527: Announcing to the World
In the cultivation world, Grand Achievement stage cultivators absolutely represented top-tier combat strength.
For a major sect like Xuanqing Sect, apart from Divine Lord Zhiming as their trump card, they previously had only three Grand Achievement stage Ancestral Elders in residence. Both Sect Leader Qingxiao and Peak Master Qingyu had broken through more recently—when and how Sect Leader Qingxiao broke through remains unknown. But Peak Master Qingyu's rapid advancement to Grand Achievement was definitely unexpected, a result of fortunate circumstances.
This illustrates that the entire cultivation world couldn't have many Grand Achievement cultivators. Counting those in the open and hidden, those of righteous and demonic paths, sect members and independent cultivators, even ancient reclusive monsters—altogether they wouldn't exceed fifty in number.
Of course, this was just an estimate. Those publicly known were even fewer—generally acknowledged Grand Achievement cultivators totaled merely ten or so.
Under these circumstances, regardless of how quickly Jiang Mo had broken through, adding another Grand Achievement combatant to the human faction was excellent news. Divine beasts were always stronger than human cultivators, a fact verified in the subsequent combat tests.
The little tiger was beaming after leveling up. When she returned to Yun Qingyue's side, her tail was practically pointing to the sky: "Ah Yue, I broke through."
Though she only said these words, her blinking eyes clearly showed she was waiting for praise.
Yun Qingyue had never disappointed the little tiger. Upon hearing this, she stroked the tiger's head and praised: "Truly impressive."
With just this simple phrase, Jiang Mo immediately beamed with joy. She took her Senior Sister's hand and promised: "When we go out tomorrow, I'll be able to protect you even better. Even if we encounter the Nine Abyss Sect Leader again, I won't fear him."
The newly breakthrough little tiger certainly wasn't as powerful as the Nine Abyss Sect Leader, but previously, separated by a major realm, there wasn't even a possibility of fighting. Now with the gap narrowed to just a minor realm difference, anything could be attempted—facing a higher-level opponent wouldn't be so difficult. However, considering the Nine Abyss Sect Leader's intention to defect from darkness to light, whether they would fight upon meeting again remained uncertain.
Yun Qingyue could sense the little tiger's eagerness; her intention to include Yun Qingyue in her protective circle was written all over her face. While Yun Qingyue rejoiced for her, her heart wasn't at ease—previously, she could disregard Jiang Mo's growth rate, didn't mind being surpassed, and could simply rejoice in her excellence. But things were different now. They had become partners, and she didn't want their relationship to grow distant due to the gap between them.
Her beautiful glaze-like phoenix eyes lowered slightly, concealing the worry within. Yun Qingyue secretly resolved to cultivate even more diligently.
However, the system-boosted Jiang Mo was unaware of her Senior Sister's tangled emotions. After making her earnest promise, she waited as usual for her Senior Sister's praise. When nothing came after waiting for quite a while, she vaguely sensed something was wrong with Yun Qingyue's mood.
Jiang Mo never suspected that her Senior Sister might envy or resent her. She carefully swayed her Senior Sister's hand and asked: "Ah Yue, what's wrong? Did I say something inappropriate?" After asking, she began to reflect, then frowned reluctantly and spoke: "Alright, alright, I won't boast anymore. When facing danger, I'll still take you to safety. Is that better?"
Clearly, she thought Yun Qingyue's mood had soured because she feared Jiang Mo would act recklessly and boldly.
Seeing her self-reflection, Yun Qingyue's expression softened. She sighed and didn't hide anything: "I know you have good judgment and I'm not worried about that. I just... Ah Mo, you cultivate so rapidly, I'm just afraid I can't keep up with your pace."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo was first stunned, thinking to herself that with her system boost, no one's cultivation speed could match hers. But immediately after, she realized what her Senior Sister was truly concerned about—she feared that Jiang Mo would continue breaking through to Grand Achievement and, like Divine Lord Zhiming, reach the Tribulation Crossing stage early. By then, Jiang Mo might ascend first, and what would separate them wouldn't be just realm and strength, but two different worlds.
Thinking of this possibility, Jiang Mo's heart skipped a beat—she was different from Divine Lord Zhiming. Though Divine Lord Zhiming often slept, his cultivation was genuinely earned through practice, and when necessary, he could barely suppress his realm. But her realm was enhanced through the game system's level-ups, and while everything appeared data-driven, she truly couldn't suppress her realm.
After all, the reason she could level up so quickly was because opportunities to gain experience were everywhere around her. Was she supposed to sleep all day like Divine Lord Zhiming? But even divine beasts gain cultivation while sleeping—the data simply couldn't be controlled!
Jiang Mo shuddered, suddenly turning to Yun Qingyue and promising: "Ah Yue, don't worry, I won't break through so quickly in the future."
