Li Buqi's peach blossom eyes narrowed slightly.
He had figured it out now; this little girl's mouth was coated in sugar, but underneath, it was all knives.
“Sharp-tongued, aren't you? Arrogant for someone who's only at the third level of Qi Condensation.”
Xue Mingzhao met his gaze with a smile, her tone innocent.
“How could the third level of Qi Condensation ever compare to you, Senior Brother? By the way, how long did it take you to go from drawing Qi into your body to the third level of Qi Condensation?”
Li Buqi's back molars clenched. It had taken him seven months.
“I can't be bothered to argue with you,” he said, shifting the topic. “Let's talk business. The Qingyu Mystic Realm is opening next month. For your sake and that new Sixth Junior Brother of yours, I plan to personally take you two out to gain experience.”
He spoke with absolute righteousness. “Go tell the old man. Don't worry about it being too much trouble for me. It's all for the sect.”
Xue Mingzhao didn't believe for a second that this Third Senior Brother, who had started sniping at her the moment they met, could be so kind-hearted.
But she couldn't figure out what he was up to for the moment, so she replied politely, “Everything must be arranged by Master, but I will pass along your message, Senior Brother.”
“Pass it along?” Li Buqi raised an eyebrow and, without another word, reached out to grab her. “No need for all that trouble. You're coming with me to see the old man right now.”
“I haven't finished reading yet—hey—”
Before she could finish her sentence, Li Buqi dragged her away.
A flying sword shot into the air, forcing a mouthful of wind down Xue Mingzhao's throat.
Arriving at Cloud Listening Peak, Li Buqi swaggered in and sat right in front of Su Mingyuan, looking as relaxed as if he had returned to his own bedroom.
“Old man, the Qingyu Mystic Realm next month is a great place to gain experience. Since those four unreliable ones aren't around, let me, your highly responsible Third Senior Brother, personally take Junior Brother and Junior Sister out to broaden their horizons.”
Su Mingyuan didn't even lift his eyelids. “No need. I will take them myself.”
“Old man, I'm trying to help you share the burden out of the goodness of my heart! Don't be ungrateful!”
Su Mingyuan finally opened his eyes and cast a leisurely glance at him. “Don't think I don't know what you're up to. Before you reach Nascent Soul, there is no way I will let you leave the mountain.”
These words seemed to trigger a switch. Li Buqi sprang to his feet, the laziness on his face instantly swept away by fury.
“In a godforsaken place like the Grand Primordium Sect, where the spiritual energy is as thin as plain water, when am I ever going to reach Nascent Soul! I think you're doing this on purpose!”
Su Mingyuan unhurriedly took a sip of tea. “Didn't I set up a Spirit Gathering Formation for you? You don't work hard yourself, yet you blame others.”
The more Li Buqi spoke, the angrier he became. He pointed at the main pillar of the grand hall and threatened, “I'm going to formally request to leave the sect! Let me down the mountain!”
Su Mingyuan lifted his teacup and blew on it, his tone completely steady. “If you want to leave the sect, fine. If you can beat me in a fight, I'll let you go.”
Li Buqi's finger trembled as he pointed at him for a long while. Then, he whipped his sleeve in frustration and turned to leave.
He didn't forget to turn back and shout at the doorway, “You old codger just can't bear to see me do well! Just you wait until the day I cultivate to Soul Transformation! I'll tear down this Cloud Listening Peak hall of yours!”
The thumping of his footsteps faded into the distance.
Xue Mingzhao watched her Third Senior Brother leave in a righteous huff, then turned to look at Su Mingyuan, who was calmly drinking tea. She couldn't help but ask, “Master, has he always been so... well, unique?”
Su Mingyuan blew on the tea foam, his tone tinged with the helplessness of wishing iron could turn into steel. “He's been like this since he was a child. He has excellent talent, but he just won't cultivate properly. Instead, he spends his days teasing cats and chasing dogs, throwing a tantrum to go down the mountain whenever things don't go his way.”
