This was, of course, a joke. Li Fei didn’t respond, only pursing her lips in a sweet smile.
Seeing her smile so warmly and adorably, Qingle Zhenren couldn’t help but feel an instinctive fondness for her. Among female cultivators, six or seven out of ten tended to be haughty in temperament—even Zhaomin, who constantly scolded Li Fei to smile more, usually wore an icy expression. A girl who smiled so freely was bound to evoke affection and a desire to be close.
Dongyang Zhenren wouldn’t let Chongyi Zhenren off the hook, insisting he explain how exactly he had trained Li Fei. How had a little girl with such mediocre aptitude turned out like this? Did he have some secret cultivation method?
Chongyi Zhenren laughed. “Dongyang, there are countless people in the world with Spirit Roots, and cultivation doesn’t necessarily follow a single correct path. Most must break through bottlenecks one by one, but that doesn’t mean everyone must take that route. Li Fei’s cultivation has already surpassed the bottleneck.”
Surpassed the bottleneck? That was unheard of!
Chongyi Zhenren was also deeply moved. When he first took Li Fei as a disciple, it was merely to understand how a child with such ordinary aptitude had passed the trials of Young Phoenix Academy. Yet over these five years of teaching, he had increasingly sensed her utterly unique constitution and cultivation methods.
Li Fei’s abilities were remarkably balanced—but in the Mountain Sect, balance meant mediocrity. The Mountain Sect never emphasized equilibrium but pursued excellence in distinct Spirit Root attributes. What transformed her mediocrity into something extraordinary was her immense reserves of spiritual energy and her far more flexible ability to circulate it compared to ordinary people. The grueling training he had initially imposed was meant to test the limits of her capabilities—maintaining five Immortal Techniques simultaneously on five puppets. No one would dare assign such training to a disciple, yet she not only accomplished it but improved with each attempt.
Even now, if her abilities in the five elements were evaluated individually, none would stand out. But combined, they were formidable. Who would have thought that a major flaw could become her greatest strength?
He truly wished to see how far this child could grow. Taking her as a disciple had broadened his own perspective, freeing him from rigid adherence to outdated cultivation methods. For a Celestial, such an expansion of vision could sometimes lead to significant breakthroughs. Recently, his Alchemical Furnace had faintly trembled, hinting at an impending breakthrough from a bottleneck that had stalled him for decades. If he could surpass it, his power would advance yet again.
“How I taught her is not something I can share,” Chongyi Zhenren chuckled. The uniqueness of Li Fei’s constitution and Spirit Root was a critical secret—the fewer who knew, the better. “I’ll soon be entering seclusion at the peak. Dongyang, I’ll trouble you to escort her to Chestnut Blaze Valley.”
The two elders’ faces immediately showed envy. For a Celestial, entering seclusion signified an impending breakthrough. At their level of cultivation and status, even the slightest progress was exceedingly difficult. Hadn’t Zhen Yunzi of Star Rectitude Hall been stuck at a bottleneck for nearly sixty years, his power even beginning to regress? That Chongyi could achieve a breakthrough was truly enviable.
“Then we wish you a swift emergence from seclusion and further refinement in your cultivation.”
The two elders left, hearts full of reflection. It seemed that choosing the right disciple was also immensely beneficial for the Master. This year’s academy disciples’ circumstances were unknown—they would have to select one with great care.Li Fei waited until the person had left before plopping down onto the ground. Before she could even catch her breath, Zhaomin's displeased voice rang out: "What kind of behavior is this? Sit up straight!"
After five years of teaching, she could change the exterior but not the core. In front of outsiders, she was quite well-behaved, but the moment she returned, her true nature was revealed!
Li Fei smiled bitterly: "Shijie, I'm exhausted. Let me rest a bit before posing like a lady."
For the past ten days, she had barely slept while accompanying Master in Sand Emerald Fort. The name sounded pleasant enough, but who would have thought it was actually a marshland? There wasn't even a slightly dry spot to sleep, and the swamp was teeming with various ferocious beasts. While monstrous creatures feared her, the beasts certainly didn't. The slightest carelessness could lead to being devoured alive. Not a single peaceful night's sleep in ten days—she was so tired she could faint any moment.
