[As long as it's not the Fear personality, Wan Qingluan won't cause any more trouble]
[You and Wan Qingluan should go your separate ways now]
[But Wan Qingluan lowered her head without speaking]
[You thought to yourself - oh no, did she develop feelings?]
[Wan Qingluan suddenly looked up and said: "I'll go back to Danxia Sect with you!"]
[You were shocked: "Whoa there, already meeting the parents?"]
[Wan Qingluan shook her head: "No parents, I have no family."]
[You thought for a moment: "What a coincidence, I don't have parents either."]
[Wan Qingluan: "You have no parents?"]
[You: "You have no family?"]
[Wan Qingluan: "You have no parents!"]
[You: "You have no family!"]
[After this orphan banter, you both decided to return to Danxia Sect together]
[Wan Qingluan really wanted to ask how you knew so much about her cultivation technique]
[But knowing you wouldn't tell, she didn't bother asking]
[You walked out of the room]
[Wan Qingluan obediently followed behind, holding onto your sleeve]
[Bai Chen's room was still empty]
[You waited outside the inn]
[You knew Bai Chen would return eventually]
[After fifteen minutes, Bai Chen appeared]
[Bai Chen looked terrible - pale face, heavy dark circles, unsteady steps]
[Each step made his legs tremble three times]
[For a martial artist to be this wrecked after one night spoke volumes about the intensity]
["Senior brother, let's go." Bai Chen forced a smile with pale lips]
[You sighed helplessly: "Were you trying to get your money's worth?"]
[Bai Chen weakly chuckled: "Didn't lose too much."]
[You lightly kicked him to the ground: "Your body is drained dry and you call this 'not too much'?"]
["As long as the money loss wasn't too much." Bai Chen smiled contentedly]
["Fine fine, at least you got something out of it, good for you!" You were impressed]
[There was no way Bai Chen could walk in this state]
[You had no choice but to buy three fast horses]
[Sometimes you wondered if you were too nice to Bai Chen]
[The three of you rode toward Danxia Sect]
[After riding all day]
[That night you stopped at a small town]
[In the room, Wan Qingluan called you over from the bed]
["What is it?" you asked]
[She beckoned you again]
[You walked over curiously]
[Wan Qingluan smiled faintly and opened her outer robe]
["Oh? Lady benefactor, is this appropriate?" you said while already taking off your pants]
[Wan Qingluan pulled out a martial arts manual from inside her robe and handed it to you]
["Oh, giving me something. My mistake."]
[You pulled your pants back up from your ankles and tied them with a bow]
[Taking the manual: "What's this?"]
["A sect-class movement technique - Treading Heaven Steps!" Wan Qingluan said]
[You flipped through it: "For me?"]
["Thank you for taking care of me these two days. What's your name?"]
[You answered: "I never change my name - Zhao Tie... uh... He Yu."]
[You almost slipped up]
["I'm Wan Qingluan."]
["I know, Extermination Sect's saintess, with a mole on your right butt cheek."]
[Wan Qingluan: "?"]
["Just guessing. Don't tell me it's true?"]
[Wan Qingluan gave you a meaningful look: "You really know me well."]
["Just doing my job."]
[Wan Qingluan stood up: "I'm returning to Dragon Gate Inn."]
["Not coming to Danxia Sect?" you asked surprised]
["No." She walked toward the door]
["Why?" You immediately realized it was a stupid question]
[Since when did an Extermination Sect member need reasons?]
[Whimsical decisions were Wan Qingluan's style]
[At the door, Wan Qingluan smiled faintly: "I'll be in a bad mood tomorrow."]
[Then she disappeared into the night]
[Like a bird that could never be caged]
["Bad mood?"]
[You remembered - after tonight would be Wan Qingluan's Hate personality]
["Did she leave to spare me from seeing her unpleasant side?"]
[The more you thought about it, the more it made sense]
["She's doomed - she's fallen in love."]
["I'm doomed too - she's latched onto me." You grimaced]
[The next day]
[No more leisurely travel - you and Bai Chen rode day and night]
[You wanted to return to Danxia Sect quickly to study the Earth Source]
[And ask Xie Huide about that mysterious state during pill refining]
[Plus there was juicy gossip you and Bai Chen were dying to know]
[What ultimately happened between Xie Huide, Hu Zhongxuan and their junior martial sister]
[After three days and nights of hard riding]
[You finally returned to Danxia Sect]
[Back where it all began]
[Bai Chen immediately went to Spring Blossom Pavilion to see his old flame]
[You went to Xie Huide's courtyard]
[But found Xie Huide and other elders hadn't returned]
[Only ordinary disciples were back]
[You learned the sect leader and elders were summoned somewhere for 2-3 months]
[So you returned to your own courtyard]
[You began studying the Earth Source]
[Focusing your consciousness into the simulation space]
[You carefully sensed the Earth Source]
[Your consciousness licked and probed its surface]
[Like examining an amber giraffe]
[After five days of this]
[You gained nothing]
[To you, it was just an ordinary white mist]
["Do I really need to reach Grandmaster level to understand it?"]
[Unwilling to give up, you tried three more days]
[Finally admitting defeat]
["My apologies for bothering you."]
[You realized you'd overestimated yourself]
[Giving up on the Earth Source for now]
[You turned to cultivation]
[With the elders gone, you could train freely]
[No need to hide your true strength]
[You took out the Treading Heaven Steps manual]
["A sect-class movement technique!"]
[You'd coveted this for so long]
[Too bad Danxia Sect focused on pills, not martial arts]
[So they lacked such treasures]
[Your martial talent was now considerable]
[Even among the Five Great Sects and Three Demon Cults]
[You might not be top disciple material, but were definitely second-tier]
[So learning Treading Heaven Steps wasn't too difficult]
[You began practicing immediately]
[Two months later]
[Year 13]
[Wind swirled fallen leaves in your courtyard]
[Humming—]
[Your feet seemed to find invisible support]
[Hands behind your back, you stood perfectly straight in midair]
[You maintained this for four breaths before slowly descending]
[Landing excitedly: "So this is what flying feels like!"]