Tianyan Sect, Pearl Peak.
Chu Xingchen propped his face up with one hand, lightly turning a message jade slip between his fingers.
Chen Baiqing's cultivation progress at Tianyan Sect had been astonishingly rapid. The sect could provide all the materials she needed for cultivation, and she had now reached the peak of the Golden Core realm.
Her foundation was already solid. What she needed to break through was the nurturing of her state of mind.
Bai Xuanling was leisurely sipping tea, his gaze naturally drifting toward Xie Lingyu's secluded cultivation quarters.
Xie Lingyu claimed not to care about the gap in cultivation, but her actions were far more honest than her words.
Her cultivation progress had long exceeded Bai Xuanling's expectations.
Bai Xuanling had even sought out Xie Lingyu several times to make sure she wasn't rushing toward a breakthrough for its own sake.
Xie Lingyu's answer had been straightforward—she wasn't a fool. She wouldn't drain the pond to catch all the fish. Going farther was more important than going faster.
Bai Xuanling had probed a bit and confirmed that Xie Lingyu's words were true.
If anything, her foundation had been built almost too solidly.
Xie Lingyu was never the type to give up on herself.
Bai Xuanling's lips curved slightly as he picked up the tea Chen Baiqing had brewed, his gaze lifting:
"Little Baiqing, your method of nurturing your mind is just brewing tea for your master by his side?"
Chen Baiqing raised her eyes to look back, shaking her head slightly as she spoke:
"Not exactly. It's just that being by Master's side puts my mind at ease."
Bai Xuanling's eyebrows rose slightly:
"Those two words—'at ease'—are indeed the key to one's state of mind."
Chu Xingchen set the jade slip down and let out a soft sigh.
Bai Xuanling glanced over. "What nonsense now?"
"My second disciple seems to have really had his eyes opened. Not only is his cultivation rising impressively, but his brain seems to be working a lot better too."
Chu Xingchen handed the jade slip to Bai Xuanling.
Bai Xuanling reached out to take it, speaking at the same time:
"If I recall correctly, Yan Yun has come out of seclusion. Some things should just be thrown to her to handle. If she doesn't get proper experience, how can she become the Tianyan Sect's sect master?"
Chu Xingchen raised an eyebrow slightly but didn't take the bait. For one simple reason: Bai Xuanling basically never talked about people behind their backs—he usually did it to their faces.
This time was no exception.
"I don't believe your divine sense didn't detect my arrival. Talking bad about me to my face is a bit much, isn't it?"
Yan Yun walked into the courtyard, raised her hand in greeting to Bai Xuanling, and continued:
"Besides, I've never wanted to be the Tianyan Sect's sect master."
Bai Xuanling read the jade slip's message while nodding in response:
"In that case, I'll nominate Chu Xingchen as the next Tianyan Sect master."
Chu Xingchen quickly stood and cupped his hands:
"I will certainly not disappoint Elder Bai's expectations. I will surely lead Tianyan Sect to glory. I happen to have a reform proposal to offer right now."
Bai Xuanling responded just as quickly:
"As expected of the candidate I favor. State your proposal."
Chu Xingchen straightened up, his expression calm:
"The first thing I'll do as sect master is strip Yan Yun of her current core disciple status and reassign her post to the Tianyan Sect mountain gate."
"She'll stand guard for twenty hours a day, so that discerning people from outside can witness the peerless elegance of our Tianyan Sect's supreme treasure, Yan Yun. This will awe the world's geniuses and draw them all to join our Tianyan Sect."
Bai Xuanling immediately slapped the table. "Truly an excellent proposal. I won't wait for you to be promoted to sect master—I'll bring this up at the next sect assembly and push for it to pass."
Yan Yun was somewhat speechless. Watching the two of them play off each other, she hadn't even spoken yet and her future had already been arranged for her. She stepped forward and said:
"However you put it, that usage doesn't sound like a supreme treasure at all. Besides, the sect isn't that short on gatekeepers."
Chu Xingchen gestured for Yan Yun to sit down first.
Chen Baiqing also picked up a fresh teacup, poured a cup of tea, and pushed it toward Yan Yun.
