The Beloved Master's Mad Dog Disciple - Chapter 15

The Suspended Ink Sword slid from Bo Xuenong’s waist, its blade trembling slightly before suddenly flying toward the young man. Those blocking her path hastily reached out to intercept the sword, but the Suspended Ink Sword accelerated, its sheath emitting an icy blue light that shattered the disciples’ attempts to restrain it.

Bo Xuenong followed the sword’s trajectory, instantly appearing before the young man. Just as the blade was about to touch him, she gripped the hilt.

Though the sword remained sheathed, its aura was razor-sharp.

The young man couldn’t even withstand the sword’s sheathed energy. Fine cracks appeared on his nose and lips, and droplets of bl00d that seeped out froze into frost-like patterns on his skin.

Bo Xuenong tilted her head, her grip tightening on the hilt as a gentle, amiable smile returned to her face. “What were you saying earlier, Junior Brother? This Senior Sister didn’t quite catch it. Could you repeat it?”

Her soft expression, kind smile, and gentle voice might have made the young man believe she was approachable, were it not for the bone-chilling sword aura pressing against his face. He stumbled back several steps, yet couldn’t escape the cold. Instead, the movement tore at his wounds, intensifying the pain.

Shivering from the cold, the young man raised a hand to cover his bleeding nose and mouth, wary of Bo Xuenong as he retrieved a medicinal pill and swallowed it.

Bo Xuenong stared at the medicinal pill in a daze. Its dense Spiritual Qi and three evenly spaced, deep brown pill patterns revealed it to be a top-grade Healing Pill.

Though not a Pill Cultivator herself, she was well-versed in the hierarchy of medicinal pills. Pills were classified into seven grades based on their crafting difficulty, with corresponding grades for Alchemists. These grades aligned with cultivation stages: Core Formation, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Out-of-Body, Spirit Transformation Realm, Body Integration Stage, and Great Ascension Stage.

Unlike sword cultivators, Pill Cultivators typically possessed high cultivation levels but limited combat abilities. Yet few dared provoke them, as every skilled Alchemist was backed by a powerful Sect. They were the Sect’s prized assets and among the wealthiest cultivators.

While Healing Pills were merely seventh-grade pills—the first type every Alchemist learned after choosing their path—each grade was further divided into three tiers, determined by the pill patterns. A seventh-grade pill with one pattern corresponded to the lower tier of the Core Formation Stage, two patterns to the middle tier, and three patterns to the upper tier. The deeper the color of the patterns, the higher the Alchemist’s skill. Though the youth held a seventh-grade Healing Pill, the deep brown hue of its patterns suggested the Alchemist who crafted it was at least at the Out-of-Body Stage.

The defining characteristic of pure sword cultivator sects like the Imperial Tranquility Sect was their poverty. They primarily obtained medicinal pills by trading spiritual herbs with other sects, and the quality of these pills was often subpar. Top-tier Healing Pills like this one were only available from Shen Yanting of the Cloudmist Sect. Last month, after Feng Jin injured him, Fu Yunqing had apparently obtained Healing Pills from Shen Yanting on his behalf.

He accepted favors from Shen Yanting, then threatened her?

He deserves to die.

Kill him.

Bo Xuenong’s sword edged forward, but Shen Yanting’s voice suddenly rang out: “Nong’er, come here.”

Shen Yanting’s voice snapped Bo Xuenong back to clarity. Her hand trembled on the sword hilt as her fading smile returned. She swiftly sheathed the Suspended Ink Sword, hung it back at her waist, and hurried toward Shen Yanting.

She stood obediently behind Shen Yanting, making sure her face was hidden from view. Only then did her expression shift.

Bo Xuenong continued to smile, but a cold glint flickered in her eyes.

“Nong’er,” Shen Yanting sensed something and slowly turned to look at her. “What are you thinking about?”

Bo Xuenong didn’t know if Shen Yanting was asking a rhetorical question; she only knew that Shen Yanting had turned around.

Shen Yanting sat in her chair, naturally raising her gaze slightly to meet Bo Xuenong’s eyes. Sensing this, Bo Xuenong quickly crouched down and scooted forward along the floor, positioning herself so that Shen Yanting could see her with just a slight downward glance, without needing to turn her head.

When Bo Xuenong looked up at Shen Yanting again, the coldness in her eyes had vanished, replaced by a docile smile. “Master,” she said sweetly, “this disciple was just wondering why Junior Brother speaks so softly.”

Shen Yanting hadn’t expected Bo Xuenong to persist in pretending to be deaf.

She gripped her sleeve, deliberately maintaining a composed expression to conceal any reaction from Bo Xuenong. “Mm, Nong’er, if you can’t hear him clearly, you don’t need to pay attention.”

“Understood! This disciple will always follow Master’s instructions!”

The master and disciple continued their charade, one daring to fabricate, the other daring to play along, completely ignoring the young man standing in the center of the hall.

Seeing that Shen Yanting was ignoring him, the young man immediately shifted his gaze to Fu Yunqing. “Sect Leader,” he declared, “I stand by my word. If Elder Shen agrees to accept me as her disciple, we will all stay.”

