Senior Sister Was Actually Injured

Since Qiu Changtian had already thoroughly memorized the Three Caverns with the help of his junior sister, Xu Yinglian,

Luo Yan only skimmed the twenty-four scripture collections before turning to other books.

The character template Luo Yan had been given came with a talent called "One Hear Thousand Comprehensions."

Its effects included an exceptional memory, the ability to understand anything after seeing it once, and extraordinary powers of deduction and analysis. He could spot the small clues that revealed the bigger picture, draw inferences from one example, then extrapolate from three to nine, and from nine to twenty-seven...

With each step building on the last, he could deduce the universe from a single leaf. It was practically a superpower every test-taker dreamed of.

Of course, that was an exaggeration, but it showed just how much One Hear Thousand Comprehensions boosted a cultivator's logic, memory, and calculation abilities.

Once one's intelligence improved, all sorts of unorthodox disciplines—formations, talismans, alchemy, Artifact Refining, divination, and the myriad arts—would benefit significantly as well.

With One Hear Thousand Comprehensions backing him, Luo Yan only had to read a book once to grasp its main ideas and key points.

And since he had already studied the Three Caverns, the main subject of the exam, he could take his time choosing and leisurely read other scriptures.

Before long, the books around him had piled up into a small mountain.

He was reading with great interest when the scenery around him suddenly changed.

When he came to his senses, Luo Yan realized that the formation had transported him to another room.

It was bright and spotless, with a desk by the window. A stack of exam papers lay on it, alongside an inkstone, brushes, and paper, all ready to use. The room had a distinctly classical charm.

Luo Yan pulled out a chair and sat down. After steadying himself, he picked up a brush and began answering the questions at speed.

Once he had finished all one thousand questions, Luo Yan leisurely picked up the exam papers. He was just about to check every question and answer with the swagger of the king of test-takers when a White Jade Puppet walked in. It picked up the papers, scanned them one by one, and said mechanically:

"Written examination score: one thousand."

"Number of visits to the Daozang Pavilion: one."

"Overall evaluation: Top Jia."

"According to the sect rules, you are hereby permitted to become a Top Jia disciple of the two-hundred-and-eightieth generation of our Yuqing Temple."

"Please follow me to the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion to register as a new disciple."

Luo Yan followed the White Jade Puppet outside. When he saw that they were still at the main entrance of the Daozang Pavilion, he wanted to go tell the Eldest Young Lady Shi Liuli the good news.

Huh? Where was that Eldest Young Lady?

After registering at the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, Luo Yan became an honored disciple of the Penglai Yuqing Temple.

Of course, the Sky Mending Stone fragment on the Penglai side was still hidden somewhere mysterious.

The Kunlun Mirror searched for a long time and could only sense that it was somewhere within the Yuqing Temple. Its exact location remained unknown.

It seemed they could only take their time and work toward finding it.

After reloading and returning to Shushan, Ling Yunpo continued practicing the Shushan Sword Control Art.

Luo Yan hadn't learned the Penglai Sword Control Art yet, so he didn't know what it was like.

But at the very least, the Kunlun Sword Control Art was definitely far inferior to Shushan's. Its instruction was far too crude and simplistic.

Ling Yunpo even had a feeling that if he could keep practicing the Shushan Sword Control Art, it would also greatly help Qiu Changtian improve his Kunlun Sword Control Art.

After all, they both originated from the ancient sword arts of the Chan sect.

On top of that, Senior Sister An was a formidable Abode Transformation Stage expert who lowered herself to spar with him every day. Naturally, Ling Yunpo's swordsmanship improved by leaps and bounds.

Come to think of it, because his cheap master, True Lord Qisha Su Jian, had gone into seclusion, An Zhisu couldn't get her hands on a Core Formation cultivation method. So even though she had reached the peak of the Abode Transformation Stage, she couldn't take that crucial next step. Ling Yunpo couldn't help regretting it.

If I reach the Abode Transformation Stage and Master still hasn't come out of seclusion, I'll use my connections through Qiu Changtian and Luo Yan to get a Core Formation cultivation method. I'll say Ling Yunpo found it while adventuring outside, so Senior Sister An can form her core without a hitch!

Hmm, where was Senior Sister An?

Ling Yunpo waited until midnight. At last, a streak of sword light descended gracefully. As expected, it was Senior Sister An, drenched in blood.

Usually, the blood on her had belonged to other people. Now, she was truly covered in wounds from head to toe.

