Keeping You Like a Fish~

Misty Marsh, by the winding waterside pavilion.

Yunli nibbled on a fruit in her hand, watching leisurely as Yunze fed the absurdly skinny fish. With just a sprinkle of fish food, the collective of spiritual fish thrashed and bit at each other in competition.

Though her master never gave her private lessons, staying around those sharp-minded senior fellow disciples practically meant daily training.

With just one look, Yunli understood that the Yunze before her had some psychological issues—at the very least, the friendliness on his face couldn't be taken seriously.

Facing someone like this with problems in his head, it seemed somewhat effective to play dumb. After all, no one would really bother trying to get into a quarrel with a fool.

Yunli had neither the mind nor the interest to figure out which screw was loose in this winged serpent's head.

Yunze tossed another handful of fish food into the water, then turned his gaze toward Yunli, who was still eating her fruit.

After receiving a message from Bai Xuanling, Grand Sect Leader Chu had simply dropped Yunli off at Cloud Dream Marsh, leaving only a sentence: “Think it over carefully. If you agree, take Yunli with you. If not, have the Cloud Dream Pavilion send her back to the Heavenly Derivative Sect.”

As for Grand Sect Leader Chu himself, he was too busy with world-saving affairs to linger any longer.

For Yunze, this was naturally good news—at least with Chu Xingchen absent, refusing wouldn’t be quite as daunting.

Yunze looked at Yunli, still munching on fruit, and asked in a gentle tone:

“These fruits are unique to Cloud Dream Marsh. If you like them, my friend, I can prepare more for you to take back to the Heavenly Derivative Sect.”

Yunli glanced at Yunze, then casually tossed the half-eaten fruit into the pond.

A group of ravenous spiritual fish stripped the flesh clean in moments, and many began gnawing on the pit.

Watching the scene before her, Yunli said calmly:

“Instead of worrying about me, you’d better spend more time feeding the fish. If my Third Senior Sister saw you raising them like this, she might just start raising you like a fish instead.”

Yunze’s smile stiffened. The insult, to him, felt cutting in the extreme.

“Like a fish,” he thought. "Even if she is Chu Xingchen’s disciple, those words are simply too arrogant."

Seeing the stiff smile on his face, Yunli continued flatly:

“Senior Brother Cui is a master at raising fish. He happens to be working with Zheng Zhaoling at Cloud Dream Pavilion right now. There’s a chance he might come here, so you could ask him for advice then.”

“Is that so? I’ll be sure to take that opportunity,” Yunze said, taking two controlled breaths, cursing inwardly. This Yunli might seem innocent on the surface, but he was clearly applying pressure behind her words.

What did he mean by mentioning Cui and Zheng Zhaoling working together?

That was obviously him saying: “Even Cloud Dream Pavilion answers to us now. Cloud Dream Marsh has no choice but to submit.”

Yunze pinched more fish food, then probed again:

“Truth be told, Sect Leader Chu’s proposal intrigues me. But it’s a matter of great importance—the more we know about each other, the better. My true form is a winged serpent. Might I ask what your true form is?”

Yunli reached for the extra fish food set aside beside her:

“Dragon.”

“What?”

“Dragon.”

“I’m sorry, I must have misheard. Could you say that again?”

“I said I’m a dragon.”

Yunze didn’t press further but silently reduced his expectations by half.

“In the divine sea heritage memory, I saw myself roaming the Divine Continent, summoning wind and rain, fighting a bloody battle against hordes of demons, then suffering severe wounds, knowing death was certain. So I released my spiritual essence to scatter blessings everywhere, keeping everything out of demon hands. Finally, biting down on a last breath, I burned my own blood essence, spanned ten thousand zhang, crossing realms until I reached Northern Buzhou, where I died.”

“The day my blessings scattered was not the day of this true dragon’s death.”

Yunli raised her eyes slightly, her gaze calmly fixed on the dumbstruck Yunze as the bloodline aura within her gently radiated.

Listening to these words and perceiving Yunli’s exceptionally pure bloodline, Yunze’s knees suddenly grew weak.

What was this? A resurrection of the ancient ancestor?

Was this real or not?

Yunli smiled faintly and then continued speaking:

“The memories in my divine sea heritage are so vivid that I must be the rumored descendant of a true dragon. Before this, I thought I was just a breed of unknown green snake. Laughable, isn’t it? I am clearly an unmatched Azure Dragon.”

Hearing that, Yunze felt his knees instantly recover.

At the same time, he became even more certain in his mind: This young green snake in front of him was most definitely malfunctioning in the head.

Yunze flattered: “Then you truly possess a noble identity, inspiring admiration.”

Yunli nodded with a smile as she scattered handful after handful of fish food.

“Your bloodline aura is far too thin. Lacking my true core bloodline, your talent isn’t top-tier. The spiritual energy here can’t compare to the Central Continent. Honestly, your cultivation should have advanced long ago. But you’re unwilling to let go of this or that—something for nothing, and you’ve missed both opportunities, wasting your practice.”

Yunze held the fish food and tried his best to maintain a gentle tone: “Would you care to offer some guidance?”

“No guidance.” Yunli finished scattering all the nearby fish food and broke into a smile. “The Sect Leader says everything a person does has its reasoning, whether it’s a wise deed or a foolish one.”

“After all, no one works so hard just to make their life even harder. They always want something in return.”

“What you’re doing might not look clever to me, but in your heart—this is the only correct path.”

Yunze looked at Yunli, who seemed to fluctuate between clever and foolish, and answered after thinking:

“Senior Chu is truly brilliantly insightful, admirable indeed.”

Yunli nodded, then said, “Give me a place for training. Think over my proposal carefully, but if you’re going to refuse, tell me soon. The spiritual energy here is pathetically barren compared to the Heavenly Derivative Sect. Staying here would truly hinder my cultivation.”

“Since you rarely come to Cloud Dream Marsh, you don’t want to take a stroll and enjoy the scenery?”

“I only wish to see the peerless scenery at the summit of the Great Way.” Yunli glanced toward the fish, which had stopped their frantic feeding spree.

With that, Yunli fixed her eyes on Yunze.

After all, he wasn’t a member of the sect. Though he seemed intelligent, there was no real pressure in chatting with him. It was nothing compared to Third Senior Sister: three sentences and you’d obediently sit to be scolded.

Yunli spent most of her time in seclusion, and while cultivating, she continuously analyzed the content of the divine sea inheritance.

Those experiences felt as if she had lived them herself.

Though she lacked direct life experience, analyzing the inheritance’s contents had granted her vicarious lessons.

At least now Yunli could understand, beneath Third Senior Sister’s gentle words, which ones were real anger building and which were genuine praise.

But that was pretty much the limit. Looking back at what happened in Southern Jambudvipa, Yunli still understood it only dimly.

It could only be that Senior Sister Number One never actually intended for her to do things properly from the start.

Yunli recalled a lesson or two from Third Senior Sister, then looked at the hesitant Yunze and added:

“After all, I don’t want to be one of those fish scrambling for scraps, whose meals depend entirely on someone else’s goodwill.”