Chapter 48: Senior Sect Brother, You Didn't Even Ask If I Had a Breakthrough!

Chapter 48: Senior Sect Brother, You Didn’t Even Ask If I Had a Breakthrough!

Xiao Chen was curious—she hadn’t come to bother him in a while.

Ever since their duel with Su Yuanpeng, Su Wanning had been inviting him to every festival under the sun.

“Senior Sect Brother Xiao, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Want to drink wine and admire the moon together?”

“Senior Sect Brother Xiao, Happy Double Ninth Festival! Let’s climb the mountain and enjoy the chrysanthemums!”

“Senior Sect Brother Xiao, Happy Winter Solstice! Let’s eat dumplings together!”

He’d declined every time, citing cultivation.

After repeated rejections, she’d vanished. No visit on Laba Festival. He’d assumed she’d given up. But now, here she was again, same cheerful opener.

Outside the door, Su Wanning grinned confidently. Senior Sect Brother would never guess it—after over a month of grueling training, she’d finally broken through to the late Lian Qi stage yesterday.

Her cultivation realm breakthrough had lifted her mood immensely.

She’d discreetly checked around the sect and discovered her progress placed her firmly in the top tier of her peers.

She still remembered how, over a month ago, when she’d come to Xiao Chen, he’d not only refused her invitation but teased her: “Junior Sect Sister, if you keep wasting time, you’ll end up as my disciple someday.”

Today, she’d prove that with just a little effort, she could catch up—and soon surpass him.

Plus, during the New Year, the Su family had distributed a spirit fruit to each heir disciple to prepare for the Yan Chi Secret Realm. After much pleading, they’d granted her an extra one. Perfect for repaying Xiao Chen’s kindness.

Under the pretense of visiting the lantern festival, she’d rushed to Azure Water Peak.

“Senior Sect Brother Xiao, Happy Lantern Festival! Want to see the lantern show together?”

Xiao Chen opened the door halfway: “Junior Sect Sister Su, I’m cultivating tonight. No time.”

“The lantern show has fireworks, Senior Sect Brother! It’s amazing!”

“Junior Sect Sister Su, I’m cultivating tonight. No time.”

“The lantern show has peerless beauties! You won’t go?”

She planted her hands on her hips—clearly referring to herself.

“Junior Sect Sister Su, I’m cultivating tonight. No time.”

Xiao Chen delivered his third refusal, adding, “Unless you have something else—”

“Wait!” She interrupted, eyes glinting mysteriously. “I have crucial intelligence!”

“Come in.”

He poured her a bowl of fish soup: “The place is humble, no tea, but this soup’s fresh. Try it.”

She sipped, eyes narrowing in delight: “Delicious!”

Then she leaned in: “Senior Sect Brother, do you know Song Shengying?”

He shook his head.

“Song Shengying, the Song family heiress? Two years older than me. She finally broke through to Lian Qi Seventh Layer last summer.”

“That’s not slow,” Xiao Chen remarked. “Why’s this urgent?”

Su Wanning shifted gears: “What about Lin Ping An from the Ninth Branch Academy? You’ve heard of him, right?”

Xiao Chen nodded. “Heard plenty. Supposedly lucks his way through cultivation with treasures, reached Foundation Building Sixth Layer.”

“Exactly! Senior Sect Brother, on the Double Ninth Festival, he found a Yan Zhi Dian Xue on the mountain!”

“Then he broke through to Lian Qi Seventh Layer, became an inner sect disciple, and joined Crimson Flame Peak.”

Yan Zhi Dian Xue—a famous second-tier spirit flower, gentle in potency, a type of chrysanthemum.

Xiao Chen mused, “Finding a chrysanthemum on the Double Ninth, and a consumable species too. His luck’s undeniable.”

He glanced at her: “That’s your ‘intelligence’?”

Su Wanning twirled her spoon: “Senior Sect Brother, what about Ye Fei from your Second Sub-Academy? He went to the bazaar selling pills, got robbed.”

“Bazaar? Robbery?”

Xiao Chen recalled his own ambush. Interest piqued: “Tell me.”

“He sold pills cheaply at the bazaar, raking in spirit stones,” she whispered. “On his way back, a solitary cultivator from Quanzhou ambushed him.”

“A Lian Qi Seventh Layer cultivator, premeditated. He wounded Ye Fei—guess what happened next?”

“Ye Fei broke through on the spot! Leveled up to Lian Qi Seventh and killed the robber!”

Another Quanzhou cultivator? These Quanzhou folks sure were reckless.

Xiao Chen mused, “Killing a Seventh Layer outsider? Impressive. Though not matching my strength, breaking through mid-battle shows potential. Promising future.”

Su Wanning sighed: “Senior Sect Brother, notice how so many seniors broke through to Lian Qi Seventh Layer last half-year? Became inner sect disciples?”

She emphasized: “Even senior sisters broke through plenty!”

Xiao Chen agreed: “Good news indeed.”

They stared at each other. Silence.

Su Wanning watched him expectantly. He watched her back.

“Senior Sect Brother,” she huffed, “don’t you have anything to say?”

He shook his head: “You know I don’t know people. You tell me—any other news?”

Clang! She slammed the bowl down: “Senior Sect Brother, you didn’t even ask if I had a breakthrough!”

He blinked, realization dawning. All those stories—Lin Ping An, Ye Fei—were hints about her breakthrough.

He played along: “Junior Sect Sister, did you… advance your cultivation realm recently?”

“Of course!”

She shot up, radiating her aura. Unstable—newly broken through—but undeniably Lian Qi Seventh Layer.

Grinning: “Surprised? Didn’t expect me to be this strong, huh? This is just the start! This summer, I’ll reach Eighth Layer of Qi Cultivation—become the strongest in our generation!”

“Then get nominated. By year’s end, I’ll be a candidate for First-Seat Disciple!”

At her declaration of “strongest,” Xiao Chen smiled faintly.

Even if he wasn’t definitely top in their peer group at Crimson Flame Sect, Su Wanning had no chance. Still, he raised a thumb: “Amazing! Your progress is meteoric.”

Spiritual energy around her danced.

She patted her chest: “Senior Sect Brother, even if I surpass you in Eighth Layer first, I’ll still call you Senior Sect Brother!”

Xiao Chen fell silent.

Misreading his pause, she brightened, finally recalling her main purpose.

She pulled out a spirit fruit: “Ta-da! Senior Sect Brother, look what I brought!”

It resembled an apple, blazing crimson like a flame, with faint cloud patterns at its base—clearly no ordinary treasure.

Xiao Chen recognized it: “Xia Guang Huo Yun Guo?”

A second-tier spirit fruit, nourishing the soul and enhancing fire resistance. Especially valuable for fire-attribute cultivators.

Used in Xia Guang Huo Yun Dan—a second-tier pill. Early or mid-stage cultivators gained an immediate boost. Late Lian Qi cultivators below Ninth Layer had a 70% chance.

Yet such fruits were rare—rarer still to obtain the pills.

She thrust it forward: “Since you know it, no intro needed. Here!”

Xiao Chen’s curiosity deepened.

The Su family knew its value—they’d surely refine it into pills. Why give it to him?

And with Elder Chen aware of the Yan Chi Secret Realm, the Su family must’ve received warnings too.

Cultivators who consumed Xia Guang Huo Yun Guo gained fire resistance—crucial for the secret realm.

Why spare this fruit?

He asked: “Junior Sect Sister, why not keep this for yourself?”

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end