As usual, Chu Feng finished a large pot of medicinal soup. It was so bitter that he questioned his very existence. No matter how long he’d been drinking it, he just couldn’t get used to the taste. It seemed like it brought a new kind of bitterness every time.
Still, the effects were undeniable. Looking at the purple-black mark on his chest, now reduced to the size of a thumb, he thought, “Almost there, almost there. Once I’ve completely eliminated the cold Yin energy, I’ll never have to drink this awful stuff again.”
Whether it was the medicinal soup or the pills meant to restore spiritual power, he’d come to a realization. Everything Aunt Zi made was bitter beyond belief.
He had taken some pills before too. While they didn’t have much taste, they definitely weren’t this bitter. He couldn’t help but wonder: “Can’t all this be refined into pills instead? Why insist on brewing it into soup?”
After finishing the soup, Chu Feng headed off to train. After all, he had only completed one-fourth of the training yesterday. Three-fourths still remained.
He arrived at the lakeside hut from the day before, pushed open the door, and stepped inside, where he saw a beautiful woman dressed in white.
As always, her entire presence radiated a divine aura. Sitting gracefully in her chair, she was illuminated by the sunlight from the window, which made her skin glow like flawless jade. She wore a flowing white gown and looked like a radiant goddess from legend.
Chu Feng cleared his throat and called out, “Aunt Zi, I’m here.”
Seeing him, Zi Xin’er opened her palm to reveal a pill resting in the center. Chu Feng took one look. Thankfully, it wasn’t the same unbearably bitter one from yesterday.
“Little one, the medicine soup must have been hard to swallow, right? Here, have one to soothe your throat.”
The moment Chu Feng entered, Zi Xin’er had caught a faint scent of herbs from him. It was clear he had come straight over after drinking the soup.
“Okay.”
Chu Feng popped the sugar pill into his mouth, and its sweetness quickly washed away the lingering bitterness. He hadn’t expected his master’s friend to be so gentle and kind. She actually seemed quite nice.
It was just that her medicine was way too bitter. That was a serious flaw.
“Aunt Zi, I’m going to step on the lotus leaves now.”
Today, he was feeling especially fired up.
However, Zi Xin’er stood up, her long legs moving beneath her flowing gown as she walked over to Chu Feng and patted him on the head. “Today, we’ll start with sword practice.”
Outside the hut, Zi Xin’er stood with a sword in hand. “Little one, come at me with everything you’ve got.”
At her words, Chu Feng summoned Little Bai with a thought. Since it was Zi Xin’er’s request, he was ready to give it his all.
There was no need to worry about hurting her. His level of cultivation probably couldn’t even scratch her.
Chu Feng gave her a formal bow. “Aunt Zi, please guide me!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he shot forward like a charging dragon, lunging at Zi Xin’er.
Little Bai’s blade surged with powerful sword intent.
In the next moment, the blade burst into radiant light; it was sharp and blinding. Countless strands of sword qi swirled around Chu Feng like continuous and elegant flowing water.
Just as he neared Zi Xin’er, the flowing sword qi abruptly shifted. It roared like thunder, packed with fierce power.
Zi Xin’er watched his swordsmanship. Even though it wasn’t her first time seeing it, the surprise in her beautiful eyes hadn’t faded at all. Even for her, this was the first time seeing someone able to fuse two distinct types of sword intent. That Xiyue really had found herself a monstrous little disciple.
Zi Xin’er raised her longsword, and in an instant, the air around her turned icy cold, as if snowflakes were beginning to fall. With what seemed like a simple strike, the swirling snow condensed into the form of an ice phoenix.
To manifest sword intent into a tangible form… this was something only those with profound mastery in the way of the sword could achieve.
Chu Feng’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected such a terrifying force from what looked like an ordinary move!
But he wasn’t about to back down. Every strand of sword qi around him locked onto the ice phoenix’s head. Over a hundred dazzling streams of sword qi moved in unison with his will.
