Going back to the events…

Forget it, simply put.

The Grand Profound Sacred Sect went to Raging Wave Lake to eliminate a small group of demonic sect remnants but was ambushed. Both sides engaged in fierce battle, and finally the disciples and elders became separated.

Su Xiaomo and Xia Shuiyun were together when suddenly a masked black-clothed person with strength at the peak Wuzong tier attacked. He hurriedly used his back to block a palm strike for her, then both staggered and fled into the deep mountains and old forests.

Blocking bullets and damage for a girl at critical moments—favorability definitely skyrocketed!

“Senior Sister Xia.”

Before long, Su Xiaomo walked in carrying spring water, smiling: “The spring water here is very sweet.”

Xia Shuiyun took it and drank it all, then tried hard to stand up. Because her injuries hadn’t completely healed, she immediately swayed unsteadily.

Su Xiaomo quickly reached out to support her, saying: “You’re so badly injured. Don’t force yourself to stand.”

Xia Shuiyun’s expression changed slightly.

She wanted to push this fellow away, but feared aggravating her injuries, so she sat cross-legged again and said: “Let go.”

“…”

Su Xiaomo let go, then withdrew to the cave entrance, saying: “You recuperate. I’ll guard.”

“Remember, at any time, find the touching point to move the other person…” Elder Wei’s words rang in his ears.

“Whoosh!”

Su Xiaomo sat down with his back to Xia Shuiyun.

On his back clothing was clearly a dark palm print—the remnant from taking the masked black-clothed person’s attack head-on.

Seeing this, Xia Shuiyun recalled how he threw himself forward to save her earlier, rolling on the ground in pain and howling. The coldness on her face dissipated, and she gently lowered her head, her voice like a mosquito’s buzz: “I’m sorry. I dragged you down.”

Su Xiaomo smiled and said: “Being able to block a palm for Senior Sister Xia, this junior brother feels deeply honored.”

Elder Wei!

I seem to be about to succeed!

If Elder Wei were present, he would definitely smile with gratification.

“Glib talker.”

Xia Shuiyun gave him a white eye, then tried to stand up again, supporting herself against the stone wall: “My injuries need some time to fully recover. You should recuperate first.”

“I…”

Su Xiaomo had just said one word when he saw this woman glaring at him, so he walked inside and said: “Alright.”

“Whoosh whoosh!”

The cultivation method circulated, spiritual energy enveloped him.

Xia Shuiyun, who had moved with difficulty to the cave entrance, saw this. Her bright eyes showed surprise: “He’s actually comprehended the Approaching Heart Formula to the level of materializing spiritual energy!”

The Approaching Heart Formula was the Grand Profound Sacred Sect’s highest-level outer sect cultivation method. Only those recognized by the elders would be given permission to cultivate it.

Having already been designated as the next batch of inner sect disciples, Su Xiaomo obtained it and comprehended it to the great accomplishment realm in just one month.

Having a high-grade Wuwang with saint-grade spiritual roots cultivate this kind of outer sect cultivation method—naturally it was easy.

Of course.

Su Xiaomo was just putting on a show. Actually, he wasn’t injured at all.

Two hours later, the dark palm print on his back weakened considerably. He pretended to be energetic as he stood up, saying: “Senior Sister Xia…”

Because of her injuries, Xia Shuiyun had fallen asleep leaning against the cave entrance stone wall.

Looking at that slightly pale face, Su Xiaomo couldn’t help thinking: “If I hadn’t been protecting her, this woman would have died at Raging Wave Lake long ago.”

He walked over.

From his spatial ring, he took out a blanket and covered Xia Shuiyun.

Although he was already very careful, he still startled her. She suddenly opened her eyes with a flash of coldness, only becoming gentle after confirming who it was.

“Are you healed?”

“Yes, more or less.”

“That masked person’s strength was at peak Wuzong, and his martial techniques were very strange. How could you heal so quickly?”

Facing Xia Shuiyun’s doubt, Su Xiaomo took out a shattered tile piece and said: “This is a treasure my master left me for protection. It dispersed most of the power.”

“I see.” Xia Shuiyun understood.

