Luoshui County.
"I'm back!"
Standing outside the county town, Jiang Ning smiled at the familiar walls ahead.
Blue-Wave Martial Academy.
"Master! Master!" A slender girl with a high ponytail ran toward the rear courtyard.
She pushed open its gate and saw an old man resting beneath a tree, his eyes closed.
A palm-leaf fan covered his face as he lounged at ease.
Hearing her, the old man sat up at once and took the fan off his face.
"Qingqing, you're not a child anymore. Why are you still so reckless? Can't you learn from your sister?"
The girl stuck out her tongue. "Master, someone named Jiang Ning is outside the academy asking to see you!"
"Jiang Ning?" Wang Jin froze, then sprang to his feet.
"That's your senior brother Jiang! He's a renowned figure in Dongling Commandery. Hurry and invite him in," Wang Jin said.
"It's really him?" The girl's eyes widened in disbelief.
Then, as if remembering something, she turned and hurried out of the courtyard.
"Master, I'll invite Senior Brother Jiang in right now and apologize to him!"
At her words, Wang Jin seemed to understand what had happened. A smile tugged at his lips.
Only a moment passed.
Then Wang Jin heard his female disciple's voice approaching from afar.
"Senior Brother Jiang! Senior Brother Jiang! I never thought it was really you! I was blind to the mountain before me!"
Meanwhile.
Jiang Ning stared wordlessly at the girl hovering beside him, nodding and bowing.
He waved a hand, then pressed a palm against the head blocking his path and pushed it aside.
"I didn't take it to heart."
With that, Jiang Ning stepped over the threshold of the academy's rear courtyard.
"Master!"
Seeing Wang Jin enjoying the shade beneath a tree, Jiang Ning cupped his fists.
"What