The young girl guiding her spoke in a continuous chatter as they walked.
“Senior Sister, you might not know this, but Su Qinghan is one of the top ten geniuses of our outer sect.
Many people are betting that she will break through to the Xiantian Realm before the age of twenty, successfully advance to the inner sect, and be taken in as a personal disciple by an elder.
Even Su Qinghe, who is always by her side, has talent that is not lacking either.
With a solid foundation and a calm disposition, she is also an outstanding disciple ranked among the top in the outer sect.”
In her heart, she had already concluded that Ye Ling was definitely not an outer sect disciple, making her tone increasingly respectful.
Through their casual conversation along the way, Ye Ling also learned the name of the girl guiding her: Lin Xiaoyue.
“I see,” Ye Ling replied softly. Su Qinghan's talent was indeed outstanding; back in Heishui Commandery, she had been the number one genius of the entire region.
As for Su Qinghe, to be able to break through to the Houtian Ninth Layer at the age of eighteen as a rogue cultivator meant her potential was indeed quite good.
Along the way, Lin Xiaoyue chirped on about many interesting anecdotes of the outer sect and the recent situations of the disciples, giving Ye Ling, who had been in closed-door cultivation for years, a more genuine understanding of the outer sect.
Before long, the two arrived at a spacious public martial arts arena.
There were countless such martial arts arenas in the outer sect area, specifically designated for outer sect disciples to practice their swordplay daily.
As Lin Xiaoyue led Ye Ling closer, she explained earnestly.
“Su Qinghan has always practiced with extreme diligence. Especially half a year ago, for some unknown reason, her training intensity suddenly doubled compared to when she first entered the sect.
She barely sleeps or rests, spending all her time at the martial arts arena except for her three daily meals. That's why if you come looking for her here, you're guaranteed to find her.”
The moment they stepped onto the grounds, Ye Ling's gaze swept across the area and instantly locked onto two familiar figures sparring in the center—none other than Su Qinghan and Su Qinghe.
The sword moves of the two women clashed in a flurry of offense and defense. Their techniques were skillful and clean, making for a rather spectacular sparring match.
However, Su Qinghe's cultivation was still only at the Houtian Eleventh Layer. With a slightly weaker reserve of spiritual energy, she could not sustain the pace for long. Feeling her strength wane, she quickly withdrew her sword and retreated.
“Qinghan, my spiritual energy is depleted. I'll rest for a bit while you continue on your own.”
Su Qinghan nodded obediently and was about to resume practicing her swordplay alone.
Beside her, Lin Xiaoyue turned to Ye Ling. “Senior Sister, should I go call them over, or would you like to go yourself?”
Without hesitation, Ye Ling said, “Go call them over. Just tell them an old acquaintance from the inner sect is looking for them.”
At this moment, she was using her Xiantian spiritual energy to mask her appearance, making her look completely different from before.
Su Qinghan and Su Qinghe would likely be unable to recognize her, so having Lin Xiaoyue call them over was the safest option.
Lin Xiaoyue quickly walked toward the two women in the center of the martial arts arena.
Before long, Su Qinghan and Su Qinghe followed her back with a look of anticipation.
They knew full well that they had no other acquaintances in the inner sect; their only old friend was Ye Ling, who had been in closed-door cultivation for a long time.
Their hearts felt warm and joyful. They never expected that the first thing Ye Ling would do upon ending her seclusion was to make a special trip to the outer sect just to find them.
But as they drew near and saw the unfamiliar green-robed woman standing before them, the two sisters froze in confusion. They looked left and right, but there was no one else around.
Just as they were about to ask, the green-robed figure spoke softly in a voice that was incredibly familiar.
“It is me.”
With just those two words, Su Qinghan and Su Qinghe instantly realized who it was, and a look of pleasant surprise lit up their eyes.
It was Ye Ling.
The two immediately understood her reason for concealing her appearance.
Currently, Ye Ling's reputation in the Qinglan Sword Sect was unmatched. If she revealed her true face, the entire martial arts arena would be swarming with disciples in no time, making it impossible to catch up in peace.
Su Qinghan understood implicitly and said in a low voice, “There are too many eyes and ears here, so it's not convenient to talk in detail. Let's head back to our quarters first.”
Ye Ling nodded slightly. “Tell me the location of your quarters first and head back. I have a small matter to attend to, and I will join you shortly.”
Su Qinghan and Su Qinghe immediately told Ye Ling their address and turned to leave.
