Awakening

The moment Shen Yan thought of this, the happier he became. Even the sting of having spent that Top Grade Spirit Pill faded considerably.

The way he looked at Ji Li and the tone he used both grew gentler.

It was just that his voice was hoarse, somewhat like the sound of a screaming rubber chicken. So no matter how hard he tried to soften his tone, the only difference was between a rubber chicken screaming when squeezed hard and one screaming when squeezed lightly.

Ji Li stood to one side, her small round face still carrying a bit of baby fat as she stared in mild astonishment, barely daring to look up at him.

At sixteen, she would still have been a student back on Earth.

Right now, she felt like it was the first day of school. She had clearly done nothing, yet for some inexplicable reason she had been summoned before the fierce-looking dean of discipline. Anyone would be nervous.

This was the Demon Sect, and the man before her was one of the most fearsome figures on the entire Tian Chen Continent!

Yet Shen Yan, who had a severe lack of self-awareness, felt that he had already made quite a good impression on her. After all, as the Sect Master, he had displayed more than enough approachability.

Still, the hints that needed to be dropped had to be dropped.

With a sweep of his sleeve, a red crystal appeared in his hand.

The crystal was tiny, roughly the size of a thumbnail.

"This is Fire Essence. Your physique is better suited to cultivating fire-element techniques. It will aid cultivators in the Initial Realm. Remember to wear it on you; consider it payment for looking after Little Martial Uncle these past few days."

Fire Essence was not particularly precious, and the piece Shen Yan had given her... was rather small.

But he felt that, as the Sect Master, anything he bestowed upon a junior carried an entirely different meaning, all right?

Besides, she was merely a little girl who had just entered the sect.

Shen Yan, who would not part with even a hair... or rather, had no hair to part with, was very skilled at creating the greatest value with the smallest gift!

This was not stinginess! You only understood how expensive food and daily necessities were when you ran a household. She simply did not understand!

"Thank you, Sect Master!" Ji Li hurriedly accepted it with both hands, not daring to be careless.

Seeing that the time was right, Shen Yan smiled faintly and said in his rubber-chicken voice, "You have great talent. You are a fine seedling. I hope you cultivate diligently, enter the inner sect soon, and I look forward to that day."

He felt that these earnest words of instruction were filled with a master's high hopes for a future disciple.

She should have understood, right?

As the Sect Master, he could not say too much. He still had to maintain some dignity.

Ji Li froze for a moment upon hearing this, then hurriedly bowed again, though her mind was a complete mess.

Even after Shen Yan left, she still could not figure it out. She could only politely, if somewhat blankly, see him all the way to the door and watch him depart.

After returning to the room, she carefully examined the Fire Essence in her hand. It was crystal-clear red and rather pretty.

But after staring at it for a while, she grew tired of looking at it and instead returned to studying Lu Xun's face.

She could never grow tired of this face.

Night gradually deepened.

The Back Mountain had a unique charm after nightfall.

Through the open window, Ji Li could see fireflies flitting about outside, like randomly drifting candle flames across the Back Mountain.

The Back Mountain was very quiet at night, if... Mao Nanbei's snoring had not been so loud.

Yes, the Cat-Eared Loli was currently sprawled inelegantly atop a large rattan chair outside, sleeping with her mouth open and snoring. Was she even drooling?

Ji Li had once thought cultivators were vastly different from ordinary people. They did not eat common food, had severed all worldly desires, and had long transcended the mundane.

Only after coming to the Demon Sect did she realize that cultivators were merely people with cultivation.

And looking at Mao Nanbei's sleeping posture, her little butt was practically sticking up at the sky!

Her lofty expert image had completely collapsed, all right?

Ji Li sat down cross-legged, just about to circulate her energy and improve her cultivation, when she saw Lu Xun, lying on the bed, slightly furrow his brow.

He slowly opened his eyes, and Ji Li hurriedly helped him sit up.

Mao Nanbei had been sprawled inelegantly over the rattan chair outside. At the sound, one of her cat ears twitched slightly, and she immediately leaped in through the window.

"You've recovered pretty well!" she said after giving Lu Xun a once-over.

Lu Xun lowered his head to look at his body. He had indeed recovered for the most part.

After jumping off that cliff, he had probably been smashed into a complete mess, the sort of mess that would need to be censored in a game.

He had thought that after using up one resurrection chance, he would revive on the spot at full health. Instead, it had merely left him with one last sliver of health.

I wanted to revive on the spot and show off! But I ended up smashed into that state...

What was this? A side effect of transmigrating?

It was bad enough that resurrection chances did not accumulate or refresh, but he also had to suffer like this!

What a scam! This character was seriously cursed!

Looking at him, the little loli said, "The Sect Master fed you a spirit pill. Otherwise, you would have suffered badly."

"So that's how it was." Lu Xun nodded. No wonder his health had mostly recovered.

After sensing his condition carefully, he found that his physical fitness seemed to have improved considerably as well.

With a small hop, Mao Nanbei planted her little butt on the table and looked at Lu Xun. "Tell me, why was a mortal with no cultivation able to cling to life and not die?"

"Secret." Lu Xun answered without hesitation.

"Tch. I guess you have some kind of treasure on you, right? Fine, don't tell me. It's not as if I'd covet your treasure!" Mao Nanbei curled her lips.

At the mention of treasure, Lu Xun's thoughts became more active. Speaking of which... the Demon Sect really did have an ownerless treasure hidden away. However, he apparently did not yet have the ability to search for it.

He had just checked the mission prompt. He had now completed the apprenticeship mission and could be considered to have secured a perfect start. As for how to proceed from here, it seemed he would need to take some time to plan it out properly.

He was someone who liked to plan what he did. That made him more efficient, gave him clearer goals, and let him think with a clearer mind.

He really wanted that treasure.

No! He was determined to get it!

Seeing that Lu Xun seemed distracted, Mao Nanbei could not help saying, "Hey, what are you thinking about?"

Lu Xun raised his head. "Nothing. I was just distracted. What is it?"

The little loli no longer sat on the table. Instead, she stood up on the wooden tabletop, then lifted her chin and puffed out her chest, folding both hands behind her back. The entire series of movements flowed in one go. She forced a grandmaster's bearing onto her face and said, "Have you forgotten something?"

"Hm? What did I forget?" Lu Xun was a little confused.

Mao Nanbei was so angry she nearly stomped her foot. Her cat ears stood straight up as she shouted, "You haven't called me Senior Sister yet!"

The little loli raised her tiny chin, her face full of delight and pride!

She had always been the youngest on the Back Mountain. At last, she was a Senior Sister!

Just as Mao Nanbei was brimming with pride, Lu Xun unexpectedly pulled a complete reversal. He stared at Ji Li and said:

"Have you forgotten something?"

"Ah?" Ji Li stared blankly.

"Hurry up and call me Little Martial Grand-Aunt!" Lu Xun began picking on the soft persimmon first, testing how it felt to squeeze.

If she was easy to squeeze, he would squeeze her more often in the future.