“What a pity.” Su Xiaomo said bitterly: “Now it’s damaged.”

“After returning to the sect, I’ll have my grandfather send you another defensive treasure.” Xia Shuiyun said.

Su Xiaomo smiled: “Senior Sister already gave me a bottle of Pure Heart Ice Muscle Pills. How could I take more from you?”

Saying this, he subconsciously felt toward his waist and exclaimed: “The bottle—where’s my bottle! It’s over, it’s over, it must have fallen outside. I’ll go look for it!”

Xia Shuiyun said: “It’s just an empty bottle. Is it necessary to care so much?”

Su Xiaomo stopped at the cave entrance and said: “To many people, this is just an ordinary bottle. But to me, Su Jintang, it’s more precious than life, because… Senior Sister Xia gave it to me.”

“Idiot.”

Xia Shuiyun said indifferently.

Then she waved her hand and took out the Pure Heart Ice Muscle Pills bottle, saying: “You dropped it in the cave when you went to find water earlier.”

Su Xiaomo picked it up with great joy, then wiped it with his sleeve. Just as he was about to put it at his waist, feeling it wasn’t safe, he stuffed it directly in his chest.

Xia Shuiyun watched this, thinking: “If he likes bottles so much, I’ll send him a pile when we return.”

“That…”

“Bring over the shattered treasure. Let me see if there’s any possibility of repairing it.”

“It’s already in pieces. Probably can’t be repaired.”

Su Xiaomo handed over the tile piece, thinking: “This is just a random tile I found. Please don’t let her see through it!”

Xia Shuiyun examined it briefly, then tucked it in her sleeve, saying: “It’s already shattered. Even the treasure’s aura is gone. Repairing it is impossible.”

“…”

The corners of Su Xiaomo’s mouth twitched.

Elder Sister, if it can’t be repaired, give it back to me. What do you mean by keeping it!

Xia Shuiyun saw he seemed reluctant and said indifferently: “I gave you a bottle. You give me a tile piece. We’re even.”

“Uh…”

“Unwilling?”

“Willing.”

…

Xia Shuiyun’s injuries were very serious, and she lacked special healing elixirs, so Su Xiaomo didn’t rush to take her away. Instead, he carefully and responsibly took care of her, occasionally going out to collect medicinal herbs and brewing recovery soup for her meridians.

“You’ve studied the medicine dao?”

“My master is very proficient in the pill dao. During the time I trained with him, I learned some superficial knowledge.”

“Oh.”

Xia Shuiyun said: “Your master, Old Man Jun Tian, is very impressive. One glance could frighten away a beast horde.”

Su Xiaomo said while brewing medicinal herbs: “It’s not your junior brother boasting, but my master is erudite and knowledgeable, absolutely one of the world’s finest extraordinary persons.”

“Erudite and knowledgeable?”

Xia Shuiyun became interested and asked: “What does he know?”

“He knows martial dao, sword dao, pill dao, array dao, and also…”

Su Xiaomo rattled off a long list of daos, directly molding Jun Changxiao into a super all-capable existence.

Fortunately, Gousheng wasn’t present. Otherwise, he would definitely kick him and roar: “You describe this Seat as so awesome—how can I act in the future!”

Xia Shuiyun said: “I really envy your master. He can live freely and unfettered instead of being like me, having to work hard every day on predetermined things.”

Su Xiaomo smiled bitterly: “Senior Sister Xia has a special ice-type constitution, has an elder grandfather, and is highly valued by the sect. Your future is bright. Aren’t you satisfied?”

Xia Shuiyun said: “The sect has too many rules. Don’t you find it oppressive?”

Su Xiaomo laughed self-deprecatingly: “For a genius like Senior Sister Xia, it might be oppressive. But for someone of ordinary birth like me, if I slack off even slightly, I’ll lose everything and become someone everyone ridicules.”

What painful understanding.

“Have you heard of Lu Qianqian?” Xia Shuiyun suddenly asked.

“Lu Qianqian?”

Su Xiaomo said: “Senior Brother Sun mentioned her. She seems to have been one of our Grand Profound Sacred Sect’s top geniuses who later broke the rules and was expelled.”

