"Sister Lu, don't be discouraged."
Wan Yunting turned to look at Lu Xiaodie, who had a mixture of envy and disappointment on her face, and smiled to comfort her, "Think about it, one of them is a direct disciple of the Dragon Tiger Mountain sect leader, and the other is a direct disciple of the Wudang Sect leader. They both started at a high level, so there's no need to compare yourself to them!"
Lu Xiaodie turned her head and glared at him, pouting, "Little brother, you're just trying to comfort me. It's clearly the difference between genius and mediocrity. It's fate."
Wan Yunting smiled and shook his head, saying, "Not necessarily. Some people lack talent, but if they work twice as hard later on, they can surpass so-called geniuses!"
Lu Xiaodie was speechless by his words, then suddenly realized something and said dismissively, "I think you're praising yourself indirectly, aren't you?"
Wan Yunting chuckled, causing Lu Xiaodie to roll her eyes and say enviously and resentfully, "These past two days, you've only been running off to play with Sect Leader Zhou of the Emei Sect. You've practically forgotten about your Sister Lu. You're such a heartless scumbag."
...Wan Yunting was a little speechless and also smiled awkwardly, quickly comforting her, "Sister Lu, I'll teach you martial arts later!"
"Really?"
Lu Xiaodie turned to look at him, her bright eyes showing a look of triumph.
Wan Yunting smiled and gave her a look, then nodded. Lu Xiaodie happily linked her arm through his, just as Zhou Ruoxi, who had just entered the courtyard, saw this scene!
"Sect Leader Zhou is here!"
It was Zheng Rong beside him who reminded them. Only then did Wan Yunting and Lu Xiaodie turn to discover Zhou Ruoxi heading towards them. Lu Xiaodie slowly let go of Wan Yunting's arm with a smile and said, "Sect Leader Zhou is here."
"Mm."
Zhou Ruoxi glanced at Lu Xiaodie, nodded, and then her autumn eyes cast a lingering glance at Wan Yunting. Her gaze shifted to the courtyard, where Zhang Xian'er and Zi Qing were still sparring. The two had entered a heated battle and were about to determine a winner. "Why did they start fighting?"
Wan Yunting smiled, "Sparring."
Zhou Ruoxi's autumn eyes were quickly drawn to the martial arts and sword techniques displayed by Zhang Xian'er and Zi Qing during their spar. Especially Zhang Xian'er, she hadn't known Zhang Xian'er's identity before and was surprised by her formidable martial arts skills, even dominating Zi Qing.
"Golden Flowers Falling!"
With Zhang Xian'er's soft cry, she unleashed her Qingping Sword, executing the move "Golden Flowers Falling" from the Qingping Sword Technique. The long sword swung out several sword auras, one of which sliced Zi Qing's peach wood sword in half, breaking it into two pieces, with the tip falling to the ground...
Zi Qing's phoenix eyes looked at the broken peach wood sword in her hand, her expression impassive, as if she had expected it, and there weren't many ripples.
Zhang Xian'er sheathed her Qingping Sword and smiled, "What a shame. If you had a good sword, you might not have lost to me so quickly!"
"Hey, my master didn't lose to you at all," Lan Xin said indignantly, stepping forward.
"Hmph."
Zhang Xian'er gave the master and disciple a disdainful look and returned to Wan Yunting's side, "Are you Wudang disciples sore losers?"
"My master originally..."
"Lan Xin."
Zi Qing stopped Lan Xin's words, telling her there was no need to say anything. She had lost, and that was that.
Lu Xiaodie smiled, "I didn't realize this Junior Sister Zi Qing has such a good mindset."
Wan Yunting smiled, "More than just good, she's practically a remarkable woman."
Zhou Ruoxi sighed and said, "In the entire martial world, there are only a handful of people who can contend with Senior Sister Zi Qing and Zhang Xian'er of Dragon Tiger Mountain!"
Seeing Zi Qing and Zhang Xian'er spar just now gave Zhou Ruoxi a sense of loss.
