Gu Ningyun looked at Jiang Yao’s thin, silent back.
Jiang Yao didn't say anything more, but she could vaguely guess his current state of mind.
This companion of hers appeared to be a tough youth with a spear in hand, but inside, he possessed a soft heart.
Although he had been subjected to the emperor's relentless persecution due to the tragedy that befell his family...
At his core, he was a child of a military lineage, carrying kindness and integrity in his very bones.
Even after experiencing such great ups and downs and suffering through so much hardship, his character had not shifted.
He still—always—looked at this world through a lens of goodwill.
There were five of them in Ruiyu Pavilion.
She wouldn't even mention herself.
Wen Xuan was bold and free-spirited, with a carefree personality.
Nothing could make her cry, and no setback could ever knock her down.
She was as unyielding as her artifact, the mace.
Mu Chenze was like a young master tainted by the habits of a great family; even with the sea breeze blowing so hard, he still held a fan, fanning himself whether he was standing or sitting.
But if they encountered trouble, he was the steadiest and most calm member of their team.
He was always able to calmly use the things he had learned in his clan to analyze the current situation.
Whenever they encountered things they didn't understand, Mu Chenze was usually the one to explain them.
Jun Luo was upright and followed etiquette; every move he made looked as though it were disciplined by a ruler.
When saluting seniors, the height of his arms, the angle of his head, and the curve of his waist were all beyond reproach.
Though he was a man of few words, he was always willing to relax a little around the four of them.
Unintentionally, his eyes would soften, he would say a few more words, and he would offer a few more faint smiles.
But no matter what kind of personalities those three had, their hearts were always strong and rational.
Only Jiang Yao had a heart that was exceptionally soft, meticulous, and prone to empathy.
Normally, he was warm and sunny, like a lively and soft golden retriever.
Before the competition, the five of them had shared resources.
Whether it was her or the other three companions, they had brought out the talismans they usually drew, the pills they refined, or the arrays they carved.
Jiang Yao was different; he had specifically refined the most suitable artifacts based on each person's characteristics.
Since she and Jun Luo used swords, Jiang Yao had prepared sword tassels for them to protect their wrists.
Wen Xuan’s mace was better suited for long-range attacks, making her vulnerable in close combat.
So, Jiang Yao had prepared a bracelet for her that would trigger a shield as soon as an enemy got close.
Mu Chenze’s folding fan was for long-range control, which carried the risk of his control being severed by others.
For him, Jiang Yao had prepared a pair of armguards as backup artifacts.
When they left the sect for their training and saw the desiccated corpses in the village drained by skeletons, Jiang Yao was the one whose emotions fluctuated the most.
After defeating the skeletons, his first thought was to bury the people of Little Stone Village.
Along this journey, they had left the Peach Blossom Spring that was Xiaoyao and the peaceful Yunzhou governed by it.
Jiang Yao had originally intended to embrace this cultivation world with the greatest kindness and the sunniest attitude.
He had emerged from the mire and gained a new life in Xiaoyao, untainted by sludge and unstained by dust.
But reality was often cruel.
The cultivation world is vast; there is more to it than just Xiaoyao and Yunzhou, and even more than the Five Continents and Four Seas.
He would always have to—time and time again—face the darkness head-on.
Having his movement technique stolen, being plotted against by collaborators, having their spirit boat seized, and facing demon cultivators who killed for treasure.
A clean sheet of white paper, a pure white cloud.
In the end, he had still stepped out from that most beautiful Peach Blossom Spring and into reality.
Along this path, Jiang Yao had restrained himself well and hidden it well.
However, Gu Ningyun could always catch glimpses of his dejection in passing moments.
Though these emotions were always fleeting, leaving her unable to catch their tail.
At first, she didn't know why.
It wasn't until the time Gu Lianxue framed her on the World Forum and she spoke of her own encounter.
Jiang Yao had shared his experience then.
She finally understood.
Xiaoyao’s formidable strength constructed a unique, clean Peach Blossom Spring for its disciples.
Jiang Yao had seen the most disgusting filth in the mortal world.
He had come from the darkness into this brand-new world, and cultivation was his salvation.
He was always willing to believe that the world was beautiful, just like Xiaoyao and Yunzhou.
This was the first place he had come into contact with in this new world.
Even with the sect seniors repeatedly cautioning them that the cultivation world was full of dangers, that they must be vigilant, careful, and improve their strength to prepare on all fronts...
He was willing to listen and believe, but in his subconscious, he still carried kindness and simplicity.
This year, he had taken off his Xiaoyao disciple robes, put away his disciple jade token, and hidden his identity as a Xiaoyao disciple.
He had left the protection of Xiaoyao, the number one sect in the cultivation world.
As an ordinary cultivator, he had re-entered this world.
Without Xiaoyao protecting him from the front, he saw the most authentic cultivation world.
The realizations brought by personal experience were, bit by bit, changing his subconscious.
They caused him to raise thorns to protect himself, one by one, against the outside world.
At first, his heart was simply in a state of chaos, and he hadn't realized his own change.
Until the words of these demon cultivators tore away the final veil.
They told him that the things he had vaguely realized were correct: cruelty, bloodshed, and the law of the jungle were the truth of this world.
Not that many people would protect you, and not that many people were kind-hearted; they cared more about whether they could snatch resources from your hands.
This was true for Jiang Yao, and it was the same for her, Gu Ningyun, and the other new disciples of Xiaoyao.
Saying it a thousand or ten thousand times was never as effective as experiencing it once for oneself.
Just as a fledgling eagle must eventually leave the mother eagle's wings to fly high.
They would also eventually have to leave the range of Xiaoyao’s protection.
It was better to recognize the truth of the cultivation world earlier, to have vigilance born in their bones and to raise the thorns of self-protection in their subconscious.
This was to prevent them from suffering losses or even losing their lives when that time truly came.
Perhaps this was the fundamental purpose of Xiaoyao arranging this training for the new disciples.
This wasn't about playing the pig to eat the tiger; it was simply a sect mother using a method she could control to teach her children how to grow up.
Mu Chenze gripped Jiang Yao’s shoulder and pulled him back from the demon cultivators.
"Perhaps you'd like a Blue Lake Scallop right now?"
What?
Jiang Yao tilted his head and saw a Blue Lake Scallop blowing bubbles in a spirit jade box, held out by Mu Chenze.
"If you want to poison me to death..."
He paused for a moment. "There's really no need to be so indirect about it."
Gu Ningyun: "..."
What was she just thinking?
She actually thought Mu Chenze was the most stable one of them all.
She must be blind.
"Don't like it? The tuna is also quite good. Want a box?"
Any further heavy thoughts were scattered by this man.
"How about some sea spider legs? I remember you like those."
"When Wen Xuan was grilling them last time, I kept an extra box and sealed it while it was still hot."
Good food could always make one's mood pleasant.
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