Seeking the Flying Sword Path

The next day.

Yiyi carried a basket and descended from the clouds to appear in front of Qin Yun’s stone house.

She had to know it was his since it was the only house on the nameless mountain peak.

"Senior, Senior!" Yiyi shouted.

"You came?"

Qin Yun walked out of the stone house.

The dragon girl quickly placed the basket on a stone table and began diligently arranging the plates of delicacies, alcohol, and fruits on the table. While doing so, she said, "Senior, these are some of the more famous local delights. Why don’t you sample them?"

Truth be told, she was a little nervous. She cherished this opportunity and naturally wanted to get in the good books of this mysterious senior. She was afraid that he would quickly leave and ignore her.

"Oh? It so happens that I just woke up and haven’t had breakfast yet." Qin Yun sat down leisurely and took the pair of chopsticks she handed to him.

Qin Yun looked at his daughter. Her face was beaming and she looked very warm.

Qin Yun did not say a word as he received the chopsticks.

His daughter busied herself with pouring him some wine.

As Qin Yun drank the wine, he sampled the food.

"These might not be comparable to some of the immortal delicacies but they are rather tasty," said Yiyi. She did not have much money saved up and so was unable to produce a banquet fit for an immortal.

"It’s not bad," said Qin Yun.

He was quite a connoisseur of good food.

The food could only be considered average among all the delicacies that he had eaten in his life but Qin Yun felt that it was the best meal he ever had.

The alcohol was of mortal grade but it actually made him tipsy. It was prepared by his daughter just for him. Furthermore, she was pouring the wine for him!

The delicacies were also prepared by his daughter, and she brought them to him personally.

After eating for a while, Qin Yun said, "Alright, go practice your swordplay while I watch. Let’s see if you have improved in any way."

"Yes." Yiyi immediately went to an empty spot in front of them. She flipped her hand and was instantly holding a sword. She had a heroic bearing to her with a sword in her hand, and she began to display all the charms of her sword arts. She had been pondering the entire night and had improved greatly after implementing the pointers Qin Yun had given her the previous day.

Qin Yun watched her.

He found that his daughter resembled his wife in certain ways.

Although his wife had a heroic bearing to her, she was more like a fleeting fairy that had descended into the mortal world from somewhere more ethereal.

However, his daughter seemed to be of more mortal bearing. Her eyes were filled with a ruthlessness. From her first memory, she had lived like a prisoner! Even after Yellow-robed Supremacy brought her to the Skywolf world, she was just a weak disciple who lacked parents or background and stood out among all the in-name disciples. She was also ostracized by them for it. Only the stronger disciples with powerful backgrounds were well-received.

After Qin Yun finished drinking the wine in his cup, he threw the cup so that it gently landed on the stone table. Then he took one step forward.

His Dao domain directly condensed a wisp of Sword Qi at his fingertip.

"Bam!"

He easily found a flaw in his daughter’s sword art with one strike. "You have improved slightly since yesterday but you are still greatly lacking. Again."

"Yes." His daughter immediately charged forward.

...

She did not complain about being tired. Even though she took some brutal hits from Qin Yun’s easy maneuvering of her sword arts and speech, she thought nothing of it, cherishing the opportunity that was put in front of her.

About two hours later.

"We shall stop for today." Qin Yun stopped.

"Alright." Yiyi sheathed her sword but she could not help but ask, "Senior, how should I address you?"

"My surname is Qin," said Qin Yun. He had no plans on elaborating.

"Senior Qin." The dragon girl beamed happily. "I will not disturb you any longer. I’ll return for now."

"Go on." Qin Yun casually waved his hand.

The dragon girl bowed politely, treating him like a master, a teacher.

Following that, she rapidly left on a cloud.

Only then did Qin Yun turn to shoot a wistful glance. He watched his daughter fly away in the direction of Hu Manor before returning to the stone table. He sat down and poured another cup.

"The wine is really not bad." Qin Yun smiled as he began drinking.

******

Days passed one after another.

