In the grand hall of the Great Sealing Sect, the middle-aged sect master, who was stern and solemn just moments ago, now had a mischievous grin on his face. Surprisingly, he was huddled together with his old trickster junior brother, and there was no trace of the supreme authority of a sect leader in his words.
Seeing his demeanor, the old Daoist chuckled and said, “Senior brother, watch your image; you are, after all, the supreme sect master of our Great Sealing Sect!”
The middle-aged sect master, however, didn’t seem to care at all. With a wave of his wide sleeve, he said, “No worries, junior brother. You know my temper well. What authority as a sect master? We’re all human, why bother with all that? Living life is all about drinking large gulps of wine and eating large chunks of meat.”
This sect master of the Great Sealing Sect was truly remarkable. If someone were to see the sect master like this, they would probably give themselves a hard slap, wondering if they were hallucinating.
Indeed, like master, like disciple; this sect master of the Great Sealing Sect was no less extraordinary than Li Yunyang’s master.
***
After Tian Fan left the grand hall of the Great Sealing Sect, he was visibly frustrated. He was feeling very irritated, and when he returned to his residence, he found Li Yunyang hiding inside, eyes wide open, cautiously peering outside.
Seeing Tian Fan return, Li Yunyang quickly pulled him inside and shut the door, leaving Tian Fan utterly bewildered.
“What are you doing?” Tian Fan asked, puzzled by Li Yunyang’s strange behavior.
“My brother, you just went to the great hall of the Sect and came back, right? Did you notice anything strange, or did you see any unusual people?” Li Yunyang asked, all the while keeping an eye on the situation outside, his face full of vigilance.
“Nothing much. Oh, right, I did hear someone mention that the ‘Little Demoness’ has returned. What’s that about?”
Recalling the earlier scene, Tian Fan did remember hearing someone say that, and their expressions seemed a bit unnatural, almost as if they were afraid. This puzzled him, as he couldn’t understand why everyone suddenly seemed so tense.
Hearing Tian Fan’s words, Li Yunyang’s face instantly turned pale, as if something terrifying had happened.
“What’s wrong with you?” Tian Fan asked, seeing Li Yunyang’s reaction. He couldn’t figure out what had scared him so much.
Li Yunyang immediately put on a long face and said, “Brother, you don’t understand. The ‘Little Demoness’ they mentioned is the only granddaughter of the current sect master, and he dotes on her endlessly. We’ve suffered a lot at her hands!”
Tian Fan was stunned after hearing Li Yunyang’s words. “No way!”
Tian Fan couldn’t believe that Li Yunyang, who wasn’t exactly known for being passive, could be bullied by someone, especially a girl.
“Brother, you better believe it, you…”
Just then, a crisp voice, like a cuckoo’s call, came from outside, “Li Yunyang, come out here!”
The moment he heard this, Li Yunyang reacted like a mouse seeing a cat.
Tian Fan couldn’t help but find it both surprising and amusing. He could hardly believe that the same person who dared to talk back to his old trickster master, even at the peak of Cloud Heaven, would be so terrified just by hearing a girl’s voice, like a thief caught by the authorities.
Under Tian Fan’s curious gaze, Li Yunyang quickly jumped onto the wooden bed, winked at Tian Fan, and then sat cross-legged.
“Hey? Who are you?”
At that moment, a young woman dressed in yellow silk quickly walked in. She appeared to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, slightly younger than Tian Fan. Though she wasn’t an extraordinary beauty, she was certainly an attractive and rare sight.
As soon as she entered, she noticed Tian Fan standing in the room. She had seen all the disciples of the Great Sealing Sect before, but now she found someone she didnāt recognize, so she asked him.
“Uh, I… I just arrived,” Tian Fan stammered after thinking for a while, unsure of how to answer. He certainly didn’t want to admit that he was the disciple of that old trickster.
“Just arrived? You’re Li Yunyang’s junior brother?” The young woman in yellow responded after hearing Tian Fan’s answer.
“No, actually…” He tried to explain, but before he could finish, the young woman in yellow had already noticed Li Yunyang sitting cross-legged on the bed.
“Li Yunyang, stop pretending and get up!”
“Haha, well, um, Little Sister, you’re back, haha…” Seeing that his trick had been seen through, Li Yunyang immediately stood up and walked over to the young woman in yellow, grinning sheepishly.
“Have you been slacking off and not training?” The young woman in yellow scolded him with her hands on her hips.
