Chapter 87

Chapter 87: Each Side Probes

Cen Mu Liang lifted his eyes. “What is it? Did you notice something special worth mentioning?”

Ning Yan Zhi’s voice was steady, but his gaze held a hint of reluctant respect. “I only think it’s a pity she didn’t come to the Cinnabar Cloud Palace.”

Cen Mu Liang raised a brow, then smiled. “It’s rare to hear you praise someone.”

“She’s unusual,” Ning Yan Zhi said. “Among the disciples who entered this year, I doubt any can match her. Perhaps not even if you include the past few years.”

He paused, then added frankly, “When I was her age, I didn’t have that kind of strength.”

Cen Mu Liang chuckled. “Stronger than you? Her devil heart wasn’t cultivated by herself. It’s not strange her cultivation looks higher than yours.”

“It’s not just the devil heart,” Ning Yan Zhi insisted. “Master, do you know? She set up the Seven-Star Devil-Exterminating Formation by herself…”

He explained in detail—how quickly she moved, how cleanly she placed each node, how she held the formation together under pressure.

Cen Mu Liang listened, nodding slowly. “If that’s the case, it really is a pity you couldn’t bring her back.”

He didn’t let the thought linger too long. “But she chose the Limitless Sect herself. There was nothing you could do.”

Then, like a master smoothing a disciple’s pride back into shape, he added, “Your cultivation was built sword swing by sword swing. Hers was taken from others. Even if they look similar now, in the future the gap will be vast. Don’t look down on yourself.”

Ning Yan Zhi wasn’t putting himself down. He just couldn’t shake the nameless sense of danger.

He’d felt it when he met Miss Bai. It grew stronger when he later met Young Sect Master Ling.

He couldn’t explain it. If he spoke it aloud, it would sound like fear.

And as a sword cultivator, if you lacked the courage to press forward, how could you train a peerless sword art?

In the end, he only clasped his fists. “Yes, Master.”

*

Back in the Limitless Sect, Ling Bu Fei began living with his ears shut to the outside world.

He didn’t attend lectures. With two Divine Transformation elders watching him, what lecture could possibly compare? His days were training; his nights were tempering. His world narrowed to breath, pain, and repetition.

Bai Meng Jin didn’t go out much either. Hua Wu Sheng traded her war merit for a pile of devil hearts, and Bai Meng Jin threw herself into cultivation.

So every day, Bai Li Xu ran back and forth, collecting gossip and information like a diligent messenger.

It turned out his popularity had soared.

For example, when he went to listen to Martial Uncle Song’s lecture, someone actually waited for him outside afterward, which left him flattered and slightly alarmed.

“Junior Brother Bai Li,” a senior sister said with bright friendliness, “after this we’re holding a Minor Sword Discussion Meet. We’ll exchange ideas and spar a bit. Do you want to come?”

Her name was Shen Han Qiu—smooth with people, always laughing. She’d spoken to him a few times before, but never like this.

Bai Li Xu offered a warm, honest smile. “Can I really go?”

“We’re fellow disciples. Why wouldn’t you?” Shen Han Qiu laughed. “You used to stick to the Young Sect Master all the time, so we never had a chance to get close.”

She leaned in a fraction, voice friendly. “Now we finally do. We should get to know each other.”

Bai Li Xu hesitated only a moment before agreeing. “Then I won’t refuse. Please give me guidance, Senior Sisters and Senior Brothers.”

Shen Han Qiu left satisfied.

After the lecture ended, Bai Li Xu followed them to a senior brother’s Sword Pavilion.

At first they discussed the lecture. Then they practiced sword techniques together. Bai Li Xu kept his words few—agreeing when it was safe, offering harmless compliments, hiding the sharpness of his own edge.

When it came time to spar, he went through the motions.

Then he thought, with a flicker of irritation—his lineage wasn’t weak. Was he really going to lose face to them?

Near the end, the meet relaxed into casual chatter.

As Bai Li Xu lowered his head to drink tea, he caught a senior brother signaling Shen Han Qiu from the corner of his eye.

Shen Han Qiu shot the senior brother a look, then turned back with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Junior Brother Bai Li, you’ve been on your own lately. Why aren’t you accompanying the Young Sect Master anymore?”

“Yeah!” another voice chimed in. “The Young Sect Master is fine now, right?”

A junior sister named Han asked with real concern, “We all heard about Flowing Moon City. It sounded dangerous.”

Bai Li Xu answered with an honest face and a perfectly measured tone. “Granduncle Master Hua is healing the Young Sect Master, so I don’t need to stay by his side.”

“Ah!” Junior Sister Han gasped. “I heard Granduncle Master Hua went to Peach Blossom Peak to ask for a lot of healing medicine. So it’s true? Was the Young Sect Master hurt that badly?”

Bai Li Xu shook his head. “Granduncle Master said his injuries are under control. But this time is special. She wants to try another path.”

“What path?” someone pressed.

Bai Li Xu smiled and refused cleanly. “How would I know? For something this important, Granduncle Master only discusses it with my Grandmaster. I only overheard a little.”

A senior brother asked bluntly, “Granduncle Master Hua isn’t trying to cure the Young Sect Master, is she? Since he can cast a shield, that means he can still be cured, right?”

Bai Li Xu gave a foolish grin and didn’t answer. But his expression was answer enough.

When the Minor Sword Discussion Meet ended, everyone scattered—back to their peaks, back to their masters, back to whispered reports.

Shen Han Qiu reported to her own master, Elder Gan. After hearing Bai Li Xu’s reaction, Elder Gan couldn’t help smiling. “Granduncle Master Hua still can’t accept it in her heart.”

He sighed. “Of course. Senior Sister Jiang was like her own daughter. She raised the Young Sect Master herself. As long as there’s even a thread of hope, she won’t let go.”

Shen Han Qiu’s eyes shone with excitement. “Master, does that mean the Young Sect Master really might be cured? Then would that mean…”

She pointed subtly toward the main peak.

Elder Gan said, “There’s hope, but curing him isn’t simple.”

He frowned. “I went to Peach Blossom Peak earlier. Granduncle Master Hua asked for many pills related to devil qi.”

Shen Han Qiu thought quickly. “So the chance of the Young Sect Master being cured isn’t very high? Granduncle Master Hua is… treating a dead horse like a live one?”

“It’s not that hopeless.” Elder Gan waved a hand. “There’s more hope than before, but it’s still slim. Otherwise, why would the Sect Master be so calm?”

As far as he knew, the Ling Family had even sent someone to request an audience—yet nothing came of it.

Given how the Ling Family had behaved all these years, if the Young Sect Master truly could be cured, wouldn’t they be scrambling to mend the relationship?

So the odds weren’t high. Watching from the sidelines was enough.

“Then we…” Shen Han Qiu began.

“We watch and wait.” Elder Gan cut it off. “Pay attention, but don’t take it too seriously.”

Then, like every master everywhere, he ended with what mattered most. “And cultivate faster. The Spirit Cultivation Assembly is only a few years away.”

“Yes, Master.”

Similar conversations unfolded across other peaks—elders weighing the news, disciples buzzing, excitement restrained by caution. In the end, most arrived at the same stance:

Watch.

Wait.

In the mountains, years passed like water under a bridge—quietly, quickly.