Clouds and Glow

Regardless of rank, an Immortal Artifact has transcended the mundane world and birthed its own consciousness.

And Yunlai Xia was the artifact spirit of this silver spear.

While she appeared as a tiny, cute, and rather “suspiciously small” little thing, she was in fact a High-grade Immortal Artifact.

Furthermore, being a spear-type weapon—crowned as the “King of a Hundred Weapons”—she possessed enough divine might to crush any cultivator below the Immortal Realm, including those in the Tribulation Transcendence stage, even without a master to wield her.

As a High-grade Immortal Artifact, Yunlai Xia’s origins were naturally prestigious.

Xu Jinghuai had obtained this silver spear through a stroke of “ill-fated luck” many years ago. On that fateful night, she merged with him, eventually becoming his life-bound weapon.

In the aftermath, Xu Jinghuai had suffered quite the headache. He had actually wanted to refine a defensive-type artifact as his life-bound weapon to gain an extra trump card for survival.

After all, his compatibility with Yunlai Xia was abysmal.

Xu Jinghuai specialized in spells and incantations; he had almost zero experience with cold weapons, leading to a complete lack of proficiency in any martial art. Unfortunately, a person only gets one chance in a lifetime to choose a life-bound weapon.

Xu Jinghuai had eventually accepted his fate and tried to learn some spear techniques, but the results were negligible.

Since falling into Xu Jinghuai’s hands, Yunlai Xia had been gathering dust, rarely seeing the light of day. It was no wonder she was so rambunctious now.

However, don’t be fooled by her talk of “going out to play.” Xu Jinghuai knew her temperament well; in her vocabulary, “playing” didn’t mean a child’s game—it meant a real battle with real blood and real killing.

To this, Xu Jinghuai simply said airily, “Fine, fine. There will be opportunities for you to play in the future, but now is not the time.”

“Mean Master, you say that every time! I don’t believe you anymore!”

Yunlai Xia turned her small face away, pouting and refusing to look at him.

Xu Jinghuai leaned back on the bed and continued nonchalantly, “To tell you the truth, I’ve recently taken a disciple. You know how cultivation goes; traveling for experience is inevitable. Given my personality, it’s impossible for me to follow her around, but I can’t exactly ignore her safety either. My disciple will need certain magical treasures for protection.”

“Yunlai Xia, what do you think those ‘certain magical treasures’ I’m referring to might be?”

Gulp—

Yunlai Xia swallowed hard, her pink lips pressed tight.

Indeed, Xu Jinghuai’s proposal made her heart race. She knew that by following her “salted fish” master, she’d never leave Youyun Peak in her life. Но if she followed his disciple, things would be different.

Descending the mountain for experience, exploring secret realms, slaying demons, touring Immortal Eater Town…

No matter which one it was, it made her feel incredibly “Waku Waku”!

‘Oh no, just thinking about it makes me feel like I’m going to have a nosebleed, hee hee hee…’

Her small body trembled slightly. Only after a long while did she regain her composure and ask, “Are you serious?”

The corners of Xu Jinghuai’s lips curled up. “No rush. Follow me later to see her, and it won’t be too late to decide then.”

“Deal!”

The Pavilion.

At the dining table, Xia Jin stared at the silver-haired loli sitting opposite her, who was currently shoveling rice into her mouth like a maniac. Xia Jin’s face was a mask of pure confusion: 0v0?

Xia Jin turned toward Xu Jinghuai and pointed at the loli. “Um, Shizun… who is she?”

Before Xu Jinghuai could answer, Yunlai Xia slammed her bowl down with a thud, jumped onto her stool, put her hands on her hips, and announced loudly:

“I am the first seat of the Seven Rainbow Divine Spears, the High-grade Immortal Artifact Spirit, Yunlai Xia!”

“Little sprout, your performance has successfully earned my recognition!”

“Become my devotee!”

“Offer me delicacies like this every day, and I shall protect you, allowing you to stand undefeated!”

Xia Jin: “…”

Although Yunlai Xia was trying her hardest to show her majestic side, even standing on the stool, she was only a head taller than the seated Xia Jin.

