Chapter 288: Your Disciple Disagrees

Chapter 288: Your Disciple Disagrees

“Where the h*ll did I just get dragged into?!”

That was Su Qinian’s first reaction the moment he descended into the real world.

A single breath through his nose was enough to tell how terrible the air quality was here.

The spiritual energy was pitifully thin—worse than even the Sword Pavilion. Was this even a place a cultivator could stay in?

He looked up, and saw the Sword Pavilion Old Ancestor glowing brightly like a lightbulb, with only Foundation Establishment-level cultivation. If it weren’t for the familiar aura, he would’ve almost failed to recognize him.

Seriously, what did realm matter? As long as it wasn’t Void Fusion, he'd already reached Void Fusion—what’s the harm in hiding his cultivation in front of a mere Divine Transformation?

“Morning, Old Ancestor~”

Chen Huaian’s mouth twitched. He was just about to respond.

The next second—

BOOM——!

A sword aura crashed straight down on Su Qinian, its aftershock cleaving the entire lake vertically in half. Two towering walls of water stood on either side, refusing to close.

A protective golden glow flared up around Su Qinian’s body, and he emerged unscathed. However, the sword aura had come so fast that the defense only triggered after contact, and as a result—Su Qinian’s half-gray hair got clean-shaven in one swoop.

The three personal disciples stared, dumbfounded, at their Pavilion Master's shiny bald head. Not a word dared be spoken.

Su Qinian lowered his head, watching as locks of hair drifted slowly past his eyes. His shoulders trembled.

“Who’s there?!”

The figure in the clouds hadn’t realized the seriousness of what had just happened.

Sect Master of Qingfeng Sect, Song Qingfeng, stared suspiciously at the man. He squinted, but couldn’t see through his opponent’s cultivation.

He couldn’t believe someone had physically taken that sword head-on.

That was a late-stage Nascent Soul attack.

In the current stage of spiritual recovery, a Nascent Soul cultivator was practically a walking deity.

“Who?!”

What replied to Song Qingfeng was a voice boiling with rage—it wasn’t even suppressed. It had simply gathered into the sword, now reaching its peak.

The tip of the sword touched the lake surface, sending out ripples.

As Su Qinian looked up, those ripples froze. The entire lake solidified under the pressure of a peak Divine Transformation cultivator.

Cliffs on the shore reflected in his sword blade until the sword and mountains were indistinguishable. He floated upward, both hands lifting that mountainous blade. 𝘳𝘼𐌽ΟꞖЕS

And slashed down.

It was dawn, and the sky should have been filled with pale morning light—but it was blotted out by that overwhelming sword shadow.

A crude black smear was violently drawn across the sky. The entire cloud layer above collapsed downward.

Song Qingfeng looked up. His pupils contracted to pinpoints.

What he saw wasn’t just sword energy—it was as if Mount Taishan itself was crashing down on him.

It was boundless. Inescapable.

At that moment, he understood.

This person who blocked his sword was in a completely different league.

Divine Transformation!

A realm that shouldn’t exist at the dawn of spiritual energy revival.

Only those ancient monsters from Great Thunder Temple or Kunlun Immortal Palace could possess such terrifying power.

Run!

Only one option remained—run!

Forget about the Dragon Soul or whatever else. If he died here, what use would the Dragon Soul be?

He used an escape technique, shrinking space to inches. In a blink, he was ten miles away.

But that creeping chill on his back hadn’t disappeared. He turned his head—and was horrified.

That mountain-like sword shadow was still overhead.

It looked like it was falling slowly—but no matter how he twisted and dodged, he couldn’t escape its range.

In that moment, he felt like the monkey in the Buddha’s palm.

“Senior! Must we resort to killing upon first meeting? Maybe this is all just a misunderstanding!”

“I have ties to an elder from Kunlun Immortal Palace. Please, Senior, show some mercy!”

Qingfeng tried to yield. After all, Qingfeng Sect was a subordinate sect of Kunlun Immortal Palace.

Surely someone with Divine Transformation power knew of Kunlun Immortal Palace…

But all that echoed from the sky was a furious roar:

“F* your Immortal Palace! Go tell my d*mn hair that from the depths of hell!”**

“Senior! I—I have hair regrowth serum—”

“F* your serum!”**

“DIE——!”

BOOM!

The sword aura descended. Body and soul were pulverized into dust.

