Meanwhile...
Meng Tangtang stepped into the Library Pavilion, brimming with excitement. She had just started looking around when her gaze settled on a figure dressed in white.
Before she could speak,
the other person waved a hand, then turned and walked away, motioning for her to follow.
"Come in. Master has been waiting for you for a long time."
Meng Tangtang froze.
Her mind suddenly went blank, and she forgot why she had come.
Master is waiting for me?
She took another careful look at the white-robed youth before her, then noticed that he had called someone else Master, too.
Could I really have guessed wrong? This person isn't Master, but... my senior brother or junior brother?
Meng Tangtang nearly couldn't wrap her head around it.
She felt there was something wrong, but couldn't put her finger on what.
In the end, she decided not to think about it.
"Hey, wait for me!"
As she pondered, Meng Tangtang suddenly realized the other person had already gone far ahead, and hurried after him.
The two wandered through the Library Pavilion, turning this way and that. Before they knew it, they had arrived at the back courtyard.
The Library Pavilion might not have been highly regarded in the Jingyun Sect, but it still belonged to one of the Ten Great Sects. Its grounds were naturally anything but small.
The back courtyard.
Spread out before them was an immense spiritual lake. Willows swayed along its banks, and the air was filled with the fresh fragrance of flowers and grass. The spiritual energy here seemed far denser than anywhere else in the Jingyun Sect, even surpassing the forbidden grounds behind the mountain.
It was like a celestial paradise on earth.
Suddenly, a ripple stirred in the depths of the spiritual lake.
The disturbance grew stronger and stronger, until the once-calm lake was swept by surging waves.
A faint immortal light shimmered between heaven and earth.
A golden figure strode through the air from afar. Each step crossed the empty sky, and golden lotuses bloomed beneath his feet before withering away.
In that instant, the golden figure seemed to become the only color in the world. The moment he appeared, everything around him paled.
It was as if he were the embodiment of the Great Dao.
As he drew near, a white-haired immortal with an otherworldly bearing, dressed in golden robes, descended from the sky at an unhurried pace, meeting the stunned, awestruck gazes of Meng Tangtang and Lin Cheng.
Each step seemed to land on an invisible stairway.
"Disciple."
The familiar, aged voice rang out. Meng Tangtang's delicate frame shuddered, and she trembled with excitement as she hurriedly bowed.
At that moment, she didn't feel as though she was paying her respects to her master.
She was making a pilgrimage!
Paying homage to an immortal!
A famous saying that had been passed down across the continent for ages suddenly came to Meng Tangtang's mind.
The immortal laid a hand upon my crown, then bound my hair and granted me long life.
Her Master was an immortal!
"Walking through the air, a Foundation Establishment Venerable..."
"Master is at least a mighty Foundation Establishment expert. No, he's even stronger..."
The scene of the Great Dao resonating with him had been etched deep into Meng Tangtang's soul. She could only feel that the old man before her, appearing in person for the first time, was unfathomably profound.
Before, they had only spoken across the air.
Even then, Meng Tangtang had already felt how powerful and mysterious her Master was.
Now that she had finally met him, she realized that what she had discovered of her Master was only the tip of the iceberg.
So insignificant.
Shock!
Admiration!
And... pride!
This is my Master, an unparalleled mighty expert beyond imagination!
How lucky I am that he took an interest in me!
She felt as if all the good fortune she had accumulated over several lifetimes had come due in this one.
Lin Cheng looked at Meng Tangtang's starry-eyed expression and couldn't help finding it a little amusing.
He also felt a little jealous.
Damn it, I worked so hard to take her in as my disciple, and then Xiao Jin swoops in and steals the show.
He knew it was a bit silly to be competing with himself, but Lin Cheng still couldn't help feeling annoyed.
Why don't I get an entrance that flashy?
Envy, jealousy, and resentment!
