Even so, Lin Tian was still held back by one person. She was Yun Yun.

At this moment, the girl was still focused on carrying out her other task, supervising the new disciples’ training.

Lin Tian had no intention at all of handing her previous task back to her yet.

However, if Lin Tian kept holding back that task, there was a chance his closed cultivation to break through to Perfect Nascent Soul would continue to be delayed.

The longer it was delayed, the more unfavorable it would clearly be for Lin Tian’s development.

I should start focusing on watching Yun Yun.

He invited Wu Yue to return to the sect, and the woman nodded in agreement. They flew together in different ways, Lin Tian with flying qi, while Wu Yue used a flying qi sword.

The principle was the same, but the medium was different. One advantage of Nascent Soul was that it didn’t require a qi sword as a flying medium.

That was because spiritual qi was far more flexible and could be manipulated optimally.

Wu Yue landed in the backyard, where An Yue, Luo Mei, and Ya Fei were sitting cross-legged in one row.

Lin Tian looked at them, and he could also see the flow of spiritual qi being absorbed into the meridians inside their bodies.

Lin Tian’s attention shifted forward until he fully arrived in the sect’s front courtyard. In the middle of that afternoon, the students were resting while having lunch. Su Hua and the other servants provided food for them.

But in another direction, Yun Yun was seen sitting and cultivating calmly. Beside her was Ji Xue, still studying the Qi Meridian Recovery Technique.

Seeing Yun Yun’s attitude, undisturbed by Ji Xue’s training, made Lin Tian curious.

The Yun Yun he knew was ambitious and always wanted to win, yet she looked calm while cultivating beside Ji Xue, who kept trying to form hand seals.

To test Yun Yun’s attitude, Lin Tian walked from the middle of the front courtyard toward the right, precisely under the tree where Ji Xue was practicing.

"Are you having trouble, Xue’er?" Lin Tian asked.

Someone called her, and Ji Xue immediately opened her eyes, making the technique rune in front of her hands fade.

She looked up and smiled faintly, her hand rising as she made a gesture of scratching her hair.

"Hehe, forgive me, Master. I’m having trouble with this part."

Lin Tian sat in front of her and took the technique scroll. Ji Xue stood and moved her body closer to the man. Her hand rose and pointed to the part she didn’t understand.

"Ohh... you chose the wrong place to practice."

"Wrong? But isn’t a tree a supporter of spiritual qi?" Ji Xue asked.

"It is, but if there’s a larger source of spiritual qi, you should consider that place," Lin Tian replied.

He handed the technique scroll back to Ji Xue. The girl smiled, both of her hands holding the scroll as her eyes looked closely at Lin Tian.

"Then where?" Ji Xue asked.

Lin Tian smiled. He turned and pointed to the side of the sect’s main building. The man told her that the best location for Ji Xue to practice was at the small pavilion by the fish pond.

"The fish pond? But doesn’t the fish pond produce spiritual qi?"

"That place is the closest location to the Natural Spiritual Vein. The closer you practice to an abundant qi source, the faster the process of forming technique runes will be," Lin Tian replied.

"Ohh, right! The Natural Spiritual Vein! You’re right, Master Lin."

Ji Xue stood while holding the technique scroll, both of her hands clasped together and her head lowered obediently. She thanked Lin Tian and hurried away from the tree.

Now, only Lin Tian and Yun Yun remained in that place. The man turned to the side, seeing Yun Yun’s face look flat without the slightest reaction when Lin Tian helped Ji Xue.

Could it be... she’s trying to hold back her jealousy?

Lin Tian took a long breath and began asking Yun Yun a basic question. "How is their cultivation progress, Yun’er?"

"They’re cultivating well. Their training is orderly. They sleep enough," Yun Yun replied briefly.

"What do you think about Ji Xue?" Lin Tian asked.

"She’s a good girl, although she’s still innocent. She’ll become a far better cultivator than me," Yun Yun revealed.

The man fell silent for a moment, then tapped his bag of holding and handed the Artifact Refining Technique scroll and the artifact itself to Yun Yun.

"I don’t know whether you’ve overcome the problem in your heart or not. However, I’ll return your task."

"You have the right to—"

"Thank you for your concern, Master Lin," Yun Yun explained, interrupting Lin Tian.

"However, I’ve already made up my mind to remove the jealousy that has been holding me back all this time. I still feel... I need time for that."

"After I make sure I’m ready, I’ll take the task from you," Yun Yun replied.

"For now, I’ll continue holding my task of training them, Master Lin."

It was the first time Lin Tian had received a refusal, and that refusal came from his own disciple. Lin Tian guessed that what he had done yesterday had made Yun Yun feel hurt by herself.

She might have realized that her jealousy was the cause of her stagnant cultivation and training. Yun Yun had changed.

Yun Yun was trying hard to restrain the surge in her heart, cast aside her envy toward the achievements of other disciples, and focus on her heavenly path.

Lin Tian couldn’t force her. However, he still placed the technique scroll and artifact beside Yun Yun.

"Changing something within ourselves isn’t easy. Sometimes, it takes a lifetime to do it, while others can do it quickly."

"The core of your problem is confidence in your path. People don’t walk from the same starting point. Some receive special advantages, while others receive misfortune."

"However, one thing is certain. Everyone will reach their highest point through what they believe in, no matter how difficult or how long it takes to reach it."

"As long as the sky still shines and sends down rain, your heavenly path is still wide open."

Yun Yun fell silent, her heart beating fast enough to disturb her cultivation concentration. She heard everything Lin Tian said, every word spoken real and relevant to herself and all cultivators.

However, because Yun Yun was facing a problem in her heart, simple words like that were more than enough to touch her.

Her tears fell, and she hurriedly wiped them away, not wanting to look weak in front of Lin Tian.

"Thank you, Master Lin."

"I accept your mission again. However, I’ll be the one to decide when I’m ready to train again," Yun Yun replied.

Lin Tian cleared his throat in agreement. He stood firmly and looked forward, staring at the sect’s main building.

Yun Yun’s task had already been given, and he only hoped Yun Yun could complete the mission on time. However, if not, Lin Tian was ready to accept the risks that might come from the failure of the disciple task.

"I’ll enter closed cultivation."

Yun Yun was shocked until she opened her eyes. The last time Lin Tian entered closed cultivation, he left the sect for one year, or more precisely, didn’t come out of the main sect building.

"Closed cultivation?" Yun Yun asked.

"Cao Ying!" Lin Tian called.

Hearing Lin Tian call her, Cao Ying flew from the stone hill and arrived in the front courtyard.

The man saw her clearly. Her face was red, and her hair was messy. The effect of Pleasure Touch had started disturbing her mind.

Because Lin Tian was going to enter closed cultivation, he raised his hand and clenched his palm. A qi explosion occurred inside Cao Ying’s body, destroying the core of Pleasure Touch.

"What did—"

"Now, your task is to guard the sect while I’m in closed cultivation."

"You’re going into closed cultivation?" Cao Ying asked.

"Yes... I’ve already felt the qi surge of Perfect Nascent Soul."

"It shouldn’t take long until I successfully break through."

Lin Tian’s attention lifted, and he stared straight ahead, "If any sect attacks... kill them all!"