Fervently Increasing Favorability with Senior Sister

After Lou Zhizheng left, Senior Sister An told him some old stories, and Ling Yunpo learned that Purple Cloud Peak and Green Snail Peak had a past grievance.

To be precise, it was the Purple Cloud Peak Master, Elder Minghua, who had a grudge against his master, Su Jian.

It was said that his master was a notorious ruthless person back then, and even the Sect Master had to give him some face when he went mad. He showed no mercy in duels.

When challenging others, he never held back, almost always ending fights by severing the opponent's Destiny Sword Artifact.

Such merciless actions naturally bred hatred, so many Sword Immortals, because their Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters, Junior Brothers, or Junior Sisters had their Destiny Sword Artifacts severed by Su Jian and their cultivation greatly damaged, would draw their swords and seek him out for revenge.

Then they were killed.

He would proactively challenge and break people's swords, but when challenged, he would directly kill them. In this way, True Lord Qisha's fearsome reputation spread throughout Shushan, even earning him the title of "Shushan's Number One Sword."

Well, if you have the ability to kill all other Sword Immortals, you're Shushan's Number One Sword, which makes sense.

Coupled with the fact that many Shushan Sword Immortals had arrogant personalities, they mostly didn't believe this fearsome reputation and wanted to test him. The result was that as soon as they tested him, they were gone. For a time, it almost led to a decline in Shushan's talent, forcing the Sect Master to change the sect rules:

Duels must be approved in advance by the Law Enforcement Hall, and a Sword Talisman must be obtained before they can proceed. Private duels are not allowed! Violators will be punished with severe penalties!

Since approval was required, there was an audit process.

As long as the audit found that the challenged party was Su Jian, they would delay the approval and secretly report it to the Sect Master.

The Sect Master would quickly find an opportunity to assign the challenger a sect mission, sending them away.

By relying on this delaying process and disguised exile, they managed to quell the hatred towards Su Jian throughout Shushan at that time.

Later, when Su Jian went out to pick up An Zhisu, he was ambushed by an elder from the Asura Path of the Demonic Sect and was severely wounded, returning to Green Snail Peak to go into seclusion in a hurry.

Only when the Sect Master saw that this fearsome person was no longer coming out did he recall those who had been sent away in batches back to Shushan.

These people all held grudges against Su Jian. Although they had calmed down during their exile and no longer thought of challenging Su Jian to a suicidal duel, their ill feelings towards Green Snail Peak were unconcealed.

Thus, Green Snail Peak's situation became increasingly dire.

Hearing this, Ling Yunpo couldn't help but feel amused and exasperated.

Good heavens, so it was his cheap master, who was in permanent seclusion, who had stirred up all this hatred!

"As for Elder Minghua, his Destiny Sword Artifact was severed by my master during a duel back then, and his cultivation was greatly damaged. He only didn't obsessively seek revenge against my master because he later acquired a better Flying Sword, but the feud was still established."

An Zhisu tucked a strand of hair that had fallen onto her cheek behind her ear and continued, "If I'm not mistaken, Purple Cloud Peak has taken a liking to your Flying Sword."

"They do have some discernment," Ling Yunpo said seriously. "I've confirmed it. This sword is the Qingping Sword from the ancient Intercepting Sect, a Tenth-Order Immortal Sword without a doubt."

"That makes sense," An Zhisu said, sighing without asking how he confirmed it. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have waited until after you retrieved the sword from the Sword Pool to make a move."

"Junior Brother, you don't need to worry. We can ignore this challenge. Senior Sister will gather the penalty spirit stones."

"No, Senior Sister," Ling Yunpo quickly said. "There's no such thing as a thousand days to guard against a thief. How can one guard against a thief for a thousand days?"

"If we refuse this challenge by paying the spirit stone penalty, and Purple Cloud Peak finds someone else to challenge me again, what then? How can our Green Snail Peak afford so many spirit stones!"

"That's true," An Zhisu said, still frowning deeply. "But Junior Brother, do you know? The lineage of Purple Cloud Peak has a secret technique called 'Purple Qi Gathering at the Crown'."

"At the cost of three years of weakness and no progress in cultivation, it can temporarily increase one's strength by a level."

She said worriedly, "After our Shushan Sword Immortals enter the Marrow Cleansing Stage, we can cultivate the method of 'Nourish Sword with Body'."

"Normally, we can keep our Flying Sword hidden within our bodies, warming it with our blood and qi to improve its quality."

"During combat, we can also achieve 'Unity of Man and Sword,' greatly enhancing the Flying Sword's impact and lethality."

"If that Lou Zhizheng uses the secret technique before the duel to forcefully enter the Marrow Cleansing Stage, your chances of winning will be slim to none."

"Senior Sister," Ling Yunpo said passionately, "challenging someone a level above you. Others might hesitate, but I, Ling Yunpo, do not fear!"

[Unbending persona, synchronization value +1.]

"A true Sword Immortal must sever the ties of life and death to have the possibility of achieving the Great Dao! If we retreat and protect ourselves from a mere clown who plays tricks, what will happen when we encounter the Three Disasters and Nine Calamities in the future?"

He said righteously, only to hear the Kunlun Mirror say numbly, [Unbending persona, synchronization value +1.]

"Junior Brother," An Zhisu bit her lower lip, her eyes welling up with tears.

How could she not understand the principle of fighting one battle to avoid a hundred? This was how she had gotten through it herself!

It was just that this time, the one challenging a higher level was not herself, but her straightforward and stubborn Junior Brother!

How could she stand by and watch her Junior Brother go to his death?

"Senior Sister," Ling Yunpo carefully wiped away the tears from her cheeks and said with a resolute smile, "If you are truly worried about me, then teach me more swordsmanship."

As for how to defeat a Marrow Cleansing Stage Sword Immortal, I will ask the Kunlun Ziwei Sect Master myself, hmph.

Coupled with his words of sacrificing oneself for righteousness, Ling Yunpo's face also showed a fitting expression of facing death without fear and fighting with all his might, causing An Zhisu to choke up again:

"Junior Brother..."

Seeing this naive Senior Sister An completely fooled by Ling Yunpo's feigned unbending persona, even shedding tears over it, the Kunlun Mirror inexplicably felt angry.

It quietly opened a small crack on the Mirror Flower Water Moon again.

While weakening Ling Yunpo's Unbending persona and aura, it also allowed his true disposition to surface.

Hmph, and then I'll break the mind control!

An Zhisu: ?

What was that? Junior Brother suddenly seemed like a completely different person just now?

If the Ling Yunpo from before gave her the impression of a resolute youth who would "risk his life even when facing a mountain of knives and a sea of fire,"

then just now, though it was fleeting, that aura seemed to be...

Calculating? Confident? Utterly unfazed?

Hmm, could it be that Junior Brother already had a plan, but it just wasn't convenient to reveal it?

Oh, honestly, Junior Brother Ling, is there any plan you can't discuss with your Senior Sister?

Thinking this, An Zhisu felt a bit perplexed.

However, given her nature of being extremely gentle and protective towards her own people, if her Junior Brother didn't want to reveal it, she certainly wouldn't pry. She wiped her tears, then smiled brightly and said:

"Alright, Senior Sister will teach you!"

"Whether it's the dual-wielding Sword Control Technique or any other Swordsmanship, I'll teach you everything I know!"

Watching the deep sibling affection between the two, the Kunlun Mirror couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Originally, it had simply been unable to stand seeing how pitifully An Zhisu was being deceived, so it had secretly removed Ling Yunpo's persona disguise, wanting her to understand a little of this person's true nature.

How did it end up increasing An Zhisu's favorability towards him instead?