Long Aotien, repeatedly beaten until covered in wounds, barely supported his body, a wry, helpless smile tugging at his lips. His cultivation base had regressed…
Now, he was simply no match for Fu Hongming.
Could he truly be defeated here? Allowing that madman to attack Master?
Feelings of helplessness surged within him. As he was about to bow his head, a hand rested on his shoulder: “Senior Brother Four, I'll deal with Senior Brother. You go rest. I'm afraid I might accidentally injure you.”
Long Aotien: “…”
“No… Junior Brother Six, I know my lines are really cool, anyone would want to use them. But you, a small fry like you, aren't enough to keep the boss busy…”
Wait, did he just see blazing anger in her eyes?
Long Aotien: ???
There wasn't time to say more, Fu Hongming's broadsword slashed down, giving them no chance to breathe.
You must know that Fu Hongming, that madman, was a violent sword cultivator. How could the frail little girl in front of him possibly win?
This thought only existed in Long Aotien's mind for a moment.
Tian Ning kicked him away. Long Aotien heard a clicking sound, oh… it was his bones… broken???
“Damn it! Are you trying to kill me?!”
That kick was even fiercer than Fu Hongming's!
At such a young age, she was ruthless and heartless, actually trying to harm her fellow disciples. The battle situation turned as the small, thin girl gave Fu Hongming, who was still arrogant moments before, a resounding slap!
Long Aotien: “…”
He must have been looking with the wrong eyes!
‘Bang! Bang! Bang!’ The Junior Martial Sister landed three more blows on Senior Brother's head.
Senior Brother Four was certain that the world had gone mad… He must have been stunned by Fu Hongming.
Fu Hongming was also stunned for a long time.
“You!” His head, half-askew, turned back. His handsome brows were clouded with intense anger: “Junior Sister, since I haven't lost my temper yet, you'd better get out of my sight immediately. Otherwise, Senior Brother cannot guarantee that I won't do something excessive…”
As if to verify his words, Fu Hongming stroked his broadsword; the warning in his words was clear.
Tian Ning wasn't the least bit flustered. She grabbed Senior Brother's hand holding the sword, touching the sword tip. She didn't seem to use much force, yet the broadsword snapped in two.
Tian Ning: “Senior Brother, go ahead.”
Fu Hongming: “…”
What kind of violent little girl was this? His sword was a mid-grade magical artifact!
“Senior Brother, hurry up, let's settle the score,” Tian Ning urged. “You burned my hard-to-find unique copy! I won't feel better until I beat you up a couple of times.”
That was a first edition!
“What kind of junk is that, it's gone now,” Fu Hongming said nonchalantly, not yet realizing the danger approaching.
“You little girl, what can you do to a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator?”
Fu Hongming wasn't being arrogant. He was considered a top talent among the younger generation. What could she possibly do to him?
The answer was an unstoppable barrage of fists… Each punch landed with painful force.
The situation on the scene completely reversed!
Long Aotien watched as Fu Hongming, who had just been chasing him like a maniac, instantly transformed into a weak and helpless little victim, fleeing in a panic to escape the seemingly light punches of his Junior Martial Sister.
“…”
Was this really the madman who killed without blinking an eye when enraged?
He looked so pitiful…
Tian Ning made a throat-slitting gesture: “Senior Brother, if you dare to set fire in my courtyard again, I don't mind sending you to see Master first.”
She had many storybooks in her room; she couldn't let him go crazy and burn them all.
Fu Hongming, lying on the ground half-dead: “…”
Where did this monster come from?
Wasn't it said that the Wenren family brought her bloodline from the Mortal Realm?
This girl didn't look like someone raised in a place with such thin spiritual energy like the Mortal Realm… He'd believe she was the offspring of some old monster!
The next day.
When Fu Hongming opened his eyes, he scratched his head, wondering how he ended up in his Junior Martial Sister's courtyard?