Fu Yunqing, who had been trying to shrink into the shadows in the center of the hall, waved her hands frantically when her name was suddenly called. “You want to become Senior Sister Shen’s disciple, not mine! What’s the point of telling me this?!”

“You’re the Sect Leader!” the youth declared, though his tone lacked genuine respect.

At his words, everyone in Warm Moon Hall except Bo Xuenong turned to Fu Yunqing. Feeling like she was sitting on pins and needles, Fu Yunqing quickly shot Shen Yanting a look and whispered, “Senior Sister Shen, switch places with me.”

Shen Yanting rose to her feet, and Bo Xuenong followed suit.

Shen Yanting took a half-step forward, and Bo Xuenong instinctively mirrored her movement. Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm and yanked her back behind the chair.

The four Elders of the Imperial Tranquility Sect sat in pairs on either side of Fu Yunqing. The strongest among them, Shen Yanting, and the highest-ranked, Ye Zhiyao, sat closest to Fu Yunqing. On Ye Zhiyao’s other side was the lowest-ranked Feng Yingbo, while on Shen Yanting’s other side sat Cui Huaizhou, the Elder Bo Xuenong disliked most.

Cui Huaizhou ranked third among the surviving Inner Sect Disciples of the previous generation. Fu Yunqing still had to address him as “Senior Brother Cui.” Though his cultivation was the weakest among the Elders, he had the most disciples—three in total: Ge Qiqin, ranked third among Bo Xuenong’s cohort; Bai Zaiyi, ranked fifth; and Chen Zhou, ranked seventh.

Before Guan Caimei arrived, Chen Zhou had been their Junior Sister.

It was Chen Zhou who tugged at Bo Xuenong’s sleeve.

She quietly explained the situation: shortly after Feng Jin came to Warm Moon Hall, the newly initiated disciples announced their intention to leave the Imperial Tranquility Sect. Nearly all the new recruits had joined the exodus, and they had even swayed some older disciples with decent spiritual roots, including the fourteen Bo Xuenong had just welcomed a few days prior. The ringleader was the new disciple Feng Jin had injured last month.

The new disciple’s name was He Yongshi. His elder brother was a personal disciple of the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Cuisine Sect. He had originally planned to join that sect, claiming his enrollment in the Imperial Tranquility Sect was purely accidental. He promised that any disciples who left with him would be accepted into the Heavenly Cuisine Sect. Unlike the Imperial Tranquility Sect, which barely clung to third-rate status due to its age, the Heavenly Cuisine Sect was a first-rate major sect, second only to the Three Great Sects. Such a sect had abundant medicinal pills and spiritual herbs, and even entry-level disciples received basic cultivation pills and spirit stones. Outer Sect disciples with even a hint of spiritual root saw this as a chance to gamble, and many followed He Yongshi in requesting to withdraw from the sect.

The Imperial Tranquility Sect was desperately poor, able to provide its disciples with only cultivation techniques and meager materials. Even the Lifebound Swords, essential for sword cultivators, had to be forged by the disciples themselves. Staying at the sect was akin to waiting for death, so it was only natural for them to seek better prospects. Fu Yunqing felt reluctant but didn’t strongly oppose their departure. Unexpectedly, He Yongshi recognized Shen Yanting’s portrait from his elder brother’s Heavenly Talent Register, identifying her as a former direct disciple of the Cloudmist Sect’s Sect Leader. He immediately declared that he would stay if Shen Yanting accepted him as her disciple.

He was clearly threatening Shen Yanting.

He deserves to die.

Bo Xuenong’s smile grew increasingly strained, though Chen Zhou didn’t notice. Chen Zhou was usually quiet, immediately reverting to her usual silence after speaking. Standing beside Chen Zhou, Ge Qiqin curiously asked Bo Xuenong, “Eldest Senior Sister, I never imagined Elder Shen had such an extraordinary background! No wonder she can produce so many high-grade medicinal pills. Do you feel like you’ve been struck by a lucky break?”

Within the Imperial Tranquility Sect, only Fu Yunqing and Bo Xuenong knew Shen Yanting’s true origins. The others merely knew her as the sect’s strongest Elder, though the full extent of her power remained unclear.

Thanks to He Yongshi, Bo Xuenong was no longer one of the select few who knew the truth.

I want to kill him even more now.

Seeing Bo Xuenong’s silence, Ge Qiqin pressed further. Cui Huaizhou, who had been silent until now, turned his cold gaze upon her and said, “I doubt you’re merely curious. You’re probably thinking of switching masters.”

Bo Xuenong heard these words, and so did Shen Yanting.

Shen Yanting glanced over with a calm expression, her gaze sweeping lightly across Cui Huaizhou and Ge Qiqin before settling on Bo Xuenong. A subtle shift appeared in her expression as she said, “Nong’er, come here.”

Forgetting her anger toward He Yongshi and Cui Huaizhou, Bo Xuenong hurried to Shen Yanting’s side. “Master.”

Shen Yanting nodded, then suddenly grasped Bo Xuenong’s wrist and faced the center of Warm Moon Hall. “I ask everyone here to bear witness: I, Shen Yanting, will have only one disciple in my lifetime—Bo Xuenong!”