Bai Xuanling finished reading the jade slip's message, set it gently on the table, and spoke:
"I suppose you're mostly here because of the news from Yuzhou City."
Yan Yun nodded lightly. "There are unusual movements over there. It's unclear whether it's genuine evil cultivator activity or if the demon race is truly planning an ambush. Their exact strength is hard to gauge."
"What Fellow Daoist Chu discussed before isn't unworkable. But if we really make such a deployment and misjudge, we could easily lose the initiative—or even face a counterattack."
"If the demon race were all that incompetent, they wouldn't have developed such advanced concealment techniques."
"Of course, there's also the possibility that everything remains calm."
"If our speculation is correct, we'll need to deploy covertly in advance and strike a fatal blow."
"We could also choose to investigate thoroughly. After all, the advantage is ours—we only need to guard against them smashing a cracked pot in desperation."
Chu Xingchen was silent for a moment, then asked:
"If we investigate thoroughly, what's the probability that Yuzhou City gets caught in the crossfire?"
Yan Yun answered naturally:
"If you're asking, it's practically a certainty."
"Yuankong has already been in Yuzhou City for quite some time. If the demon race is truly lying in wait there, no one knows what level of preparations they've made across the entire city."
"If there really is upheaval, how could Yuzhou City, as the core, escape it?"
"Lately, demons and monsters have been running rampant in Yuzhou City. It seems like they're trying to force Yuankong to send you a letter requesting reinforcements."
"I also suspect it might be a demon ambush, though I can't be sure whether it's a feint to draw attention elsewhere."
Chu Xingchen nodded lightly:
"I understand. Let me think it over first, then we'll go to Tianyan Peak and discuss it properly together."
Yan Yun cupped her hands to Bai Xuanling once more in greeting:
"Then I won't disturb you further. I'll take my leave."
Bai Xuanling nodded in acknowledgment.
Yan Yun turned and left.
The scene returned to a degree of quiet.
Chen Baiqing lifted the teapot and refilled Chu Xingchen's tea slightly, pressing her lips together and holding back from speaking.
She naturally understood this master of hers.
When the situation was clear, her master could certainly be hard-hearted and wouldn't drag his feet over it.
But everyone has their flaws—and her master's was sometimes being overly soft-hearted.
Her master probably didn't want the people of Yuzhou City and Yuankong to be caught up in this because of him.
If Xu Jin were here, what he would do is raze Yuzhou City to the ground—demons, civilians, and Yuankong alike.
When her master said "let me think," it was more likely that he was planning to use himself as bait and shift the battlefield elsewhere.
Not discussing it here was probably because he didn't want her—a disciple preparing to break through a realm—to worry over it.
Chen Baiqing naturally didn't want her master taking unnecessary risks.
The demon race setting an ambush was the demon race's problem, not something her master had intentionally caused.
The responsibility for this should fall on the demon race, not her master.
As for Yuankong, a monk who had already received considerable favor from her master—by any measure, that should be enough.
But these words—
Chen Baiqing didn't know whether she should say them or not.
Her master had always done the right thing and had never made a mistake.
Her trust in her master and this unease were now intertwined in Chen Baiqing's heart.
Perhaps…
There was also the reason that Chen Baiqing didn't truly want to reveal the ruthless side of her heart for her master to see clearly.
If she did… she would be the opposite of her master, strangers incompatible as water and fire.
Chen Baiqing raised her eyes, saw the calm smile on her master's face, and he had already started chatting with Bai Xuanling again.
"Master," Chen Baiqing suddenly spoke.
Chu Xingchen's gaze turned toward her.
Chen Baiqing stood. "Baiqing would like to step out for a while."
"All right."
Having received his response, Chen Baiqing stood and walked outside.
By her master's side, she couldn't think this through clearly. She needed to leave his presence first.
Chen Baiqing headed toward the outside of Pearl Peak.
But as soon as she reached just outside Pearl Peak, she saw her second senior brother at a distance, seeming… to be specifically waiting for her.
Li Xingtian's expression was calm, his tone serious as he spoke:
"Third Junior Sister, Second Senior Brother has something to say to you."
Chen Baiqing found it slightly strange, but still approached her second senior brother.
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