Chapter 46: Praise, Praise, Praise

"Senior Brother, I have no strength left. Help support me." Lin Jiuge had relied entirely on a burst of sheer grit during her spar with Zhang Xianglin. Now that her rhythm had been disrupted and that breath had dissipated, she could only struggle to hold on until her Master arrived.

"Jiuci, come with Uncle first." Li Yun spoke, scooping up Lin Jiuci in his arms and leaving.

Zhou Yan carefully stepped forward to support Lin Jiuge.

"Jiuge, you were much too reckless." Zhou Yan channeled his primordial energy to soothe her body as he helped her walk.

"The circumstances didn't permit second thoughts at the time." Lin Jiuge recovered just a fraction of her strength, enough to at least manage on her own two feet.

Could she really say that she had originally intended to act like a reasonable guardian, sitting down to discuss civilly with the other party's parents about how the conflict between the two children arose and whose fault it really was? Even though Lin Jiuci had beaten the other child multiple times, she would still have been open to a mutual reconciliation between both families.

Who could have predicted that the child's family would be so blindingly protective, launching into a physical altercation without a single word of sense—and targeting her younger sister at that? There was simply no tolerating such behavior! Therefore, to prepare for any future encounters of this sort, Lin Jiuge resolved to cultivate diligently. If reasoning failed in the days to come, she would simply use her fists to establish the right to speak!

Inside the classroom, Tian Ting was not teaching any new material.

"Do you all remember when I told you about the Ten Great Swords?"

"We remember!" The disciples nodded eagerly, their eyes shining with excitement.

"Today, you actually got to see the wielder of one of them: the master of the Golden Sword, Lin Jiuge," Tian Ting continued, her eyes filled with undisguised admiration.

"Lin Jiuci's older sister is the master of the Golden Sword?" The older pupils immediately put two and two together. So Lin Jiuci's backing was none other than her formidable sister!

"That's right. Senior Uncle Jiuge has only been cultivating for three years. Do you know what her current cultivation realm is? I've previously explained the five foundational realms of mortal shedding. Senior Uncle Jiuge is currently in the second stage of the Bright Mortal Realm, while the fellow senior uncle she fought against has already broken past the Untrammeled Desolate Realm," Tian Ting elaborated.

"Whoa, cross-realm combat!"

"They fought to a standstill!"

"I've decided to model myself after Jiuci's older sister."

"Senior Uncle Jiuge also hails from the mortal realm, and her achievements are there for all to see. She is the direct disciple of the Combat Sovereign of Enlightenment, the absolute pinnacle of combat strength across the Azure Continent. Her senior uncle is the Scholarly Primordial Sovereign who has read every text under the heavens, and her junior uncle is the reigning sect master. These are merely her external connections," Tian Ting explained, briefly sketching out Lin Jiuge's formidable circle.

"More importantly, if you all remain in the Daiyue Sect, you will have the opportunity to master *Swift Strides*, a technique created by Senior Uncle Jiuge. It is an exceptional martial art. The reason your Instructor Tian Hao and I are qualified to teach you is largely because we were among the very first to learn *Swift Strides*." At this, a hint of pride crept into Tian Ting's voice.

"Instructor, could we witness *Swift Strides* for ourselves?" Some of the disciples asked, their eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"A demonstration can be arranged," Tian Ting consented.

Tian Hao, who had remained silent until now, suddenly moved. In an instant, the entire classroom was filled with afterimages of him.

"So fast!"

"This is a movement technique that requires a specific natural aptitude, and your Instructor Tian Hao has only mastered the barest surface of it. It is not too late for you all to work hard now," Tian Ting revealed, finally laying bare her true purpose.

"Instructor, could I take Jiuci's sister as my master?" One daring pupil proposed the possibility.

"No, Senior Uncle Jiuge's cultivation seniority is not high enough for that," Tian Ting flatly rejected.

Yet, quite a few people harbored this exact notion, especially those who had heard wind of today's events; they all desperately wanted to send their own troublesome youngsters over.

"Senior Brother, you simply must think of a solution, or else hand Jiuge over and let her take charge of this troop of little monkeys!" The sect master, once again trapped at his doorway by demanding parents, came to pour out his grievances to his senior brother.

"Everyone's ambitions are certainly grand," Li Yun replied with a stiff, unnatural smile, though his fists grew steadily tighter.