“Junior Sister! I didn't hurt you last night, did I…” Remembering his own condition, Fu Hongming asked with concern.
But as soon as he moved, every part of his body ached. It felt like he had been beaten up, his bones almost broken!
He was shocked. Could he have done something terrible while unconscious? Had the matter become so serious that even the Elders had intervened?!
Tian Ning was digging a hole. She carefully buried the remaining ashes from the previous night, placing a small wooden marker. She said sadly:
“Senior Brother, come pay your respects.”
Fu Hongming: “!!!”
He… had committed murder!
Tian Ning didn't look at him, recalling her beautiful memories of it: “It was my favorite tragic romance story.”
“Every year I would take it out and reread it. Our time together was short, only three years. I thought we would have a future, ten years, twenty years… But last night, we were forever separated by life and death…”
Fu Hongming was at a loss: “Junior Sister, this… who’s in the grave?”
Tian Ning: “My storybook.”
Fu Hongming: “…”
Tian Ning emphasized: “A first edition unique copy!”
Fu Hongming: “…”
No… was she crazy?
Fu Hongming really wanted to say that, but given his own questionable state, he didn't seem to have the right to say that.
For the first time, he silently paid his respects to a storybook's grave. The scene was even more absurd than his interactions with Senior Brother Four, Senior Sister Three, and the rest. Well, he had burned his Junior Sister's storybook, so he was in the wrong.
“Junior Sister, actually, I haven't told you… I have another me inside my body… He has a bad temper and sometimes does outrageous things at night. But he only came out a couple of days ago. I… I didn't expect him to come out so soon…” He was trying to resist the other 'him' from doing bad things. “I'm sorry, Junior Sister, I didn't tell you beforehand, and let him hurt you…”
Tian Ning shook her head, saying seriously, “Senior Brother, rest assured, he’s too weak to hurt me.”
He could only bully her weak and pitiful storybooks.
Fu Hongming: ?
Fu Hongming thought his Junior Sister was trying to comfort him. The other 'him' had reached the Nascent Soul Stage, and was definitely not something the little girl in front of him could handle.
Thinking of his Junior Sister's feigned strength to comfort him, Fu Hongming's eyes turned red. What a kind child!
He must work hard to improve his cultivation and suppress the restless other 'him' within his body.
“Junior Sister, although our Sword Protecting Mountain is now in decline, and even Master is lying there… but Senior Brother will definitely teach you well! I will absolutely not let you fall behind in cultivation!” Fu Hongming vowed silently. He would take good care of this kind-hearted, but slightly airheaded Junior Sister.
Unbeknownst to him, the other 'him' in his body was rolling his eyes!
It was this seemingly harmless girl who had one-shot KO'd a Nascent Soul cultivator last night…
Having said that, Fu Hongming ignored the pain in his body and went to find a pile of sword cultivator secret manuals left by his Master, bringing them all to Tian Ning's courtyard.
“Junior Sister!” Fu Hongming said to Tian Ning, “Choose one. Senior Brother will first guide you in Qi Condensation and then teach you sword practice.”
Tian Ning propped her chin up, using a withered leaf as a bookmark in her storybook: “Senior Brother, I’m strong! I've already reached Qi Condensation Stage Seven, and I know many sword techniques. No need to practice anymore.”
It wasn't that she didn't want to practice, she had just practiced until she was sick of it in the past fifteen years.
The Old Man seemed to have anticipated her arrival in the Cultivation World, making her learn every single skill. Not just sword practice, talisman drawing, alchemy… it was like taking the college entrance exam, covering everything and requiring perfection. Failure meant double the practice.
Under that devilish training, Tian Ning really was sick of it.
Finally leaving home, like finishing the college entrance exam and welcoming a better life, she didn't want to continue endless practice… Tian Ning just wanted to bury herself in her storybooks.
Occasionally she would relax, when tired of reading, she would practice alchemy or talisman drawing.
