May 19, 2017, Sunny
In the early morning, after a simple cleanup of the arrays and buildings in the Sword World, the Sword Spirit of the Celestial Divine Sword began urging its mount to get up early for training.
According to the usual schedule, Li Qingming should have already gotten up to wash. Even when her back injury was severe, she would still at least practice breathing exercises and circulate her Qi Blood. Moreover, after yesterday, her injuries had improved significantly, so it was time to resume her Immovable Tyrant Body cultivation.
However, when the Sword Spirit reached Li Qingming's bedroom, it found her still drowsy, on the verge of waking up. Such laziness naturally displeased the master, who directly splashed a basin of cold water over, resulting in the girl letting out a sharp scream.
"What's going on, what's going on!?"
Wang Jiu said heavily, "Li Qingming, I understand your joy at suddenly meeting a wise leader and your optimistic expectations for the future, but I must remind you, cultivation is a personal affair, and the master cannot do it for you. Your natural aptitude and understanding are already lacking, relying entirely on your bloodline's strength to support your cultivation, and now you can't even manage basic diligence..."
"Oh my god, are you a nagging old woman!? It's so annoying to hear this right after waking up, and whose fault is it that I can't get up? I listened to those idiots wailing like ghosts all night! Can't you tell them to quiet down a bit?"
Wang Jiu was astonished, "You, a Martial Arts expert at the peak of physical refinement with full Divine Sense, are kept awake by noise?"
"...That was noise from three elite experts and a Wind-Rising Realm cultivator."
"Does it make any difference!? And couldn't you plug your ears?"
Li Qingming lowered her head and mumbled for a while before admitting, "I found it quite amusing, so..."
"So you listened all night and couldn't get up early for training? I think I need to give you a second round of intelligence tests."
"Alright, alright, I'll get up to train, okay?"
Li Qingming had no choice. She quickly jumped out of bed, rubbing her still slightly numb waist while performing her usual body tempering exercises, circulating her Qi Blood.
Even though the Immovable Tyrant Body's tempering method is obviously more effective, the pain from being bedridden for several days is something she truly doesn't want to experience again...
Seeing Li Qingming beginning to overcome her drowsiness and train systematically, Wang Jiu also felt a bit touched.
This person is so afraid of intelligence tests that it seems she's really lacking in brainpower. The previous test result of 3.3 might have just been a fluke; her actual intelligence might even be lower. This is somewhat similar to her great-grandfather Shen Kaishan. When Shang Lanfei tested Shen Kaishan back then, the result was 2.0, moderate intellectual disability, and Shen Kaishan was even quite happy about it...
The morning training session quickly came to an end. At noon, feeling that her physical condition had recovered well, Li Qingming decided not to order takeout and instead cooked a clear radish soup herself. Just as she was eating seriously, she caught the scent of meat wafting over from the side. She saw her Sword Spirit nonchalantly take over a takeout box, inside of which were various dishes arranged in a lavish feast...
"Wang Jiu!?"
"Hmm?"
"You, you've been recklessly spending money again!?"
"No, the dishes are all carefully selected to suit my taste, worth the price, so it can't be considered reckless spending."
"It's not about the dishes!" Unable to continue eating her clear radish soup, Li Qingming angrily glared at the Sword Spirit's takeout box, especially upon seeing the bill stuck to the box, nearly bringing her to tears.
But remembering that it was thanks to him blocking the household's four-member group last night, Li Qingming had to suppress her anger, "How much of my mother's inheritance is left?"
"The money is gone, there are only your parents' love letters left. Want to see them?"
"No, and you're not allowed to look either!"
"I've already read them though!"
"Then forget them for me!" shouted Li Qingming in frustration, yet she couldn't help but feel a bit curious.
What kind of couple and husband and wife were her parents back then?
Her mother, Shen Yue'e, was once the beloved daughter of the City Lord of Shen City, a powerful family that rivaled the Li Family in Xiangzhou, yet she willingly married Li Fengyun as a concubine. More incredibly, Li Fengyun actually dared to marry her this way!
Of course, the Shen Family couldn't tolerate their daughter becoming someone else's concubine and soon cut ties with Shen Yue'e, reducing their relationship with the Li Family to an all-time low. This romance and marriage were full of inconceivable elements, but unfortunately, shortly after Li Qingming was born, Shen Yue'e passed away unexpectedly, not having the chance to explain much to her.
After Shen Yue'e's death, Li Fengyun seemed to change overnight, marrying Lu Family's daughter, Lu Xin, while his beloved's body was still warm, and began to neglect his own child, Li Qingming, almost ceasing to speak to her. Li Qingming was furious and didn't want to bother with the reasons behind it.
But now...
"Take me to that underground storage room."
Wang Jiu wondered, "Didn't you say you didn't want to see it?"
"I, although I indeed don't want to look, I feel it's necessary to properly take care of the relics left by my mother."
Wang Jiu said, "It's okay, they're quite safe in the storage room."
"It's completely unsafe! What if there's a fire? What if there's an earthquake? Such precious heritage, I must keep it close to feel at ease!"
Li Qingming, suppressing the blush on her face, spoke righteously: "Now, immediately, take me to the storage room!"