Seeing her drowsy expression, Zhaomin immediately frowned and shook her head: "This is utterly improper! It's still daylight, and the Master is present! Get up now!"
Chongyi Zhenren said softly, "Let her go to her room to sleep. No cultivation today."
After all, she was still just a sixteen-year-old girl. Going without sleep for days was too much for her. She had been working extremely hard, and as her master, he wasn't so harsh as to push her beyond her limits.
Li Fei slept in her room until deep into the night, only to be rudely awakened by hunger. On the table were a few plain buns—definitely left there specially for her by Zhaomin Shijie. Ah, Shijie was truly the best! Though Master was also good to her, he was still a man and couldn't be attentive to everything. If Jade Fall Peak didn't have Zhaomin Shijie, she didn't know how lonely she would be.
Thinking of Shijie's kindness, Li Fei decided that even when alone, she wouldn't wolf down her food. She ate the entire plate of buns in the most ladylike manner possible.
After letting out a satisfied burp, she suddenly noticed shadows flickering on the table—it was Baili Gelin's Message Transmission Art. At first, that girl hardly ever wrote to her. It was only after Li Fei persistently sent her several pages of letters every few days for over two years that their correspondence gradually increased.
Li Fei leaned over the table to look and saw a single line written in a flourishing hand: "Tamed a Centipede demon as a mount. Next time, I'll ride it for you to see."
She couldn't help but chuckle. That girl really had tamed a Centipede demon as a mount. She wondered if Ji Tongzhou would turn pale and flee at the sight.
Speaking of Ji Tongzhou, it seemed he had also gone to some special place with his master for cultivation. There had been no news from him for over half a year. The last letter he sent was still mocking Lei Xiuyuan's incompetence for staying in Cinnabar Cave for more than two years without emerging.
Beside the oil lamp was another letter, just sent by Ye Ye and Chang Yue. By now, all of them had learned their sects' Message Transmission Art, no longer needing to rely on messenger birds to deliver letters back and forth. Two years ago, Ge Lin not only began corresponding frequently with her but also started exchanging letters with Ye Ye and the others. Her words remained as cheerful as ever, suggesting she had long since let go of past grievances—a relief to see.
Ye Ye's letter mentioned that he and Chang Yue would soon be taken by their respective masters to different places for focused cultivation. They might not be able to correspond for some time and hoped everyone would take care. For new disciples like them, the first five years after joining were a crucial period. Those with good aptitude would break through their first bottleneck during this time, so their masters naturally placed great emphasis on it.The second bottleneck thereafter varies from person to person—some may break through in a year or two, while others take decades. The later stages make the disparity in disciples' aptitudes increasingly apparent. Though all admitted into the sect possess outstanding talent, even among the exceptional, there are those who stand out and those who are merely ordinary. Breaking through three consecutive bottlenecks qualifies one to become a direct disciple. Hu Jiaping once shattered three bottlenecks within ten years, thus becoming Guangwei Zhenren's youngest direct disciple and gaining widespread fame at the time.
I wonder how Xiu Yuan will be when he emerges from the Cinnabar Cave... It's been three years...
Li Fei drifted into a daze, wondering what Xiu Yuan would look like now. Sometimes she dreamed of him suddenly stepping out of the cave, yet his face remained indistinct in those dreams. He must have grown much taller—the last time she saw him, she had shot up so quickly she was nearly his height. Now that Xiu Yuan was almost eighteen, it would be rather embarrassing if he were still the same height as her.
Still, Xiu Yuan might not even recognize her when they met—she had changed far too much these past three years.
After turning thirteen, for some inexplicable reason, she began shedding her skin every month. What had once terrified and bewildered her had long since become routine. Yet with each molt, her appearance shifted subtly—changes even she could clearly perceive. Gradually, it was as if she had acquired an entirely new face. By fifteen, though the monthly molting continued, the transformations in her features finally began to slow until, recently, they ceased altogether.