Yiyi was originally afraid that this Senior Qin was only guiding her on a whim, that he would leave the moment he lost interest! But from what followed... she could tell that Senior Qin was truly dedicated. She visited him every other day and he would provide her with pointers for about two hours! Such careful guidance was nothing like how many senior experts treated their personal disciples. They usually would not show such dedication.

They would only give such attention to the disciples they valued greatly.

Clearly, this Senior Qin thought very highly of her.

"What about me caught Senior Qin’s eye? Why is he going to such painstaking means to nurture me? Is it because of my Sword Dao talent? Does he want me to be his successor?" Yiyi pondered. "But I can never become his successor since I’m an in-name disciple of Master. In the intense battle between the three hundred plus in-name disciples, only three will live on. I don’t know when I’ll die, so how can I become his successor?"

...

It had been half a year since Qin Yun met his daughter.

Qin Yun was flying high in the sky, looking down on a city. Although he was more than fifty kilometers away, his Dao domain could easily reach it.

"She’s out seeking delicacies for me again." Qin Yun smiled. He had been constantly protecting his daughter in secret.

Although his daughter had taken the initiative to fight with Essence Soul demons, Qin Yun did would interfere unless her life was at stake.

In the city.

Yiyi was at a roadside stall. "I heard that Immortal Li’s eight best snacks are extremely delicious. There are powerful cultivators residing in this city. My fox demonesses do not dare come here, forcing me to make the trip myself."

She took a whiff.

"How fragrant." She got in line.

Suddenly, her Skydragon Body that she cultivated felt a threat.

Her powerful Physical Establishing Sage Dharmic formulation had various miraculous aspects to it. Yiyi suddenly turned her head as her eyes suffused a golden light! What she found was a figure staring at her from the second floor of a tea shop. It was a green-dressed woman.

"Senior Sister?" Yiyi was alarmed.

The green-dressed woman sneered and phased into a phantom before charging forward.

"Time to leave."

The dragon girl charged into the sky with a whoosh. She even produced a faint dragon shadow that rose into the sky at an extremely fast speed.

"Boom!" Another silver stream of light intercepted the dragon phantom from another side.

A rumbling explosion resounded.

Yiyi was sent flying backward as her face turned pale.

The silver figure that stopped her in midair was a silver-robed man. The distant green-dressed woman flew to his side.

The three of them floated above the city.

"Senior Brother An." Yiyi looked at the silver-robed man in disbelief.

"Little Yiyi, are you very surprised?" The green-dressed woman laughed out loud. "I remember when you were just a puny kid. You enjoyed tailing behind Senior Brother An."

"Senior Brother An, do you plan on killing me?" Yiyi glared warily at the silver-robed man.

He frowned. "Master has said that only three of us in-name disciples can survive. Sorry, Junior Sister, I do not wish to die."

"Okay." Yiyi nodded as tears began rolling down her cheeks.

"Haha, she looks so sad! Back when we were under Master’s tutelage, you liked Senior Brother An the most, didn’t you? Hahaha... What a laughable young girl," said the green-dressed woman. "If you had chosen to remain a mortal, it would not have been alright for us to kill you. After a hundred years, Master’s seal would have activated and you could die peacefully. But since you have broken through to the Essence Soul realm, you are now also in the running and Senior Brother An has to kill you."

"Why isn’t Senior Brother An killing you, Senior Sister Yu!?" Yiyi could not help but ask.

"It’s because we are allies," said the green-dressed woman with a smile. "Among the three hundred plus fellow disciples, some have cultivated early, reaching the third firmament Essence Soul realm. We naturally have to form an alliance!"

"Senior Brother An, rather than seek an alliance with me you wish to kill me instead?" Yiyi looked at the silver-robed youth.

He was frowning.

However, the green-dressed woman scoffed. "To ally with us, the minimum requirement is the second firmament Essence Soul realm. Besides, you were a mortal early on! Alright, now that you know everything, it’s time for you to die. If you know what’s best for you, don’t resist." With a wave of her hand, needle beams flew out.

"Hmph!"

