When a Master Who Pushes Her Disciples Meets a Disciple Who Grinds Herself to the Bone, What Then?

True Monarch Qingyun had to have Senior Sister Yuan Xi look after the two of them for her own reasons.

True Monarch Qingyun could not hide her smile as she gently praised Lin Qi, "Our Little Qi is so clever!"

A gentle breeze stirred the air around them, filling it with the faint fragrance of spirit herbs. Lin Qi was nearly dazzled by True Monarch Qingyun's tender, water-soft smile.

And then... in a muddle, she agreed to True Monarch Qingyun's request.

Beauty truly led people astray!

She was only a tiny Qi Refinement cultivator, yet she was supposed to help a Golden Core cultivator temper his mindset?

Was True Monarch Qingyun placing far too much faith in her?

Just as Lin Qi was drowning in worry, she caught sight of the dense Swift Wind Divine Grass swaying amid the gusts. In the blur, she vaguely saw a black figure bobbing up and down.

She instinctively narrowed her eyes, trying to make out the shadow.

Then she heard True Monarch Qingyun's gentle, water-soft voice.

"Little Qi, when traveling outside, your Cultivation Level can rise slowly, but your movement technique must keep up."

"Your junior brother's movement technique is already close to minor mastery. It's time for you to begin training as well."

"What?!"

Lin Qi's eyes flew wide open. She immediately saw that the person rolling up and down amid the Swift Wind Divine Grass was none other than Luo Ci, whom she had mourned for not long ago.

Even from so far away, Lin Qi could sense the pain overflowing from Luo Ci.

She instinctively tried to stall for time. "Master, I..."

Before Lin Qi could finish, True Monarch Qingyun flicked up her sleeve. A violent gale swept over and directly rolled Lin Qi into the patch of Swift Wind Divine Grass.

The Swift Wind Divine Grass, incomparably docile beneath True Monarch Qingyun's feet, was considerably less gentle when facing Lin Qi.

A leaf lashed toward her. Lin Qi's pupils contracted in fright, every muscle in her body tightening as she barely dodged it.

But after evading that one leaf, countless more were waiting behind it.

Once she drew closer, Lin Qi saw Luo Ci's swollen face, round as a pig's head.

She had almost failed to recognize him!

"Third Junior Brother?!"

Luo Ci lightly sprang onto a blade of Swift Wind Divine Grass and finally spared Lin Qi a glance.

Lin Qi saw grief and indignation written across his face.

"Senior Sister, enjoy Master's affection properly!"

"What?" Lin Qi was about to ask more when a fierce gust swept over, pouring straight into her mouth.

At the same time, Luo Ci was swallowed by the wave-like Swift Wind Divine Grass and vanished from Lin Qi's sight.

Lin Qi was swept into it as well, leaving her no time to care about anyone else.

As expected, Lin Qi was also whipped into a pig's head by the Swift Wind Divine Grass.

It was not until noon that True Monarch Qingyun unhurriedly retrieved her two disciples.

The moment Luo Ci's feet touched the ground, he dropped onto his backside and panted heavily, looking as though he might burst into tears the next second. There was nothing left of the refined young gentleman Lin Qi had first met.

Lin Qi herself was in even worse shape.

Her body was covered in wounds. They did not hurt, but they tingled and itched, unbearably uncomfortable.

She looked at True Monarch Qingyun with deep resentment. "Master, I haven't even learned a movement technique yet! Did you throw me in there just to get beaten up?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Ci could not help laughing, but the instant he pulled at the corner of his mouth, he cried out in pain.

Lin Qi gave a cold laugh. "Gloating over someone else's misfortune. Serves you right!"

Luo Ci glared at her.

Between the two of them, who had spent more time gloating over the other's misfortune?!

True Monarch Qingyun happily watched the two of them bicker, her eyes and brows brimming with amusement.

She spoke slowly. "Your physique is special, and you cannot truly be injured. Today was only to let you get accustomed to it first."

"In half a month, you will be entering the Lübing Abyss again. If you want to catch up to Luo Ci's progress in the remaining half-month, I'm afraid you'll have to suffer a little."

