If it were anyone else in front of her, other than Lady Yue, I have no doubt that Lan Xiaohui would have picked the tablet and run off to fight Yu Shun.

Elder Qin is a shrewd woman, and I have also underestimated her.

Since the first day they’ve met, Elder Qin has put the idea into Lan Xiaohui’s mind that she can teach her how to counter Yu Shun’s technique and kill him. Even the manner in which she scolded my owner has been supporting this idea, like when she said that no disciple of hers is foolish enough to die without putting a scratch on their opponent. In other words, that a disciple of hers would, at the very least, be able to accomplish this.

Who is Lan Xiaohui’s opponent? It is a person that has gone from the peak of Foundation Establishment, to the peak of Core Formation, in less than a year — a feat that I cannot help Lan Xiaohui accomplish in my present condition. Yu Shun — apparently a monster genius unlike any other — is the definition of an opponent that Lan Xiaohui cannot even scratch at the moment, much less defeat or kill.

Elder Qin’s next attack, when she made Lan Xiaohui choose, was to make the initial seed of promise bloom: “learn how to kill a man”.

She made it sound so simple and even dispelled any notion that Yu Shun is special or even difficult to defeat.

It is no wonder that in this situation Lan Xiaohui picks the ring instead of the tablet.

It is also without a doubt that Elder Qin has known about Lan Xiaohui since before they met that day. Every word she spoke has been a deliberate and measured action to win over Lan Xiaohui. Even the method in which she closed the distance and surprised my owner by grabbing her neck could possibly be that fabled Shadowless Oblivion — a demonstration of the kind of power Lan Xiaohui could wield.

It couldn’t have been a coincidence.

It is too late to interfere now, nor do I see any reason to do so. Elder Qin’s motives are still unclear, but it is clear that she wants to make use of Lan Xiaohui to kill Yu Shun. My owner is neither foolish nor stupid — as Elder Qin deduced — and she is also willing to use other people for her goals, like Lady Yue. Elder Qin is no exception.

However, Elder Qin has made one miscalculation.

Lan Xiaohui is not an ordinary sword cultivator.

Slowly, my owner rises to her feet, shoulders trembling. “I will learn from you… but I don’t need your help.”

“Oh?” Elder Qin asks, raising a single eyebrow.

“In two years, with or without you, I will be more than enough for one Yu Shun,” Lan Xiaohui says, tone as cold as ice. “But don’t think that anyone who tried to play me like a fool will walk away — as you said — without a scratch!”

Lan Xiaohui raises her head to look at Elder Qin. “Since you are using me, then what reason do I have not to use you!?”

There is a flash of light in Elder Qin’s eyes as she straightens up slightly at Lan Xiaohui’s words. “Good! Good! Now that is truly chewing your grievances before you swallow them!” Elder Qin exclaims, her expression one of genuine amusement but also approval. “I am satisfied.”

Wu Yulan relaxes slightly at those words.

I am beginning to suspect that Lan Xiaohui is somehow aware of my deductions. Either that, or she is far more formidable than I expected.

“Since that is so, you can make use of my generosity immediately!” Elder Qin says and gestures with her delicate hands at Lan Xiaohui. “Show me your sword energy.”

Lan Xiaohui furrows her eyebrows together, probably considering whether that order includes Sword Law or not. In the end, she lifts a finger and summons a mote of dark energy above her fingertip.

This black dot, glimmering with flashes of red and white, trembles in the air like a ball of gas churning violently and about to explode.

It exists for only several seconds before it disappears as silently and suddenly as it came.

Elder Qin doesn’t react to it at all, and for several seconds after the mote disappears, she neither says nor does anything. Even I find it impossible to read.

After a few seconds, she once again makes a large sweeping gesture with her arm, and four more tablets emerge from her sleeve and land on the ground before the two.

“Those are the four main methods that Core Disciples can practice; I trust that you know what they are already,” Elder Qin says. “You can pick any one of them, but only one.”

Then, the Elder looks at Wu Yulan. “You can also pick one if you want.”

Wu Yulan nods.

I sweep my consciousness over the tablets and confirm that they are indeed the [Mystical Infinity Star Method], [Galaxy Sword Method], [Life-Severing Sword], and [Empty Moon Prana].

Unsurprisingly, Lan Xiaohui immediately reaches for the [Life-Severing Sword] tablet and picks it up. I sense her consciousness pour into it.

I regret that my [Critical Analysis] is still in recovery — if that weren’t the case, I could learn all four of these methods without an issue.

However, after a moment, Lan Xiaohui puts the [Life-Severing Sword] tablet back down and picks up the [Empty Moon Prana] tablet instead.

“I will pick this one,” she says.

Elder Qin seems to consider Lan Xiaohui. “Reason?”

Lan Xiaohui looks up from the tablet and meets Elder Qin’s gaze. “I am confident in my swordsmanship. I want to cultivate my heart, mind, and soul instead.”

Elder Qin wears a mysterious smile. “And what about you? What will you pick?” Elder Qin asks Wu Yulan.

“I will cultivate whatever Sister Xuelian picks,” she says flatly.

“You can walk away with two methods, but you will pick only one?” Elder Qin asks.

Wu Yulan nods. “I heard they are all incomplete inheritances which are difficult to learn and use. Even if I picked another one so we can learn two at once, it would just make it more difficult and less rewarding for us.”

Elder Qin flashes a smile and nods. “Suit yourself,” she says and turns away. “If you succeed in learning the first layer of that Empty Moon Prana in a year, I will make you the successors of my skills. You may depart.”

The two girls cup their fists and bow. “Palace Master Qin,” they say, and then leave the Palace and head down the stairs toward the sect proper.

When they make it two hundred steps away from the Palace, I notice some strange movement from Elder Qin and direct my attention to her.

She raises her hand, holding it a few centimeters from her face, with curiosity and approval glimmering in her eyes. She whispers under her breath, as she stares at her fingers.

“To think that brat made my fingers tremble with just her sword intent…”

Her eyes turn toward the window, and then slightly toward the ceiling.

“What kind of monster did you deliver to me…?”

I somewhat regret not obtaining [Imprint], so that I can hear the words she speaks as she disappears from my perception range, but it is of no consequence now. I am more interested in my owner.

Is her sword intent really that special?