Murim's Weakest Princess

After the Rainbow Alliance Meeting ended, Liu Yanxia was the first to leave the Celestial Dragon Sect. This was understandable, given the turmoil brewing in her Heavenly Phoenix Sect. Zhao Mingfeng promised to contact her regularly.

Hong Nian Niang became an esteemed guest of the Celestial Dragon Sect for another week. She delighted in discussing her business plans to set up an information-gathering headquarters in Chang’an while enjoying a leisurely holiday in the region. Anji loved the gifts she received from Hong Nian Niang and eagerly anticipated her return from each trip. The Vermillion Bird sect leader had exquisite taste in products and never failed to bring a smile to Anji’s face. Her favourite gifts were the martial arts training robes and a rocking horse.

While his siblings were learning diligently under new teachers, Zhao Mingshen requested permission from his parents to follow Zhang Yi and Zhang Mou back to the Azure Dragon Sect to deepen his learning as both a cultivator and scholar. Zhao Mingfeng thought it was an excellent proposition and gave his oldest son his blessings.

Anji remembered bidding goodbye to her oldest brother. As they parted, he promised to send her many letters before he left, and Anji held back tears as she watched him leave the mountain at the main gates. Apart from furthering his studies, Mingfeng gave his oldest son the important task of understanding how mercenary guilds worked. The success of an inter-alliance exchange program was up to Zhang Mou and Mingshen.

Chen Zhong left with his son on the same day Mingshen left. He promised to send permission seeds to Mingfeng so that he could grow them at the back of his mountain after learning how much Anji liked them.

Anji watched and listened to her older sister train in the courtyard for two weeks. Sometimes, a guard would escort her to the back of the mountain where Bai Dajin was making her brother meditate shirtless under a chilly waterfall. Each time he fidgeted, Bai Dajin would throw a pebble at him and make him climb the mountain five times before sunrise. It was a strict training that made Anji wonder how she would survive such a similar training even if she were mentally prepared to undergo any hardships.

Unlike her siblings, who had already learned from their teachers and had been training hard, Yan Ping forbade anyone from disturbing her. Since leaving that night from the dinner meeting, nobody had seen her leave her guest room. Two weeks passed, and Anji became more nervous with each passing day. Was her teacher not intending to teach her anything? Or was Anji’s training going to be worse than Bai Dajin’s regime?

Without any instructions from her master, Anji decided not to waste time. She would simply have to assign herself some tasks if her teacher was too busy to do so. After all, Yan Ping could be testing Anji to see if she had the initiative to study on her own. Hence, the young princess started spending time at the library. Although brother Mingshen was no longer here, Anji could still learn from many other talents in the Celestial Dragon Sect.

Anji learned basic martial arts from her older sister for the next ten days. They were basic movement forms of blocking, striking, punching, and dodging, but they were already challenging for Anji’s small body. The hardworking child would do two rounds of frog leaps around the small courtyard and practice the basic forms with a straw dummy customised for her height. Then, she visited the library and reviewed the classics with the sect’s adviser for four hours.

Little by little, Anji made progress every day.