Ye Yun's Despair

The moment he finished kowtowing nine times, the huge weight that had been hanging over Ye Yun's heart finally lifted. Although Tian Buyi appeared very stern, and was quite harsh towards Zhang Xiaofan at the beginning of the original story, he was actually an extremely protective person. In the original story, after Zhang Xiaofan relied on the Bloodthirsty Bead and the Soul Devourer to refine the Soul Seizing Rod and achieve first place in the sect competition, the other peak masters wanted to investigate Zhang Xiaofan's origins thoroughly, even wanting to revoke his achievement. As a result, Tian Buyi almost got into a fight with them over it, which showed that he was a good master with a sharp tongue but a soft heart, and was extremely protective.

With the weight off his mind, Ye Yun instantly felt much more relaxed. Then he saw Zhang Xiaofan still kowtowing repeatedly. Just like in the original story, Zhang Xiaofan kowtowed more than a dozen times. His actions made Tian Ling'er, who was beside Su Ru, let out a giggle.

Seeing this, Su Ru smiled and said, "Good child, nine times is enough."

Zhang Xiaofan let out an "Oh" and finally stopped, raising his head. Seeing his forehead was red, everyone couldn't help but laugh. But in Tian Buyi's eyes, Zhang Xiaofan was even more foolish. Thinking about having to teach such an idiot in the future, his already large head seemed to grow another inch. However, when he saw Ye Yun beside him, his previously agitated heart calmed down. Ye Yun's aptitude might not be as strong as Lin Jingyu's, but he was younger and more malleable, so his future achievements might not be inferior to Lin Jingyu's.

"Alright, that's enough," Tian Buyi was in a good mood. He waved his hand and said, "Daren, you can take them both for now. Teach them the sect rules and precepts, as well as some introductory Daoist techniques. Little Eight probably hasn't started learning to read yet, so I'll trouble you to put in extra effort to teach him."

Song Daren responded, "Yes." Then he hesitated slightly and added, "But Master, Seventh and Eighth Junior Brothers are still young, their lessons for new disciples..."

Tian Buyi thought for a moment upon hearing this and said, "Seventh Junior Brother will follow the plan. Little Eight is still too young, so let's just teach him to read for now." After speaking, he stood up, hands behind his back with a smile, and walked towards the back hall. All the disciples bowed together and said, "Farewell, Master."

Looking at Tian Buyi's plump back, Ye Yun felt no dissatisfaction that he was being taught to read first instead of cultivating. This was because he truly couldn't understand a single character in this world. If no one taught him, even if the Book of Heaven were placed before him, he wouldn't be able to cultivate.

As soon as Tian Buyi left, before anyone else could speak, the young girl Tian Ling'er had already darted in front of Zhang Xiaofan. She stared at him for two seconds. Zhang Xiaofan saw her lotus-like beautiful face moving in front of him. Although young, she was already a beautiful embryo. When he was in Cao Miao Village, he had never seen such a beautiful girl of the same age, and his face couldn't help but turn red.

"Ha!" Tian Ling'er exclaimed like she had discovered a treasure, pointing at Zhang Xiaofan and laughing loudly, "Senior Brother, look! He blushes when he sees me."

The hall burst into laughter, and even Ye Yun couldn't help but chuckle. This Zhang Xiaofan was still too naive! He blushed just from seeing a pretty little girl. But he couldn't be blamed; he had always lived in the village and didn't meet many people, let alone a heavenly proud daughter like Tian Ling'er.

The laughter from the crowd made Zhang Xiaofan's face even redder. Su Ru walked over and scolded with a smile, "Ling'er, don't bully your junior brother."

Tian Ling'er made a face but didn't take her mother's words to heart at all. She stood up straight and said to Zhang Xiaofan, "Hey, quickly call me Senior Sister."