The moment she landed, Ling Yunpo rushed over, his voice half anxious, half furious.

"Senior Sister! What happened to you? Who did this to you?"

"I'm fine," An Zhisu said weakly.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, she staggered and nearly toppled over.

Ling Yunpo hurriedly caught her and swept her with his divine sense.

Thankfully, she had only exhausted her true essence and passed out. Her life was not in immediate danger.

Even so, her wounds still needed treatment.

Ling Yunpo carried her into the quiet room and carefully examined her.

She had lost so much blood that many of her wounds were hard to make out.

He could only remove all her clothes, stripping Senior Sister An completely.

All right, now he could see clearly: a cut on her neck, a slash running from her right shoulder to below her left breast, a deep wound through the right side of her abdomen, and a stab wound in her left leg.

As for burns from Daoist Magic and traces of Sword Qi running rampant, there were countless more.

He had no choice but to treat them one by one. First, he gently wiped away the blood around the wounds with a warm towel. Then he silently circulated the Shushan Sword Art and slowly drew the residual Sword Qi out of the wounds, dispersing it into the air.

After that, Senior Sister An's face, though she was still unconscious, looked much better. Presumably, her pain had eased a little.

He then ground several Nine Splendor Jade Dew Pills, Six Bear Profound Yellow Powders, and Heavenly Mechanism Guiding Pills into a fine powder. Mixing them with water boiled with herbs such as kudzu leaves and Baopu, he made a paste, spread it over the wounds, and wrapped them with bandages.

That would speed the healing without damaging her Root Bone. It was a remedy recorded in one of the Daozang books Luo Yan had read, and now Ling Yunpo was putting it to use.

After all that, Senior Sister An still hadn't woken up.

Ling Yunpo stared at her naked body, laid out before him, wondering if he had missed a step.

Oh, right.

Senior Sister's wounds had been caused by a sword. Perhaps some vicious Sword Qi had entered her body and was wandering through her meridians.

If he didn't deal with it properly, it could cause endless trouble later.

No, no. He had to check thoroughly.

So he continued, carefully examining every inch of Senior Sister's body.

But Senior Sister's figure was simply too curvaceous, with every dip and swell in all the right places. It undoubtedly made his examination more difficult.

After probing her entire body with his divine sense, he found no hidden Sword Qi.

Excellent. Now this junior brother could rest easy.

Finally, he fetched Senior Sister An's clothes and tried to put them back on her.

But she was unconscious, and women's ancient-style clothes had hidden fastenings and ties, making them terribly difficult to put on.

After several failed attempts, he gave up and wrapped Senior Sister An in a quilt instead.

He left the clothes beside her for her to put on herself when she woke up.

The night was long, and he was worried about Senior Sister, so Ling Yunpo sat beside her and kept watch in silence.

After an unknown amount of time, Senior Sister An let out a soft moan and slowly woke up.

"Junior Brother..." she murmured, still dazed.

"Senior Sister." Ling Yunpo lifted her through the quilt and helped her sit upright, leaning against the wall.

An Zhisu rested her head on his shoulder, her dark hair cascading down.

After a while, she slowly opened her eyes.

"Senior Sister, are you awake?" Ling Yunpo asked softly.

An Zhisu didn't answer. She only stared silently at the ground.

"If you're awake, you can take some medicine." Ling Yunpo took out a few Nine Splendor Jade Dew Pills and held them to An Zhisu's lips.

Senior Sister An kept her lips tightly pressed together. No matter how many times he tried to feed them to her, she remained unmoved.

He could only say helplessly, "Senior Sister, could you open your mouth?"

"Ju-Junior Brother!" An Zhisu finally opened her mouth, but what came out was a flustered, indignant protest. "How could you just take off Senior Sister's clothes like that!"

"Senior Sister!" Ling Yunpo described what had happened earlier, explaining how he'd had no choice.

The important thing was, he hadn't touched her at all—he'd only examined her with his divine sense!

An Zhisu fell silent for a while before speaking, a little embarrassed, her voice growing quieter.

"Th-That still doesn't mean you can just take them off..."

By the end, her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, then faded away completely.

After a long while, she spoke again, her voice oddly strained.

"Y-You should go outside first."

Ling Yunpo went out and gazed up at the night sky, where stars filled the heavens.

From behind the door came the rustling of clothes.

A little later, Senior Sister An finally stepped outside and stood beside him.

"Junior Brother." She sighed softly. "Our Green Snail Peak is going to have to... get by on hard times from now on."