Xiao Hongyu glanced at Ah Huang, who was lying obediently on the ground with its bright, watery eyes wide open, and then looked at Lu Qingning, who was hugging her tightly and refusing to let go.
Xiao Hongyu patted Lu Qingning's head and said, "All right, I understand."
With a casual wave of her hand, Xiao Hongyu cast a spell that struck Ah Huang.
"Ah Huang, go plant a thousand trees. Also, the trees you destroyed earlier when chasing Lu Qingning do not count. Until you finish, anything you eat will be completely tasteless."
Ah Huang froze as it lay on the ground. It sat up and whimpered, desperately trying to say something, but unfortunately, it could not speak.
Hearing this, Lu Qingning let out a couple of huffs and looked smugly at Ah Huang.
That'll teach you to scare me!
Seeing that Xiao Hongyu had arrived, Shen Ye waved at the two of them and said, "Ah-yu, you're here! Then I'll just head back to cultivate. Ah—I'm getting a bit sleepy..."
Yawning, Shen Ye said goodbye to them and leaped away into the distance.
Watching the brown bear diligently planting trees not far away, Lu Qingning burst out laughing.
Xiao Hongyu looked at Ah Huang and said, "I was a bit too engrossed in my cultivation and didn't realize how late it had gotten."
Lu Qingning stood beside Xiao Hongyu with a smile and said, "It's fine, it's fine, Senior Sister. This isn't a big deal at all."
Xiao Hongyu's brows furrowed deeply. Without saying another word, she picked up Lu Qingning and flew back to the house on the peak via Sword Flight.
Seeing the female tyrant leave, Ah Huang finally let out a sigh of relief.
From then on, the rumor that the female tyrant of Qingzhu Peak had taken a little female tyrant as a disciple spread far and wide among the creatures of the mountain.
...
"What is it, Senior Sister?"
Ever since she sat down inside the house, Lu Qingning had been poked and prodded all over by Xiao Hongyu.
Lu Qingning tensed up and sat stiffly on the chair.
As Xiao Hongyu lifted her arm with a frown, Lu Qingning felt as though she had some terrible, incurable disease, and Xiao Hongyu was the doctor examining her.
After finishing her thorough examination, Xiao Hongyu stood up and said, "I understand. Lu Qingning, starting tomorrow, you will begin body-refining."
Lu Qingning was taken aback: "Huh? Body-refining?"
What era is this to still be doing body-refining?!
Lu Qingning immediately stood up and asked Xiao Hongyu, "Senior Sister, do I... also need to body-refine? Does our Tianjian Sect have a tradition of body-refining?"
Xiao Hongyu was momentarily stunned, then replied with a calm expression, "Yes."
The next day
Lu Qingning, who was deep in slumber, was woken up bright and early by Xiao Hongyu.
"Junior Sister, time to wake up."
Xiao Hongyu stood by Lu Qingning's bed and said softly.
"..."
Lu Qingning, sleeping soundly in bed, didn't hear her at all.
With a slight frown, Xiao Hongyu used her left hand to gently tap a spell onto Lu Qingning's forehead.
A wave of chill swept through her entire body, and Lu Qingning snapped wide awake: "Agh! So cold!"
Opening her eyes wide, Lu Qingning saw Xiao Hongyu standing by her bed, looking at her with a calm expression.
"Ah, good morning, Senior Sister."
Lu Qingning smiled, her eyes still heavy with sleep.
Xiao Hongyu nodded slightly and said, "Get yourself cleaned up and come out to cultivate with me."
"Okay."
I can finally start cultivating!!
Lu Qingning cheered inwardly.
After dressing and stepping outside, she saw Xiao Hongyu standing on a boulder outside the house, gazing into the distant scenery with an air of otherworldly elegance.
Hearing Lu Qingning's footsteps, Xiao Hongyu turned her head and said, "Junior Sister, walking up from the foot of the mountain ten times a day will be your task for the next half month."
Lu Qingning: "???"
"Um... Senior Sister, can we... can we learn some spells first? If I run into that kind of brown bear from last time on the road..."
Lu Qingning asked weakly.
Hearing this, Xiao Hongyu nodded slightly, feeling that what she said made some sense.
She leaped down from the boulder and walked right up to Lu Qingning. Startled by the sudden approach, Lu Qingning froze and stared at her, her entire body tensed up.
Xiao Hongyu reached out and plucked a few strands of her hair, saying, "I'll take a few strands of your hair and tell the creatures in the mountain not to disturb you."
After tucking the hair into her pocket, Xiao Hongyu turned around, intending to leave.
Lu Qingning blankly watched her senior sister's retreating back, momentarily speechless.
