Chapter 75: The Turbulence in Master Yu Wan’s Heart

After all, divine sense is not omnipotent; without probing directly into one's body, it is impossible to discern the level of cultivation. Moreover, Yu Wan, seeing Cao Xuan and the three women each engaged in their own battles, felt somewhat embarrassed and kept her distance, choosing to observe from afar rather than approach. Thus, over the past year, she remained unaware of Cao Xuan and Li Yao's progress in their cultivation. Whether they were diligent or not, she could not say, but she knew that Cao Xuan and Li Yao had sparred frequently throughout the year.

Truthfully, had their realms remained at the initial stage of late Foundation Establishment after this examination, she would have stepped forward to admonish them for neglecting their duties and being lax in their cultivation. Yet, after the assessment, Li Yao had reached the mid-stage of late Foundation Establishment, while Cao Xuan was just a hair's breadth away from the peak of Foundation Establishment. The reprimand she had prepared died before it could be spoken.

Thus, what was meant to be a day and night of imparting teachings became somewhat tedious. Of course, neither Cao Xuan nor Li Yao noticed anything amiss, and Cao Xuan, encouraged by his master's growing affection, continued to ask questions without shame.

In truth, Yu Wan was growing increasingly restless, though Cao Xuan remained oblivious. Yu Wan herself could not explain it; each time she emerged from seclusion after several months, awakening in the deep night and sweeping her divine sense over Cao Xuan, witnessing his sparring with Li Yao, a nameless fire would ignite in her heart.

Like Li Yao, she lacked experience in such duels and naturally viewed them with the curiosity of an apprentice. The wisdom of others could sharpen one's own, and Yu Wan did not shy away from learning the ways of other cultivators. At first, she felt nothing unusual, but as Cao Xuan and Li Yao continued their research and their techniques grew ever more bizarre, she began to sense something was amiss.

She lacked knowledge, but that did not mean she was immune to embarrassment. Yu Wan increasingly felt that the dual cultivation methods employed by Cao Xuan and Li Yao were anything but proper. How could such training involve the male cultivator growling low and the female gritting her teeth, their voices rising and falling?

Yet, like any emotion, embarrassment faded; once she discovered her golden core divine sense could observe them without being detected, she watched openly. She constantly reminded herself, "As long as my divine sense does not touch their bodies, they will not notice me."

This led her to observe more closely, her divine sense drawing nearer with each session. One could even say that Yu Wan's secret observations honed her divine sense to an exquisite degree. Over the year in seclusion, her essence and energy barely improved, but her divine sense advanced noticeably.

The only drawback was that this method of training her divine sense was somewhat ruinous for her inner garments. After each sparring session between Cao Xuan and Li Yao, Yu Wan would have to shake out her fingers and go bathe and change. Over time, she grew increasingly reluctant to meet her closed-door disciple's gaze directly.

Thus, when Cao Xuan saw his master's affection for him rising steadily, it was in fact the result of his year's performance, their close proximity in the same hall, and frequent encounters. In the end, Yu Wan several times wished to ask Cao Xuan to stay, but her peculiar feelings kept her silent, and she allowed Li Yao to pull him away.

"Yu Wan, Yu Wan, since you've confirmed that this sparring benefits the pursuit of the Dao, why do you not dare to ask him to stay?"

"Is it because, as a master, you feel ashamed to ask your disciple to teach you?"

Yu Wan questioned and answered herself, unable to understand her own heart. A year ago, she would have unhesitatingly said, "Li Yao, you may return first. I wish to discuss cultivation methods with your junior brother."

But after this year, she found herself inexplicably hesitant. The thought of Cao Xuan striking various poses in front of her made her inner chamber throb with anxiety. In the end, she smiled bitterly. "Yu Wan, Yu Wan, a century of cultivation, and you are regressing rather than advancing."

"If Yao'er doesn't mind and allows Cao Xuan to guide her, what makes you so noble?"

"The path of cultivation is about seizing every opportunity. Without striving, how can one grow stronger?"

Yu Wan recalled that Li Yao had steadfastly followed her teachings throughout the year, never kissing Cao Xuan, and felt a secret sigh of relief. But soon after, she paused, "If Yao'er and Cao Xuan fall in love and become Dao companions, what harm is there in a kiss?"

"You are their master; why does the absence of a kiss bring you relief?"

Yu Wan's heart grew chaotic, memories of her senior brother and Dao companion resurfacing. Yet, she realized she had not thought of him for a long time, once vying with Li Zhiyun for him, but now unable to recall his face. Even when she tried, the vague visage gradually sharpened, transforming into Cao Xuan's features.

"Wan'er, mua~"

Yu Wan leapt to her feet, shaking her head wildly to banish the thought.

Turning back, she gazed at the rosewood chair...

Jiang Yunsheng's heart quickened, sensing the implication in his teammate's words.

"Big brother, do you mean that after battle, spiritual energy will recover automatically?"

Boom—a black-horned wolf fell slain to the ground. The teammate replied matter-of-factly, "Of course! Why else would so many people hunt in the wild?"

"Making money is one reason, but improving one's strength is equally important, for it is the foundation of survival during the upcoming riot period."

"You don't know what it's like—when faced with a tide of beasts attacking from all sides, if your strength isn't enough, you won't survive even the first wave!"

He patted Jiang Yunsheng's shoulder. "I know, exhausting your spiritual energy for the first time feels terrible, but if you endure it, your body will act like a sponge, rapidly absorbing the spiritual energy in the air, and your strength will increase quickly."

"Be grateful—initial battles yield the fastest improvements. Later on, as your spiritual energy becomes harder to deplete, your efficiency slows."

"I hear the top Spirit Master Academies have special spirit refining techniques, but they have nothing to do with people like us!"

Jiang Yunsheng understood then that spirit masters indeed had corresponding cultivation methods, but for low-ranked spirit masters, there was no such training—they could only rely on battle to expend energy and compensate for their growth.

It was a bit like ordinary people building muscle in the gym, while cultivators used 'inner power' to advance rapidly.

Yet, his situation now felt rather like leveling up by slaying monsters.

After killing the black-horned wolf, the crystal card in his mind trembled slightly, streams of spiritual energy wrapped around it, infusing its patterns, making the humanoid figure etched upon it ever more lifelike.

In reality, Jiang Yunsheng's spirit body grew noticeably more solid.

'It seems this black-horned wolf was worth four points of spiritual energy, or perhaps all such wolves are worth four points!' Jiang Yunsheng mused. He had risen from eleven points to fifteen, still not high, but already far stronger than an ordinary person.