Chapter 88

Chapter 88: A Master’s Order

Five years passed in the blink of an eye.

Qiu Yi Nong stepped out of her cave dwelling, blinking as if waking from a long fever dream.

She had been ordered into seclusion, and for five full years she hadn’t taken a single step outside. Now, even the sunlight felt harsh.

“Senior Sister Qiu,” a disciple reported respectfully, “the Sect Master is waiting for you in the Purple Sky Hall.”

Qiu Yi Nong nodded and forced herself to walk with composed dignity. She was the Sect Master’s head disciple. She could not look like a woman dragged out of a prison.

She boarded the public flying boat. Two unfamiliar female disciples were already inside. They glanced at her once, then went back to chatting, clearly not recognizing her.

“I heard the Spirit Cultivation Assembly is next month. Are you going?” one asked.

“I signed up, but I probably won’t be chosen,” the other replied.

“With your strength, Senior Sister, you still won’t be chosen?” the first sounded genuinely shocked. “Then what kind of person would make it in?”

“The Spirit Cultivation Assembly is hosted by the Immortal Alliance. All the major sects attend. It tests disciples, but it’s also a competition. Of course they’ll choose the best.”

“But I heard the Young Sect Master is going!” the first said, voice dropping with gossip’s thrill. “Is his strength… enough?”

Qiu Yi Nong snapped her head around so fast it almost hurt. She stared at them in disbelief.

The senior sister didn’t notice her. She laughed lightly. “You said it yourself—he’s the Young Sect Master. His case is different from ordinary disciples.”

She added, casual as a shrug, “Besides, with the merit he earned saving people back then, he deserves a slot.”

“That’s true…”

They moved on to discussing who else might be selected. The names were mostly familiar, but the atmosphere felt subtly different from the sect Qiu Yi Nong remembered.

When the boat reached the main peak, Qiu Yi Nong stepped off and headed straight to the Purple Sky Hall.

The guarding disciple stopped her, hesitating. “Senior Sister, you are…?”

In just five years, even the people at the Purple Sky Hall didn’t recognize her.

Fortunately, the disciple who delivered the message explained quickly, “This is Qiu Yi Nong, Senior Sister Qiu, the Sect Master’s head disciple. She was in seclusion. The Sect Master summoned her today.”

The guard’s face went pale. He hurriedly stepped aside and bowed. “Senior Sister Qiu, please forgive me. After you.”

Qiu Yi Nong’s mood steadied slightly. She smiled and entered the Purple Sky Hall, walking into a place that was familiar in shape and unfamiliar in detail.

The hall was still the hall, but subtle things had changed. She used to help organize the files.

Now that seat belonged to Xing Zhi.

“Senior Sister Qiu.” Xing Zhi stood at once, polite and smooth. “You’re finally here. The Sect Master is busy right now and will return soon. Please sit.”

He led her to a small tea table and instructed someone to bring tea.

His manner was respectful. Yet Qiu Yi Nong caught a hint of territorial pride beneath it, like a dog guarding its bowl.

[Hmph. She was Master’s head disciple. She served him back when he wasn’t Sect Master yet.]

[What is Xing Zhi, anyway?]

[Someone from the Ling Family. Even if he wasn’t a servant, he wasn’t much better.]

[He took her place while she was gone, and now he dares to act like he belongs here.]

Qiu Yi Nong kept her smile in place.

She hadn’t seen Master in five years. She didn’t know whether his anger had cooled.

[Once she steadied her position with Master again, she would deal with this little wretch later.]

“Junior Brother Xing Zhi,” she said sweetly, “you’ve worked hard. I’ve been in seclusion these years. I troubled you to serve by his side.”

She tilted her head. “How has Master been?”

Xing Zhi looked faintly troubled. “Serving the Sect Master is my duty. It isn’t hardship. The Sect Master has been well these years, so Senior Sister can rest easy.”

Qiu Yi Nong’s smile tightened at the corners.

[So he’s saying Master was fine without her.]

She forced her voice to stay smooth. “By the way, I’ve been in seclusion a long time and don’t know the sect’s current situation. Junior Brother Xing Zhi, could you brief me?”

Xing Zhi hesitated. “Senior Sister asked, so I shouldn’t refuse. But the Sect Master needs these files soon, so I must organize them first…”

Qiu Yi Nong could feel her smile starting to crack.

[She’s being polite and he dares to push.]

[She has decades of bond with Master. Does he think a few years is enough to steal her place?]

Before she could lose control, footsteps sounded outside.

Ling Yun Gao returned.

“Master,” Qiu Yi Nong said quickly.

“Sect Master,” Xing Zhi echoed.

They both stepped forward.

Qiu Yi Nong forced tears into her eyes. She hadn’t used that trick in years, but practice didn’t disappear so easily. Her lashes trembled; her eyes reddened fast.

“Master,” she said, voice thick, “this unfilial disciple pays respects.”

Ling Yun Gao’s expression was cool, irritation still clinging to him from whatever he’d been dealing with. When he saw her kneeling, he gave a cold nod. “Get up.”

Qiu Yi Nong’s heart lurched.

[Is Xing Zhi really pushing her out?]

[No. No. Master summoned her. He remembers their bond.]

Ling Yun Gao took off his outer robe, handed it to Xing Zhi, and said, “You two—go out.”

Xing Zhi’s face tightened for a heartbeat. He’d worked for five years. If Qiu Yi Nong returned, would he be forced aside?

But he bowed. “Yes.”

Once they were alone, Ling Yun Gao sat down by the tea table.

Qiu Yi Nong stepped forward automatically to brew tea for him. After five years, her hands were a little rusty. She nearly spilled the cup, but Ling Yun Gao didn’t comment.

Then his divine sense swept over her, and his brow furrowed. “In five years, you only improved this much?”

Qiu Yi Nong stiffened. “Master, in my third year I hit a bottleneck, and I still haven’t broken through, so…”

If it had been only three years, it might have been excusable. Ling Yun Gao didn’t pursue it further. “That day I said you must form a Nascent Soul before leaving seclusion. Do you know why I called you out early?”

Qiu Yi Nong shook her head. “I don’t know.”

These years had been hard. When she first joined, she had cultivated bitterly.

But since Master became Sect Master, her mind scattered. It became difficult to concentrate again. Without his summon, she didn’t know when she would have emerged.

Nascent Soul wasn’t something you could force with stubbornness alone. She was still far.

“Because there’s something I need you to do,” Ling Yun Gao said. “If you do it well, I won’t force you back into seclusion.”

His eyes cooled. “If you fail…”

Qiu Yi Nong straightened as if she’d been stabbed. “I will do my utmost. Even if I die, I will complete the task Master gives me.”

“It’s not that serious.” Ling Yun Gao’s tone softened slightly, as if satisfied by her urgency. “Have you heard about Bu Fei?”

Qiu Yi Nong’s throat tightened. “I heard a little, but… isn’t Junior Brother Ling unable to use spells? Why is he going to the Spirit Cultivation Assembly?”

Ling Yun Gao waved away the question. “His situation is different now. Ask Xing Zhi later.”

His gaze sharpened into purpose. “I called you out because I want you to attend the Spirit Cultivation Assembly as well, and test his condition.”

So that was it.

Qiu Yi Nong finally exhaled, relief almost dizzying.

The Spirit Cultivation Assembly? She’d attended before. Watching one person wasn’t hard.

This time, she would do it perfectly—take back her place as the Sect Master’s favored disciple.