“You actually know lightning arts?”
In Peach Blossom Manor, Yan Hongxia’s voice was full of disbelief.
Beside her, Ao Qi looked put out. Her eyes held three parts embarrassment, three parts helplessness, three parts shock, and one part deeply hidden admiration.
The move she had just used was already her strongest attack after revealing her true azure dragon form, yet she had still lost by a single strike. From all appearances, Lu Zheng had held back plenty of strength. Just looking at the gap between his magical artefact and hers, Ao Qi felt too embarrassed to continue the contest.
Wang Xiaowan hurriedly said, “Senior Brother Lu is extraordinarily gifted. He only learnt lightning arts, yet the power he wields is already tremendous.”
Yan Hongxia and Ao Qi both agreed. The Pure Subtle Lightning Arts that Lu Zheng drove with the techniques of White Cloud Temple and Jinhua Sect were in no way inferior to those of the Taoist priests from Pure Subtle Palace.
This was the conclusion Ao Qi had reached through real combat.
“Just good luck. Perhaps I happen to be quite suited to cultivating lightning arts,” Lu Zheng said modestly.
Everyone, “…”
*Cough cough!* Daoist Mingzhang could not help giving a dry cough. He turned to Yuan Jing and looked for something to say. “See that? Learn from him.”
Yuan Jing: ???
Learn what? Learn how to show off? I don’t have enough strength, so I can’t learn it!
…
In the afternoon, Daoist Mingzhang was still present. Little Cui and the Peach Blossom Heavenly Lady took turns serving tea. Lu Zheng, Ao Qi, Yan Hongxia, and Daoist Mingzhang discussed and reviewed the earlier sparring matches.
Although Daoist Mingzhang could no longer beat the three of them, decades of cultivation had given him keen insight and rich experience in cloud arts. The few points he raised were spot-on.
The three younger ones mainly talked about possible weaknesses they had noticed in each other’s fighting styles. When they grew excited, they even demonstrated a little and tested each other again.
For a time, faint sword qi soared through the main hall of Peach Blossom Manor, dragon roars echoed, and the aura of clouds, rain, wind, and thunder filled the air.
This session was not only about fighting and techniques, but also about the different approaches each school took to cultivating essence, energy, and spirit.
Thus, this combination of theory and practice proved greatly beneficial to the other women whose cultivation was still insufficient. Shen Ying, who had already reached a critical point, was especially noticeable. Wisps of incense power swirled and surged around her.
Everyone turned to look. Shen Ying took a deep breath, and a divine light flashed in her eyes.
The next moment, the incense power around her suddenly rushed into her body. A pink glow radiated from within her, and a beam of true spirit divine light shot into the sky.
At the same time, though Shen Ying still sat in the same place, her jade-like beauty blazed with splendour. Her peach-blossom eyes shone bright as autumn water, her vermilion lips grew moist and lustrous, and the patterns on her pink peach-blossom qingluo trailing skirt glimmered with light. She looked like an immortal among mortals.
In their eyes, she was still Shen Ying, yet no longer the same Shen Ying as before.
She had undergone a complete transformation, reborn.
“This…”
“Just a fortunate breakthrough in the moment. I disturbed everyone,” Shen Ying said. She rose and gave a graceful curtsy.
“No, no!”
“Congratulations!”
“Wonderful!”
“Big Sister Shen is amazing!”
The women crowded forward to offer their congratulations. Shen Ying was in a splendid mood and accepted them all with a smile.
Lu Zheng stood a short distance away. Their eyes met, feelings flowing silently between them. Each already understood what the other was thinking.
Shen Ying: Lu-lang, from now on I can travel the world and stay by your side. I will no longer let you face enemies alone!
Lu Zheng: I’ll come find you tonight!
Beside Shen Ying, Liu Qingyan sensed the surging mana within her and felt a slight pang of envy. She secretly resolved to cultivate diligently from now on.
Before meeting Lu Zheng, she and Shen Ying had not been far apart in strength.
Although Lu Zheng had helped Shen Ying obtain the divine position of Peach Blossom Fairy, so she never lacked incense power, Liu Qingyan herself had gained countless golden lights of merit because of the flood affair. In terms of inheritance, she was actually superior to Shen Ying.
