Who makes me the eldest sister?

Just as Lu Yunling knocked and entered, she immediately spotted Tao Lingling kneeling on the floor.

The two froze, staring at each other in shock.

Only Tang Qiaohuan sighed dramatically, her eyes openly dripping with mockery.

Lu Yunling ignored her irritation and walked straight to Gong Ning.

“Senior Gong Ning, disciple returns your token.”

Gong Ning looked at Lu Yunling, then couldn’t help but glance at her own disciple.

Just look at her—how respectful, how full of reverence and deference.

Her movements were crisp, decisive.

Not like her, always clinging and tugging without restraint.

“Lingling, stop kneeling. Come over and discuss.”

“Okay!”

Tao Lingling stood up, showing not a trace of remorse, and plopped down right beside Gong Ning with a radiant smile.

Helpless.

Gong Ning believed in one saying: ‘You can never wake someone who is pretending to sleep.’

When someone insists on walking the wrong path and refuses to repent, no amount of reasoning will help.

Only when they hit a wall will they truly feel the pain.

There was another similar saying: ‘Respect others’ destinies.’

Fine. Let it wear off with time.

If she cut things off abruptly, it might wound the girl and ruin her future.

Besides, what young heart could endure endless unrequited devotion?

If she never responded, Tao Lingling would probably grow tired of it soon enough.

She couldn’t possibly keep clinging forever, could she?

Gong Ning shook her head and pulled out the commission document.

“Have you all read this?”

Lu Yunling nodded. “Nowadays, cultivation is highly valued across the land, so many wish to send their children to sects.

The Central Land, being prosperous and blessed with talented individuals, naturally attracts many.”

Sharp. She could see through to the core.

“This is also the goal of the Xuan Yuan Sect.

Months ago, they attacked our Xuantian Sword Sect’s training disciples.

That large-scale assault drew the Governance Institute’s attention, and half a month ago, their objective was confirmed.”

“Brutal and ruthless, harming innocent disciples—such despicable methods reveal their dark hearts. It’s utterly despicable.”

As Lu Yunling spoke, Gong Ning sensed an aura of quiet authority about her—where had that come from?

Gong Ning continued, “But that’s not our concern for now.

Our main task is to investigate the various unaffiliated cultivators entering and leaving the Central Land.”

Since the founding of Great Yan and the implementation of the Involvement System, the barrier to cultivation had drastically lowered.

Even those with poor aptitude could obtain the simplest, most basic techniques with a little effort.

These were the unaffiliated cultivators—*san cultivators*.

There were countless such cultivators in this era, yet the Governance Institute did not officially register them.

Unaffiliated and unaffiliated with any sect, their character was hard to assess.

And if they committed crimes, the Governance Institute would be held responsible.

A deeper reason was that unaffiliated cultivators couldn’t provide the state of Great Yan with stable, effective benefits.

They did contribute, but far less than the steady exchange between sects.

The imperial treasury had limited funds.

Allocating silver to sects was already a significant expense.

And those sects had already screened for promising talents—why should unaffiliated cultivators get priority?

Every era had its struggles.

In this transitional period of a new age, unaffiliated cultivators occupied that awkward middle ground—better than nothing, yet falling short of true recognition.

Only Lu Yunling and Tang Qiaohuan knew that, years later, unaffiliated cultivators would finally shine—though it would be through war.

This commission wasn’t difficult, but it wasn’t easy either.

It was pure grunt work.

Investigation tasks usually failed without clever thinking.

Most cultivators avoided such tedious assignments, which was why it had ended up with Tao Lingling.

Tao Lingling said, “But this is too exhausting.

The Central Land is so vast—checking every person one by one would take forever.”

“It’s not that complicated.”

Tang Qiaohuan snapped her fingers, a playful smirk on her face.

“We just need to keep an eye out—any family that’s lost a child recently, any unfamiliar faces showing up, or check the local authorities for minor civilian cases not serious enough to report to the Governance Institute.

It’s easy to catch wind of things like that.”

Gong Ning was quite satisfied.

Of these three girls, only Lu Yunling was truly upright.

But none of them were fools.

This commission might not need her to step in after all—they could handle it themselves.

That was good.

It would leave her free to investigate her disciple’s family background.

“It’s getting late.

You should all rest.”

“Yes, Elder.”

“Ah, Elder, you’re kicking us out already?

Aren’t you afraid the night will be long and lonely with no one to chat with?”

Best not to engage with such remarks.

She’d lose interest and leave on her own.

Yet Tao Lingling remained seated, stubbornly clinging to her side.

Gong Ning’s brow furrowed.

To act so intimately in front of others—she was growing bolder by the day.

“What? You’re still not leaving?”

“Disciple has some questions about the cultivation technique and hopes Master can enlighten me…”

Still doesn’t understand?

Gong Ning glanced at the System.

If she couldn’t see the data herself, she might have actually believed this nonsense.

She used to think the System was unreliable—her disciple kept asking questions, yet the System couldn’t pinpoint her flaws.

Now she realized—the unreliable one was *her*.

Just as Gong Ning was about to speak, Tang Qiaohuan suddenly said, “Oh? Senior Sister Lingling, are you hoping to spend the night with Elder Gong Ning?

So the rumors in *Waste Immortal* really *are* true…”

At those words, Gong Ning’s face paled slightly—though given her naturally fair complexion, it was hard to notice.

Regardless of whether master-disciple romance was right or wrong, there was no precedent in this era.

Rumors alone could spark endless gossip.

And now she’d brought up that *Waste Immortal*…

Because of that novel, people in the sect had already been whispering behind her back, some even openly discussing it.

Even when Gong Ning heard it in lectures, she hadn’t taken it seriously—just smiled it off, joked with her disciples, and moved on.

She’d believed the innocent would naturally be cleared.

But now, with suspicion already in the air, if things turned real—how disastrous would that be?

How could Tang Qiaohuan say such things so casually?

If Gong Ning weren’t from Xuantian Sword Sect, or if Tang Qiaohuan weren’t the Sect Master’s daughter, she might have already considered whether this girl was too dangerous to keep around.

Lu Yunling sighed inwardly.

After the arena battle, she finally understood her junior sister.

That demoness who turned deadly when enraged—was, in truth, just a girl desperate for her Master’s affection.

Without hatred, she wouldn’t have gone that far.

She and her Master had spent so little time together.

When her Master treated her best, she couldn’t see her own heart, lost in hatred.

When she finally looked back, she was already drowning in regret.

In the end, she died without ever speaking her true feelings.

Now, reborn into this life, she probably wanted to savor every second with her Master—refusing to let even a moment slip away.

But to be so openly clingy from the start?

That was something her current Master simply couldn’t accept.

Who else but the senior sister could step in?

“Junior sister, come stay with me tonight.

Coincidentally, I have some cultivation matters to discuss with you.”

“Eh?”

Before Tao Lingling could react, Lu Yunling took a swift step forward and pulled her away.