A man stands before the heavens, his sword emerges from the Emei Mountains.

The clear sky, like an inverted bowl, covers the Qiantang River.

While fetching water, Chen Yu thought of the line "Clouds in the blue sky, water in the bottle." He calmly bathed, changed his clothes, and began practicing the fifth section of the "Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian" (a traditional Chinese exercise).

A dirt path leads from the courtyard to Jing Shui Nunnery. The afterglow of dusk filters through the trees and falls on Ding Minjun and Li Mingxia as they walk side by side.

"Junior sister, I have a question for you."

"Please speak, senior sister."

What do you think of my junior brother?

Li Mingxia carefully considered her words and cautiously said, "If we're talking about martial arts, as you've seen, Junior Brother defeated Ma Fatong of the Qinghai School and Chang Jingzhi of the Kongtong School at the Liuhe Pagoda. He also suffered heavy injuries to Tang Wenliang, but he was faking his injuries. If we were to compare them honestly, he should still be able to defeat them. He is undoubtedly the number one martial artist in Emei after Master. He is also a righteous person. When he arrived in Qiantang and heard that you had been beaten and humiliated, he went straight to Yanyu Tower to avenge you without saying a word."

"I'm a little afraid of my junior brother now," Ding Minjun suddenly said.

Li Mingxia was stunned; Ding Minjun's words were completely unexpected.

"Let me ask you again, when my junior brother first entered the sect, I treated him coldly, was never friendly, and even mocked and ridiculed him. Do you think he would hold a grudge?"

Li Mingxia chuckled, "Senior sister is overthinking it. If that were really the case, would she really stand up for you?"

"But there's always the possibility of settling scores later. My junior brother was able to fake an injury and fool all of us. He's hiding something; who can guess what's going on in his mind?"

Li Mingxia was now hoping that Ding Minjun and Chen Yu could get along peacefully, so as not to be caught in the middle and put in a difficult position. She rolled her eyes and said, "Why don't you have a talk with your junior brother, senior sister?"

"That's so embarrassing."

"We're all from the same sect, and my junior brother is the future sect leader. How can he be ashamed? I'm very envious of how Senior Sister Bei, Senior Sister Su, Senior Sister Ji, and my junior brother get along so harmoniously and speak so freely."

"I'll think about it some more."

"Don't hesitate, now is the perfect time."

"Why don't you come with me?"

"Alright."

The two walked along the winding road, entered the courtyard through the main gate, passed through corridors and buildings, and headed towards the backyard.

……

Thud, thud...

From afar, they could hear muffled striking sounds. Ding Minjun and Li Mingxia passed through the moon gate, and in their field of vision, a tree as thick as a man's waist was swaying continuously. Chen Yu stepped out in a circle, his body swaying as he swung his palm. The palm strikes were sometimes fast and sometimes slow, with an unfamiliar rhythm. With each palm strike, the tree, which was too big for one person to hug, would sway.

Ding Minjun and Li Mingxia did not recognize Chen Yu's palm technique, but they could make sense of it from his footwork, which was the Four Symbols Nine Palaces Step.

"That's not how you practice Four Symbols Palm," Ding Minjun thought to herself.

"Is Junior Brother practicing his skills?" Li Mingxia asked.

After Chen Yu finished practicing the "Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian" (a traditional Chinese exercise), the scene of him teaching Zhou Zhiruo Baguazhang (another martial art) on Mount Emei reappeared in his mind. At that time, he wondered if he could combine "Si Xiang Zhang" (another martial art) and "Bagua Zhang" to create a martial art similar to "Si Xiang Bagua Zhang". While diligently training his muscles and bones, he also practiced the general outline of the true scripture. This general outline was concise and profound, containing the principles of superior martial arts, which made Chen Yu's understanding of martial arts techniques advance by leaps and bounds. Only then did he begin to try it.

Li Mingxia asked a question, and Chen Yu finished her practice. "Well, I've come all the way from Emei and have a lot of thoughts on martial arts. I'm thinking about refining and improving the techniques. By the way, I happen to have something to ask Senior Sister Ding."

Ding Minjun's heart skipped a beat. It was all over. Her junior brother really had his eye on her. No wonder she'd had a bad feeling about this whole journey. She couldn't help but recall the scene of Chen Yu striking the old tree a moment earlier, and a chill ran down her spine.

"Master... what brings you here, Junior Brother?"

Chen Yu gave Ding Minjun a strange look, thinking to herself that she was simply unable to control her tongue, narrow-minded, and prone to harboring resentment due to jealousy. Her personality was quite similar to Song Qingshu in the later stages of the novel, but she lacked Song Qingshu's decisiveness. She was not difficult to control; once she was subdued, she would be a loyal lackey, to put it bluntly.