Therefore…
Feeling the depth of her own foundation and the accumulated benefits the golden merit light had brought her body, Liu Qingyan quietly set herself a small goal.
…
After a brief commotion, the congratulations gradually quietened down. Lu Zheng clapped his hands and announced loudly, “Great joy today. Feast tonight!”
“Yay!”
The most excited were, of course, the two little girls. Ao Qian bounded over with one leap and asked eagerly, “Are we having Buddha Jumps Over the Wall again?”
Lu Zheng nodded. “We can do that!”
“Yay!!!”
…
Daoist Mingzhang rarely stayed at Peach Blossom Manor for an entire afternoon. The discussion and lecture on techniques had benefited him greatly as well.
Lu Zheng went to the kitchen, slipped back to the modern world, bought a huge pile of ingredients, then returned and started cooking. By the end of the you hour in the evening, the grand feast was finally ready.
“Waa, Big Sister Shen, I’m getting another free meal because of you!” Yan Hongxia continued to devour everything with relish.
Shen Ying sat beside Lu Zheng, beaming as she placed a portion of food in his bowl. “Lu-lang, eat.”
Lu Zheng nodded and finished off the sizeable abalone in one bite.
Liu Qingyan glanced at Shen Ying, then back at Lu Zheng, and her face turned pink.
“Eh?” Ao Qi looked up, sniffed, and asked, “Where’s that fragrance coming from?”
“It must be this Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. The heat is perfect, the aroma is rich,” Liu Qingyan hurriedly said, putting some prawn into Ao Qi’s bowl.
Ao Qi nodded, eyes sparkling, and bit off the prawn head in one mouthful.
On the other side, Daoist Mingzhang smacked his lips. “This Buddha Jumps Over the Wall… we can only have it in Great Jing. If it were in a western Buddhist kingdom, a crowd of great monks would probably come knocking… Whoever named this dish certainly had guts.”
As he spoke, he helped himself to another chicken wing.
“The taste is excellent too! What a talent!”
…
The dinner left hosts and guests thoroughly satisfied.
After Daoist Mingzhang and Yuan Jing took their leave, they rose on a cloud and flew straight northeast.
Hua Yixing, Bi Xinju, and the other women knew that Shen Ying had just broken through and needed secluded consolidation, so they all said goodbye. However, they agreed to meet again on the next ten-day rest for an outing to enjoy the spring scenery and flowers.
As hostess, Shen Ying saw the guests off, accompanying Lu Zheng and the others ten li beyond Peach Blossom Manor. Only then did she send Lu Zheng a charming, coquettish glance. Standing in a roadside pavilion, she waved to the ladies in farewell.
On the journey back, Ao Qi was calm as usual, but Yan Hongxia chattered non-stop.
“Brother Lu?”
“Yes?”
“Tomorrow morning, we continue!”
“Continue what?”
“Continue sparring!” Yan Hongxia declared, eyes burning. “You know so many arts, from qi refining to spirit refining, cloud arts, rain arts, wind arts, lightning arts, flying sword techniques. You’re simply the perfect tool for sparring and practice!”
Lu Zheng: ⊙_⊙?
“No, no, no, I mean the perfect sparring partner!” Yan Hongxia corrected herself.
Lu Zheng, “…”
That’s barely any better!
…
That night, Lu Zheng wondered whether he should disturb Shen Ying’s cultivation.
His original intention was not to go. After all, she had only just broken through today.
Yet barely past the end of the xu hour, the peach-wood token at his waist began to shake and sent continuous summons.
What else could Lu Zheng do? Naturally, he went, albeit reluctantly.
…
“Lu-lang~ I still want more~”
“Hehe, Lu-lang, I kept a jar of Red Centipede Spirit Spleen Wine just for this… oh!”
It had to be said, Shen Ying’s combat power had doubled after her breakthrough. The commotion inside Peach Blossom Manor lasted almost until the yin hour of the next day, greeting the dawn. Thus, Yan Hongxia’s sparring plans had to be postponed…
