Confession? (3)

After this incident, Chu Shihan fell into deep turmoil.

He truly found it difficult to connect the second junior brother who usually seemed cool, composed, and steady in every movement with that bewildering behavior from that day.

That Heart Voice back then had been a joke, right? But even as a joke, comparing himself to livestock was really... really something one did not know how to react to. There had been no need for that.

Not to mention...

"Senior Brother! I'm your dog!"

That sentence lingered in Chu Shihan's mind like a curse, endlessly looping and echoing. Whenever he recalled it, the tips of his ears would uncontrollably redden, his heart filled with embarrassment and helplessness.

"What kind of thing was that to say?! What did he mean... my dog... What exactly did Second Junior Brother mean..."

He pondered it over and over, yet could never make sense of it. It only felt as if his heart had been tightly tangled in a ball of thread; the more he tried to sort it out, the tighter it became, leaving him utterly vexed.

Originally, he had not wanted to keep going to the Sword Trial Platform. Whenever he thought of that awkward scene from that day, his face burned so fiercely that he wished he could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.

But he had already promised to resolve Sixth Junior Sister's matter. How could he go once, then simply wash his hands of it and quit halfway? That was not his usual way of doing things.

Besides, if he deliberately avoided it now, would that not plainly show how much he cared about what had happened that day? As the senior brother, how could he be so unable to keep his composure before his junior brothers and sisters, allowing such a small matter to affect him?

He let out a long sigh. He still had to go. As long as he stood upright and sat straight, acting calm and at ease, the others naturally would not gossip.

...Probably?

At that moment, he had no way of knowing that this was merely the beginning... In the future, even more situations beyond his imagination would surge toward him like a rising tide, thoroughly shattering his once-peaceful life.

Lin Mumu was determined to ask about her destined relationship, so naturally she would not give up easily. Moreover, ever since Senior Brother had begun watching over her sword practice, she had actually loosened up.

In the past, she had constantly needed to worry about whether she might hurt her junior brothers and sisters. Now that Senior Brother was there to keep things under control, she could practice her swordsmanship with far less restraint, and the sword formation she unleashed grew ever sharper.

Yet compared with the lifelong matter constantly weighing on her mind, Shen Yuxi clearly paid much more attention to Senior Brother Chu Shihan's every action.

Shen Yuxi's Heart Voice leaking out had only begun recently. Before that, Senior Brother had been in seclusion, so nothing had stood out.

After Senior Brother emerged from seclusion, the two had also kept their distance. It was not until the "Lin Mumu Incident" that everyone discovered—Second Senior Brother cared super deeply about Senior Brother! Far beyond anyone's imagination!

Not only had Second Senior Brother's morning practice sessions grown longer and longer, but during them, he appeared fully focused on practicing swordsmanship. Sword flowers danced between his movements, sword intent sharp as a blade, as though his entire being were immersed in the Dao of the Sword.

But that was not the case at all. The moment Senior Brother appeared, he would immediately activate Rainbow Fart Mode. His praises would pour forth like floodwaters after a dam burst, endless and unstoppable.

"Wow, Senior Brother's bearing stands like a towering pine! His aura is even more like an abyss at rest and a mountain standing tall. Every move of his carries an effortless, heaven-born dominance and grace. Tsk, tsk, tsk, now this is what they call the bearing of an expert!"

Shen Yuxi's sword moves did not stop, but inwardly, he was screaming madly.

"And look at this swordsmanship—hard and soft perfectly balanced, every detail just right! Every strike is as precise as an arc drawn with compasses. The force, the angle, the speed—it is simply so perfect that it takes one's breath away, beyond all reproach!"

The other disciples had only wanted to quietly practice their swords and improve their cultivation, yet they were forced to listen to him endlessly ramble through a heap of extravagant praise for Senior Brother.

From Senior Brother's strikingly handsome appearance to his cultivation that left everyone eating dust, from his stern, meticulous personality to his legendary experiences, Shen Yuxi could always speak with a glib tongue, making every point sound perfectly convincing.

Even if Senior Brother merely stood there quietly in a daze, Shen Yuxi could still praise him from every possible angle, with endless variations, as though Senior Brother had already become a flawless, supremely perfect existence in his eyes.

If that were all, the disciples could still accept it. After all, what Second Senior Brother said was basically true. Senior Brother Chu Shihan truly stood tall and straight, possessed an extraordinary aura, and had outstanding cultivation. He had always been deeply respected within the sect.

