Chapter 6

“Little Martial Uncle? Chu Xuanqing!”

“She’s actually Chu Xuanqing’s Dao Companion?”

“No way, how could Little Martial Uncle possibly fancy someone at mere Foundation Establishment level?”

“Wait, it seems to be true. I recognize this senior brother—he’s Bai Yang of the Chu Heaven Sword, an inner disciple of Celestial Pivot Peak!”

“To have an inner disciple personally escort her…”

The disciples exchanged glances, understanding dawning on them.

Someone—perhaps the class monitor—took the lead. The same disciples who had just been arrogantly suspicious of Ming Yan being a demon now bowed respectfully:

“Greetings, Little Martial Aunt—”

Ming Yan set aside her awkwardness, feeling slightly smug. “We’re all fellow disciples now. Just call me Ming Yan.”

The disciples looked at each other in bewilderment.

Ming Yan observed their reactions.

So this is the benefit of having powerful backing?

How exhilarating!

The same disciples who had sided with the female lead and threatened her with the Demon-Slaying Whip were now addressing her as “Little Martial Aunt” with utmost respect, not daring to mention the word “demon.” No wonder so many in the cultivation world sought powerful partners as Dao Companions.

Of course, currently, none of their backings could compare to hers. After all, a Tribulation Transcendence Stage grand completion cultivator was exceedingly rare in the entire cultivation world.

In the entire Profound Sky Sect, only her husband had achieved this.

However… Ming Yan couldn’t let her guard down.

She recalled from the novel that Mu Qingqing was bold yet meticulous—seemingly careless but actually sharp-eyed, especially ruthless toward demons. Now that Mu Qingqing had caught a whiff of demonic aura from her, even though Ming Yan had used her status as “Little Martial Aunt” to suppress her, Mu Qingqing might not have truly abandoned her suspicions.

Add to that the male lead, who was particularly troublesome and underhanded in his methods.

Ming Yan was actually regretting coming to Jade Balance Peak.

Wouldn’t it have been better to stay comfortably at Celestial Pivot Peak as the Little Martial Aunt?

Why did she have to come here and suffer?

But now, Bai Yang, who had escorted her, had already left, and the teacher had begun lecturing.

If she tried to leave now, it would surely arouse Mu Qingqing’s suspicions.

“Sigh.”

Ming Yan sighed inwardly.

Life isn’t easy, and even beauties sigh.

For now, she’d just have to tough it out.

After all, knowing she was Chu Xuanqing’s Dao Companion, Mu Qingqing wouldn’t dare act recklessly.

After the brief interlude, the teacher resumed the lesson.

Ming Yan sat in the farthest corner of the classroom, propping her chin on her hand, idly counting strands of hair.

Her public cultivation level was Foundation Establishment, but her true level was Spirit Transformation. Thus, the teacher’s lecture held no significance for her. Moreover, Ming Yan had long realized that traditional cultivation methods didn’t suit her, so she had even less interest in listening.

Fortunately, she was experienced in zoning out during class and did so with ease.

She didn’t particularly mind it either.

She pondered how to reasonably deliver the cultivation manual to Chu Xuanqing during his fifteen days in Heartbreak Cave.

It had to seem natural, not deliberate—certainly not something she could do herself.

After all, Chu Xuanqing’s cultivation far surpassed hers. Any attempt at subterfuge would be detected by his spiritual sense.

Perhaps… she could use the Micro-Sculpting Technique to engrave the manual onto grains of rice?

“Little Martial Aunt, Little Martial Aunt…”

Someone gently tugged at Ming Yan’s sleeve, whispering beside her.

Ming Yan snapped out of her thoughts and saw it was the male disciple who had earlier called her a fox spirit.

The male disciple blushed deeply when his gaze met hers, his youthful face flushing crimson. “Junior Martial Aunt, it’s your turn to answer the question.”

Ming Yan: “What was the question?”

The male disciple: “…”

“I advise certain disciples not to disregard discipline just because they have connections,” the teacher said, glancing at Ming Yan with evident dissatisfaction.

