Though her movement technique was not as practiced as Luo Ci's, her cultivation was higher, and her spiritual energy far more abundant.
Thanks to all the stone steps she had crawled and climbed, Lin Qi skillfully wrapped spiritual energy around her feet and rapidly closed in on Luo Ci.
Watching the eight wind blades following Lin Qi, Luo Ci cried in terror, "Don't come any closer!"
A wicked smile appeared on Lin Qi's fair, innocent little face.
"Junior Brother, Senior Sister has come to seek your guidance!"
Two miserable cries rang out one after another from within the Eight-Directional Flowing Wind Array.
Seeing this scene of 'an elder sister loving her younger brother while the younger brother respectfully yielded to his elder sister,' True Monarch Qingyun could not help sighing to Feng Ling.
"Sure enough, children need a companion to become livelier. I should have taken in another disciple back then. That way, Yuan Xi would not have become so gentle and innocent."
Feng Ling's brow could not help twitching.
Was this really a matter of finding a companion?
Lin Qi and Luo Ci remained in the Eight-Directional Flowing Wind Array for nearly two hours, only being released after they were completely exhausted.
The moment Luo Ci's feet touched the ground, he was considering whether to simply sprawl on the floor when he saw Lin Qi properly sit cross-legged, assuming the posture of meditative cultivation.
No way! Again?!
True Monarch Qingyun's gentle, considerate voice sounded at just the right moment. "Luo Ci..."
Luo Ci's little heart trembled. Thinking his master was about to 'encourage' him again, he finally snapped and burst into tears with a wail.
"Waaah!"
Crying as he shouted, he said, "Master, I don't want to cultivate anymore. I just want to rest."
True Monarch Qingyun looked at him, torn between laughter and tears. "When did your master ever tell you to cultivate again?"
She took Luo Ci's hand and helped him up, then gently wiped his reddened little face with a handkerchief.
"Spirit Nurturing Fairy from the Spiritual Plant Garden just brought me a plate of osmanthus rice cakes. Your master merely wanted to ask whether you wanted some."
Comforted by True Monarch Qingyun's tenderness, Luo Ci blushed in embarrassment and lowered his head.
He had actually cried in front of his master. How humiliating!
True Monarch Qingyun was exceedingly patient. In a soft voice, she asked again, "Well? Do you want some?"
Just then, Luo Ci's stomach let out a rumble.
He sniffled and obediently nodded. "Thank you, Master."
Lin Qi had originally been preparing to meditate and restore her spiritual energy, but Luo Ci's wail startled her.
The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Luo Ci sitting on the ground, crying as he shouted that he did not want to cultivate and only wanted to rest.
Lin Qi laughed rather unkindly.
"Junior Brother, if you don't want to cultivate, then don't cultivate. Why are you crying too?"
The moment Lin Qi's punchable voice rang out, Luo Ci's eyes reddened again.
Of course, this time he was not about to cry. Lin Qi had angered him.
Luo Ci raised his sleeve to wipe his face, then spoke with fierce determination.
"I want to cultivate! I won't be worse than Senior Sister! Once I finish the cakes, I'll start cultivating!"
"Hmph!"
With a proud little huff, he turned his head away and stood beside True Monarch Qingyun.
True Monarch Qingyun lightly tapped Lin Qi with her fingertip, her voice full of helplessness. "You, stop teasing your junior brother!"
"Come eat some cakes together. Cultivation need not be rushed at this very moment."
Lin Qi happily sat across from Luo Ci. As she ate a cake, she sincerely said, "Junior Brother, why do you have to compare everything with me? Wouldn't it be better to stick to your own thoughts? Cultivate when it is time to cultivate, rest when it is time to rest. Then you would not have been frightened into tears."
Luo Ci felt that being scared into tears today would definitely become a lifelong dark chapter in his history.
With a straight little face, he said, "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Sister. It definitely won't happen again!"
Lin Qi felt that serious Luo Ci was a little boring. He really could not take a joke!
The sweet, soft, glutinous cake entered her mouth, and its delicate fragrance instantly filled all five senses.
