After Breaking Off the Engagement, I Started Pursuing My Master
Chapter 196 - Can’t Fool Oneself

Chapter 196: Can’t Fool Oneself

The pink twilight cast a splendid glow across the sky.

Bai Li had her last dinner in Jiang Huai’s courtyard, her stomach full, and now she was sitting on Jiang Huai’s lap, with Jiang Huai gently massaging her belly and carefully wiping the grease from the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief.

“Hold me a little longer, hold me a little longer,” Bai Li murmured softly.

Jiang Huai put down the handkerchief, gently wrapped his arms around her waist, rested his chin on her shoulder, and lightly sniffed the faint scent on her body. The girl in his arms was warm and soft, but he could only hold her for a little while longer.

Bai Li lazily leaned into Jiang Huai’s embrace, her eyes slightly closed.

She had known Jiang Huai for over three years.

From three years ago in the secret realm, where they bonded over that aromatic roasted fish, to everything that seemed like a dream up to now.

Back then, Bai Li never knew where her future lay; she was just a little snake demon who had fled to this place from the Western Region, wary of everyone in this strange world, and had worked hard to make her heart as tough as iron due to constant anxiety.

But it seemed that whenever she was with him, her heart would soften again.

She remembered everything that happened in the secret realm, the anticipation she felt every time she looked at Jiang Huai, waiting for him to finish cooking, the times they wandered and picked flowers together in the secret realm, the countless times they fought side by side, swords against their enemies, and the warmth of cuddling together in bed every night.

Had she started liking him quietly back then?

To this day, she still hadn’t figured out what human love really was, but she knew her own love. Perhaps for her, just being happy when she was by Jiang Huai’s side was enough.

“Alright, I should go now.” Bai Li stood up from Jiang Huai’s embrace, walked over to Bai Jin, whose spirit sword had already risen behind him.

He looked at Bai Li stepping onto the spirit sword, stood up, and gently waved to her.

Bai Li smiled at him and waved back, and moments later, Bai Jin flew away with her on the sword, turning into a bright streak across the sky.

...

Night fell, and at some point, a thin mist had quietly enveloped the courtyard.

Jiang Huai didn’t go back to his room to rest but continued to diligently practice the Overlord Art moves, the Overlord Fist, which could only be started after reaching the fifth level of the art.

The Overlord Fist was the only offensive technique in the Overlord Art, but due to the rush of time, he hadn’t had the chance to learn it and had put it aside for the time being. Now, in the courtyard, he threw punch after punch into the air, each punch creating a burst of sound and dispersing the mist in front of him.

The core of the Overlord Fist technique was to gather the Overlord Qi refined daily into the fist and throw it out, drawing the whole body’s strength to a single point in the fist, in one fell swoop, unstoppable.

Jiang Huai practiced earnestly, sweating lightly all over, his clothes sticking uncomfortably to his body. He took off his upper garment, leaving only his long pants, and the courtyard was filled with the crackling sounds of his punches. When the door opened, Jiang Huai immediately stopped and turned to look at Chu Xianning who had opened the door.

Chu Xianning, dressed in a white plain dress, appeared somewhat thin, with a hint of porcelain white collarbone showing at the neckline, her black hair simply draped over her shoulders. Her eyes were filled with confusion as she looked at Jiang Huai.

Jiang Huai scratched his head.

“I was practicing the Overlord Art’s fist technique, did I disturb Master’s rest?”

“No.”

Chu Xianning walked to the wooden bench under the tree, sitting at a distance that was neither too close nor too far, just outside the reach of the mist. She sat quietly and said softly.

“You practice, I’ll watch.”

So Jiang Huai continued to practice earnestly, feeling the trace of Overlord Qi from the Overlord Art moving through his body, the sensation of it traveling through his body, pulling all his muscles to exert force. If he were to really throw a punch, with his current reserves, he could probably only throw two punches.

But even just practicing the punches was particularly draining, and Jiang Huai soon became exhausted, gasping for breath and sitting down on the ground. Chu Xianning still silently watched him, and when Jiang Huai turned his gaze to her face, he didn’t look away but gazed at her tenderly.

Master and disciple sat like this, looking into each other’s eyes through the thin mist.

“You actually thought of practicing fist techniques?”

Chu Xianning was the first to break the silence with a question.

Jiang Huai looked at her with a wry smile.

“The Yuelan Continent competition is coming up, and although I’m likely to face Qingyu and her sect’s disciples, I’m somewhat confident. But soon after, there will be the Eastern Region competition, and the remaining three continents will also have all sorts of geniuses, each with no less talent than the others, and with the resources provided by their elders, their cultivation levels won’t be low either. I have to take this seriously.”

Jiang Huai always believed in the saying that there is always someone better out there. He was always cautious and never became arrogant because of his talent. There might always be someone with higher talent and who worked harder than him.

Although he had completed some odd tasks recently and had several dozen low-grade experience scrolls on him, if he encountered an opponent above the Divine Transformation fifth level, he could only use one at a time to boost his cultivation to Divine Transformation for the duration of an incense stick.

Those tasks mainly involved... bullying Luo Qingyu until she cried, punishing the disobedient Wen Fufu, and some small desires for Bai Li. But when the tasks were pinging, Jiang Huai didn’t want to be distracted and look at them.