But there was no use being jealous. His avatar was born in harmony with the Great Dao. Releasing the slightest trace of his aura could make the Great Dao resonate and create a spectacle with practically no effort.
Though Lin Cheng had the system and cultivated the heaven-defying Nine Transformations of the True Spirit,
he was every bit as good as his avatar, but he simply didn't have such flashy tricks.
Oh, well.
Was he the sort of person who liked to show off? He had to know how to keep a low profile. Low profile, got it?
Lin Cheng looked at his avatar, Xiao Jin, with disdain. He doesn't know how to keep a low profile. Sooner or later, he'll pay for it!
Sensing his original self's gaze, Xiao Jin didn't care.
We're one original and one avatar, connected heart to heart. Do you think I can't smell that vinegar bubbling up inside you?
Hypocrite!
"Cheng'er, you entered the sect later than your senior sister, so from today on, you are her junior brother. Fellow disciples should look out for one another. Remember that." The old man in golden robes suddenly assumed a stern expression and turned his gaze toward Lin Cheng, who had been standing off to the side.
What?
Lin Cheng was completely dumbfounded.
He hadn't expected his avatar to be so mischievous as to say something like that.
It was one thing for me to be my disciple's master, and for me to be my own master.
But now I had to be my own disciple's junior brother, too?
Wasn't that taking it too far?
He could at least have made me the senior brother!
Lin Cheng's face visibly darkened. Xiao Jin ignored him, though he was secretly delighted.
That's what you get for doing the same thing to me.
You called me a show-off in your head just now. Let's see if I can't teach you, you hypocrite, a lesson!
Lin Cheng wore a face full of exasperation, but at the old man's words, Meng Tangtang's eyes suddenly lit up. She looked at Lin Cheng as if she had just spotted a new toy!
Lin Cheng cursed furiously in his heart!
He had actually caught a glimpse of motherly concern in the little girl's eyes. He was completely flabbergasted.
Xiao Jin, you and I are mortal enemies!
"Junior brother!"
Meng Tangtang beamed as she called out to him.
Lin Cheng's lips moved. His face had gone a little pale.
Xiao Jin, playing the role of Master, immediately put on a stern expression. Frowning in displeasure, he scolded, "Cheng'er, how have I taught you all this time? You mustn't be rude to your senior sister!"
Not only are you setting me up, you're taking advantage of me at every turn! I'm the original, for crying out loud!
Xiao Jin, I'll remember this!
If I don't get my revenge, I'm no man!
"...Senior sister."
In the end, Lin Cheng gave in.
He was starting to regret not switching places with Xiao Jin. He, too, had the Great Concealment Art, a heaven-defying concealment technique.
He could have had gray mist curling around him, his presence ethereal.
He'd have looked incredibly impressive, wouldn't he?
Why hadn't he thought to give up the incredibly impressive title of Master?
Lin Cheng was drowning in regret!
It was over. He was probably never going to get the upper hand again.
Actually, he wouldn't mind if things stayed this way...
What he feared was that one day, if Master's disguise were exposed and Meng Tangtang found out that her master and junior brother were the same person...
Damn, that image is too beautiful to imagine.
Lin Cheng felt as though the hole he had dug for himself was getting deeper and deeper. One day, he'd end up burying himself in it.
Beside him, hearing Lin Cheng finally speak,
Meng Tangtang's eyes crinkled with delight!
She had always thought her Master was merely at the innate level. Who would have guessed he'd been hiding such a terrifying identity?
And he had even found her a junior brother!
Now she could bully him whenever she liked—ah, no, teach him!
Today was such a happy day!
Gradually, as he watched Meng Tangtang's smile grow brighter and brighter, Lin Cheng's scalp began to tingle. He felt as though he might have come up with a terrible idea.
"...Xiao Jin."
Lin Cheng rolled the two words around in his mouth again and again, then slowly began to smile.
Xiao Jin, floating in midair: "..."
Damn it, something feels off.
Before you continue