He had even considered laying hands on an unfamiliar junior.
After a long pause, the black-clothed Sword Venerable fell silent again. His dark eyes lowered as he stroked the two swords at his side.
“I was being presumptuous,” he said.
Seeing the girl tense to the point of speechlessness, Ji Lingyao picked up the conversation. “Sword Venerable, you overstate it. My Little Junior Sister has always wanted to witness a senior’s prowess firsthand. Now that her wish has come true so suddenly, she’s too astonished to speak.”
The Sword Venerable nodded slightly.
The light in those eyes had completely died out. He no longer looked at the girl but shifted his gaze slightly to his direct disciple. “With the mountain gates opening soon, don’t wander outside. Come back with me afterward.”
Ying Zhuochen responded respectfully. “Yes, Master.”
The Sword Venerable turned and went back to training his disciples.
The girl watched him go, her expression betraying nothing unusual.
In truth, Li Yin was clutching her heart to stifle a silent scream.
Cold sweat still drenched her back, and her legs felt weak. Though she wanted to turn and bolt, she couldn’t make her feet move.
It took a good while before she recovered her voice.
“That really scared me.” The girl patted her chest and let out a breath, her reaction utterly genuine and unfeigned.
She didn’t want to reveal herself until she had a better grasp of his current feelings toward her.
“Alright, I’ve seen what I came to see. I’m heading back first.” Li Yin turned first to the sword sect disciple beside her. “Your master’s right there. You won’t get lost this time—have him take you back.”
She deliberately sent a transmission: 【Don’t tell my real name to your master.】
Ying Zhuochen gazed at her, his eyes clear. 【Alright, I understand.】
He didn’t ask for a reason—or rather, cultivating the Emotionless Sword meant he had no interest in reasons.
The girl composed her expression again: 【What I mean is, this is a secret just between the two of us, okay? I only want you to know.】
She shared her current alias with him.
True to the Emotionless Sword, the youth’s features remained impassive, without a ripple.
【Alright, I understand.】 He repeated.
Only this time, his tone was a touch more earnest, his eyes more sincere.
“Then I’ll head out first.” Li Yin smiled and waved at him.
“Mm. See you.” The youth paused to think. “Fellow Daoist Yin Li.”
No need to emphasize the alias like that!
The girl burst out laughing for real. “Mm-hmm. See you, Fellow Daoist Ying Zhuochen.”
She couldn’t stop grinning. Though he didn’t understand why she was laughing, the blockhead cultivating the Emotionless Sword didn’t mind.
Li Yin turned to the other one. “Ji Little Dao Lord, want to head back with me?”
Ji Lingyao replied, “I’ll go a bit later. Little Junior Sister, you go on ahead.”
Li Yin nodded. “Okay, then. I’m off.”
The girl departed the area without a hint of fleeing in panic.
Once she was out of sight, the two young cultivators withdrew their gazes.
Ji Lingyao flashed a brilliant smile. “In that case, I’ll take my leave too, Fellow Daoist Ying. Let’s spar another day.”
Ying Zhuochen nodded. He heard his friend continue, “I see you’ve been carrying that fruit the whole way. You probably don’t have an appetite for it—why don’t you give it to me? I’ll take care of it for you.”
The sword cultivator of the Emotionless Dao lowered his head and glanced at the fruit in his hand.
He had indeed carried this fruit the entire way.
Ying Zhuochen looked back up. “Sure.”
He handed the fruit to his beaming friend without a second thought.
His friend left with the fruit. Ying Zhuochen stood in place, waiting for his master to finish training the disciples before following him back.
His master had unusually released a spirit boat for transport. Ying Zhuochen found his seat and sat down. The Sword Venerable was already seated cross-legged, wiping down the sword in his hands.
“She’s the one you mentioned last time—the person you ran into by chance,” Yun Jian said suddenly. “A disciple of the Myriad Beasts Sect.”
He asked abruptly, “What’s her name?”
His disciple had reported his experiences from his travels upon returning to the sect. It was easy to match her to the description.
Ying Zhuochen answered, “Surname Yin.”
He sat with his knees together, still and heavy. His posture perfectly mirrored his master’s, though he lacked the heavy, deathly aura that clung to his master.
Yun Jian swapped to a fresh piece of spiritual silk cloth to wipe his sword and changed his question. “I saw that she seems to carry a magic artifact for the disguise art?”
His gaze fell, his black eyes reflected on the spotless sword blade. He seemed to ask casually, unconcerned with his disciple’s answer.
Ying Zhuochen replied, “She has a grudge with demonic cultivators, so she resorted to this countermeasure.”
The master said nothing. He simply lowered his eyes to wipe the sword, polishing it over and over. Only after a moment did he deem it satisfactory and put away senior sister’s sword.
