Li Meng lowered his head, staring at the token in his hand.

Why did the Ancestor grant me a token to freely enter and exit Masked Moon Peak? he wondered. Isn’t that peak strictly forbidden for men? The Ancestor opening such a blatant backdoor for me violates the sect’s ironclad rules. Isn’t this… a bit inappropriate?

He raised his head to look at his Junior Sister.

“Junior Sister, did the Ancestor say anything else?”

Yao Ning stood up, brushing dust from her robes. She walked toward the empty patch of ground by the courtyard entrance, her movements stiff but determined.

“Master said, ‘You are your Senior Sister’s only disciple, so you should pay more attention to her.'”

She stopped walking and immediately began her practice on the training stakes. Although her footwork was painfully awkward, her punches struck the air with a fierce, tiger-like roar.

“Senior Brother, hit me with a Lightning Attraction Talisman. A medium-grade one!”

Li Meng sat by the tea table, a thoughtful expression on his face. He flicked his sleeve.

A golden, shimmering talisman shot out, transforming into a streak of light that pierced the heavens.

BOOM.

Dark clouds instantly gathered above Moon Gaze Peak, a vast, majestic pressure descending upon the courtyard. The air grew heavy with static.

Yao Ning, amidst her punches, suddenly sensed something was wrong. The pressure was… too heavy.

“Senior Brother! Wrong! That’s the wrong one!” she cried out, her voice tinged with panic.

CRACK!

A deafening thunderclap silenced her. A dazzling purple lightning dragon descended from the heavens, striking the courtyard with pinpoint accuracy.

It blasted Yao Ning squarely. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground, twitching.

“Wrong?” Li Meng blinked, startled by the sheer force of the thunder. He looked up at the sky, then at his hand. Ah. That was a high-grade talisman.

He quickly formed hand seals and pointed a finger at the sky. The dark clouds dissipated as if wiped away by an invisible hand. A golden talisman flew back to him, slipping into his sleeve.

Li Meng stood up and hurried over to his fallen Junior Sister.

“Ai! Junior Sister, Senior Brother was truly too careless! Are you alright?”

He crouched down and lifted her into his arms. A golden talisman flew from his Sword Nurturing Gourd, attaching itself to her chest. It was a First-Grade, Superior-Quality Revitalizing Talisman. Green spiritual light bathed her body, nourishing her scorched flesh with gentle Wood Spiritual Power.

Yao Ning’s eyelids fluttered. She opened her eyes groggily, only to see her Senior Brother looking down at her with a mischievous grin.

“Senior Brother…” she rasped, raising a weak fist to pound his chest. “You… you did that on purpose!”

The light hits didn’t satisfy her anger. She leaned forward and bit down hard on his shoulder.

“Hiss!” Li Meng sucked in a breath. This girl bites hard!

“Junior Sister! Senior Brother knows his mistake! Have mercy!”

Seeing him beg, Yao Ning released her bite, satisfied. It was only then that she realized she was being held in his arms. The masculine scent of him filled her senses, making her head spin. A deep flush spread across her cheeks.

[+10 Affection] [+50 Sub-profession Experience]

“Senior Brother… I… I feel a bit dizzy!”

Li Meng chuckled. He carried her to the lounge chair and set her down gently.

“How is it? How do you feel?”

Yao Ning paused, confused. Then, her eyes widened. She swung her fist experimentally, feeling a surge of power.

“Senior Brother! I broke through!”

She had finally cracked the bottleneck to the Fifth Layer of Bone Tempering. After being stuck for a month, a single accidental lightning strike had pushed her over the edge.

Li Meng sat back down at the tea table, his expression sage-like. “Junior Sister, Body Tempering is not like Qi Condensation. You must treat yourself as a raw material to be refined in the furnace of pain. There will be plenty of suffering in your future. This is just the beginning.”

Yao Ning clenched her fist, her eyes burning with determination. “I’m not afraid. To become strong like Senior Brother, a little pain is nothing. One day, I won’t just be a bystander.”

She tried to stand up. “I’m going to practice my punches!”

Li Meng flicked his sleeve, using a gust of wind to push her back onto the chair.

“Too much is as bad as too little. Rest.”

“But—”

Several pills flew into her open mouth, silencing her protest. She swallowed them instinctively and felt a warm heat spread through her body. Obediently, she closed her eyes to regulate her breathing.

Li Meng sipped his tea, his gaze thoughtful.

How should I handle Senior Han’s task?

Wen Huanhuan was paranoid, crazy, and emotionally unstable. Increasing the affection of such a woman required… unconventional methods.

With the Longevity Fruit as leverage, she probably won’t kill me no matter how excessive I act, Li Meng mused. She fears death too much.

He scanned his Sword Nurturing Gourd. He still had pill liquid left from the Bloody Forbidden Domain. Wen Huanhuan’s soul was damaged; she needed repair. But pills alone wouldn’t suffice—she needed a soul cultivation technique.

“I’ll refine a few batches of Third-Grade Soul Nourishing Pills,” he decided.

Although his cultivation was low, his skills were sufficient. He would make flawless ones for his cheap Master as a belated apprenticeship gift, and superior-grade ones for Wen Huanhuan.

Li Meng stood up and entered the pavilion’s Alchemy Room.

He sat cross-legged on the cushion, forming seals. Five-colored spiritual light radiated from him as the superior-grade Furnace roared to life.

With a wave of his hand, over ten bottles of pill liquid flew into the furnace, merging into a single, shimmering water ball. Under the roasting of his True Essence Fire, the liquid began to shrink, condensing into the essence of recovery.