Wang Jiu didn't mind and quickly led Li Qingming to find Shen Yue'e's relics and brought them back to the bedroom.
"Afterwards, I, I need to carefully check these things. You go out now."
"Why?" Wang Jiu was puzzled.
"Your presence here distracts me." Li Qingming, really not good at talking, could no longer hide the blush on her face.
Watching the young girl's face flush like a tide, Wang Jiu thought for a moment and said: "While I understand the attraction of my perfect sword body to lower beings, you're still young and it's not suitable to indulge too deeply in such feelings driven by reproductive needs..."
Before he finished speaking, Li Qingming had already unceremoniously walked over, grabbed the Divine Sword, and used all her strength to fling it out.
——
Back in the room, Li Qingming finally calmed down to read her parents' letters.
Surprisingly, there was nothing blush-inducing or overly sentimental in them. Even the so-called 'Wen Ai' was serious and scholarly. In their prime, Shen Yue'e and Li Fengyun mostly discussed academic matters of cultivation techniques in their letters, talking seriously about the state of cultivation in the world and the merits of Li Family and Shen Family's techniques. Seldom did they ever touch upon romance, only occasionally revealing a hint of trust and intimacy between the lines.
However, this kind of earnest and serious discussion allowed Li Qingming to gradually feel a soothing warmth. Perhaps, the true divine couple should journey together for ideals rather than passion and desire.
This is what it truly means to hold one's hand and grow old together.
Of course, they were ultimately lovers in a passionate relationship, so occasionally their correspondence contained some tender and loving content.
"Fengyun, many people complain that you often seem absent-minded when talking with others, lacking in respect and grace. But I know you're brilliant, with endless creativity, making it hard for you to control your emotions — how can a qualified cultivator refuse inspiration in cultivation? However, the other day during our discussion of cultivation techniques, you suddenly became absent-minded for a long time, which puzzled me greatly. Did you have even more wonderful inspiration then, which forced you to set aside our discussion? If so, I'm really looking forward to your inspiration and our next conversation."
Following that was Li Fengyun's reply, consistent with his usual style, very brief, and penned with simple almost crude characters. Yet the contents left Li Qingming breathless.
"I was thinking how beautiful you are."
——
Meanwhile, in the Li Family Mansion. A middle-aged man in white clothing was listening intently as his wife spoke softly.
This middle-aged man had disheveled hair and beard, his face weathered, though his facial features faintly suggested he had once been a handsome and elegant man. But his tightly knitted brows, deep wrinkles, and graying hair seemed like merciless chisels, breaking his handsome features apart.
Yet he possessed a pair of eyes bright as stars, captivating and awe-inspiring.
This was the patriarch Li Fengyun of the Li Family, one of the Seven Great Noble Families, the leading family in Cyan Cloud. Though not yet fifty, his cultivation had reached the peak of the Mountain-Overturning Realm, making him the most outstanding among his peers, albeit with prematurely aged appearance.
Beside him stood a woman with an elegant and dignified air, full of mature charm, yet her figure and features still retained the appearance of youth, limitless in vitality.
The woman, named Lu Xin, was Li Fengyun's wife, the mistress of the Li Family Mansion in Cyan Cloud City, of modest cultivation, yet held the status of explaining to Li Fengyun the events involving Li Ping and the others from last night. The woman spoke briefly and concisely, finishing the story from beginning to end in no time, and then quietly awaited Li Fengyun's response.
After a considerable time, Li Fengyun raised his head and spoke slowly.
"What?"
Lu Xin's expression instantly stiffened, realizing her prior explanation had been wasted, she irritatedly tugged Li Fengyun's hand: "We're talking about Li Qingming's issue now, listen carefully!"
Li Fengyun, feeling the pain, promptly sat upright, obediently listening to his wife's recount of last night's events again.
Afterwards, his furrowed brows gradually relaxed, his face revealing joy.
"You're saying that Qingming has already mastered the Illusion Technique Array proficiently?!"
"Your focus is wrong!" Lu Xin had to forcefully pat the armrest of the chair, "She hasn't even broken the Wind Barrier yet, and she's getting distracted by such dubious methods. You're happy about this?! I've mentioned before, she used her left hand to write a note and fooled those idiots greatly. The strategy is admirable, but do you want Qingming to divide her attention during the crucial time for focusing on cultivation? She's inherently untalented and has a cold personality. If she can't even concentrate on cultivation, what more can she achieve? And if she truly becomes a failure in the future, what would people say about me?"
Li Fengyun thought for a while: "I haven't considered that."
"Of course you haven't considered that. Besides those academic issues, what else is in your mind?! I'm telling you, people will say, the dignified daughter of the Lu Family, Li Fengyun's wife, out of jealousy towards a concubine, maliciously made life difficult for her little daughter, suppressing a child with Li Family and Shen Family blood to incompetence! So, Li Qingming must succeed whether she likes it or not!"
Lu Xin, full of anger, glared at her confused husband, then glanced outside at their son Li Wushuang diligently practicing martial arts with punches and kicks, and said fiercely.
"At the very least, that girl must outdo Wushuang!"
"Ah?" Li Fengyun was taken aback.