The Saint Son’s Hidden Motive

Xia Niansheng’s expression remained serene, his eyes still fathomless and dark.

Given his understanding of Qiu Yan, coupled with Duan Xi Shen’s sudden summons, Xia Niansheng could easily surmise the reason for this unexpected meeting.

It came as no surprise.

Duan Xi Shen’s eyes narrowed, her gaze seemingly freezing the very air between them.

“Master, is this about…?” Xia Niansheng blinked, not directly answering Duan Xi Shen’s unspoken question, but instead preparing to pose one of his own.

“Xia Niansheng.” Duan Xi Shen merely repeated his name, her tone flat.

Each word was delivered with deliberate weight, resounding with an undeniable authority.

Xia Niansheng recognized that Duan Xi Shen was genuinely enraged.

There was no room for evasion, no chance for a jest or a casual deflection.

“…It means I wish to become a Saint Son, I suppose.”

After a moment of contemplation, Xia Niansheng confessed.

By conventional logic, Xia Niansheng’s actions could hardly be considered a betrayal of Duan Xi Shen.

After all, any disciple with sufficient strength and reputation to command respect was eligible to become a Saint Son within the sect.

Moreover, he was a direct disciple of an Elder.

Becoming a Saint Son merely meant gaining a title, with his master remaining his master, while he would acquire more resources for his cultivation.

He would bear the responsibilities of the sect and establish a direct subordinate relationship with the Sect Master.

It sounded perfectly reasonable; had his master been any other Elder instead of Duan Xi Shen, they might even have felt proud to see such ambition in their direct disciple.

However, his master was Duan Xi Shen, and the Sect Master was Qiu Yan.

The two had always been at odds.

Possessiveness was not exclusive to Qiu Yan.

As Xia Niansheng’s master, Duan Xi Shen had been consumed by fury the moment she learned of this news.

Becoming a Saint Son… it meant that Xia Niansheng, her own disciple, would have to obey Qiu Yan and work for her.

‘What was this nonsense?’

‘That wretched harlot.’

‘She even sent someone specifically to announce this matter!’

‘Is she trying to gloat?’

‘Pah!’

‘That vile slut.’

‘It was enough that I didn’t provoke her disciple; we kept to our own affairs, but now she dares to try and seduce my disciple?’

However, the message from Qiu Yan had been vague; Duan Xi Shen only knew that Xia Niansheng had expressed his desire to become a Saint Son.

Almost immediately, she had summoned Xia Niansheng to confirm its veracity.

Before Xia Niansheng’s answer, Duan Xi Shen had harbored a flicker of hope.

Yet, his reply extinguished it completely.

Though a chill settled in her heart, it was quickly supplanted by a torrent of questions.

‘Xia Niansheng actively wants to become a Saint Son? What does he intend to do as a Saint Son? What kind of spell did that bewitching fox, Qiu Yan, cast upon him?’

Then, in the next instant, her thoughts turned to White Snow Jade, Qiu Yan’s disciple.

The very woman Xia Niansheng had saved just days prior, at the cost of a precious compound pill.

The Saintess of the Heavenly Spirit Sect.

‘Could it be… that Xia Niansheng has been enchanted by Qiu Yan’s disciple?’

Duan Xi Shen maintained her cold, unwavering stare on Xia Niansheng.

Xia Niansheng understood this as a signal for him to continue speaking.

Simultaneously, a faint sigh of relief escaped him inwardly.

‘Most likely, Qiu Yan had deliberately revealed certain details to Duan Xi Shen.

However, Duan Xi Shen surely didn’t know the even more audacious things I’d said to Qiu Yan, or her reaction would be far more severe than this.

She probably only knows that I wish to become a Saint Son.’

With that realization, Xia Niansheng offered a subtle smile in his heart.

‘It’s time for my performance once more,’ he mused.

“Master need not worry about your disciple; your disciple has his own judgment.”

Seated in her chair, Duan Xi Shen, who had been awaiting Xia Niansheng’s answer, had not anticipated such a response.

