The delicate scent of Tianji incense wafted up from the desk.

Yet again, it failed to calm her mind.

Ling Luo found herself turning her head repeatedly, trying to catch another glimpse of Yue Liangze. This caught the attention of Yu Xiu, who was patrolling the room, and he tapped her desk lightly with his jade flute.

Yu Xiu softly warned, “Hall Master Fan is watching you.”

Ling Luo finally restrained herself.

She held her pen but didn’t move, her brows furrowed slightly.

Why was Yue Liangze at the Eastern Isle Tianji, and how was he an outer disciple of the Tianyun Sect?

Wasn’t he the disciple of Guanci Immortal Head?

A prodigy who had burst onto the scene at the Jinluan Banquet, shocking the entire cultivation world by single-handedly drawing the Zhenxian Jade Sword and defeating her?

The number one sword cultivator, who reached the Trancending Realm at just twenty, venerated by thousands as the Sword Saint.

And yet… here he was, a Tianyun Sect outer disciple being kicked around while carrying wine jars?

Ling Luo’s expression turned strange. She wanted nothing more than to storm out of the hall, grab the boy by the collar, and take a closer look to confirm.

If she hadn’t seen him up close earlier, she might have dismissed this as a case of the same name.

But when their eyes met, the boy’s features were identical to the grown Yue Liangze she remembered.

Especially those eyes.

Calm as a still lake yet brimming with unspoken depth.

Ling Luo gripped her pen tightly, her fingertips turning pale.

The subtle scent of incense brought her back to reality.

She had to figure out what was going on.

Resolving herself, Ling Luo began to focus on answering her exam scroll.

---

By sunset, the incense in the hall had burned out.

Hall Master Fan announced loudly, “Pens down! Today’s round of exams is over. You may leave.”

Ling Luo was the first to stand.

The movement startled Yu Xiu, who was preparing to collect the scrolls.

Ling Luo didn’t even glance at him as she strode out of the hall.

Curious, Yu Xiu glanced after her.

“Ling Luo!” Qin Yuan called softly, chasing after her and blocking Yu Xiu’s view.

The crowd began to filter out of the hall. Everyone wore the same sect uniform, but Ling Luo’s eyes remained fixed on Yue Liangze’s retreating figure.

Outside the hall, the atmosphere turned lively as disciples started chatting, and the terrain opened up.

“Ling Luo?” Qin Yuan, searching for her outside, looked around in confusion. Scratching her head, she wondered aloud, “Where did she go?”

Ling Luo had already followed Yue Liangze into the distance.

---

Yue Liangze took a path away from the bustling crowd, heading toward a quiet area.

Ling Luo, unfamiliar with the layout of the Tianji outer sect, tread carefully. Even now, she couldn’t shake the impression that Yue Liangze was the Sword Saint, so she kept her distance while tailing him.

He approached the Discipline Hall.

This place was usually frequented by disciples being punished by their respected masters or elders.

Yue Liangze walked in silently.

Ling Luo: “…”

She didn’t follow him inside, opting to wait outside in secret.

About half an hour later, Yue Liangze emerged.

He looked no different from when he went in. She couldn’t tell what he had been doing.

Ling Luo resumed her pursuit.

Next, Yue Liangze headed to the kitchen of the evening dining hall.

Ling Luo climbed a pear blossom tree outside the courtyard wall, hiding among the branches to observe.

Inside, Yue Liangze was sweeping the kitchen floor.

Ling Luo frowned. As an outer sect disciple, he wasn’t a servant.

Why wasn’t he cultivating and instead doing chores?

She couldn’t understand.

But what happened next baffled her even more.

The same inner disciples who had kicked Yue Liangze earlier that day emerged from the kitchen, each carrying a small jar of wine. They had already opened them, and the aroma filled the air.

“Hey, did you take the punishment for us at the Discipline Hall today?” Hong Mao teased with a smirk.