“Hehe, no way! Under your leadership, Little Sister, who would dare not to train seriously? If anyone slacks off, I, Li Yunyang, will be the first to deal with them!”
Li Yunyang spoke righteously, but in Tian Fan’s eyes, there was only one word to describe him: “Shameless!”
“You do know that not long from now, our Great Sealing Sect will have a competition with the Fist Emperor Sect, the Flying Sword Sect, and the Yin-Yang Sect among the younger generation. So, we must train hard and can’t afford to lose face again,” the young woman in yellow said.
This region was located in the northern part of the Divine Martial Continent, where there were four sects: the Great Sealing Sect, the Fist Emperor Sect, the Flying Sword Sect, and the Yin-Yang Sect. Every two years, these four sects held a competition among their young disciples. Officially, it was said to be a test of martial skills, but in reality, it was a display of each sect’s power.
In the past competitions, the Great Sealing Sect had always ranked last among the four sects. The sect master of the Great Sealing Sect didn’t seem to care and let things be, but his granddaughter was different. She had made up her mind that no matter what, their sect wouldn’t finish last in the next competition.
To this end, the sect master couldn’t withstand her persistent persuasion and handed over the supervision of the sect to her, giving her full authority to oversee the disciples’ training.
Anyone who dared not to train properly would be “slightly” punished by her. Because of this, over time, she earned the nickname “Little Demoness.” Thinking about it, Tian Fan couldn’t help but feel it was unfair that she had ended up with such a reputation, becoming known throughout the sect as the “Little Demoness.”
“Come on, let’s go to the training grounds…” The young woman in yellow said to Li Yunyang and Tian Fan, then started walking towards the training grounds she had mentioned.
The two had no choice but to follow.
As they walked, Tian Fan noticed that there were no more people lounging around in the sun. When they finally arrived at the so-called training grounds, they were surprised to see a room full of disciples in green robes, all diligently training.
“She’s good…”
Tian Fan had to admit that the young woman in yellow truly had a unique way of getting things done. Just hearing the news of her return was enough to make these lazy disciples suddenly become so “diligent.”
Looking at the disciple on the east side, he was furiously punching a wooden training dummy, his fists hitting with such force that his fingers were bleeding, yet he didnāt even flinch.
But when Tian Fan focused his gaze more closely…
“What the… Why does that blood look like tomato juice!?”
He muttered in disbelief, nearly shouting out loud. This guy was really something else. But when he looked in another direction, he almost burst out laughingāanother disciple was “training so hard” that he ended up “coughing up blood.”
“You all have worked really hard. Junior Brother Yun, you should take a rest; your hands are bleeding,” the young woman in yellow said to the disciple who appeared to have tomato juice on his hands.
“Senior Sister, I’m not tired! I must continue training and bring glory to our Great Sealing Sect!”
The disciple replied with an expression of “exhaustion,” but his voice was filled with determination, and his eyes gleamed with resolve.
Tian Fan was speechless. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought this guy was incredibly serious, dedicated, and hardworking.
“Ah, Senior Brother Liu, although you need to train hard, you mustn’t overdo it, or you’ll risk injuring yourself. Someone, quickly help Senior Brother Liu to rest.”
As soon as the young woman finished speaking, two disciples immediately rushed over to support “Senior Brother Liu” as he walked out, his face showing a reluctant expression.
Tian Fan couldnāt help but sweatdrop at the sight. The sect masterās granddaughter was really quite naive.
“Well, I’ve seen how diligently everyone has been training. Iāll report this to the sect master. I won’t say much, but I can assure you that your meals will be greatly supplemented! This will ensure that everyone has enough energy to train and help our Great Sealing Sect stand tall in the upcoming Four Sect Martial Competition.”
With that, the young woman left after instructing Li Yunyang to have all the disciples continue their training. It was obvious she was heading to report to the sect master about the “diligent” and “hardworking” disciples. The moment she was out of sight, all the disciples visibly relaxed, letting out a collective sigh of relief.
“Phew, Little Sister is finally gone.”
“Yeah, this kind of training is exhausting.”
“Those other sects are so strong; how could we possibly win?”
“Now that she’s gone, let’s all take a break and do our own thing.”
Just as everyone was about to disperse, Li Yunyang suddenly stepped forward, blocking their way with a serious expression: “No one is allowed to leave!”
His words not only stunned the disciples who had been training but also left Tian Fan bewildered. After spending the past few days with Li Yunyang, he knew that this guy was lazy and sly.
Why was he suddenly acting so serious now? What was he up to?