After tallying the contents of the Qiankun Pouch, Lin Fan tucked it back inside but tied it securely to his own waist.
"You've got your stuff. Can you let me go now?" Yue Chan asked, barely containing her fury, her voice strained with forced calm.
"Did I ever say I'd let you go?" Lin Fan replied, picking at his ear with a dazzling grin. His pearly teeth gleamed under the sunlight, sparkling with an almost mischievous charm.
"You—!" Yue Chan exhaled sharply, her anger nearly driving her mad. She'd never met such a shameless brat—a rogue, a scoundrel! That devilish smile made her tremble with rage.
As the Holy Maiden of the Heaven Mending Sect, she was accustomed to being the center of attention, revered and respected wherever she went, with countless admirers vying for her favor. But today, everything had changed. She'd been thoroughly trampled, shown no mercy, and the crushing sense of defeat was almost too much to bear.
Yet, she had no choice but to swallow her pride.
"Junior Brother… I was wrong. I shouldn't have ambushed you. How about letting your senior sister off just this once?" Yue Chan's large, watery eyes brimmed with tears as she rubbed them, looking pitiful and forlorn.
Lin Fan's mouth twitched. He hadn't expected this side of Yue Chan—so utterly… entertaining! Was this really the ethereal, otherworldly fairy she'd become in the future? Right now, she was just a pink-cheeked, adorable little girl, equal parts cute and comical.
Something's off. Way too off. Is she possessed by a witch or something? Lin Fan thought, intrigued. He wanted to tease her further, maybe even record this moment for posterity. It'd make perfect blackmail material to taunt her with later—an epic piece of her dark history.
But a clear, cold voice interrupted his scheming.
"Let her go."
"Pretty Sister!" Lin Fan blinked, looking up.
There stood Qing Yao, clad in a flowing, pale blue dress. Her graceful figure was striking, her curves elegant, her face serene and breathtakingly beautiful—an impeccable vision of perfection, radiant and untouchable.
Lin Fan immediately stood, brushing the dust off his clothes. He released Yue Chan and stepped aside, his playful grin fading into a respectful demeanor.
Yue Chan scrambled to her feet, but instead of plotting revenge, she lowered her head, her expression awkward and uncertain, standing there at a loss.
Unlike Yue Chan, Lin Fan's eyes gleamed with mischief. His small face morphed into a mask of grievance as he whined, "Pretty Sister, you have to stand up for me! She ambushed me while I was cultivating and wrecked this place!"
"You little—!" Yue Chan's eyes widened in disbelief, her jaw dropping. She couldn't believe he'd stoop so low as to tattle—and exaggerate the story, no less! Cultivating? You were napping, you slacker! And you helped trash this place too!
"You shameless, despicable—!" Yue Chan spat, her usual poise crumbling. She was at a loss for harsher words.
"Pretty Sister, look! Senior Sister's bullying me! She hit me so hard… my hands, my waist—they still hurt!" Lin Fan wailed, feigning agony as he clutched Qing Yao's skirt, wiping away nonexistent tears.
"Argh!" Yue Chan's chest heaved, her fury boiling over. She stomped her foot, seething at his audacity. Shameless doesn't even begin to cover it!
She was the one who'd been beaten, humiliated, and injured, yet he had the gall to play the victim!
"Master, it's not like that, I—" Yue Chan started to explain, but Qing Yao's icy glare silenced her, making her flinch.
"Who told you to come here?" Qing Yao's voice was like celestial music, beautiful yet chilling, piercing to the core.
"I'm your disciple too. Why can't I come here?" Yue Chan mumbled, her head bowed, her voice tinged with confusion and helplessness.
Qing Yao sighed, hesitating before speaking. "Go back. Stop fooling around. Learn from your junior brother—focus on cultivating quietly. True strength comes from within."
Yue Chan wanted to argue that she trained diligently every day, but when she glanced at Lin Fan, younger yet so composed, she clamped her mouth shut.
"I understand, Master," she said softly, nodding like a chastised child. She turned to leave the sacred land.
But as she walked away, she shot a glance back at Lin Fan's smug, mocking smile. Her anger flared, and she glared fiercely, her eyes promising, Just you wait, you brat. Next time, I'll defeat you and pay you back tenfold!
"Annoying junior brother, I'll be back!" she vowed silently.
_
After Yue Chan's departure, Qing Yao turned to Lin Fan but said nothing. With a gentle wave of her hand, she brushed the dirt from his face and clothes, then cast a grand spell to restore the area to its original state.
"Heaven Mending Technique!" Lin Fan gasped. The world seemed to rewind before his eyes. Cracked earth sealed shut, shattered craters filled themselves, and broken purple bamboo stalks regrew. Everything reverted to its pristine state, as it had been before the battle.
Even the Black Stone Platform, where Lin Fan often lounged, reformed from countless fragments into a seamless whole, without a single crack.
This was the Heaven Mending Technique at an extraordinary level, capable of reversing the physical state of objects. Despite the time that had passed since their fight, Qing Yao could still turn back the clock by an hour—an astonishing feat.
However, the technique had its limits. It could only restore the physical form, not the essence, energy, or spirit consumed in the process. Otherwise, it would be absurdly overpowered. Imagine fighting an enemy to near exhaustion, only for them to restore themselves to peak condition while you remained drained.
But I might be able to overcome that flaw, Lin Fan mused. The innate divine ability nurtured by his Supreme Bone could restore vitality and spiritual energy, returning him to his prime. If I could fuse the Heaven Mending Technique with my ability…
If he could resolve the compatibility issues, strip away the offensive aspects of the Heaven Mending Technique, and retain its "reversal" and temporal mysteries, he could create an unparalleled supportive divine ability.
Qing Yao, observing Lin Fan slip into a state of enlightenment, was quietly astonished. To gain such insight just from witnessing her use of the Heaven Mending Technique spoke volumes of his prodigious talent.
In truth, she had returned earlier, arriving the moment Yue Chan entered the area. But she chose not to intervene, watching silently from the sidelines, even as Yue Chan was defeated and pinned.
Partly, she felt it wasn't good to leave a seven-year-old boy alone for too long. But more importantly, she wanted to see how Lin Fan stacked up against Yue Chan. Combat was the ultimate test of cultivation, revealing strengths and weaknesses.
The result was clear: Yue Chan had been utterly outmatched. Her combat skills, mindset, and self-awareness were lacking, riddled with flaws. Lin Fan, on the other hand, excelled. He remained calm, reacted swiftly, disrupted his opponent's composure, leveraged his strengths, and struck decisively, achieving victory with minimal cost.
Yet Qing Yao's heart ached for him. For a child so young to fight with such precision and ruthlessness, he must have endured life-and-death struggles long before joining the Heaven Mending Sect. His diligence in cultivation was unmatched, and his maturity—his self-reliance, never troubling her, acting like a little adult—was far beyond his years.
What kind of mother would let a child like this fend for himself? Qing Yao sighed softly, her heart heavy with pity.
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