A faint stream of spiritual energy slipped into her body, so comfortable that every pore across her body unconsciously opened.
Neither Lin Qi nor Luo Ci could resist. In one breath, they wiped out the entire plate of cakes. Afterward, their bodies felt warm all over, and even their emptied dantians were filled with spiritual energy.
Rubbing her stomach, Lin Qi could not help sighing. "Master's things really are the tastiest!"
After swallowing the last bite, Luo Ci nodded in agreement.
He had completely forgotten that he had just resolved to ignore Lin Qi.
Children's emotions came quickly and went quickly.
After eating and drinking their fill, the two practiced their sword techniques a few more times at Qingyun Palace before returning to their own courtyards.
Just as Lin Qi was about to enter her courtyard, Luo Ci suddenly called out to her.
"Second Senior Sister!"
Lin Qi turned to look at him. "What is it?"
Luo Ci hesitated awkwardly before speaking. "Tomorrow, when you get up to practice swordsmanship, can you call me to join you?"
Lin Qi blinked in surprise. This time, she did not provoke Luo Ci.
"Sure! Though I wonder whether Senior Sister is still practicing swordsmanship now. I accumulated so many questions in Lübing Abyss that I want to ask her."
Luo Ci said with a little pleasant surprise, "Then it's a promise!"
Lin Qi nodded weakly. "It's a promise."
After returning to her room, Lin Qi spent an hour quietly meditating. Only after circulating the Pure Spirit Art several times did she stop.
After cultivating the Pure Spirit Art, Lin Qi took her wooden sword to the back courtyard, preparing to begin practicing the first move of the Ice Phoenix Divine Art—Scattered Phoenix Shadow Dance.
She had never slacked off in her cultivation on the ice path. Not only had she practiced the basic sword techniques she learned from True Monarch Qingyun countless times, she had also learned the form of the first move of Scattered Phoenix Shadow Dance.
However, she had only learned its shape. She always lacked that final feeling needed to truly comprehend it and enter the threshold.
Lin Qi's mindset was quite good. She knew that some things could be rushed, while others would not yield even if she rushed them.
Thus, whenever she had spare time, she would practice it.
She had chosen the back courtyard today because she wanted to borrow the power of the Thunder Snake Flowers and see whether she could step across that threshold.
Ever since being shocked by the Thunder Snake Flowers last time, Lin Qi had learned her lesson and pestered Senior Sister Yuan Xi that very day for detailed information on them.
She took out a piece of gauze from her storage space and tossed it casually. The gauze instantly expanded, covering half the patch of Thunder Snake Flowers.
Lin Qi fixed her gaze upon the remaining half of the Thunder Snake Flower patch.
With one slash of her wooden sword, half the Thunder Snake Flowers instantly released lightning.
Fine bolts of lightning wove themselves into a net and rushed toward Lin Qi, each striving to be first.
Lin Qi calmly shifted her steps. Spiritual energy wrapped around the wooden sword, forming an invisible shield that blocked the lightning net before her.
Lin Qi recalled the figure in the scroll. The sword in her hand moved in tandem, its sharp, lonely sword shadows sweeping through the air and leaving behind scattered afterimages.
The lightning wrapped around the tip of the wooden sword shifted position along with Lin Qi's movements.
Countless times, it tried to break through Lin Qi's spiritual energy shield, but every attempt ended in failure.
Her steps and moves flowed together in one seamless stroke.
The spiritual energy gathered within Lin Qi's body had gradually taken shape.
At the same time, the lightning broke through Lin Qi's defense and slowly crawled up the wooden sword.
Just as the lightning net was about to touch Lin Qi, dense spiritual energy surged out from her body in an instant.
That spiritual energy outlined the shape of an ice phoenix in the air.
The sword shadows in Lin Qi's hand grew faster and faster. Spiritual energy spread from the sword tip, extending along the wooden sword with perfect precision.
The instant the dense lightning net lunged at her, Lin Qi's body steadied, and she swept her sword sideways with overwhelming might.
A majestic phantom of an ice phoenix shrieked as it burst forth from the sword tip.
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