The Failed Escape!

Great Bamboo Peak.

As it turned out,

the old really were wiser.

On the night Song Daren left,

the moon was dark and the wind was high.

A shadow crept silently along a narrow path in the back hills of Great Bamboo Peak, moving like a civet.

Ye Xuan held his breath.

He had deliberately waited until an hour after the lights went out in Shou Jing Hall.

Based on his observations of Tian Buyi's daily routine,

the fierce-looking, portly master should have been snoring like thunder by now, dreaming of a game of chess with the Duke of Zhou.

As long as he slipped beyond the bounds of Great Bamboo Peak's protective array,

with the speed he had at the peak of the second layer, he could reach the foot of Small Bamboo Peak in the dark in about an hour.

He would check in, claim his reward, and run.

Without anyone being the wiser.

However,

just as Ye Xuan was about to step beyond the boundary of Great Bamboo Peak,

"Cough."

A soft cough.

In the silence of the night, it sounded louder than a clap of thunder.

Ye Xuan froze.

His outstretched foot hung awkwardly in midair. He couldn't pull it back or put it down.

On a large rock ahead,

Tian Buyi stood with his hands behind his back. Short and stout, he nevertheless blocked the only way down the mountain like an insurmountable peak.

Moonlight fell across his round face.

It revealed no trace of anger or amusement.

Only his small eyes glittered in the darkness with a light that made one's heart skip a beat.

"It's so late!"

"Seventh, where do you think you're going?"

Tian Buyi spoke softly,

as if he were afraid of disturbing the night.

But to Ye Xuan, it sounded like a whisper from the depths of hell.

"Uh..."

Ye Xuan slowly drew his foot back, then pinched his thigh hard and forced a smile more miserable than a grimace.

"Master, you're still awake?"

"Your disciple... I just thought the moonlight was lovely tonight, so I came out to admire it!"

"And while I was at it... uh, I thought I'd try to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth!"

"Right! Sense the spiritual energy!"

Ye Xuan made up a story with a perfectly straight face.

"Admire the moon?"

"Is there even a moon out tonight?"

Tian Buyi tugged at the corners of his mouth without smiling.

He glanced up at the sky, which was completely obscured by dark clouds.

Ye Xuan: "..."

This was awkward.

First escape attempt.

Failed.

But what kind of person was Ye Xuan?

A transmigrator with a system.

"Give up" wasn't in his dictionary.

And if it was,

it only meant he hadn't found a better angle yet.

The next morning,

just as dawn was breaking,

while the disciples were still asleep,

Ye Xuan made his move again.

If he'd get blocked on the main path, he'd take to the skies!

He hadn't reached the Object Moving Realm yet and couldn't fly on a sword.

But there was a cliff in the back hills of Great Bamboo Peak, and below it ran a hidden passage woven through with vines. He'd stumbled upon it while wandering around.

If he climbed down the vines, he could avoid Shou Jing Hall's line of sight and make his way straight to the foot of the mountain.

Plan set!

Ye Xuan slipped nimbly to the edge of the cliff.

Gripping the vines, he slid down with practiced ease.

The wind whistled past his ears.

The scent of freedom washed over him.

He was close!

Only a few dozen yards from the ground!

Once he landed, the sea would be wide enough for fish to leap, and the sky high enough for birds to fly!

Suddenly,

an invisible force surged out of nowhere.

Then,

Ye Xuan felt his collar tighten.

Like a chick caught by the scruff, he soared through the air and flew backward.

Plop.

Ye Xuan landed safely back at the edge of the cliff.

Across from him,

Tian Buyi held a cup of hot tea, leisurely blowing away the foam.

At his side,

Su Ru hid her smile behind her hand, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Buyi!"

"I told you the boy was full of tricks, but you didn't believe me!"

"If you hadn't used the Immortal Binding Rope to set up a barrier around the area, he might really have slipped away."

Su Ru looked at Ye Xuan, covered in dust from head to toe,

her eyes full of teasing.

"You little rascal!"

"Put all those clever little schemes of yours away!"

"I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice. You think you can outsmart me?"

"You're still too green!"

Tian Buyi snorted.

He set down his teacup.

His round face was full of exasperation.

Ye Xuan brushed the dust off himself and sighed helplessly.

This was no fun!

Why did it feel like a max-level character was camping the entrance to Novice Village?

"Master!"

"Don't you have any cultivating to do?"

"Isn't it a bit much to keep an eye on a ten-year-old every day?"

Ye Xuan decided to throw caution to the wind. He sat cross-legged on the ground, a wounded look on his face.

"Enough nonsense!"

"Seventh, listen to me."

"That old Daoist Shuiyue has been in a foul mood lately and can't stand the sight of anyone."

"If you run into her now, forget about having fun!"

"You might not even make it back in one piece."

Tian Buyi was so exasperated that he laughed.

He snatched up the horsetail whisk beside him and raised it as if to strike, but stopped halfway.

Truthfully, he knew the boy was only ten, but he was precocious and far too clever for his own good.

If he kept him on too tight a leash, he might only make him more rebellious.

If brute force wouldn't work,

then he'd try something more challenging.

"Want to go down the mountain?"

"Reach the fourth layer of the Tai Chi Xuan Qing Dao!"

"Once you break through to the Object Moving Realm and can protect yourself, you can do whatever you want on Great Bamboo Peak!"

Tian Buyi held up four fingers.

It was the ultimate carrot-and-stick approach.

"Until then!"

"If you dare set foot beyond Great Bamboo Peak again..."

"I'll hang you up outside Shou Jing Hall and let Daren and the others take turns gawking at you!"

Then,

Tian Buyi narrowed his eyes and made a chopping gesture.

Ye Xuan's eyes lit up.

The fourth layer?

The Object Moving Realm?

For other disciples, that might mean years of hard cultivation.

Even Zhang Xiaofan, the protagonist of the original story, had taken years to reach that realm.

But for Ye Xuan, with his Innate Dao Body and the system's support...

Was that even a challenge?

He was already at the peak of the second layer of the Yuqing Realm.

His body brimmed with spiritual energy, and his meridians were as broad as rivers.

Breaking through to the third layer was just a matter of one last step.

As for the fourth layer...

He'd just have to kick a little harder!

"Master, do you mean it?"

"Is a gentleman's word his bond?"

Ye Xuan sprang to his feet and dusted off his backside, his face brightening in an instant.

"A team of four horses couldn't catch my word!"

Tian Buyi held his head high, full of pride.

"Great!"

"Rest easy, Master!"

"This disciple will get right to cultivating!"

"I'll do my best to help you catch those four horses as soon as possible!"

Ye Xuan snapped his fingers and turned to run back.

His cheerful figure was like a husky let off its leash.

"That little rascal..."

Watching Ye Xuan disappear into the distance,

Tian Buyi paused, then laughed and cursed.

"Buyi!"

"You've just dug yourself a hole."

"With Xuan'er's aptitude, he'll probably reach the fourth layer before long."

Su Ru shook her head with a smile beside him.

At that, Tian Buyi curled his lip, though he couldn't hide the smug look on his face.

"So what?"

"If he really can break through to the fourth level in a year or two, then Great Bamboo Peak will make a spectacular showing at this Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament!"

"Then we'll see if that old Daoist Cang Song still dares to act so high and mighty in front of me!"