‘What does ‘having my own judgment’ even mean? This is clearly an attempt to conceal something from me.’

The irritation in Duan Xi Shen’s heart intensified abruptly, manifesting as impatience even on her face.

“Tell me, why do you wish to become a Saint Son?”

It was now an undeniable command.

Xia Niansheng’s expression flickered with hesitation.

Duan Xi Shen’s frustration mounted further.

‘If he desires to become a Saint Son because of Qiu Yan, then I absolutely cannot tolerate my disciple admiring that woman.’

‘If it’s because of White Snow Jade… Hmph.’

‘What good could come from that vile woman Qiu Yan’s disciple? Duan Xi Shen had seen White Snow Jade; that woman was not as innocent as she appeared.’

Regardless of the reason, Duan Xi Shen would not accept it.

She failed to realize, in that moment, that this degree of possessiveness had long since transcended the typical master-disciple bond, especially given that her internal definition of Xia Niansheng still fell short of ‘true disciple’.

She couldn’t dwell on such complexities for now.

The reason was unacceptable, and the outcome even more so.

She could not accept Xia Niansheng working under Qiu Yan’s command.

Her own disciple, bound to obey Qiu Yan’s every word and plan.

A few seconds later, as if succumbing to the pressure, Xia Niansheng finally spoke.

“It’s… for Master.”

Duan Xi Shen froze, taken aback.

‘For me?’

She even suspected she had misheard.

Though Xia Niansheng was unaware of the precise origins of their feud from over a decade ago, as her disciple, he certainly knew that she and Qiu Yan had always been at odds.

‘For me, you want to work under someone I despise?’

‘What kind of “for me” is that?’

Duan Xi Shen was so exasperated, she almost laughed.

“If you require any cultivation resources, your master can procure them for you. The so-called Saint Son and Saintess titles are merely nominal; there’s no need to pursue such things for…”

“It’s not for resources, nor for a title; it is purely for Master.”

Xia Niansheng, uncharacteristically, interrupted Duan Xi Shen, his eyes fixed intently upon her.

His eyes, as dark as ink, combined with those intensely lovelorn peach blossom eyes, left Duan Xi Shen stunned for a long moment.

Xia Niansheng spoke earnestly: “Only the sect’s Saint Son or Saintess is qualified to participate in the Kyushu Dragon Abyss.”

The Kyushu Dragon Abyss was a colossal secret realm located on the Kyushu Continent.

Opening only once every twenty years, it drew promising young talents from major sects across the continent to the Central Continent to partake in its mysteries.

Within it lay countless inheritances, rare spiritual herbs, magical artifacts, and techniques, too numerous to count.

Naturally, such opportunities were always accompanied by grave dangers.

Despite this, countless individuals flocked to it, knowing that a single fortuitous encounter could entirely alter their destiny.

However, not every sect was granted entry; only disciples from the most prominent sects received an invitation.

Furthermore, even for qualified sects, the number of participants allowed was strictly limited to two.

The Heavenly Spirit Sect, being one of the foremost sects in the Eastern Glaze Continent, naturally held the qualifications to send its disciples.

In previous years, the Heavenly Spirit Sect had always dispatched its Saint Son and Saintess to the Kyushu Dragon Abyss.

Duan Xi Shen’s brows furrowed slightly.

She had also visited the Kyushu Dragon Abyss, but…

‘What does this have to do with me?’

‘Isn’t this still about cultivation resources? Hadn’t I already said…’

Before Duan Xi Shen could speak, Xia Niansheng continued:

“Your disciple once read in an ancient text about a medicinal herb called the Immortal Blood Flower. The text recorded that this herb, when combined with the essence blood of a Blood Spirit Physique, could be refined into a pill capable of curing the incurable affliction known as the bloodlust disease.

This flower, it is rumored, has only ever appeared within the Kyushu Dragon Abyss.”

After delivering this lengthy explanation, Xia Niansheng lowered his head, lost in thought.

Upon hearing his words, Duan Xi Shen seemed to forget how to breathe, remaining in profound silence for a very, very long time.