CH 16.2

“indeed, the mental states of this group of disciples over the past forty years are still acceptable,” master li stroked his beard and said with a smile.

xu rui took a deep breath.

elder chen, are you sure?

he looked up and saw many disciples dutifully fulfilling their tasks, cultivating, and his heart eased slightly.

thank goodness.

there are still normal people in the outer sect!

finally, xu rui turned his gaze to lin shuang, mentally preparing for something extraordinary.

“happy teachers’ day, masters.”

lin shuang’s heart’s miniature figure went about its routine: cultivating, meditating, reading, eating, playing, resting, and napping throughout the year.

on every festive occasion, she silently greeted the masters outside the teaching pavilion.

on every celebratory occasion, she silently greeted them outside the transmitting hall.

but what’s teachers’ day…?

unknowingly, the four transmitting hall masters had also approached her.

li dao wei and the others exchanged glances, their gazes flickering in unison.

“teachers’ day is a day to express gratitude to the masters for their contributions to the field of education,” lin shuang’s heart’s miniature figure seemed to have heard something, and she spontaneously answered.

xu rui was stunned.

li dao wei and the other four masters had a glint in their old eyes.

she had spontaneously established a festive day, expressing gratitude to her masters for their teachings, celebrating it on the tenth day of the ninth month along with the new year and lantern festival.

“she’s a good child, even though her progress in cultivation isn’t fast…” master chen, who taught sword techniques, was moved.

li dao wei shook his head in agreement, “in the past three years, she has moved up one to three places in my symbol class each time. although not fast, she’s steadily improving, and her future is promising.”

“huh? how coincidental, she’s the same with me.” the master who taught techniques blurted out in surprise.

li dao wei was taken aback and before he could speak, another voice of surprise emerged.

“huh? are you sure? is she like this with all of you?”

the master who taught heart techniques declared loftily, “i thought it was my excellent teaching. she advances three ranks every month under my guidance.”

“…”

“…………”

the four masters exchanged glances, confirming each other’s experiences, all falling silent.

xu rui senior brother touched his forehead.

lin shuang junior sister, what kind of existence are you exactly?

li dao wei’s mouth twitched. he immediately performed a hand gesture, casting a golden light spell that flew into the heart-reading eight trigrams array.

instantly, within the disciples’ hearts, their cultivation skyrocketed. they swiftly advanced from the qi condensation peak to foundation establishment, and then rapidly into nascent formation, becoming inner sect elites, and eventually becoming elders—

within the array, numerous disciples rejoiced and celebrated, inviting friends to join in the festivities.

lin shuang continued her routine of cultivating, meditating, reading, and napping, and the cycle repeated day after day.

“happy new year, masters.”

…

“…happy teachers’ day, masters.”

li dao wei cast another spell, and within the array, a calamity befell the disciples. their realms dropped, from foundation establishment to nascent formation, then to qi condensation—

several cries of anguish resounded, and many closed themselves off, skipping morning and evening practices.

lin shuang wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and continued to cultivate, meditate, read, nap, and the cycle repeated day after day.

“happy new year, masters.”

…

“…happy teachers’ day, masters.”

li dao wei’s brows twitched. once again, he cast a spell into the array, causing a multitude of disciples to watch as their newly arrived junior brothers received spirit herbs and treasures, bestowed heavenly-level techniques by the elders—

numerous disciples’ hearts swayed with envy and jealousy, unable to find tranquility.

but lin shuang simply greeted them with a wave, continuing to cultivate, meditate, read, nap, and the cycle repeated day after day.

“…happy teachers’ day, masters…”

she continued this for her thirtieth year.

and for her forty-fourth year.

and even for her ninety-ninth and one-hundredth year!

the observing elders before the array were touched, their eyes shining with understanding.

whether becoming great beings or sinking into the mire, whether standing out alone or being overshadowed by others, she never forgot her dao heart, wishing them a happy teachers’ day for a hundred years!

the four masters had guarded the outer sect transmitting hall for decades, guiding countless talented disciples into the inner sect.

but never before had they seen a disciple who, after advancing, still remembered the teachings she received in the outer sect, lingering in the outer sect, and coming back every year.

only lin shuang was like this.

their hearts were stirred, unable to contain their excitement.

“this girl, even if her talent is low, i shall still teach her with all my might!”

“how to repay? only by giving our all.”

“excellent! it should be like this!”

even xu rui, who was burdened with the eight trigrams sword, couldn’t help but be moved.

but as he was contemplating, within the heart-checking eight trigrams array, a rolling white mist, brimming with spiritual energy, shot into lin shuang’s eyebrows.

xu rui was shaken and was about to draw his sword when he heard the elders behind him stopping him.

“it’s the gift of the heart-checking!”

a steadfast heart, as resolute as ever, consistent over a hundred years.

a character of the highest order.

the heart-checking array rewards such conviction!

soon, two smaller clusters of white mist surged into zhou xuanwu’s and zhao keran’s brows.

the seclusion king, a sister’s controller master.

regardless of sorrow or joy, their character remained unchanged.

however, with a weakness in their hearts, depending on others—a character of a lower order.

the heart-checking array also rewarded such individuals!

xu rui was pleasantly surprised.

the four elders were also filled with joy. they hadn’t expected more than one disciple to receive the array’s blessing.

“these disciples are only a bit inferior to me back in the day. haha!” li dao wei laughed heartily.

but just as he finished speaking, a painful cry erupted from lin shuang’s mouth.

“ah…”

her eyelashes quivered, and she suddenly broke free from the hundred-year heart-checking array.

everything that had transpired felt like a fleeting dream. her expression was both confused and radiant, but she quickly pressed her brow, wracked with pain.

“wait, evening isn’t part of my cultivation schedule! who lacks martial virtue and casually throws spiritual energy at me, forcing me to break through…”

xu rui: “…………”

the elders: “???”

author’s note:

lin shuang: at that time, i wanted to refuse.

【memoirs of the 134th generation head of qing shui sect, entry 16: those days, i gradually understood why sister looked at me with such a complex and pleased expression when my assessment results skyrocketed. sister, who concealed her strength, must have been thinking: i can’t sit at the same table with my ‘overly conspicuous’ junior sister anymore, right? regretful. 】

– lin shuang’s annotation many years later at the very end: blame it on the brilliance of the academic tyrant, it’s too dazzling.

– zhao keran’s annotation later on this sentence: i’m so happy to be praised by sister. i will continue to work hard~~~

– zhou xuanwu’s annotation later on this sentence: you’re wrong, sister zhao. your sister intended to prevent you from being blinded by her brilliance as an academic tyrant. hope you understand.

– zhao keran’s final annotation: ????