Xue Mingzhao nodded, thinking that with Third Senior Brother's personality, if he actually went down the mountain, he would probably offend someone and get beaten up on his very first day.
“Why does Third Senior Brother want to go down the mountain so badly?”
Su Mingyuan fell silent for a moment and didn't answer directly. Instead, he gave a solemn warning, “In short, no matter what reason he uses to trick you into taking him down the mountain, ignore him.”
Xue Mingzhao nodded, her mind already automatically cooking up a dramatic scenario.
Could it be that Third Senior Brother had a lover down the mountain, and Master was playing the villain by breaking them up?
The more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. Otherwise, why would he avoid cultivation and desperately try to run down the mountain every single day?
Seeing her eyes darting around, Su Mingyuan knew this girl was cooking up stories about her Third Senior Brother again.
He cleared his throat helplessly and brought the topic back. “Make sure you don't copy him. Tomorrow, you and Su Ye come over together. I'll teach you a few practical, ultimate techniques that will come in handy for both fighting and saving your lives.”
Xue Mingzhao nodded vigorously, already filled with anticipation.
The ultimate techniques Master mentioned had to be powerful methods that would allow them to turn the tables on stronger opponents, right?
The next morning, she realized she had overthought it.
Su Mingyuan had them stand in place to watch as he personally demonstrated.
The spiritual energy around his body surged, and he transformed into a dazzling streak of light, shooting forward like a meteor.
Xue Mingzhao and Su Ye both looked in the direction of the light.
There was nothing there.
He was gone!
Then, Su Mingyuan's voice came from behind them. “This is the unique technique left behind by your Grandmaster—the Flowing Light Shadow.”
He brushed non-existent dust off his sleeves and explained unhurriedly, “You use spiritual energy to condense a beam of light and shoot it in one direction. Your enemy will instinctively lock onto that light and chase after it.
“At the exact moment the light bursts, the actual caster has already fled in the complete opposite direction, or some other way.”
After listening, Su Ye nodded honestly. “Isn't this just running away?”
Su Mingyuan cleared his throat. “My disciple, the cultivation world is treacherous. I can't just let you jump into fire pits when you know they're there, sending yourselves to your deaths by fighting head-on. Your master is doing this out of deep care—”
Before he could finish, Xue Mingzhao praised in admiration, “Brilliant! Avoiding the enemy's edge to preserve one's strength—this is the true long-term strategy. As expected of Grandmaster!”
Su Mingyuan was taken aback. He looked at her with some hesitation. “Mingzhao, don't you think this is being a coward and admitting defeat without a fight?”
He lowered his eyes, as if recalling some unpleasant past event, and his tone grew heavier.
“In the past, people mocked our Grand Primordium Sect for being underhanded, running away with our tails between our legs without even exchanging blows.
“They called us cowards who are afraid of death, unworthy of cultivating the Dao of longevity. They said we don't even know how to write the word 'Dao' and are only fit to grovel in the mud.”
Hearing this, Xue Mingzhao put away her playful grin and looked at Su Mingyuan seriously. “Master, if you can successfully escape, then this isn't fleeing.
“It is making the opponent lose the very purpose of attacking.
“They can't catch you, they can't hit you, and their own momentum will collapse on its own.
“This is what it truly means to win without fighting.”
Su Mingyuan's gaze flickered. “Do you really think so?”
“The Great Dao has three thousand paths, and they are not limited to brute force,” Xue Mingzhao said word by word. “This retreat is like drifting clouds avoiding stones, or flowing water winding around a mountain. It looks like a sign of weakness, but at its core, it secretly aligns with the profound truth of 'winning through non-contention.'
“The physical body is the vessel that carries the Dao. If you destroy your foundation for a moment of pride, how can you ever seek longevity, no matter how grand your aspirations are?
“Giving up temporary bravery today is for the sake of riding the wind and breaking the waves tomorrow. This is the true wisdom of preserving the Dao!”
If the Flowing Light Shadow had consciousness, it would probably be crying tears of gratitude right now.
Having been ridiculed for so many years as a “fleeing technique” and a “coward's method,” someone had finally vindicated it today!
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