Although she was also rumored to be a martial arts prodigy, Zhou Ruoxi considered herself no match for Zhang Xian'er and Zi Qing.
The last time she practiced逍遥派 (Xiaoyao Sect) martial arts with Wan Yunting at the bottom of the Kunlun Mountain valley, her martial arts had broken through to the middle stage of Dan Jin (Core Strength). Since then, Zhou Ruoxi had not made any further breakthroughs, while the man had now advanced to the late stage of Dan Jin.
"Ruoxi, did you need something from me?"
Wan Yunting finally reacted, turning to ask.
Zhou Ruoxi nodded. Wan Yunting understood what she needed him for and said, "Let's go talk outside."
"Okay."
Zhou Ruoxi nodded, exchanged pleasantries with Zhang Xian'er, Zi Qing, and Lu Xiaodie, and left the tea pavilion towards the courtyard gate.
"Sparring is fine, but don't fight."
Wan Yunting warned Zi Qing and Zhang Xian'er, then greeted Lu Xiaodie and Zheng Rong before catching up with Zhou Ruoxi. They walked towards the back mountain, talking as they went, "Are you troubled by matters within your sect?"
"Mm."
Zhou Ruoxi's delicate brows furrowed, and she said worriedly, "There are many people in the sect with ulterior motives. Although they outwardly acknowledge me as the sect leader, they don't truly recognize me in their hearts!"
Wan Yunting nodded and asked, "Then what do you plan to do?"
Zhou Ruoxi glanced at him, pouted, and said in a spoiled tone, "If I had a way, would I come to you?"
Faced with the woman's sudden act of spoiled vulnerability, Wan Yunting laughed. Seeing that no one was around, he put his large hand around Zhou Ruoxi's soft, slender waist and smiled, "So, you're asking for my help?"
"Get away with you, don't be so handsy. It's not good if someone sees."
Zhou Ruoxi was nervous and quickly pulled away the man's impudent hand, her face stern as she said seriously, "Quickly give me some advice. What should I do now?"
Wan Yunting smiled and said, "It's very simple. As the saying goes, a new official makes three decrees. You should start by making an example of someone, kill the chicken to warn the monkeys!"
Zhou Ruoxi's autumn eyes brightened, and she couldn't help but pull on the man's arm, "Then who should you kill first?"
Wan Yunting looked at her and smiled, "Who do you think can be killed?"
Zhou Ruoxi frowned and thought for a moment, saying, "Our entire Emei Sect is currently divided into two factions: one led by the Grand Elder, Mistress Jun Xuan, and the other by the Third Elder, Guo Yu!"
"Now, the Grand Elder has been expelled from the Emei Sect. However, among the disciples who followed her, some are sincere, but some still follow the Grand Elder. Most of them have pledged allegiance to the Third Elder, Guo Yu!"
"So, this is the problem, the Third Elder, Guo Yu!" Wan Yunting turned to her and smiled.
Zhou Ruoxi worried, "But most of our Emei Sect disciples support the Third Elder. If I make a move against him, won't it backfire?"
Wan Yunting nodded and said, "It will definitely have some backlash, but you are the sect leader now, and you have to show your firm authority. Take down Guo Yu and make an example of him, and then others will not dare to act rashly!"
"Of course, you can't rush this. You need to find the right opportunity to make a move against Guo Yu. It must be a decisive blow, giving him no chance. Only then can you gain the respect of others!"
"Mm, I understand."
Zhou Ruoxi nodded, understanding the man's meaning, and said, "I'll plan with Uncle-Master Yun Bai later and find an opportunity to make a move."
Wan Yunting nodded. The two arrived at a scenic cliff in the back mountain, where a small pavilion was built. They entered and sat down. Seeing that no one was around, Zhou Ruoxi also dropped her sect leader demeanor and transformed into a woman in love with the man. Her autumn eyes gazed at Wan Yunting affectionately and asked, "When are you planning to leave?"
