The disciples walked toward Wang Tong with trepidation and discovered that the aura on Master’s body was very wrong—it seemed even more restrained, making it… impossible to gauge his depth.
Kong Hou turned her head to see two young men staring at her with puppy-dog eyes. She hid the rabbit meat behind her back and looked at them carefully without speaking. Stars of light occasionally fell from the sky. The atmosphere froze at this moment.
Seeing the little girl in Master’s embrace, Cheng Yi and Tan Feng were dumbfounded. It was one thing for Master to go to the mortal realm to undergo his heart tribulation, but how did he also abduct a child back?
Cheng Yi was several years older than Tan Feng and had a more steady disposition. He stepped forward and bowed: “This disciple respectfully welcomes Master’s return.”
“My two good disciples have arrived.” Wang Tong, seeing his two disciples, tossed the bone in his hand to the ground and stood up, placing his hands behind his back. After surveying the two martial brothers once, he said, “During the years this master was away, you both have achieved breakthroughs. It seems you haven’t slacked off in your daily practice. Very good, very good.”
The two martial brothers looked at the scattered bones on the ground: “We dare not forget Master’s teachings.”
“Mm.” Wang Tong nodded with satisfaction. He wanted to reach out and stroke his snow-white beard, but remembering there was still oil on his hands, he put his hand back down. Cheng Yi took out a handkerchief from his bosom and handed it to Wang Tong. Wang Tong took the handkerchief but didn’t move, instead smiling as he looked toward Tan Feng.
Tan Feng felt around in his sleeve and also pulled one out.
As a generous master, Wang Tong unhesitatingly divided one handkerchief for Kong Hou. Only after she wiped her hands clean did he say: “These are your two martial elder brothers. Eldest martial brother Cheng Yi, second martial brother Tan Feng.”
Kong Hou, hearing this, straightened her body and properly greeted the two: “Kong Hou pays respects to the two martial elder brothers.” She secretly sized up the two martial brothers. The eldest martial brother named Cheng Yi had handsome features and was mature and steady. Second martial brother Tan Feng had fair skin and looked very amiable when he smiled.
“This is a disciple this master took in the mortal realm, named Kong Hou. After we return, calculate an auspicious day and hold a formal discipleship ceremony to record her under my name.”
Cheng Yi and Tan Feng felt it was somewhat strange that Master had rashly brought back a little girl from the mortal realm, but in front of the child, they didn’t ask much, afraid the child would overthink things. Cheng Yi squatted down so his gaze was level with Kong Hou’s: “Greetings, little martial sister.”
“Greetings, martial brother.” Kong Hou released her grip on the corner of Wang Tong’s robe and smiled at Cheng Yi with narrowed eyes.
“Not knowing little martial sister would come today, Tan Feng and I haven’t prepared any greeting gifts. Little martial sister, please don’t take offense.” Cheng Yi looked to be only in his twenties but was actually over a hundred years old. He had a natural fondness for cute young creatures.
“It’s alright.” Kong Hou pinched the empty purse tied at her waist. “I haven’t prepared greeting gifts either.”
“Your eldest martial brother and I are both over a hundred years old—how could we want gifts from a child like you?” Tan Feng bent down and spread his arms toward Kong Hou. “It’s so lively tonight. Come, second martial brother will take you to buy things.”
Kong Hou was somewhat tempted but her feet stood very firmly. She turned her head to look at Wang Tong.
“Go ahead.” Wang Tong nodded with a smile. Only then did Kong Hou shuffle forward in small steps to Tan Feng, who scooped her up in one motion.
Kong Hou covered her face: “Second martial brother, I’m almost ten years old.” After she turned six, no one had held her anymore. Later, when the Ji family’s realm fell, she, this dispensable princess of the former dynasty, could even less afford to be too pampered. During the evening banquet, because her emotions were agitated when Master held her, she hadn’t felt anything amiss. Now that she had calmed down, she felt somewhat shy.
“Mm, I’m almost one hundred sixty years old, a hundred and fifty years older than you.” Tan Feng, seeing a vendor selling pastries that children had been fond of in recent days, had just taken out spirit stones to buy some when Kong Hou grabbed his sleeve and whispered in his ear: “Second martial brother, Master said the pastries outside aren’t clean.”
“It’s fine, take them back to eat and play with.” Tan Feng tossed five spirit stones to the vendor and placed the pastries in Kong Hou’s arms. “Come, try them.”
A master who could bring his little martial sister to eat roasted rabbit meat at twenty jade coins per rabbit—how could he think pastries at three spirit stones per box weren’t clean? Clearly he just didn’t have money in his pocket and wanted to deceive the child.
