You still call him senior brother?

To increase favorability, isn't that the most important thing?

Hearing these words, Xiao Rui's interpretation was vastly different.

He immediately initiated telepathic communication:

"Elder Sword, Senior Sister said I'm her most important junior brother!"

"...I heard, the problem is she doesn't have any other junior brothers."

Xiao Rui: I don't want to be strung along, but she said I'm her most important junior brother!

Elder Sword: ...Silly disciple, wake up!!

Snapping back to reality, he saw Xia Wantang looking at him with a smile. Xiao Rui cleared his throat:

"Senior Sister, please don't tease me."

Pushing aside the romantic thoughts in his mind, Xiao Rui finally sensed the change in her spiritual power and said in surprise:

"Senior Sister, you didn't break through again, did you?"

He had been cultivating desperately for the past month, and with Elder Sword as his cheat, his cultivation had only reached the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm.

The spiritual power fluctuations on Senior Sister were clearly stronger than his. Could her cultivation have already reached the Profound Heaven Realm?

Xia Wantang's eyes curved into crescents, and her pure face gained a touch of radiance:

"That's right, my cultivation has already broken through to the peak of the Profound Heaven Realm."

"This 'Senior Sister' won't be called in vain."

"However, to conceal my strength, everyone thinks my cultivation is only at the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm. You're the only one who knows this secret, Junior Brother~"

Since the Nine Heavens Ice Glaze Hairpin couldn't deceive Elder Sword, she might as well tell the truth.

Hearing this, Xiao Rui was stunned and quickly confirmed with Elder Sword in his mind:

"Elder Sword, is Senior Sister telling the truth? Is her cultivation already this high??"

After a moment, Elder Sword's voice slowly sounded:

"That's right... I'm also very surprised."

"It's likely that this girl encountered some great fortune on her way home to visit her family, or perhaps she possesses a Divine Physique like you."

"In any case, your Senior Sister is indeed outstanding. If she were willing to be your cultivation partner, she would be a tremendous asset."

Hearing this, Xiao Rui's face turned red, then white:

Of course, he wanted to become cultivation partners with Senior Sister, but his current strength was far inferior to hers.

Senior Sister was so outstanding; how many more years would it take for him to be worthy of her?

Seeing Xiao Rui remain silent, Xia Wantang continued:

"But Junior Brother is also very impressive. In just one month, your cultivation has advanced again."

"It seems that in next month's Inner Sect Grand Competition, we might very well meet."

In Azure Cloud Palace's previous Sect Grand Competitions, they were generally divided into Inner Sect Grand Competitions and Outer Sect Grand Competitions.

Direct disciples and the Holy Son and Saintess were directly included in the Inner Sect Grand Competition.

If there were particularly outstanding outer sect disciples, they could also participate in the Inner Sect Grand Competition by exception.

The requirement was that their cultivation must reach the late stage of the Mystic Martial Realm.

Xiao Rui had long met the threshold, but he wasn't in a hurry to reveal his strength. He stayed in this dilapidated thatched hut every day, wanting only to wait until the day of the Inner Sect Grand Competition to make a dazzling appearance and shock everyone.

"If we meet, Senior Sister, please don't hold back. I want to have a serious spar with you."

This was Xiao Rui's true feeling.

Although he knew he was no match for Xia Wantang, as one of the male protagonists in a cultivation novel, he undoubtedly possessed a determined heart, unafraid of the strong, and would become braver with each setback.

Xia Wantang dared not go all out, or she might be captured and studied by other cultivators to understand how she cultivated.

If she didn't go easy on him, it was estimated that among the younger generation of the entire Azure Cloud Palace, only Ye Xing could defeat her in his current state.

So, she shook her head:

"I will suppress my spiritual power to the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm. Otherwise, it would be too unfair to you and the other fellow disciples."

Fighting opponents who were a whole major realm higher was not that easy.

If she suppressed her spiritual power to the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm, perhaps Xiao Rui, this number one male protagonist, might actually have a chance to compete with her.

Hearing this, Xiao Rui said helplessly:

"Alright, Senior Sister. I know you, like me, don't like to be high-profile."

Xiao Rui was the type of male protagonist who developed stealthily and staged a comeback. Among the male protagonists, his personality was the most conservative and risk-averse; he would lay low whenever possible without drawing attention.

At this moment, Xia Wantang remembered something important and immediately took out a white jade bottle from her storage pouch.

If one looked closely, they would notice that this jade bottle was exactly the same as the ones she gave to Lin Xi and Ye Xing.

"Junior Brother Xiao, this pill can help you with your cultivation. Take it."

"Perhaps if you work hard this month, you can break through to the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm before the Inner Sect Grand Competition."

[Xia Wantang gained 5 Favorability points from Xiao Rui. Current Favorability: 55. Gained 50 Faith points.]

Looking at the white jade bottle, Xiao Rui was touched once again:

"Senior Sister Xia, you're too good to me, but I can't accept these pills."

"You know, I can refine pills, so I don't lack them at all. You should keep them for yourself, Senior Sister."

Xia Wantang waved her hand:

"At this stage, I don't need these pills anymore. Instead of letting them gather dust with me, it's better to give them to you and let them generate value."

"Besides, I've already given you these pills, so there's no reason to take them back, is there?"

Indeed, the speed at which she used pills couldn't keep up with the speed of refining them. Her storage bag was getting more and more full.

She had gotten so many spirit stones from Xia Yingwu that she bought a lot of basic materials for practice, which was why she produced so many pills.

Xia Wantang kept the pills she could use herself, never giving them to the Sons of Destiny cheaply.

What she gave them were only the leftovers.

Hearing Xia Wantang's words, Xiao Rui could only put away the jade bottle and place it in his storage bag.

Suddenly, he seemed to recall something and spoke:

"Right, Senior Sister Xia, I heard many disciples say that the Holy Son has already reached the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm and is the strongest among the younger generation in the Azure Cloud Palace."

"How is your relationship with the Holy Son? Is he really that strong?"

If there was any opponent besides Xia Wantang that Xiao Rui paid attention to, it would only be the Holy Son Fu Lingyun, also known as Ye Xing.

If he were to lose to Senior Sister Xia, Xiao Rui would accept it willingly, but losing to someone else would always leave him feeling unconvinced.

Hearing Xiao Rui mention another Son of Destiny, Xia Wantang's internal alarm bells rang. Fearing she might say too much, she carefully said:

"As for our relationship, it's not really anything special. We occasionally spar and practice swordplay together."

"The Holy Son is indeed quite strong. His sword techniques are fast, accurate, and fierce, and his control over spiritual power is also very precise."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Rui didn't think much of it.

It was normal for the Saintess and the Holy Son to practice swordplay together, as they were the closest in strength among their peers.

Furthermore, Xiao Rui had also heard that although the Holy Son was handsome and charming, he was completely uninterested in romantic relationships. Disciples had never seen him show a kind expression to any female cultivator.

For example, Lu Jinyan, the granddaughter of the First Elder of Martial God Peak, had been relentlessly pursuing the Holy Son, but all she received was indifference.

However, Xiao Rui had never met the Holy Son in person. It would be great if he could have a good spar with him.

The Inner Sect Grand Competition was an opportunity.

Since Senior Sister Xia praised him so highly, he should be a good opponent, right?

Thinking of this, Xiao Rui suddenly felt something was off:

"Senior Sister Xia, I've never heard you praise another male cultivator like this before. In your eyes, is he more outstanding than me?"