Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 175 - 174: Why Is the Dao Companion Always So Friendly With the Yellow-Haired Villainess?

Faced with Pei Yuhang's question, Ji Xichan merely blinked before pulling back the fingertips that were tracing his palm.

After taking the gift from Pei Yuhang's hand, she put on a show of thanking Ye Liyuan, even joking playfully. This delighted Ye Liyuan to no end, leaving Pei Yuhang fuming but unable to say a word.

'Damn it, Liyuan, stop smiling! Look closer! This is a wicked woman who would put horns on your head without a second thought!'

Pei Yuhang watched his Dao Companion, who was laughing blissfully at Ji Xichan's antics, and felt a pang of despair.

"What's wrong, Pei Sword Immortal? Shouldn't you be happy to see your Dao Companion and I getting along so well? After all, isn't a harmonious household with all your wives and concubines what you men want most?~"

Ji Xichan's teasing voice surfaced in Pei Yuhang's Sea of Consciousness. He frowned and snorted, knowing the little vixen was just using his Dao Companion for her own amusement.

To prevent the little vixen from further humiliating his Dao Companion, he quickly said to Liyuan,

"Liyuan, you just got back, so you should go and rest. It's time for me to check on the disciples' training progress."

Seeing that Ah Han had official business to attend to, and being a supportive partner, Ye Liyuan knew she couldn't get in the way of her Dao Companion teaching his disciples. So, she simply nodded.

"Alright, then."

"Goodbye, Fairy Ye~!"

"Mm, goodbye, Xichan!"

Ji Xichan bid Ye Liyuan farewell with a beaming smile. The scene was so harmonious, one might think they were the dearest of friends.

Seeing this, Pei Yuhang's face darkened.

It was the same with Shang Miaoyan last time. 'Why is my Dao Companion so quick to become best friends with these yellow-haired vixens?'

Pei Yuhang was very concerned about Liyuan's taste in friends.

'It was a shame his Divination Technique was so basic, barely above amateur. Otherwise, he'd really want to cast a divination on Liyuan's fate to see if some kind of cuckold's curse was clinging to her destiny, causing their love to be constantly plagued by Yellow-haired Fairies...'

"Master, Master?"

"Master, didn't you say you were going to instruct me and Senior Sister? Why are you just staring after Sister Ji!"

His two disciples' calls brought Pei Yuhang back to his senses. Facing their scrutinizing gazes, he cleared his throat twice and said, "Ah, right... Let's begin. Show me how far your cultivation has progressed."

"Hmph."

Yu Xiaoyan snorted and secretly sent a telepathic message to Qing Yueqiu.

"Senior Sister, something is definitely going on between Master and that Ji Xichan. Didn't you notice the way he looks at her is different? It can't be... that Master's into her type, can it?"

Qing Yueqiu frowned at her words. Ji Xichan was the woman she despised most at the moment; how could she possibly entertain the idea of 'Master being interested in Ji Xichan'?

"Xiaoxiao, don't speak such nonsense!"

"Master is deeply devoted to our mistress. How could he possibly be interested in an uncultured woman like Ji Xichan! If you say that again, don't blame your senior sister for telling Master to punish you!"

Yu Xiaoyan, who had wanted to team up with her senior sister to expose the affair, found herself being scolded instead. She pouted, thoroughly displeased.

'Stupid Senior Sister, she's completely useless! All she does is blindly trust Master. She doesn't even understand the need to form a united front and eliminate the greatest external enemy first!'

"Xiaoxiao, why are you daydreaming? We'll start with you. Since your Lifebound Spirit Sword has been forged, let's see your current level in the Sword Dao."

Yu Xiaoyan, who was in the middle of silently complaining about her senior sister, snapped to attention the moment Pei Yuhang called her name.

Although her Master was normally gentle and approachable,

he became incredibly strict when it came to training and would not tolerate any slacking.