Kong Hou hugged the two boxes of pastries and smiled at Tan Feng with narrowed eyes. Master was a good person, and martial brother was also a good person.
The cultivation world was truly wonderful.
Wang Tong, standing in the distance, saw his disciple take Kong Hou to buy the pastries he hadn’t bought just now. He uncomfortably touched his nose.
“Master went to the mortal realm for several years. Tan Feng and I were both very worried. I wonder…” Cheng Yi was somewhat afraid to ask. Master had been stuck at the Core Formation cultivation level for over four hundred years. If he still couldn’t break through this year, Master would have less than ten years of lifespan remaining.
Before forming his Core Formation, Master was a cultivation genius rarely seen in five hundred years. No one had imagined he would ultimately be stuck on his mental state. It was said that before Master stepped onto the cultivation path, his family made sugar paintings and had even received praise from a first-rank official. The young and ignorant Master once had a grand ideal—to make sugar paintings that even people in the imperial palace would like.
Who would have thought that a cultivator who had lived over nine hundred years would have a heart tribulation of making sugar paintings praised even by the imperial family? Imperial family members—what good things didn’t they have? Who would care whether an old man’s sugar paintings were good or not?
Over the past hundred years, Wang Tong had made sugar paintings for many people and received much praise, including from this realm’s imperial family. However, he still hadn’t passed his heart tribulation, because the people praising him valued not the sugar paintings he made, but his status, cultivation level, position, or abilities.
No member of the imperial family praised him purely for the sugar paintings.
If time could flow backward, Wang Tong himself would beat up his former self. Couldn’t he have been more promising? Couldn’t he have had better aspirations? Why did he think of obtaining imperial family praise by making sugar paintings? What kind of brain was that?
However, childhood ideals were the purest thoughts at life’s beginning. Although many cultivators felt their childhood thoughts were childish and laughable, if they couldn’t walk past this barrier, they couldn’t advance further.
Cultivators like Wang Tong who still remembered their childhood ideals were fortunate. Some cultivators had long forgotten their original intentions. They struggled with this tribulation until death without ever knowing what grand wish their young selves had actually made. This also led many cultivation families to teach their children early on not to make wishes randomly, because who knew when they might regret it.
The Beast Taming Sect once had an elder who, as a child, made the absurd wish to “marry the world’s most beautiful woman.” In the end, his lifespan ran out. Never mind the world’s most beautiful woman—no beauty looked favorably on him at all. It was truly heartbreaking for those who heard of it and tear-inducing for those who witnessed it. Even after death, he became a negative example for various sects to educate their descendants. Unless a more absurd figure appeared, he wouldn’t be able to come down from the shame list for thousands of years to come.
Compared to this elder from the Beast Taming Sect, Wang Tong’s great ideal didn’t seem so laughable.
Hearing his eldest disciple ask this somewhat awkward question, Wang Tong straightened his spine: “This master was once one of the cultivation world’s ten great cultivation geniuses. How could this small heart tribulation be difficult? Not only has this master already broken through the heart tribulation, my cultivation has greatly increased. I’ve broken through the Nascent Soul barrier and directly ascended to the Out-of-Body realm.”
“Truly?!” Cheng Yi was overjoyed.
“Naturally. This master never boasts.” Wang Tong’s back straightened even more.
“Congratulations to Master.” Cheng Yi couldn’t contain his joy. “It’s getting late. Why don’t we return to rest first and register with the inner sect tomorrow?”
“What’s the rush? Tomorrow this master will return in glory and let those who looked down on us master and disciples see.” Wang Tong shook out his robes. “Grandpa is still Grandpa. A genius is a genius.”
Cheng Yi knew his own master’s face-saving personality and naturally agreed: “Master speaks truly.”
“Cheng Yi.” Wang Tong rubbed his hands together. “This master has been in the mortal realm all these years and no longer quite understands what clothing styles are popular nowadays. Tonight you’ll have to work hard and prepare things for this master.”
“Yes.” Cheng Yi turned his head to look to the side. Kong Hou was squatting together with Tan Feng, using small nets to catch little fish with glowing bellies by the street side. “The imperial family member who helped Master successfully pass his tribulation—is it this little martial sister?”
The little martial sister Master brought back from the mortal realm—though her aptitude was unknown, she was surrounded by imperial dragon energy. However, this energy was extremely faint. If one’s cultivation hadn’t reached the Heart Movement stage, they fundamentally couldn’t detect it at all.
