CHAPTER 16

— Stirrings of Emotion —

"First Senior Brother..." Qin Ziqi stammered in disbelief, "You're going to teach her personally?"

Su Yan glanced at him with a slight frown, her thin lips pressed into a firm line. She gave a slight nod but said nothing.

Turning her head, she signaled Tong Tong to follow, then turned and walked away—she had seen everything clearly just now. While she didn't exactly oppose Qin Ziqi's actions, she didn't have much goodwill toward them either, so she didn't give him a pleasant expression.

In Su Yan's eyes, the troublemaking little white-robed disciples were nothing to worry about. What she couldn't stand was Qin Ziqi's passive negligence—after decades of playing the peacemaker, his temperament had grown too soft, lacking even a trace of the sharpness expected of a sword cultivator. How could he possibly make any progress?

The reason why the disciples of Qiuye Peak held such high status in Chonghua was primarily due to their cultivation levels.

Take Su Yan, for example.

She reached Qi Refining in one month, Foundation Establishment in one year, and Core Formation in ten years. Compared to ordinary disciples, her cultivation speed was as different as a snail and an airplane.

Now, still under a hundred years old, Su Yan had already reached the Great Perfection stage of Core Formation, just one opportunity away from stepping into the Nascent Soul realm. If Foundation Establishment was truly glimpsing the door to cultivation, then Nascent Soul was the first threshold to stepping onto the path of heaven [Heavenly Dao]. From then on, one's lifespan would stretch endlessly, with years passing without turmoil, almost making one half-immortal.

Such cultivation level and progress were absolutely unmatched among young disciples under a hundred years old in the major sects.

Compared to the divinely assisted Su Yan, He Gu's cultivation had also been something everyone looked up to. She had reached the late stage of Core Formation years ago and recently showed signs of breaking through to Great Perfection.

As for Qin Ziqi, Yan Zichu, and Mo Ziming, the three of them had been lingering at the mid-stage of Core Formation for nearly a decade without any progress. Although they were a step ahead of the direct disciples from other peaks, they still felt ashamed when facing Su Yan and He Gu.

As for Ding Ding and Tong Tong, these two outsiders who had started cultivation halfway, their mere Qi Refining cultivation had always been the only excuse other peaks could use to criticize Qiuye Peak. This led to a mix of envy, pity, and mockery toward the two.

Following Su Yan to her Luoxia [Sunset Glow] Peak—as one of the only two disciples in Chonghua with private peaks, Su Yan's Luoxia Peak was a major forbidden area second only to Ye Zhiqiu's chambers, almost never allowing other disciples to enter—Tong Tong was fortunate enough to become one of the few people to set foot here.

Even Su Yan herself couldn't explain why she had impulsively decided to teach Tong Tong personally and even brought her to her own Luoxia Peak.

—'I really do seem to treat her differently...'

Glancing at the girl behind her, who was only curiously observing her surroundings, Su Yan shook off the self-questioning in her mind. With a flick of her fingertips, she activated the restrictions set around the peak and led Tong Tong inside.

As their figures passed through an invisible barrier, it was like ripples spreading across a calm water surface, layer by layer, separating the inside and outside of the peak into two distinct worlds.

A few moments later, the ripples gradually disappeared, the undulating waves calming down and returning to the unchanging scenery as before, as if there was nothing special here and no one had ever entered.

Walking at a steady pace behind Su Yan, Tong Tong admired the beautiful scenery of lush forests and tall bamboo before her while comparing it in her mind. No matter how she looked at it, it felt familiar—Luoxia Peak, Luoxia... Luoxia Mountain? Right! Wasn't she at a scenic spot called Luoxia Mountain when she crossed over?

Could there be some connection between the two?

At this thought, her heart stirred with excitement. She took a few quick steps forward to walk alongside Su Yan, ignoring the other's icy gaze, and tugged urgently at his sleeve. "Senior Brother, Senior Brother, has this Luoxia Peak always been called this name? Is its summit an altar?"

Su Yan halted, a flicker of vigilance crossing her eyes, one hand already poised to form a hand seal. "Why do you ask?"

Could she have remembered? Does she already know her own identity?

'If so... I'm afraid she cannot be allowed to live!'

