Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

after this war.

Without saying a word, Lao Yun stepped onto the fighting arena the instant the sword formation disappeared. He crouched down and poured a small amount of spiritual energy into her badly damaged body.

— Zhang Ruoxue's injuries were more serious than expected.

Yunping examined the extent of damage to her meridians and found that most of them were on the verge of breaking. Even her spiritual root had shocking wounds, as if it were cracking open from the inside out.

This wasn't entirely Fang Yan's doing. In fact, a large part of it was because Zhang Ruoxue consumed too much spiritual energy in her final attack, which put enormous pressure on her meridians. The pain from overdrawing her energy was far more terrifying than directly enduring the attack.

This girl is working way too hard.

Even if Yun Ping were to intervene, it would take at least three days for such injuries to fully recover. Fortunately, this is already the tenth round of the Ten Thousand Sects Competition, and they have about five days to rest before entering the next stage.

He quickly cast several spells to stabilize Ruoxue's meridians, then picked her up and disappeared from the spot without looking back, moving to a certain place in the palace to heal her.

After Yun Ping left, Chu Xin, Chu Chenxi, and the others exchanged glances.

Chu Chenxi stared worriedly at the spot where Yun Ping had been standing. "Is Uncle the cripple angry... Sister Ruoxue looks like she's seriously injured."

"It is very serious." Chu Xin could also see the injuries to Zhang Ruoxue's meridians and spiritual roots. "But the senior should not be that kind of person. He just took his disciple back to heal his injuries."

"That injury... is difficult to treat."

The man, who hadn't spoken much until now, spoke with a pale face and a hunched back. He turned his head, a weak, dim light appearing in his deep eyes, "His spiritual root and meridians have been damaged, so he probably won't be able to participate in the next round."

"That kid Fang Yan really goes all out."

"He just wants to win."

Mentioning Fang Yan, the light in Chu Xin's eyes gradually dimmed as she defended her disciple, saying, "Moreover, Second Brother, Fang Yan deliberately suppressed his cultivation."

The one Chu Xin called Second Brother was the sickly young master who was compared to Chu Aotian by many cultivators at the beginning of the battle among the myriad sects.

As the second young master of the Lantian Empire, Chu Jingqiao showed no trace of the haughty arrogance of royalty. His sickly appearance made people suspect that he was just a scholar on the verge of death.

He coughed violently twice, then took a breath. "Maybe he's afraid of offending that senior you mentioned... Speaking of which, who exactly is that senior?"

"I don't know either." Chu Xin shook her head. When she thought of Yun Ping, her mind was full of unsolved mysteries. "I only know that the senior knew his ancestor Chu Lantian and knew a lot about the history of the Tianjue Era. Maybe... he was a powerful figure who had survived to the very end since the Tianjue Era."

"The Era of Heaven's Demise, huh..."

A look of longing gradually appeared between Chu Jingqiao's brows, and at the same time, his expression turned serious, and his tone became more solemn, "Have you told your elder brother about this?"

"No." Chu Xin seemed to know that Chu Jingqiao would ask this question, and answered without hesitation: "I haven't told my elder brother about the matter of the senior yet. At present, apart from us, the few people stationed at the border and my elder brother are all unaware of this matter."

"That's good. The fewer people who know about this, the better..."

Chu Jingqiao nodded in deep agreement, then reached out to touch Chu Chenxi, who was staring with wide, round eyes, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

He stared at the little girl with great affection, and said coldly, "It would be great if this senior were willing to help us. But we must not let our elder brother find out. If he is exposed, then Chenxi may be in danger again."

"Even... my elder brother might secretly take action against the senior's disciples."

"I know, Second Brother..."

Chu Xin nodded, her expression grave.

She knew full well that it was her fault for dragging Yun Ping and the others into this incident. With her elder brother's swift and decisive methods, it would be incredibly easy for him to take action against Ye Yuchan and the other disciples in the capital. She didn't want to harm Yun Ping and the others because of her.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but recall Fang Yan's battle against Zhang Ruoxue...

This guy started preparing a year ago, honing his sword skills and fist techniques every day. Under my supervision, he practiced that ancient movement technique. I also taught him a lot, and I often held him while we slept at night.

—Although it seemed like something strange had gotten mixed in, the long time they spent together still made Chu Xin feel a little sad about Fang Yan's admission of defeat.

He could have won, but he chose to fight Zhang Ruoxue in this way, and ultimately lost.

"Ugh……"

She sighed, a look of helplessness appearing on her beautiful cheeks. She tilted her head back, gazing at the verdant sky, letting the sunlight fall on her face.

—I wonder what that kid is doing now…

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Ugh……"

Streets far from the imperial palace.

The young man with black hair and black eyes leaned against the wall, looking at the bustling market with people coming and going, and took a heavy bite of an apple.

He lost.

He admitted defeat himself.

If a real fight broke out, he could completely defeat Zhang Ruoxue. In the end, he could even unleash his suppressed cultivation level and send Zhang Ruoxue off the fighting field with an absolute crushing force.

But Fang Yan didn't; he chose to admit defeat directly.

I admit defeat.

