After the matter at the Yunling Mountains concluded, Su Xiaomo gained recognition from the elder council. After all, such behavior of risking one’s life for fellow disciples was truly rare.

Sun Yingquan, who initially only regarded him as a lackey, now treated him as a close and trusted brother.

Indeed.

After recovering from his injuries, he proactively called Su Xiaomo over to secretly pass him a secret manual.

“Junior brother, this is the Twelve-Path Chrysanthemum Sword Technique. Take it and cultivate it, but don’t tell anyone I gave it to you!”

“Thank you, Senior Brother Sun!”

Sun Yingquan said with a straight face: “Saying thank you makes it seem like we’re strangers!”

“Uh.”

Su Xiaomo grinned.

“I’ve accepted a relatively easy task. Tomorrow we’ll go complete it together.”

“Sounds good!”

Not only did Sun Yingquan’s attitude toward Su Xiaomo change.

Other fellow disciples would warmly greet him whenever they saw him from afar, whereas before they would pretend not to see him at all.

Su Xiaomo was smooth in his dealings. In the elders’ eyes, he was a young man who knew how to get things done, but in many disciples’ eyes, he seemed somewhat slippery, so he wasn’t well-liked.

After experiencing the events at the Yunling Mountains, they realized this fellow disciple had courage and backbone, so they naturally accepted him.

“Although Hall Master Zi and the others can’t act, fortunately everything is still going according to plan…” Su Xiaomo thought to himself on the way to the dining hall.

As things stood, he had successfully established a foothold in the outer sect.

He only needed to gradually release his talent and strength, and promotion to the inner sect should have no problems.

In a great sect like the Taixuan Holy Sect, being smooth and flattering could only accumulate limited connections. To truly rise smoothly, one had to rely on personal strength.

“I also can’t take too big a step, lest the higher-ups become suspicious.”

“Sigh.”

Su Xiaomo rubbed his temples and thought: “My undercover road is long and arduous.”

“Hey.”

Suddenly, a voice called out.

Su Xiaomo turned around and saw Xia Shuiyun leaning against a large tree, saying indifferently: “Have your injuries healed?”

This girl was about eighteen or nineteen years old. Though her appearance couldn’t be called devastatingly beautiful, she was very pleasant and enduring to look at. However, her face carried a cold air, giving off an attitude of rejecting people from a thousand miles away.

“When a girl with a cold personality takes the initiative to talk to you, it means she has already let down her guard around you.” Master Wei’s words echoed in Su Xiaomo’s ears.

“Then how should I interact with her?”

“When facing such a girl, you must not pester her relentlessly, as it will backfire. Keep a deliberate distance from her, then observe the situation, adapt accordingly, and respond to all changes with constancy!”

Su Xiaomo carefully savored Master Wei’s words again and cupped his hands: “Thank you for the Clear Heart Ice Muscle Pill you gave me, Senior Sister. My injuries have completely healed.”

Xia Shuiyun said indifferently: “Sun Yingquan’s mind isn’t on the martial path. Following him will only delay your future.”

With that, she turned and left.

Su Xiaomo thought to himself: “I’d like to follow you, but you don’t care for me either.”

The “care” he mentioned wasn’t about romantic matters, but rather that having a grandfather who was an elder would help him thrive in the Taixuan Holy Sect.

“Dog Sheng.”

Sun Yingquan appeared behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder: “I just saw Xia Shuiyun talking to you?”

“Uh…”

Su Xiaomo said: “She asked about my injuries.”

“Tsk tsk.”

Sun Yingquan said: “That cold woman actually knows how to care about a junior brother? This is quite abnormal. Could it be…” He paused and said: “She’s interested in you?”

“Senior Brother Sun, please don’t joke around.”

Su Xiaomo said: “I’m of humble origin and don’t have high aptitude. How could I catch the eye of a heavenly pride like Senior Sister Xia?”

“Don’t look down on yourself too much either.”

Sun Yingquan patted his shoulder and said: “Come on, let’s go eat.”

…

The Taixuan Holy Sect’s dining hall was even larger and more expansive than the Eternal Sect’s.