But whenever Second Senior Brother got excited, he would suddenly confess his love, catching everyone completely off guard—

"Ah—Senior Brother—" (three-second pause)

"Your eyes shine bright like twinkling stars; one look, and I fall into the trap. Perhaps it is fate—I cannot take my eyes off you. You alone make me play favorites."

"No smile, however beautiful or sweet, is special if it is not yours. No matter how close we stand, without a hug it still feels too far away. I'll be obedient and clingy, gentle and considerate; I'll never be perfunctory. You're the only one I have feelings for."

"You are electricity, you are light, you are the only myth—"

When emotion reached its peak, he would even sing it outright in a strange tune. The melody was completely all over the place, yet it carried a peculiar infectiousness. The lyrics were also mixed with words that nobody could understand, making everyone deeply question Second Senior Brother's mental state.

His confessions were simply too direct, too passionate, sincere and pure—merely hearing them was enough to make one blush furiously.

It had already been difficult enough to pretend not to know Second Senior Brother's Heart Voice. After all, Second Senior Brother was fundamentally a comedic guy, forever blurting out something shocking.

Not to mention his current mad confessions. The disciples who usually practiced swordsmanship with stern seriousness could not help exchanging looks, awkward yet amused expressions appearing on their faces. Quite a few lowered their heads, the corners of their mouths twitching slightly.

Whenever Lin Mumu heard these things, she could not help rolling her eyes inwardly and grumbling, "...Enough, enough! Everyone knows you have a crush on Senior Brother!! Can't you spare even a little thought for my business?! My lifelong happiness is still hanging in the balance! Can't you put a little attention on me?!"

She was filled with helplessness. Her whole heart was set on asking about her destined relationship, yet no matter how she hinted at it, Shen Yuxi remained as stubborn as ever, immersed in an ocean of limitless worship and praise for Senior Brother, without mentioning a single word about what she cared about.

What left her even more speechless was that, although she had taken the initiative a little, Shen Yuxi had actually begun suspecting her intentions because of it, even—

"Sixth Junior Sister is here again. She doesn't really see me as a substitute meal, does she? That would not be good, right? I'm wholeheartedly devoted to Senior Brother. Junior Sister, stop trying to seduce me. I'm really afraid I won't be able to control myself. Though I am an upright gentleman, men do have instincts."

—thinking such outrageous things, nearly driving Lin Mumu half to death with anger.

Chu Shihan, caught in such circumstances, was even more embarrassed.

Among all his junior brothers, the one he had always appreciated most was the diligent and hardworking Second Junior Brother.

Although Third Junior Brother was likewise extremely diligent in daily life, his efforts always faintly carried a sense of urgency, as though he desperately longed for others' recognition. That state inevitably gave people the feeling that he was trying too hard.

Second Junior Brother, on the other hand, was calm and reserved by nature, like the waters of a deep pool, undisturbed by even the slightest ripple. He devoted himself wholeheartedly to improving his cultivation, all his thoughts centered on how to better repay the sect. That pure focus and steadfast conviction had earned Chu Shihan's heartfelt admiration.

Precisely because of that appreciation, Chu Shihan had long been especially close to Second Junior Brother, sparing no effort in offering him careful guidance, concern, and care.

After emerging from seclusion this time, he had learned that Second Junior Brother's Heart Voice had begun leaking because of an unexpected opportunity. He had even worried that this might bring trouble upon his junior brother.

Never had he imagined that the junior brother he thought calm and dignified possessed such a richly dramatic inner world. Second Junior Brother's level of concern for him had also completely exceeded his expectations.

During this period, every day he received all manner of novel, ever-changing confessions from Second Junior Brother.

Those fiery words were like scorching magma. To Chu Shihan, who had always been oblivious to romance, they left embarrassment and shyness tangled together. Thin-skinned as he was, he had even begun considering avoiding his junior brother.

"So... is this how Second Junior Brother has seen me all these years?"

Chu Shihan considered himself the elder. He believed that after years of cultivation, his mind had become mature and resilient. Faced with such complicated, tangled thoughts, he ought to have been able to quickly break free and calm his heart.

Yet things went against his wishes. Shen Yuxi's enthusiasm did not diminish; every day, tirelessly, he spoke and sang all kinds of mushy lines. This instead made Chu Shihan, who gave no response at all, seem like some heartless lover. That realization threw Chu Shihan's heart into even greater chaos, and the emotions he had wanted to settle became a tangled mess that could not be unraveled no matter how he tried.

