Because of the instructions Jian Dan gave before she left the sect, Mao Dou stayed inside the Heavenly Sword Sect to cultivate after forming his Golden Core. Every so often, he took on sect missions to gather points. Whenever he saved up enough, he'd head into the Dreamlike Illusory Rubik's Cube Realm to train. After getting beaten up and kicked out three times, he always went to find Yue Liang for extra practice.
He trained in the Waterwood Purity Scripture while sharpening the human sword unity method recorded in the Golden Severance Sword Manual. He didn't even need to forge a life bound sword. The sword bone inside his body was already his blade and would only grow stronger as his cultivation rose.
A hundred years later, he formed his Yuányīng. His swordsmanship reached minor completion. Last year, he teamed up with a few people and left the sect for training. Yue Liang followed in secret, pretending to be a tiny spirit pet. She didn't plan to act unless he faced a life and death crisis.
His second disciple, Yu Zongfan, practiced a high level family cultivation method that suited his earth spiritual root. It gave him twice the result for half the effort, so he even formed his Golden Core earlier than Mao Dou. Even the treasure hunting mouse Bai Bai at his side advanced to the third rank.
Earth spiritual roots were naturally good at both attack and defense. Among the four cultivation arts, he chose formation arts. He was now a third rank formation master. With Bai Bai acting like a treasure detector, he quickly collected all the materials needed to forge his life bound sword. After he formed his Nascent Soul, he refined an earth attributed spirit sword of his own.
Yu Zongfan formed his Yuányīng two years later than Mao Dou. Not long ago, he teamed up with his friends from the Children's Hall, Yu Jiajia, Zhao Yunhai, and Jia Yushu, and went to explore an ancient expert's estate. Bai Bai advanced to the fourth rank thanks to his breakthrough and went along with Mo Ran to support him during the journey.
Jian Dan assumed those three disciples definitely had high level cultivators protecting them from the shadows. She didn't worry at all, so she didn't agree when Lü Se asked if he should summon them back.
Her youngest disciple, Wei Xueru, was the most well behaved. Maybe it was because she'd been suppressed too harshly in her family. Once she could cultivate, she threw herself into it with obsession. Nobody ever had to push her.
On top of that, her older brother helped her obtain a wind spirit. Jian Dan used her sect points to find the top level Windcloud Manual for her. That let her catch up to her two senior brothers bit by bit. Half a year ago, she formed her Yuányīng, then accepted a sect mission with Jade and left for her own training.
During her travels, she quietly returned to the Wei Family estate to see her parents. She stayed with them for three days. By the time the clan realized she'd come back, she had already slipped away. She didn't feel any need to meet other clan members.
The Wei Family's patriarch rushed over and found no one. He was furious. Wei Xueru was no longer the powerless little girl they could bully at will.
When she formed her Golden Core, the Wei Family already knew she didn't lack cultivation methods. Jian Lu Zūnshàng had found a wind attributed manual for her disciple, but the Wei Family still clung to the hope that their clan technique was superior. That last bit of arrogance shattered the moment Wei Xueru returned.
From then on, her reversal of fate was complete. She saw how the disciples who mocked her in the past were still stuck where they'd been. Some were no stronger than before. Some were still at the Golden Core stage. Even those who managed to reach Nascent Soul were all older than her.
Her lingering knots dissolved. She even gained insight on the spot and pushed her cultivation to the peak of early Nascent Soul. If she hadn't just broken through, she might've pushed straight into mid stage.
Jian Dan sat in the rocking chair beneath the banyan tree. She held a round fan and listened to Lü Se's report. She was very satisfied with her three beloved disciples.
"Zūnshàng, please rest assured," Lü Se said. "All three little Zhēnjūn stepped into Nascent Soul before turning two hundred. They're elite disciples of the sect now, and their temperaments are excellent. The sect is focusing on training them. They've never embarrassed you. The great experts of many peaks are jealous and wish they could take them in as their own disciples."
He finished with a summary and a generous sprinkle of flattery.
"Alright, stop praising them," Jian Dan said with a smile. "Once I've recovered a bit, send them a message and tell them I'm back. Remember to tell them they'll need to accept my tests when they return."
"Yes, Zūnshàng. Lü Se will remember."
"How's your family been progressing over the last hundred years?"
Jian Dan shifted the topic and asked.
"Zūnshàng, the family is developing smoothly," Lü Se replied solemnly. "My clan uncle Lü Mingyi is the current patriarch. With the clan's support, he's already reached mid stage Nascent Soul. He's more than capable of leading the family forward."
The family had grown rapidly in recent years. Of course it was partly because they had a powerful backer, but it was also due to the clan's younger generation working hard. Lü Se was about to break through to the Divine Soul stage himself, which would be another powerful support for the family. None of this would've been possible without Jian Lu Zūnshàng's silent approval.
"That's good. I obtained information about the insect clan's invasion from the spatial rift. After I report it to the Law Enforcement Hall and the sect, I'll organize a copy for you. You can send it back to your family so they can prepare early."
"Yes. Thank you, Zūnshàng."
Lü Se bowed deeply.
"I've said it before. Strength is the foundation. Make good use of the time you have and train the younger generation well. Raise your high level cultivators."
Jian Dan sipped her tea and reminded him again.
He was someone close to her. She wouldn't let him receive important news last.
"Lü Se understands."
"I took some injuries in the spatial passage this time. I'll need to spend some time healing. Just take care of the cave residence."
The moment he heard she was injured, Lü Se frowned.
"Zūnshàng, I'll exchange for some top grade healing pills right away. You haven't accepted your offerings for the past century either."
"No. All medicine carries some poison. I rarely take pills. I'll accept the offerings after I come out of seclusion."
Jian Dan waved her hand to refuse.
"If anyone comes looking for me, tell them I'm in seclusion healing. Everything will wait until I come out."
===
Hey darlings~ ✧.ヾ(｡>﹏<｡)ﾉﾞ
I finally made a Discord server! Sorry if it looks a bit messy or awkward, I've never actually made one before lol.
The main reason I made it is… I just really wanna interact with you all! Maybe I just wanna share updates about my life, something funny I found, or my little thoughts/impressions on the chapter I'm currently translating (aka tiny spoilers wkwkwk) ヾ(≧▽≦*)o And a bunch of other stuff too~
I mean, I can't really do that on Webnovel, right? And AO3 is kinda similar…
Also, since I started uploading on AO3 after hitting the project limit on Webnovel, I kinda ended up with two separate "reader groups" (you know what I mean, right? >w<). So I thought, why not bring everyone together in one cozy place? Plus, it's easier to chat about translations or Webnovel stuff in general.
I'd be super happy if you joined 🥺
75sprU6DdD
See you there~ ✧*.