What expression would he wear upon seeing her? Would he gape foolishly like those male disciples from Shining Light Peak? Or would he remain as indifferent and unruffled as before?
She was no longer the oblivious eleven-year-old girl—she had begun to care about her appearance. One moment, the thought of Lei Xiuyuan's imminent return thrilled her beyond measure; the next, the fear that he might not recognize her filled her with worry and melancholy. Turning these thoughts over in her mind, she found sleep impossible and instead spread out stationery to write replies to everyone's letters.
Two days later, just as her morning cultivation session ended, Li Fei wiped her sweat and headed back. A blur of movement caught her eye—several Shining Light Peak disciples had landed outside the corridor. Had they skipped lunch to come here? How absurd. Li Fei shot them a glance but ignored them. Over the years, her attitude toward these people had shifted from initial aversion to outright indifference. Had her senior sister not forbidden it, she would have long since beaten them up.
Later, her senior sister had even asked their Master to rein in Shining Light Peak's disciples, lest they turn a proper cultivation ground into a den of miasma. But Master had only said, "Admiring beauty is human nature. You can restrain ten, but not a hundred or a thousand. They haven't overstepped—what's the harm in looking? My Chongyi's disciple is peerlessly lovely—she ought to let others admire her openly."
With their Master speaking thus, they had no choice but to continue ignoring them.
Just as Li Fei pushed open her door to enter, a male disciple whispered, "Junior Sister Li Fei... won't you come to Shining Light Peak today? Junior Brother Xiu Yuan emerged from the Cinnabar Cave this morning."
She nearly leaped out of her skin. "He's really out?" she blurted.
The moment they nodded, the usually composed and cheerful beauty scrambled frantically onto her cloud, disregarding all dignity. Never had anyone flown so fast—she vanished beyond the horizon in the blink of an eye. The disciples, who had hoped to accompany her, could only gape in stunned silence.Li Fei didn't even have time to eat, flying at breakneck speed to Shining Light Peak, only to find the Disciple Room completely empty—was Lei Xiuyuan not here? Could he have gone to eat? Or was he sleeping?
Suddenly, she heard clamoring voices from the peak's summit. She hurried over and saw many disciples gathered in front of Shining Light Hall, with Guangwei Zhenren present as well, giving instructions to several direct disciples. The long-absent Hu Jiaping was also there, and after three years, he seemed unchanged, still grinning with that same roguish smile.
She quickly scanned the crowd but couldn't find any male disciple resembling Lei Xiuyuan. Instead, several male disciples noticed her standing there dazed and immediately swarmed around her, overjoyed. "Junior Sister Li Fei, what brings you here suddenly? Have you eaten?" they clamored.
Annoyed beyond measure, Li Fei watched as more male disciples closed in around her. Suddenly, her expression darkened, and she snapped, "All of you, move aside!"
Just then, she heard a quiet laugh from behind. Turning, she saw a young man in a disciple uniform standing on the slope, watching her. His eyes were still the same—misty and deep, as if veiled in fog—but now they carried a sharpness. Perhaps from three years spent in the darkness of Cinnabar Cave, his complexion was slightly pale, yet he didn't appear sickly at all. The once delicate, almost girlish boy had grown into a tall, poised young man, his bearing refined and graceful. Though his features still resembled those from before, there was an unfamiliarity to him now—the prickly, disdainful child who saw everyone as fools seemed to have vanished entirely.
Li Fei started toward him but stopped halfway, tilting her head as she studied him. Softly, she murmured, "...Xiu Yuan?"
The Lei Xiuyuan she could never clearly see in her dreams now stood before her in vivid detail. He had changed—but not in the way she had imagined. Her thoughts tangled in confusion, her heart alternating between joy and unfamiliarity, leaving her frozen in place.
Lei Xiuyuan slowly walked up to her. After gazing down at her for a moment, he gave a faint smile and pressed a hand to her head—just as he had when they were children. "How did you get even shorter?" he teased.
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