The Ascendant Disciple and the Sect Master’s Musings

On the competition grounds.

The first match pitted him against a disciple under the Seventh Elder of the Seventh Peak.

Qin Yan had already met the Seventh Elder, who was adept at the art of puppetry.

Naturally, the woman standing before him, as the elder’s true disciple, shared the same mastery.

“Qin… Immortal Qin.”

Clad in a white dress, the young woman before him had a touch of baby fat on her face and appeared to be barely a meter and a half tall.

She seemed visibly uncomfortable amidst the bustling excitement of the surroundings.

Her small face flushed crimson, especially when her gaze landed on Qin Yan standing opposite her.

As a true disciple of the Seventh Elder, she naturally spent her days secluded in a secret chamber, diligently studying the art of puppetry.

Such a solitary existence, prolonged over time, inevitably fostered a certain trepidation within her.

She stammered, much like a young virgin boy who had never encountered a woman.

After all, standing before her was the current foremost ‘Immortal Lady’ of the Yanqing Sect, a figure who perfectly aligned with her aesthetic ideals.

Qin Yan possessed a tall, slender physique, eyes like sparkling stars, and a unique demeanor utterly devoid of any masculine awkwardness.

In essence, it was akin to a shut-in gamer encountering a captivating ‘hot girl’.

“Junior Sister Yang…”

Qin Yan responded, a clear look of discomfort gracing his features, for he genuinely detested being addressed as ‘Immortal Lady’.

“Then, shall we begin?”

The young woman’s voice was soft and sweet, barely above a whisper, as she retrieved her puppets from her storage ring.

For a cultivator practicing the art of puppetry, these were her primary means of attack.

Four colossal giants suddenly materialized within the arena, unmistakably the very same four giants Qin Yan had encountered previously in the secret realm.

To have constructed these in such a short span of time was truly astonishing for the Seventh Peak.

It remained unclear whether this was the young woman’s own handiwork or a gift from her master.

Such details, however, held little significance.

As the call to begin the match echoed, the four giants charged in unison towards Qin Yan, gradually forming a ‘Pin’ shaped encirclement as they advanced.

“These four giants certainly appear formidable!”

“Four against one

—is this truly the tactic of a puppet cultivator?!”

“What’s the big deal? In a battle of life and death, an enemy cares nothing for whether their methods are clean or not…”

A murmur of discussion rippled through the cultivators in the audience.

Watching the four immensely oppressive giants bear down on Qin Yan, many female cultivators found themselves inexplicably worried for him.

Yu Qingxuan observed the scene intently, yet her confidence in her junior brother remained unshaken!

At that moment, Qin Yan circulated his cultivation art.

While the art of puppetry appeared formidable, it possessed a fatal flaw: practitioners typically needed to divide their attention to control their puppets, and their close-quarters combat skills generally couldn’t compare to those of a sword cultivator.

Thus, the solution to break this deadlock was remarkably simple.

Ignoring the four giants converging around him, Qin Yan charged directly at the young woman.

“Such a fighting style is truly fierce and unyielding…”

“Hasn’t Immortal Qin always fought this way? She’s even more daring than most women!”

“So handsome!!!”

The audience seats buzzed with excitement.

However, facing the overwhelming presence of Qin Yan, Junior Sister Yang found herself in a precarious position.

With only a mid-Qi Condensation cultivation, her ability to reach the finals relied entirely on the four puppet techniques her master had taught her.

Consequently, a wave of trepidation inevitably welled up within her.

Gritting her teeth, she swiftly retreated in the opposite direction from Qin Yan, simultaneously controlling her puppets’ actions, hoping to delay his advance.

The puppet wielding an umbrella then flung it towards Qin Yan.

If the umbrella landed on Qin Yan’s head, even disregarding its original soul-capturing effect, it would at the very least be able to restrain him.

Should he be restrained for even a few breaths, Qin Yan would be overwhelmed by the encircling puppets, and then…

‘Immortal Qin’ would have no escape, becoming entirely at her mercy.

A strange fervor ignited in Junior Sister Yang’s heart at this thought.

Alas, her fantasy was a pleasant one; if Qin Yan had still been in the late Foundation Establishment stage, he might indeed have been delayed.

Yet, while the puppets moved swiftly, his actions were even swifter!

Qin Yan’s long spear suddenly extended by dozens of feet, effortlessly batting away the umbrella flying through the air.

Noticing the young woman’s figure about to flee into the distance, he abruptly pulled an object from his storage ring and flung it in her direction.

It was…

A mechanism?!

Caught off guard, the young woman found herself trapped by a Luban Lock.

She likely never imagined that the very mechanism she prided herself on would be her undoing.

The next second, a long spear landed with a thud beside her feet.

Had this been a true battlefield, the young woman’s body would have already been pierced by the spear, and the outcome of the match was now unequivocally decided!

A sudden hush fell over the audience, for the battle had concluded with astonishing swiftness and precision.

“I… I admit defeat, Immortal Qin…”

The young woman, now comprehending the situation, spoke to Qin Yan, who stood not far away.

Qin Yan merely nodded.

This battle served as a microcosm of the subsequent matches.

Qin Yan swept through the competition with an unstoppable momentum, claiming first place.

This marked the very first time a male cultivator had achieved such a feat within the Yanqing Sect!

In the audience, Yu Qingxuan’s heart swelled with exhilaration, as if the victory belonged to her.

Yet, since it was her junior brother, she felt an equal sense of shared pride.

This news would quickly spread throughout the Yanqing Sect, no, it would even reach the ears of cultivators and various sects, large and small, across the entire Qin Kingdom.

The Yanqing Sect had produced an extraordinary male cultivator

—an ‘Immortal Lady’ rarely seen in a thousand years!

Meanwhile, atop a distant, towering mountain.

Qin Nianci was engaged in a game of chess with the Yanqing Sect Master, the black and white pieces distinctly separated on the board.

“This Qin Yan… he truly is a rare sight.

Sixteen years ago, when you brought back that male infant and took him as your disciple, did you already foresee this day?”

“It was merely the benevolent virtue of Heaven; at the time, I was passing through that area and saw an infant drifting upon the river.

I simply couldn’t bear to leave him.”

Qin Nianci surveyed the arrangement on the chessboard, then captured several of the Sect Master’s pieces.

“While Qin Yan’s cultivation is certainly passable, does he not lack a certain… masculine demeanor?

If he were to ever seek a wife’s family, I fear it would cause an uproar.”

“This child’s temperament truly differs from that of ordinary men, and perhaps that is due to my inadequate guidance.

After all, as a woman, I genuinely wouldn’t know how to properly instruct a man on how he ought to be.”

Qin Nianci lifted her gaze, meeting the Sect Master’s eyes.

“You protect him so fiercely, Nianci?”

The Sect Master’s tone held a hint of surprise.

“He is my disciple, after all.

The child has no kin, no relations; if I don’t protect him, then who will?”

Qin Nianci replied, a faint smile gracing her lips.