Chapter 94: Do You Dare Accept?
Senior Sister Liu's smile made my blood run cold. In all my time at the Azure Peak Sect, I had never seen her smile. Stern lectures? Yes. Disapproving frowns? Constantly. But a smile? This was new territory, and new territory was dangerous in the cultivation world.
"Senior Sister!" Wei Lin's voice cracked a little, but not a second later he was back to flashing his usual cocky grin. "What a nice surprise to—
"Three weeks." The smile on Senior Sister Liu's face hadn't changed, but that somehow made it more terrifying. "Three weeks without so much as a message to the sect."
I watched Wei Lin's confident façade crumble under that unnaturally pleasant expression. Even Lin Mei, usually so composed, was fidgeting with her jade pendant.
"We were gathering elemental essence," Lin Mei tried to explain, the words tumbling out in a rush. "For cultivation, of course. And we had very good reasons for—"
"The elemental essence was for me," I cut in, making Senior Sister Liu look at me. "They were helping me prepare for a breakthrough."
"Ah yes," she murmured. "Two breakthroughs in a few weeks." She examined me closely, no doubt looking for signs of unstable qi or damaged meridians. Finding none, she slowly nodded. "Not bad. Looks like the World Tree Sutra is quite suited for you."
"Thank you," I stuttered, at a loss for anything else to say. It was odd being complimented by someone who mostly communicated through sharp silences and disappointed expressions.
Her gaze dropped back to Wei Lin and Lin Mei, and her face cooled by several degrees. "Ke Yin has progressed further than any other outer sect student. You two, on the other hand, have fallen behind in your cultivation."