Another Happy Day!

No way forward.

At the sight of those words, a complex feeling she could hardly describe suddenly welled up inside Chi Jiuyu.

"Then... if I keep cultivating at the Nascent Soul Realm, could I reach Martial Uncle's level too?"

[Maybe, but there's no need.]

[Back then, we had no way forward, so we could only explore and experiment, pacing back and forth in place.]

[But now, the broad road stretches right before us. Why cling to the branch and forsake the root?]

Spirit Transformation, Void Return, Dao Integration, and even higher realms—the pathfinders had forged the way so those who came after could walk it more easily.

Being trapped at the Nascent Soul Realm and constantly tempering one's own spiritual power was a last resort among last resorts. These days, it could even be called a "heretical path."

[If you advanced to Spirit Transformation, could you really not block that sword?]

After advancing to Spirit Transformation, could she block that sword?

There was no need to say more. Spirit Transformation was another qualitative leap beyond Nascent Soul. She was already among the foremost at Nascent Soul, so there was no way she'd be weak after advancing to Spirit Transformation.

By that reckoning, she could indeed block that sword. She might even be able to fight back...

Wait!

"Martial Uncle, that's not how you're supposed to calculate it!"

A Spirit Transformation cultivator could block a Nascent Soul cultivator's sword and put up a fight. Was that really something to be proud of?

She was Chi Jiuyu, for crying out loud. Since when had she become the one getting beaten by someone from a lower realm?

[That's exactly how you calculate it.]

If Xu Xing had had a choice back then, he wouldn't have squandered his years at the Nascent Soul Realm either.

[Are you really planning to stay at the Nascent Soul Realm forever and compete with me for the title of strongest Nascent Soul cultivator?]

"Of course not." Chi Jiuyu wasn't one to get caught up in a dead end.

Her goal was to become the next Sword Sect Master. If she stayed at the Nascent Soul Realm forever, how could she compete with anyone?

Then she asked the question she cared about most, the one that had been weighing on her mind.

"Back when you and Master were at the Nascent Soul Realm, Martial Uncle, who was stronger?"

Under her expectant gaze, a line of golden text slowly appeared.

[Guess.]

"..." Martial Uncle had a mischievous streak, too. After grumbling to herself, she looked up and called, "Martial Uncle, I want to try a few more times!"

Though she considered herself a peerless talent, she had to admit it would be a long time before she advanced from Nascent Soul to Spirit Transformation. She might as well hone herself in the meantime.

[Fine.]

Soon, from deep within the mist, Xu Xing's Nascent Soul avatar emerged once more.

At the same time, the light screen displaying Chi Jiuyu in the living room outside suddenly sped up.

Xu Xing rose to his feet and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

The stars glittered brilliantly, the silver moon hung high, and memories of days gone by flowed through him.

His Nascent Soul days had been a very, very long time ago.

Come to think of it, that realm hadn't even been called "Nascent Soul" back then, and the cultivation system of the Great Profound Realm hadn't been what it was today.

Luckily, in the end, they had won.

Deep in thought, he couldn't help but remember many things.

Those few fellow cultivators of his, and... the first Human Race cultivator to reach Spirit Transformation, who had already passed away.

Xu Xing smiled, carefree and unburdened.

Hadn't he, too, been walking a path forged by those who came before?

The next day, Chi Jiuyu slept straight through until noon. Even after waking, she seemed groggy and out of sorts.

She looked just like an eggplant left out in the frost, with none of her usual energy.

Yawning, she said, "Good morning, Martial Uncle."

"It's noon already. How is that morning?" Xu Xing said with a smile.

"Oh~"

She answered listlessly. On her way down from the second floor, she even missed a step and tumbled right down the staircase.

Fortunately, as a Nascent Soul cultivator, she was tough as an ox. It didn't hurt, and she quickly hauled herself up by the railing.

Last night, she had tried to hone herself against Martial Uncle's avatar. She'd fought all night without ever surviving a single sword strike. She'd lost count of how many times she'd died.

It was the gap built up over the years, and it was extremely difficult to overcome.

What was even more frustrating was that all her skills seemed riddled with flaws in front of Martial Uncle at the Nascent Soul Realm, especially when she used the Great Void Sword Canon.

Seeing her in this state, Xu Xing suggested, "How about I take you out for a walk to lift your spirits?"

