All of the protagonist's Daoist partners are mine!

"Brother Lu is indeed a trustworthy person."

Xiao Fan decided to turn the tables and teach his sworn sister a lesson.

“Linglong, now that you’ve chosen Brother Lu as your Daoist partner, you can’t bully him like you used to.”

Wait, something's not right.

Xiao Fan had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't stop reciting the lines he had prepared.

"You need to change your temper too, so you don't cause trouble for Brother Lu."

This shouldn't be done; isn't this like blessing them? Linglong and the Lu brothers are a mismatch no matter how you look at it.

"If anything happens to Brother Lu, you'll have to help him out."

Xiao Linglong spread her hands: "That's so unfair! Generally speaking, shouldn't the older brother tell his brother-in-law not to bully his good sister? Why are you doing the opposite?"

"Hmph, don't I know you too well? You're not going to suffer a loss because of him." Xiao Fan waved his hand and turned away.

He was feeling incredibly conflicted. Although he knew that Linglong was just being silly, he had a feeling that things were spiraling out of control.

Forget it, don't overthink it. Anyway, given Linglong's personality, she'll get bored after a few days... That should be the case, right?

Xiao Fan felt a sense of unease.

Chapter 81: 81 Hidden Obstacles × Assistance √

Watching Xiao Fan's retreating figure as if fleeing, Xing Moxie couldn't help but smile.

—Now even that clueless idiot who's oblivious to feelings should realize that his adorable little sister belongs to me, right?

—This cherry-like mouth, which should have been used to coax him, now exists only to whisper sweet nothings in my ear.

—These beautiful legs that have captivated countless men are now only being opened to please me.

Xing Moxie isn't a bad person. Xiao Fan is lacking nutrition; he can make up for it by treating him to a massage parlor later.

"Hmm? Who is this...?" Xing Moxie finally noticed the black-haired woman who had been following Xiao Linglong since the beginning.

The others seemed to have stirred up a commotion because of her, but Xing Moxie, who was busy with the battle at the time, didn't hear the exact reason.

“As an inner disciple, you really don’t have many opportunities to meet her. This is the Holy Maiden of Xuantian, Shangguan Yinyu,” Xiao Linglong introduced.

Oh, the Holy Maiden of Xuantian, she's on equal footing with Xiao Fan...

Xing Moxie himself had no impression of this woman. Shangguan Yinyu was not mentioned in either the battle or in the reports investigating the people around Xiao Fan.

But Lu Renjia has information about this woman in his memory.

So that's how it is. It seems that in the first few years after this woman joined the Immortal Sect, Lu Renjia, who was then a hoodlum in the sect, harassed her a few times.

Later, because Shangguan Yinyu became the sect leader's disciple, Lu Renjia no longer dared to attack him.

Then Lu Renjia followed Xiao Fan and completely turned over a new leaf.

"This is truly impolite. Greetings, Holy Maiden."

"It's alright, anyway, I was planning to leave anyway." Shangguan Yinyu nodded to Xiao Linglong.

Her indifference to everything is exactly as Lu Renjia remembers her. Has this woman not changed at all after all these years?

Xiao Linglong noticed him staring at the saintess's back and immediately felt annoyed: "Hey, are you still looking? She's already gone far away."

Xing Moxie withdrew her gaze: "What do you mean 'far away'? She's only taken ten steps."

"Ten steps isn't far? That's enough time to kill someone. Besides, my face is right here, why are you staring at the back of someone's head instead of looking at my face?"

"Jealous?" Xing Moxie chuckled and coaxed, "I also really like looking at the back of your head, because it's even more appealing from behind..."

"Waaaaah!" Xiao Linglong panicked and shouted, drowning out the loud noise behind him: "Shh, what's going on? There are so many people watching here."

Normally, once the life-or-death battle is over, the audience should leave.

However, because they were too concerned about Xiao Linglong and "Lu Renjia", nearly 60% of the people remained on the field to observe.

……

On the way back to Qingxin Peak, Xing Moxie continued what he had just said: "That Holy Maiden is really a woman with no sense of fun."

"Ah! So you really are after her." Xiao Linglong took two small steps forward, blocking his way, with her hands behind her back. "Is it because she lacks interest that you want to inject some interest into her?"

