Teacher, You're Getting in the Way of My Progress!

For ordinary Soul Masters, getting into the Spirit Ascension Platform even once was as hard as climbing to heaven. If they failed to achieve their goal, they'd lose everything they'd invested. There was no such thing as quitting for no reason.

But An Lan had no such concerns. What did a spot matter to him? Wasn't the Spirit Ascension Platform somewhere he could enter whenever he wanted?

So he had no intention of deliberately ascending his spirit.

Bai Zhicen's fists clenched... Inwardly, she grumbled: Isn't it just that you're rich, powerful, well-connected, talented, and will grow up to be handsome? What else have you got? Do you dare go out and suffer a little?

In a fit of pique, she got herself worked up, then decisively abandoned An Lan and went to tease Na'er beside her.

After leaving the white-haired girl speechless, An Lan slowly rose from the metal pod and gently rolled his neck.

The fierce battle inside the Spirit Ascension Platform hadn't left him looking tired. If anything, his eyes were brighter than ever.

He gloated inwardly: So what if I don't know spear or lance techniques? I've got stats!

Even if I bear the Abyss on my shoulders and have to suppress Haozi with one hand, I, An Lan, am still invincible in this world!

Just then, Leng Qingning walked over. With a warm smile in her eyes, she reached out and gently ruffled his hair. "Look how much you've annoyed Xiao Bai!"

An Lan smiled bashfully at her words and said nothing. He simply let her ruffle his hair, looking obedient and sensible.

"All right, that's enough for today. Let Na'er and little An Lan take the day to relax. The next few years won't be nearly so easy for them."

Leng Yaozhu chuckled and shook her head. Her fiery red hair fell over her shoulders, making her already lovely features look even more radiant.

She turned first and walked gracefully out of the Spirit Transferring Chamber in her high heels.

It was a good thing to have a gifted disciple, but when a disciple was too impossibly talented, it put pressure on the teacher. It felt like there was nothing left to teach them.

Leng Yaozhu had originally planned to help her niece, Leng Qingning, and Le Lingzhao work out a cultivation plan for An Lan.

But now, it seemed better to forget it.

Na'er alone was enough to give her a headache. She'd leave An Lan to the two of them to worry about.

"What? You're going to Shangling City?"

The afternoon passed leisurely. After lunch, Na'er had gone back for another helping with her plate, then, belly round, found Leng Yaozhu in the study.

Seeing her walk in with such a serious expression, Leng Yaozhu was just about to ask what was wrong when the girl's words made her face change instantly.

"What? You're going to Shangling City?"

Leng Yaozhu stared in disbelief, then let out a furious roar.

Her disciple, who had only been hers for three days, wasn't going to devote herself to studying under her teacher. Instead, she wanted to go to Shangling City, a thousand li away? How could that be allowed?

If her disciple left, what would that make her as a teacher?

Leng Yaozhu's first instinct was to refuse, without even thinking it over.

Before coming, Na'er had reassured herself that they were all family, and it didn't matter which side she stayed with. But seeing Leng Yaozhu react so strongly, she immediately felt guilty.

Nervously clutching the hem of her clothes, she blinked her silver eyes and softened her voice, pleading, "Aunt Leng~"

"Call me Master!" Leng Yaozhu corrected her sternly.

"All right, Master." Na'er obediently changed how she addressed her without the slightest argument.

Seeing how obedient Na'er was, Leng Yaozhu was left fuming, but had nowhere to vent her anger.

She rubbed her aching temples and sighed inwardly: Yun Ming didn't steal my disciple, but my niece and Lingzhao have spirited her away instead. What kind of mess is this?

She took a deep breath, pushed aside her jumbled thoughts, and asked in a gentler tone, "Tell me, why do you want to go to Shangling City? You have to give me a reason."

Truthfully, Na'er just thought An Lan smelled nice and didn't want to be apart from him. But there was no way she could tell Leng Yaozhu such an absurd reason.

Her eyes darted about. Putting on a serious expression, she explained, "Teacher, here's the thing. Today, while An Lan and I were ascending our spirits in the Spirit Ascension Platform, my Silver Dragon Spear reacted strongly to his Red Edge Spear. I suspect there may be a Martial Soul Fusion Skill between us."

She paused, sneaking a glance at Leng Yaozhu's expression. Seeing her nod slightly, clearly listening, Na'er continued, her tone growing even more earnest. "A Martial Soul Fusion Skill requires a high degree of compatibility between our Martial Souls. We have to trust each other and be in sync. If An Lan goes back to Shangling City by himself, we'll be so far apart—how are we supposed to build a bond? Without a bond, won't our Martial Soul Fusion Skill be useless?"

A sly glint flashed in her eyes. She immediately put on a wounded, reluctant expression and gazed at Leng Yaozhu wistfully. "Of course, it would be even better if you could keep An Lan in Shrek City, Teacher. After all, who'd choose Shangling City, a small place like that, over a big city like Shrek City?"

"I don't want to leave you either, Teacher. I just don't want to hold back my cultivation, and I'm afraid of making things difficult for you."

After all that, she made it sound as if she was leaving only for the sake of her cultivation and to spare her teacher any trouble. It wasn't that she wanted to ditch her teacher and run off with a friend she'd met just two days ago.

Leng Yaozhu laughed in exasperation. She could see at a glance that Na'er was putting on an act, but she couldn't bring herself to get angry at the earnest-looking silver-haired bundle before her.

Qingning and Lingzhao definitely wouldn't hand their precious disciple over to her to cultivate. Na'er knew to use those two to block her arguments. Aside from eating, the girl wasn't entirely useless after all.

"You make a good point." Leng Yaozhu's red hair cascaded down her back. She took a deep breath, her lovely figure rising and falling slightly with it. Seeing Na'er's eyes brighten, thinking she'd convinced her, Leng Yaozhu changed tack. "But..."

A faint smile tugged at her lips as she continued, "Wanting a Martial Soul Fusion Skill isn't a reason for you to go with An Lan to Shangling City."

"Na'er, you're only six. Even if you wait five years, you'll only be eleven. You'll still be so young."

At the mention of age, a hint of emotion crossed Leng Yaozhu's eyes.

She quickly gathered herself and advised earnestly, "It's only five years. Stay by my side and study in peace. Once you've built a solid foundation, you can go find little An Lan and work on your Martial Soul Fusion Skill. There's no hurry."

"Too late." At her words, Na'er immediately shook her head hard.

She had clearly done her homework and prepared her argument well in advance. She spoke with conviction. "My goal is to get my Martial Soul compatibility with An Lan above ninety percent. The sooner we're together, the easier it'll be to raise our compatibility."

"Teacher, you're getting in the way of my progress!"

Leng Yaozhu's mouth twitched at her words. Na'er had even thrown the accusation of obstructing her progress at her. Was this really the same Na'er who had traveled all the way to Shrek's inner city just for chicken collarbones?

Compared with this quick-tongued little disciple who only wanted to ditch her old teacher and run off on her own, Leng Yaozhu almost missed the Na'er who'd cared about nothing but eating.