"Zhang, you're shopping at the mall too?"
Xu Xing and Zhang Yunlu had just walked out of the mall when they ran into a middle-aged man in a suit, his hair slicked back, with several students in blue-and-white uniforms following behind him.
Zhang Yunlu hesitated for a moment, then greeted him respectfully. "Hello, Teacher."
So he was her teacher.
"Heh." The teacher smiled and looked at Xu Xing. "I'm Fang Chi, Zhang's teacher. And you are...?"
For a moment, Zhang Yunlu didn't know how to answer.
"I'm Zhang's private tutor," Xu Xing said casually.
After all, teaching her cultivation counted as tutoring.
But when they heard who he was, the students behind Fang Chi exchanged glances, and Fang Chi's expression stiffened.
"I see. Zhang really is hardworking." Fang Chi nodded slightly. "The Dharma Combat Test is the day after tomorrow. It looks like she'll get a very good result."
Then he led the students past them and into the mall.
"Your teacher doesn't seem to think very highly of you. Tell me why."
Especially after Xu Xing had said he was Zhang Yunlu's tutor.
It wasn't anything she couldn't talk about.
"Teacher Fang... started a cram school at the beginning of this school year. I was the only one in the class who didn't go, and my grades were pretty good, so more than a dozen others dropped out too."
After that, the teacher hadn't dared openly target her. Zhang Yunlu was fairly well-known at Xuanjian City No. 3 Middle School, after all.
But he would deliberately ignore her in class and in various other situations. If she hadn't been mentally resilient, she might have shut herself away long ago.
Yet at first, he'd clearly said that the cram school was voluntary and that anyone who didn't want to go could simply stay away.
Sometimes things just went that way. You didn't want to offend anyone, but somehow ended up doing it anyway.
"Do you hate him?" Xu Xing asked.
Hate?
Hate her teacher?
That sounded a bit too much like they had some deep-seated grudge, but when he asked, she realized she did feel a little uncomfortable about it.
"I don't know," she answered honestly.
Xu Xing wasn't surprised by that answer.
Things like this could be a big deal or a small one. Zhang Yunlu was mentally resilient and wouldn't blame the world over something like this.
She probably didn't even think about it in her everyday life.
But whenever someone brought it up or asked her about it, she'd think it over and feel wronged.
Emotions came and went quickly in adolescence. You could feel down just remembering some time you'd been wronged, then forget all about it the next moment when something happy happened.
"Then do you want him to pay a price?"
Pay a price?
One scene after another from the past surfaced in her mind. The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. She nodded firmly. "I do!"
"If you do, then let's go."
Xu Xing waved down a car.
A little over ten minutes later, they returned to the villa.
As soon as Zhang Yunlu entered, she looked around curiously. She'd heard of this place, but had never been here before.
Xu Xing activated the "air-conditioning" formation and set it to the most comfortable temperature. Then he turned around and said plainly,
"You've only just reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining, so there's no need to rush your cultivation. I'll teach you a sword technique."
He raised a hand and tapped the air. A streak of light shot out, arriving in an instant and swiftly merging into Zhang Yunlu's brow.
The moment the light entered her brow, her vision blurred. It was as if something had appeared from nowhere in her mind.
When she came to, she found nearly a thousand words floating through her thoughts. Looking closely, they formed a sword technique.
Flowing Cloud Sword Technique
A sword technique focused on lightness and grace. Its moves were exquisite, emphasizing the use of an opponent's strength against them, turning softness into strength and skill into an answer to brute force.
Because of the limitations of their spiritual power, Qi Refining cultivators got very little value from practicing spells. Close-combat techniques like this were far more suitable.
"This sword technique will be enough for the upcoming Dharma Combat Test."
"In two days... I don't think I can learn it."
No, wasn't he overestimating her a little? Learn a sword technique in two days?
"You don't need to worry about that. You'll understand when you get back." Xu Xing hadn't actually intended for her to teach herself. "Come back here after you report your realm at school tomorrow and learn all about Foundation Establishment. If you're set on building a Heaven-Forged Dao Foundation, I'll give you a suitable cultivation art, a method for refining the essence of the sun and moon, and a rare treasure of heaven and earth."
As he spoke, he took a small wooden token from a drawer and tossed it to Zhang Yunlu.
"This is the formation's access token. Keep it safe and don't lose it."
A few minutes later, Zhang Yunlu left the villa, still a little dazed.
So he'd only asked her to come over to give her the key to the formation?
And what did he mean, she didn't need to worry? Did he really have that much faith in her talent?
Emm...
Could she secretly be a sword prodigy?
She stood by the roadside in the residential compound, lost in thought.
"Xiaolu?"
A figure slowly descended on a flying sword.
"Brother?" Zhang Yunlu froze. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to submit a report," Zhang Xiu explained.
As the first person to discover that the great cultivator had emerged from seclusion, he was required by procedure to submit a report detailing what had happened.
"What about you? What are you doing here?"
"Well..."
How was she supposed to explain?
That she'd run into a mighty cultivator who had emerged from seclusion, and he'd taken a liking to her and wanted to give her a fortuitous opportunity?
Could she say that?
Seeing her hesitate, Zhang Xiu's heart sank, though he kept a warm smile on his face.
"It's fine. If you can't talk about it, you don't have to."
He could always sneak back later that night and investigate.
"Mm."
Zhang Yunlu nodded slightly, feeling a little guilty.
"Let's go," Zhang Xiu said with a gentle smile.
The two of them walked out together.
After all, sword cultivators below the Nascent Soul Realm couldn't take anyone with them when flying on a sword, and he couldn't very well go back alone, so they had to take a car.
"Still no leads."
In a villa not far away, a white-clad figure watched the siblings' retreating backs, his gaze indifferent.
Standing behind him was the very same True Person Xiaoning who had fought the young Demonic Cultivator when he was refining the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.
True Person Xiaoning felt utterly helpless. Anyone else would have been fine, but why did it have to be this Martial Uncle?
"Martial Uncle, since the Sword Sect has admitted that the cultivator who emerged from seclusion belongs to them, can't we stop hounding them?"
The Dao Integration powerhouse of the Supreme Dao Sect turned around and looked calmly at True Person Xiaoning. "That cultivator caused such a great disturbance. He didn't come to explain himself to me, and instead deliberately hid away. I have reason to suspect that the Sword Sect cultivator who emerged from seclusion colluded with Demonic Cultivators and intends to slaughter the city to refine a Ten Thousand Soul Banner."
True Person Xiaoning: "..."
Martial Uncle, could you stop referring to yourself as "this seat" every other sentence? According to Saint Emperor Abyss, it's really so chuunibyou!
And weren't you obviously just settling a personal score?
Back then, it was your nephew who had a crooked heart. He sacrificed the souls of infants to practice an evil demonic art, and was killed by the Sword Sect cultivator who happened to be passing by after emerging from seclusion.
Sigh...
That matter had caused a huge uproar at the time. Even the Sect Masters of both sects had been alarmed, and it had taken a great deal of effort to resolve.
Everyone thought it had all died down. But a few years ago, after this Martial Uncle advanced to Dao Integration, he immediately applied to take up a post at the Ancient Cultivator Response Department in Sword Sect territory.
Clearly, he hadn't forgotten.
"I'm only acting according to the rules." Purple qi swirled in the Dao Integration powerhouse's eyes. "What? They can do it, but I can't?"
Before you continue