Xing Moxie looked puzzled: "Linglong, you don't actually think that besides being talented and virtuous, I'm also a philanderer who wants to collect any beautiful woman I see, do you?"

Xiao Linglong looked exasperated: "Ugh~ This is the first time I've ever heard someone describe themselves so shamelessly. Putting aside those purely embellished adjectives, aren't you a lecherous scoundrel?"

"Hey, hey, hey, this is a huge misunderstanding. I won't use any means necessary to take them into my possession just because they are beautiful. It's just that the women I want to take happen to be beautiful."

Xing Moxie walked forward, while Xiao Linglong walked backward facing him, the two maintaining a coordinated and even pace on the mountain path.

"You're just making excuses. Let me ask you if you have any feelings for Shangguan Yinyu."

"Not yet. I can't think of any benefit she could bring me, and besides, she's a woman who doesn't inspire me at all."

“Indeed, the Holy Maiden seems to have no interest in anything other than cultivation, and I’ve never heard of her having any dealings with any man. Thinking about it this way, could she perhaps be someone who is incapable of romance?” Xiao Linglong pondered.

Occasionally, there will be people in the cultivation world who are truly devoted to cultivation and have no attachment to worldly affairs; they are pure of heart and have few desires.

"Well, that's hard to say." Xing Moxie shook his finger. "Women are fickle. If a woman remains unchanged for a hundred years, it means there is something that supports her in resisting all temptations. This saintess might be a lover who is more devoted than anyone else."

Xiao Linglong tried to imagine what the saintess would look like when she was infatuated with love, but she couldn't figure it out at all: "Forget about Shangguan Yinyu for now, what are you planning to do next?"

"what?"

"It's about the Ancient Sword Peak Master."

Elder Xinglan lost the privately arranged recruitment competition among the peak masters, especially to Qingxin Peak Master, whom she least wanted to lose to. Recently, she has been furious and wants to settle scores with the central figure, "Lu Renjia".

Even Xiao Linglong, who had just returned not long ago, had heard about this.

In terms of direct strength, she wasn't worried about Xing Moxie at all. After all, Elder Xing Lanyi was only at the late Nascent Soul stage, considered weak among the thirty-six peak masters.

But he is, after all, the peak master and Xiao Fan's master.

It will likely be difficult for the evil lord to deal with the secret sabotage from the peak master within the sect without revealing his identity.

"Ah, that matter. I don't plan to do anything about it. Rather, I should thank Peak Master Gujian for his special assistance."

"Assist?"

"That's right, I've been thinking about how to get closer to my cheap master. The stingy Master of Ancient Sword Peak has really helped me a lot."

"Master? Wait a minute, you didn't actually attack Elder Yun too, did you?" Xiao Linglong exclaimed in surprise. "When? Ever since the Demon Palace, haven't you been trying to bully me in every way possible?"

"Hmph, I am busy with countless affairs of state, so stealing a moment of leisure is a piece of cake."

"Stop trying to fool me, tell me right now! When did this happen?"

"The secret is time management."

……

Afternoon, Qingxin Hall.

"The above is my complete experience of recruiting students in Xuancang Kingdom."

Xing Moxie omitted some details and embellished the experience, mainly recounting to the peak master how the recruitment and selection process was conducted through organizing secret realm explorations.

Yun Feixia was overjoyed: "Very good. With such a reliable disciple as you, I can indeed save myself a lot of trouble."

They've recruited a Golden Core prodigy who's not even twenty years old, breaking the enrollment record of the Thirty-Six Peaks for hundreds of years. This disciple is just too capable!

Xing Shimei always boasts about her subordinate Xiao Fan, but in Yun Feixia's eyes, her own Lu Renjia is much more capable than Xiao Fan.

Yun Feixia noticed the tear in her disciple's clothes: "Your injury is..."

"Oh, it's nothing serious, it's just that someone ahead challenged my disciple to a duel."

"A martial arts contest? You just got back and already... Ah, could it be one of Junior Sister's people?"

Chapter 82: 82 Deceiving the System, Living Off the System

Although it's not a serious injury, a cultivator can heal it in a flash if they pay attention.

But when Yun Feixia saw it, her heart skipped a beat.

Heartache, guilt, anger... and other irritating emotions.

If this injury was truly caused by her petty argument with her junior sister, then it would be extremely unfair to the disciple who had worked so hard to complete the mission and return home.