Yue Liangze kept sweeping, answering quietly, “Yes.”

“Good. You’re truly our good junior brother,” Hong Mao mocked. He went back inside to grab a cup, filled it with wine, and splashed it at Yue Liangze. “A reward from your senior brother.”

The cup shattered at Yue Liangze’s feet, splashing some wine onto his shoes.

The others burst out laughing. “What are you waiting for? Hurry up and thank your senior brother!”

Yue Liangze remained neither servile nor arrogant. “Thank you, senior brother.”

Ling Luo was stunned.

Her temple throbbed, and her eyes widened as she stared at the scene.

This? This? She kept questioning herself internally. This is Yue Liangze?

It must be someone with the same name!

It must be!

After teasing the others, Hong Mao said before leaving, “Your senior brother Yin Wen was also punished today. Remember to kneel on his behalf tomorrow as well.”

Yue Liangze didn’t respond.

Yin Wen barked, “Did you hear that? Or are you unwilling?”

Only then did Yue Liangze reply, “Understood.”

“Good. Now hurry up and clean this place, then bring me three stacks of crispy fragrant biscuits later.” Hong Mao and his group turned and left.

Lingluo, watching from the sidelines, had the urge to kick Yue Liangze to wake him up.

What was he doing?

He was supposed to be the future strongest sword cultivator of the immortal realm, the beloved disciple of that eccentric master, and the revered Sword Saint admired by disciples and cultivator across the sects!

And here he was, letting a few weaklings—who hadn’t even broken through the Life and Death stage—boss him around and forcing him to kneel at the Discipline Hall as punishment?

She clenched her teeth in frustration, thinking, Unbelievable!

Why don’t I get this kind of treatment? Why do these useless nobodies get to order you around?

Back then, even to make you do something, I had to coax and deceive you. Why should they have it so easy?

Seething with anger, Lingluo descended from the tree, yanking at a flowering branch in frustration and shaking down a rain of petals.

Yue Liangze, standing below the courtyard wall, noticed the fluttering flower petals and glanced upward, momentarily dazed.

It seemed even the heavens were against him.

The ground he had just swept clean was now littered with flowers again, requiring another round of cleaning.

Lingluo kept watching him.

She saw Yue Liangze finish cleaning up, deliver snacks to Hong Mao and the others on night patrol, and run errands for them until nightfall, before they finally let him go.

She thought he’d head back to the dormitory at the foot of the mountain, but instead, Yue Liangze took a different path, walking toward the remote Medicine Hall.

The area around the Medicine Hall was filled with a bitter smell, so few people visited.

Yue Liangze didn’t enter the hall but took a winding path around it, heading to a secluded courtyard surrounded by flowering Chinese crabapple trees at the back of the mountain.

He lives in such a remote spot? Not even in the dormitory?

Lingluo was full of questions.

Yue Liangze stopped by the courtyard, lighting the stone lamps along the path to illuminate the surroundings.

The courtyard was exquisitely arranged, with flowering vines, grape arbors, and a small vegetable patch. A sieve nearby held sun-dried fruits, and several rings of dried persimmons hung by the kitchen door.

Lingluo observed it all, unsurprised. It was typical of him.

She knew Yue Liangze had a peculiar quirk—he only ate food he prepared himself.

Back when she had trapped him in Tianzhao Mountain, she had sent her spirit demons to deliver meals to him regularly, only to learn he hadn’t touched any of it, surviving solely on his spiritual energy for half a month.

When she heard about this from the spirit demons, she thought the man would starve to death.

But when she went to check, she found Yue Liangze still holding on with his profound spiritual strength.

She had propped her chin on her hand, laughing as she teased him, “What’s the point of being so stubborn? The food isn’t poisoned.”

Yue Liangze had merely cast her a silent glance and replied, “I’ll make my own.”

“Fine,” she had chuckled mockingly. “Let’s see what kind of cooking the number one swordsman can do.”

