46: Senior Sister Xiao's Expectations

Sun Hao gave Lin Feng's shoulder a hard pat, his voice trembling with excitement: "Good lad. Junior Brother Lin. You... you are truly... too amazing. Hahaha! Good! Excellent!"

'The dragon scale fruit, it's in my hands.' Lin Feng let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

Zhang Kuang and Li Xuan's faces were as black as the bottom of a pot.

Placing fourth and fifth was simply a humiliation for them.

Zhang Kuang stared fixedly at Sun Hao and Lin Feng, especially Lin Feng, his eyes almost spitting fire.

Li Xuan also swept a cold glance over Lin Feng, his gaze lingering on the silent Wu Chen for a moment, his brows furrowed; clearly, this was completely beyond his expectations.

Senior Sister Xiao's gaze swept over the three of them—Sun Hao, Wu Chen, and Lin Feng—lingering a bit longer on the unique spirit plants Lin Feng had handed in, and she said loudly:

"There are three thousand Daos, each with its own method. Strength, wisdom, luck, and Magical Artifacts can all lead to the same path. I hope you all remain diligent."

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhang Kuang and Li Xuan were so angry their whole bodies trembled, yet they dared not voice the slightest objection.

Lin Feng, holding the jade box containing the dragon scale fruit, felt settled, yet his gaze could not help but turn toward Wu Chen once more.

'Wu Chen... how on earth did he manage it?'

Looking at his aura, he was only at the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining, and he was not a domineering person like Zhang Kuang, yet he was able to take second place, and his contribution points even surpassed those of Zhang Kuang and Li Xuan...

The trial rewards had been distributed, and as the crowd was about to disperse, Zhang Kuang, Li Xuan, and the others, with ashen faces, turned to leave.

Just then, Senior Sister Xiao spoke again: "Wait."

Everyone's footsteps paused, and they looked up in confusion.

They saw Senior Sister Xiao walking straight up to Lin Feng.

Lin Feng's heart shook violently, and he immediately bowed: "Disciple Lin Feng pays respects to Senior Sister Xiao."

Senior Sister Xiao did not speak immediately, but instead carefully looked Lin Feng over for a moment. Under the breathless gaze of everyone, Senior Sister Xiao finally spoke.

"Lin Feng, you are very good." She paused, as if weighing her words, and finally said: "I hope you will diligently Cultivate and, at an early date... achieve Foundation Establishment."

Having said this, she spoke no more, gave Lin Feng one deep look, then turned around. Her green feathered fan appeared again, turning into a stream of light that disappeared into the horizon.

'This child... must achieve Foundation Establishment as soon as possible. After he achieves Foundation Establishment, his spiritual power will undergo a qualitative change, his Divine Sense will stabilize, and his cold Qi will be able to fully manifest. At that time, if we engage in the union of heaven and man... it might truly eradicate this deep-seated, intractable Yang evil ailment within my body.'

This thought of expectation flashed through her mind, and her figure had already disappeared into the clouds.

"At an... at an early date achieve Foundation Establishment?"

"Senior Sister Xiao actually... actually personally encouraged him to achieve Foundation Establishment?"

"What... what on earth is going on?"

"Could it be that Senior Sister Xiao really... has taken a fancy to him?"

Various exclamations of disbelief, speculation, and jealous whispers instantly engulfed Lin Feng.

Sun Hao was dumbfounded, patting Lin Feng's shoulder but unable to speak.

'On what grounds? On what grounds does this kid deserve this?' Zhang Kuang and Li Xuan's eyes were almost popping out, their faces turning from green to purple.

Lin Feng himself was standing still, his mind a complete blank.

'Senior Sister Xiao... what on earth... does she mean?'

Beast Taming Peak, Clear Heart Cottage.

Senior Sister Xiao's figure quietly landed in the courtyard. The cold aura around her seemed a bit softer than usual, and there was even a smile on her lips that she herself had not noticed.

"You're back?" A gentle voice came from the bamboo pavilion nearby.

Senior Sister Xiao's figure paused slightly, and she respectfully bowed: "Revered Master."

Inside the bamboo pavilion, a middle-aged Daoist nun dressed in elegant green robes with a kind face was leisurely sipping tea; she was Senior Sister Xiao's Revered Master, the Elder of Beast Taming Peak, True Person Jing Yu.