What embarrassed him even more was that now, half the sect had heard about Second Junior Brother's "secret crush" on him. Overnight, it had become a secret known to everyone in the sect.

Whenever the two walked together through the sect, they would always feel all manner of strange gazes from their junior brothers and sisters. Those looks held curiosity, teasing, and faint amusement.

All of it made Chu Shihan feel as though thorns were pressing against his back, leaving him uncomfortable all over.

Second Junior Brother usually displayed a calm, collected demeanor, his words and actions carrying a reassuring composure. Even heaven-shaking matters rarely caused him to lose his measure.

Yet now that his Heart Voice had leaked, Chu Shihan realized in shock that his inner thoughts were so bold and passionate, like a roaring blaze, forming an immensely stark contrast with his usual outward appearance. It was truly difficult to adjust to all at once.

Chu Shihan could not help feeling emotional. He secretly wondered how his junior brother managed to maintain that calm, unruffled expression on his face while inwardly thinking such shamelessly flirtatious words that could make anyone blush.

The vast difference between his exterior and interior was truly baffling, as though his junior brother's heart and outward self belonged to two entirely different worlds.

At first, the sect's disciples found Shen Yuxi's endless stream of flirtatious words every day to be torment akin to suffering through an ordeal. After all, at such critical moments of focused cultivation, who could endure hearing such nauseatingly mushy confessions from time to time?

Yet as the days passed, everyone gradually grew accustomed to this unique "noise" without even realizing it. It was as though Shen Yuxi's flirtatious words had tempered a special layer of "cocoon" around them, steadily strengthening their emotional endurance without their notice.

It even reached the point where the disciples could calmly immerse themselves in cultivation while also critiquing Shen Yuxi's flirtatious words with great eloquence.

From how sickeningly sweet his wording was to whether his angle of praise was novel, they could discuss every aspect with clear reasoning and solid arguments.

From a certain wonderful angle, this peculiar experience brought about by Shen Yuxi's flirtatious words was rather like a different kind of cultivation, truly tempering everyone's state of mind. (And their acting skills.)

Sometimes, once Shen Yuxi again began pouring out his admiration for Senior Brother in his heart like floodwaters through opened gates, the surrounding disciples would unanimously turn their gazes toward Senior Brother. Their eyes carried a trace of reproach, silently seeming to say, "Senior Brother, aren't you a little too oblivious to romance? Second Senior Brother is already this devoted—how can you still not agree to him?"

There were even junior sisters who usually liked secretly reading storybooks from the foot of the mountain, who teased, "Look at Second Senior Brother. He truly resembles a bitter boudoir wife whose heart was misplaced, neglected on her wedding night by her cold childhood sweetheart in an arranged marriage, left to guard an empty room alone through endless nights for years on end."

Whether by coincidence or through someone's deliberate effort, those words somehow made their winding way into Chu Shihan's ears. When he first heard them, he failed to react for a moment and instinctively inserted himself into the situation according to the junior sister's description. The moment he did, he became both embarrassed and angry.

"I am not that kind of heartless and faithless person! Wait! That is completely wrong! How could Second Junior Brother and I possibly have that kind of relationship?!"

The senior brother who was always steady and imposing within the sect was truly filled with helplessness and unable to voice his suffering when faced with this situation.

He was close to Second Junior Brother, but he had never harbored those kinds of thoughts toward him! He had cultivated since childhood and had never cared about matters between men and women. Suddenly being confessed to every day by the junior brother he valued most—it was only natural that he would feel alarmed and uneasy, right?

Yet Second Junior Brother himself had never expressed those feelings at all; he had merely buried them deep within his heart. Even rejecting him would seem like Chu Shihan was being presumptuous.

This invisible, subtle pressure added several unusual "flavors" to his days in the sect for no reason at all. In the end, he could not hold back any longer, and one day, he simply stopped coming to the Sword Trial Platform.

Just as the disciples were troubled by this, Shen Yuxi looked at the junior brothers shrouded in gloom, his face blank with confusion. "I've wanted to say this for a long time. Sixth Junior Sister's sword formation... isn't it an excellent opportunity for actual combat? If one person can't manage it, why not have a group attack together? Form a team, PK, and exhaust Junior Sister's spiritual power—then wouldn't everyone be able to practice normally?"

