"If you can't win, so be it. What's the big deal?" Qin Ran said, turning to the side as Li Shiyin climbed onto his back, following his hand.
He lifted his back with his foolish disciple on it and said, "There are still many people in this world whom you can't defeat! You don't have to be the first person to dominate the world throughout history. Are you also going to turn your back on all living beings and make decisions alone for eternity?
"Even if you defeat Lu Junxing, there's still Bai Ruoxi; even if you defeat Bai Ruoxi, there's still Su Changqing. Even if you defeat your peers, there are still elders, two generations ahead, Yuan Ying stage, He Dao stage, and Mahayana stage. Even if you defeat ordinary cultivators, there are still immortals! Even if you surpass the immortals, there are still those who have survived from ancient times to the present, seeking longevity.
"There are many, many people you can't defeat."
Li Shiyin was truly comforted. Pouting, she lay on Qin Ran's back, her long limbs wrapped around his neck and waist.
"You stinky master!" she scolded.
Her foolish disciple's strong and powerful legs were wrapped around her waist, allowing her to feel the elasticity of her thigh muscles through her back. Her foolish disciple's growing chest pressed against her back, and she could feel its softness against her own back. Her foolish disciple's head rested on her shoulder, and the warmth of his breath and words grazed her neck and ears. Qin Ran resisted but also enjoyed it.
In fact, it was a struggle between "This, this isn't right!" and "In broad daylight, such intimacy between master and disciple, how improper!" and "The youthful and vibrant body of a beautiful girl is truly wonderful!" and "My foolish disciple... does seem to like me..."
"The Marvelous Fate of Immortal Trees"
They were on the stage, with many disciples paying attention to them from below. Some of those disciples vaguely felt that something was amiss. Qin Ran was not used to being watched, so he quickly stepped down from the platform. Many people had already realized what was happening.
Voices occasionally came from the crowd:
"My white-robed female sword immortal..."
"Ah, why is it like this?"
"It is said that is the master of the sword immortal. The shamelessness between master and disciple! How disgusting!"
"This world, why has it come to this... Can you treat me gently?"
Some people stared at this master-disciple pair in place due to their animosity, while others left because they couldn't bear to see their goddess committed to someone else.
Tian Wenjin was probably one of those who left without saying goodbye... Many people were dissatisfied with the assessment results and left at this point.
Qin Ran looked at Tian Wenjin's departing figure and felt somewhat complicated. This world was still too cruel to that affectionate girl.
"Why did Wenjin leave?" Li Shiyin rested her chin on Qin Ran's shoulder, watching Tian Wenjin leave. Her innocent mind didn't understand Tian Wenjin's subtle feelings towards her, so she was puzzled and disappointed. "I just helped her beat Huang Feiyu and haven't had a chance to talk to her yet!"
"Maybe she had urgent matters to attend to!" Qin Ran casually made up a reason.
"Ah, what a pity..." Li Shiyin sighed and then tilted her head to look at Qin Ran's profile, smiling cutely. "Master, let me tell you something!"
Without waiting for Qin Ran's response, she began speaking directly, "That Dong Zhongyuan's fan is actually the Geniuses Ranking! Inside, it shows the appearance of each genius when they entered the ranking! And the tenth one is me, and then... then I fought myself inside... hehe..."
Li Shiyin was lying on Qin Ran's back, chattering away about her experiences in the Geniuses Ranking. From "fighting myself" to "the powerful Lu Junxing from many years ago," from the main peak to the Pill Peak. When Qin Ran finally put her down and let her sit on the chair under the old Spirit Cassia tree, she finally stopped.
Because when she got down from Qin Ran's back and turned around, she realized that there were two other people with them.
Long Qiqi and Chasing the Wind, two pairs of eyes, were staring straight at her, listening to her chattering.
"Why are you all looking at me?" The young girl blushed and felt a little embarrassed.
"Why didn't we realize you were such a talker before?" Little girl Long Qiqi, with a mature expression on her face, asked Li Shiyin while holding her hands.
"What?" Li Shiyin pretended to be clueless, her face slightly red, avoiding Long Qiqi's gaze.
"That's enough! That's enough!" Qin Ran intervened in time, "Today's competition is over, and the assessment is considered finished. From now on, we can focus on whatever we want to do without being distracted by the assessment."
"Taking off the saddle from a tired horse..." Long Qiqi muttered, then asked, "So... when do we receive our rewards? And when do we go to knock on the Daoist door?"
"Tomorrow!" Qin Ran dragged over a chair and sat down next to Li Shiyin.
"Why not finish it today?" Long Qiqi complained, "Always dragging on..."
"If I want to finish it tomorrow instead of today, is there a problem?" Qin Ran smiled and said, "Cultivators are never short of time." "Tsk..." Long Qiqi scoffed, "What a waste of time!"
As Qin Ran was speaking, he had already taken out a book. After Long Qiqi finished his nonsense, he also prepared to go to the research building to look at the unfinished alchemy.
At this moment, Chasing the Wind suddenly spoke up, "Ah, dad! My big brother wants me to accompany him in a fight!"
"?" Qin Ran looked up at Chasing the Wind. Chasing the Wind was now two meters tall, standing there like a prehistoric monster, but at this moment, he was twisting and turning, with the same expression as a middle school student who wanted to go out and play but needed his parents' permission. Qin Ran frowned and said, "If you want to go, then go!"
"My big brother said he wants to fight a little longer today. He enjoys watching the disciples in the assessment fight, and it makes him itch..." Chasing the Wind said, "He specifically asked me to tell you."
Qin Ran became alert and asked, "You guys aren't planning to leave the sect to do something bad, are you?!"
"No... No!" Chasing the Wind quickly assured him, "I will never do anything bad."
"You can accompany your big brother to play, but you can't leave the sect without permission!" Qin Ran warned.
"I know..."
Chasing the Wind readily agreed and then ran off like a streak of smoke, like a prisoner just released from prison.
"Ah!" Qin Ran shook his head. Another person who can't be at ease.
"A spoiled boy, a cherished girl of the master..." Long Qiqi muttered to herself as she glanced at Chasing the Wind running far away, then looked at Li Shiyin. She turned and walked towards the research building, thinking, "I wonder what that guy has that makes him so special."
Qin Ran shrugged, tilting his head to look at Li Shiyin. He noticed that she was lying sideways on the chair, her big watery eyes filled with a smile.
He smiled at her and ignored her, engrossed in reading his book.
In the early summer, the old spirit pagoda tree bloomed with white pagoda flowers. Sometimes, the pagoda flowers would fall from the tree and float among the master and disciple.
The pagoda flowers carried a hint of sweetness in the air.
Li Shiyin smelled the sweetness, and her heart felt sweet too.
The bright sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves of the old spirit pagoda tree, sprinkling tiny specks of light. She lay sideways on the chair, gazing at her beloved master with great affection. A gentle breeze blew, and she floated like a dandelion, drifting and drifting, floating up into the sky, joining the stars.
She fell asleep quietly.