Back on the lake, Su Qinian ran his hand over his freshly-shaven scalp, and his fury only deepened.

“Now it’s your turn!”

Before his words even faded, he vanished from sight.

The shadowy figures within the cloud layer scattered in panic—but how could they escape the palm of a peak Divine Transformation cultivator?

To Su Qinian, it was just a matter of lifting his sword and swinging—like slicing tofu.

In under a minute, the remaining Golden Core cultivators were wiped out. Down to the last speck of ash.

“Old Ancestor, I’ve embarrassed myself.”

Su Qinian came to stand before Chen Huaian, cupped his hands, and forced a smile as he pulled a cloth from his storage pouch to wrap around his shiny bald head.

The three Sword Pavilion disciples saw their Pavilion Master like this and struggled not to laugh. Their faces turned bright red from the effort.

If they let even one snicker escape, their next wall-gazing sentence at the Sword Tomb would be doubled for sure.

“Well done.” Chen Huaian nodded with authority.

Maybe it was because they’d spent so much time together. Even with just Foundation Establishment cultivation, he could remain unflustered before a peak Divine Transformation powerhouse—upholding the dignity of the Sword Pavilion’s Old Ancestor.

“Does the Old Ancestor have any other orders?”

Only now did Su Qinian take the time to properly examine Chen Huaian’s new look. Half-human, half-dragon. Definitely the bloodline of a true dragon.

Only someone like the Old Ancestor would dare go this far.

Anyone else below Void Fusion—

Either they'd get hunted by righteous sects in Cangyun Realm as a half-human demon,

or get ambushed by demonic sects after their dragon bloodline,

or, even worse, get a bounty placed on their head by the beast clans for “insulting the true dragon bloodline.”

Seeing Chen Huaian remain silent, Su Qinian looked around and asked again:

“Also, Old Ancestor—what’s with this world? It seems like…”

“Why ask so much?” Chen Huaian waved it off. “Knowing too much won’t help you. Time’s up—go back.”

As he spoke, the Sect Summoning Order above his head dimmed, its energy spent. A spatial rift opened above Su Qinian and the three personal disciples, sucking them away in a blink.

The crisis of his identity being exposed—resolved.

Chen Huaian let out a sigh of relief.

Sitting next to a peak Divine Transformation without flinching? Yeah, that calm was all an act.

As for his current look and cultivation… well, once Li Qingran returned to Cangyun Realm, that little girl would cover for him with a flawless story.

The battle was over.

Chen Huaian exited his half-dragon state, and immediately felt lighter.

“Ah~ Master, your—your pants… again…”

Behind him came Li Qingran’s startled cry.

Chen Huaian turned around. Li Qingran immediately slapped a hand over her face—but it was clear she was peeking through her fingers, her sparkly eyes shining.

After the last time, Chen Huaian was already immune.

With practiced ease, he pulled out a pair of pants and slipped them on.

Expression calm.

Almost… righteously bold.

“Eyes off what you shouldn’t be seeing! Or you’ll never find a Dao Companion!” He scolded as he pressed her little head down with one hand.

Li Qingran let him press her down, puffing her cheeks and pouting. “I don’t want a Dao Companion.”

“In cultivation, it’s ‘Wealth, Partner, Method, Ground.’ Dao Companions come second. They’re important!” Chen Huaian lectured earnestly.

If Li Qingran had said she only wanted him as her Dao Companion right now, he would’ve said yes on the spot.

Never mind whether they'd get exposed if they met in real life.

It was better to have an identity than none at all.

But then, Li Qingran said—

“Master, I disagree!”

“Oh? Then tell me—what do you think?” Chen Huaian raised an eyebrow. “Let’s hear it.”

Li Qingran blinked her big eyes, totally serious. She counted on her fingers as she listed her points:

“First, having a Dao Companion means sharing resources. Master gave me so many resources—sharing them with someone else is such a loss.”

“Second, having a Dao Companion means spending time and energy on the relationship. If I don’t maintain it well, some other female cultivator might snatch him away. I’d lose both my man and my wealth.”

“Third, if my Dao Companion dies, it could affect my emotions and damage my Dao Heart. My cultivation might stall forever. I’d die heartbroken.”

“In conclusion!”

Li Qingran made a big X across her chest with her fingers.

“Forming a Dao Companion has zero benefits!

So I only want to stay by Master’s side forever, as your little disciple!”