Liu Qingyang’s eyes flickered with a complex emotion upon hearing those words.
He took a deep breath, solemnly placing the jade slip into the storage bag he kept close to his chest, and then gave Jiang Yifan a deep bow.
"Senior Brother Jiang’s generosity is something I will never forget. If you ever have need of me in the future, Liu Qingyang of the Water Moon Sect will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
His words were extremely grave, bearing none of the flighty energy Liu Qingyang usually possessed.
It was only at this moment that Li Nanzhu truly saw the bearing of the Water Moon Sect's young sect leader in him.
Usually, the Liu Qingyang who jumped around with a head full of eccentric ideas seemed entirely at odds with the solemn title of young sect leader.
For a fleeting moment, his figure seemed to overlap with that of Liu Changhe on the distant spectator stand.
"Enough," Jiang Yifan said suddenly. His voice remained flat, yet it held a rare hint of warmth. "There is no need for that."
Liu Qingyang blinked, his tensed shoulders suddenly relaxing.
He straightened up, his face returning to its familiar, grinning self. "Hehe, Senior Brother Jiang saw through me." He exaggeratedly rubbed his lower back. "Holding that pose is really exhausting."
Zhu Yinxi spun his jade flute between his fingers. "Affectation."
Liu Qingyang wasn't annoyed; instead, he grinned and leaned closer. "Exactly! My father always says I lack proper decorum, but putting on airs is just too uncomfortable."
As he spoke, he fished a few spirit fruits out of his sleeve and tossed them to Duan Xianxing. "Try these; they’re from our Water Moon Sect."
This gesture immediately dissipated the previous solemn atmosphere.
"However…" Liu Qingyang’s tone shifted. "I will put these refining insights to good use."
He paused, his familiar smile widening. "Naturally, once I’ve improved a new magic tool, Senior Brother Jiang will be the first to see it!"
"All right, all right," Duan Xianxing said with a pout. "It’s getting late; we should head back."
Liu Qingyang finally took his leave reluctantly. "Then I’ll head back to study! I’ll come to pester you again another day!"
"Let's go," Mu Wenyan said, appearing behind the group at some unknown point. "We’ll talk more once we’re back at the residence."
On the distant spectator stand, Liu Changhe had stood up.
He looked toward his son, and a nearly imperceptible trace of relief appeared on his habitually stern face. Though it vanished in an instant, it was caught by Elder Chang Yan standing beside him.
"Sect Leader," Elder Chang Yan whispered, "Qingyang has grown up."
Liu Changhe did not answer, only nodding slightly.
After returning to the Five Elements Dao Sect residence, everyone eagerly gathered around the stone table in the courtyard.
"Fourth Senior Brother, hurry up and let us see that fan!" Duan Xianxing said excitedly.
Jiang Yifan took the silver-white folding fan from his storage bag and placed it gently on the stone table. The fan ribs shimmered with a cold metallic luster, and the fan face was as thin as a cicada’s wing, appearing almost transparent in the sunset.
Duan Xianxing leaned in impatiently. "This fan face is too thin! How did you do it?"
Feng Qingping gently stroked the fan face, feeling the spiritual energy contained within. "It completely neutralized the volatility of the explosive flame sand while retaining the strength of the material…"
Li Nanzhu also looked closely and noticed that the patterns on the fan face were extremely fine, resembling natural metallic veins. "Fourth Senior Brother, these patterns?"
"Spirit-conducting runes," Jiang Yifan explained. "They can control attributes."
As he spoke, he picked up the folding fan and gave it a gentle flick.
The moment the fan unfurled, an invisible ripple of spiritual energy spread out. With a turn of his wrist, the fan traced a graceful arc—
Shink!
A sharp blade of spiritual energy shot through the air, cleaving a nearby sword-testing stone in two!
"Whoa!" Duan Xianxing exclaimed. "Look at that power!"
Jiang Yifan swung the fan again. This time, as his spiritual energy shifted at his fingertips, the runes on the fan face suddenly glowed a fiery red.
Boom!
Another burst of spiritual energy flew out. When it struck the sword-testing stone this time, it erupted into a ball of scorching fire, shattering the stone to pieces.
"This…" Zhu Yinxi’s hands paused. "Controllable attribute conversion?"
Jiang Yifan nodded. "I sealed the characteristics of the explosive flame sand within the runes." He pointed to the fine patterns on the fan face. "They activate when needed."
Li Nanzhu suddenly understood. "So it's not that there’s no fire attribute, but rather that the attribute is stored, and the user decides whether to trigger it?"
Duan Xianxing’s eyes widened in admiration. "Fourth Senior Brother, you’re amazing! This fan is definitely stronger than Chu Chenzhou’s sword!"
Jiang Yifan shook his head slightly. "Each has its merits." His fingers lightly brushed the fan ribs. "If we must compare, I can only say they are on par with each other."
With that, he picked up the folding fan and walked straight to Mu Wenyan, who had been standing quietly to the side, and handed the fan to him.
"It’s for Eldest Senior Brother?" Duan Xianxing was initially happy, but then he scratched his head in confusion. "But Eldest Senior Brother is a sword cultivator…"
Just as he was wondering, Li Nanzhu suddenly recalled a detail—on the soul bells Fourth Senior Brother had refined previously, Feng Yi had carved unique decorations for everyone.
She remembered clearly that on the inner side of Mu Wenyan’s soul bell, there was a tiny, exquisite folding fan pattern.
"Eldest Senior Brother," Li Nanzhu’s eyes lit up as she asked tentatively, "are you…"
Her gaze moved back and forth between the folding fan and Mu Wenyan, her unspoken words clear.
Mu Wenyan took the folding fan, the corners of his mouth curving upward as he nodded gently.
This simple action caused a flash of realization in Feng Qingping’s eyes. Feng Weilan also looked somewhat lost, but seeing Feng Qingping’s expression, he didn't ask further.
Only Zhu Yinxi remained calm, clearly having known all along.
In the end, only Duan Xianxing was left looking left and right in total confusion, seeing only smiles and silence. "What kind of riddles are you all playing?"
Feng Qingping patted his shoulder gently. "Silly boy." Having said that, she turned and left, a meaningful smile lingering on her lips.
Zhu Yinxi spun his jade flute and walked toward his room without a word.
Li Nanzhu winked at Duan Xianxing and also turned to leave.
"Hey! At least explain it clearly!" Duan Xianxing stamped his feet in frustration, turning to Jiang Yifan, who was the only one left. "Fourth Senior Brother, Eldest Senior Brother, he…"
Jiang Yifan shook his head and quickly returned to his room as well.
Duan Xianxing looked expectantly at Mu Wenyan. "Eldest Senior Brother…"
"It’s getting late." Mu Wenyan had no intention of explaining either, simply looking at him with a smile. "Go get some rest, or go practice."
Duan Xianxing opened his mouth, but ultimately could only mumble dejectedly, "Why is everyone like this…"
Scratching his head, he walked slowly toward his own quarters, looking back occasionally at where the others had disappeared.
Feng Qingping leaned against a red pillar at the corner of the corridor, watching the confused back of her seventh junior brother and couldn't help but stifle a laugh. Feng Weilan stood silently behind her, his lips pressed thin and his eyes full of questions, yet he remained silent.
As the night deepened, Li Nanzhu returned to her room and took out the evil-energy warning disk from her storage bag.
Suisui immediately hopped onto the table, its bone claws poking curiously at the disk's surface.
"Don't mess around."
She reached out to pick up the little skeleton, but the warning disk suddenly erupted with a blinding red light!
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