Yun Qingyue was amused by her words and patted her forehead: "Aren't you being silly?"
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Regardless of whether Jiang Mo would control her breakthrough speed until Yun Qingyue caught up, her current breakthrough was undoubtedly a good thing.
The assembled seniors who had originally been discussing matters in Lingyun Hall had specially escorted her for the breakthrough, which resulted in witnessing a rather uneventful scene. Nevertheless, upon returning to Lingyun Hall, there was tangibly one more Grand Achievement cultivator present. Furthermore, due to Jiang Mo's cultivation advancement, she who previously always stood behind Peak Master Qingyu with her Senior Sister to listen in, now had her own chair with a position relatively near the front.
To be precise, Jiang Mo's chair was placed just below Peak Master Qingyu, even higher in rank than Peak Master Qingxu and others—in the cultivation world, strength remained paramount, and now Jiang Mo's strength had gained everyone's recognition.
The little tiger was somewhat presumptuous, though. Having received her own seat, she still wanted to pull her Senior Sister to sit together, claiming the chair was wide enough for two and wouldn't inconvenience others. However, Yun Qingyue still declined—although her cultivation was quickly catching up to Peak Master Qingxu and others, she was still considered a junior, and with her master sitting nearby, she naturally needed to observe proper etiquette.
Jiang Mo pouted at this, quite displeased, and frequently turned back to look at her Senior Sister while sitting... This scene was strangely familiar, as if momentarily returning to the elevated platform of the sect competition more than eighty years ago.
Yun Qingyue blinked, meeting those golden eyes filled with grievance, and turned her head back around: "Sit properly."
The little tiger grew even more displeased, turning around with one hand propping her cheek, slouching diagonally in the chair.
Seeing this, Yun Qingyue seemed to find her posture extremely improper, so she reached out and pinched the back of Jiang Mo's neck.
The cool touch made Jiang Mo's entire body jolt, and she instinctively sat upright, as if not being gently caressed by her lover but rather seized by the scruff of her neck by fate itself. After waiting a moment and finding that the hand on her neck wasn't applying force, Jiang Mo immediately relaxed and contentedly narrowed her eyes. Then, forgetting the pain of her past wound, she turned back to flash a brilliant smile at her Senior Sister.
Yun Qingyue was left without anger, helplessly shaking her head and again gesturing for her to sit properly.
……
While these two continued their small interactions, everyone had gathered primarily to discuss important matters.
The group first perfunctorily congratulated Jiang Mo. Normally, someone breaking through to Grand Achievement would be a major event in any sect, absolutely worthy of announcing to the world, but now there was no need. Besides, those gathered in Lingyun Hall were the most prominent figures in the cultivation world—receiving their congratulations was practically equivalent to a world announcement.
At this moment, Jiang Mo suddenly had a thought. She stood up and grabbed her Senior Sister's hand from behind. Then, under Yun Qingyue's puzzled gaze, Jiang Mo stood tall and announced: "With battle imminent and tomorrow uncertain, my breakthrough to Grand Achievement today is an unexpected joy. While everyone is gathered here, I have something I wish to announce..."
Everyone was confused by her words. Only Yun Qingyue, the moment Jiang Mo spoke, vaguely sensed what was coming. Sect Leader Zhu and Peak Master Qingyu, knowing the inside story, had already guessed by this point.
Sure enough, Jiang Mo turned to look at Yun Qingyue, her tone suddenly becoming gentle: "Ah Yue and I share mutual affection. Originally, I planned to inform our elders after we confessed our feelings to each other, then hold a grand ceremony to become Dao partners. But given the current circumstances, there's no opportunity for a ceremony. Still, I want to become her Dao partner regardless of what the future holds. Today, I'd like to take this opportunity and ask everyone to bear witness—is that acceptable?"
With the final sentence, Jiang Mo finally turned her gaze toward the assembled crowd, the tenderness still not having left her face.
Tonight's events had occurred one after another, and truthfully, everyone was somewhat numb to them. But compared to other matters, becoming Dao partners was ultimately a personal affair—it wasn't as if they themselves were forming such bonds. Whether someone's Dao partner was male or female, human or bird, what did it matter to them?
Therefore, after a brief silence, everyone once again offered congratulations, though somewhat dryly, having had no time to prepare gifts.
Of course, Jiang Mo didn't care about that. Only when all the congratulatory words were finished did the dazed crowd realize—several gazes immediately fell upon Sect Leader Zhu, as she was Yun Qingyue's birth mother, yet she seemed to have remained silent. And judging by her expression, she didn't appear happy or approving. Could it be that the little tiger hadn't even won over her mother-in-law?
Besides this, someone also muttered quietly: "I recall that Jianbing was only enshrined by Xuanqing Sect eighty years ago. I heard she was just a cub then—has she even reached adulthood to be thinking about Dao partners..."