Originally, Su Liangchen had been reluctant to let Yú'ér spar with Li Yang of the Li Clan—not out of fear that his child might get hurt, but rather for fear that the other boy might harbor resentment if he lost. After all, the boy was just a child, and being four years older than Yú'ér didn't make him all that formidable; if a real fuss broke out, it would reflect poorly on both him and Li Jue.
However, since both parties had already agreed to the match, he could only offer a few words of well-intentioned advice and let them go ahead, provided they didn't lose their tempers.
Accompanied by just a few servants, Yú'ér and Li Yang made their way to the martial arts arena at the back where Yú'ér usually practiced. Li Yang spoke up first: "Since I'm the one challenging you, I won't take advantage of you being younger. Tell me how you want to fight."
Oh? So confident, are we?
Yú'ér had no intention of bullying a child, so she flat-out refused: "I don't need any handicaps. Whether it's empty-handed or with weapons, you are definitely no match for me."
Hearing this, twelve-year-old Li Yang was far from pleased and retorted bluntly: "Impossible! Since you're being this arrogant, we'll just spar hand-to-hand, so we don't hurt each other's feelings with weapons."
Once both of them took their stances, Yú'ér suddenly said, "Wait, how about I tie one hand and one foot behind my back? That would be fairer."
Seeing that a girl four years his junior was even more arrogant than he was, Li Yang was almost too angry to laugh. "Cut the crap and bring it on!"
He threw a punch straight at Yú'ér's face. Who would have thought that usually refined Li Yang would strike with such ruthlessness? Yú'ér actually felt a glimmer of admiration for him; decisive people usually accomplished things.
True to her word, Yú'ér didn't move her feet an inch. With just a single raised arm, she batted away Li Yang's right punch, then looped her arm around to entangle his follow-up left hand.
Immediately afterward, with lightning speed, Yú'ér pressed a palm against Li Yang's abdomen, sending him flying backward through the air. This was no exaggeration; it was a plain statement of fact.
It shouldn't have gone this far, but since Yú'ér was determined to make him accept his defeat wholeheartedly, this single blow made Li Yang understand what a true gap in strength looked like.
As he was sent flying through the air, Li Yang's brain hadn't even caught up to the situation yet. He only felt that before he could finish his move, he was already airborne. What on earth was going on?
It wasn't until he hit the ground with a solid thud that the pain finally jolted him back to reality, making him realize just how vast the chasm was between him and Yú'ér.
In a normal spar, even if one party was inferior to the other, they would at most be brought down in close combat or forced back a few steps before sitting down on the ground. But he, Li Yang, had been sent flying straight through the air. This disparity couldn't be described in words; it was as effortless as an adult beating a child.
No matter how many times Li Yang rushed forward, the result was always the same. In the end, utterly exhausted and panting heavily, he sat down hard on the ground. "Who would have thought that after training under a martial arts master for seven years, I still couldn't beat you?"
Yú'ér had no appetite for arguing over victory or defeat; as long as he stopped coming to bother her after today, that was all she wanted.
"Hey, get up."
Yú'ér extended a hand. Looking up from the ground, Li Yang couldn't help blushing a little, perhaps feeling a bit ashamed at having to be pulled up by his opponent.
Wiping his nose, Li Yang ignored Yú'ér's outstretched hand, scrambled straight to his feet, and said, "I lost today, but I'm going back to train hard. I'll come find you again in the future."
Yú'ér was instantly left speechless. *What the hell, did we develop a bond through fighting or something?* With a backhanded motion, Yú'ér gave Li Yang a knock on the head. "Hmph, if you really mean that, come challenge me after I come of age."
Li Yang saw nothing wrong with this, figuring that he probably wouldn't be good enough anytime soon anyway, so he agreed, turned around, and took his leave.
Boring days in the manor were the norm, and Yú'ér could only extend her daily cultivation time in hopes of condensing her Golden Core sooner.
