"What does Hua Tianshu have to do with the entrance test?" Jie Fu Lian still refused to be honest as he questioned back, sounding a bit offended.
"Jie Ming, you don't need to pretend," Yin Ru continued to tease the poor boy as she spoke, "Everybody already knows how much you look up to him. You are both around the same age and yet, he is already at the peak stage of the Core formation realm while you barely reached the half-step stage of the Core formation realm. Technically speaking, you are still at the foundation establishment realm and haven't made a breakthrough in the last couple of months."
Jie Fu Lian felt even more offended as he heard these words.
"Senior Sister Yin, are you looking down on me?" Jie Fu Lian asked but instead of waiting for an answer, he continued, "I might not be as amazing as that Hua Tianshu but I am still great in my own ways."
"Pfft-"
"Don't laugh! When I succeed in forging the Qi collecting sword, I'm sure both my cultivation and reputation would improve." Jie Fu Lian was only thirteen years old and the boy was quite prideful in nature so it was only natural that he would not let anyone tell him that somebody else was better than him.
He would be lying if he said he hadn't paid attention to Hua Tianshu, however, where others saw it as admiration, he would argue and claim that it was competition.
He and Hua Tianshu were around the same age so it was only natural that he would compare himself to the boy who had already created a reputation for himself in the cultivation world.
"And yet, in the end, you would still gift the sword to Hua Tianshu, would you not? You say that you don't idolize him but your actions are clearly telling me otherwise," Yin Ru spoke with a teasing chuckle.
Jie Fu Lian's cheeks flushed red as he heard this and he opened his mouth to say something against that, but in the end, he had no words to refute her, and hence he was forced to stay quiet.
It was definitely not Jie Fu Lian's idea. It was his father who was forcing him to gift the sword to the HuiXue sect.
He didn't know whether his father could not tell good from the bad, because anyone in their right mind would not want to give such a precious object to another simply because they wanted to create good relations and look good in the eyes of the other.
He couldn't understand why his father had made such a decision but, when he thought about how even the great Hua Tianshu would be using a sword forged by him, he couldn't help but feel his heart swell up with pride.
It certainly felt a bit good and he would be lying if he said otherwise.
"Senior Sister Yin, cultivators don't forge their own swords. Do you know why?"
"Why?" Yin Ru tilted her head as she asked, feeling a little amused by the sudden question.
"It's because they aren't good at it!"
"..."
"Forging a sword takes skill, talent, and practice. You need to be patient and you need to have a natural talent for it as well. Most cultivators do not have the talent nor do they have the time to practice improving their forging skills. That is why out of all the cultivators, the ones who can forge their own spiritual weapons are considered rare and respected by all," Jie Fu Lian spoke with a sigh.
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that in the future, I would be a rare cultivation genius who would be respected by all."
"Hmm?"
"So there is no need for me to idolize small fish like Hua Tianshu!"
Yin Ru suddenly broke out laughing as she heard the boy's confident words.
"Jie Ming, why do you keep lying to yourself?" Yin Ru asked, still laughing, "If you like him then just accept it and say that you like him. There is nothing wrong with admiring somebody. Even I admire Hua Tianshu for achieving such a feat at such a young age."
"..." Jie Fu Lian suddenly felt as if he had been talking to a stone wall all this time.
No matter how much he denied it, this woman was simply not willing to believe a word he spoke!
"Jie Ming, why are you suddenly stuffing your mouth with osmanthus cakes?" Yin Ru laughed but Jie Fu Lian still refused to give a response.
Seeing that the boy was a bit angry at her, she quickly stopped teasing him and seriously spoke, "I heard that the invitation from the HuiXue sect already arrived. Is it true?"
This time, Jie Fu Lian did give a response by nodding his head and confirming it.
"That's quite impressive. The sword hasn't even been completely made and yet, they already consider you as someone worthy enough to be invited. You might not have such a bright future like Hua Tianshu but you are certainly not too lacking either!"
"..." Jie Fu Lian pursed his lips into a thin line and displayed an unimpresed expression as he heard this
"They must really believe in your abilities. Could it be that I'm just blind to talent and can't see your radience?" Yin Ru asked with a small smile and Jie Fu Lian was no longer sure whether the woman was seriously asking such a question or just trying to tease him again.
"Senior sister Yin, I'm done." Jie Fu Lian informed as he finished eating his fill and stood up.
"Eh?"
"I'll be heading out first. I have a sword to forge and I'm sure senior sister is also a very busy person."
"I'm actually quite free today," Yin Ru beamed.
"Then I hope you enjoy today's osmanthus festival," Jie Fu Lian displayed a thin smile that was more hostile than friendly, "When I get back, I'll be sure to inform father that senior sister Yin has a lot of free time on her hands. He'll surely have a few tasks that need your urgent attention."
Yin Ru's smile dropped and although she said nothing, her expressions clearly betrayed her and let out her inner thoughts, 'This little piece of sh-'
"Have a nice day," Jie Fu Lian cupped his hands together and bowed respectfully as he took his leave.
Only when the boy had walked out of the store did Yin Ru realize something.
He hadn't paid...
She closed her eyes and clenched her fist as she pushed down her killing intent.
Compared to Jie Fu Lian, her allowance was rather modest and she had already spent most of it.
The only reason why she agreed to come here with the boy was because she thought he was paying, but it seemed that she had been fooled. Not only did the boy not pay for her, but he also dumped his own bill on her head!
She internally cried as she opened her wallet and saw the pitiful coins that could be counted with just a hand.
Jie Fu Lian, who was leisurely walking out of the city, naturally did not know how distressed his senior martial sister Yin Ru was over the food bill.
Currently, his mind was already a bit preoccupied with something else.
An year ago, two gates of the demon realm had been opened, namely the east gate and the west gate.
The West gate had been closed by the HuiXue sect while the responsibility of closing the east gate had been handed over to the Yan sect.
From the Yan sect, his father was the only one who volunteered to take on such a heavy and dangerous responsibility. Jie Fu Lian didn't want to send his father alone and since he saw it as a good learning opportunity, he joined his father and went to close the east gate of the demon realm.
The pair of father and son worked together for three days and four nights in order to completely subdue the demons that had managed to crawl through the gate.
It was the first time Jie Fu Lian had come in direct contact with a demon and hence, their natural strength and power intimidated him a bit.
In those three days and four nights, Jie Fu Lian fought as if his life deepened on it and when they had managed to subdue all the demons, most of their spiritual energy had been completely drained out. They didn't even have the energy to keep their bodies standing and Jie Fu Lian felt as if he could pass out at any moment.
However, subduing the demons was the easier part of the job. The real challenge was closing the gate itself.
Closing a gate to the demon realm was not something everybody could do, It required not only a certain level of cultivation, it also required an abundant amount of undisturbed spiritual energy.
His father was already tired after fighting for those three days and four nights, hence, it became impossible for him to close the gate.
That day, for the first time in his life, Jie Fu Lian felt helpless and feared death.
He was too prideful to run away and he knew his father would also not leave until the gate was closed.
Since the two of them did not have the power to close the gate nor had the will to run away, it was only natural to think that this was the end for them.