Moreover, the rice grain stuck to the corner of her mouth made it impossible to associate her with the word “majestic.” Her arrogant little expression actually made her look incredibly punchable.

Seriously, where did this bratty loli come from?!

Xu Jinghuai rose calmly and walked over to Yunlai Xia.

The spear spirit didn’t realize what he was doing and excitedly held up her bowl. “Master, you’ve truly recruited a good disciple! This fish soup is delicious! You should try some too…”

In her excitement, she failed to notice the throbbing vein on Xu Jinghuai’s forehead.

Before she could finish, Xu Jinghuai’s hand clamped down on her head.

An irresistible force caused her to twist around stiffly.

Xu Jinghuai leaned down, bringing his face close to her ear. He narrowed his eyes and said with a “kind” smile, “The fish soup is good, isn’t it, Yunlai Xia~?”

The immense pressure on her head made her swallow hard.

Xu Jinghuai continued in a whisper that only the two of them could hear:

“Wanting my disciple to be your devotee, eh~?”

“Standing undefeated, eh~?”

“Haven't been out for a few hundred years and now you think you’re hot stuff, eh~?”

Fine beads of sweat instantly broke out on her forehead. Her survival instincts kicked in, and she shook her head repeatedly. No matter how slow she was, she realized her master was “a little bit” dissatisfied with her behavior.

She whispered weakly, “M-Master… I didn’t mean it like that… I was wrong, I was wrong, please don’t hit me, okay? QAQ…”

“I’ll give you some face in front of Xia Jin and won’t hit you, since I might let you follow her later. Но don’t forget why we’re here.”

“Don’t drag me down when you’re making a fool of yourself!”

Xu Jinghuai released her and returned to his seat as if nothing had happened.

Yunlai Xia, however, became instantly obedient. She transformed from a rowdy, bratty loli into a “static beauty” in an instant. Such a heaven-and-earth change happened just because Xu Jinghuai whispered a few words to her for a few minutes.

In Xia Jin’s eyes, it was pure magic.

Recalling what the girl had said earlier, Xia Jin asked curiously, “Shizun, that little sister called you ‘Master’ just now. Is she…?”

Xu Jinghuai glanced at Yunlai Xia and said casually, “Oh, don’t mind her. She’s a dog I raise, which is why she calls me Master.”

“Right, Xia~?”

Yunlai Xia: ???

‘You’re the dog!’

This kind of personal insult was more than she could bear. She wanted to stand up and re-declare her identity, but then she saw a cluster of pink electricity dancing on her thigh beneath the table.

It felt as if the moment she stood up, she would be getting “up close and personal” with that lightning.

Yunlai Xia: “…”

‘You’re bullying your spear too much!’

She didn’t dare talk back. Feeling utterly aggrieved, she turned her sorrow into appetite and shoveled down another big bowl of rice.

Her silence was taken as confirmation. Xia Jin, who knew nothing of the immortal world, asked a naive question: “But Shizun, how can a dog have a human form and speak human words?”

“Because she’s become a spirit.”

Using this as an opportunity, Xu Jinghuai began to educate the “white paper” that was Xia Jin. “The spiritual energy in the Cangnan Realm is dense; many animals in this world have become spirits. In the future, you’ll encounter more animals that speak, and you might even meet transformed demon beasts.”

“Transformed demon beasts are easy to distinguish. Those who haven’t reached the Immortal Realm usually retain part of their original traits, like tails, ears, or eyes. Most of these transformed beasts are not to be trifled with. So, don’t look at the little brat Yunlai Xia across from you; she’s actually very strong. At the very least, no cultivator in the Mortal Realm can defeat her.”

Xia Jin gasped and covered her mouth in surprise. She hadn’t expected this little sister, who looked much younger than her, to be so powerful.

Hearing Xu Jinghuai mention her—and even throw a few compliments her way—Yunlai Xia’s “tail” instinctively perked up. she tilted her head back with a punchable “That’s right, I’m super strong” expression.

Xu Jinghuai moved on to serious business. “If there are opportunities to descend the mountain for training in the future, I will have her follow you. You only need to remember to avoid the demon beasts I mentioned.”

“Mhm, mhm, Jin’er understands.” Xia Jin nodded obediently.