However, the taste of the food didn’t suit Su Xiaomo’s palate at all. Every time he ate, it was like swallowing chaff, yet he had to pretend it tasted good.

“I really miss Dudu’s cooking.”

Su Xiaomo listlessly carried his food tray and sat down.

Just as he was about to start eating, he suddenly felt a cold air assault him and saw Xia Shuiyun sitting directly across from him.

“Hey.”

Sun Yingquan came over carrying his food tray and said: “This is my seat. Why are you sitting here?”

“I felt like it.”

Xia Shuiyun said indifferently.

“You… Forget it, a good man doesn’t fight with women!”

Sun Yingquan sat in another seat, muttering to himself: “She’s always eaten alone. Why is she sitting across from Dog Sheng today?”

“When facing such a girl, you must not pester her relentlessly, as it will backfire. Keep a deliberate distance from her, then observe the situation, adapt accordingly, and respond to all changes with constancy…”

Su Xiaomo kept thinking about what Master Wei had said, so he lowered his head to eat, not looking at Xia Shuiyun once throughout the entire meal, nor saying a single word to her.

Master Wei!

How did this situation change!

“I’ve accepted a task. Let’s go do it together after eating.” Xia Shuiyun spoke up.

Sun Yingquan, who was drinking soup, nearly choked.

Did he hear wrong? This woman who was always so aloof from the world was actually proactively asking Dog Sheng to do a task together!

Su Xiaomo scratched his head and said: “Senior Sister Xia, Senior Brother Sun and I already agreed that after eating, we’re going to the spirit energy array to cultivate, so…”

“You must go.” Xia Shuiyun said.

“This…”

Su Xiaomo looked toward Sun Yingquan, who said: “Senior Sister Xia rarely asks people for help. You should at least give her face.”

Was she asking?

This was an order!

“Alright.”

Su Xiaomo said: “We’ll go after eating.”

With that, he picked up his chopsticks and began eating in large bites.

Xia Shuiyun said indifferently: “When you just scratched your head, dandruff fell into your bowl.”

“Uh…”

Su Xiaomo’s expression became spectacular.

…

Yinshan Ridge.

A very sinister place.

At this moment, Su Xiaomo walked in front while Xia Shuiyun walked behind. The two didn’t communicate throughout and maintained a certain distance.

“Senior Sister.”

After walking for a while, Su Xiaomo finally couldn’t help but ask: “What task are we doing?”

“Eliminate the Shadowwind Wolf King.”

“Ah?”

Su Xiaomo’s eyes widened: “That’s a fierce beast comparable to a peak Wuzong! I can’t defeat it!”

“You only need to lure the wolf pack away. Leave it to me.” Xia Shuiyun said.

“…”

Su Xiaomo rolled his eyes.

So this woman called him to do the task together just to be responsible for luring the target!

“Awoo!”

“Awoo!”

Just then, waves of wolf howls came from the dark mountain forest.

“Stomp stomp stomp!”

Shadowwind wolves with strength at the low ninth-grade level emerged one after another, their eyes radiating cold light.

“Go on.”

Xia Shuiyun said: “Lure them away.”

“…”

Though Su Xiaomo felt devastated, he could only steel himself and walk forward, taunting the wolf beasts: “You bunch of little fleas, come catch me!”

“Awoo!”

“Awoo!”

Several hundred wolf beasts immediately charged over in a frenzy.

“Mama!”

Su Xiaomo hurriedly fled.

Although he was already deliberately restraining himself, once his short legs started moving, his speed was still quite fast!

“Clang!”

Just then, Xia Shuiyun summoned her three-foot-long sword, stepping with mysterious footwork as she merged into the darkness, searching for the Shadowwind Wolf King hidden within.

“This woman is too reckless!”

Su Xiaomo, who was being chased by the pack of wolves, thought speechlessly.

His spiritual sense had already penetrated the interior and discovered that inside, not only was there the Shadowwind Wolf King, but there were also several high-level wolf beasts comparable to Wuzong. It was easy to get in but difficult to get out!