I Just Wanted to Teach Cultivation, But Goddesses Keep Coming!

Chapter 36: Chapter 36 Edge

Then, as if on instinct, the woman in red’s gaze shifted back to Lin Feng.

A faint, knowing smirk curved her lips, sharp and slightly mocking, as though she were issuing a subtle, silent challenge with her smart comeback.

Even without speaking another word, she made it clear that she had not been impressed by his show of authority.

It was also at this time that Chu Jiangyue replied to break the ice.

“I’m not going anywhere else, Aunt Mei,” Chu Jiangyue said, her voice firm and steady, carrying a determination far beyond her years.

“I’ve found a good teacher here… someone I truly want to learn from and I plan to stay.”

Qiao Mei froze the moment the words left her niece’s lips.

For a brief second, she wasn’t sure she had heard correctly.

Chu Jiangyue… the same girl who had always treated cultivation like a tedious chore, who had to be bribed with treasures, privileges, and endless promises just to sit still during training was now claiming that she had found someone she was genuinely willing to learn from.

Someone she wanted to follow.

Has the sun risen from the west today? Qiao Mei mused silently, her expression tightening with disbelief.

Her gaze slowly shifted toward Lin Feng, her eyes narrowing slightly as she assessed him.

Without hesitation, she released her divine sense, sweeping it over his body, soul, and spiritual foundation in a thorough, meticulous scan.

She searched for hidden depths, sealed cultivation, suppressed realms, or even the faintest trace of a concealed powerhouse.

But the result was… nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

To her perception, Lin Feng was nothing more than an ordinary mortal… barely stepping into the Body Refining Realm, and not even at a particularly impressive level.

His spiritual foundation was shallow, his energy circulation crude, and his presence utterly unremarkable.

Aside from his handsome face, there was nothing about him that stood out.

Qiao Mei’s heart sank.

She withdrew her divine sense and let out a long, disappointed sigh.

Had Jiangyue really been fooled by such a man?

Was this nothing more than a childish whim, a temporary fascination, or worse… a deception she had fallen for out of boredom or this man’s sweet sugary tongue?

“You’ve been tricked, Yue’er,” Qiao Mei said, her voice firm but not unkind.

“This man is a fraud. He is not a hidden expert, nor is he anything special. There is nothing he can teach you. Not cultivation, not wisdom, not strength… nothing.”

She stepped forward, her tone growing more authoritative.

“Come with me. We’re going home. You’ve had your fun here, just as we promised you. But playtime is over. It’s time for you to return and focus on what truly matters.”

Her gaze softened slightly as she looked back at her niece, but her resolve remained unshaken.

She believed, with absolute certainty, that she was doing what was best for Chu Jiangyue even if her niece did not yet understand it.

Yet, deep down, a faint unease lingered.

Because for the first time, Chu Jiangyue had chosen something on her own.

And that alone made this situation far more complicated than Qiao Mei had expected.

“I said I won’t go. I’m staying,” Chu Jiangyue said stubbornly, her voice ringing with unshakable resolve.

She clenched her fists at her sides, her heart pounding as memories flooded her mind.

She had only been allowed to leave the clan and experience the outside world for one month and that was only because she had broken through to the Core Formation Realm a month ago.

To her family, this excursion was nothing more than a reward, a brief indulgence before she was dragged back into the rigid, suffocating routine of endless cultivation.

But to Chu Jiangyue, this month had been freedom.

Cultivation had always bored her. Not because she lacked talent, but because the process felt like a cage… long hours of meditation, cold stone chambers, rigid elders, endless expectations.

She wanted to live.

She wanted to see the world, meet people, experience things beyond silent halls and cultivation manuals.

She had been cultivating since she was five years old… since before she had even fully understood what cultivation meant.

Her childhood had been swallowed by training, her adolescence defined by breakthroughs and bottlenecks, her life reduced to nothing but strength and progress.

And now, for the first time, she had found something mysterious and spectacular and that made her want to stay.

“Don’t be stubborn, Yue’er,” Qiao Mei said, her voice hardening, her eyes sharpening as they locked onto her niece.

“You should understand that actions have consequences. Or do you want something bad to happen to the people around you now?”

The threat was unmistakable.

Her words were calm, but beneath them lay a blade. Qiao Mei was not joking.

She would not outright kill Lin Feng or the others, but she would not hesitate to use them as tools… as examples.

She would hurt them, humiliate them, or crush their futures if necessary, all to remind Chu Jiangyue of how cruel, merciless, and unforgiving this dog-eat-dog cultivation world truly was.

The air grew heavy with tension.

Even the spiritual energy around them seemed to slow, as though the world itself sensed the brewing conflict.

Chu Jiangyue felt a chill crawl up her spine, but she did not back down.

She lifted her chin, her eyes burning with a mixture of fear, defiance, and determination.

But in the end, she could not defy her aunt.

Chu Jiangyue slowly turned her gaze toward Su Wanwan, the innocent little girl who had been drawing with such sincerity.

Then she looked at the beautiful Wang Yuyan, calm and composed, and finally at their teacher, the handsome teacher Lin Feng, who had treated her with unexpected patience and warm welcome.

A heavy weight settled in her chest.

She knew that she would regret it for the rest of her life if anything were to happen to any of the three simply because of her stubbornness.

“…Okay.”