Watching Xiao Feng and Liu Xueli jump into the air and fly off after proclaiming that the disciples should “watch and learn,” Lin Songmei and the others stood there slack-jawed. Not for the fact that they were flying, that was... normal enough. At a high enough cultivation level, everyone could fly. 

It was that story!

“So,” Wang Taigang broke the silence, an awkward cough escaping his mouth. “Well, I don’t think I can comment, but entertaining story I guess.” 

“... I didn’t realize my master was that young.” Han Youhong murmured, stroking his chin. 

“... I didn’t realize my master was that old.” Yan Mingqing added, stroking her own chin. 

“I mean, if anyone was going to be deceptively old, it’s going to be Xueli,” Songmei confessed, scaling the rock a touch so that they could get a clear line of sight to the crater. 

Following Songmei up onto the rock with Wang Taigang and Youhong behind her, Mingqing pulled herself onto the rock. “That’s true, our master’s habits are... elderly to say the least.” 

Without much to say while having a sense of weariness permeate their bones, the four disciples sat down, all just taking in the view in front of them, watching the blood fest that was happening in the crater. 

Along with the blood fest, although there wasn’t a constant stream of spiritual beasts rushing in to continually join, there was still a trickle. A mega-sized crab, a pack of wolves with a few too many legs or few too many bulging muscle groups. 

“W-Wait a second,” Youhong broke the silence, the jelly in his hand only half-eaten. “You all saw that, right?” 

“If you mean Elder Xiao Feng just getting tossed like a ragdoll by Xueli, then yes,” Mingqing answered, her own eyes widening as she watched Xiao Feng calmly pull out his terminal. 

Songmei wasn’t sure what Xiao Feng was doing, but from what she could tell, he was just filming. He looked like that one person in school who always filmed the fights, hunched back, swiveling body, hood on, the whole package. Judging from his posture too, it was going to be a level negative one camera stability recording too... 

With that, Xueli was the center of attention, and it was as if the whole world was looking at her. Qi waves began to emanate from her body, lifting her hair a touch as the fighting in the crater slowed, the beasts in the crater seemingly using the last of whatever reasoning they had to look up to a being that was so much higher than them. 

Feeling Qi waves wash over her, waves that were magnitudes higher and more dense than those of the plants, Songmei touched her eyes a few times. A sigh escaping her mouth as her shoulders relaxed once more, Songmei continued watching, looking around just in case to make sure her eyes were feeling fine. 

“Crazy stuff,” Songmei whispered after leaning over to Mingqing’s ear. “Do you think we’ll ever get to that level one day?” 

“I believe in us,” Mingqing sighed, a similar level of amazement seeping into her voice. “I’m sure we’ll be able to eventually?” 

The Qi waves lessening, Songmei and the others watched as the clouds overhead thickened, darkened, and began to snow. Feeling a wind blow by them, stripping the trees in the ravine of any leaves they might’ve been holding onto, Songmei pulled a coat out of her spatial storage ring, wrapping it around herself with as much gusto as she could. 

Watching the world freeze, Songmei’s jaw fell a touch as she watched Xueli gather Qi in her leg. With her leg having reached a star-density level of Qi, Xueli did a couple of flips before shooting towards the ground, landing an axe kick in the epicenter of the crater. 

Rumbling. 

It was at that moment that Songmei realized... Xueli was... Xueli was no joke. 

Pulverized. That’s the only word that would fit. That was literally it. 

Every beast was frozen, encased in a block of ice as snow began to gather over their now sculpture-like bodies. At the same time, the ground caved in a touch, with Xueli creating a weblike system of cracks across the crater, only for it to be frozen over and encased in ice. 

With the crater now resembling a tundra, a frozen wasteland where nothing survived, Songmei and the other’s all felt their jaw drop as a wave of freezing air washed over them. Even Wang Taigang, who had been fine earlier, pulled out a coat as fast as he could as he circulated his Qi to turn his body into a furnace. 

There had been maybe a hundred? Two hundred? Beasts fighting in that crater. 

Now though, there was a solid ZERO, only Xueli standing there, the coat draped over her button up shirt fluttering in the wind. The impact site where she had landed was a mess, the beasts that had been there, were now... not there. 

Instead there was a lot of dead beast meat.

Wonder how that got there. 

Her eyes wide, Songmei made eye contact with Mingqing, swearing in her mind that they’d lay off on the old jokes for a bit. They didn’t want to get axe kicked by Xueli, that sounded like a horrible way to go.

It wasn’t even like she’d get to see her family in heaven!! Songmei would straight up be obliterated! Soul and all!

Watching Xueli fly back with her hype man, Xiao Feng, in tow, Songmei, Mingqing, Youhong, and Wang Taigang all clambered up, bowing over and over and thanking Xueli for her work. 

Giving a flourishing bow, Xueli laughed, scratching the back of her head, “That should be good enough for a re-debut into the public eye, right? I’ve been a little low-key lately. Gotta have a little flair as the head of the Martial Pavilion, after all.” 

“I’m sure that’s plenty of flair,” Xiao Feng chuckled, sending the video to Xueli, “You can post it, I have no interest in getting caught in all the interviews you’re going to start getting again.” 

“You sure?” Xueli asked before turning back towards the disciples and stopping their bowing, “Xiao Feng, I’m pretty sure you’d enjoy it! Though, you’re quite popular on your own these days aren’t you? Any girls or boys you’re interested in~?” 

“Nope. None. My heart is dead. Cold as the tundra you just made.” Xiao Feng sighed, changing the topic. “Youhong, Wang Taigang, Lin Songmei, and Yan Mingqing, you four don’t know it, but this lady here is popular, so don't mess with her. Ridiculously popular. Top celebrity vibes really...” 

““““Yessir!””””

Esiyx

Went to a homecoming dance today....
omg... not my thing ...
T~T
so tired... and wasn't enjoyable
i'm too much of an introvert...

Thanks for readingg~!!
Take care reader friendsss~!! <3<3