Sensing the chilling intent in her gaze—it must be said that sometimes Tong Tong's intuition was as sharp as a small animal's, always able to sense danger before it struck. The tragedy, however, was that even if she could foresee it, she lacked the ability or means to avoid it, rendering this talent almost useless—Tong Tong immediately abandoned her initial thought of lying and spoke the truth. "My hometown also has a mountain peak that looks very similar to this one..." Not just similar—it was practically identical! Even the name was the same! Could this really be just a coincidence?

Thinking of her hometown inevitably brought thoughts of her parents, as well as the colleagues and friends she had spent her days with... Even the usually carefree Tong Tong couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow. Lost in her memories, she hung her head in silence: 'Even if it's the same, so what? I still can't go back...'

Su Yan's hand, poised to form the seal, paused and slowly withdrew. The chill in her eyes faded slightly—the girl's origins were almost a mystery. She only knew that Tong Tong came from the same place as the equally enigmatic Ding Ding. Beyond that, under her master's strict orders, she knew nothing more. Even when she asked, her master remained tight-lipped, unwilling to say more, so she had stopped pressing.

It seemed Tong Tong was missing something—was it her family?

Of course, aside from family, what else could make her wear such an expression?

'Family...' Su Yan smiled self-mockingly, once again dismissing the thought of silencing her for good.

Closing her eyes briefly to shake off that fleeting sense of loneliness, she drew her Changhong Sword, twirled it in a graceful flourish, and began to dance with the blade.

Elegant as a startled swan, supple as a swimming dragon.

Every move and stance seemed to perform an exquisite dance, captivating to the eye. Yet, wherever the sword pointed, it carried an endless aura of slaughter, as if capable of shredding everything in its path.

Tong Tong had completely snapped out of her melancholic reverie. Before her eyes was only the figure weaving through the flowing light and falling leaves, sword energy swirling—his movements were so familiar, clearly the same sword forms she had learned that morning. Yet, as he demonstrated them, they were incomparably fluid and graceful, truly capturing the essence of the Xuanqing Sword Technique, something she could hardly hope to match.

Just as she was watching intently, he suddenly stopped his movements. His clear, handsome eyes turned toward her, long eyelashes fluttering like two small fans, stirring something inexplicable in her heart: This guy is clearly a man! Why does he have such an alluring gaze?

"Draw your sword." Glancing at Tong Tong's dazed expression, Su Yan frowned slightly and suddenly spoke.

"Huh? What?" Tong Tong asked, bewildered, but her hands instinctively obeyed his command. With a thought, the Biling Sword appeared in her grasp, its green light shimmering, clearly excited.

With a sharp lift of her willow-leaf brows, the Changhong sword in her hand gleamed with a crimson light, and without a word, she swung it down toward Tong Tong's head!

"Ahhh! Senior brother, what are you doing?!" Tong Tong reflexively raised her sword to block the strike, immediately letting out a panicked scream. "We have no grudges from the past or recent conflicts, why are you going so hard on me?"

Su Yan offered no reply. With a twist of his wrist, the crimson sword slanted sideways, aiming directly at Tong Tong's slender wrist gripping the hilt.

"Ahhh! 'Yamete!'" Tong Tong blocked horizontally with her sword while squeezing her eyes shut in fear. She felt a heavy pressure on her wrist, followed by a crisp clang of metal against metal, but no pain. Opening her eyes at once, she let out a relieved sigh, but before she could even manage a smile of survival, a flash of crimson light caught the corner of her eye. Almost without thinking, she lowered her elbow and swung her sword to block what could have been a strike aimed at her wrist or even her head.

Seeing her strike fail, Su Yan's expression remained unchanged, though the corner of her mouth curled slightly in a hidden smirk.

Before Tong Tong could utter another word, Su Yan's third strike was already on its way—and as if guided by divine intervention, Tong Tong managed to block it from memory. After several exchanges, she even began to counterattack on her own. At this moment, the sword techniques she had learned from Qin Ziqi that morning seemed etched into her mind. Su Yan's sudden assault had flipped a switch, and they began to play out automatically—each move, each stance, far more natural than the stiff drills from earlier.