Ming Yan wasn’t bothered. After all, what teacher would be satisfied with a student who didn’t pay attention in class? Though she had backing and wasn’t keen on listening, she wasn’t the type to disrupt class either. So she asked, “Teacher, I didn’t catch the question just now. Could you please repeat it?”

As soon as she spoke, the expressions of the disciples in the classroom varied. The purple-robed female disciple who had clashed with her earlier even let out a quiet scoff.

“Hah, repeating it—what good would that do?”

She had been observing Ming Yan closely, curious about the origins of this so-called Junior Martial Aunt of Celestial Pivot Peak. Unfortunately, from start to finish, Ming Yan had been dozing off absentmindedly. The purple-robed disciple had little patience for female disciples who relied solely on their Dao Companions without putting in any effort themselves.

Of course, the teacher wouldn’t stoop to the disciples’ level. Since Ming Yan claimed she hadn’t heard the question, the teacher patiently repeated it, giving her another chance.

Ming Yan realized it was actually a multiple-choice question:

“In the 537th year of the Cultivation Calendar, the continent split, and three great nations stood in a tripartite balance. One of them was called Eastern Li. The ruler of Eastern Li once used his lifespan as an offering to divine the nation’s fate. Do you know which of the following was the result of that divination?”

“Option one: Eastern Li would fall within three hundred years. Option two: Eastern Li would forever maintain its prosperity. Option three: A divine dragon would appear, and Eastern Li would first descend into chaos before uniting and becoming the leader of the three nations. Option four: Eastern Li’s downfall would come at the hands of demons.”

Without hesitation, Ming Yan said, “I choose three.”

The teacher was slightly surprised.

She got it right?

This question involved rather obscure knowledge. Even a high-level cultivator unfamiliar with the history of the Cultivation world wouldn’t have been able to answer it correctly. Ming Yan seemed young and was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, yet she answered correctly. This made the teacher view her in a new light.

It seemed appearances could be deceiving.

The teacher nodded approvingly. “Well done. It seems you have a solid grasp of the Cultivation world’s history.”

Ming Yan smiled. “Thank you, Teacher.”

In truth, she had no idea.

She had simply followed the modern slacker’s secret mantra: “When three options are short and one is long, pick the longest; when three are long and one is short, pick the shortest.” Who would have thought she’d actually guessed right?

Ming Yan sat back down gracefully.

Little did she know that in that brief moment, her reputation had shifted once more.

When she first entered, Mu Qingqing had suspected her of being a monster, and the others had distrusted and ostracized her. Later, Bai Yang revealed her true identity. Though they no longer doubted her and even showed her surface-level respect, many secretly believed she was nothing more than a pretty face who relied on her Dao Companion to throw her weight around.

Now that she had answered this difficult question correctly, many disciples had to admit to themselves that they might not have gotten it right either. Their opinion of her improved slightly.

Of course, those who disliked her still did.

Take the purple-robed female disciple, for instance.

She was convinced Ming Yan had only stumbled upon the correct answer by chance.

Had she known Ming Yan had relied on the “three short, one long” trick to blunder her way to the right answer, her anger would have known no bounds.

The purple-robed disciple’s seat was right next to Mu Qingqing’s.

While everyone else was praising Ming Yan, she decided to go against the grain: “I think this little shiniang is rather odd. She might have some ulterior motives, possibly related to demons.”

Mu Qingqing glanced at Ming Yan.

Earlier, she had indeed caught a whiff of demon qi from her.

But that demon qi had only flickered briefly, not lingering for long.

In such cases, it either meant this little shiniang was a high-level demon far surpassing her own cultivation, or her nose had simply malfunctioned.

Yet since the age of eight, after rigorous training from her father, her nose had never once been wrong.

The second lesson was held outdoors.

The focus was on movement techniques.

It wasn’t until Ming Yan arrived in the cultivation world that she realized cultivation wasn’t as simple as depicted in books—where one could sit under a tree for a month and suddenly achieve enlightenment and breakthroughs.

At least for the ordinary sword cultivators of the Profound Sky Sect, movement techniques, mind techniques, and swordplay were all indispensable.

Movement techniques were the foundation.

Ming Yan was indeed somewhat lacking in this area.