Zhang Xiaofan felt a surge of annoyance seeing Tian Ling'er's bossy attitude, but looking at the bright eyes and charming demeanor of the Tian Ling'er before him, he felt a moment of confusion and couldn't help but blurt out, "Senior Sister."

Tian Ling'er had always ranked last on Great Bamboo Peak. Now that she had a junior brother younger than herself, she was extremely delighted. She immediately put on a mature air and said, "Good boy, Junior Brother, you must listen to Senior Sister from now on."

Zhang Xiaofan mumbled in response, "Yes."

As soon as Zhang Xiaofan said "Yes," Tian Ling'er came before Ye Yun. Ye Yun looked up at the girl in front of him and instinctively felt a sense of foreboding. Then, in the next second, his premonition came true. Tian Ling'er first squatted down, then extended her delicate hands, first pinching the soft flesh on his face, and then vigorously rubbing his face, causing Ye Yun to freeze in place.

"Mom, little junior brother's face is so soft, it's so fun to play with!" Tian Ling'er said and directly picked Ye Yun up.

Su Ru pulled her daughter over and took Ye Yun from Tian Ling'er's arms, feigning anger, "Don't be naughty." She then said to Song Daren, "Daren, your seventh junior brother is still young, and the lessons might be a bit difficult for him. Please take extra care of him. As for Little Yun, I will personally look after him."

Song Daren respectfully replied, "Yes."

The other five disciples stood together, laughing and glancing around, with an air of schadenfreude.

Just then, Su Ru suddenly made a strange movement, turning her head as if stretching her muscles. This was a stark contrast to her usually dignified demeanor. In a moment, the disciples of Great Bamboo Peak's laughter died down, and they all stood with their mouths agape, looking as if disaster was imminent. Ye Yun, who was familiar with the plot, knew that this was Su Ru's habitual gesture when she was about to "test" her senior disciples. Unfortunately, he wouldn't have the chance to see it this time.

As expected, Su Ru cleared her throat. As soon as she said the word "you," Song Daren, sweating profusely, shouted, "Shiniang!" and then used the excuse of teaching Ye Yun and Zhang Xiaofan the sect rules and precepts to try and leave. In the original story, Song Daren had also used teaching Zhang Xiaofan the sect rules and introductory lessons as an excuse to run away, though it seemed he didn't escape in the end and was instead "taught a lesson" by Su Ru alone.

Just like in the original story, Su Ru agreed to Song Daren's request. Amidst the envious and jealous gazes of their junior brothers, she quickly left with Zhang Xiaofan and Ye Yun. Tian Ling'er also followed as in the original story, leaving behind a chorus of curses. However, they quickly fell silent under Su Ru's stern reprimand.

After leaving Shou Jing Hall, Song Daren took Ye Yun and Zhang Xiaofan straight to the back mountain. Perhaps because of Ye Yun's presence, Song Daren didn't pick up Zhang Xiaofan and run like in the original story. Naturally, the incident where Zhang Xiaofan mistook Tian Ling'er's Amber Zhu Ling for a red cloth strip didn't happen. However, Ye Yun wished it had happened like in the original story because Tian Ling'er seemed to have taken a liking to him. She stayed by his side, reaching out to pinch him from time to time. And because he was too young, he was no match for the already cultivating Tian Ling'er. Each time, she would accurately pinch his little face.

After being pinched N times, Ye Yun finally couldn't help but explode. With a stern face, he said, "Senior Sister, if you pinch me again, I'm going to get angry. I have my dignity too. And why do you always pinch me and not Xiaofan? That's unfair."

A child of five or six years old was already cute, and after being strengthened by the System, Ye Yun looked even more like a carved jade doll. Even with a stern face, he had no deterrent effect and instead looked very adorable. So, his face was pinched again by Tian Ling'er. Thinking that he would have to live on Great Bamboo Peak from now on, Ye Yun's heart was instantly filled with despair. Although he looked only five or six years old, his soul was that of a twenty-something-year-old!