Looking at the deep, unfathomable look in Chen Yu's eyes, Ding Minjun became even more certain that Chen Yu was looking for trouble. Considering how much Emei Sect her master doted on Chen Yu, with both inner and outer disciples revolving around him, it would be incredibly easy for him to find an excuse to expel her from the sect. If that happened, she would surely die in Qiantang.

Ding Minjun's legs went weak.

"Senior sister, please come to the living room for a chat."

Chen Yu turned and walked away, and Ding Minjun followed, her mind buzzing and her head spinning.

Li Mingxia saw this and felt uneasy.

……

The golden rays of the setting sun streamed in through the window, clinging to Chen Yu's body and hair. He sat in a chair, his gaze sweeping over.

Ding Minjun stared intently at Chen Yu's hair, her mind filled with the image of Chen Yu's "Willow Dance in the Wind" beneath the Liuhe Pagoda, his sword striking the head of the Qinghai swordsman, blood spurting crimson from his hair.

When martial arts skills reach a certain level, the martial artist gains power and can suppress or influence others spiritually.

Ding Minjun also felt that Chen Yu exuded the same oppressive aura that her master emanated when he was angry, which made her even more uneasy.

"Senior sister, do you know your mistake?" Chen Yu's voice suddenly rang out, which sounded like a thunderbolt to Ding Minjun.

"Mmm." Ding Minjun nodded with difficulty.

"Tell me, where did you go wrong?"

Ding Minjun was extremely tense and blurted out, "When my junior brother came up the mountain, I never treated him properly, and even mocked him and looked down on him. When Master chose my junior brother as his successor, I was dissatisfied and complained."

Chen Yu was taken aback; Ding Minjun wasn't referring to acting rashly in Qiantang.

"I know I was wrong." With that initial statement, the rest was easy to say. Ding Minjun took a deep breath. "I now submit to my junior brother and have no desire to compete for the position of sect leader. Considering my senior sister's unwavering loyalty to Emei, please give me a place to stay."

Chen Yu remained silent.

"I'm fine with staying at Jing Shui Nunnery," Ding Minjun said hastily.

A gentle, warm breeze lapped against the oil-paper window like the tide. Chen Yu stared at Ding Minjun, whose face was actually quite pretty, but whose eyes held trepidation, awe, and pleading.

This scene was beyond Chen Yu's expectations.

But upon closer examination, it makes perfect sense.

Looking at Ding Minjun's various aspects in the world of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," she is sharp-tongued and narrow-minded, but when it comes to intelligence, she is completely muddle-headed and easily fooled by the young and inexperienced Zhou Zhiruo.

He may be arrogant and domineering towards his fellow disciples, but he is also genuinely loyal to Emei.

When there's a world of difference in cultivation level and mental fortitude, Ding Minjun displays absolute submission to the stronger. This point is also vividly demonstrated in the later stages of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber."

In the Battle of Liuhe Pagoda, I established my authority in front of Ding Minjun, so it seems that there is no need to say some of the things I originally prepared for Ding Minjun.

Chen Yu smiled slightly, his unhurried voice pressing down on Ding Minjun's heart like a grinding wheel.

"I have a few words to say, and I hope you will remember them, senior sister."

"Junior brother, please speak."

"First, do not abandon a person's great virtues because of a small evil, and do not forget a person's great kindness because of a small grievance."

"Secondly, speaking ill of others is to protect one's own shortcomings, while boasting of one's own strengths is to be jealous of others' strengths."

Chen Yu's words were like knives, each one piercing the heart, especially his statement that "speaking of others' shortcomings is to protect one's own shortcomings," which made Ding Minjun's face flush red.

"Third, benefits should be shared, not monopolized. In undertaking any major task, discernment is paramount."

"Does Senior Sister remember?"

"Thank you for your advice, junior brother."

"Alright, Senior Sister, please think twice before you act in the future."

"Um."

"Alright, I'll now speak on behalf of my master about a cultivation technique to improve my senior sister's cultivation level."

The voice that Chen Yu suddenly spoke made Ding Minjun feel as if she were hallucinating.

"What did you say, junior brother?"

"Could it be that Senior Sister doesn't want to improve her cultivation technique?"

"Yes, thank you, junior brother." Ding Minjun let out a long breath, her emotions fluctuating wildly, her voice trembling.

"Listen up, senior sister."

"I'm all ears."

Chen Yu explained the first section of the practice method of "Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian" to Ding Minjun in detail, and then asked Ding Minjun to pass it on to Li Mingxia. He would personally explain it to Jingjia.

……

The old, leafy tree in the courtyard blocked out half of the sunlight.

Ding Minjun walked out seemingly absent-minded, in Li Mingxia's eyes.

"Senior sister, what's wrong? What did junior brother say?"

Ding Minjun opened her mouth slightly.

"What exactly happened?"

"Junior brother is such a good person."

Li Mingxia gasped, stunned. What had her junior brother done? Why did her senior sister seem like a completely different person?