Chapter 30: Stealing Kiss From Sect Master

I smiled, keeping my eyes closed and resting comfortably against the soft, silk-clad cushion of her thighs.

"True enough," I said softly, enjoying the tranquil rhythm of the morning breeze rustling through the weeping willow. "Though to be honest, taking Qingxue to experience the mortal world is only half the reason I’m heading down. I want to look for more disciples."

Wan’er’s fingers paused in my hair. "More disciples?"

"My standards are quite high," I explained, cracking one eye open to look up at her delicate chin. "A standard recruitment trial like the one at the grand plaza only filters for flashy, obvious roots. True diamonds are usually buried in the dirt, discarded by blind fools who can’t see past the surface. If I want someone who truly fits Lonely Cloud Peak, I have to go out into the world and search with my own eyes. Besides, having broken through to Late-Stage Core Formation, my hands have been itching. I want to test out my new cultivation base against the wider world."

Wan’er looked down at me, listening to every word with quiet composure. Her almond eyes held a flicker of amusement, but beneath it lay a fond, lingering softness.

"Then I shall pray daily for your future disciples’ sanity," she sighed with a mock shake of her head. "I can only hope they inherit their master’s good fortune, rather than his shameless idiocy."

"Senior Sister, you wound me," I grinned, shifting slightly to settle deeper into her lap. "That shamelessness is the most vital survival technique in this treacherous world. I plan on teaching it to them personally. Besides, you shouldn’t badmouth your junior brother so casually. If your thighs weren’t this comfortable, I would have rebelled against the Sect Master long ago."

"You brazen rogue!" Wan’er gasped, her cheeks flushing a delicious pink. Her hand darted down, firmly pinching my cheek and giving it a sharp, playful twist. "Speak more nonsense and I’ll use your head as a drum!"

"Ow, ow! Truce, Sect Master, truce!" I laughed, swatting at her fingers until she let go with a quiet huff.

Straightening her posture, Wan’er’s expression turned solemn. She reached into her space ring and retrieved an exquisite pendant carved from translucent, pale-blue spirit jade, hanging from a fine silver chain. A faint, crystalline mist swirled deep within the core of the jade, pulsing with a terrifying, rhythmic heartbeat.

She picked it up and placed it firmly into my palm.

"Take this," she said softly.

I looked down at the cool stone, feeling the unmistakable, suffocating resonance of her personal aura. "Senior Sister, this is..."

"A soul talisman containing a sliver of my divine soul," she explained, looking straight into my eyes. "If you encounter an ancient ruin, a hidden trap, or some old monster from an opposing sect, crush it. It will instantly manifest a projection of my Nascent Soul to fight for you for a short duration. It should be enough to buy you time to escape."

Holding the jade pendant, a genuine wave of emotion tightened in my throat. Extracting and refining a sliver of one’s divine soul into an external vessel was agonizingly painful, requiring weeks of careful meditation and temporarily weakening one’s spiritual senses. She had clearly prepared this in secret the moment for a while now.

I squeezed the pendant tightly, looking up at her with a wide, wicked grin. "Senior Sister, this favor is too heavy. I suppose the only proper way to repay you is by offering my own body."

"Scram!"

Su Wan’er’s leg kicked out from beneath my neck, sending me tumbling off her lap.

I rolled in mid-air, circulating my qi to land gracefully on my boots a few paces away on the stone terrace. Dusting off my sleeves, I met her fiery, blushing glare and offered a proper, solemn bow, clasping my hands together.

"Jokes aside... thank you, Senior Sister," I said, letting all the teasing melt from my voice. "I will treasure it."

Su Wan’er lowered her gaze, her lips curving into a gentle, wistful smile as she smoothed down her azure robes. "Have a safe journey, Lu Chen. Don’t do anything reckless."

"I never do," I smirked.

Before the words fully left my mouth, my figure blurred into an afterimage.

Utilizing the explosive speed of my Late-Stage Golden Core and newly opened apertures, I vanished from my spot, materializing directly beside her. Before the mighty Nascent Soul Sect Master could even raise a protective barrier, I leaned down, pressed a swift kiss against her soft, porcelain cheek, and vanished into thin air.

SMACK.

"Lu Chen! You dare—"

A terrifying, apocalyptic wave of frost-qi erupted across Heavenly Sovereign Peak, accompanied by pure, murderous embarrassment that rattled the courtyard rafters.

I didn’t stick around to admire the aftermath. Riding the wind with every ounce of speed I could muster, I vaulted off the edge of her mountain, shooting across the sea of clouds toward Lonely Cloud Peak like a streak of green lightning. Feeling the chilling intent fading into the distance behind me, I let out a hearty, victorious laugh into the howling wind.

Stealing a kiss from the Sect Master and escaping in one piece was definitely the highlight of my week.

Touching down on the terrace of Lonely Cloud Peak, I was thoroughly energized and in high spirits.

Shen Qingxue was already waiting in the central courtyard. She had packed our travel necessities, spare changes of clothes, and dry provisions into two neat, sturdy cloth bundles resting on the stone bench. Dressed in her sleek, dark-green traveling robes with her raven hair tied back in a high ponytail, she looked sharp, focused, and ready for war.

"Master, you’re back," she greeted, stepping forward.

"I am." I smiled, walking over to the bench. With a casual wave of my sleeve, both travel bundles vanished, safely stored inside my space ring.

I turned back to look at her. "No need to carry baggage on your back. Are you ready, Qingxue?"

She met my gaze, her dark obsidian eyes flashing with cold, unyielding resolve. "Disciple is ready."

"Good."

I reached out and took her small, warm hand in mine, pulling her up as I whistled for my flying sword. The emerald blade slid smoothly from its scabbard, widening beneath our boots as we stepped onto the deck.

With a crisp hum of steel, the sword parted the morning mist, rocketing into the endless azure sky and carrying us toward the mortal lands below.