With her life spanning several centuries, Yu Yanhua had grown adept at concealing her disgust for what was sprawled beneath her.

She had long held a strong aversion towards mortal cities, and if it weren't for the majority of the Sect's Elders insisting on stationing alchemists in them, she would have gladly abstained from ever setting foot in one again. The Elders' wastefulness of precious resources had irked her greatly, but alas, it was a battle she could not fight.

To a cultivator, a city was a cesspool of negative energy and distractions, a place where the weak and ignorant were held back by their limitations. The mortals below were trapped in their own small world, consumed by their selfish desires and blind to the greater mysteries of the universe.

However, upon attaining the rank of Elder herself, she gained a deeper understanding of the reasons behind the Sect's decision to station its members in the mortal cities. It was something necessary for the existence of their Sect.

Yu Yanhua felt someone give her a warning by targeting their intent toward her. She scoffed as she glared at the extravagant palace in the center that towered over the city. Still, she hid her growing disgust to stop the aura emanating from her body and affecting the mortals.

While the Prince that protected Xuanjing City was in the Nascent Soul Realm, he was still far weaker than her, but the monsters in the Imperial Family were not to be trifled with. There was a reason that her Sect was happy to show goodwill toward the mortals.

Yu Yanhua’s form flickered and appeared before the Jade Healing Clinic. She didn’t dawdle and entered, seeing Li Xinyue talking to a young mortal she was familiar with.

“Elder Yu!” Li Xinyue exclaimed, moving to welcome her with a deep bow.

“Little Yue,” Yu Yanhua greeted as she kept her eyes on the fidgeting mortal, “Are you still determined to waste your potential, Li Jie?”

“I have displeased you, Elder Yu!” Li Jie dropped to the floor and knelt before her.

“What a disappointment,” Yu Yanhua sneered and flicked her fingers, picking Li Jie up and throwing him out of the clinic without warning.

Li Xinyue stiffened briefly before relaxing when she saw Li Jie was unharmed. He was able to dust himself off before walking away, though he seemed more despondent than before.

“Stupid boy,” Yu Yanhua muttered, “Huang Jingyi gets his successor, but mine refuses to cultivate.”

Li Xinyue pretended she didn’t hear anything and stayed mute, waiting to be addressed, which happened soon enough.

“Little Yue, let your Master know I’m waiting for him,” Yu Yanhua instructed, letting Li Xinyue leave before showing her exasperation. She could sense that Huang Jingyi clearly knew she had arrived but was making her wait on purpose. If it was anyone else, it would have drawn her ire for their arrogance.

“Elder Yu!” Huang Jingyi greeted happily, “What brings you to my small clinic?”

“I’m sure you already know,” Yu Yanhua said drily, “Let’s talk in private.”

“Yue’er, take care of the clients that come in,” Huang Jingyi instructed his disciple, indirectly telling her that she wasn’t to follow before walking to the back of the clinic for privacy.

A few minutes later, Yu Yanhua was sipping on a cup of tea as she occasionally looked at a proud Huang Jingyi.

“How long are you going to stay silent, Sister Yanhua?” Huang Jingyi smiled, “The only plausible reason I can think of for your visit to Xuanjing City is Wei Liang.”

Yu Yanhua gently placed the cup on the table before nodding, “You’re right. It’s because of him, but it might not be for good reasons.”

Huang Jingyi frowned at the warning he heard in her tone. “What do you mean?”

“What do I mean?” Yu Yanhua leaned forward slightly and stared at him unblinkingly, “Where did you find the boy? Did you know the Meridian Evaluating Gem exploded when he touched it?”

“Exploded?” Huang Jingyi repeated in shock, “That shouldn’t be possible! I sent two low-level mortals to test him, and I could sense that his strength increased exponentially with him barely making an effort!”

“That hasn’t changed,” Yu Yanhua shook her head in shared disbelief, “I sensed that the boy’s spiritual energy increased by orders of magnitude with a few hours of cultivation. I haven’t seen anyone put so little effort and receive such great benefits.”

Huang Jingyi couldn’t hide the shock he was feeling. He knew of plenty of geniuses that excelled while being a mortal. Still, that unbelievable growth rate would always slow, not increase, after learning a cultivation technique. The few that could were no longer geniuses but children of heaven. However, if that was true, Huang Jingyi didn’t understand why the Senior that originally saved Wei Liang let him go.

“Sister Yanhua, did Wei Liang do something for you to have doubts?”

“Yes, he did,” Yu Yanhua’s words made Huang Jingyi tense, “He’s too outstanding, Huang Jingyi. Dangerously so. If the Imperial Family finds out, they will go to great lengths to kill him, and unless the Grand Elder approves, we can’t stop them.”

“That’s… not good,” Huang Jingyi thought that was the most courteous way he could put that. The Grand Elder was closer to the Imperial Family than the Sect, as typical with all the sects within the Tianxia Empire.

“Yes, I would say that is not good,” Yu Yanhua confirmed drily, “I already made plans to avoid the Grand Elder’s detection, but I need you to tell me how you found Wei Liang before I go through with it.”

Huang Jingyi didn’t hesitate to let Yu Yanhua know what Wei Liang had told him and the investigation he followed that with. He even went to where Wang Xiaoling told him she had met Wei Liang, and he let Yu Yanhua know that too.

“Hmm,” Yu Yanhua crossed her arms as she thought over what Huang Jingyi told her, “I’ll see if I can find something you missed. For some reason, that cultivator didn’t take Wei Liang with him even though he went through the effort to save him. It’s… suspicious, at the least.”

“I agree, Sister Yanhua.”

Yu Yanhua raised an eyebrow at Huang Jingyi’s passiveness and added, “Then I hope you also agree to host Wei Liang in Xuanjing City for the foreseeable future. The Grand Elder would never visit this place.”

To her surprise, Huang Jingyi didn’t happily agree. “Is there something wrong? This is the safest way to keep Wei Liang hidden.”

“Sister Yanhua, I would be happy to, but Yue’er has told me some matters that make me reluctant.”

Yu Yanhua became impatient when he didn’t continue and prodded, “And?”

“I think Wei Liang is taking to my disciple too well.”

She exhaled slowly, reminding herself that Huang Jingyi was no longer that Junior Brother that needed a firm hand teaching him. She resolved that the best way to deal with this was to ignore it completely.

“As I said, Wei Liang will return to Xuanjing City soon. I have given him a choice to stay in the Outer Court, as regulations require me to, but he won’t be able to stay for long even if he chooses the Outer Court.”

Huang Jingyi sighed and nodded in acceptance after Yu Yanhua spoke to him in a frigid tone.

“And Huang Jingyi, Li Xinyue might tie Wei Liang to the Sect if your words are true. Do not interfere with them.”

Huang Jingyi’s robes fluttered slightly when Yu Yanhua disappeared. He sighed again before taking a first sip of the tea he had made and grimaced at the lack of heat. As he cleared the table, he comforted himself that Wei Liang was still young and nothing would happen for years, if it ever did.