After a few exchanges, having taken no damage and sensing no k!lling intent from Su Yan's blade, Tong Tong's fear lessened, and she even found the energy to speak up: "Senior Brother, First Senior Brother, handsome, dashing, charming, universally adored, flower-blooming-in-his-presence Senior Brother Yan? I was wrong! I apologize! Whatever I did to displease you, I'll change it! Please, be magnanimous and spare me! I have elders to care for and little ones to raise, I'm still young and in my prime! I don't want to die yet..."

While pleading desperately, she tried to muster some emotion but couldn't squeeze out a single tear to enhance the dramatic effect. Her exaggerated facial expressions looked oddly comical, causing Su Yan's swordplay to falter. The precisely calculated feint toward her ribs hesitated, barely grazing her abdomen before veering upward, its momentum unstoppable, heading straight for her chest!

'My life is over!'

Tong Tong closed her eyes in despair, mustering her last ounce of strength to shout with all her might: "Su Yan, you heartless, cruel, unreasonable bastard! You're ruthless, merciless, and absurd! You treat human life like grass and slaughter the innocent—even as a ghost, I won't let you off! Aaahhh!"

After the outburst, she felt a heavy, turbid energy slowly clear from her chest, the oppressive sensation vanishing, replaced by a sense of lightness—but after waiting for what felt like an eternity, the expected sharp pain never came.

'Huh? What's going on? I'm not dead?'

Cracking open a tiny slit between her tightly shut eyes, she could only see vague, shadowy shapes. With a surge of resolve, she snapped her eyes open wide and looked down. The razor-sharp edge of the crimson Changhong sword was held perfectly still, mere millimeters from her chest—if she hadn't been blessed with a modest A-cup, the tip would have already pierced her skin. Never before had she felt such gratitude toward her younger self who hated exercise and loathed papaya milk.

Her gaze traveled upward, meeting Su Yan's cool, clear eyes. Tong Tong's anger and grievances instantly clogged her throat, rendering her speechless.

Carefully moving aside the sword tip still pointed at her chest, she wanted to ask: What on earth has gotten into you?

But the words that came out were an ingratiating, "Senior Brother, what excellent swordsmanship! Thank you for showing mercy! Heh, hehehe..."

Su Yan watched her furious yet helpless expression, a flicker of amusement passing through her eyes. She hadn't intended to explain, but the words flowed out naturally: "The first stance of Xuanqing sword style—have you memorized it now?"

"Huh? Xuanqing... first stance?" Tong Tong blinked blankly before suddenly understanding. "So you were helping me memorize the sword technique!"

—Fine, using danger to stimulate potential was indeed a good method, and it had proven effective. Although she couldn't yet master it fully, she had already committed the first stance to memory... But the question was—couldn't you have chosen a gentler approach? Would it have k!lled you to give a heads-up? If she hadn't reacted in time just now, wouldn't she have become the first unjust soul to die from practicing swordsmanship?

Wanting to express her gratitude yet unable to suppress her grumbling, Tong Tong's lips twitched, her expression caught between a smile and a grimace—far from beautiful.

Su Yan calmly sheathed her Changhong Sword and turned to walk toward the other side—where a large, flat bluestone lay, surrounded by smaller stone stools, forming a natural table and chairs.

With a flick of his sleeve, he sat on one of the stones. His right hand bloomed like a lotus, sweeping across the bluestone. Tong Tong's gaze couldn't help but fixate on it—wherever Su Yan's slender hand passed, exquisite and delicious pastries appeared out of thin air, fragrant, crispy, soft, and glutinous, their colors so enticing that her mouth watered instantly, her appetite whetted.

"Come and eat." Tong Tong swore that in that fleeting moment, she had definitely seen the slight upward curve of Su Yan's lips—brief as a night-blooming cereus, yet astonishingly beautiful.

At that moment, despite being a foodie, she suddenly felt that the dazzling array of pastries paled in attraction compared to Su Yan's faint smile.

She must be sick! Otherwise, how could she have such strange thoughts?

Staring unblinkingly at his handsome face, which had returned to its usual indifference, Tong Tong pressed a hand to her chest, feeling as though something had taken root inside, sprouted, and was about to break through the soil.

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