Chương 328: Chapter 327: The Best Junior Brother in the World!

With Senior Sister still in seclusion, Ye Chen strolled through the Green Cloud Sect alongside the old sect master. Looking at Sword Peak, still in disarray from his last tribulation, Ye Chen suddenly remembered he hadn't repaired it yet. He made a mental note to invite his Eldest Senior Brother to restore it to its former glory. The old sect master glanced at Ye Chen and asked, "Any news of your master?" Ye Chen shook his head. He had consulted his Protector, Elder Mo, but Mo wasn't skilled in divination.

Ye Chen planned to seek someone at the Holy Land to divine his master's whereabouts and then go find her. He couldn't possibly wait twenty years to reunite. The old sect master's expression turned wistful as he gazed at the sky.

"Don't delay. Find her as soon as you can. This world changes too quickly, and you never know what unexpected things might happen. You can't predict whether tomorrow or an accident will come first." He paused, his voice heavy with memory.

"I learned that the hard way. Back when I was in the Qi Refining stage, I went on a sect mission. It went wrong, and I got injured. I needed outside help and ended up staying in a market town. The market's master was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and his daughter, also a Qi Refining cultivator, was stronger than me. She treated my wounds, gave me pills, and even joined me to complete the mission.

"I was weak back then, with nothing to offer. She carried the burden, helping me finish the task. In the end, we barely succeeded, but she was gravely injured protecting me. I had to carry her back the whole way. On that journey, she chattered endlessly, talking about so many things. But never once did she say, 'If you were stronger, more capable, maybe I wouldn't have gotten hurt.'

"Later, she told me to come back for her, to ask her father for her hand. I returned to the sect determined to grow stronger, hoping that the next time we went on a mission together, I could tell her, 'I've become strong. I won't let you get hurt again.'

"Five years later, I reached Foundation Establishment and rushed to that market town. But when I arrived, I saw her walking down the street, smiling, with a child in her arms. I asked around and learned the truth. Three years earlier, her father had been poisoned, and the market was on the brink of collapse. To save him, she agreed to marry the son of a powerful cultivator. I watched them for a few days. That man treated her well enough." The old sect master patted Ye Chen's shoulder, his voice tinged with regret.

"Do you think if I had gone to her sooner, maybe asked the Green Cloud Sect's elders to help heal her father, things might have turned out differently? So, young man, don't keep waiting and waiting. Waiting solves nothing." Ye Chen looked at the old sect master with a hint of surprise, his expression turning thoughtful. The old sect master's words undoubtedly held truth. But what puzzled Ye Chen most was whether the story was real or fabricated. It sounded genuine—the regret in his voice didn't seem feigned.

Yet, with all the talk of junior sisters, senior sisters, and masters before, and now this daughter of a Foundation Establishment market master, Ye Chen couldn't tell what was true. Was it real or not? He genuinely couldn't discern. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Still, he took the old sect master's words to heart. The cultivation world had no rule of law—only the strong prevailed. No one could predict whether an accident or tomorrow would come first.

If his master encountered a powerful foe she couldn't match, her swordsmanship, fierce and unrelenting, would drive her to fight to the death with the most ferocious assault. Ye Chen couldn't bear the thought of that happening. So, he resolved to act. Once he returned to the Holy Land, he'd ask an elder to divine his master's location, find her, and bring her back. Seeing that Ye Chen understood, the old sect master nodded with satisfaction, picked up his fishing rod, and headed off to fish.

Ye Chen felt a surge of gratitude. He briefly considered sneaking back one day to stock the pond with some impressive spiritual fish—perhaps ones with true dragon bloodline. But on second thought, he dismissed the idea. What if the old sect master got eaten by one? That would turn a kind gesture into a disaster. As he pondered whether to cultivate next, Ye Chen's brows lifted, and a smile spread across his face. With a flicker, his figure vanished, reappearing on Pill Peak, inside Yao Xi's courtyard.

A surging aura was rapidly climbing. Yao Xi had successfully formed her Golden Core, and her aura was undergoing a transformation. After about a hundred breaths, the transformation ceased. A distinctive Golden Core aura soared into the sky from Pill Peak. By the sect gate, near the Heavenly Pond, the old sect master sensed the commotion and glanced back. He didn't move, continuing to fish calmly. The youngsters hadn't seen each other in so long—he wasn't about to play third wheel.

After her breakthrough, Yao Xi didn't rush to leave seclusion. Instead, she reflected quietly, marveling that she had finally reached the Golden Core stage. But as she gazed at the eighth-grade Golden Core in her dantian, she shook her head, a mix of joy and disappointment. Her talent was, after all, too mediocre. Despite Junior Brother gifting her treasures that couldn't be bought and supreme techniques, she had still only formed an eighth-grade Golden Core. Still, it wasn't bad.

A Golden Core granted three hundred years of life. Even if Junior Brother only returned every decade or so, she could see him twenty or thirty times in her lifetime. For Yao Xi, that was enough to be content. But how she wished Junior Brother were here to share the joy of her breakthrough. As she mused, Yao Xi's brows suddenly furrowed. A presence had appeared in her seclusion chamber. The protective array hadn't been triggered, yet someone had intruded?

Her aura surged, eyes snapping open as she formed a hand seal—only to freeze when she saw the familiar, smiling face before her. Her long lashes trembled, and her clear, beautiful eyes brimmed with delight.

"Junior Brother, you're back!" Ye Chen's lips curved as he wrapped an arm around Yao Xi's slender waist.

"Yes, I'm back. Congratulations on your breakthrough, Senior Sister…" His words were cut off mid-sentence, silenced by her fervor. It was a day of double joy—her breakthrough and Ye Chen's return—and Yao Xi couldn't contain herself. In Ye Chen's mind, her earlier words echoed: "Don't talk, kiss me…" With Senior Sister so ardent, Ye Chen wasn't about to hold back. Together, they savored the enchanting beauty of the full moon.

The seclusion chamber, serene and quiet, soon resonated with the faint sound of flowing water.... At the sect gate, by the pond, the old sect master kicked over his empty fish basket in frustration, then pulled out a two-hundred-year-old turtle from his storage bag. Glancing toward Pill Peak, he muttered, "Two days, and they're still not out? Young people's stamina is something else!" Inside the seclusion chamber, Yao Xi's eyes shimmered with emotion as she gazed at Ye Chen, radiant with joy.

"Junior Brother, you've become the Holy Son of Heavenly Evolution Holy Land? They truly have an eye for talent. You're bound to become a Holy Lord one day, like the ancient emperors and immortals, your name resounding through the cultivation world…" Upon learning of Ye Chen's recent achievements, Yao Xi showed no shock or disbelief—only genuine, heartfelt joy. To her, every step Ye Chen took seemed only natural. In her heart, her Junior Brother was the best in the world. Without equal.