CHAPTER 280
Lingxian Hall's Internal Competition!
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"Senior Sister, Jue'er thinks this girl still hasn't given up her scheming ways! Aren't you going to beat her up?"
Dongfang Jue watched Su Muchan walk away, utterly baffled.
Ye Qinghan merely smiled: "It's fine. Let her play. If she truly pushes her luck, when Master wants to kill her, even Master's wife won't be able to stop him…"
Watching Su Muchan's retreating figure, Ye Qinghan's crimson lips curved slightly. It seemed she still harbored numerous little schemes, yet they all vanished within those fox-like eyes.
As the day of the martial arts competition drew near, the three sisters finally emerged from their seclusion. Though they called it seclusion, they were essentially just sitting in the courtyard.
Though none of them opened their eyes, they occasionally exchanged words!
Su Cheng was somewhat curious. After all, he had never practiced cultivation himself. He wondered if this wouldn't disrupt their progress?
But he didn't dare ask—wouldn't that make him seem ignorant?
After four days of cultivation, Dongfang Jue had made slight progress, while Ye Qinghan and Li Shiyao remained in a state of constant consolidation—their cultivation levels showing no increase.
With these days of cultivation, Dongfang Jue's cultivation had gradually stabilized. From initially regressing, to now stabilizing at the early Foundation Establishment stage, Dongfang Jue was already quite satisfied!
She had truly exerted herself to the utmost!
But she didn't want her efforts to be too obvious. After all, she knew that Li Shiyao had been a terrifying early Foundation Establishment cultivator the moment she joined the sect!
If she were to fall back to the Qi Cultivation stage, wouldn't that be utterly humiliating?
And if she claimed maintaining her cultivation level was exhausting, wouldn't that imply her talent was inferior to Shiyu's?
Aiming too high wasn't necessarily better. While her master's cultivation technique was profound and made progress twice as fast, Dongfang Jue understood that catching up to Ye Qinghan, the First Disciple, wasn't something that could be achieved overnight. It couldn't be rushed.
Might as well set a modest goal for now—catch up to Second Senior Sister first~
Second Senior Sister spends her days eating her fill and sleeping soundly~
Dongfang Jue reasoned that if she worked diligently, practicing just a little longer each day than Second Senior Sister, perhaps she could catch up?
Beyond that, Dongfang Jue noticed that both senior sisters' cultivation seemed to have stalled recently. Especially Li Shiyao—she appeared to be stuck at the bottleneck of breaking through to the Golden Core Stage, unable to advance!
However, Dongfang Jue was unaware that the two senior sisters were deliberately consolidating their cultivation. Instead, she felt her chance had come!
"Senior Sister, can you smell that?"
Before Li Shiyu had finished her meditation, she wrinkled her highly sensitive little nose, seemingly analyzing the scent~
"I do."
The phantom form of the Frost-Piercing Sword Intent drifted behind her, while white mist swirled around Ye Qinghan. Now in the final stages of her practice, Ye Qinghan dared not be careless. She merely curved her lips slightly in a simple response.
Feeling the surging power coursing through her body, her jade-like hand formed a sword finger before her. The Frostblade shot out in an instant!
The Frostblade hovered before her, as if summoned, poised and ready at Ye Qinghan's command!
Everything proceeded smoothly, exactly as Ye Qinghan had anticipated!
The events unfolding now confirmed Ye Qinghan's reasoning: if cultivation could be likened to experience points, then a breakthrough was akin to leveling up.
Merely leveling up increased stats like mana and health—essentially boosting base values.
But if Ye Qinghan remained stuck at her current level without a Breakthrough, that experience would still accumulate!
If that were the case, it would be far beyond the mere consolidation of cultivation she had initially envisioned!
If she compressed the experience gained from two levels into one, her Golden Core would fundamentally surpass others'.
But Dongfang Jue still assumed Ye Qinghan had hit a bottleneck too, hoping to seize this chance to catch up!
One wonders what Dongfang Jue would think upon learning his senior sister-disciple had driven herself to such extreme competition~
"It's braised pork, Shiyu's favorite! Shiyu can tell just by the smell that Master is cooking today!"
Li Shiyu's sleeves fluttered as she signaled she was done. She promptly pinched a divine pill from the table before her senior sister and ate it, then waited for her senior and junior sisters.
Dongfang Jue smiled, noticing Li Shiyu rise. Not long after, she too stood up—it was indeed time.
In truth, her cultivation had stabilized at the ninth layer of the early Foundation Establishment stage this morning. The mid-stage was within reach!
The reason she hadn't risen earlier was twofold: first, neither of her senior sisters had moved yet, and second, she didn't want to always be the weakest one!
Sure, she was the third disciple, but who said a junior sister had to be weaker than her seniors?
This wasn't Jue'er engaging in internal competition!
Having a powerful junior sister could protect Shiyao too, couldn't it?
Dongfang Jue eagerly anticipated the day she would surpass her senior sisters!
"Senior Sister, have you hit a bottleneck in your cultivation?"
Dongfang Jue couldn't help but ask as he watched his eldest sister, drenched in sweat, seemingly battling something.
"No, this is good~"
Behind her, the illusory form of her Dharma image suddenly burst into golden light, as if sharpening the blade of the sword intent that was inherently an illusion!
The Frost-Piercing Sword before her spun with her finger, and visibly, the sunlight around Ye Qinghan seemed to warp, like the haze that forms over asphalt baked by intense heat.
An indescribable white mist enveloped him, reminiscent of the "power-up" state seen in manga. Ye Qinghan's long hair whipped wildly in the energy surge, yet he wore a faint smile, seemingly relishing the sensation.
Indeed, this sensation was profoundly satisfying, something Ye Qinghan could feel.
The thought of a future where her master would never leave her filled her with renewed vigor!
Ye Qinghan didn't care if it meant twice the effort of others. She only cared if it was worth it. And if it meant earning her master's reliance, then twice the sweat was more than worth it.
Slowly circulating the cultivation technique through the Great Circulation Cycle, she exhaled a breath of stale air!
Though Dongfang Jue didn't understand, Li Shiyao did. But Li Shiyao had no time to dwell on it!
That could wait for another day!
Thunder rumbled in Shiyu's tummy~
As if teleporting, Li Shiyu suddenly appeared at the kitchen hall entrance!
"Master, Shiyu has come to assist you! Master, Shiyu can help you chop vegetables!"
"Jue'er can help too! Senior Sister, take a break—Jue'er's got this!"
Li Shiyu wasn't the diligent type. Her offer to help was merely an excuse to sample her master's cooking first…
Every time Master served a dish, Li Shiyu wanted to be the first to taste it. But everything needed a proper excuse, right?
Shiyao was here to help, hmm… this looks pretty tasty…
"Shiyao, bring this out."
Su Cheng served the stir-fried dish onto a plate, and Li Shiyu casually pinched off a piece of meat to eat~
Before long, the master and disciples sat in the courtyard for lunch, then prepared to set off for Ling Mountain.
Su Cheng hadn't planned to go himself. After all, he knew his disciple well.
At their current level, with comparable cultivation, who among them could be a match for his disciple?
Now that the great terror from another world had been dealt with, Li Shiyu's safety was assured. Moreover, with the spatial anchor points anchored to them, Su Cheng had no cause for worry.
But since all three seemed to want him to accompany them, Su Cheng simply agreed.
"Fine, fine, fine. Your master will accompany you. Just wait while I change clothes~"
"Master, wear that black one—the one with the handkerchief around the neck! Shiyu likes it when you wear that one!"
"Shiyao… that's not a handkerchief, it's a tie." Su Cheng smiled, but it didn't matter much.
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