Her sarcasm didn’t anger him.

As it turned out, the number one swordsman was quite the cook.

During the time they spent together, Lingluo found herself enjoying only the meals prepared by Yue Liangze.

The creak of the door brought her back to the present.

She looked ahead and saw Yue Liangze enter the kitchen. The light inside illuminated his silhouette on the window, moving as he worked.

Smoke curled upward, and the sound of chopping vegetables mingled with the chirping of crickets in the night.

Lingluo pursed her lips. After being bullied, he still had to cook his own meal. What a wooden-headed fool with no temper!

She squatted outside the house, occasionally catching whiffs of the food’s aroma that made her stomach growl faintly.

Lingluo: “…”

She had skipped dinner to tail Yue Liangze, leaving her stomach empty.

In her past life, she would have barged in to snatch a bite. But now, all she could do was grumble inwardly as she slunk off to the evening dining hall to steal a few cold pastries to eat.

That night, Lingluo dreamed.

In the courtyard behind the kitchen, she smashed a wine cup at Yue Liangze’s feet as he swept the ground, shouting imperiously, “Stop sweeping!”

Yue Liangze didn’t even glance at her, continuing to sweep in silence.

Enraged, she threw another cup. “Yue Liangze! I said stop sweeping!”

Still, he ignored her.

She smashed cup after cup, yet Yue Liangze remained silent, calmly sweeping. Furious, she lunged at him, grabbing at his robe to give him a beating, only to clutch at empty air.

The boy dissipated like petals scattering in the wind.

She woke up with a start.

Bright sunlight streamed through the window.

Outside, Qin Yuan’s energetic voice called out, “Lingluo! Get up, it’s time for morning class!”

Ugh. Morning class again.

Lingluo rubbed her eyes, got up, and went outside.

“Where did you go last night?” Qin Yuan asked. “I looked everywhere but couldn’t find you.”

“Just wandering around,” Lingluo answered vaguely.

“Today is the third day of the entry exam. Are you confident about the written test this afternoon?” Qin Yuan said with a worried look. “I’m so anxious. The senior sisters said the written tests get harder as they go on, and I could already feel it yesterday.”

Ling Luo listened absentmindedly, her thoughts still lingering on Yue Liangze.

The two went to the late dining hall for a meal and brushed past Yue Liangze as he was coming out.

Ling Luo paused and whispered to Qin Yuan, “Do you know that person?”

“Hmm?” Qin Yuan followed her gaze. “Oh, I know him. That’s Senior Brother Yue.”

“…Senior Brother?” Ling Luo swallowed hard, incredulous.

Qin Yuan nodded. “Yes! He joined two years before us, so he’s definitely our senior brother.”

Two years earlier?

Yue Liangze was actually her senior brother!

Ling Luo was deeply shocked.

Back when she was in the outer sect, she hadn’t paid attention to her surroundings, so it was understandable that she didn’t know.

But how could no one mention later that Yue Liangze, famed for his swordsmanship, had once been a disciple of Tianji Sect on Dong Island?

The world only knew him as the disciple of Guai Ci from the Sacred Sword Sect.

No wonder he had stopped her from destroying Tianji Sect years ago. It must have been out of loyalty to his former sect.

But wait, considering how he suffered yesterday, loyalty to the sect seemed unlikely!

Ling Luo’s mind churned with sarcastic thoughts.

During the morning lessons, she glanced around the practice hall but didn’t see Yue Liangze.

What? Even as an outer sect disciple, he didn’t attend the morning lessons?

That afternoon marked the start of the third day of the written tests.

This time, Yue Liangze showed up.

After the written test ended, Ling Luo quietly followed him, observing from the shadows.

That day, he went to the Discipline Hall again to take punishment on behalf of Senior Brother Hong Mao and a few others.

This time, he was there longer, only emerging after an hour. Although his appearance was calm, Ling Luo caught the faint scent of blood.

