The Current Status of Each Disciple

Sure enough, Master was still the same Master.

Bai Ling'er took a bite of watermelon, her lips curling up into a faint smile.

Possessing the Exquisite Dao Heart, when Gu Changyuan decisively killed Li Jue earlier, she saw more than just the clean and neat kill; she faintly saw the terrifying aura forcefully suppressed within her Master's body.

It was a bloody path unfolding, corpses littered everywhere, blood dyeing the sky. Master stood alone atop thousands of bones, his eyes like ice, the killing intent surrounding him almost tearing heaven and earth apart.

In that moment, she felt an endless distance. That unfamiliar Master made her inexplicably panicked.

But now, looking at the Master before her who was cracking melon seeds, sharing watermelon, and holding a teasing smile in his eyes, she felt relieved.

Master was still the same Master, only the path he had walked was tens of millions of times harder than theirs, stained with more blood and dust.

But his heart towards his own people had never changed.

If in the future, Master's enemies were the myriad powerhouses filling the sky, the tyrannical imperial court, or countless unknown perils...

Then she, Bai Ling'er, would definitely stand by Master's side without hesitation, clearing the path of thorns for him, willing to dye the battlefield with her blood without hesitation.

Her Exquisite Dao Heart was currently as clear as a mirror, her Dao intent firm.

Girl, what are you thinking about? Smiling so foolishly.

Gu Changyuan's voice, carrying a hint of a teasing smile, rang in her ear.

Immediately after, a soft, plain white tissue with a slightly rough paper texture gently wiped the corner of her mouth, wiping away the bit of watermelon juice she had accidentally gotten on herself.

Bai Ling'er only then snapped out of her thoughts. Her cheeks warmed imperceptibly, and she quickly shook her head.

Remembering that Master called her foolish, she immediately retorted in a small voice:

I am not foolish at all!

The smile on Gu Changyuan's face deepened a bit. He suddenly remembered something and asked casually:

Right, I am still not clear about the marriage situations of you few. Do you all have Dao companions?

Saying this, his gaze swept over Bai Ling'er with a hint of curiosity, then turned to Xiao Yi, Yun Tianhe, and Han Feng beside her.

The three of them instantly put away the snickers on their faces and sat bolt upright, as if undergoing a serious interrogation.

Xiao Yi was the first to speak, his voice loud and carrying a straightforward vigor:

Master, you know me! I am spending my whole life on flames and alchemy. How could a Dao companion be as interesting as cultivation?

Gu Changyuan's gaze then looked toward Yun Tianhe and Han Feng.

The two immediately nodded heavily, as if echoing what Xiao Yi said.

However, when Yun Tianhe nodded, his eyes shifted for a moment, seeming to hide something on his mind, but it passed in a flash and went unnoticed by the others.

Gu Changyuan did not plan to look into it deeply either.

It was perfectly normal for his disciples to have their own little secrets; there was no need to get to the bottom of everything.

Thus, his gaze fell back onto Bai Ling'er.

Bai Ling'er coughed lightly, directly choosing to shift the topic to their other fellow disciples:

Reporting to Master, Eldest Senior Sister has not had a Dao companion for this past millennium.

As for Second Senior Brother, he is the same as Eldest Senior Sister, but about a hundred years ago, when Second Senior Brother was out experiencing the world, he saved a woman named Wang Yutang.

She is the current Holy Maiden of the Shuyu Sect in the Western Region of the Central Continent.

Since then, Miss Wang has had quite a favorable impression of Second Senior Brother and often comes looking for him on her own initiative.

After learning that Second Senior Brother is the Second Ancestor of our Heavenly Human Holy Land, she visits the Holy Land even more frequently.

She has a gentle temperament, and her talent and cultivation are top-notch. Because of this, the relationship between the Holy Land and the Shuyu Sect is also quite harmonious.

This time, Second Senior Brother was ordered to go to the Western Continent, and she followed him there.

While Bai Ling'er was narrating, Gu Changyuan had at some point picked up another piece of watermelon, listening with keen interest.

He knew his second disciple, Lin Jingyu, all too well from before; he was a typical sword fanatic.

Treating his sword as his life, with an aloof and arrogant personality, he was the standard template of a cold sword cultivator from the old novels on Blue Planet, the kind that could be used as an air conditioner in the summer.

Not only was he reticent when facing enemies, but he also rarely showed a smile in daily life. He cherished words like gold around outsiders, carrying an aura that warned strangers to stay away.

To think that after a thousand years, there would actually be a girl who feared no severe cold and took the initiative to stick to him and pursue him?

This was certainly novel.

The situation with Fourth Junior Sister Yue Lingxi is about the same as Eldest Senior Sister's.

Seeing that her Master was listening earnestly, Bai Ling'er continued.

However, Sixth Junior Brother Qin Yu and Seventh Junior Sister Fang Yuwei, the two of them got together and became Dao companions. Their relationship is very deep.

So for this matter in the Northern Continent, they went together as companions.

And there is Ninth Junior Sister Xu Mengyao.

Speaking up to here, Bai Ling'er's smile carried a bit of helplessness and relief.

She and the direct descendant of the Zhuge family in the Central Continent, Zhuge Sijue, became Dao companions and are already officially married.

Little Nine got married?!

Gu Changyuan was truly a little surprised this time, even forgetting to eat the watermelon in his hand.

There is actually someone who can control her?

This reaction was much bigger than when he heard Qin Yu and Fang Yuwei had become Dao companions.

For no other reason than his ninth disciple, Xu Mengyao, was the most mischievous out of his ten founding disciples.

Despite possessing a rare ice-attribute physique, her personality had absolutely nothing to do with being pure as ice and clean as jade or cold as frost.

Gu Changyuan still remembered that when he first found Xu Mengyao back then, she only had a Foundation Establishment cultivation base, yet she dared to sneak into a forest occupied by Golden Core realm demonic beasts to steal the demonic beast eggs they were guarding.

The result, naturally, was poking a hornet's nest, and she was chased all over the mountains by several enraged Golden Core demonic beasts.

After being brought back to the sect, this girl did not cause any less trouble. Today she would secretly pluck a senior brother's carefully cultivated spirit grass as a snack, and tomorrow her curiosity would drive her to activate a formation she should not touch, almost trapping herself...

Every single incident was a headache.

Fortunately, they were all harmless little things, and Gu Changyuan let her cause a ruckus.

With such a goofball around, that desolate little sect back then gained quite a bit of lively atmosphere, making the whole sect not seem so monotonous.

And today, that small sect had also become the great Holy Land of the present.

Mhm!

Bai Ling'er nodded forcefully, and the other three also nodded heavily in deep agreement, their faces wearing expressions of Master, you are absolutely right.

In front of Zhuge Sijue, Little Nine is truly very obedient. She has restrained her temper and does not look the least bit like the mischievous troublemaker from back then.

Seeing his four disciples so unanimous, Gu Changyuan actually felt a strong interest and a bit of curiosity in his heart toward this Zhuge Sijue whom he had never met.

Then, what about you, Ling'er?

Gu Changyuan suddenly changed the subject, tossing the question back with a half-smile, his gaze gentle yet clearly landing on Bai Ling'er's face.

Bai Ling'er's body stiffened imperceptibly, her heartbeat inexplicably skipping a beat.

She lowered her eyelids, avoiding her Master's gaze, her voice calm but carrying a trace of unnoticeable tension:

I... am in the same situation as Eldest Senior Sister and Fourth Junior Sister.