Lin Yun'er stuck out her tongue, showing not the slightest awareness of having been caught red-handed after running away from home. She pouted and said, "Master, you've been following me this whole time!"
The figure replied, "The world is full of danger. You are simple of heart — as your Master, it is only natural that I watch over you and keep you safe."
Lin Yun'er huffed indignantly. "No wonder I managed to subdue that big thing so easily yesterday. It turns out you were secretly helping me!"
Though she was simple of heart, she was no fool. She had already felt something was off yesterday when her abilities seemed to have improved so dramatically all of a sudden. Now she understood in an instant — it wasn't that she had grown stronger, but that her Master had been secretly lending her strength. Otherwise, there was no way she could have subdued a Sacred Spirit Descendant in a single exchange.
Having been called out, the figure smiled faintly and did not bother to deny it.
"Where did Uncle Yang go?" Lin Yun'er asked.
"He is already tens of millions of miles away." As he spoke, the figure glanced at the Trans-domain Space Formation not far off, secretly startled. He had seen Yang Kai's cultivation with his own eyes — the boy's mastery of spatial abilities was truly extraordinary, and on top of that he could set up a formation like this. Even with the most exacting standards, this young man's future achievements would be limitless.
But so what? The nerve of that brat, trying to spirit away his disciple. The fact that he hadn't broken both of the boy's legs was entirely for Lin Yun'er's sake.
"Oh, I have to go find Uncle Yang!" Lin Yun'er panicked.
"Nonsense!" The figure's expression darkened. "You have been away long enough. It is time to return with your Master. Do not neglect your Cultivation."
"I won't! I'm going to find Uncle Yang!" she declared, marching up to the Space Formation on her own. She channeled her Emperor Yuan, straining until her face turned red, trying to activate the formation — but it didn't respond in the slightest.
Seeing this, the figure felt as though a knife were twisting in his heart. After all those years of painstakingly raising her, feeding her and cleaning up after her, helping her reach the Emperor Realm — she still couldn't compare to some random "Uncle Yang"?
People always said daughters lean outward, but this was absurdly far! His already poor impression of Yang Kai plummeted further. He felt an overwhelming urge to drag that brat back from the other end of the formation and torture him thoroughly, just to vent the bitterness in his chest.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his sour feelings, and said with a smile, "Disciple, let's discuss something."
"What!" Lin Yun'er glared at him, cheeks puffed with indignation.
"You quite like that Yang fellow, don't you?"
"Uncle Yang is family to little Yun'er."
"You want to go find him?"
"Mm-hmm! Master, come help me activate this thing — I can't figure out why it stopped working."
Of course it stopped working. He had severed the spatial connection with a hidden pulse of energy. It would be a miracle if it still worked.
He naturally couldn't say that, or his life would be miserable from now on.
"What your Uncle Yang said earlier — I heard it all. He has a Sect in the Northern Region called Lingxiao Palace, correct?" He paused, then continued, "How about this, disciple: once you reach the Third-Order Emperor Realm, I will take you to the Northern Region's Lingxiao Palace to find your Uncle Yang. After that, you can stay as long as you like."
Lin Yun'er's eyes lit up. "Really?"
His heart ached even more! But the figure forced a gentle smile and nodded. "When has your Master ever lied to you?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Lin Yun'er darted off the Space Formation, grabbed his arm, and began pulling him through the air.
"What are you doing?" he asked, startled.
"Going back! I need to cultivate. Don't worry, Master — little Yun'er will reach the Third-Order Emperor Realm in no time."
"Mm, I'm glad to see you so motivated. This makes your Master very happy — now that's more like my precious disciple," he said with a beaming smile, though the taste in his mouth was bitterer than the bitterest herb. Damn it, why did he feel like he had lost something?
Why?!
Kid — Yang Kai, was it? You just wait!
…
"Greetings, Palace Master!"
"The Palace Master is back!"
"Quick — notify the Grand Steward!"
At the transmission formation beside Lingxiao Palace, several Disciples standing guard spotted Yang Kai and erupted in joy, calling out one after another.
They had once been Disciples of the Thousand Leaves Sect. After that Sect was destroyed, Yang Kai had brought them to Lingxiao Palace. Though they still wore the Thousand Leaves Sect's insignia, as time passed, their sense of belonging and identity had gradually shifted to Lingxiao Palace.
By now, not a single former Thousand Leaves Sect Disciple considered themselves anything other than a member of Lingxiao Palace. Cultivating here was immensely comfortable — not only was the ambient spiritual energy far denser than it had been at the old Thousand Leaves Sect, but they no longer had to worry about cultivation resources. The Grand Steward had never treated them differently because of their former affiliation.
In such a short time, every one of the original Thousand Leaves Sect Disciples had made enormous gains in cultivation. The former Sect Master, Ye Hen, had already entered seclusion to attempt a breakthrough into the Emperor Realm — something they would never have dared to dream of before.
But ever since coming to Lingxiao Palace, everything had changed.
Now, if anyone dared say they were not Disciples of Lingxiao Palace, they would fight that person to the death.