Believing her task was complete, Lin Xiaoyue was about to quietly slip away when Ye Ling called out to her.
“Junior Sister Xiaoyue, please wait.”
Lin Xiaoyue paused in her tracks and turned back, her face filled with confusion.
Ye Ling looked at her with a gentle expression. “When I first saw you earlier, you were standing alone clutching your sword with a deep frown. You are clearly stuck on a bottleneck in your swordplay.
If you don't mind, you can tell me about it. Perhaps I can help clear your doubts.”
Overjoyed and startled, Lin Xiaoyue immediately poured out her troubles.
It turned out she had saved up her contribution points for over half a year to finally exchange for a high-grade sword technique. However, due to her lacking comprehension, she had been unable to reach Initial Mastery despite months of bitter training.
Hearing this, Ye Ling found it to be quite a coincidence.
This sword technique happened to be one she had practiced before, and she had already mastered it to Great Perfection.
She immediately broke down the essence of the sword moves line by line, pointing out the key areas that Lin Xiaoyue had been misunderstanding all this time.
Under Ye Ling's personal guidance, the bottleneck that had troubled Lin Xiaoyue for days was instantly resolved.
She immediately drew her sword and began practicing on the spot. Her moves flowed like water, and in just three or four repetitions, she successfully broke through to Initial Mastery.
Her eyes shone with excitement as she bowed deeply.
“Thank you for your guidance, Senior Sister! I truly don't know how to repay you.”
Ye Ling waved her hand gently. “No need for repayment. You guided me, and I broke your bottleneck. Consider it a fair exchange.”
With that, she turned and walked away, heading slowly toward Su Qinghan and Su Qinghe's quarters.
Leaving Lin Xiaoyue staring blankly at her retreating figure, unable to snap out of her daze for a long time.
Ye Ling smoothly found the small courtyard by following the directions she had noted down.
Most outer sect disciples of the Qinglan Sword Sect lived in shared quarters of four. If they wanted to live as a pair or have a quiet cabin to themselves, they had to rent it.
Su Qinghan and Su Qinghe had met by chance and gotten to know each other half a year ago while visiting Ye Ling at her bamboo courtyard.
Finding each other increasingly congenial, they had pooled their spirit stones to rent this two-person courtyard.
The courtyard was quiet and elegant, far away from the hustle and bustle of the outer sect.
Stepping through the courtyard gate, Ye Ling saw that the two were already waiting for her. The stone table was laden with piping hot food.
Seeing her arrive, they immediately went forward to welcome her, warmly pulling her to sit down and chat.
Su Qinghe spoke first, her eyes filled with genuine joy.
“Ye Ling, you've already broken through to the Xiantian Realm!
The shocking phenomenon of spiritual energy swirling for nine miles during your breakthrough is now known to everyone in the entire sect. We've been wanting to congratulate you.
I really didn't expect that the first thing you'd do after ending your seclusion would be to come find us. I'm truly so happy.”
Su Qinghan also nodded repeatedly. “That day, we saw the sky filled with surging spiritual energy from afar in the outer sect. The scene was incredibly spectacular.
When we learned it was you making the breakthrough, Qinghe and I were genuinely happy for you from the bottom of our hearts.”
Ye Ling felt a warmth in her heart upon hearing this. “We are friends, aren't we?
Before, you went out of your way to visit me at the bamboo courtyard when I was in seclusion. Now it is only natural for me to pay you a visit.”
The three shared a knowing smile and chatted about minor sect affairs while enjoying the delicious food. The atmosphere was warm and comfortable.
After the meal, Ye Ling retrieved a batch of pills and spiritual ingredients suitable for Houtian Realm cultivators from her storage bag, pushing a portion toward them.
Seeing this, the two were slightly startled and instinctively wanted to decline.
Ye Ling cut them off. “You are not allowed to refuse.
I am already in the Xiantian Realm now, so these Houtian Realm pills are useless to me.
Besides, I haven't left all of them for you. In a while, I will take on a sect mission and visit home on the way, so I'll be bringing most of the spiritual ingredients back to my family.
The portion I'm giving you is only a small fraction, so you can accept them with peace of mind.”
Looking at the high-quality pills before them, the two found themselves in a dilemma. Refusing might hurt Ye Ling's feelings, but accepting made them feel uneasy.
Seeing their hesitation, Ye Ling spoke softly.
“Are we not friends?”
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