Chapter 56 : Zhu Huaisu’s Spirit Pet Cat
Chapter 56: Zhu Huaisu’s Spirit Pet Cat
Just as those sect elites boarded the cloud vessel one after another, Nan Yuchen almost immediately found Long Tao.
“Senior Brother Long! I knew I wasn’t mistaken—you’re actually on this ship too?”
Looking at that face still carrying a hint of youthful innocence, Long Tao could not help smiling as he stepped forward to greet him.
Nan Yuchen indeed looked just as he had said before—he had grown noticeably taller.
That junior brother who had once been half a head shorter than him was now nearly the same height.
“You really did grow taller, kid. Hahaha.” Long Tao patted Nan Yuchen on the shoulder.
“I previously took a job maintaining cloud vessels and just happened to be assigned to this one. Elder Xu already explained the whole situation to me earlier—it was quite a coincidence.”
Nan Yuchen scratched the top of his head and chuckled foolishly before asking, “So that’s how it is. Then Senior Brother, you’ll also be going to the secret realm?”
“Most likely,” Long Tao nodded.
“After all, maintaining the cloud vessel is my responsibility. But your master finally let you come out after all. It looks like she’s taking this secret realm very seriously. I even heard that she personally went to oversee it.”
“Yes, Master really did place special importance on this trip,” Nan Yuchen lowered his voice.
“She even had me go together with Fifth Senior Sister. I heard she used quite a few personal connections just to secure this one extra spot.”
Long Tao inwardly thought that this was only natural.
Since it involved clues related to the Green Luan and the Phoenix, extra effort was inevitable.
Just as he was about to ask something else, a familiar female voice interrupted their conversation.
“Since you’re maintenance personnel, shouldn’t you be doing your work properly? How do you have the leisure to chat here?”
The two turned their heads to look, and sure enough, it was Zhu Huaisu.
This princess was currently sizing up Long Tao with a look of pure disdain, and she even tugged Nan Yuchen a little closer to her side, as if afraid her junior brother might be contaminated by something unclean.
“Uh… Senior Sister Zhu, greetings.” Long Tao quickly cupped his hands.
“Earlier, several veteran masters said that I’ve already finished all the most exhausting tasks.
They told me to leave the rest to them and take a short break, so I chatted with Junior Brother Nan for a bit.”
“Hmph! With your status, you still have the nerve to chat with a junior brother?” Zhu Huaisu lifted her chin, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
“If this were in the past, or in some other sect with stricter rules, a Qi Refining disciple like you would have to respectfully call both me and my junior brother ‘Martial Aunt’ the moment you saw us!”
Zhu Huaisu was not wrong about this.
In many sects—indeed, in most sects—as long as one’s cultivation was a full realm higher, regardless of age or order of entry, lower-ranked disciples had to address them as Martial Uncle or Martial Aunt.
This was a universal rule in the cultivation world, highlighting the supremacy of cultivation.
Yet the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect was an exception.
This sect had been formed by the merger of three major sects back in the day.
At first, they still adhered to old rules, and all the proper etiquette was observed.
But not long after, problems began cropping up one after another.
First came the explosive growth in sect membership, which was far more than a simple sum of the three sects’ original numbers.
At the time, surrounding minor forces, local rogue cultivators, and various figures from the Mingde Dynasty all poured in.
The mix was chaotic, and all sorts of people became members of this new sect.
Cultivators at the Golden Core level and above were easy enough to identify at a glance, and calling them “True Person” or “True Lord” posed no issue.
But below the Golden Core level, everything descended into chaos.
In the early days of the merger, the sect had no unified attire, no standardized accessories, and even the cultivation techniques varied wildly.
Many Qi Refining disciples had very weak divine sense, making it difficult to judge the cultivation level of someone practicing a different technique.
This was nothing like the present, where one could easily tell a fellow disciple’s Qi Refining layer at a glance.
Moreover, with so many people added at once, most members did not know each other at all.
Back then, disciples throughout the sect stared at one another in confusion, unsure how they should address each other.
On top of that, prior to the merger, many peers among the three sects had already harbored grudges.
They could barely tolerate calling former rivals—or even enemies—“Senior Brother” or “Senior Sister,” but asking them to say “Martial Uncle” was absolutely unacceptable.
More importantly, one of the three sects practiced cultivation through martial paths, differing from the other two traditional Qi Refining sects.
Their disciples were steeped in martial-world customs and had always ranked seniority strictly by order of entry, paying no heed to cultivation level.
Below the Golden Core realm, everyone addressed each other as Senior Brother or Junior Brother, Senior Sister or Junior Sister, which conveniently avoided many complications.
Over time, people discovered that this form of address was genuinely convenient.
It avoided many awkward situations, and since no one truly minded, it quickly spread among the disciples.