Wang Tong looked in the direction of Cheng Yi’s gaze and nodded.
In fact, even he himself felt this heart tribulation must be impossible to pass. He had disguised his identity and concealed his abilities. Relying solely on the status of a sugar painting craftsman, he didn’t even have the opportunity to approach nobility, much less have imperial family members praise him.
He had stayed in the mortal realm for a full eight years. No matter if it was windy or rainy, he would go out and set up his stall, searching for that barely visible opportunity. Just when he was in despair, Kong Hou’s appearance had made him succeed.
Kong Hou had broken five small fish nets and was so angry her baby fat puffed up on her face. Why was it that in a world with cultivators, things were still so fragile? She couldn’t catch even one fish.
“Little girl, why don’t you spend one more spirit stone to try again?” The vendor smiled and said, “These fish glow at night. Put them in a glass cup—they look especially beautiful.”
“Won’t try anymore.” Kong Hou shook her head and stood up, saying to Tan Feng, who was still squatting in place: “Second martial brother, let’s go find Master.”
“Why not try anymore?” Tan Feng knew many little girls liked this kind of glowing and beautiful lantern fish. Little martial sister had clearly liked them very much just now. Why did she stop trying just like that?
“Because one must know when to stop. Greed will only bring more losses.” Kong Hou hugged the pastry box. Being able to get such beautiful pastries, she was already very satisfied.
Tan Feng, hearing these words, felt somewhat conflicted. How could such a small child have such self-control?
He took the pastry box from Kong Hou’s hands and tossed two spirit stones to the vendor: “How is using just five fishing nets considered greed? Try again. I’ve already given the money. If you don’t try, it’ll be wasted.”
Kong Hou stared at the ten nets in Tan Feng’s hands, thought for a moment, and said seriously: “Waste is shameful, right?”
“Right.” Tan Feng forcefully suppressed his smile and nodded.
“I can’t be a child who wastes things.” Kong Hou took the nets. “Second martial brother, if I catch fish, I’ll give them to you.”
Tan Feng looked at the little girl squatting by the large basin. He saw her press her lips together, observing the swimming fish with focused eyes. After breaking the nets, though frustrated, she didn’t lose her temper and instead observed even more carefully.
When using the seventh net, Kong Hou finally caught a fish.
“Second martial brother!” Kong Hou smiled so broadly her eyes narrowed to slits. She carefully placed the fish in an earthenware jar and stuffed it into Tan Feng’s hands. “For you.”
“Thank you.” Tan Feng held the earthenware jar and cheerfully expressed his thanks, as if Kong Hou had given him a very remarkable gift.
When the martial siblings returned holding two earthenware jars, their faces still had water splashed by fish tails, and they smiled like two fools.
Cheng Yi looked at the two of them, then looked at Master standing to the side affecting an air of profundity, and wiped his forehead: “Let’s go. Let’s head back.”
“Eldest martial brother, do we live in high mountains amid white clouds?” Kong Hou remembered that in story books, cultivators all lived in such places.
Cheng Yi was startled, then smiled: “No, we’ll go to an inn first.”
Kong Hou suddenly understood. So the cultivation world also had inns.
Just as she was thinking this, suddenly celestial music sounded from the sky. She looked up and saw a glazed palace flying through the air. Countless women in colorful clothes danced gracefully around the celestial palace. Countless red brocade pouches fell from the celestial palace.
Kong Hou couldn’t help but reach out her hand, and two brocade pouches automatically fell into her palm.
“What is this?” Kong Hou touched the soft brocade pouches, somewhat curious. However, Wang Tong was spreading his hands open to catch pouches and didn’t have time to answer her.
“These are New Year’s Eve red envelopes distributed by cultivation families to everyone for festivity.” Cheng Yi, seeing two more pouches automatically fall into Kong Hou’s hands, smiled and said, “It seems little martial sister’s fortune for the coming year will certainly be very good.”
Only then did Kong Hou discover that these pouches all automatically drifted into certain people’s hands. If anyone maliciously scrambled for them, the pouches would turn to black ash.
The magical cultivation world—even the pouches had such integrity. If they said they wouldn’t give to someone, they wouldn’t. They would rather shatter as jade than remain whole as clay tile.
Soon Kong Hou’s arms were piled with seven or eight pouches. Young as she was, she held a full armful. She looked up at the glazed palace flying overhead and vaguely saw a plaque on the palace with the three characters “Yuxiao Sect” written on it.
These cultivation sects were truly generous and magnanimous. She really liked this place.
Just as she was thinking this, a golden brocade pouch also fell into her embrace.