Xiao Lin interrupted her with a gentle wave of his hand.
"This can improve your perception of wind elements by twenty to thirty percent, your affinity by thirty percent, and the power of your Dou Techniques by twenty percent."
"From what I understand, among the Inheritors in the Jia Ma Empire, your progress in cultivating and understanding your inheritance has been rather slow."
Gently setting the pills Yun Yun had offered him on the ground, Xiao Lin said evenly, "I have my own reasons for what I do. You needn't ask, nor do you need to repay me."
Yun Yun stared at the lustrous jade bottle on the ground. Feeling the fluctuations of wind elements emanating from it, her heart churned like a storm-tossed sea.
She opened her mouth but ultimately offered no further refusal. She merely picked up the jade bottle in silence and said softly:
"...Thank you."
She put the pills into her Storage Ring, a faint blush rising on her lovely face. For a moment, the atmosphere grew awkward.
Yun Yun cleared her throat, trying to change the subject:
"You... aren't from the Jia Ma Empire, are you? How do you know about the Inheritors here?"
"With your talent and resources, no ordinary faction could have nurtured you. Could you be from the Pill Tower?"
She paused, a trace of anticipation flashing in her eyes. "If you're willing, the Misty Cloud Sect would welcome you as a guest elder. Stipends, medicinal ingredients, cultivation methods-you may draw on them freely. Even..."
"Even what?"
"Even..." Yun Yun bit her lip.
"If you encounter any difficulties in your cultivation, you can come to me. After all, I feel I'm about to reach Peak Dou Emperor now. With the [Great Wind Calling Art] to assist me, Dou Zong is only a step away..."
The moment the words left her mouth, she felt her cheeks burn. How suggestive that sounded! It hardly seemed like recruitment, but more like...
Xiao Lin smiled, his gaze turning toward the distant horizon, his tone noncommittal. "I'm not from the Pill Tower, nor do I intend to join any faction. However..."
He turned back, a shadowy gleam shifting in his eyes.
"I have a friend skilled in both medicine and poison, with considerable talent. If Sect Master Yun Yun has no objection, she could join the Misty Cloud Sect and cultivate there as a physician."
"A friend?" Yun Yun froze. "Who is she?"
As soon as she spoke, Yun Yun's expression stiffened.
"You... already knew?"
Hearing Xiao Lin call her by her real name, Yun Yun's heart suddenly trembled.
Back in the cave, Yun Yun had introduced herself as Yun Zhi when they exchanged names. She had never expected him to know her true name.
"Isn't that obvious? A female Dou Emperor with wind-attribute Dou Qi here in the Jia Ma Empire... who else could it be but Yun Yun?"
Yun Yun fell silent for a moment, conflicting emotions stirring in her eyes. Though hearing Xiao Lin say "Yun Yun" had sent towering waves crashing through her heart, she had also felt an inexplicable sense of relief-
At least he knew her true identity.
"That friend of yours..." she began carefully, her voice regaining some of a sect master's cool reserve.
"Who is she? Why does she want to join the Misty Cloud Sect?"
Xiao Lin sat leaning against a rock, idly playing with a piece of purple spirit crystal between his fingers, his expression calm.
"She's a physician at the Myriad Medicine Pavilion in Qingshan Town, named Xiao Yi Xian. A native of the Jia Ma Empire. She has admired the Misty Cloud Sect's illustrious reputation since childhood and longs to join, that's all."
He paused, raised his hand, and crushed the purple spirit crystal, smiling lightly.
"She and I are quite close. She happened to mention it today, so I thought I'd ask on her behalf. If Sect Master Yun Yun is unwilling, just pretend I never said anything."
"Xiao Yi Xian..." Yun Yun murmured the name, her brows drawing together almost imperceptibly.
A physician? A woman?
An inexplicable ripple of unease stirred in her heart, but she quickly suppressed it.
What's wrong with me? She's merely an ordinary disciple Xiao Lin recommended. What is there to care about?
"How talented is she?" As a sect master, she asked instinctively, a hint of scrutiny in her tone.
Xiao Lin raised his eyes, a shadowy gleam shifting within them, and smiled with deliberate mystery. "In terms of cultivation talent alone... she should surpass you."
"What?!" Yun Yun blurted, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Surpass me? I'm the Misty Cloud Sect Master, an Eight-Star Dou Emperor!
To have achieved so much at her age already made her as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns on the Northwest Continent.
Watching her astonished expression, Xiao Lin's smile deepened.
"No need to doubt it. Xiao Yi Xian's constitution is... somewhat special. With enough 'resources,' her cultivation speed can far exceed that of ordinary people."
"The Dou Zong realm that everyone in the Jia Ma Empire pursues-she might have a chance of reaching it in three to five years."
Yun Yun drew in a sharp breath.
Three to five years? Dou Zong? Was he joking?
Even the core disciples of those superpowers in the Central Plains might not be capable of such speed!
"You..."
She stared at Xiao Lin. Though the shock in her heart was beyond words, since he had said it, it naturally carried considerable credibility.
"Why send her to the Misty Cloud Sect? With your resources and abilities, wouldn't it be better to nurture her yourself? Or have the teacher behind you..."
Xiao Lin rose, his green robe snapping in the mountain wind. He gazed toward the vast, distant horizon, his voice drifting softly back.
"I'm used to living like an idle cloud and a wild crane. I don't have the time. The Misty Cloud Sect has abundant resources, so it's a fairly good place for her."
He turned, meeting Yun Yun's gaze. "Besides..."
"I trust Sect Master Yun."
Those few words fell lightly, yet seemed to carry the weight of a thousand tons as they struck Yun Yun's heart. Her lovely face flushed faintly, and she turned away, not daring to meet those eyes that seemed able to see through everything.
"Of course, if you're unwilling, I could consider having her try the Chu Yun Empire..."
"No!"
Yun Yun abruptly looked up and shouted before she could stop herself. Then she came to her senses and pressed a hand to her forehead.
"All right..."
She said softly, "I agree. I'll accept Xiao Yi Xian into the Misty Cloud Sect and treat her as a core disciple, giving her priority in resources and cultivation methods."
She paused, then added, "When will you bring her for a visit? We can't merely put her name on the register, can we?"
"Another day." Wings formed through Dou Qi Transformation into Wings slowly unfurled behind Xiao Lin.
"Once I've dealt with the matters at hand, I'll bring her to the Misty Cloud Sect to pay a visit."
Yun Yun nodded gently, the corners of her lips lifting without her noticing.
Does this count as arranging our next meeting?
The thought quietly sprouted like a tender shoot in spring, bringing a faint, almost imperceptible joy to her heart.
She hastily lowered her eyes, concealing the anticipation she refused to admit even to herself.
"By the way, there's something I need to warn you about..."
Watching Xiao Lin's departing figure, Yun Yun's feelings were somewhat tangled, but his words immediately pulled her back.
Yun Yun froze, instinctively holding her breath.
"What is it?"
"Beware of Yun Shan."
"Yun Shan?"
Yun Yun's brows knitted tightly, confusion and incomprehension flashing in her eyes.
"He's the previous sect master of our Misty Cloud Sect. He's currently in seclusion, attempting to break through to Dou Zong... he's my master. Why would you..."
"In seclusion? Heh... he may no longer be the master you once knew."
Before you continue