Martial Cultivator

”If the Saintess continues like this, how do we explain it when we go back?”

”Yeah, originally this trip to the Infatuation Daoist Temple was to comprehend that scripture, but the Saintess hasn’t been entering the Scripture Library these days, what should we do?”

”I thought the Saintess was just a bit playful, but she’s usually quite sensible. How did she end up like this once we arrived at the mountain?”

”It can’t go on like this.”

”I know, but what can you do about it?”

”She’s the Saintess, what can we do?”

……

……

In the Infatuation Daoist Temple, during the height of summer, the two female attendants escorting the Saintess Zhu Xia stood under a tree, listening to the cicadas chirping. They were feeling extremely troubled. There was only one thing that could trouble them so much: the Saintess was supposed to come to the Infatuation Daoist Temple to study that scripture. However, for some reason, she had been merely wandering around the mountains these days, refusing to enter the Scripture Library to study the scriptures. This matter caused them great concern.

”I don’t care anymore. We have to say something no matter what. If this continues, we’ll surely face disciplinary actions when we return to the mountain. The Palace Lord may not want to punish the Saintess, but would he hesitate to punish us?”

One of the female attendants made up her mind to speak up, looking at the other attendant, who nodded in agreement. Then, they both headed towards the bamboo courtyard together. However, they soon exchanged a glance full of helplessness. The Saintess had slipped out again.

”What are we going to do?”

One of the female attendants spoke with a worried expression, her face full of worry.

”We can only wait for the Saintess to return. After all, we’re guests here. Wandering around the mountain like this is simply not acceptable.”

The other attendant sighed and nodded. There seemed to be no other solution at present.

Though they accepted the current situation, the two attendants were still deeply concerned. Among the young cultivators of this generation, the Infatuation Daoist Temple’s Twin Pillars firmly held the top two positions on the Latent Dragon List. Additionally, there was the young martial artist who had already ranked in the top three, as well as the sword cultivator, Yu Xiyi, who had taken away Sword Qi Mountain’s Hundred Year Sword and was a disciple of the Sword Sect. In recent years, his progress should have been remarkable. Then there was the monk from the Deercry Monastery, who kept everything strictly hidden, along with some other young geniuses. Despite their Saintess clearly having talents not inferior to theirs, if she truly lacked diligence in her cultivation, she might even be surpassed by Xie Nandu from the academy who rose at a later date.

Each generation has its own comparisons. In the previous generations, it was already a foregone conclusion that the Myriad Heaven Palace could not surpass the Infatuation Daoist Temple. However, in this generation, the extraordinary talents displayed by the Twin Pillars of the Infatuation Daoist Temple have destined them to be the heaven’s chosen of their generation. If their Saintess did not cultivate diligently, then not only would the Myriad Heaven Palace not be able to match up with the Infatuation Daoist Temple, they might not even be able to keep their position as the leader of the Great Peace Dao.

The Palace Lord had great hopes for Zhu Xia, but it seemed that this Saintess had yet to mature and did not understand the weight of her responsibilities.

Speaking of which, that old daoist sage was also to blame for spoiling this Saintess too much.

Thinking of this, the two attendants immediately dismissed their thoughts. Even if the old daoist sage had done anything else, it was not something they could casually discuss.

That was a great daoist sage who helped the Myriad Heaven Palace beat the Infatuation Daoist Temple for the last time.

……

……

At the summit of the rear mountain of the Infatuation Daoist Temple, Yun Jianyue looked at the bored Saintess standing under a tree, watching the cicadas on the tree chirp. He was rather confused, how could there be such a girl in the world, with such simple thoughts?

”Yun Jianyue, how long do you think these cicadas can live?” Zhu Xia looked up at the cicadas on the tree, feeling puzzled.

Yun Jianyue said softly, ”As the saying goes, ’summer insects cannot speak of ice.’ Before the cicadas emerge from the ground, they can live for several years. However, after they emerge, they can only live for a few months. They won’t even see winter, let alone autumn.”

Zhu Xia asked in confusion, ”Since they can live for so many years without emerging, why do they have to come out and chirp for just one summer?”

Yun Jianyue smiled and said, ”They have to come out and see the world. If they hide underground their whole lives, no one will ever know about them. What’s the point of living?” ”Cicadas are like this, and people are like this too. Just like those cultivators, is there anyone willing to truly cultivate in the mountains for their whole life without venturing out?”

”It’s still necessary to leave some traces.”

Zhu Xia retorted, ”Let them live their own lives. Who cares what others think?”

Yun Jianyue said, ”But how do you know if it just wants to emerge and experience these two or three months?”

”That’s way too not worth it.”

Zhu Xia muttered. ”Master always said that cultivation is one’s own business, don’t overthink it. He said you Longevity Dao daoists are too obsessed, it’s meaningless.”

Yun Jianyue shook his head. ”I can’t agree with that old daoist sage’s viewpoint.”

Zhu Xia murmured, ”Now that Master is dead, of course he can’t argue with you anymore.”

Except, mentioning her master made Zhu Xia feel sad again. It had been so long since she had seen him.