*"Hmm, once the Golden Core is forged, soaring through the skies and burrowing into the earth probably won't be too difficult either, right?"*
Lost in thought, Yú'ér wandered unawares into a covered corridor and suddenly spotted Su Liangchen standing there watching her.
"Father, what's wrong?" Sensing that Su Liangchen seemed troubled about something, though he was reluctant to speak of it, Yú'ér asked.
"It's nothing, just had some free time and came to check on Yú'ér."
"Oh right, the end of the year is approaching. This year, you must return with me and your mother to our Su Clan Ancestral Land to pay respects to our ancestors. In past years you didn't go because you were too young and busy practicing martial arts, but you can't skip it this year." Su Liangchen relaxed his expression as if suddenly remembering something.
"Huh? Isn't it only after coming of age that one can return to the Ancestral Land?"
"That applies to other clansmen. You are the daughter of the Clan Leader; you could return to the Ancestral Land at the age of six, and after coming of age, part of the sacrificial ceremony actually requires the Clan Leader's descendants to sustain it."
"Oh..."
In the end, Yú'ér accompanied Su Liangchen back to the Ancestral Land. Although she had never even seen ninety percent of the clansmen there, let alone recognize them, at least it would be livelier—and perhaps she could find some amusement?
The scale of the Su Clan Ancestral Land was by no means small, covering a total area of nearly ten thousand square meters. And that was just the footprint of the buildings alone, not counting the surrounding mountain forests and fertile fields.
Most of the elders in the clan who paid no mind to worldly affairs spent the final chapter of their lives in the Ancestral Land. Therefore, apart from major festivals and holidays, the young people of the Su Clan did not frequent this place, leaving mostly servants and tenant farmers behind.
What Yú'ér hadn't expected was that upon coming here for the very first time with Su Liangchen, she would become the center of intense attention, especially among the elderly. After all, as the child of the Su Clan Leader, the attention she received was bound to be substantial.
Consequently, Yú'ér had no choice but to put on a wry face as she followed the adults to greet all those elders—grandfathers, great-grandfathers, grandmothers, great-aunts, maternal aunts, paternal aunts, and every sort of relative imaginable. By the end of it all, Yú'ér's head was spinning. Even though she was the only person in this world capable of Immortal Cultivation, she was terrified out of her wits by the sheer, uncountable number of relatives' names. It was simply horrifying.
After who knows how long, she finally finished greeting the crowd of friends and family. Su Liangchen went off to chat idly with the elders, and Yú'ér felt liberated at last, finally granted some peace and quiet.
Just when she thought she could sneak off by herself to watch the fun, Yú'ér was once again surrounded by a horde of children. The younger ones tugged at her and called out "Older Sister" over and over, begging her to play with them, while the older ones called her "Younger Sister Yú'ér" because they wanted to get acquainted. And so, having just escaped the wolf's den, Yú'ér tumbled right into the tiger's lair.
*"Ha... don't be like this, this is seriously driving me crazy..."* Outwardly maintaining a gentle and serene expression to appease the swarm of children, Yú'ér grumbled incessantly in her heart. Dealing with kids was the absolute worst.
*Whoosh!*
A burst of commotion erupted in the distance, sounds like an argument breaking out in the crowd. Disregarding the snot-nosed child who was still tugging at her clothes, Yú'ér flashed out of the children's encirclement in a single bound.
Channeling *qi* to the soles of her feet, Yú'ér directly employed the art of shrinking the earth into inches, covering the distance of five ordinary steps in a single stride, and quickly arrived at the scene.
"Jie jie jie, you didn't expect this, did you? I, Su Luo, have returned!" A dry, harsh voice rang out.
*"Pfft—what kind of Soul Hall elder-level character is this? How is he so fluent in the 'jie' dialect?"* Yú'ér, observing secretly, almost failed to keep a straight face. Wasn't this villain aura laying it a bit too thick?