After all, most Foundation Establishment cultivators still viewed themselves as ordinary disciples and did not particularly care whether others called them Martial Uncle.
The upper ranks, overwhelmed with far more pressing matters at the time, had no energy to concern themselves with such details.
Gradually, this became the default rule among the lower levels of the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect.
Naturally, there were quite a few within the sect who voiced dissatisfaction, shouting all day about “the collapse of ritual propriety” and “the decline of morals,” but they could not reverse the general trend.
In today’s Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect, unless one was at the Golden Core level or above, or a direct elder of the lineage, most disciples addressed each other as Senior Brother or Senior Sister, and harmony generally prevailed.
“Aiya, calling you Martial Aunt just makes you sound old. How about I call you Her Highness the Princess instead?”
“You! You’re not allowed to call me that!”
Seeing Zhu Huaisu puffing her cheeks in anger, the two boys exchanged bitter smiles.
Just as they were about to say something else, an elegant black cat suddenly leapt onto Zhu Huaisu’s shoulder and lazily stretched.
“Huaisu, this place is full of a strange smell. I don’t like it!”
When the cat drew closer, Long Tao finally saw that its four paws were snow-white, forming a striking contrast with its jet-black body—it was clearly a Dark Cloud Treading Snow.
Even more astonishing was the fact that the cat spoke human language, obviously a spirit beast with awakened intelligence.
“Be good, Little Mi. Just endure it for a few more hours.”
“Don’t call me that name in front of outsiders. It’s so tacky.”
Long Tao had not expected the spirit beast to have such strong objections to its own name, and he could not help wanting to laugh.
That said, “Little Mi” really did sound like something a neighborhood granny would name a cat.
Seeing Long Tao struggling to suppress his amusement, the cat suddenly sprang forward and jumped straight into his arms.
Acting on instinct, Long Tao reached out and caught it.
This sight immediately filled the cat’s true owner, Zhu Huaisu, with quiet resentment.
“Hey, you Qi Refining little cultivator—do you also think that name is tacky?”
“It really is a bit tacky,” Long Tao nodded honestly.
“A noble and rare Dark Cloud Treading Snow like you should have a more imposing or refined name.”
“Miaow! You really get it.” The black cat rubbed against him comfortably.
“But I’m actually a noble Profound Abyss Treading Snow. Don’t lump me together with ordinary house cats.”
“Understood, understood. Spirit beasts are naturally different from mundane animals.” Now relaxed, Long Tao looked at the adorable cat in his arms and suddenly felt playful.
“I’ve actually thought of a name. I wonder if you’d like it.”
“Oh? Let’s hear it.”
“Do you know that among us humans, some parents name their daughters ‘Outdoing Men’ to show that women are no worse than men?”
“I know, I know. There’s even a female disciple in the sect with that name.”
Off to the side, Nan Yuchen and Zhu Huaisu both looked at the man and the cat with puzzled expressions, having no idea what Long Tao was planning.
“Then do you have something you especially dislike? For example… dogs?”
“I hate them, I hate them! I hate those big stupid dogs the most, miaow!”
“In that case, you could be called ‘Beat-the-Dog’! Shout that name out, and you’ll definitely be the most dazzling kitty in the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect.”
Zhu Huaisu suddenly felt as if some string in her head was about to snap.
“Is that so? It does sound quite imposing, but it feels a bit too direct, miaow.”
“True,” Long Tao nodded solemnly.
“But do you know that in human language, there’s a usage called ‘inversion’? To emphasize certain things, we often move the latter word to the front. For example… you could change that name to ‘Dog-Beat.’ Doesn’t it instantly sound much more refined?”
“Dog-Beat? Dog-Beat!” The black cat wriggled excitedly in his arms.
“This name is great, miaow! I’m going to use this name from now on, miaow!”
Before Long Tao could respond, he suddenly felt a violent impact at his waist.
His entire body was sent flying straight out through the cabin door.
The black cat reacted with lightning speed and lightly leapt back to the ground.
Nan Yuchen stood there, dumbfounded.
He looked at Long Tao flying away, then at the long leg beside him that had not yet been withdrawn—Fifth Senior Sister, whose anger had yet to subside—and he was so frightened that he did not dare breathe loudly.
As for Long Tao, who had been kicked away, he felt the world spinning.
Before he could understand what had happened, he landed on something soft.
He raised his head and saw a pair of massive objects swaying before his eyes.
Tilting his head slightly, he finally met a stunning foreign face with six eyes and golden hair.
All six eyes were gazing at him with curiosity and gentleness.
“Long Tao… Daoist?”
“Luo Yusi… Daoist?”
Enduring the pain in his waist, Long Tao looked around and only then realized that Luo Yusi had caught him squarely in a princess carry.