The overwhelming wave of sword qi surged forward as if to drown the ice phoenix. The sheer force of it caused the lotus leaves on the lake’s surface to shatter and scatter.
With a crisp cry, the ice phoenix charged head-on into the incoming storm of sword qi.
Boom!
The two forces collided. Faced with the onslaught of hundreds of powerful strikes, the ice phoenix was continuously torn apart. But the sword qi also shattered the ice crystals from its body. As the crystals scattered and caught the sunlight, a faint rainbow shimmered into view.
But Chu Feng had no time to admire it. His sword qi was nearly exhausted, yet the ice phoenix showed no signs of slowing as it came hurtling toward him.
Bang!
All his sword qi shattered. Chu Feng clutched his chest and stumbled back several steps, his breath slightly unsteady.
Zi Xin’er glanced at the ice phoenix, now about thirty percent damaged, and a glint of admiration appeared in her eyes. A promising talent indeed….he had even stirred her heart a little. Given time, the cultivation world might just witness the rise of a true Sword Saint.
After all, she was already at the half-step Ninth Rank. Even though the sword wasn’t her main focus, just one manifestation of her sword intent wasn’t something any random nobody could hope to damage.
“Little one, not bad at all. With sword intent like that, you’re unmatched among your peers.”
Hearing Zi Xin’er’s praise, Chu Feng lifted his head and asked, “Really, Aunt Zi? You’re not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?”
He hadn’t even been able to withstand one of Zi Xin’er’s strikes. Embarrassed, he realized maybe beating Lin Ruo the other day had gone to his head. He’d started to think he was as unstoppable as a rocket-powered cow.
Zi Xin’er gave a soft nod. “Of course. Would I lie to you, little one?”
Seeing how well Chu Feng had performed, she recalled a book she’d read the night before. It had mentioned that when a child does well, it’s important to praise them and give them a reward.
To Zi Xin’er, who was several centuries old, Chu Feng who was just a teenager was still very much a child.
As Chu Feng caught his breath, he noticed the graceful beauty watching him.
“Aunt Zi?”
Just as he spoke, he saw Zi Xin’er walking toward him.
A soft fragrance wafted over, and Chu Feng instinctively tried to step back, but her slender hands gently cupped his head.
Not good!
A sense of foreboding rose in his chest.
In the next moment, Zi Xin’er leaned down slightly, her soft red lips drawing closer.
Oh—
She lightly tapped his forehead.
Chu Feng: !!!
“A-Aun… Aunt Zi, what are you doing?!”
Chu Feng stammered, completely thrown off. What just happened?!
It had only lasted a moment, but the impact it left on him was huge.
“Obviously, it was a reward for doing well,” Zi Xin’er replied matter-of-factly, as if what had just happened was the most normal thing in the world.
“A reward? Since when is that a reward?!”
Chu Feng couldn’t wrap his head around it. Even the sugar pill from earlier felt more like a proper reward than this did.
“That’s what the book said,” she said casually.
“Uh… Aunt Zi, if I may ask…what book exactly were you reading?”
“The Child-Raising Handbook.”
“……”
Chu Feng’s mouth twitched. The Child-Raising Handbook…?
So Zi Xin’er really was treating him like a child!
No way! He had to set the record straight and correct this misunderstanding right now!
Otherwise, he as a dignified young man would forever be seen as some kid who never grew up in her eyes. Just thinking about it made him feel utterly embarrassed.
“Aunt Zi, that child-raising book is meant for children under three. I’m only two or three years away from turning eighteen. I’m almost an adult now. Not a little kid anymore.”
However, Zi Xin’er placed her slender hand on Chu Feng’s head and slowly moved it horizontally until it rested right at the level of her chin. She blinked her beautiful eyes, as if to say: “Little one, whether it’s your age or your body, to me, you’re still just a child.”
“……”
Chu Feng felt like he’d just punched a sandbag… no matter how he explained it, it wouldn’t change the fact that, in Zi Xin’er’s eyes, he was still a kid.
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