Celestial Taoist

As soon as she finished speaking, a brief silence fell over the cultivation room, and the spiritual energy in the air seemed to slow its flow. Su Qingyao turned her pretty face to the side, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.

She remained silent for a moment, as if struggling with something, before slowly turning to look at Li Mofan. Her face still lacked any smile, but her tone had lost its previous coldness and gained a hint of impatience and compromise: "Fine, since you're so stubborn, I won't force you."

As she spoke, her fingertips twitched slightly, and a wisp of shimmering white spiritual energy slowly overflowed again. Although she was not as proactive as before, she no longer deliberately distanced herself. Her tone was somewhat stiff and awkward: "I will allow you to stay in the Qinglan Squad for the time being."

Seeing her relent, a smile flashed across Li Mofan's eyes, and he quickly nodded, "Thank you, Captain! I will definitely not slack off, and I will definitely not let the Qinglan Squad down!"

Seeing his expression, Su Qingyao's tone remained icy: "Enough nonsense, continue cultivating. Your spiritual energy resonance was interrupted earlier, and you need to make up for it today. Don't get distracted again."

As soon as she finished speaking, she closed her eyes, and her shimmering white spiritual energy slowly expanded once more, actively moving towards Li Mofan's golden spiritual energy. Although her tone was still strained, her actions no longer showed the resistance she had shown before. Li Mofan quickly composed himself, urging his golden spiritual energy to intertwine with hers once more. The spiritual light of the cultivation array shone, and the cultivation of the Spiritual Exchange Technique resumed.

After cultivating for a while, the two simultaneously stopped, gathering all their spiritual energy within their bodies. Su Qingyao opened her eyes, her expression regaining some of the sharpness she usually displayed outside, her tone still somewhat stiff: "That's enough for today. I just accepted a small team exploration mission. You'll be coming with me first thing tomorrow morning."

Su Qingyao nodded slightly, said nothing more, and closed her eyes again to meditate and regulate her breathing. After saying goodbye, Li Mofan quietly left the cultivation room, and the alloy door closed silently.

The next morning, Li Mofan got ready, donned his armor, and waited at the entrance of the training room. The door opened, and Su Qingyao, dressed in a close-fitting dark metal battle armor with a silver and black tactical belt around her waist, her long hair tied up high, slowly walked out, her gentle demeanor from her training days gone, exuding a sharp aura.

Li Mofan strode forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Captain, I've arrived."

Su Qingyao nodded slightly and walked towards the camp exit: "Let's go to the teleportation portal and set off as soon as possible."

Li Mofan quickly followed, and when they reached the teleportation gate, he couldn't suppress his doubts any longer and tentatively asked, "Captain, are the other members of our team still behind us? Should we wait for them a little longer? After all, it's a team mission, and having more people means we can help each other out."

Su Qingyao paused, turned her head to look at him, her expression still calm, her tone still somewhat stiff, but without any attempt to hide her true feelings: "No need to wait, the Qinglan Squad has always only had you as a member."

Li Mofan froze, his steps halting instantly. His face was filled with astonishment, his eyes brimming with disbelief: "Team... Captain, what did you say? There's only one team member? But what you said about the team mission earlier..." He had always assumed that the Qinglan team had other members, but that they might not all be together during training or missions. He never imagined that the entire team consisted only of him and Su Qingyao.

Su Qingyao turned around, her gaze landing on his astonished face, her tone tinged with sarcasm: "What? Do you think there aren't enough people to complete the mission? Or do you feel wronged following a captain like me who only has one member?"

Li Mofan quickly snapped out of his daze, shook his head, and said sincerely, "No, Captain, I'm not wronged, I'm just too surprised. I always thought there were other members in the team, I didn't expect..." He paused, a hint of determination in his eyes, "No matter how many people are in the team, I will cooperate with you to complete the mission well and live up to your trust."

Upon hearing this, Su Qingyao's tone became even more sharp: "Stop talking nonsense and follow me." After saying that, she turned around and entered the teleportation portal. Li Mofan followed closely behind. As soon as he stepped in, the space around him seemed to be rapidly distorting and flowing, and pale blue spiritual light intertwined and dissipated before his eyes.

A moment later, the two landed steadily. The ground beneath their feet was no longer the smooth black stone floor of the teleportation portal, but a path paved with bluestone slabs, with fine moss growing in the gaps.

After taking a few steps, Li Mofan stopped, as if he had suddenly remembered something, and asked with a hint of doubt, "Captain, where are our camouflage kits for this mission? We're probably going to attract attention like this and it won't be easy to hide our identities."

Upon hearing this, Su Qingyao did not stop walking. She only glanced at him indifferently, then raised her jade hand, and a smooth silver bracelet appeared out of thin air in her palm. It was the disguise kit that was standard for cross-world missions.

"You mean this?" A hint of impatience flashed in her eyes. "I don't like wearing this."

Li Mofan quickly stepped forward, took the bracelet with both hands, and his fingertips inadvertently touched her fair fingertips.

A hint of embarrassment appeared on his face. He quickly tucked a piece of his armor into his shirt and said in a low voice, "Thank you, Captain. It was my oversight. I won't wear it anymore."

Su Qingyao had already withdrawn her fierce aura. With a slight movement of her fingertips, a wisp of shimmering white spiritual energy quietly overflowed, probing the surrounding environment. Her tone remained icy: "This is the destination of this mission, a world dominated by martial artists. The mission objective is to lay out the receiving ceremony for the Heavenly Punishment Law."

Li Mofan's gaze swept over a passerby dressed in a tight-fitting outfit with a long sword at his waist, and he replied in a low voice, "Understood, Captain. Is martial arts a kind of talent?"

Perhaps noticing the curious look on Li Mofan's face as he gazed at the passersby in the distance, Su Qingyao's beautiful eyes instantly flashed with obvious disdain, and she rolled her eyes at him without any attempt to hide it.

He explained in a cold tone, "In the world of Heavenly Punishment, only those who have no talent for cultivation and can only temper their physical bodies are called martial artists, the lowest of professions."

As soon as she finished speaking, she looked away, quickened her pace, and said no more: "Don't just stand there, let's go. Let's find out which local tribes are powerful in this area first. It's impossible for just the two of us to complete the laying."