Following Ye Anping into the inner room, Xiao Yunluo, with a worried expression, recounted what happened yesterday morning.

… …

The dew had not yet dried, and the sun had just risen over the mountain.

Outside the Sky Cloud Peak’s three-courtyard gate, Pei Lengxue held a bamboo sword, leisurely demonstrating the first three moves of her “Shadowleaf Sword Art” to Xiao Yunluo.

“Watch closely, Yunluo.”

Swish—

“Like this first.”

Whoosh, whoosh—

“Then like this…”

Boom—

“Finally, like this!!”

Pei Lengxue lightly exhaled a white mist and then walked over to Xiao Yunluo, who had a dumbfounded look on her face, and asked gently, “Have you learned it? My senior brother taught me these first three moves.”

For Xiao Yunluo, all she saw was Pei Lengxue making a horizontal cut, a vertical strike, and an upward thrust. She didn’t see anything else.

Previously, she had studied the Profound Star Sect’s sword art under Sky Cloud Peak Elder, who not only meticulously explained and demonstrated every step but also spent several hours explaining the crucial spiritual resonance in the technique to help her understand and absorb it.

Even so, ordinary disciples might not have comprehended it, and only exceptional disciples like Xiao Yunluo, with great talent and a sharp mind, could have figured it out on their own.

However, after coming to Pei Lengxue, the complex spiritual resonance and the finer details of the sword techniques had become as simple as “like this,” “then like this,” and “finally like this.”

Xiao Yunluo asked with no confidence, “Lengxue, have you shown the move?”

Pei Lengxue nodded earnestly and said, “Yes, Yunluo, I’ve demonstrated it to you fifteen times.”

In the end, to save face, Xiao Yunluo had to nod and say, “Well… I would try to train it on my own.”

“Good, if you encounter anything you don’t understand, just come and ask me. I’ll go practice over there.”

… …

At this point, Xiao Yunluo felt like she was nothing at all.

What’s this about being the Profound Star Sect’s Young Mistress? What’s with having the Heavenly Spiritual Root? In front of Pei Lengxue, she felt utterly useless.

When Ye Anping heard her talk about it, he also felt embarrassed. If Bai Yuelin had been disheartened, it would be expected, but if Xiao Yunluo was affected, that was completely unexpected.

However, it was only unexpected for Xiao Yunluo to be affected.

Ye Anping had anticipated her reason for coming.

Xiao Yunluo awkwardly squeezed her fingers and looked into Ye Anping’s eyes, saying, “Young Master Ye, Lengxue mentioned that her sword technique was taught by you, so can you teach me too?”

“Of course…”

Xiao Yunluo’s eyes lit up, but then she was doused with cold water by Ye Anping.

“No.”

Xiao Yunluo pursed her lips, as if relieved of a heavy burden but also somewhat disappointed, and let out a sigh, saying, “You’re right, I overstepped. I’ll take my leave…”

With that, Xiao Yunluo prepared to leave.

But when she stood up, Ye Anping quickly added, “Senior Sister Xiao, you’re heading in the wrong direction.”

“Wrong direction?”

“Yes,” Ye Anping nodded and said, “What you need to learn is not the sword technique. After all, you lack the ‘instinct’ of my junior sister and Feng Yudie.”

“…Instinct?” Xiao Yunluo felt a hint of confusion in her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Neither my junior sister nor Feng Yudie grew up in a beautiful garden like you. When they were young, they often entered their respective gates of death, fought with demons in the mountains, and survived countless battles.”

Xiao Yunluo felt like she understood, but at the same time, she didn’t fully grasp it and asked, “So… how should I train?”

“Follow me.”

With that, Ye Anping picked up two blunted swords from the corner of the room, led the way out of the house, and went to the backyard of the medical hall.

In the backyard, the willow trees swayed in the wind, and the fallen leaves on the ground seemed to be aware of their arrival, deliberately clearing a circular area.

Xiao Yunluo didn’t know what Ye Anping was about to do and asked, “Young Master Ye, what are we doing?”

“We’re going to spar.”

