The residence of the Five Elements Dao Sect was brilliantly lit, filled with the constant sound of laughter and cheerful conversation.
Feng Qingping, holding the champion array disk she had just won, walked straight toward Feng Weilan in the corner.
"For you."
She handed the array disk over, her voice as cool as ever, but her fingertips paused for an imperceptible moment during the exchange.
Feng Weilan silently accepted the array disk, his thumb gently tracing the exquisite patterns on its surface.
He didn't say thank you; he merely nodded slightly and carefully tucked the array disk into his robes, placing it closest to his heart. Not a single superfluous look passed between them throughout the process, yet they shared an unspoken understanding.
Li Nanzhu blinked, watching the scene with great interest.
She quietly tugged at Duan Xianxing's sleeve beside her and asked in a low voice, "Seventh Senior Brother, do you know the story between Fifth Senior Sister and Sixth Senior Brother?"
Duan Xianxing, who was munching on a spirit fruit, nearly choked at her words.
He glanced around before leaning toward Li Nanzhu's ear, whispering mysteriously, "Well... I heard they spent three years together in an array secret realm when they were children. No one knows exactly what happened there." He winked. "But look at Sixth Senior Brother—he’s willing to give away even his life-bound blade qi, yet he treasures Fifth Senior Sister's array disk like his own life."
Li Nanzhu couldn't help but smile. It seemed there truly were stories between Fifth Senior Sister and Sixth Senior Brother that weren't for outsiders to know.
Feng Yi's voice suddenly came from behind them: "What are you two whispering about?" He had appeared behind them at some unknown point, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"No—nothing!" Duan Xianxing immediately straightened up, grabbing a spirit fruit from the table and pretending to munch on it intently.
Just as Li Nanzhu was about to speak, she saw Feng Yi cast a meaningful glance toward Feng Qingping and Feng Weilan, clearly having seen the interaction just now.
Seeing his little disciple looking at him in surprise, he raised the corners of his mouth. "What? Is it that unexpected for your master to be here?"
Li Nanzhu blinked and shuffled over while holding Suisui. "With Master here, I feel much more at ease." She silently added in her heart: If something goes wrong in the upcoming competitions, I can just let Master take the blame.
Feng Yi glanced at her with a half-smile and suddenly flicked her forehead. "Stop having such crooked ideas."
"Ouch!"
Li Nanzhu rubbed her forehead but couldn't help laughing. Having her master sitting here did indeed give her a lot of confidence.
At that moment, Duan Xianxing hopped over. "Tomorrow is the Refining Great Competition! Is Little Junior Sister ready?"
Hearing this, her smile stiffened slightly.
Right, tomorrow was the Refining Great Competition... She subconsciously touched the sparrow-head hairpin in her hair, a wave of uncontrollable nervousness surging in her heart.
Unlike the other matches, alchemy was the area she was least confident in.
In truth, she had entered the Dao far too late. Regarding the Dao of alchemy, she had only been at it for a year and a half at most, and currently, she could only refine tier 2 pills.
Compared to other pill cultivators who had been nurtured by their sects since childhood, she was far behind.
Even though she had received Xiao Yan's inheritance, she was always afraid that her lack of skill would bring shame to that brilliant Qingming Pill Venerable.
"What's wrong?" Zhu Yinxi keenly sensed her abnormality, twirling his jade flute between his fingers. "Nervous?"
Li Nanzhu nodded honestly. "I'm afraid of... embarrassing the senior." She vaguely skipped over Xiao Yan's name.
Jiang Yifan set down his teacup. "Refining depends on a calm heart. Since you've received the inheritance, you should believe in yourself."
"Fourth Senior Brother is right," Feng Qingping added, a rare occurrence. "Be it arrays or alchemy, the Great Dao leads to the same destination."
Even the usually silent Feng Weilan spoke up: "Just do your best."
Feng Yi took a sip of tea and said calmly, "Winning or losing doesn't matter. Just don't explode the furnace."
He paused, then continued, "That senior of yours won't be disappointed in you just because of a failure."
"Master..." Li Nanzhu opened her mouth, the nervousness in her heart somehow dissipating by a few degrees.
That was right. With so many senior brothers and sisters here, and her master present, what did she have to fear? Furthermore... she gripped the green jade fan in her sleeve, as if she could feel the weight of that heavy inheritance.
"My senior brothers and sisters are all so amazing," she took a deep breath, fighting spirit reigniting in her eyes. "I certainly can't fall behind!"
Suisui nodded clatteringly in her arms, its soul fire jumping brightly as if cheering her on.
That night, the Five Elements Dao Sect residence remained brightly lit.
They sat together and talked freely, from arrays to alchemy, and from cultivation insights to funny anecdotes.
Listening to her senior siblings share their experiences, Li Nanzhu's apprehension gradually turned into anticipation.
When the first light of dawn filtered through the window lattice, Li Nanzhu was already fully dressed and ready.
The sparrow-head hairpin shimmered with a gentle luster in the morning light. Suisui lay quietly on her shoulder, its soul fire flickering steadily.
"Let's go." Feng Yi stood up, his sleeves fluttering. "Let your master see what kind of pills you can refine."
When the group from the Five Elements Dao Sect arrived at the Alchemy Great Competition venue, the entire area suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
Everyone's gaze focused on Feng Yi—the Sovereign of the Five Elements Dao Sect, who was usually as elusive as a divine dragon, had actually appeared in the disciple viewing area!
"S-Sovereign Feng?!" A teacup nearly slipped from the hand of a Water Moon Sect elder. "Why is he here?"
However, Feng Yi seemed completely unaware of the commotion he had caused. He casually found a seat and even took out a tea set from his sleeve, calmly brewing tea for himself.
Li Nanzhu and the others were oblivious to this. None of them noticed that the crowd in the stands was increasing at an astonishing rate.
"I heard Sovereign Feng is here to watch the Alchemy Great Competition!"
"Is that for real? The Sovereign of the Five Elements Dao Sect?"
"Hurry, let's go see!"
The news spread as if it had grown wings. The already crowded stands were soon packed to the point that not a drop of water could leak through, with latecomers forced to stand in the aisles.
On the judges' bench, the elders of various major sects also turned their attention toward him.
"Who is Feng Yi here to support?" an elder from the Shenmu Sect asked. "He wasn't seen at any of the previous matches."
He turned and instructed a deacon disciple, "Go check the roster. Is anyone from the Five Elements Dao Sect registered for the alchemy competition?"
The deacon disciple soon presented the list, his voice carrying a hint of disbelief. "Elder, there is indeed one person from the Five Elements Dao Sect registered... it's Li Nanzhu."
"Li Nanzhu, eh?" The Water Moon Sect elder nodded, then suddenly realized something, nearly dropping his fly-whisk. "Wait, are you sure that person is Li Nanzhu?"
The disciple swallowed hard. "It is absolutely certain."
"If I remember correctly..." the Beast Taming Sect elder stared blankly at the arena, "that little girl previously walked the path of brush and sword dual cultivation..."
The several elders looked at each other, their eyes filled with shock.
Dual cultivation of the brush and sword was already a once-in-a-century occurrence. Now, adding the Dao of alchemy on top of it—what kind of terrifying triple-cultivation genius was this!
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