Yun Jianyue noticed Zhu Xia’s dejected mood and comforted her softly, ”Although our Longevity Dao lineage seeks longevity, if we can’t achieve it, we still need something to look forward to in life. Honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever reach the so-called realm of eternal life in this lifetime.”

Zhu Xia said softly, ”Hence, Master said we’re actually not that different. In the end, we all have to die, but we haven’t thought about it as much.”

Yun Jianyue nodded and suddenly asked, ”You’ve been watching for so long, when are you planning to go to the Scripture Library to see that scripture?”

”What’s the hurry?”

Zhu Xia stuck out her tongue, a little disgruntled as she said, ”I didn’t plan to come here in the first place. I would have given the spot to someone else, but the Palace Lord begged... oh no, the Palace Lord told me not to talk about this.”

Yun Jianyue smiled and said, ”I suppose that Myriad Heaven Palace Lord is also quite an extraordinary person.”

Zhu Xia snorted but did not say anything.

Yun Jianyue stood under the tree and was not in a hurry to speak. He just somewhat missed his senior sister.

In the past, when he was on the mountain, although they did not necessarily meet every day, he always knew she was on the mountain. Whenever he really wanted to see her, he would go and visit her. But now that his senior sister had gone down the mountain, he really missed her.

Zhu Xia asked, ”Do you like that woman who keeps a straight face?”

Yun Jianyue was taken aback.

”On the first day you came, I glanced back and saw that you were totally different in front of her.”

Zhu Xia asked curiously, ”Yun Jianyue, can you tell me what liking someone means?”

Yun Jianyue furrowed his brow and said softly, ”It’s probably when you think of her when she’s not around, feel happy when you see her, want to show her anything good, and want to tell her anything interesting. If you haven’t seen her for a long time, you’ll lose all appetite, and you feel like you’re lacking something. Is that what liking someone means?”

Zhu Xia nodded thoughtfully, pondering for a long time before suddenly sighing, ”If that’s the case, then I also have someone I like.”

Now it was Yun Jianyue’s turn to be curious. He asked, ”Who is it? Can you tell me?”

Zhu Xia’s cheeks reddened slightly as she shook her head, ”I’m not telling you.”

Yun Jianyue chuckled helplessly, ”Are you still not considering me as a friend?”

Zhu Xia stuck out her tongue again, then suddenly burst into laughter, her dimples looking very charming.

”Yun Jianyue, if that woman asked you to die, would you be willing?”

Zhu Xia looked up again, gazing at Yun Jianyue.

Yun Jianyue frowned, ”Why would she want me to die for no reason?”

Zhu Xia was puzzled.

Yun Jianyue said softly, ”If the person you like also likes you back, they definitely wouldn’t want you to die. If there’s any danger, they would rather face it themselves than let the one they like be in danger. So, liking someone is a good thing, and it’s even better if they like you back. But if you like someone who doesn’t like you back, then you’ll be sad.”

”How so?”

Zhu Xia was very curious about this kind of thing.

Yun Jianyue explained, ”Let’s say you like someone, but he likes another girl. In that case, you’re willing to die for him, but he’s not willing to die for you. In his eyes, there’s only the girl he likes, not you. Would you feel sad if you see it?”

When the conversation reached this point, Zhu Xia began to sob quietly, tears streaming down her small face, evoking a sense of pity.

Yun Jianyue asked, ”What’s wrong?”

Zhu Xia choked up, ”Oh no, the person I like doesn’t like me back.”

Yun Jianyue was a bit puzzled but quickly said, ”Don’t jump to conclusions so quickly. Maybe you’re mistaken. Maybe you don’t really like him either, it’s just a wrong impression.”

Zhu Xia shook her head, ”No, that’s not it. When I don’t see him, I miss him a lot. I haven’t had much of an appetite lately.”

Yun Jianyue sighed, ”But you always eat the most every time. How can you say you’ve lost your appetite?”

Zhu Xia frowned, staring at Yun Jianyue as she pouted, ”I’m still growing, what’s wrong with eating a little more?”

Yun Jianyue shook his head, laughing, ”Eat as much as you want, it’s free anyway.”

Zhu Xia was still very sad. She raised her little hand to wipe away her tears, then cautiously asked, ”Is there anyone who can like two girls at the same time?”

Yun Jianyue thought for a moment, then said earnestly, ”It seems not. If someone falls for one girl and then falls for another, it means he probably didn’t like the first girl that much. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have fallen for the second one.”

Zhu Xia gave an ”oh”. This time, she did not say anything further.

Yun Jianyue did not know how to comfort her or who this innocent girl really liked.

Both of them remained silent for a long time until Zhu Xia finally said, ”I’m going to read that book now.”

Yun Jianyue furrowed his brows and asked, ”How did you suddenly figure it out?”

Zhu Xia snorted, raised her small hand into a fist, and grinned, ”I got it, in order to make someone like you, don’t go and tell him how much you like him. Make yourself become very powerful, and he’ll naturally like you!”

Yun Jianyue was initially going to retort, but after pondering for a while, he suddenly found some truth in it. Then he gave Zhu Xia a thumbs up and said with a smile, ”That actually makes some sense.”

Zhu Xia suddenly felt dejected and said, ”Actually, I was just talking nonsense.”