake. You actually look decent after transforming."
"He doesn't go by Green Snake anymore. He has his own name now."
"His own name? What is it?"
"Yun Li."
"Not bad at all." Li Yingling nodded, then sighed.
"Cui Hao has been too careless with his training. He's always going on about how solid his foundation is, yet his breakthrough speed is slower than Qing... than Yun Li's, who started two days after him."
Chu Xingchen looked toward the increasingly violent spiritual energy surges and said with a light laugh:
"He should be done soon. Another pot of tea, perhaps."
Li Yingling naturally took a seat in an empty chair and poured herself a cup of tea:
"In that case, I'll wait a moment. I want to be the first to see just how solid Fifth Junior Brother's supposedly rock-solid Foundation Establishment really is."
She glanced at Li Xingdong as she spoke:
"Do you want to wait too?"
"Since it won't be long, I'll wait."
"If you're waiting, why are you just standing there? Come sit down."
Li Xingdong caught the faintly dismissive look in Li Yingling's eyes and sighed softly as he took a seat.
The moment he sat down, Li Yingling had already pushed a freshly poured cup of tea in front of him.
Li Xingdong looked up, only to find that his senior sister had already started chatting with their master.
Her surface expression was mostly one of mild disdain, but the warmth beneath it far outweighed the disdain.
A faint smile appeared on Li Xingdong's face as he picked up the teacup and took a small sip.
He wasn't sure if it was because Bai Qing's tea-making skills had improved, or because of the warmth rising in his own chest.
The original trio that had formed the sect's core were all here now.
Eldest Senior Sister, Second Senior Brother, Third Junior Sister, and their master.
Their master was just as he had been back in that ruined temple — ready to fire back whenever Eldest Senior Sister teased him.
Third Junior Sister was just as she had been in that small courtyard in Yuzhou City — wearing a faint smile, watching their master and senior sister trade barbs.
Li Xingdong thought back carefully. Perhaps he had been too single-minded about cultivation in those days.
Beyond the essential tasks, he had spent most of his time in closed-door cultivation, never properly cherishing those moments.
One pot of tea passed, and Cui Hao still had not broken through.
But no one felt the time was dragging.
Li Yingling laughed and patted Li Xingdong's shoulder, sharing some of his minor embarrassing moments.
They chatted idly through two more pots of tea before the spiritual energy fluctuations inside Cui Hao's chamber suddenly erupted with violent intensity. A massive surge of spiritual power followed, causing the array's light to blaze brilliantly.
The casual conversation stopped. Everyone's eyes turned toward the doorway.
A moment later, the door was slowly pushed open.
Cui Hao strode out with his chin held high. He looked at Chu Xingchen, casually flicked his bangs aside, and declared:
"A mere Golden Core? Taken down with ease!"
Li Yingling extended her spiritual sense and scanned him twice. She had to admit — this junior brother's Golden Core was genuinely well-formed, even if it still fell short of her own.
"Tch... You actually have the nerve to brag."
Li Yingling's gaze directed Cui Hao toward the figure sitting at the table — Yun Li.
Cui Hao looked over with a puzzled expression.
He had entered closed-door cultivation first. The Green Snake had only begun after he did, so Cui Hao had no idea that the Green Snake had also started a breakthrough attempt.
He studied the youth for a couple of seconds. The face looked familiar, but he had no memory of anyone matching this description. He asked in confusion:
"Who's this kid?"
Yun Li quickly rose to his feet:
"Fifth Senior Brother, it's me."
"Fifth Senior Brother? Is this a new disciple Master took in?"
"No... I'm the Green Snake."
Cui Hao froze. His gaze shifted to Chu Xingchen, who sat calmly sipping his tea.
After a long pause, he suddenly burst out laughing:
"Hahaha, that trick of yours is a bit amateurish! Master, you don't honestly think I'd fall for that, do you?"
"You just found some random person, dressed him in green, and tried to fool me?"
"Master, you really think far too little of me, Cui Hao."
"The Green Snake — how could he possibly be faster than me?!"
Chu Xingchen's gaze shifted to Li Yingling:
"This time, your Fifth Junior Brother has handed you some fresh ammunition. I give you permission to take your revenge."
Li Yingling nodded eagerly:
"Thank you, Master!"
"Wait?! Are you serious?!"
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