“But, Junior Sister…”
Fu Hongming wanted to say more, but Tian Ning placed a Blade Manual in his arms.
“Senior Brother, this is a gift for you, as a return gift.”
Fu Hongming opened it hesitantly and looked at some of the content; his eyes lit up instantly.
“Junior Sister, you really want to give this to me!?”
“Yes, Senior Brother, do your best. I'll be checking on your progress.” Having been treated like a grandchild for fifteen years by the Old Man, Tian Ning had a sudden idea, and wanted to try being a teacher.
Fu Hongming was surprised: “Junior Sister, you know how to use a blade?”
“I know a little,” Tian Ning said with a smile.
But Fu Hongming soon learned that this “a little” was almost equivalent to a perfect score…
Just as he was about to practice, his hand holding the blade was empty.
“Strange, where’s my blade?”
Tian Ning: “…”
She couldn't resist breaking it in two last night.
That night, the other Fu Hongming appeared again, sneaking towards Master's courtyard.
He wanted to kill that old geezer and dissolve Sword Protecting Mountain as soon as possible!
He had always thought this place was just a bunch of sick fools gathered together, an eyesore. Now that there was a little monster who surpassed him, his mentality was about to collapse! Just thinking about those terrifying fists, he couldn't stand this broken sect for another day!
“Senior Brother~” A ethereal voice softly echoed.
Fu Hongming shivered, inexplicably apprehensive.
“J-Junior Sister… it’s so late, why aren’t you sleeping?” Usually, the nighttime Fu Hongming appeared with an “I’m the best” attitude. Now, however, he patiently acted like a daytime idiot, trying his best to coax the little girl: “Junior Sister, you’re still young. Go to sleep quickly, or you won’t grow tall!”
Who knew why cultivators who didn't sleep wouldn't grow tall? Anyway, he heard that others coaxed children this way.
Tian Ning stared at him: “Aren’t you the bad Senior Brother from last night?”
The added word was used by Tian Ning to distinguish between the two personalities.
“H-How… how is that possible…” His hair stood on end, every pore desperately denying it.
“Then why is Senior Brother standing at Master's door late at night?”
“I was just out for a moonlit stroll…”
The two looked up at the pitch-black sky. There wasn't even a moon, let alone stars.
“…”
Fu Hongming couldn't take it anymore: “Junior Sister! What are you trying to do at this late hour!”
“Nothing, I just came out for a walk after reading too many storybooks.” Tian Ning twisted her neck; it was a little stiff.
“Since we're here, why don't Senior Brother show me the results of your daytime practice? I can see what areas need improvement.” She had nothing better to do anyway.
Fu Hongming sneered, a Qi Condensation cultivator instructing a Nascent Soul cultivator?
The little girl was a liar! He wanted to see what skills she actually possessed!
The nighttime Fu Hongming actually retained the memories from the daytime, which was evident from the fact that he had called Tian Ning "Junior Sister" upon first meeting her.
He also admitted that the Blade Manual Tian Ning gave him was indeed a good thing, but even with his Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, he couldn't fully understand its contents. He admitted that Junior Sister was a powerful little girl, but when it came to blade techniques… he didn't believe she was very skilled.
“Okay, let's give it a try.” Fu Hongming became interested.
He demonstrated the techniques from the Blade Manual one by one in front of Tian Ning, moving as he derisively asked if the little girl even understood.
“Senior Brother! Stand up straighter! Your hand position is wrong, can't you see? The focus isn't on looking cool; a blade user's aura must be more fierce. Are you using a fluffy pillow instead of your hands?…”
She somehow found a twig and sternly corrected his mistakes.
“Wrong! Do it again!”
Fu Hongming: “…”
Wasn’t she… crazy?
Who in the world would instruct someone in blade techniques in the middle of the night just for the sake of it?!
He tried to resist, but he couldn't win…
As a result, for several days Long Aotien found it strange that the Senior Brother who often caused trouble at night had unexpectedly become unusually quiet?
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