"Huh?" She blinked, then slapped both cheeks hard with her hands. Her fair, delicate face turned red. "Sure."

She did need to get out for a walk and adjust her mindset.

"But I can't ride today, so I might not be able to take you, Martial Uncle." Driving while exhausted was dangerous. "How about you ride instead?"

"Heh, we'll take a taxi."

He hadn't intended to ride that bizarre human-powered tricycle again anyway.

The Mystic Sword City Exotic Beast Park was one of the city's most famous tourist attractions. It was an entire mountain, but in essence, it was a zoo.

Only, the creatures inside weren't ordinary beasts. They were exotic beasts with all sorts of special abilities.

As they walked along a mountain path, a stream wound down beside them. Chi Jiuyu kept stopping to look around, a ball of cotton candy in her hand that was several times bigger than her head. It was a local specialty.

The raw material for this cotton candy came from a bird called the "Honeyfeather Sparrow." They couldn't fly, and their feathers were made entirely of crystal, with a sweet, delicious taste.

Whenever they were startled, their feathers turned poisonous. Only cultivators who had practiced spirit-soothing and mind-concentrating techniques could pluck them.

"Martial Uncle, hurry up!" Chi Jiuyu called over her shoulder.

Xu Xing was ambling along below, already far behind her.

She waited a few seconds, then couldn't hold back and ran down to him.

"You sure recovered quickly."

"That's because I'm an optimist by nature!" She pulled out her phone. "Come on, Martial Uncle. Let's take a picture together to remember this."

Just then, an exotic beast came nearby and circled overhead. Its scarlet feathers were without a single speck of another color. From a distance, it looked like a ball of fire falling from the sky.

It landed by the stream and plunged its entire head into the water. That was how it drank.

This bird was called the Blazefeather. When provoked or enraged, its feathers would burst into flames, burning at an extremely high temperature.

In the past, low-ranking alchemists and artifact refiners often caught these birds and plucked their feathers to use as tinder.

Chi Jiuyu adjusted her position, bringing the Blazefeather into the background and making sure both she and Martial Uncle were in the shot, then took several pictures in a row.

"Martial Uncle! Take a few of me, too!"

She handed Xu Xing her phone, then struck a sword pose with the cotton candy in her hand.

Behind her, the Blazefeather raised its head and stared blankly at Chi Jiuyu's back. Suddenly, it spread its wings and flew at her, its claws reaching for the cotton candy in her hand.

But just as it was about to grab it, a hand—not especially large, but very strong—clamped around its neck. No matter how hard it flapped, it couldn't move.

In its panic—

Boom!

Blazing flames erupted. The air shimmered and warped in the scorching heat, but the thin layer of spiritual light remained untouched.

"Trying to steal my stuff!" Chi Jiuyu grabbed it by the neck and gave it a shake. Then she suddenly tried to scare it. "Martial Uncle, let's buy this bird and roast it."

The Blazefeather seemed to understand her. A trace of terror appeared in its beady eyes.

"Forget it. The people here went to a lot of trouble to collect these exotic beasts."

"Okay."

Chi Jiuyu let go. The Blazefeather was thoroughly frightened and didn't dare linger. It flew off at once.

Looking up as it disappeared into the distance, she walked over and took her phone back from Xu Xing, then scrolled through the pictures for a while.

"Martial Uncle, can I send these pictures to Master?"

"Suit yourself."

Xu Xing continued strolling uphill at an unhurried pace. Chi Jiuyu followed behind him and started sending the pictures to her Master.

The first few showed her grabbing the Blazefeather and striking a sword pose.

It took quite a while for a reply to come.

My Most Respected Master: "That cotton candy in your hand looks pretty good. Send one back to me later."

"..."

After a moment of silence, she sent the rest of the pictures, this time all of them with Xu Xing.

My Most Respected Master: "??? Your junior brother is with you?"

Chi Jiuyu didn't reply. She simply turned off her phone and tossed it into her storage ring.

Ever since she'd read the chat history, she wasn't scared anymore. Either way, she'd be in for it when she got back.

Ah!

Another happy day!

Please add this to your collection, and please keep reading!!

One more thing: an explanation of the worldbuilding.

We're not even at a hundred thousand words yet. It's hard to explain everything now unless I just put the outline out there, so please be patient.