Gu Changyuan withdrew his gaze and turned to look in Jun Mukong's direction.
At this moment, Hou Tianqi was standing beside him, chattering away about something, her eyes and brows filled with joy.
Jun Mukong sat quietly, occasionally nodding slightly, looking like he was listening earnestly.
Ever since the Zichen Imperial Dynasty officially joined the Celestial Human Holy Land, the talented descendants of the royal family were naturally brought into the Holy Land for cultivation.
Nowadays, the relationship between the Celestial Human Holy Land, the Heavenly Monster Pavilion, and factions like Yunhuang, the Zichen Imperial Dynasty, and the five great families of the Central Continent was more akin to a main branch and its side branches.
The vast majority of members remained in their original factions to solidify their foundations and develop their forces.
Meanwhile, those descendants with outstanding talent and immense potential were taken to the Celestial Human Holy Land or the Heavenly Monster Pavilion for focused cultivation.
As for the Heavenly Fiend Sect, the reason it had not absorbed any factions from the Demon Realm was simply that there were no targets in the Demon Realm that could catch Gu Changyuan's eye.
Most demonic cultivators had arrogant temperaments, and coupled with the fact that almost no factions met Gu Changyuan's requirements, as time passed, no Demon Realm factions were brought under the Heavenly Fiend Sect's banner.
After Hou Tianqi entered the Celestial Human Holy Land, she often stuck close to Jun Mukong. Whether it was cultivating, practicing swordplay, or daily life, her figure could always be seen.
Gu Changyuan could tell that Hou Tianqi had obvious feelings of affection for Jun Mukong.
He also knew Jun Mukong's temperament well. If his second disciple, Lin Jingyu, was aloof, then Jun Mukong was simply a block of wood.
Even though Hou Tianqi frequently showed her favor, he remained completely oblivious to her feelings.
Besides Hou Tianqi, Gu Changyuan noticed that Gongsun Qingling seemed to have similar feelings for Jun Mukong.
He could roughly guess that this was probably caused by something that happened in the Cangwu Secret Realm back then.
As for what Jun Mukong would choose once his mind finally cleared up, or whether he would accept both of them, Gu Changyuan had no intention of interfering.
The cultivation world inherently lacked such restrictions, and one-to-many relationships were entirely normal.
Moreover, for cultivators with outstanding talent, having multiple Dao companions by their side was a common occurrence.
Since it was just an emotional entanglement between the younger generation, Gu Changyuan naturally wouldn't meddle too much, letting nature take its course.
His gaze swept past Jun Mukong, and his thoughts drifted to his other disciples.
Out of thirty-three disciples, only Lin Jingyu, Qin Yu, Fang Yuwei, Xu Mengyao, and Xiang Xuanyin had Dao companions.
The remaining twenty-nine—especially those on the Heavenly Fiend Sect's side—did not have a single Dao companion among them.
Gu Changyuan withdrew his gaze and silently complained in his heart.
His divine sense spread out silently, centering on the peak of Tianyuan Mountain and diffusing in all directions.
Ye Qingxue, Lin Jingyu, Bai Ling'er, and the others were all cultivating diligently in their rooms.
His divine sense expanded slightly, enveloping the entire Holy Land, and soon discovered Yun Tianhe's whereabouts:
He was spending time with Ning Heling on the Eighth Peak. The two sat side by side, their bodies pressed very close together. The intimacy and tenderness in their eyes clearly exceeded the boundaries of what a true master and disciple should have.
Gu Changyuan abruptly stood up.
In the past, when he summoned his disciples, he would not pry into their surrounding environments. He would only lock onto them individually, confirm their locations, and teleport them directly.
Generally, before summoning them, he would also lock onto their status in advance. If they had important matters to handle, he would avoid interrupting them, and he never pried into their privacy.
His daily divine sense merely enveloped the entire Holy Land to guard against the arrival of outsiders or invasive attacks. He would never constantly monitor the daily dynamics of all his disciples, let alone see who they were spending time with, unless Gu Changyuan specifically checked.
Therefore, this was the first time Gu Changyuan had learned about the affair between these two.
Gu Changyuan's figure flashed, and almost instantly, he appeared at the summit of the Eighth Peak, landing steadily in front of Yun Tianhe and Ning Heling.
Their master suddenly appeared before them, expressionless, his gaze calm. Neither joy nor anger could be seen, yet it involuntarily sent a chill down their spines.
The two froze for a moment, and then their faces simultaneously turned pale.
Yun Tianhe was the first to react. His legs bent, and he knelt heavily on the ground with both knees.
Ning Heling closely followed, kneeling beside him, her head bowed, not even daring to glance at Gu Changyuan.
Both of their bodies were trembling slightly.
Ning Heling spoke, her voice trembling as if she had used up all her strength.
"Grandmaster, it is disciple's fault. It was disciple who harbored inappropriate thoughts toward Master Tianhe, deliberately getting close to and pestering him. It was my momentary foolishness, and it has nothing to do with Senior Brother. I beg Grandmaster to punish me alone."
Yun Tianhe sharply raised his head, urgency flashing in his eyes. "It is not He'er's fault!"
He forced the words out in one breath, his chest heaving violently.
"It is disciple's fault. As her master, disciple failed to abide by his duty and failed to stop it in time. If there is a punishment, please punish disciple alone, Master."
This sudden turn of events quickly caught the attention of Gu Changyuan's other disciples, as well as several Supreme Elders of the Holy Land.
In particular, the three women, Ye Qingxue, Bai Ling'er, and Yue Lingxi, looked exceptionally tense.
Gu Changyuan's attitude toward this master-disciple romance between Yun Tianhe and Ning Heling would practically determine whether their own future paths would be easy to walk.
If Gu Changyuan intended to punish the two severely, they would probably never have the courage to reveal their own feelings in the future.
If Gu Changyuan could forgive them, then they would have an extra glimmer of hope.
Therefore, at this moment, the three women tightly gripped the corners of their clothes, silently praying in their hearts that their master's attitude would be the latter.
Of course, if their master really wanted to hand down a severe punishment, they would definitely step forward to plead for mercy.
The other disciples were equally concerned about their master's attitude; after all, they were fellow sect members who had spent nearly a thousand years together.
If they were truly punished severely for this bit of personal affection, they would also step forward together to plead for mercy.
Gu Changyuan looked at the two people lying on the ground, obediently awaiting their punishment. The expression on his face remained stern, without the slightest loosening.
The entire peak instantly became terrifyingly quiet. Even the sound of the wind blowing could be heard clearly. This oppressive atmosphere made Yun Tianhe and Ning Heling feel even more panicked.
Finally, Gu Changyuan slowly spoke, breaking the dead silence:
"You should know my temper. For some things, if you make a mistake, there must be a punishment."
Yun Tianhe and Ning Heling's hearts sank, secretly preparing themselves to accept a heavy punishment. Ning Heling had even closed her eyes, waiting for Gu Changyuan's reprimand.
"Then I will punish you."
Gu Changyuan paused, deliberately dragging out his tone. Looking at their tense appearances, a trace of an imperceptible smile flashed deep in his eyes, and then the subject of his words abruptly shifted.
"Hurry up and give me a grand-disciple."
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
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!
