A Little Girl, Tian Ling'er, Was So Angry She Cried!

In the blink of an eye.

Half a month had passed.

Behind Great Bamboo Peak, in the Black Bamboo Forest.

The morning mist had yet to clear, and the air was filled with the faint fragrance of bamboo leaves.

"Crack!"

A crisp snap rang out.

A piece of Black Bamboo as thick as a bowl toppled to the ground.

Ye Xuan put away his hatchet and gently let out a breath of stale air.

Black Bamboo really lived up to its reputation: hard as iron and incredibly resilient.

An ordinary person wouldn't just struggle to cut it down; they'd have a hard time leaving even a mark.

But over the past half month,

Ye Xuan had kept his cultivation suppressed and hadn't rushed to break through.

Even so, he had reached the second level of Tai Chi Xuan Qing Dao and had even touched the bottleneck of the third.

Under these circumstances,

Ye Xuan's strength was now astonishing.

A mere piece of Black Bamboo was naturally no challenge for him.

"All done! Time to call it a day!"

Looking at the felled bamboo,

Ye Xuan brushed off his hands and nodded with satisfaction.

Just then,

hurried footsteps came from behind him.

"Hey!"

"You there!"

A crisp, pleasant voice rang out, tinged with a hint of petulance.

Ye Xuan turned around.

A little girl in red came running toward him, fuming.

It was Tian Buyi's beloved daughter, Tian Ling'er.

Ten-year-old Tian Ling'er was as delicate and pretty as a porcelain doll, and her features bore traces of Su Ru's former beauty.

But her slightly pouting lips and hands-on-hips stance gave away her spoiled, willful nature.

"Morning, Senior Sister."

Ye Xuan greeted her with a smile.

"What do you mean, 'morning'?!"

"Y-you've finished chopping again?"

Tian Ling'er glared at him and ran up to him in a few quick steps.

When she saw the felled bamboo on the ground, her eyes went wide.

"Yep."

"I've finished today's task."

Ye Xuan shrugged, looking perfectly relaxed.

Tian Ling'er looked at Ye Xuan.

Then she looked at the smaller hatchet in her hand.

Then she glanced at the Black Bamboo beside her, which had only been chopped enough to leave a notch.

Her little face immediately flushed red.

This was so discouraging!

She had started cultivating two months before Ye Xuan. Although she hadn't broken through the first level, she had already achieved Spirit Induction into Body.

Yet chopping bamboo was still incredibly exhausting for her.

She usually had to chop away for half the day just to barely fell one stalk.

But this kid had only been here half a month, and he finished with a few chops every day?

"Y-you didn't cheat, did you?"

Tian Ling'er pointed at Ye Xuan, looking unconvinced.

"Cheat?"

"Senior Sister, how could anyone cheat at chopping bamboo?"

"Did you think I'd ask someone else to do it for me?"

Ye Xuan looked at her, amused.

"Then why are you so fast?"

"Father said Black Bamboo was really hard to chop."

"Even Senior Brother took three months to cut down his first stalk back then..."

Tian Ling'er bit her lip, her eyes growing slightly red.

"Uh..."

Ye Xuan scratched his head. How was he supposed to explain?

He couldn't exactly say that he had an Innate Dao Body and dozens of times more abundant true essence than other people.

"Maybe... I'm just pretty strong."

Ye Xuan casually made up an excuse.

"Hmph! Liar!"

"I bet you used some underhanded trick!"

"Or maybe Father secretly taught you some powerful spell!"

Tian Ling'er refused to believe him.

"I really didn't."

Ye Xuan felt a little helpless.

How could this little girl be so stubborn?

"I don't believe you!"

"Unless... unless you compete with me!"

Tian Ling'er tossed her hatchet on the ground and folded her arms, looking ready to fight Ye Xuan to the bitter end.

"Compete at what?"

Ye Xuan was taken aback.

"Chopping bamboo, obviously!"