Ye Anping handed one of the blunted swords to her, then took the other and walked about ten feet away, turning to face her.

“Spar…”

Xiao Yunluo glanced at the sword in her hand, then at Ye Anping, ten feet away. After a moment of hesitation, she thought it was just a friendly bout, so she didn’t refuse and held the blunted sword in her right hand.

“Okay!”

“Then be careful not to get killed.”

“Killed?”

In the next instant, there was a loud explosion in the backyard!

Boom!

Ye Anping stepped forward with his right foot, holding the long sword flat in his hand. With an incredibly explosive force, he rushed toward Xiao Yunluo, the tip of his sword pointing straight at her neck.

This was a deadly move.

Even if the other party was a Qi Refining cultivator, when they are being struck in the neck, even with a blunted sword, would almost certainly be fatal.

However, it was also an easily evaded or blocked move. The attack was straightforward, a single thrust aimed at the center of the neck.

Whether shifting positions or parrying with her sword, as long as someone had some swordsmanship training, they could effortlessly deflect it.

Xiao Yunluo was certainly capable of doing so.

But now, in her eyes, Ye Anping appeared just like those assassins from the Seven Killers Sect who had attacked her on the Profound Star Sect’s back mountain the last time.

She could see the murderous intent in Ye Anping’s eyes, which resembled a malevolent spirit. This wasn’t just an intimidation tactic; he genuinely intended to take her life.

This was not a sparring match.

Why?

She couldn’t understand why Ye Anping wanted to kill her.

Xiao Yunluo’s pupils shrank to tiny points, her lips slightly parted, but she couldn’t utter a sound.

She could only watch as the distance between the tip of Ye Anping’s sword and her neck rapidly closed.

“Die!”

Ye Anping ruthlessly declared that Xiao Yunluo’s impending death was certain.

At this moment, even he couldn’t divert the sword in his hand. There were only two possible outcomes to what would happen next:

Either his sword would directly pierce Xiao Yunluo’s neck,

Or Xiao Yunluo would resolve it with a sidestep or her sword.

But perhaps Ye Anping had made the right bet?

Ding—

In the last instant, Xiao Yunluo shifted her sword, blocking it in front of her neck.

However, due to a slightly slower reaction, she couldn’t completely deflect Ye Anping’s thrust without injury.

The force of Ye Anping’s entire body traveled through Xiao Yunluo’s sword, then to her wrist, and throughout her body.

Xiao Yunluo was sent crashing into the nearby stone wall, leaving an indentation in it.

“Cough—”

Watching Xiao Yunluo slide down from the wall, Ye Anping casually swung his sword aside, gently exhaled, and then walked over to her, extending his hand.

“How was it? Are you used to it? If not, we can go again.”

Xiao Yunluo was dazed for quite some time before she came to her senses. She then gripped her sword tightly and thrust it at him, but Ye Anping evaded it with a twist.

“Do you want to kill me?!”

Xiao Yunluo, who had experienced life and death situations, was now furious. She glared at Ye Anping and shouted.

However, Ye Anping just sighed and said, “You didn’t die, did you?”

“You know, if I had been just a bit slower…”

Ye Anping interrupted, saying, “But in reality, you didn’t die.”

Xiao Yunluo gritted her teeth, staring at him and shouted, “What if? What if I didn’t block it? That sword just now could have taken my life in an instant!”

“There’s no ‘what if.’ I believe you can block it. After all, you’re Xiao Yunluo.”

That’s absurd.

Ye Anping didn’t actually believe in Xiao Yunluo. What he believed in was her mother, Sima Xuanji, and the protective spell Sima Xuanji had placed on her.

Back on the Profound Star Sect’s mountainside, he had been concerned that Zhuang Hu and the others might force Xiao Yunluo to reveal her protective spell and attract the attention of Sima Xuanji.

It was precisely because he knew Xiao Yunluo had a protective spell that he dared to draw his sword against her. And it was also because Xiao Yunluo didn’t know about her protective spell that she felt fear.

Ye Anping was a virtuous young man and never took chances.