[As long as it's not the Fear personality, Wan Qingluan won't cause any more trouble]

[You and Wan Qingluan should go your separate ways now]

[But Wan Qingluan lowered her head without speaking]

[You thought to yourself - oh no, did she develop feelings?]

[Wan Qingluan suddenly looked up and said: "I'll go back to Danxia Sect with you!"]

[You were shocked: "Whoa there, already meeting the parents?"]

[Wan Qingluan shook her head: "No parents, I have no family."]

[You thought for a moment: "What a coincidence, I don't have parents either."]

[Wan Qingluan: "You have no parents?"]

[You: "You have no family?"]

[Wan Qingluan: "You have no parents!"]

[You: "You have no family!"]

[After this orphan banter, you both decided to return to Danxia Sect together]

[Wan Qingluan really wanted to ask how you knew so much about her cultivation technique]

[But knowing you wouldn't tell, she didn't bother asking]

[You walked out of the room]

[Wan Qingluan obediently followed behind, holding onto your sleeve]

[Bai Chen's room was still empty]

[You waited outside the inn]

[You knew Bai Chen would return eventually]

[After fifteen minutes, Bai Chen appeared]

[Bai Chen looked terrible - pale face, heavy dark circles, unsteady steps]

[Each step made his legs tremble three times]

[For a martial artist to be this wrecked after one night spoke volumes about the intensity]

["Senior brother, let's go." Bai Chen forced a smile with pale lips]

[You sighed helplessly: "Were you trying to get your money's worth?"]

[Bai Chen weakly chuckled: "Didn't lose too much."]

[You lightly kicked him to the ground: "Your body is drained dry and you call this 'not too much'?"]

["As long as the money loss wasn't too much." Bai Chen smiled contentedly]

["Fine fine, at least you got something out of it, good for you!" You were impressed]

[There was no way Bai Chen could walk in this state]

[You had no choice but to buy three fast horses]

[Sometimes you wondered if you were too nice to Bai Chen]

[The three of you rode toward Danxia Sect]

[After riding all day]

[That night you stopped at a small town]

[In the room, Wan Qingluan called you over from the bed]

["What is it?" you asked]

[She beckoned you again]

[You walked over curiously]

[Wan Qingluan smiled faintly and opened her outer robe]

["Oh? Lady benefactor, is this appropriate?" you said while already taking off your pants]

[Wan Qingluan pulled out a martial arts manual from inside her robe and handed it to you]

["Oh, giving me something. My mistake."]

[You pulled your pants back up from your ankles and tied them with a bow]

[Taking the manual: "What's this?"]

["A sect-class movement technique - Treading Heaven Steps!" Wan Qingluan said]

[You flipped through it: "For me?"]

["Thank you for taking care of me these two days. What's your name?"]

[You answered: "I never change my name - Zhao Tie... uh... He Yu."]

[You almost slipped up]

["I'm Wan Qingluan."]

["I know, Extermination Sect's saintess, with a mole on your right butt cheek."]

[Wan Qingluan: "?"]

["Just guessing. Don't tell me it's true?"]

[Wan Qingluan gave you a meaningful look: "You really know me well."]

["Just doing my job."]

[Wan Qingluan stood up: "I'm returning to Dragon Gate Inn."]

["Not coming to Danxia Sect?" you asked surprised]

["No." She walked toward the door]

["Why?" You immediately realized it was a stupid question]

[Since when did an Extermination Sect member need reasons?]

[Whimsical decisions were Wan Qingluan's style]

[At the door, Wan Qingluan smiled faintly: "I'll be in a bad mood tomorrow."]

[Then she disappeared into the night]

[Like a bird that could never be caged]

["Bad mood?"]

[You remembered - after tonight would be Wan Qingluan's Hate personality]

["Did she leave to spare me from seeing her unpleasant side?"]

[The more you thought about it, the more it made sense]

["She's doomed - she's fallen in love."]

["I'm doomed too - she's latched onto me." You grimaced]

[The next day]

[No more leisurely travel - you and Bai Chen rode day and night]

[You wanted to return to Danxia Sect quickly to study the Earth Source]

[And ask Xie Huide about that mysterious state during pill refining]

[Plus there was juicy gossip you and Bai Chen were dying to know]

[What ultimately happened between Xie Huide, Hu Zhongxuan and their junior martial sister]

[After three days and nights of hard riding]

[You finally returned to Danxia Sect]

[Back where it all began]

[Bai Chen immediately went to Spring Blossom Pavilion to see his old flame]

[You went to Xie Huide's courtyard]

[But found Xie Huide and other elders hadn't returned]

[Only ordinary disciples were back]

[You learned the sect leader and elders were summoned somewhere for 2-3 months]

[So you returned to your own courtyard]

[You began studying the Earth Source]

[Focusing your consciousness into the simulation space]

[You carefully sensed the Earth Source]

[Your consciousness licked and probed its surface]

[Like examining an amber giraffe]

[After five days of this]

[You gained nothing]

[To you, it was just an ordinary white mist]

["Do I really need to reach Grandmaster level to understand it?"]

[Unwilling to give up, you tried three more days]

[Finally admitting defeat]

["My apologies for bothering you."]

[You realized you'd overestimated yourself]

[Giving up on the Earth Source for now]

[You turned to cultivation]

[With the elders gone, you could train freely]

[No need to hide your true strength]

[You took out the Treading Heaven Steps manual]

["A sect-class movement technique!"]

[You'd coveted this for so long]

[Too bad Danxia Sect focused on pills, not martial arts]

[So they lacked such treasures]

[Your martial talent was now considerable]

[Even among the Five Great Sects and Three Demon Cults]

[You might not be top disciple material, but were definitely second-tier]

[So learning Treading Heaven Steps wasn't too difficult]

[You began practicing immediately]

[Two months later]

[Year 13]

[Wind swirled fallen leaves in your courtyard]

[Humming—]

[Your feet seemed to find invisible support]

[Hands behind your back, you stood perfectly straight in midair]

[You maintained this for four breaths before slowly descending]

[Landing excitedly: "So this is what flying feels like!"]