Clothes and blankets flew wildly through the air.
The moment I stretched out my hand, the laundry shot forward like possessed ghosts and crashed into the maids.
“Eek!”
“W-What is this?!”
Since they were only sheets and clothes, it didn't actually hurt, but the sudden attack sent the maids into complete panic.
Crossing my arms, I floated slightly above the ground using spiritual energy.
One of the maids, who had been buried beneath a pile of blankets, looked up in shock.
“A-A cultivator?!”
“That little brat is a cultivator?”
“No way!”
Cultivators rarely displayed their abilities in front of ordinary people.
The maids knew of cultivators because they worked within the Cheongwoo Immortal Sect, but this was the first time they had ever witnessed such a thing firsthand.
I raised my hand high.
The blankets spun through the air in circles before dropping toward the ground.
As I slowly descended, one of the maids collapsed onto her backside.
“Don't ever bully Sister Seolhwa again!”
The maid who still hadn't recovered from her shock hurriedly nodded.
Another screamed and ran away.
I stopped the blankets just before they hit the floor with my spiritual power.
Huh?
Something felt different.
Using spiritual energy had become far smoother than before.
Previously, it had felt foreign and awkward.
Now it moved almost like an extension of my own body.
“If they bother you again after this, you have to tell me, okay?”
“Mm. Thank you.”
“And I suddenly have something I need to do, so I'm leaving early today!”
Leaving Myeong Seolhwa behind, I immediately rushed toward the White Lotus Training Grounds.
The traces of my cultivation practice remained scattered throughout the area.
The moment I'd manipulated those blankets in anger, it felt as if I had unconsciously grasped the true essence of spiritual energy.
I have plenty of spiritual power.
The problem had always been my lack of control.
Taking a deep breath, I slowly circulated my energy and activated the Azure Flame Art.
Blue flowers began blooming around me, swaying gently in the air.
Whoosh.
As I concentrated, the flowers became clearer and clearer until they formed a distinct shape.
“It... it worked!!”
For the first time, I had properly executed the Azure Flame Art.
Once I reached the Seventh Stage of the technique, my mastery of the Lotus Shadow Sword Art naturally improved as well.
Perhaps because I'd experienced the frustration of being stuck before, I felt this was my opportunity.
I devoted myself to cultivation with near-manic determination.
Especially sword practice.
That part was surprisingly fun.
Even when Baek Unjin wasn't around, I maintained my routine.
Every morning I greeted him outside his room.
Then I spent the morning studying cultivation arts in the Seoun Pavilion and the afternoon training at the White Lotus Grounds.
A year passed like that.
As usual, I woke up, greeted Master outside his room, and headed toward the Seoun Pavilion.
The door's open?
In reality, I was practically the only person who used the pavilion.
Puzzled, I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
“Ah...”
A boy stood there.
He wore the same Cheongwoo Immortal Sect robes as I did.
He looked one or two years younger than me.
His features were delicate and well-formed.
Anyone could tell he'd grow up to be exceptionally handsome.
Could that be... Eun Hwigyeom?
No matter how I looked at it, there was only one person who could possibly be here right now.
Of course, I couldn't exactly say I already knew his name.
So I approached him first.
“Hi! My name is Yu Yeon-seo! What's your name?”
“......”
“Hm?”
Perhaps my sudden friendliness startled him.
The boy flinched and took a step backward.
Just as I worried I had come on too strong, he hesitantly replied in a tiny voice.
“Eun... Hwigyeom.”
“So you're Eun Hwigyeom! I'm fourteen years old! How old are you?”
“Te-Ten.”
He seemed confused for a moment, counting on his fingers before finally arriving at ten.
The sight was unbearably adorable.
What is this? Why is he so cute?!
There's no way a kid this cute should die.
“So how did you get here? Ah, did you come with your master? I haven't seen mine yet. Do you know where he is?”
“U-Um...”
Creak.
The door opened.
Baek Unjin entered the pavilion.
The moment he appeared, Eun Hwigyeom practically sprinted over and hid behind him, trembling slightly.
He looked like a squirrel.
Or maybe a rabbit.
“Master! Have you been well?”
I immediately clasped my fists in greeting and bowed.
Baek Unjin's large hand landed atop my head.