"Until you finish your task, you are not allowed to return to the house to rest."
With those words left behind, Xiao Hongyu vanished into thin air right before Lu Qingning's eyes.
Lu Qingning stared blankly at the sky.
"Huh??"
Before she could even finish recovering from the shock, a flash of white light crossed her vision.
She was teleported straight to the foot of the mountain.
Looking up at the towering peak piercing the clouds, Lu Qingning let out a sigh.
Alas, a senior sister of her own choosing had to be endured, no matter how much bitterness it brought.
...
"Phew~"
Shen Ye was dozing against a rock, surrounded by a group of animal friends, feeling very comfortable amidst all that soft fur.
As Xiao Hongyu descended from the sky, Shen Ye felt the light before her dim slightly. She opened her eyes a crack and smiled, "Ah-yu, you're here!"
Dressed in flowing white robes, Xiao Hongyu nodded slightly and said, "Yes, this is Lu Qingning's hair. I'm telling everyone in the mountain not to interfere with her cultivation."
Taking the hair, Shen Ye sat up and distributed the strands among the cats, dogs, foxes, and other small animals gathered around her, saying, "Take this hair and show it to everyone so they can recognize her scent."
With that, the animals carrying the strands of hair in their mouths scattered in all directions, and in an instant, more than half of the surrounding animals were gone.
Having finished her arrangements, Shen Ye noticed that Xiao Hongyu hadn't left yet, so she casually asked, "Ah-yu, what level did you claim your cultivation was to Xiao Ning?"
Shen Ye picked up a wild fruit nearby and chewed on it piece by piece.
"Early Foundation Establishment."
Xiao Hongyu replied offhandedly.
"Oh, alright, then I'll just be at Late Qi Refining."
Shen Ye took a crunchy bite of the wild fruit and replied casually.
Back when she entered Ye Zuilan's tutelage, she had also been taught by Xiao Hongyu. However, Shen Ye possessed "extraordinary innate talent" and soon had an epiphany resulting in the sleeping-cultivation method, embarking on a path of cultivation through sleep from which she never looked back. Since then, Shen Ye couldn't even be bothered to ask Xiao Hongyu for guidance.
Among all the spells Xiao Hongyu had taught her, her absolute favorite was the "Hidden Edge Art," which allowed her to compress her own cultivation level.
It was precisely because Xiao Hongyu possessed the Hidden Edge Art that Shen Ye, even now at the Deity Transformation realm, still couldn't tell what Xiao Hongyu's true strength was. Every time she thought she had surpassed her senior sister, Xiao Hongyu would release an oppressive aura far greater than her own to show her just how impossible that was.
Hearing Shen Ye's response, Xiao Hongyu nodded slightly and vanished with a flash.
Seeing Xiao Hongyu leave, Shen Ye pulled Ah Hei over into her arms, closed her eyes, and went back to sleep.
With a flash, Xiao Hongyu returned to the flight of stairs where Lu Qingning was climbing.
Lu Qingning had picked up a thick wooden branch from somewhere to use as a walking stick to help her climb the steps.
By this time, Lu Qingning had already covered about a third of the journey, and Xiao Hongyu was watching her from a tree in the distance.
Not long after Xiao Hongyu began watching, Lu Qingning seemed to grow tired and simply sat down on the edge of the steps to rest.
Even while sitting on the steps, Lu Qingning's mouth didn't stay idle; she kept pulling wild fruits out of her pocket and stuffing them into her mouth to replenish her energy.
Watching Lu Qingning in the distance, Xiao Hongyu's brows furrowed slightly.
"As expected, teaching a disciple is still too difficult. No wonder Master left the mountain not long after she started teaching me."
Back when Xiao Hongyu was brought into the sect by Ye Zuilan to cultivate, Ye Zuilan had only taught her for a few months before leaving the Tianjian Sect, not returning to check on her until three years later. By that time, Xiao Hongyu no longer needed Ye Zuilan to impart any spells or swordsmanship.
With these thoughts in mind, Xiao Hongyu took a thin booklet out of her storage bag. On the cover were written six large characters: "Junior Sister's Tutelage Log."
She had kept a similar booklet back when she taught Shen Ye, but because Shen Ye possessed "extraordinary innate talent" and required no worry on her part, that booklet had been tossed to the very bottom of her storage bag.
From her perspective, however, the new junior sister didn't look nearly as "gifted" as Shen Ye, but she was a fine sapling with a Sword Root. If carefully nurtured, she would surely make a brilliant mark across the entire Nine Provinces in the future.
Xiao Hongyu opened the first page, intending to write something down.