Every evening, without a single moment of reprieve or fail, the painful and gruelling cycle would continue as Bai Xifeng was mercilessly beaten to a pulp by Ji Yuan during their intensive practical training sessions. On the surface, Ji Yuan always appeared refined, poised, and gentle, a very living image of a scholarly and elegant master. However, the moment he actually made a move, Bai Xifeng knew with an absolute, sinking certainty that agonising pain would soon follow his every strike.

Meanwhile, the rest of the academy was equally bustling with frantic activity. Many other students were preparing intensely for the upcoming inter-division competition, aiming for the glory, rewards, and immense prestige that accompanied the coveted championship title. Others, however, remained completely indifferent to the hype, continuing their solitary and rhythmic cultivation routines without showing even a flicker of interest in the academy-wide spectacle.

At this very moment, Bai Xifeng once again lay sprawled flat on the hard ground after another particularly brutal and one-sided sparring session. Her entire body ached with a deep, throbbing exhaustion that seemed to seep directly into her very bones and marrow, leaving her feeling like a discarded ragdoll.

"Someone is here." Ji Yuan suddenly announced, his gaze shifting calmly toward the distant courtyard entrance.

"Hmm?" Bai Xifeng responded, her voice a lazy, muffled groan against the dirt.

She shot Ji Yuan a tired, sceptical side-eye glance but did not bother moving even an inch from her resting spot.

"How long are you planning to continue lying there like a fallen log?" Ji Yuan asked calmly, his tone devoid of pity. "Are you not going to receive our guest?"

"Teacher Ji, can you not just go instead? My legs have officially retired for the day. They have resigned from service." Bai Xifeng muttered while continuing to stare blankly at the drifting, indifferent clouds overhead.

"Are you entirely sure about that?" Ji Yuan asked meaningfully, a slight edge to his voice.

"Hmm... whatever. Just send them in." Bai Xifeng grumbled weakly before finally closing her eyes, surrendering to the fatigue.

With a casual, effortless wave of his hand, Ji Yuan manipulated the surrounding spiritual energy of the division. Outside, the visitor jumped slightly in surprise when the heavy, reinforced doors suddenly groaned on their hinges and swung open entirely on their own. She looked inside expectantly, assuming Bai Xifeng would be waiting there to greet her with her usual energy, but the great hall remained strangely empty and eerily silent.

She hesitated briefly, her heartbeat quickening in the stillness, before stepping inside after hearing Ji Yuan’s deep, calm voice echo through the air, inviting her to enter.

Remembering the winding, familiar path from her previous visit, she slowly navigated through the rustling bamboo forest until she finally arrived at the clearing near the gazebo. The moment she saw Ji Yuan’s familiar and elegant figure standing there, she instinctively relaxed. However, that relief disappeared almost immediately when she noticed another familiar figure lying completely flat on the ground nearby, looking disturbingly similar to a fresh corpse.

Both Bai Xifeng and Ji Yuan heard the approaching footsteps and turned toward the newcomer.

"What on earth are you doing?" Xie Lanying asked, her voice filled with a mixture of confusion and genuine concern as she stared down at the prone, dusty girl.

"Oh... It’s you." Bai Xifeng replied lazily, waving one hand weakly in the air like a flagging signal.

She slowly pushed herself upright, her movements stiff, sore, and punctuated by the popping of joints, before taking out a small, translucent jade elixir bottle. She drank the contents in one smooth and practised motion, immediately feeling the cooling, minty medicinal energy begin repairing her bruised muscles and torn fibres. Afterwards, she casually tossed a high-grade recovery pill into her mouth and chewed it without a care in the world.

"What exactly were you doing to end up in such a miserable and bedraggled state?" Xie Lanying asked again, gesturing toward Bai Xifeng’s dusty, torn, and dishevelled robes.

"He beat me up." Bai Xifeng answered bluntly while pointing her thumb toward the unbothered Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan merely glanced at the two girls briefly before calmly returning to his previous task, not bothering to offer a defence or an explanation in the slightest.

"You must have been training." Xie Lanying concluded on her own, her expression shifting from worry into a look of clear understanding.

"Since you arrived at such a coincidental and opportune time, the two of you should spar." Ji Yuan suddenly interjected, his voice calm yet carrying a decisive weight that brooked no argument.

Xie Lanying’s eyes immediately brightened with a competitive spark. In truth, the very reason she had come today was specifically to find Bai Xifeng and invite her to become her regular sparring partner.

"Wait, right now?" Bai Xifeng asked in utter disbelief, her jaw dropping slightly.

"What? Did you not just drink a premium repair elixir and consume a recovery pill?" Ji Yuan replied smoothly. "You should be perfectly fine by now. Besides, you should always seek to push your body beyond its natural limits if you truly want to improve."

Then he added calmly, "Your friend also travelled all the way here. It would be a terrible waste for her to leave without gaining any useful combat insight."

Bai Xifeng initially wanted to reject the idea of using Xie Lanying as a sparring partner while she was still mentally exhausted. However, the moment she saw the expectant excitement and pure hope shining in Xie Lanying’s eyes, the words of refusal died in her throat.

"...Fine." Bai Xifeng finally agreed, letting out a long, dramatic sigh.

"Xifeng, remember. You are only allowed to use runes for this bout." Ji Yuan reminded her sternly.

***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If you do not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, that means it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shameless author, ZerahNeko***