Previously, he hadn't paid close attention. After all, without instruction, how could an ordinary mortal possibly learn to breathe and circulate Qi? But just now, when Jin Bao'er's spiritual aura flared up and revealed itself... slow-witted as he was, he finally saw it!
Jin Bao'er nodded, having already prepared her excuse.
"Master, I couldn't fall asleep in my room last night. After meditating for a little while, I suddenly sensed the presence of spiritual energy..."
From now on, her progression would only be faster than in her previous life, and she certainly didn't want to frighten this master who had treated her quite well.
At first glance, this explanation seemed full of loopholes, but given Jin Bao'er's rare talent, it wasn't entirely impossible! Seeing how hard her little apprentice was trying, the old man quickly accepted the fact with a complex mix of emotions!
He had a premonition that this little apprentice's future would be absolutely limitless!
Three months passed quickly. While absorbing spiritual energy to raise her own spiritual power, Jin Bao'er also followed the old man to study formations...
At this moment, the young girl, dressed in a water-blue shark gauze dharma robe, stared steadily at the open space before her. Holding seven or eight stones of various colors in her hand, she gave a flick of her wrist, and the stones instantly scattered in all directions, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye!
A faint ripple of spiritual energy washed over the area. The young girl's eyes lit up, and her hands rapidly formed hand seals. The next second, a flash of white light swept across the surroundings, and everything returned to calm once more...
Success!
Jin Bao'er opened her eyes abruptly, joy radiating from every feature! After a month of practice, she had finally mastered the most basic gathering formation!
"Haha, as expected of my apprentice! In just three months, she has already learned how to craft the most basic talismans and set up formations! Excellent! Truly excellent!"
With that, the old man leaped down from a nearby tree, executing a dashing and fluid movement with absolute elegance—if one chose to ignore the leaf stuck in his hair...
"Master... didn't you go down to welcome the Eldest Senior Brother back to the mountain? Why are you back? Could it be that you... got lost again?"
A hint of helpless amusement laced Jin Bao'er's voice. Through their time together, she hadn't discovered much else, but she had certainly learned of her master's forgetful memory and pathologically poor sense of direction. He could even get lost right at the foot of his own peak, which explained why he carried so many teleportation talismans—he was simply terrified of not being able to find his own way back.
Hearing this, the old man awkwardly pinched his little mustache, his eyes darting away.
"Cough, cough! What nonsense is the little girl babbling about! Your master suddenly remembered that you haven't met your Eldest Senior Brother yet, so I specifically came to take you down to welcome him! Yes, that's exactly how it is!"
The first part of his statement had sounded quite logical and well-reasoned—if not for that last defensive, validating sentence, Jin Bao'er might have actually believed him!
She was left speechless yet amused. Cared for meticulously by her senior brothers over the past three months, and occasionally entertained by her eccentric master, she had almost forgotten the hellish days of pursuit from her past life.
"All right, all right! Let's go then! We mustn't keep Eldest Senior Brother waiting too long!"
Because every peak had its own defense mechanism—and Huaming Peak's had just been reset not long ago—the Eldest Senior Brother needed someone to open the barrier for him if he wanted to come up.
As they spoke, the two figures, one tall and one small, vanished from the spot...
At the foot of the mountain, a young man in black robes with a resolute and cold demeanor stood staring fixedly at the mountain's protective barrier. His aura grew increasingly chilly, and a light frost clinging to his robes clearly indicated he had been waiting there for quite some time!
This was the scene that greeted Jin Bao'er and the old man when they emerged. The black-robed youth had upright features and a tall stature; if not for his black attire, which stood out so starkly against the surroundings, no one would have even noticed him!
"Oh, good disciple, why are you dressed so lightly? Aren't you cold? Even though body cultivators aren't afraid of the cold, you still shouldn't abuse your body like this!"
The dawdling, direction-challenged old man chattered on with a sigh of relief upon seeing the newcomer, completely forgetting that it was his own lack of direction that had left Bai Yileng waiting bitterly at the foot of the mountain for nearly three hours!
In response, Bai Yileng raised his head and shot the old man a fierce glare, his voice chillingly cold.
"Whatever Master says!"
With that, he threw a ferocious punch directly at the large tree beside the old man. A muffled thud echoed out, and the droplets of water clinging to the tree crashed down in a torrential downpour. The old man hadn't anticipated this sudden attack at all, and was soaked right through to the skin...
Meanwhile, Jin Bao'er was shielded by a transparent protective formation, her dress remaining completely dry!
"Ah!! Ahh! I'm freezing to death, freezing to death!"
The old man jumped up and down on the spot in a most comical fashion. Jin Bao'er couldn't help but let out a small smile, while also feeling warmed by her Eldest Senior Brother's thoughtful protective barrier.
Ignoring his master's howling, the young man walked over to Jin Bao'er, lowered his head to look at the little girl who only reached his waist, and spoke in a calm, indifferent tone.
"Junior Sister? Ice spiritual root? You... are not bad!"
Despite the barrage of action he had just unleashed, she had maintained a completely unruffled composure. At the very least, her temperament was certainly far from ordinary!
Jin Bao'er looked up, only then realizing just how tall the man truly was. He radiated an overwhelming, upright sense of oppression, accompanied by a biting chill, but she didn't miss the flash of appreciation in his eyes. She smiled and said, "Jin Bao'er pays her respects to Eldest Senior Brother, welcome home!"
This calm and steady demeanor once again earned Bai Yileng's approval. The tall man took the lead and headed up the mountain, with Jin Bao'er following closely behind, while the old man trailed them, grumbling and nursing his grievances.
As the eldest senior brother of Huaming Peak, Bai Yileng undoubtedly held absolute authority. His cold and aloof demeanor, his preference for action over words, and his stern, uncompromising appearance completely cowed the six junior brothers into sitting straight and proper, posture immaculate!
Jin Bao'er sat in her chair, inwardly marveling. To be able to keep her fox-like Second Senior Brother under control, to whip the slovenly, bird's-nest-haired Guan Ziyun into immaculate shape, and to reduce even their master to sitting obediently at the head of the table, he truly lived up to the title of Eldest Senior Brother!
"I have returned this time for the Sect Grand Tournament! I hear that in the three years I've been away, our sect has ranked dead last every single year! Heh, you lot are truly impressive!"
A chilling wave of pressure washed over them, stiffening the bodies of all seven individuals. Only Jin Bao'er composed her expression. In her memories, the Sect Grand Tournament at this time required a minimum cultivation of Qi Condensation Level 3!
That was why, in her past life, she hadn't participated at all! Though she vaguely remembered the rankings... Huaming Peak had still come in dead last! But now, her Eldest Senior Brother seemed to have returned because of her appearance, so this year's tournament...
"Eldest Senior Brother, if I reach Qi Condensation Level 3 before the tournament begins, would you allow me to participate as well?"
As soon as these words left her mouth, eight pairs of eyes fell squarely upon her. The old man was the first to notice the anomaly, crying out in shock:
"Qi Condensation Level 2?"
"How is that possible? Junior Sister is actually..."
"It's only been three months, hasn't it? So fast..."
Faced with the astonishment and slow-witted reactions of the others, Jin Bao'er remained calm and composed, showing not a shred of arrogance. After all, having once been a Golden Core Stage expert, her current level of cultivation was still nothing to write home about!