"There's nothing I can do. Somehow, word got out that Jiuge actually knows how to teach people, especially since little Jiuci beats up Zhang Boyu every single day." The sect master spread his hands in helpless resignation, knowing full well that these two senior brothers of his were impervious to persuasion and had dumped the entire mess onto his doorstep.

"Heh, is it possible that Jiuci learned how to beat people from your own disciple?" Li Yun had heard all about how his own disciple educated his younger sister. The general philosophy was that her little sister only needed to act like a fairy, while the dirty work of using physical force would be handled by her! Furthermore, his fine grand-disciple had spent so much time mingling with Jiuge that he had entirely forgotten he was supposed to be a sorcerer, meticulously tutoring little Jiuci on which pressure points hurt the most and how to leverage clever leverage when physical strength fell short.

"Senior Brother, what are you joking about? Ah-Yan is a sorcerer," the sect master said awkwardly.

"A sorcerer? Junior Brother, do you even remember that you have a disciple? If you don't start teaching him properly soon, that disciple of yours is going to evolve into a full-fledged brawler." Since when did a respectable disciple get pawned off onto a senior brother, and since when did a sorcerer possess a physical constitution rivaling a brute fighter?

"Heh." The sect master could only offer a foolish grin, stubbornly refusing to take the bait.

"Enough of that, stop playing the fool. Your disciple wants to advance further, which requires the power of lightning—you are aware of this. Putting others aside for a moment, you go speak with Senior Brother Wu Lei. If he is willing to cooperate with my disciple's cultivation, sending that little monkey of his over here to be disciplined for a few days isn't entirely out of the question. However, during this period of discipline, should any of his family members dare to come make a scene, he must personally assist my disciple's cultivation, and the disciplinary arrangement will be instantly voided." Li Yun stated, having clearly perceived that Lin Jiuge had hit a bottleneck.

"This... might that be a bit inappropriate?" The sect master offered tactfully.

"Ah-Yan needs it as well."

"I'll go immediately." The sect master sprang into action without a single moment of hesitation.

Three days later, as Li Yun stared at the two troublesome brats standing before him—with one extra having magically appeared—he shot a look of pure death rays straight at the sect master.

"Senior Brother, I didn't want to either, but Senior Brother Wu Si simply offered too much!" The sect master put on an aggrieved expression, utterly powerless to refuse the temptation.

"What exactly did he offer?" Li Yun demanded. Knowing him, he was fiercely protective of his own, especially since this brat had once blasted Jiuci with a talisman.

"A three-tenths reduction on raw ore processing fees for the sect's artifact smiths."

"Does that have anything to do with Jiuge?"

"One thousand superior-grade raw stones for Jiuge."

"Does my disciple look like she lacks those?"

"The gold-and-silver woven soft armor that Senior Brother fancies."

"That was what this sovereign fancied fifty years ago."

"Free custom forging of any magical artifacts required by Jiuci."

"Is the old bookworm's craftsmanship even that poor?"

"All required minerals provided entirely by the Artifact Hall."

"Do I look like I care about his measly minerals?"

"Three pieces of rare flowing-silver mineral ore."

"Hand them over." Li Yun finally agreed.

"Tsk tsk, for someone as stingy as Wu Si, he certainly bled heavily this time," Li Yun remarked as he accepted the ores.

"Um, there's also... these two children will be staying here temporarily," the sect master added cautiously.

"This is the lodging fee." The sect master slid over two storage rings.

"Very well, leave the two brats and you can take your leave. As I said before, the moment their family members interfere, the items will not be returned, and the agreement is null and void." Li Yun waved his hand, signaling that his exasperated junior brother was free to scram.

"Senior Brother, this junior takes his leave." The sect master wiped away a non-existent bead of sweat. Hopefully, his senior brother wouldn't find out that he had skimmed a portion of the compensation for himself.

"You two, come here."

"Greetings, Combat Sovereign of Enlightenment." The two youngsters trembled in their boots; this was the legendary Combat Sovereign of Enlightenment, and they instantly behaved as docilely as quails.

Li Yun felt a profound wave of disgust.

"Uncle, it's time to eat!" Lin Jiuci's cheerful voice drifted over.

"Coming." Li Yun's expression underwent an instantaneous transformation as he scooped up Lin Jiuci's tiny form into his arms.

The two mischievous youngsters stared in utter shock. Was Lin Jiuci truly devoid of all fear?

"So, is this the debt my master managed to clear on my behalf?"