“Yes.”

Xia Shuiyun shook her head: “Just because she entered the Ice Spring to cultivate without the elders’ permission, she was expelled. Senior Sister Lu’s talent was higher than mine, yet she still couldn’t break through the sect’s rules. How tragic.”

“The eldest senior sister was expelled for this reason?”

Su Xiaomo was secretly shocked. This was also the most crucial intelligence he had obtained while undercover at the Grand Profound Sacred Sect.

However.

A top genius expelled just for cultivating at some Ice Spring without permission—wasn’t that too hasty?

“Impossible, impossible.”

Su Xiaomo thought: “This is probably the elders’ official story. There must be another reason.”

Xia Shuiyun adjusted her somewhat dejected mood, her face cold: “Don’t tell anyone about this. Keep it buried forever.”

“Yes.”

Su Xiaomo nodded, then asked: “Senior Sister Xia, I heard this Lu Qianqian later joined the Eternal Sect and even participated in the Dragon-Tiger Contest.”

“Correct.”

Xia Shuiyun said: “I also didn’t expect that after having her cultivation abolished by the elders and her memory of all Grand Profound Sacred Sect martial studies stripped away, she would still have the chance to rise again.”

Holy shit!

Su Xiaomo was secretly shocked: “The eldest senior sister was actually crippled by the Grand Profound Sacred Sect. If the Sect Master knew this, he’d definitely explode on the spot!”

“The Eternal Sect disciples are very strong. I wonder what immortal elixirs they took.” Xia Shuiyun said.

She had watched the Dragon-Tiger Contest on the light screen and witnessed the strength of this emerging sect’s disciples.

Su Xiaomo thought: “You only see our strength but not how we cultivate.”

The Sculpting House, Training Tower, and Life-Death Secret Realm—these martial dao facilities could indeed improve strength, but the effort expended and sweat shed were dozens of times that of ordinary people.

“Gurgle, gurgle!” The medicinal soup began boiling.

Su Xiaomo collected his thoughts. After brewing for another ten-plus minutes, he carefully poured it into a bowl.

…

“Splash!”

The calm lake surface suddenly rippled with splashes.

“Got it, got it!” Shortly after, Su Xiaomo’s head emerged from the water, clutching a large fish as he smiled: “Senior Sister, we’ll have fish to eat tonight.”

It must be said, the magic-modified face mask was truly amazing—even soaking in water didn’t reveal his features.

“Smack!”

The large fish’s tail forcefully slapped Su Xiaomo’s face, then whooshed back into the water.

“No way!”

“This fish is so powerful!”

“Pfft!”

Seeing his left cheek turn red, Xia Shuiyun covered her mouth and laughed, then said: “You caught a Power Fish. Its instantaneous burst power rivals a peak Wutu.”

“No wonder!”

Su Xiaomo rubbed his face and said angrily: “Today I must catch it and roast it!”

“Gurgle!”

He dove down, swiftly chasing after that fleeing Power Fish.

…

Deep night.

Su Xiaomo removed the scales and internal organs, skewered that face-slapping fish, then roasted it over the fire.

Xia Shuiyun cultivated cross-legged as usual.

During this time, with medicinal soup conditioning and cultivation method recovery, her meridians had recovered seventy to eighty percent.

“Senior Sister, the fish is ready.”

“Yes.”

Xia Shuiyun opened her bright eyes, then took the roasted fish and said: “My injuries have recovered considerably. We’ll return to the sect tomorrow.”

“Good.”

Su Xiaomo said rather dejectedly in a low voice: “Beautiful times are always short.”

“What are you muttering?” Xia Shuiyun said.

Su Xiaomo said: “These past few days with Senior Sister Xia, I’ve been very happy.”

“…”

Xia Shuiyun gave him a white eye and said: “Don’t talk nonsense about me being injured and recuperating here after we return.”

“Yes.”

“The fish is well roasted.”

“Thank you.”

…

The next day.

Su Xiaomo and Xia Shuiyun set out to return to the Grand Profound Sacred Sect.

“What?”

