Long Yu abruptly turned his head, his eyes wide with shock. "You hit Bai Ya Tou???"
Xuan Qinghong lowered his gaze, recalling Bai Ran's stubborn, unyielding demeanor. A hint of helplessness appeared on his face. "Yes."
"I can't just watch such a good child be consumed by hatred and go down the wrong path."
Long Yu looked at the person beside him, shaking his head. "Bai Ya Tou isn't as tough as us. She's a girl..."
"Even if she's a woman, she shouldn't be indulged. Without rules, nothing can be accomplished. Moreover—"
Xuan Qinghong paused, a smile curling the corners of his lips. "She's not just any woman, how can she be judged by ordinary standards?"
Upon hearing this, Long Yu sighed deeply. Junior Brother Qinghong's personality was truly just like their master's...
However, what he said wasn't entirely unreasonable. Bai Ya Tou wasn't like ordinary girls confined to the boudoir. She wasn't petty and wouldn't hold grudges.
To call her a woman was to say her temperament was more like a man's. She was free and open, unrestrained yet with a sense of measure.
Junior Brother Qinghong's method might not work on other girls, but it would definitely work on Bai Ya Tou.
Long Yu lowered his gaze, chuckling softly. "My vision was too limited—"
...
"Use all your strength. This is an order."
In the courtyard, Zhong Zi and Dong Ling exchanged glances. They clenched their fists and charged towards the person before them.
"Bang—" Bai Ran met the attack with all her might, but her feet involuntarily retreated.
"Again!" With a command, the two-on-one battle officially began.
This courtyard included a cultivation room, an alchemy room, and a training ground. It was specially built for Bai Ran by Jing Feng.
Outside the courtyard, Long Jinhan had set up a soundproof barrier and ordered that no one was to disturb them.
From now on, Bai Ran would spend her time in this courtyard, constantly teetering on the edge of life and death, squeezing out every last drop of spiritual energy from her bone marrow to break through impossible limits.
Zhong Zi flashed behind Bai Ran and ruthlessly attacked her back.
"Thump!" With a heavy spiritual energy attack, Bai Ran couldn't dodge in time and was sent flying several meters, crashing to the ground.
"Cough, cough..." She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, suppressing the sweet, metallic taste surging in her throat, and shakily stood up. "Again."
Dong Ling nodded, and once again, they joined forces to charge towards the person before them.
"Bang—" As expected, Bai Ran was hit by Dong Ling again, flying backward and slamming into the wall.
She gritted her teeth, enduring the pain. Blood trickled down her forehead, and her shoulders trembled incessantly.
Bai Ran's miserable state made Zhong Zi and Dong Ling unable to bear looking, but within the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the person before them stood up again.
"Again..."
Under the scorching sun, the slender figure was repeatedly knocked to the ground. Bones she couldn't count had been broken, and every inch of her body was wracked with agonizing pain.
However, no matter how many times she fell or how severe her injuries were, she would slowly stand up once she recovered her senses.
The spiritual energy in her body grew increasingly depleted, but Bai Ran's eyes became more resolute, giving rise to a desire called ambition.
The voice in her heart roared, urging her to become stronger. In the face of the strong, Bai Ran was powerless, just like now, which filled her with resentment.
Training during the day, recovering from injuries at night, and striving for higher alchemist levels.
Every day, her robes were soaked with blood. At night, she would return to her room, take recovery pills, and then begin refining elixirs to restore her spiritual energy.
In the beginning, Zhong Zi and Dong Ling were hesitant to use their full strength. But slowly, they realized that the princess's speed was increasing, and her endurance was growing longer.
She would be covered in blood one day, barely able to walk, and the next day she could take one more move from them, even having the energy to observe their actions.
Finally, the two gritted their teeth and used their full strength.
Time passed day by day, and the damaged streets and palaces of the Demon Realm were gradually being rebuilt.
"Sigh—" A long sigh came. Tang Yi lay on a rocking chair, sighing incessantly.
"The princess is right here in the Demon Realm, yet we can't see her—"
She had invented many novel gadgets during this period and intended to present them to the princess. However, she was told that no one was allowed to disturb the princess's cultivation.
"If you keep sighing like this, you'll get more wrinkles," Dongfang Wuji said nonchalantly, munching on a fruit as he teased Tang Yi.
"Hey! Aren't those the fruits I picked for the princess? How dare you eat them!" Tang Yi sat up, glaring at Dongfang Wuji with displeasure.
"You can't see her anyway, so it's a waste to let them sit there. Might as well let me eat them," Dongfang Wuji said casually and lazily as he ate the fruit.
"It's not just us. His Majesty can't see the princess either."
Jing Yun, whose body had already recovered, strode in, followed by Jing Feng.
Speaking of His Majesty, Jing Feng let out a chuckle. "His Majesty hovers around that courtyard all day, yet he can't see Miss Bai!"
"Hahahaha, he's practically become a stone gazing at his wife!"
Jing Feng laughed loudly, completely unaware of the meaningful glances he was receiving from behind him.
"Are you too idle?"
A familiar deep voice rang out. Jing Feng's laughter abruptly stopped, and he froze in place.
Behind him stood the very "stone gazing at his wife" that Jing Feng had been talking about—Long Jinhan.
Long Jinhan's expression was as dark as the bottom of a pot, and the temperature around him was chillingly low. "Go receive your punishment."
Jing Feng slowly turned around, his spirit deflating like a balloon. He hunched his head, not daring to even breathe. "Yes..."
Jing Yun rubbed his forehead, simply unable to watch.
...
Life between heaven and earth is like a fleeting white steed, passing by in an instant. The promised five months quietly vanished with the turning of the sun and moon.
"Bang—" A powerful surge of spiritual energy swept forward, forcing a figure to retreat.
The warm sun shone down, lifting a vibrant red dress. The woman's lips curled into a smile, her eyes filled with boundless joy.
"I won."
Zhong Zi, who had been pushed back, stopped his steps. He then also raised a smile and bowed respectfully. "Your subordinate is convinced."
Five months. During this period, this woman pushed herself to improve every single day.
From her initial inability to fight back, to now handling both of them with ease, Zhong Zi and Dong Ling had witnessed the princess's growth firsthand.
Bai Ran clenched her fist, feeling the boundless spiritual energy coursing through her meridians. Golden Immortal Realm, Stage Five.
She had leaped from Five Stages of Profound Immortal Realm all the way to Five Stages of Golden Immortal Realm. Now, her strength surpassed that of Zhong Zi and Dong Ling, officially entering the ranks of the powerful.
"Have the spirit herbs for the Three-Marked Pure Spirit Elixir been gathered?"
"Reporting to the princess, all have been gathered."
Over the past five months, Bai Ran had been in seclusion in the courtyard.
Jing Feng and the others had not been idle either. They ventured out every day, almost scouring the entirety of the Nine Heavens, before they finally managed to gather all the spirit herbs needed to refine the Three-Marked Pure Spirit Elixir.
"Han Ji, it's time to treat it."
Under the dazzling warm sun, the woman's lips curled into a smile, her aura sharp and piercing.