It was only later when he saw the rewards that he realized these tasks had been quietly completed without his knowledge, and his system points had reached three hundred thousand.

But system points were indeed the least useful thing to him. Most of the items sold in the system store were dead expensive, with even a slightly decent spirit sword costing upwards of five hundred thousand points. He had saved his points for so long, only occasionally exchanging them for clothes, snacks, and some interesting trinkets.

“You have no spiritual energy, and getting to this point is already good. You don’t have to be obsessed with going any further,” Chu Xianning hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly.

Her impression of Jiang Huai was not that he wasn’t hardworking, but because his sword momentum wouldn’t improve much even with diligent practice, so he seemed to be lazing around in the courtyard every day.

Chu Xianning knew he had studied deeply into the Way of the Pill, formations, and talismans, and he had been so engrossed in his research that he would forget to eat and sleep. But no matter what, he currently had no spiritual energy, and she didn’t expect him to continue striving for fame and possibly get hurt in pursuit of vain glory.

“I know what I’m doing. I’m just trying to see how far I can go. When I can’t go any further, I’ll stop,” Jiang Huai replied softly.

“Master doesn’t need to worry about these things. When I was practicing the Overlord Art, it was painfully difficult. Having finally reached the fifth level, it would be a pity not to practice the Overlord Fist.”

Chu Xianning remembered the Overlord Art.

Bahuang True Person was a senior to her in her era, and his name was well-known. There were many interesting stories about him, and he was known for practicing the Overlord Art despite the pain, having once destroyed dozens of desolate mountains with his body to alleviate the pain of cultivation.

It seemed that even being covered in blood and having his bones broken was just to ease the pain of practicing the Overlord Art.

She had never practiced it herself, and she didn’t know. Jiang Huai spoke of it lightly, but Chu Xianning remembered that Jiang Huai was someone who feared pain the most. Even when practicing the Immaculate Golden Body, he would find ways to reduce the pain, yet he willingly practiced the most painful and difficult body refining technique known.

“Will you continue to practice the Overlord Art?” Chu Xianning’s voice was much softer.

“I do have plans for that. After the Yuelan Continent competition, I plan to go to the Ziyun Pavilion in Linglong Continent and use my perfect pill refining and formation methods to exchange for a large amount of spirit stones. Then, I’ll use those spirit stones to ask Ziyun Pavilion to find medicinal herbs for me. I’ve thought of eighteen possible herbs that could replace the Flower Spirit Body, and I’ll try them one by one. If it works, then naturally, I won’t practice the Overlord Art anymore. If it doesn’t, I’ll find a way to practice two more levels.”

“That doesn’t sound like you,” Chu Xianning couldn’t help but speak.

“Hmm?”

“You... you’re the one who fears pain the most.”

“That’s true,” Jiang Huai said with a wry smile.

“but if pain can be exchanged for strength, then it’s a worthwhile deal. I can’t afford to be complacent anymore. Before, I didn’t care about my cultivation level because I never wanted to compete with anyone. But now I’m Luo Qingyu’s partner, and in the future, I’ll be marrying Wen Wanwan and Bai Li. I can’t let myself continue to be complacent.”

Chu Xianning was lost in thought for a long time before she slowly realized that the Jiang Huai in front of her was no longer the boy who could be happy just basking in the sun in the courtyard. He no longer had the same lightness on his shoulders as before; he now carried several responsibilities.

It was she who had been standing still all this time, not noticing these changes.

She suddenly didn’t know what to say anymore, and after a while, she finally spoke.

“You just mentioned looking for alternative medicinal herbs for the Flower Spirit Body.”

Jiang Huai glanced at her.

“Because I can wait until Qingyu reaches the seventh realm.”

“But hasn’t Luo Qingyu already dual cultivated with you?”

Jiang Huai was stunned, then slapped his forehead, feeling like crying but without tears.

That’s right!

He had completely forgotten about that!!

On Granny Jiuyou’s prescription, it required a Flower Spirit Body and Ice Soul Profound Body above the seventh realm. The second key requirement was that it must be pure, with the original yin intact. Jiang Huai had subconsciously overlooked this second point. Now that he had already dual cultivated with Luo Qingyu, even if she reached the seventh realm, they could no longer dual cultivate to heal.

“I forgor...” Jiang Huai felt like crying.

“I was thinking of waiting for Qingyu to reach the seventh realm, but I completely forgot about this... I’ll have to think about alternative medicinal herbs for the Ice Soul Profound Body.”

“I thought you were already prepared to dual cultivate with Luo Yueguan,” Chu Xianning’s eyes were deep as she looked at him.

“That’s definitely not the case. Aunt Luo is Qingyu’s mother; I’ve never thought of doing such an outrageous thing.”

“Luo Yueguan might not refuse you. If you keep it from Luo Qingyu, then only you and she would know. You would just need to say that you healed yourself with medicinal herbs...”

Chu Xianning’s words suddenly stopped, and she was stunned for a moment, not even knowing why she had such a dark thought and had spoken it out loud.

Jiang Huai looked at Chu Xianning, who was at a loss for words, and said with a helpless smile.

“Master... I think you should understand that the real problem with this matter isn’t about keeping it from someone, but that you can’t fool yourself.”

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