Today’s punishment wasn’t just kneeling—it drew blood.

After leaving the Discipline Hall, Yue Liangze was sent by Senior Brother Hong Mao to do chores.

After completing those, he went to the late dining hall to wash dishes, and only then returned to the Medicine Pavilion at the back of the mountain to prepare dinner.

For the past few days, Ling Luo had done nothing but observe Yue Liangze.

She was convinced he was pretending, playing the weak to hide his strength. With his talent and abilities, how could he endure such bullying?

He must be biding his time.

Ling Luo thought, I’ll wait and see how long you can keep this up.

On the morning of the sixth day of the inner sect entry exams, the results of the first five days of written tests were announced.

In front of the Three Trials Hall, a public ranking board displayed the results of all participants.

While Ling Luo searched for Yue Liangze’s name, she overheard people nearby exclaiming, “Ling Luo? Who’s Ling Luo? She got full marks and ranked first!”

“It says she’s from Tianyun Sect.”

A disciple from Tianyun Sect scratched his head in confusion. “I’m from Tianyun Sect, but I don’t recognize the name?”

Qin Yuan stood nearby, covering her mouth as she laughed.

Ling Luo finally found Yue Liangze’s name.

He ranked 30th—just enough to qualify for the inner sect.

Given that he didn’t even attend the morning practice sessions, Ling Luo had assumed his written test scores would be terrible. Now it was clear he had been holding back deliberately.

Ling Luo couldn’t resist looking for Yue Liangze to see his reaction.

After some searching, she spotted Hong Mao and his group near the ranking board. Her heart sank as she discreetly followed them.

As she approached, she saw Hong Mao gripping Yue Liangze’s collar in a corner of the steps outside the hall, shouting, “You brat! You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”

Before the words settled, Hong Mao punched Yue Liangze in the face, the force of the blow knocking him to the ground.

Two or three outer sect disciples stood nearby. They were Senior Brother Xiu Man’s close companions.

Fuming with rage, Xiu Man kicked Yue Liangze viciously. “Last year, you didn’t even take the exam. You don’t normally train, but this time, you just had to take the test and push me out of the rankings. You’re deliberately messing with me!”

“Junior Brother, you seem honest, but you sure know how to play dirty,” sneered Yin Wen, watching coldly as Yue Liangze was beaten. “You knew we were aiming to secure Xiu Man’s spot, but you went ahead and bumped him off. Isn’t that right?”

Yue Liangze said nothing. Hong Mao, seething with anger, kicked him hard in the stomach. “Answer me!”

Xiu Man followed with another kick. “The senior brother is talking to you!”

Yue Liangze curled into himself, shielding his head as he endured the beating.

Ling Luo had always thought he was pretending, waiting for the right moment to act.

But haven’t you been tolerating this for too long?

Why aren’t you fighting back?

Why are you letting these nobodies beat and kick you?

“Ling Luo!” Qin Yuan, having found her, ran over. She froze in shock at the scene before her, covering her mouth.

The group was so engrossed in their rage that they didn’t notice Yu Xiu and Hall Master Fan emerge from the corner of the steps above them.

“Yue Liangze, say something! Are you mute?” Xiu Man grabbed his collar again, raising his fist to strike. “I won’t let this go!”

Outrageous!

Unbearable!

Since it was a martial arts test day, Ling Luo had brought her sword. With a simple sword gesture, her blade unsheathed, emitting a dangerous hum as it slashed toward Hong Mao’s group.

Above the steps, Yu Xiu, holding a jade flute and pointing at the crowd, stopped mid-motion.

The sharp whistle of the sword startled Hong Mao’s group, who scrambled back in fear, collapsing in a heap as they stared at the girl walking toward Yue Liangze.

The sword’s hilt knocked Xiu Man away from Yue Liangze before flying upward and landing in Ling Luo’s hand.

Pointing the sword at the boy on the ground, she declared crisply, “Draw your sword.”