“......”
“What's wrong?”
“You've perfected the Azure Flame Art.”
“Ah! Yes.”
The Seventh Stage had given me a lot of trouble, but once I broke through the bottleneck, reaching mastery hadn't taken long.
The Lotus Shadow Sword Art was still only at the Tenth Stage, however.
Once I completely master Lotus Shadow Sword Art, I should be able to challenge the Second Stage of Qi Condensation.
Advancing cultivation realms required sufficient spiritual power.
And to break through to the next stage, both techniques needed to be mastered.
The cultivation system in Chronicles of Heavenly Fate Cultivation was far more complicated than most people imagined.
The beginning realm was Qi Condensation, consisting of thirteen levels.
Then came Foundation Establishment with twelve levels.
After that was Core Formation with ten levels.
Beyond that were the realms of Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation, each divided into Early, Middle, Late, and Great Perfection stages.
There were even more realms after Divine Transformation.
But those were so far beyond me that they hardly mattered right now.
Assuming I can even reach Divine Transformation someday.
Cultivators who reached that realm could ascend from the Lower World into the Middle Realm.
And the Middle Realm contained countless races and dimensions.
“Is something wrong, Master?”
“No. You've done well.”
“Hehe.”
I couldn't help smiling.
It had been a long time since I'd received praise from Baek Unjin.
Then—
The boy behind him suddenly tugged hard on his robe.
“Who is that girl?”
“Girl? I already told you my name is Yu Yeon-seo!”
“She will be your senior sister.”
As expected.
Baek Unjin had truly taken Eun Hwigyeom as his disciple after returning from Taehur Kingdom.
I put my hands on my hips and puffed out my chest.
“Ahem.”
“......”
“......”
“That's her?”
“What do you mean, that's her?! I'm your senior sister!”
“She looks weak.”
I suffered genuine emotional damage from that statement.
Why was someone with such a cute face saying things like that?
As the senior disciple, I clearly needed to establish authority.
Forcing a smile, I glared at him.
“Hmph. I'm a hundred times stronger than a crybaby who hides behind Master. Little brat.”
“I'm not a brat.”
“You're shorter than me.”
“I-I'll grow soon!”
“Sure. Work hard and grow, Mister Little Brat. Bleh!”
I stuck my tongue out.
I'd lived to thirty before transmigrating into Yu Yeon-seo.
No way was I losing a verbal battle to a ten-year-old.
It was childish.
But who cared?
My provocation worked perfectly.
Eun Hwigyeom released Baek Unjin's robe and clenched his tiny fists.
“If you're so great, fight me!”
“Hmph. You'll lose.”
I crossed my arms and snorted.
This body had trained under Baek Unjin for over three years.
Sure, he was a future disciple of one of the strongest cultivators in the novel.
But right now he was still just a ten-year-old kid.
“Haa... I only wanted you two to get along.”
Watching us snarl at each other from the very beginning, Baek Unjin pressed a hand against his forehead.
“It won't matter until we try, right? Or are you scared?”
“Sca-red? As. If.”
I emphasized every syllable while maintaining my forced smile.
Nope.
I officially withdrew every sympathetic thought I'd had because of his tragic future.
This kid wasn't adorable.
He was an annoying little menace.
“Yeon-seo, is that any way to treat a junior disciple who just arrived?”
“He started it.”
I puffed out my cheeks and put on the most wronged expression I could manage.
Caught in the middle, Baek Unjin let out a deep sigh.
“Very well. Do as you wish. But if you're going to fight, it will only be under my supervision, and neither of you is allowed to get hurt.”
“It's not like I can't handle one little brat.”
I made sure to get one final jab in.
Cultivators weren't considered impressive for no reason.
Soon afterward, Eun Hwigyeom and I stood in the White Lotus Training Grounds.
He held one of the lightweight wooden practice swords I often used.
“As I said on the way here, neither of you is allowed to get injured.”
“Yes.”
At Baek Unjin's signal, I tightened my grip on my wooden sword and assumed my stance.
When I first started, I couldn't even swing properly without losing my balance.
Now, though, my posture looked fairly convincing.
Then I looked at Eun Hwigyeom.
Huh?
A flicker of surprise crossed my face.
His stance...
Was far better than I had expected.