Yun Feixia was already used to her junior sister picking fights every now and then, and she could perfectly ignore them.

But involving others is another matter entirely.

If you have a problem, take it out on her. Taking out your anger on a junior is something Yun Feixia, as an elder, despises most.

This time, my junior sister has crossed the line.

"master?"

"Ah." Yun Feixia snapped out of her daze, realizing she had just made a rather frightening expression. "I'm sorry, your injury is indeed because... no, no, right now we should prioritize treating it. You have a wood elemental root, so you should use medicine containing water elemental energy. But the injury was caused by metal elemental energy, so should we use medicine containing fire elemental energy? Or perhaps..."

Yun Feixia frantically took things out of her storage ring, and several times she grabbed the wrong things because she was in such a hurry. She kept throwing out half-eaten snacks, drinks, back scratchers and other random things.

She was so frustrated because she couldn't find the right medicine that her pupils turned into a "☆" and a "◎", a funny expression that only appears in Doraemon comics.

It was clear that she wanted to do her best to fulfill her duties as a teacher and was also eager to apologize to her disciple who had been injured because of her. However, because she had never done anything like this before, she was clumsy and made herself look quite ridiculous.

Xing Moxie couldn't help but cover her mouth with her fist, pretending to try to suppress her laughter, but it still escaped her lips.

"Pfft."

Feeling both ashamed and angry that her dignified demeanor had been mocked by her disciple, Yun Feixia exclaimed, "What are you laughing at? Don't laugh!"

"My apologies. I didn't mean to make fun of you, Master. I was just surprised to find that you have such a cute side..."

"Huh?"

"Ah." Xing Moxie seemed to suddenly realize that she had misspoke and looked away with slight embarrassment.

This small gesture not only instantly heightened the ambiguous atmosphere, but also made Yun Feixia even more embarrassed, and she couldn't help but look away.

"Adorable"—the last time Yun Feixia heard those two words was when her master was still alive.

She's known for her youthful appearance and is often praised for her beauty. But she never imagined that at her age she'd be called cute, especially by someone like her apprentice...

Compared to the tired clichés of "as beautiful as an angel," "as beautiful as the moon and as beautiful as a flower," and "as kind as an orchid and as intelligent as a hymn," the simple word "cute" has a much stronger power in Yun Feixia's heart.

No, no, it would be too improper to be happy about something like this.

"How dare you!" Yun Feixia wanted to reprimand her, but her voice was barely audible.

Xing Moxie blushed, touched his neck, and said awkwardly, "Um... this disciple will take his leave now."

"Huh? Ah... um."

After the main gate slowly closed, only Yun Feixia remained inside the hall.

She remained seated in her original position for a few seconds, then moved with lightning speed, suddenly burying her head in the pillow.

"Aaaaah, how disrespectful! How dare you say this peak master is cute! Who instructed you to say that?! What am I thinking? What's with this restless feeling in my chest? Don't get all excited over a disciple's words! What an idiot I am!"

Ah! Yun Feixia suddenly remembered something, raised her head, and looked at the palace gate in horror.

Quickly cast a protective barrier to seal off Qingxin Hall with a soundproof enclosure.

But... is it already too late?

Although she covered her face with a pillow just now, she shouted so loudly, could it have been heard by the disciples who hadn't gone far?

The thought that her attempts to mend the fence after the sheep were lost were just self-deception made Yun Feixia bury her face in the pillow again, screaming and kicking her feet.

"I'm doomed... I'm such an idiot."

……

In fact, the soundproofing of the palace doors was far better than Yun Feixia had imagined.

After closing the palace door, Xing Moxie stretched and yawned, "Ha... Today is another flawless day."

Well, life is like a play, and it all depends on acting skills. Someone like Mo Xie would definitely be a god who commands veteran actors in ancient times.

He took out a metal fragment, turned it upside down in the sun, and said, "It's more effective than I expected."

In the battle with Wan Tiedan, Xing Moxie passed through a hail of blades without getting hurt, so how could he have been injured?

Thinking that he would be meeting his beautiful but cheap master later, he specially picked up a sword blade that was scattered on the arena when he left.

Since the goal is to create the effect of injury, it needs to be done thoroughly. The metal fragments still contain Wan Tiedan's golden spiritual power, so even if Yun Feixia goes forward to check, she won't reveal any flaws.