Lin Qi had not expected that the moment she left the Lübing Abyss, her master had already arranged her tasks for the next half-month.

What should one do when a master who pushed her disciples met a disciple who grinded herself to the bone?

Grind!

As long as it did not grind her to death, she would grind herself to death!

"Master, rest assured. This disciple will definitely not disappoint you!"

Luo Ci, who had still been utterly miserable moments ago, stared with his eyes wide open upon hearing that.

It was impossible to tell whether he was shocked or condemning Lin Qi for not acting like a human being.

True Monarch Qingyun smiled in satisfaction. "All right. I've already had Feng Ling prepare Body Tempering Medicine for the two of you. Go quickly."

The moment Luo Ci heard "Body Tempering Medicine," he could not stop himself from shuddering.

Lin Qi, still unaware of the world's dangers, agreed happily.

Before leaving, True Monarch Qingyun thought for a moment. "Xiao Qi, after tempering your body today, rest for the night first. Come to Qingyun Palace tomorrow to learn movement techniques."

Lin Qi perked up and eagerly suggested, "Master, I don't need to rest tonight. I can learn today."

The look in Luo Ci's eyes gradually turned unhinged, and even True Monarch Qingyun paused mid-step.

"It is a good thing that Xiao Qi is so diligent. As your master, I naturally cannot hold you back. Then tonight it is."

True Monarch Qingyun's smiling gaze settled on Luo Ci.

"Luo Ci, in this regard, you should learn more from your two Senior Sisters. Endure more hardship now, and you will be that much safer after leaving the sect."

Luo Ci: Numb (∧).

By the time they returned to Zonglei Peak, the injuries on Lin Qi's face had mostly healed. When she glanced at Luo Ci, however, he was still the same as before.

Lin Qi could not help recalling the words True Monarch Qingyun had mentioned time and again—her constitution was unusual.

Was it because of the Ancient Ice Phoenix Bloodline within her body?

In her previous life, Lin Qi's Ancient Ice Phoenix Bloodline had only been discovered after Daoist Jinwu had abused her for decades.

At the time, Lin Qi could not cultivate, so Daoist Jinwu fed her vast quantities of spiritual pills and secret medicines every day. Only after he had force-fed her all the way to the Golden Core realm did that trace of Ice Phoenix Bloodline begin to reveal itself.

Yet after Lin Qi was reborn, she discovered that her physique was different from ordinary people's.

If her fight with Luo Ci had merely shown that she was unusually strong, then when she later climbed Zonglei Peak, Lin Qi truly came to understand just how formidable her physical constitution was.

True Monarch Qingyun had never shown the slightest surprise. So had she known about Lin Qi's bloodline from the very beginning?

With these doubts in mind, Lin Qi followed Luo Ci to the alchemy room at Qingyun Palace.

The moment she looked up, she saw Luo Ci standing at the doorway, hesitating. His raised foot simply lacked the courage to step inside.

A chill suddenly rose along Lin Qi's back.

Feng Ling appeared soundlessly behind her. "Why aren't you going in?"

Luo Ci staggered, then suddenly dashed inside as if fleeing for his life.

Lin Qi licked her lips and asked tentatively, "Sister Feng Ling, does body tempering hurt a lot?"

A faint smile suddenly touched Feng Ling's cold face. "No. Endure it for a moment, and it will pass."

"Really?"

Feng Ling nodded seriously.

A quarter of an hour later—

"Ah!"

Lin Qi could no longer care about keeping up appearances and cried out loudly.

At this moment, tears and snot streamed down her face. She had completely abandoned any concern for her image.

The Fire Spirit Flowers and Body Tempering Medicine in the bathing barrel surged into Lin Qi's body in a mad rush. She felt as though her body was burning with fire one moment and filled with dense lightning the next.

The sourness, pain, itchiness, swelling—every meridian in her body seemed as though it would explode the very next second. It was agony beyond endurance.

She struggled to climb out of the bathing barrel, but Feng Ling pressed down with one hand and immediately forced Lin Qi back into it.

There will be another chapter at dawn (or maybe two, depending on whether I can keep it up, hahaha).