True Person Jing Yu set down her teacup, her gaze landing on her Disciple, and she carefully observed her for a moment: "Qinghan, this trip to supervise the outer Sect trial, it seems... your state of mind is a bit different?"

Senior Sister Xiao was slightly startled, knowing she could not hide it from her Revered Master's Dharma Eye. After a moment of contemplation, she frankly said: "Disciple... has indeed encountered something."

She briefly recounted what she had seen and heard in the Myriad Beast Valley, especially mentioning Lin Feng's peculiar cold Qi, and finally said: "This child's cultivation is still shallow, but the purity and refinement of his cold Qi Origin is truly rare. If we wait for him to achieve Foundation Establishment... it may... hold hope of eradicating the chronic ailment within this Disciple's body."

When she reached the end, a faint blush involuntarily appeared at the roots of her ears, and her eyes flickered slightly.

True Person Jing Yu heard this, a flash of light appearing in her eyes, and then she smiled: "Oh? There is such a thing? To be able to make you give such an evaluation, it seems that Disciple is indeed extraordinary."

She nodded gently and continued: "Because of your exceptional talent, you have a very high compatibility with our Beast Taming Peak's 'Ten Thousand Spirits One Heart Technique', and your progress has been rapid, but because of this, your Yang evil energy is too strong. For many years, your cultivation has been stuck at a Bottleneck, unable to advance even an inch, and you have suffered greatly.

If you can truly borrow this child's cold Qi to achieve a balance of Yin and Yang, not only can the chronic ailment be removed, but your long-stagnant cultivation also has a great possibility of achieving a Breakthrough in one fell swoop. This is a great Opportunity."

Looking at her Disciple, who was usually cold and self-restrained, and her rare state of emotion, her tone carried a hint of teasing and profound meaning:

"It seems that you have indeed found a... unique 'remedy'.

Since that is the case, pay more attention to him and let things take their course.

Within the Sect, no one can gossip if resources are tilted toward promising seedlings."

Senior Sister Xiao's cheeks felt hot, and she respectfully replied: "Disciple understands."

True Person Jing Yu waved her hand: "Go. After waiting for so many years, it has finally arrived; seize this Opportunity well."

"Yes, Disciple takes her leave." Senior Sister Xiao bowed again, and when she turned to leave, her steps seemed a bit lighter than usual.

True Person Jing Yu watched her Disciple's retreating figure, shook her head with a smile, and picked up her teacup again: "Wonderful. It seems that my Beast Taming Peak will soon have a joyous event..."

Two days later, Lin Feng was practicing sword techniques hard in the woods.

"Junior Brother Lin. Over here." Sun Hao lowered his voice, poked his head out from behind an ancient tree, and beckoned to Lin Feng, who had just walked over.

Lin Feng walked toward the sound and saw Sun Hao holding an exquisite flying shuttle in his hand with smooth lines and a silvery-gray metallic luster, its body faintly glowing with spiritual light.

"This is?" Lin Feng was slightly startled, his gaze immediately drawn to the shuttle, which was brimming with spiritual light.

"Hehe, just rewarded by the Sect. A flight Magical Artifact, the Cloud Piercing Shuttle." Sun Hao tossed the shuttle into the air and guided it with a spell formula in his hand.

With a slight hum, the Cloud Piercing Shuttle grew upon seeing the wind, instantly turning into a silvery-gray shuttle boat that could accommodate two people standing side by side, hovering in the air a foot off the ground.

"How is it? Is it cool?" Sun Hao leaped onto the shuttle boat and stood firmly. "With it, it will be much more convenient for us to go anywhere in the future. The speed is more than thirty percent faster than flying on a sword, and it saves effort. The key is... it's also fast for escaping."

He said half-jokingly, maneuvering the Cloud Piercing Shuttle to nimbly circle the small clearing twice.

Sun Hao retracted the Cloud Piercing Shuttle, held it carefully in his hand, and jumped back to the ground.

He walked up to Lin Feng, the excitement on his face slightly restrained, and gently patted Lin Feng's shoulder: "Junior Brother Lin, this first-place reward, this Cloud Piercing Shuttle... come to think of it, most of the credit must be counted on your head.

If it weren't for you, I would never have been able to surpass that bastard Zhang Kuang. I, Old Sun, will remember this favor for a lifetime."