So she set aside some of her usual nonchalance and made an effort to learn a little.

What she didn’t expect was that the instructor for the movement techniques class would be Bai Yang.

How could this kid, merely at the Nascent Soul Stage, qualify as an instructor?

Bai Yang explained the situation.

The original instructor had left the sect on a mission.

As a direct disciple, Bai Yang was temporarily filling in.

This brought up the hierarchical system of disciples within the Profound Sky Sect.

Beyond the distinction between inner and outer sect disciples, there were higher-ranking ones like Bai Yang—direct disciples. These disciples typically had formal masters, such as Peak Lords or Elders, who personally guided them.

Bai Yang was Elder Su’s direct disciple.

As for Chu Xuanqing, as far as Ming Yan knew, he had no direct disciples.

Direct disciples did possess some genuine skills.

With just one demonstration, Bai Yang stunned all the novices, who crowded around him, calling him “Teacher Bai” incessantly, claiming they had never seen such elegant and beautiful movement techniques and begging him to teach them.

However, Ming Yan, as the shiniang, naturally refused to follow the crowd. While the other disciples swarmed Bai Yang, she stood in a corner, openly slacking off.

She didn’t seek trouble, but trouble sought her out.

Mu Qingqing approached her at some point and greeted her proactively:

“Little shiniang, this disciple is Mu Qingqing, descendant of the demon-hunting Mu family. I apologize for my earlier rudeness.”

“No worries, I don’t mind,” Ming Yan replied with a smile, though she had already discreetly readied several hidden weapons in her hand.

She had already decided—if Mu Qingqing recklessly tried to strike her, she wouldn’t hesitate to fight back.

Spirit Transformation against Golden Core—let’s see who hits the ground first.

But Mu Qingqing, this young woman, didn’t play by the rules. She opted for courtesy before hostility.

With a faint smile and a respectful tone, she said, “However, little shiniang, this disciple still has some concerns. Of course, I’m not suggesting you’re a demon, but it’s possible a cunning little demon has attached itself to you.”

Ming Yan’s alarm bells rang loudly: “What do you want to do?”

Mu Qingqing had already drawn her Demon-Slaying Whip, cracking it through the air—

*Snap!*

The air trembled.

“Little shiniang may not know, but this Demon-Slaying Whip of mine is quite sentient. It only harms demons, not humans. If you don’t mind, I’d like to test it on you.”

Mu Qingqing said solemnly.

Ming Yan: “I mind.”

Damn right she minded.

Never mind the risk of being forced to reveal her true form—even if she weren’t afraid of that.

Who could stand being whipped out of the blue?  

The most beloved little fairy of the Profound Sky Sect still has her pride to uphold!  

As Ming Yan’s voice faded, a sudden gale swept through the area, stirring up dust and gravel from the ground. Dark clouds rolled in, and even the sky and earth seemed to change color.  

The tiny gravel particles, hidden in the dirt, flew straight at her face, making it impossible to keep her eyes open.  

“Not good.”  

Ming Yan’s heart sank.  

This must be the male lead’s spell—he was creating a diversion for the female lead, allowing her to test Ming Yan amidst the chaos.  

Though the female lead was upright and kind-hearted, nearly everyone in her family had died at the hands of demons. So whenever she encountered one, she fought with bloodlust.  

Sure enough, when Ming Yan focused her gaze, she saw the golden glow of the Demon-Slaying Whip approaching her through the Gravel Array.  

Ming Yan bit her lip, her well-maintained right hand already reaching toward the top of her head.  

If Mu Qingqing wanted a fight, then she would fight. At worst, she’d go all out. She hadn’t spent all these years in the Cultivation World for nothing.  

But just then—  

Another sudden change occurred.  

A streak of white light flashed across the sky, and in the next instant, the overwhelmingly oppressive Gravel Array was shattered by an unknown force. The gravel clattered to the ground, and Ming Yan regained her vision.  

At the same time, the golden Demon-Slaying Whip was caught barehanded, stopping just an inch away from Ming Yan.  

“Husband?”  

Recognizing the newcomer, Ming Yan was nearly moved to tears of joy.