With a faint sound of sheathing, he straightened the dangling sword tassel and spoke again. “Lately, the Demon Domain has seen frequent disturbances. The disguise art should give her some peace.”
Abruptly, the Sword Venerable shifted the conversation. “Myriad Beasts Sect has truly taken in a fine disciple.”
He raised his eyes to his properly postured disciple. “Perhaps… you have an affinity with her.”
The disciple remained emotionless and impassive. He simply watched his master quietly.
The master continued, “You were born lacking certain emotions. Though you possess a sword heart, you lack an ordinary heart aperture. With only a remnant heart, achieving the great dao will be difficult. She may be your chance to break through to body integration.”
As he spoke, Yun Jian recalled the scene again. Besides his disciple, who cultivated the emotionless sword, someone else had guarded that girl—the disciple from Azure Profound.
The Azure Profound Chief Disciple had stayed by her side without leaving a step. He must have taken an interest in the girl as well.
Though Yun Jian rarely ventured out, he kept tabs on these juniors. Among this generation of disciples, the Azure Profound Sect’s chief disciple had the most unruly and untamable temperament.
Someone with that kind of personality rarely let go of what caught his eye. He would likely compete fiercely—and even resort to snatching.
Yun Jian turned to his disciple. The young man’s gaze was clear and vacant.
“You—” He started to speak but held back.
The disciple’s eyes remained clear. “Master?”
A faint smile appeared on the Sword Venerable’s face, tinged with helplessness. “Never mind. Just remember, female cultivators… generally prefer gentler temperaments. In that regard, you have a slight edge over that Ji fellow.”
“That one has to force a smile onto his face at all times. You may lack emotions, but your temperament has always been mild since you were young. If you conduct yourself well, it’s not impossible to catch that girl’s eye.”
Ying Zhuochen didn’t fully understand but acknowledged it. “Yes, Master.”
The master before him murmured, “When you speak to her, keep your tone soft. Don’t frighten her—or make her angry.”
He seemed to be instructing his disciple, yet it also felt like he was talking to himself.
–
Li Yin returned to her temporary courtyard residence.
She greeted her senior brother and senior sister, claiming she needed to enter secluded cultivation. They nodded eagerly and promised not to disturb her.
In truth, the moment night fell, the Player activated her cheat props.
Her cultivation had advanced a stage, and the Illusory Dream Technique had upgraded along with it. If she cast the spell to enter a dream now, the scene would form based on the target’s impressions.
In other words, she could see the environment surrounding her target. The Player guessed he was in a cultivation quiet room.
【Directed Random used successfully】
【You decide to cast the spell tonight and construct a dream realm. The target is “Sword Venerable Yun Jian.” Though the cultivation gap is vast, your luck holds—the success rate is 100%.】
【Guaranteed success】
【But the cultivation gap is too great. Though you successfully construct a dream realm, you can only maintain it for…】
【15 minutes】
–
The quiet room was dimly lit, its furnishings simple and orderly. Jade slips and sword manuals stood neatly stacked on the bookshelves and desk. Items for maintaining a spiritual sword lay arranged in a wooden box, while a sword stand occupied the other side.
The sword stand stood empty, however. Yun Jian always carried those two swords on him—they never left his side.
Li Yin’s gaze swept the room again. Though this was a dream realm, it perfectly recreated reality based on the dream enterer’s impressions.
Little Junior Brother’s room—or rather, Sword Venerable Yun Jian’s—was far too spartan.
Aside from practical cultivation tools, nothing unrelated to practice existed here.
A few magic artifacts sat on the desk, including a palm-sized sundial that glowed faintly. She had no idea what it was for.
Her eyes skimmed past it, then snapped back. She stepped forward and picked up two small magic artifacts beside the sundial.
Little Junior Brother possessed a metal spirit root and knew artifact refining. She remembered that clearly.
The two small artifacts were round, like downsized go pieces.
The Player had mentioned it offhand, and Little Junior Brother had made them to her specifications: one with a smiling face pattern, the other a crying face.
He had bashfully presented the smiling one to his senior sister. It wasn’t finely crafted or particularly attractive.
The Player had accepted the small gift and praised it. Only then had the anxious boy’s eyes lit up with joy.
At the time, the boy had pinched his remaining piece. The artifact in his senior sister’s hand had lit up in response—they were a pair of mutually triggering toys.
Yet they were so crude. He had kept his anyway, even placing it on his desk within easy reach.
All of it dated back to before his fifteenth birthday.
Little Junior Brother’s personality had changed greatly after he turned fifteen.
Li Yin pinched hers casually. Even in the dream, the two small magic artifacts emitted a faint glow.
That light finally drew someone near.
“…Senior Sister.” The young man’s voice was slightly hoarse, lacking the boy’s former clarity.
Compared to the daytime’s muted tone, however, it now carried a faint note of anticipation.