The disciples awoke as if from a dream. "That's right! This way, we can summarize immediately after actual combat, then practice with specific targets in mind! It's a great chance to improve our strength!"

Lin Mumu was naturally willing. She had been worrying that after Senior Brother stopped coming, no one would spar with her, and she would once again have to be cautious like before, unable to strike freely. Since her junior brothers and sisters were willing to trade blows with her and improve together, how could she refuse?

Thus, the Sword Trial Platform incident was resolved just like that.

Within the Profound Heaven Sect, in order to help newly admitted inner disciples quickly adapt to their new environment and more efficiently absorb systematic, advanced cultivation knowledge, the sect would specifically arrange for these disciples to undergo three months of concentrated instruction at Spirit Medicine Peak, where there were fewer disciples.

During those three months, disciples at Golden Core cultivation and above would teach in rotation. During the first month, even personal disciples would participate.

At the same time, elders would sit in on the lessons at the back of the classroom, providing real-time guidance and evaluations to ensure that both the teaching disciples and newly admitted disciples could gain something and improve together.

This teaching assignment was also included within the sect's mission system. Those who completed it exceptionally could receive points. Sect points had broad uses and could be exchanged at the Merit Hall on Misty Spirit Peak for all kinds of cultivation arts and items, making them highly practical.

The usual ways of earning points mainly relied on accepting missions, venturing outside for training, and submitting high-grade materials. Low-level missions awarded few points, while high-level missions offered generous points but were quite dangerous.

By comparison, teaching was considered one of the easiest ways to earn points. Inner disciples could accept missions to teach outer disciples, with points calculated according to the number of lessons taught and the number of students attending.

Those with deeper cultivation and more solid knowledge could also undertake the task of teaching newly admitted inner disciples. The points they received were closely tied to the degree of improvement shown by the disciples they taught.

Using the disciples' average grades from their time in the outer sect as a baseline, they would be assessed after the three-month teaching period ended. The more significant the new disciples' improvement, the richer the rewards received by the teaching inner disciples.

Among this generation of personal disciples in the Profound Heaven Sect, those at Golden Core cultivation and above included second-ranked Shen Yuxi, third-ranked Feng Yue, fourth-ranked Zhou Wan, fifth-ranked Lin Huaixu, seventh-ranked Ye Jingxuan, and Senior Brother Chu Shihan, who had already advanced to the Nascent Soul realm.

At present, Lin Huaixu had gone down the mountain for training and was not in the sect. Zhou Wan and Ye Jingxuan normally had to assist the elders with many miscellaneous matters and truly could not spare the time. Thus, only Feng Yue, Shen Yuxi, and Chu Shihan could take on the teaching assignment this time.

All three were seasoned members of the sect. Teaching was naturally familiar territory to them, so before the lessons began, none of them had imagined that this assignment could possibly be botched.

Nine Domains Encyclopedia:

○ Merit Hall

An ordinary mission posting location.

Disciples within the sect could accept corresponding missions based on their status and cultivation. The Profound Heaven Sect's mission reward distribution was 7:3. For commissioned missions, the sect took thirty percent of the received reward as a commission fee, and the remainder went to the disciple.

Training expeditions and competitions entered in the sect's name followed the same rule.

If one was injured during a mission or suffered weapon damage, one could submit an application for reimbursement. Based on the actual circumstances, expenses would be reimbursed proportionally.

Disciples could also post missions, but private missions between disciples were forbidden, because such arrangements were not protected by the sect. Once disputes arose, the consequences could be severe.

The more points one had, the more varied the items one could exchange for. However, for high-quality or precious items, the sect would also examine how many Merit Hall missions one had completed, whether one had breached any agreements, and one's reputation.

Those unwilling to do missions could also submit precious materials they possessed for barter. Their value would be comprehensively assessed according to whether the sect needed them, likewise converted at a 10:7 rate.

When Spirit Artifact Peak and Spirit Medicine Peak held promotional events, they also came to the Merit Hall to advertise.

Mini Theater:

Chu Shihan merely breathed.

Shen Yuxi: As expected of Senior Brother. His breathing is steady, deep, and powerful, beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Shen Yuxi was merely writing promotional copy in his head. (And opening a KTV in his mind.)

Chu Shihan: Help, he loves me so much.

Junior brothers and sisters: Senior Brother, why not just give in?