The Master’s Visit

The first day of the Sect Grand Competition dawned.

For ordinary disciples, the Sect Grand Competition represented the most intense and pivotal assessment of the entire year.

It was akin to a final examination from a past life, a crucial test of one’s cultivation progress over the preceding year.

Yet, as a prominent and esteemed sect, the Heavenly Spirit Sect naturally bestowed exceptionally generous rewards upon those disciples who distinguished themselves in the trials.

Within the vast arena of the sect competition, the spectator stands teemed with a surging multitude.

As the Sect Master, Qiu Yan, driven by her singular obsession with absolute control over the entire sect, was naturally present at such a momentous event.

Ordinarily, such public appearances would fall to the Saintess, White Snow Jade, for the Saint Son and Saintess were, in essence, designated as the future successors to the Sect Master.

However, only days prior, Qiu Yan had disseminated the news that White Snow Jade was currently in secluded cultivation, poised for a breakthrough, and would thus be unable to even attend the Sect Grand Competition.

Some lamented their inability to behold the ‘pure and sacred’ White Snow Jade, while others secretly exulted, anticipating a higher placement in the rankings due to her absence.

****

Whatever sentiments others harbored, Xia Niansheng remained blissfully unaware, his own mood surprisingly buoyant.

On the inaugural day of the Sect Competition, virtually every member of the sect had converged upon the grand arena.

Crucially, Qiu Yan was expected to preside over the proceedings until the day’s competitions concluded.

Given that Xia Niansheng had secured a top-ten position in the previous Sect Competition, his own matches were not scheduled for the opening day.

This presented him with a fleeting window of opportunity to seek out White Snow Jade.

Xia Niansheng was already en route to Heavenly Spirit Peak.

By his reckoning, Xia Niansheng had not laid eyes on White Snow Jade since his return to the sect.

Why, at an event as significant as the Sect Grand Competition, would Qiu Yan choose to make a personal appearance on stage, when she could have easily delegated full authority to any elder?

It was, undoubtedly, to assert her superior control over the sect.

By the same token, Xia Niansheng found it necessary to ‘exert pressure’ upon White Snow Jade periodically.

More crucially, of course, was the imperative to repeatedly ‘reinforce’ the s*ave contract.

Heavenly Spirit Peak was utterly devoid of people.

Qiu Yan was a woman who cherished solitude, and she harbored a profound distrust of others.

Consequently, she personally managed many of the sect’s affairs, only occasionally entrusting them to White Snow Jade.

Indeed, her formidable nature was undeniable; despite her profound obsession with power, which surely encroached upon her daily cultivation, her strength remained undiminished.

Her prowess, in fact, was certainly no less than Duan Xi Shen’s.

A truly enviable talent.

Her mastery of human nature, coupled with her absolute power, propelled her to the esteemed position of Sect Master.

Under her stewardship, the Heavenly Spirit Sect underwent numerous reforms, subtly positioning itself to become the foremost sect in Eastern Liu Province.

To exact vengeance upon Qiu Yan would be no simple feat; White Snow Jade represented a profoundly crucial move in his intricate scheme.

Behind the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s Grand Hall lay the private residences typically occupied by Qiu Yan and White Snow Jade.

Xia Niansheng had, in fact, frequented this very place on several occasions, yet each approach now awakened fragments of memories from his past life.

The days he had spent imprisoned by Qiu Yan.

Typically, this area remained deserted, with no guards posted to stand watch.

Employing a technique from the [Cultivation Anecdotes], Xia Niansheng subtly concealed his aura, ensuring that Qiu Yan, despite her distance at the competition grounds, would detect no trace of his presence.

Thereupon, he simply pushed open the door and stepped inside.

****

White Snow Jade had exhausted countless methods in her attempts.

From consuming potent elixirs to forcefully attempting to expel it with spiritual energy…

Nothing proved effective against the peculiar contract she had forged with Xia Niansheng.

The character ‘Xia’ etched onto her inner thigh was far more than a mere tattoo; it felt as though it had been a birthmark, present since the moment of her existence.

Though her immediate options seemed exhausted, White Snow Jade refused to surrender to fate.

The day she finally eradicated that accursed contract would undoubtedly mark Xia Niansheng’s demise.

She sensed the contract had not yet fully solidified, and harbored a potent premonition that this window of time represented her solitary, unparalleled opportunity.

While Qiu Yan presided over the Sect Grand Competition, White Snow Jade had sought refuge in Qiu Yan’s private library, meticulously poring over ancient texts, desperately hoping to uncover a method to dissolve the contract.

