"But…"
"It's just a name." Ling Wuxia threw all the food left in her hands and wiped it. "As you said, when the two Wei's break through to the Spirit Realm, the Harmonization realm will belong to me, so why should I be bothered about her? Moreover, even though I may be younger than those two, I have already gained enough experience to break through to the Spirit Realm as well. This Lu Mingshu is still a newbie in the Harmonization Realm, so she still has time to polish herself. If I bother with her, won't I be putting myself on a lower level?"
Hearing Ling Wuxia, Yi Lan felt that it made sense. To go from the Harmonization Realm to the Spirit Realm, one must spend at least twelve years, and some even stayed for two more years to have a stronger foundation. Ling Wuxia was twenty-four now. She was about 90% of the way into the Harmonization Realm. At the fastest she would need three years, and if she was slow, it would be five years. On the other hand, Lu Mingshu only entered the Harmonization Realm recently. No matter what, she would need at least ten years to break into the Spirit Realm. Why bother about a Harmonization Realm disciple when you're in the Spirit Realm?
However…
"I just feel it's unfair for you! The queen of Zhongzhou used to think highly of Senior Sister, but after a while, she's over there praising Lu Mingshu continuously. She even wanted to marry…"
Yi Lan felt that the queen was quite unfair. Doesn't she know who my senior sister is? The Alioth Star Lord is nothing much; it's just a name, and he's even handicapped. This kind of person still wants to get my senior sister? Senior Sister is the best disciple in Ancient Jade Summit, and she may even be the sect master in the future. Why would she want the name of being the Alioth Star Lord's wife?
However, as soon as Yi Lan checked back, the queen of Zhongzhou already had a new candidate, which made Yi Lan feel displeased. It was as if something that belonged to her had been snatched away.
This was the evil side of humans; even if they didn't want something, they would feel upset if the attention was given to someone else.
Yi Lan had been following Ling Wuxia since she was young. She looked up to Ling Wuxia like an idol and felt the same happiness, sorrow, anger, and joy. Sometimes, Ling Wuxia had to keep quiet about things because of who she was, but Yi Lan could say anything she wanted freely.
"Didn't she reject it?" Ling Wuxia took her snow jelly tea and sipped it.
"That's why I'm angry…." Yi Lan was dying to bite somebody's head off. Who is my senior sister? She obviously has the rights to reject it, but Lu Mingshu doesn't! She thinks she's just like Sister Senior and looks down on the Alioth Star Lord too? Who is she to copy my senior sister's actions?
"So you were hoping that she would have married him?"
"Erm…" Yi Lan bit her lips. That would make her unhappy too. Even though Senior Sister successfully shoved it away, the favor that was on Senior Sister has been given to Lu Mingshu. She just makes me angry, that's all.
"You're unhappy about this and you're also unhappy about that. Will you only be happy if Lu Mingshu doesn't exist?"
"Senior Sister!" Yi Lan stomped after being teased by her senior sister.
This sent Ling Wuxia into laughter. "Haha, chill out! Don't you find it boring to be angry about this? You're nearly blowing your top while she doesn't even lose a single hair, and for what?"
"I just dislike her!" Yi Lan pouted.
As Ling Wuxia was about to reply, a crane's cry from above cut her off.
She looked up to the sky to see a child on the crane. Before he landed, he called out to Ling Wuxia. "Senior Aunt Ling, the sect master has asked to see you."
…
Ling Wuxia stepped into the Void Palace
"Senior Sister Ling, here." The young disciple politely showed Ling Wuxia her way to the discussion hall.
Upon reaching the discussion hall, she saw that many were already seated inside. The sect master of Ancient Jade Summit, Lian Chi, sat on the seat of honor. The rest of the important Elders of Ancient Jade Summit sat by the side.
"Sect Master, senior uncles and aunts." Ling Wuxia bowed.
Seeing her enter, all of them smiled proudly at her with a "This is my junior niece" type of pride.
Lian Chi looked kind. "You don't have to be polite."
After Ling Wuxia had greeted all of them, she stood up straight with hands at her side. With all the elders here, there was no seat for her.
"Today, I call you here because we heard a piece of news," Lian Chi started. "Do you know the first rank on the New Generation Ranking?"
Her again? Yi Lan just talked about her, and now I'm hearing about her again. Ling Wuxia couldn't help but feel like both of them were enemies on a narrow road.
"Lu Mingshu from Nine Jade Palace? Disciple has heard the news."
"Great that you know. She's here in Beiming to travel after the Qilin Festival."
Ling Wuxia nodded calmly. Her response made the Elders happy. My junior niece is so outstanding. No matter how much potential Lu Mingshu has, Ling Wuxia is still the best.
Lian Chi continued on. "She's here in White Heron State and has caught the Bon Voyage Fleet's eye, which means that there's a chance that they will go to Jasper Sun Mountain."
Now, Ling Wuxia had no choice but to take it seriously. If her sect master called her here, this piece of news was at least 90% confirmed.
"That means that she's going to be my opponent?"
Lian Chi nodded. "What do you think about it?"
Ling Wuxia pondered. "Even though there are many different views on her, disciple feels that one can be considered capable if they can make it into the top ten of the New Generation Ranking. Even though her rank is higher, based on the fight between her, Wei Chunqiu, and Kou Wei against the barbarians, she may not be as good as them. However, she's about as strong as Yue Lingyin, give or take."
Yue Lingyin was a bit older than Ling Wuxia. During the previous Qilin Festival, she got into the New Generation Ranking as a newbie. She became famous before Ling Wuxia, but since some of her aspects were weaker than Ling Wuxia's, she had been overtaken.
However, deep in Ling Wuxia's heart, she was aware that Yue Lingyin wasn't an easy opponent if they fought. She figured that she would win, but it wouldn't be easy.
Her attitude toward things made the elders even more pleased. Confident but not arrogant - an attitude that the best disciple of one of the top three sects should have.
Lian Chi smiled at her. "Your basics are better than hers, but the Grandmaster does not look for basics. Bear in mind that you're there to get his approval, not victories."
"Yes," Ling Wuxia answered seriously.
Having said that, Lian Chi switched topics. "What did you gain from these past few days of practice?"
Lian Chi was in the Assimilation realm. Upon hearing his question, Ling Wuxia's eyes twinkled, and she told him everything and asked a bunch of questions she had about her practice. Lian Chi answered them on the spot, and even the other Elders were paying full attention.
Nobody spoke about Lu Mingshu again. Ancient Jade Summit was a top sect, so even if Lu Mingshu was ranked first, it wasn't something they would pay attention to. It was just a Harmonization Realm disciple. To them, they had much more important things to do. After they heard Ling Wuxia's answer, they felt at ease and didn't even speak about Lu Mingshu defeating Ye Zhenyan.