Yiyi rapidly flew off as she brandished her sword to fend off the attacks.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Ever since her sword arts received Qin Yun’s guidance, she saw a tremendous improvement over the past half year. As her sword flashes spun around, they created an impregnable defense. The movement bore a resemblance to the Cyclic Sword Flash but it was still very crude!

However, it was more than enough to help her deal with the Dharma treasure of a second firmament Essence Soul realm demoness.

"Senior Brother An, why aren’t you doing anything!?" The green-dressed woman’s expression changed as she urged him into action.

"She improved that quickly?"

The silver-robed youth’s expression changed slightly as he immediately charged forward. He too cultivated in a Physical Establishing Sage Dharmic formulation and was adept at melee combat. He swept his spear over.

Yiyi found it difficult to bury the memories of her childhood.

Back when she was brought to the Skywolf world by Yellow-robed Supremacy, she was completely unaware of her situation in Treasure Elephant Palace. She was only a young infant. Back then, Senior Brother An had taken good care of her. He often brought her delicacies.

To her, he was like an elder brother that treated her the best, but now her cherished elder brother was about to kill her.

She could only swallow her anguish as she brandished the sword in her hand to fend off the attacks of her senior brother and sister! Under Qin Yun’s tutelage, her sword arts became extremely brilliant in the defense aspect. Although she was unable to defeat her senior brother and sister, she was able to ensure her own safety.

"How old is she? She’s not even twenty! Yet she can fend off the combined attacks of us, two second firmament Essence Souls?" The green-dressed woman sent an urgent voice transmission. "Senior Brother An, think of something."

"Her sword arts are much more formidable than when we last met her. I can’t do anything to penetrate them." The silver-robed youth was also alarmed. Although he had great talent, with him reaching the second firmament Essence Soul realm after cultivating for slightly more than a hundred and thirty years, he was only considered of average ability among the many in-name disciples of Yellow-robed Supremacy. And now, the young baby girl—the one that had always tailed behind him—who he had taken care of out of kindness had a much higher potential than him.

But for the sake of his own future, he could not afford to go easy on her.

...

The relentless pursuit continued.

Yiyi failed to defeat them, and only by using one of her Skydragon Body’s forbidden spells did she manage to injure her senior sister and evade their pursuit.

Beside a lake in the wilderness.

Yiyi slowly landed.

"Cough." Yiyi coughed out blood as she sat cross-legged by the side of the lake. She tried her best to stabilize her chaotic Dharmic powers.

She took time to gradually recover.

She looked at the lake in front of her in a daze as drops of tears rolled down her cheeks.

She suddenly lowered her head and wept.

"It’s all fake. It’s all fake..." she muttered as she sobbed.

...

In the wilderness not far away, Qin Yun stood watching silently.

A day later.

On that nameless mountain in front of the stone house.

"Senior Qin." Yiyi landed with basket in hand as usual.

Qin Yun was already sitting by the stone table as he watched her come in.

Yiyi smiled as she placed the basket on the stone table and began taking out the dishes. "Senior Qin, quick have a taste of these. They are still hot. They won’t be as good once they turn cold."

"Okay." Qin Yun nodded. He poured a cup of wine for himself before tipping his head to down it.

For some reason, he found the taste of the wine bitter today.

This sense of helplessness left Qin Yun filled with fury and indignation.

"Senior Qin, let me do the honors of pouring you the alcohol," said Yiyi.

"There’s no need. Sit down and eat with me," instructed Qin Yun. He waved his hand as chopsticks and a wine cup appeared beside her.

Yiyi was taken aback as she sat down obediently.

"Here, you have always been the one pouring me wine. This time, let’s drink together." Qin Yun personally poured a cup of wine for his daughter.

Yiyi looked at the cup of wine in front of her before looking up at Qin Yun. She could not stop her tears from flowing down.

"Young lass, what are you crying about?" asked Qin Yun.

"I’m happy." Yiyi wiped her tears as she raised her cup.

The father and daughter pair clinked their cups and downed the wine, each feeling their respective mixed emotions.