Half a month later, at the sect's entrance.
"Please, just two more days before we leave!"
Qinghe tugged at Xie Lingyu's sleeve, pleading with a pitiful expression. "Really, just two more days."
Xie Lingyu's face remained cold. "If you want to stay and play, do so. I never forced you to return to the Tianyan Sect with me."
Qinghe wasn’t foolish. If Xie Lingyu really left alone, there was no telling whether it would ever step out of the Tianyan Sect’s gates again.
Xie Lingyu might act tough, but she had a soft heart. If she stayed, she would genuinely shield Qinghe when Grandma Bai came looking for trouble.
Unlike Grandma Bai—hard-hearted in both words and actions. When she said she’d cut off Qinghe’s horns, the poor creature didn’t even have time to react before its two horns were rolling on the ground.
If Grandma Bai saw Xie Lingyu return to the Tianyan Sect alone, she’d probably come charging over the same day to drag Qinghe back. And then that black-hearted brat would surely mock it again.
How infuriating!
Why did other people’s masters cook such delicious food? Why did other sects have so many fun things to do?
And it had finally made a true friend—Chen Baiqing.
Though young, she was utterly adorable!
Her tea was brewed to perfection, her words were sweet, and she always knew just what to say to warm Qinghe’s heart.
Every time they chatted, Qinghe felt as if bathed in spring breeze, its soul cleansed and refreshed.
If not for Chen Baiqing’s polite refusal, Qinghe would have clung to her day and night.
Chen Baiqing’s speech and demeanor were far beyond her years.
Qinghe sometimes wondered if she was a spirit in human form.
How infuriating!
Where did that black-hearted brat find such a well-behaved disciple? Qinghe would love to take her back to the Tianyan Sect.
If such a sweet girl like Chen Baiqing were corrupted by Chu Xingchen and turned black-hearted, Qinghe would cry itself to death!
It could only play dumb and whine, "Good Lingyu, just two more days, please?"
"You’ve used that excuse three times already." Xie Lingyu swatted away Qinghe’s hand. "Or you could choose not to return. Ask Chu Xingchen if his sect needs a Nascent Soul-stage flood dragon to guard the gates."
Qinghe’s gaze shifted to Chu Xingchen, who stood nearby with his disciples—even Ning Qianqian was peeking curiously from the back.
It first glanced at Chu Xingchen’s faintly amused expression—that black-hearted brat was truly detestable!
Then Qinghe looked at its dear friend.
Chen Baiqing’s face was expressionless, her eyes unreadable.
But Qinghe was certain!
Chen Baiqing must be reluctant to see it leave. This was the unspoken bond between kindred spirits.
After all, the joyful memories of their time together were still vivid in Qinghe’s mind.
Watching little Baiqing revise her grilled fish technique over and over—from roasting one fish at a time to roasting two at once.
Qinghe didn’t quite understand the appeal, but Chen Baiqing’s happiness had become its happiness!
Turning back, Qinghe said mournfully, "Little Baiqing wants me to stay a bit longer too."
Xie Lingyu scoffed. Done wasting words, she turned to leave.
Seeing this, Qinghe played its last card: "What if Chu Xingchen wants you to stay? Would you still go?"
"Of course."
Xie Lingyu didn’t hesitate.
She was a cultivator of the Tianyan Sect, the true inheritor of Bai Xuanling’s legacy.
She had no reason to linger in Yuzhou City or here. Her path was her own.
Her mission and duties weighed on her, with countless eyes watching.
At present, Chu Xingchen was far from being someone who could make her abandon all that or halt her steps.
Xie Lingyu had her own pride, especially since Chu Xingchen’s rapid cultivation progress unsettled her.
His growth was unnaturally fast, and it did pressure her.
She had already fallen behind other geniuses. It was time to catch up.
Bai Xuanling’s illustrious reputation in the Central Continent shouldn’t be tarnished by her failures.
Besides, she and Chu Xingchen would surely meet again in the Central Continent.
When that happened, she wouldn’t just stand on the sidelines watching him fight.
This wasn’t the beginning of her inferiority complex, nor was it the end of her journey.
If Chu Xingchen had impressed her, then she would impress him in return.
Qinghe stared, speechless, at Xie Lingyu’s calm, unyielding expression.
It glanced at Chu Xingchen again, only to find him equally composed, as if he’d expected this all along.
Xie Lingyu didn’t waste more words on Qinghe. Instead, she smiled softly at Chu Xingchen and the others.
"I enjoyed our time together. If you ever visit the Tianyan Sect, let me play host for once."
"We will!" Li Yingling waved cheerfully.
Li Xingtian, inexperienced with farewells, simply clasped his hands in respect.
Chen Baiqing smiled sweetly and waved. "Come back soon."
Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu weren’t as close to Xie Lingyu, having interacted less with her compared to the first three disciples.
Xie Lingyu’s aloof nature made their exchanges sparse, almost like those between a senior and juniors...
Cui Hao imitated his second senior brother, clasping his hands with a smile, while Lin Luoyu did the same.
Chu Xingchen said nothing, merely nodding with a smile.
Realizing the battle was lost, Qinghe reluctantly waved at Chen Baiqing, preparing to leave.
"Little Baiqing, I’ll come play with you again soon!"
Chen Baiqing played along, nodding with a wistful expression.
Chu Xingchen glanced between Chen Baiqing’s face and Qinghe’s identical look...
Was his third disciple genuinely attached, or was she just reeling in this silly flood dragon like a hooked fish?
...Surely not, right?
He patted Chen Baiqing’s head, then turned to Xie Lingyu and Qinghe.
"Until next time."
Xie Lingyu nodded and vanished in a streak of light.
Qinghe waved mournfully one last time, then turned to Chu Xingchen with a stern warning:
"Don’t you dare corrupt little Baiqing!"
Without waiting for a reply, it chased after Xie Lingyu.
As the two departed, Chu Xingchen ruffled Chen Baiqing’s hair again.
"How was your time with Qinghe? Did you befriend it intentionally?"
Chen Baiqing nodded lightly.
"Mm, I put in some effort since it was a guest. But Qinghe is quite amusing—easy to tease."
Chu Xingchen chuckled. As long as they got along, it was fine.
With the farewells over, the crowd dispersed, each returning to their own pursuits—whether cultivation or lazing about.
Stretching leisurely, Chu Xingchen ambled toward the main hall, with Li Xingtian following close behind.
They walked in silence for a while.
Li Xingtian gazed at his master’s retreating figure, the words stuck in his throat still refusing to come out.
Before he could gather his thoughts, his master’s voice drifted toward him from ahead.
“Thinking of sneaking out to hunt again?”
Li Xingtian’s eyes shifted to Chu Xingchen, whose face bore a faint, knowing smile.
Chu Xingchen paused and turned to him.
“Don’t overthink it. If you want to go, then go. The Tianyan Sect isn’t a cage—it’s your support, your home.”
Li Xingtian said nothing, but his stiff yet genuine smile spoke for him.
It was answer enough.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