Wan Yunting also took her jade hand and smiled gently, "The day after tomorrow. After all, there are still a lot of things in the capital waiting for me to handle."
"Oh."
Upon hearing that the man was leaving the day after tomorrow, Zhou Ruoxi felt reluctant. Her head naturally rested on his shoulder as she said, "Yunting, thank you..."
Wan Yunting helped her brush a strand of hair from her forehead and smiled, "Silly girl, you don't need to be polite with me."
Then Zhou Ruoxi raised her head, turned, and gave him a lingering glance, "Will you come to see me often in the future?"
Wan Yunting's expression froze. He put his impudent hand around her willow waist and smiled, "Of course, I'll come find you whenever I have time..."
"Hmph."
Zhou Ruoxi removed his pig-like hand and pouted enviously, "You have so many confidantes around you. When you go back, you'll probably forget about me, a country woman, very quickly."
A hint of an awkward smile appeared on Wan Yunting's lips. He forcefully put his arm around her and comforted her, "Where do I have any confidantes? Don't overthink things..."
"You don't?"
Zhou Ruoxi's autumn eyes glanced at him sideways and said, "Zi Qing, the number one sword practitioner of the Wudang Sect; Zhang Xian'er, the direct disciple of the Dragon Tiger Mountain sect leader; and that Lu Xiaodie, Sister Lu, and Senior Sister Zheng from the Hengshan Sect, dare you say you have nothing to do with them?"
These words made Wan Yunting flustered. He quickly explained, "You can't wrongly accuse me! I have absolutely nothing going on with Senior Sister Zi Qing or Zhang Xian'er. Zhang Xian'er is following me as a bodyguard to repay the kindness my father and grandfather showed her when they saved her life."
"As for Senior Sister Zi Qing, she's following me because she wants to learn the Great Dao Sword Technique inheritance left by the Wudang Sect's ancestor. I'll pass on the Great Dao Sword Technique to her later, and then she'll leave."
"Alright, I'll believe you for now. What about Lu Xiaodie and Zheng Rong?" Zhou Ruoxi's autumn eyes stared at him, interrogating.
When Lu Jie was mentioned, Wan Yunting's expression changed slightly, but he tried his best to explain, "Do you remember when we were in the valley and encountered the inheritance left by Senior Kang Guangling of the Xiaoyao Sect, who wanted future generations to rebuild the Xiaoyao Sect?"
Zhou Ruoxi looked at him with suspicion, "Are you planning to let Lu Xiaodie and the others inherit the Xiaoyao Sect's legacy?"
"That's right."
Wan Yunting nodded and said, "Although Sister Lu's talent isn't outstanding, her hard work in cultivation is remarkable. I plan to let her and Senior Sister Zheng inherit the Xiaoyao Sect's martial arts. If there's an opportunity in the future, they can even rebuild the Xiaoyao Sect and restore it to the martial world!"
Zhou Ruoxi nodded. The two of them had seen the Xiaoyao Sect legacy left by Senior Kang Guangling in the cave below the valley. He had also entrusted any fated person who inherited the Xiaoyao Sect's martial arts to re-establish the Xiaoyao Sect and reappear in the martial world. It seemed the man hadn't forgotten this matter.
"Right, let's talk about Mistress Jinyu first!"
Wan Yunting remembered something and changed the subject, "Mistress Jinyu was born with a cold constitution. The night before last, while I was avoiding Mistress Jun Xuan, I mistakenly entered the peach blossom forest in the back mountain and saw Mistress Jinyu. Coincidentally, her cold poison acted up, and I managed to save her life by acting promptly."
"But her cold poison had entered her bones. I could only suppress the cold poison in her body. There is only one way to completely expel her cold poison!"
Zhou Ruoxi knew about this and raised her eyebrows, asking, "What way?"
Wan Yunting looked at her and said seriously, "Use the Eight Desolations Divine Art to absorb the cold poison from her body!"