The three little lackeys knelt on the ground, crying and wiping their snot as they kowtowed to Yun Sheng. They were clearly scared out of their wits.
After seeing with their own eyes how Yun Sheng had casually crippled Lu Heng, who was at the third level of Qi Refining, they knew that the current Yun Sheng was no longer the one who used to be bullied.
Yun Sheng's beautiful eyes suddenly flickered, and he looked down at his palms.
So, this is what power feels like!
Just a little bit of support from Miss Yuan was enough to change everything for him!
"Heh." He chuckled. His laughter was clear and incredibly pleasant to the ear.
"Scram!"
A cold shout badly startled the bewildered lackeys.
Not daring to stay a moment longer, they scrambled up and dragged the heavily injured Lu Heng away in a panic, stumbling and tumbling as they fled.
Not far away, Niu Cheng, a handyman disciple who had witnessed everything, widened his eyes in sheer disbelief.
After Lu Heng and his group disappeared from sight, Niu Cheng hurried out from behind a pillar and trotted over to Yun Sheng.
He reached out, patted his arm, and beamed, "Good lad, to think even Lu Heng at the third level of Qi Refining is no match for you?"
"Have you already reached the fourth level of Qi Refining?"
Yun Sheng had long sensed someone behind him, but he hadn't paid it any mind.
He didn't expect it to be Niu Cheng.
Back when he was still just an ordinary handyman disciple, Niu Cheng had done him favors.
Not only would he help him out with sect tasks whenever he could, but when he found out he had been whipped by the former Yuan Shu, he even secretly slipped him some low-grade healing pills.
"Brother Niu." Towards someone who had once shown him kindness, Yun Sheng's attitude was still quite friendly as he explained, "I just had some good luck and chanced upon some immortal encounters."
"Good, good, good! I haven't seen you since the last sect mission, and I thought something had happened to you. I never expected you to become so powerful by the time we met again!"
Niu Cheng looked Yun Sheng up and down. Suddenly thinking of something, he stepped closer and asked in a low voice, "That trash core disciple of Qingyun Peak hasn't made things difficult for you, has she?"
"I heard that trash Yuan Shu hasn't broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage even after ten years on the mountain. If she's still at the Qi Refining stage during this sect competition, she'll be driven down the mountain!"
"Her kind relies entirely on her family's wealth, paving her cultivation path with money. She's inherently a piece of tra—"
Before Niu Cheng could finish his sentence, Yun Sheng suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm with immense force.
"Ah! Yun... Yun Sheng, you... let go, let go quickly!" Niu Cheng cried out in pain.
Looking up, he met Yun Sheng's expressionless eyes. Niu Cheng's heart skipped a beat. Was Yun Sheng... angry?
"Miss Yuan is my benefactor. Without her, there would be no me. I will pretend I didn't hear what you just said this time, but if there's a next time..."
Yun Sheng's voice was cold. The moment his aura surged out, his entire body exuded a sharp killing intent.
The coldness in those cherry-pink eyes seemed to materialize into actual ice blades!
Niu Cheng opened his mouth to say something, but he was too intimidated to make a sound.
It wasn't until Yun Sheng released his hand and placed two bottles of high-grade pills into his palm.
"These two bottles of high-grade pills will repay your past kindness of giving me medicine. From now on, we are even."
After speaking, Yun Sheng withdrew his hand, gave him a faint glance, and walked straight away.
Leaving Niu Cheng standing there, stunned for a long time, unable to recover his senses.
Was this still the cowardly and timid Yun Sheng from before?
The aura around him... it was so terrifying!
...
On the quiet bluestone path, Yun Sheng took out a bookmark from his robes, gently rubbing his fingers against it.
The bookmark was made of a thin piece of bluestone jade, carved with an exquisite palace bell.
It had been tucked inside the manual of the Cloud Scripture Acupoint Nourishing Technique that Yuan Shu had given him. He had secretly hidden it and carried it with him everywhere.
Calculating the time, Yuan Shu had already left Qingyun Peak for almost ten days. He wondered if things were going smoothly over at the Death Demon Forest.
Yun Sheng carefully brought the bookmark to his nose and took a gentle sniff.
The bookmark carried the same faint pear blossom scent as Yuan Shu, refreshing and pleasant.
Miss Yuan loved cleanliness the most; her clothes had to be changed and washed every day. Without him by her side, he wondered if she was used to it.
He had originally intended to help Niu Cheng out a bit, considering the minor help the man had given him in the past.
But he didn't expect...
A person who disrespected Miss Yuan, no matter how much they had helped him before, would no longer have any interaction with him.
Miss Yuan, she was the best!
Yun Sheng couldn't help but picture Yuan Shu's face in his mind.
Smiling, aloof, or deeply focused.
Every frown and every smile was the most beautiful sight in the world!
He was now able to directly soak in that body-tempering medicinal bath, and his strength was progressing at a godly pace.
He was already at the seventh level of Qi Refining!
He had always been working hard, striving to catch up to her footsteps, advance to the Foundation Establishment stage, and then...
Become truly hers!
Just as the thought arose, a faint tremor suddenly came from his divine sense.
Yun Sheng's eyes suddenly lit up.
He had specifically begged Yuan Shu to leave a strand of his divine sense on the barrier outside the courtyard, just so he could know immediately if anyone entered.
Who would go to their courtyard at this time?
Could it be... Miss Yuan had returned?
Yun Sheng quickly and carefully put the bookmark away and walked briskly towards the Qingyun Peak core disciple courtyard.
...
Meanwhile, Zhai Shuo escorted Yuan Shu to the courtyard gate and reluctantly bade her farewell.
He didn't want to leave Yuan Shu either, but he had been away from the sect for many years. Returning from the Death Demon Forest this time, he needed to explain everything that had happened to the sect in detail.
He also had to give an account of everything that had occurred during his years away, turn in this year's demon beast hunting mission, and then go back to clean up his residence.
There were quite a few things to handle, so he could only say goodbye to Yuan Shu for now.
Yuan Shu understood him perfectly and waved at him with a smile.
Zhai Shuo sighed softly, his gaze irresistibly drawn to Yuan Shu's rosy little mouth.
Although he had kissed that little mouth many times along the way, every time felt different.
He felt like he was getting addicted!
He really wanted to steal another kiss, but realizing they were already inside Qingyun Peak where there were many eyes and ears, he could only suppress his stirring heart.
"Seventh Junior Sister, take good care of yourself. I'll come find you as soon as I finish my tasks."
"Okay." Yuan Shu nodded with a smile. After seeing him off, she turned around and went back into the courtyard.
The small courtyard was kept as clean as ever. There was chopped firewood in the corner, the water vat was full, and freshly washed bedding was drying in the yard.
Just because Yuan Shu had once casually mentioned that bedding washed with soap locust had a pleasant fragrance she liked.
Her bedding was entirely hand-washed by Yun Sheng, completely forsaking the use of the Cleansing Spell.
Yuan Shu chuckled softly. Just as she was about to enter the house, a pair of hands suddenly reached out from behind and wrapped tightly around her waist.
A familiar, faint floral scent wafted into her nose, mixed with the fragrance of soap locust.
In just an instant, Yuan Shu knew exactly who it was.
"You've been quite busy while I was away, haven't you? I can't even find you when I get back?"
Yuan Shu tilted her head and saw a delicate, handsome, and obedient face resting on her shoulder.
