Stop crying, I'll give it to you, okay?

Xiao Wuli slowly lowered his head under that gentle gaze, gently pursed his lips, and softened his breathing.

At this moment, he wished he could turn back time two hours and tell him to stop just as he was about to run with the sandbags on his back, so that he wouldn't smell his sweat and be smelled by his master who came to see him.

Noticing that his master's gaze was fixed on him, his fingers, which were hanging by his legs, curled up slightly and slowly closed. He moved his toes slowly and retreated little by little.

"What's wrong? Don't you like it?" Chi Buwan asked in confusion, glancing down at the peach blossom pastries on the stone table.

He remembered Xiao Wuli saying that his favorite food was peach blossom pastry.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wuli quickly shook his head, but seeing out of the corner of his eye that his master wasn't looking at him, he immediately spoke up, "This disciple loves to eat."

Although he had never eaten it before, but...

Xiao Wuli slightly raised his eyes, looking at the pastries on the stone table that looked and smelled delicious, and quietly swallowed his saliva.

Seeing this, Chi Buwan raised her fingertips and gently pinched a piece of pastry, reaching out to feed it to him, but Xiao Wuli once again retreated to avoid it.

"Brother...this disciple can do it himself." Xiao Wuli was so frightened that he stammered and couldn't even speak.

He paused for a moment, then sighed helplessly.

It's like going back to square one; I'm going to spoil Xiao Wuli all over again.

Chi Buwan didn't force him to get close to her. She put the peach blossom pastry she was holding back into the jade plate and said without insisting, "That's fine."

Xiao Wuli paused for half a second.

Chi Buwan got up and glanced back at the crowd that had been secretly watching them. His gaze swept across their faces before finally settling on Shen Shangheng.

13 years old, Foundation Building stage.

He has considerable strength, but his mind is restless and his cultivation is unstable. He basically relies on pills obtained through the royal family's wealth to improve his level. He is not qualified to be a disciple of the Lingxiao Sect, but his background is so powerful that they cannot refuse to accept him.

Shen Shangheng currently needs to recuperate the damage to his body caused by years of haphazardly consuming pills. The pills are extremely expensive, so only Chang Yan, who can refine pills himself, is willing to accept him as an inner disciple.

Although he is currently the disciple with the highest cultivation level among this batch, his name has never been heard from later generations, suggesting that he has faded into obscurity.

Chi Buwan frowned slightly, then shifted her gaze again, memorizing the faces of one or two lazy people, preparing to complain to Xie Hanfeng later.

"...Master."

A timid voice reached his ears. He quickly looked away, turning to face Xiao Wuli, whose dark eyes were glistening with tears. He asked gently, "Hmm. What's wrong?"

Xiao Wuli curled his fingertips slightly.

It was nothing, but he didn't want his master's gaze to fall on those people.

They were all stronger and had better backgrounds than him, while he had nothing. If his master compared him to them, he would definitely regret taking someone like him as a disciple.

Xiao Wuli gripped the hem of his clothes, nervously rubbing it.

Thinking about complaining, Chi Buwan reached out and ruffled his hair, comforting him, "You should cultivate here. I'll come back later. Don't be lazy."

The Heavenly Spiritual Root is special; even breathing involves absorbing spiritual energy. Once he learns how to channel spiritual energy into his body, his cultivation and strength will greatly increase, but his meridians will not be able to withstand it.

Since it concerned his life, Xiao Wuli could not slack off at all during the Body Tempering stage.

Xiao Wuli nodded vigorously, "Disciple obeys."

Chi Buwan withdrew his hand and turned around to take a deep breath of the group of people behind him.

No problem, go complain!

After a while, he flew away on his sword, and the air became quiet for a moment.

After a long while, someone spoke up.

"Senior Brother Shen, did Immortal Venerable Jade Fairy glance at you several times just now?"

"Yes, yes, I saw it too. Could it be that Immortal Jade has noticed you and wants to take you as his disciple?"

"Will the Third Elder agree? Senior Brother Shen is a disciple whom the Third Elder begged for."

"Really? It's rumored that the sect elders dote on Jade Immortal Venerable the most. If Jade Immortal Venerable makes a request, the elders will grant it."

Upon hearing this, Shen Shangheng, the protagonist who was surrounded, smiled even more broadly, a look of certainty appearing on his face. However, he said, "Becoming a disciple of Jade Immortal Venerable is nothing to make such a fuss about."

Those who fawn over him immediately follow suit.

"That's different. Although all the elders of the Lingxiao Sect are top-tier in cultivation, only the Seventh Elder is good-looking but knows nothing. But don't forget, the Jade Immortal Venerable's cultivation has long reached the late stage of the Dao Integration Realm! Moreover, if you become a disciple of other elders, you can only master their special skills. But if you become a disciple of the Jade Immortal Venerable... you can attend any elder's lectures. With just one word from the Jade Immortal Venerable, you can take a high position."

"Is that so? If I'm favored by Immortal Jade Immortal, wouldn't I be able to cultivate both swordsmanship and formations?"

"Of course, but you... never mind. Every disciple that Jade Immortal Venerable has taken in is of the highest caliber in the world, yet in all these years, he has only taken in twelve disciples."

"In my opinion, among our new disciples, only Senior Brother Shen is the most suitable."

"You think too highly of me." Shen Shangheng spoke humbly, but his eyes were full of arrogance. He raised his chin slightly, glanced at Xiao Wuli who was looking at him with dark eyes, and raised his eyebrows slightly.

Seeing this, everyone turned their heads to look in the direction of his gaze and noticed the disciple with the Heavenly Spiritual Root.

"What's so great about him?" someone in the crowd complained. "Once Senior Brother Shen becomes Jade Immortal Venerable's disciple, Jade Immortal Venerable won't give him any special treatment."

The crowd laughed, their faces clearly showing their disdain.

Xiao Wuli's fingers, hanging by his sides, slowly clenched, not from anger at their words, but from nervousness.

Will Master accept him as a disciple?

Xiao Wuli looked at Shen Shangheng, as if remembering something, and clenched his fist even tighter, his nails almost digging into his palm.

The master's gaze lingered on his face the longest just now.

"Master just said that we should cultivate diligently," Shen Shangheng said, already considering himself a newly accepted disciple of Jade Immortal Venerable amidst the crowd's flattery.

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately bowed and clasped their hands, replying, "Yes."

Xiao Wuli clenched his teeth, his knuckles turned white, and his arm trembled uncontrollably.

.

After a long while, Chi Buwan led Xie Hanfeng back to the back mountain of Lingxiao Sect.

Xie Hanfeng looked at the group of disciples diligently cultivating their bodies at the foot of the mountain, then slowly turned his head to look at Chi Buwan, who had come to him to complain.

Is it too late?:...........

Feed.

One backstab would have been enough, why did you have to backstab him so many times?

They were clearly slacking off just now!

Even if Xie Hanfeng were to observe their physical training progress, he wouldn't be able to tell, because these disciples entered the Lingxiao Sect with different foundations, some progressing faster and some slower. If a comparison had to be made, Xiao Wuli, who hadn't yet initiated Qi into his body, was currently the slowest.

Familiar laws of nature.

What others can obtain easily, Xiao Wuli needs to work much harder to catch up with.