"Whoever cuts theirs down first wins!"

Tian Ling'er pointed at two pieces of Black Bamboo of about the same thickness.

"Senior Sister, there's no need for this, is there?"

Ye Xuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

If he won, she'd definitely cry.

If he lost...

That would be even worse!

What kind of man deliberately lost to a little girl?

"What? Are you scared?"

"If you are, just admit you cheated!"

Tian Ling'er lifted her chin, looking defiant.

"..."

Ye Xuan sighed.

It looked like he wouldn't get out of this today.

"Fine, let's have a competition."

"But since it's a contest, we need something to make it interesting, don't we?"

Ye Xuan picked up his hatchet and took his place in front of one of the pieces of Black Bamboo.

"Something to make it interesting?"

"If you win, I'll... I'll call you Senior Brother!"

Tian Ling'er tilted her head and thought for a moment.

"Really?"

Ye Xuan's eyes lit up.

The little girl had always used the fact that she joined the sect first to insist he call her Senior Sister.

That was technically right by the rules.

But being bossed around by a little girl always felt a bit strange.

"Of course!"

"I keep my word!"

"But if you lose, you have to call me Senior Sister from now on!"

"And you have to chop bamboo for me every day!"

Tian Ling'er patted her chest as she promised.

"Deal!"

Ye Xuan agreed without hesitation.

This was practically a free win!

"Hmph!"

"Just watch me beat you!"

Tian Ling'er confidently picked up her hatchet and stood in front of the other piece of Black Bamboo.

She took a deep breath, circulated the meager spiritual energy within her, gripped the handle with both hands, and fixed her gaze on the bamboo.

"Ready—go!"

At the signal,

"Ha!"

Tian Ling'er cried out.

The hatchet in her hands blurred as she brought it down hard on the bamboo.

"Clang!"

A sharp sound rang out.

The Black Bamboo didn't budge. Only a faint white mark appeared on its surface.

Tian Ling'er's wrist, on the other hand, went numb from the impact, and the hatchet nearly flew out of her grasp.

Meanwhile,

Ye Xuan calmly raised his hatchet.

He swung it casually.

There were no fancy moves or impressive displays of power.

Only a faint flash of cold light.

"Crack!"

The Black Bamboo, hard as iron, was sliced cleanly halfway through as if it were made of tofu.

Tian Ling'er hadn't even had time to swing a second time when the commotion from Ye Xuan's side left her stunned.

She stared dumbly at the bamboo stalk swaying precariously beside Ye Xuan, then looked at the untouched stalk in front of her.

She was completely dumbfounded.

H-how was this possible?

One chop?

Just one?

"Senior Sister, want to keep going?"

Ye Xuan looked at Tian Ling'er, who was frozen in shock, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"You... You're picking on me!"

Tian Ling'er snapped out of it. Her lower lip quivered, and tears immediately welled in her eyes.

"Waaah—"

The next moment,

the little girl's heart-wrenching sobs rang out from behind Great Bamboo Peak.

The hatchet almost slipped from Ye Xuan's hands.

Damn!

He'd gone too far!

This was bad!

"D-don't cry!"

"Um... that one doesn't count!"

"Let's start over, okay?"

"I'll give you three extra chops... no, ten!"

Ye Xuan rushed over in a panic, trying to comfort Tian Ling'er.

"Waaah... Liar!"

"You're a big liar! I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Tian Ling'er shoved Ye Xuan away and ran toward Shou Jing Hall, crying.

As she ran, she shouted, "Mom—someone's bullying me—"

Ye Xuan watched her red figure disappear into the distance.

He stood there, utterly dumbfounded.

It was over.

This time, it was really over.

He could almost see Su Ru rushing this way, Amber Vermilion Ribbon in hand and murder in her eyes.

Forget it.

When the soldiers came, he'd stop them; when the water came, he'd dam it.

Besides.

That "senior brother"—

That little girl was going to call him that whether he liked it or not!