At the Eternal Sect, upon receiving the latest report, Jun Changxiao’s face was full of surprise: “That kid Xiao Mu spent five or six days alone with Xia Shuiyun in a cave?”

“Yes.”

Li Luoqiu said.

“This kid’s got it.” Jun Changxiao said.

Just then, Elder Wei was also in the study, quite satisfied as he smiled: “Xiao Mu’s comprehension is still acceptable.”

Saying this, he subconsciously glanced at the Sect Master, thinking: “Such a vast difference.”

“Oh, right.”

Li Luoqiu added: “Xiao Mu said the reason Lu Qianqian was expelled was because she entered the Ice Spring to cultivate without the elders’ permission.”

“That simple?” Jun Changxiao said.

Li Luoqiu said: “Xiao Mu guessed it might be the Grand Profound Sacred Sect’s official story. There may be other hidden circumstances.”

“Tell him to pay more attention and not just focus on flirting.”

“Yes.”

…

After returning from Yinghui Mountain, Jun Changxiao continued focusing his thoughts on managing the sect and decided to personally participate in next month’s disciple recruitment. The current membership had reached over 48,000—very close to breaking 50,000.

However.

The outside world was getting chaotic.

More precisely, the Eternal Sect, which hadn’t brought shockwaves in a long time, once again swept across the entire Starfall Continent with explosive topics.

“The various sects gathered at Yinghui Mountain for important discussions. The Eternal Sect’s Sect Master also went and argued with the leaders, almost rolling up his sleeves to fight!”

“The Demon Emperor Sect’s Deputy Sect Master brought four Wushengs to cause trouble but was abused by Sect Master Jun until he couldn’t stand up!”

“According to eyewitnesses, Sect Master Jun used some strange martial technique that gathered phantoms in midair—the power was explosive!”

“There was also a purple-haired fellow who intimidated four Wushengs just by being shirtless, making them not dare move at all!”

“My heavens! The Eternal Sect has been quiet recently. We thought they disappeared, but when news finally came, it’s still so explosive!”

Jun Changxiao’s show-off moment at Yinghui Mountain was destined to become a topic of after-dinner conversation among Starfall Continent martial artists.

Of course.

What they cared more about was:

When would the allied major sects launch their offensive against the Demon Emperor Sect?

Just as martial artists across the continent were anxiously waiting, another piece of news came from Western Yun Province. The Demon Emperor Sect force had suddenly vanished into thin air. Their previous base was also deserted.

“No way?”

Upon learning this, Jun Changxiao said speechlessly: “This Seat was counting on you to clash hard with the righteous sects. You get beaten once by me and immediately shrink back into the shadows?”

Though the Demon Emperor Sect disappeared, the masked black-clothed people still operated in the martial world. In just a few days, several more sects suffered annihilation.

Very clearly.

This force changed strategies, transitioning from open to covert targeting of the righteous sects.

…

“Bang!”

Inside a certain dark cave dwelling, an explosive sound rang out. A fist print appeared in a recessed wall.

“Detestable!”

Mangfu angrily clenched his fist and said: “The Deputy Sect Master was beaten like this. Why are we still being stopped from causing trouble for the Eternal Sect!”

“Exactly.” Guimei, leaning against a nearby pillar, said with displeasure.

Ying said: “The Deputy Sect Master has his own plans. We only need to follow orders.”

Mangfu said with splitting eyes: “I can’t swallow this anger. We must cause trouble for this sect!”

Ying’s brows furrowed slightly as she was about to dissuade him.

Yinjiu spoke first: “The Deputy Sect Master was severely injured by Jun Changxiao with one palm. Are you sure you’re causing trouble and not seeking death?”

“I…”

Mangfu paused and said: “I can’t beat the Eternal Sect’s Sect Master, but I can beat the Eternal Sect disciples!”

“Right!”

Guimei’s eyes lit up: “We can bully the Eternal Sect disciples!”

“Don’t act rashly without the Deputy Sect Master’s orders.” Ying said.

“Sigh.”

Guimei shrugged: “I’m just talking casually.”

That evening.

Ying discovered Guimei and Mangfu were missing, so she frowned: “These two fellows definitely went to cause trouble for the Eternal Sect!”