Thus, even the normally mischievous Yu Xiaoyan was like a student being called on by her homeroom teacher, not daring to act up as she usually would.

She held her breath to focus and drew the sword from her waist.

The moment the blade left its scabbard, the surrounding light seemed to dim.

No, it wasn't that the light had dimmed, but that the cold gleam of the sword was so brilliant that it made the ambient light seem weaker in comparison.

This was the sight of the ancient Spirit Sword—one that had slain a living Dragon—reforged and unleashing its brilliant edge once more.

Coupled with the sword's extremely high affinity for the Water Attribute, Yu Xiaoyan had named it "Rain Smoke."

The name was a subtle link between her own name and her master's, embodying a certain forbidden hope Yu Xiaoyan held.

The young woman now held the sword Rain Smoke, dancing gracefully before her master. With every rise and fall of the blade, countless snowflakes transformed into water droplets that coiled around its body.

Empowered by the water, the once incomparably rigid sword became soft and nimble. The Sword Qi moved like a spirit serpent, then a darting swallow, causing Pei Yuhang's eyes to widen in pleasant surprise.

Integrating the elemental attributes of one's Spiritual Qi into their Sword Dao was an important lesson Pei Yuhang had always taught his disciples. However, while easy to understand in theory, it was extremely difficult to put into practice.

The Sword Dao was profound on its own; how could it be easy to innovate within it by incorporating the properties of one's own Spiritual Qi?

Qing Yueqiu had only managed to merge the power of the moon into her Sword Dao after numerous coaching sessions with Pei Yuhang, and only with the help of the Luminous Shadow Sword's own powerful Moon Attribute.

For Yu Xiaoyan to have figured out how to harmoniously unify her Water-Attribute Spiritual Qi with her Sword Dao all on her own, especially while he had been so busy, was truly remarkable.

"Xiaoxiao, that was amazing!"

Pei Yuhang never held back when it came to praising his disciples' progress.

Yu Xiaoyan stopped swinging her sword, a proud expression on her face.

'Xiaoxiao, hurry up and tell Master I'm the one who helped you research this.'

Yu Gu Nan's voice appeared in her Sea of Consciousness. Clearly, she didn't want her younger sister to take all the credit for their master's praise.

But Yu Xiaoyan pretended not to hear. Without batting an eyelash, she told her master, "To receive Master's praise makes all the effort Xiaoxiao put in, all the sleepless nights spent studying the Sword Dao, completely worth it!"

Yu Gu Nan: "..."

Seeing her junior sister receive the master's praise, Qing Yueqiu, as the senior sister, immediately felt the pressure.

She gripped Luminous, stepped forward, and bowed to her master before beginning to wield the Glazed Sword in her hands.

Perhaps driven by a competitive urge to outshine her junior sister and win more of her master's praise, Qing Yueqiu's sword moved faster than usual. She aggressively executed more difficult Sword Skills, even attempting the latter half of the *Dream Shaking Flower Moon*—a part she had yet to master.

The result was predictable.

The overly aggressive swordsmanship brought beads of sweat to the young woman's brow. She gritted her teeth, trying to force the blade under her command, but her normally docile Lifebound Spirit Sword now felt like a mad bull, threatening to be flung from her grasp...

It was a serious mistake. 'This is bad,' Qing Yueqiu thought. When she subconsciously caught sight of her master's frowning brow in her peripheral vision, she grew even more flustered.

Just as the already difficult-to-control sword went completely wild and was about to injure her,

Pei Yuhang intervened, snatching Luminous from Qing Yueqiu's hand.

He steadied Qing Yueqiu's somewhat exhausted body, his voice laced with confusion.

"Yueqiu, are you feeling unwell? That performance just now was nothing like you."

Hearing his words, Qing Yueqiu lowered her head in shame, not daring to meet her master's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Master... I'm... I'm really not in good form today."

The young woman's fair skin flushed red. She knew she was lying.

She wanted to use the lie to convince her master that her mistake was simply due to being off her game.