Yet, with each volume she consulted, a chilling despair settled deeper within her heart.

She found absolutely no mention of the bizarre contract forged between Xia Niansheng and herself.

‘Could it be that I am truly destined to be that scoundrel’s s*ave for life?’

Without warning, her mind inexplicably drifted back to that fateful day in the stone cave.

That loathsome wretch had actually forced her to consume *that* repulsive substance, compelling her to swallow every last bit…

Moreover, for the past several days, she had been perpetually afflicted by the s*ave contract, her body inexplicably exhibiting those humiliating reactions day after day…

That vile scoundrel had even boasted that such a contract possessed the power to manipulate her very senses.

The identity of the true culprit was so glaringly obvious, one could deduce it with their eyes closed.

‘That absolute scoundrel…’ White Snow Jade muttered, gripping the unread bamboo slip in her hand, her teeth grinding together at the mere thought of Xia Niansheng.

“Why does the esteemed Saintess seem so displeased?”

That insufferably smug, languid voice, the very sound White Snow Jade most loathed, echoed through the chamber, causing her to freeze in startled disbelief.

‘This is Heavenly Spirit Peak,’ she thought incredulously, ‘how could that scoundrel possibly have gained entry?’

‘Surely, it cannot be a mere hallucination…’

No sooner had this thought flickered than White Snow Jade lifted her gaze, only to find Xia Niansheng casually sprawled across the windowsill.

He regarded her with a wide, knowing grin, a smile that still held an infuriating blend of composure and that utterly contemptible smugness which made her teeth ache with pure hatred.

“How are you here?” she demanded, her voice sharp with disbelief.

‘This is Heavenly Spirit Peak, the very sanctuary where my master and I reside,’ she thought furiously. ‘How dare he intrude so brazenly?’

“I simply found myself suddenly missing the esteemed Saintess,” he drawled, his tone laced with feigned concern. “Might I inquire as to the progress of the Saintess’s recovery?”

His expression remained utterly unblemished, as though their previous encounter had never transpired, feigning genuine solicitude for her injuries.

“…Scoundrel,” White Snow Jade seethed, her grip on the bamboo slip tightening involuntarily until her knuckles blanched white.

“Might Senior Sister White be perusing some documents?” Xia Niansheng inquired, his voice dripping with false helpfulness. “Perhaps this Junior Brother could offer some assistance to Senior Sister White?”

Xia Niansheng had reverted to addressing her as ‘Senior Sister White,’ yet whether he used ‘esteemed Saintess’ or ‘Senior Sister White,’ each appellation filled White Snow Jade with an undeniable wave of revulsion.

“Get out,” she spat, her voice low and venomous. “This is no place for the likes of you.”

Xia Niansheng merely blinked, feigning innocence. “I merely wished to pay Senior Sister White a visit…”

“You scou—”

White Snow Jade’s retort was cut short.

For Xia Niansheng had already extended a hand, seizing her by the collar.

Though White Snow Jade was presently injured and in recuperation, her cultivation base remained intact.

Yet, the swiftness of Xia Niansheng’s movement, as he reached for her, had utterly eluded White Snow Jade’s perception.

Xia Niansheng leaned halfway through the window frame, his hand clutching White Snow Jade’s collar, effortlessly lifting her from the stool.

With a writing desk separating them, the resulting posture appeared undeniably awkward.

Xia Niansheng, however, paid no heed to such trivialities; in his gaze, all traces of his former flippancy and nonchalance had utterly vanished.

He frowned ever so slightly, his eyes, profound as the deepest night, fixated upon her with an unnerving, emotionless intensity.

“White Snow Jade,” he stated, his voice low and cutting, “you truly are a person prone to forgetting your place.”

Just as White Snow Jade prepared to retort, she felt an unsettling sensation emanating from the ‘Xia’ character branded upon her inner thigh.

Having experienced it before, White Snow Jade instantly recognized this as the unmistakable precursor to his activation of the so-called s*ave contract.

The power to impose any sensation upon another… it was an ability that, by any measure, bordered on the utterly illicit.

Yet, to her surprise, Xia Niansheng did not activate it.

Abruptly, he released his grip, and White Snow Jade tumbled back onto her chair.

Xia Niansheng remained at the window, his handsome features utterly flawless, yet his impassive face, coupled with eyes of glacial coldness, presented an intimidating visage.

White Snow Jade found herself, without any discernible reason, thinking of the words ‘divine being’.

“I instructed you previously,” he stated, his voice devoid of warmth, “that upon encountering your master, you are to utter: ‘Welcome, Master.’”

****