With just three words, Fang Yan's efforts over the past year were reduced to ashes. The Ten Thousand Sects Competition is a grand event held once every ten years. If he wants to step onto the martial arts arena again, he will have to wait another ten years.

Ten years of youth, how easy is that?

"To be honest, I don't think what you did was right."

A light, airy voice came from beside him. Fang Yan turned around in surprise and met a pair of dark, lifeless eyes.

Fang Yan was taken aback, "Senior?"

Yunping appeared behind him without him noticing, leaning against the wall, holding an apple just like Fang Yan, and casually took a bite.

As he chewed on the juicy fruit, he stared at the silly boy in front of him. "You shouldn't have suppressed your cultivation. You should have just fought with Ruoxue. By doing this, you not only ruined the honor you might have gained, but you also disrespected Ruoxue."

“Senior…” Fang Yan lowered his head and remained silent.

Yunping knew exactly what this kid was thinking. He patted Fang Yan on the shoulder and said, "Actually, when Ruoxue met you, I already knew she would lose. Even if you are not as good as her in fist techniques, you are not a fist technique specialist. Swordsmanship is the path you chose."

The old rogue pointed to the black greatsword on Fang Yan's back and chuckled, "That sword you're carrying wasn't used even once in the last match. Don't you think it's pathetic?"

"You clearly waved it countless times in the dead of night, didn't you?"

Fang Yan fell silent again, and could only let out a few silent, bitter laughs.

How could it not be?

He practiced for several days in order to make a name for himself, not for his own sake, but to avoid disappointing those who placed their hopes on him.

He didn't want to disappoint Chu Xin; he wanted to prove that Chu Xin was an excellent teacher who could teach a disciple she could be proud of.

"You shouldn't be worried about me."

Fang Yan suddenly raised his head and stared at Yun Ping in astonishment.

Those surprised and suspicious eyes seemed to be asking—how did you know?

Yunping chuckled and took another bite of his apple. "I've forgotten how many years I've lived. If I can't even tell from this, have I wasted all my years like a pig?"

“I never expected Ruoxue to win, so you don’t need to worry about me at all. In fact, I’ve put dozens of life-saving formations on this girl’s Taoist robe. With your current cultivation level, even if you’re exhausted and fully recovered, you might not be able to kill her in another round.”

"As long as it's not fatal, I can pull this girl back from the brink of death. I have that ability."

Faced with Yun Ping's words, Fang Yan paused for a moment before smiling wryly and saying, "Senior, I am indeed a little worried that it might harm Miss Zhang's name, but that was just my initial concern. Besides that, there is another reason for admitting defeat."

"What is it?" Yunping asked.

Fang Yan raised his head, seemingly recalling that battle, his tone filled with admiration:

"As you can see from that last punch, senior, I subconsciously used the power of someone around the minor completion stage of the Spirit Platform Realm. Even if Miss Zhang really made a counterattack that surprised me, theoretically speaking, my punch, which I had been preparing for a long time, should have seriously injured her and made her unconscious."

"She pulled through, or rather, I still can't believe how she pulled through..."

"When I saw her determined to stand up no matter what, even if she was so confused that she was about to pass out, I felt..."

"She deserves the title of victor, and—"

Fang Yan turned his head and looked at Yun Ping.

He looked at Yunping as if he were looking at Chu Xin, or at his own teacher.

"She must also want to be a student that makes teachers proud, just like me."

As a fellow disciple, Fang Yan was able to understand Zhang Ruoxue's feelings.

He didn't want to lose, but Zhang Ruoxue didn't want to lose either.

He trained diligently for the sake of the competition among all sects, practicing martial arts during the day and honing his skills at night.

Zhang Ruoxue also suffered greatly in the struggle for the sake of the Ten Thousand Schools Competition, practicing her boxing skills with all her might, even suffering repeated defeats in battles against puppets, but she never gave up.

They are all the same.

Yunping remained silent for a long time before saying, "But you gave her the victory. You could have won."

Fang Yan's black hair, identical to Yun Ping's, danced in the breeze. He also took a bite of an apple and smiled as if he had let go of his worries.

"Yes, but perhaps she is more persistent than I am in the pursuit of victory."

"Perhaps it's because she has other obsessions besides wanting you to be proud of her."

The image of an ancient demon automatically appeared in Yun Ping's mind, and he immediately understood.

He quickly understood, stared at Fang Yan in front of him, and suddenly grinned.

Fang Yan felt a chill run down his spine at that smile, and he asked timidly.

"Um, senior... you came to see me not because my last blow injured Miss Zhang, and you're here to demand an explanation, are you...?"

"How could that be?"

Yunping waved his hand, "Do you think I'm such a petty person?"

"I don't think so... right?"

Fang Yan chuckled dryly. To be honest, he was really worried that his final blow might cause Zhang Ruoxue some kind of injury.

If that's the case, then he's certain that Yunping has come to confront him.

However, the old rogue had no such intention, and instead smiled kindly.

"Since you conceded the victory to that girl Ruoxue, as her teacher, I should follow the rule of reciprocity and give you something in return."

"Consider this compensation for your defeat in this battle of the ten thousand factions."

"Me?" Fang Yan pointed to himself, his mouth agape in surprise. "What is that?"

"A stroke of luck."