Chapter 36: Oh, You Rebellious Disciple

"Haha, my disciple, you actually saw that?" Li Tianyuan said with a faint smile.

He had initially assumed that no one would notice such a dominating display, but he hadn't expected it to be witnessed by his beloved student.

"Yes!" Jiang Yueli nodded earnestly. "I saw a peerless river of sword energy spanning the nine heavens, piercing the clouds, as if it were tearing the very heavens and earth apart."

"So that was the 'cutting down the sun, moon, and stars with a single blade of grass' that Master spoke of. I have gained much from witnessing it."

A look of adoration filled Jiang Yueli’s face, and her eyes sparkled as she gazed at Li Tianyuan. Seeing her admiration for him grow even further, Li Tianyuan felt a sense of helplessness. Truly, the most lethal form of showing off is the one that appears effortless.

He smiled faintly and said, "Disciple, once you reach the realm of Sword Heart Divine Mastery, I will teach you that move: Sword Cleaving the Celestial River."

It was not that he was unwilling to teach her now, but the sword art *Sword Cleaving the Celestial River* was simply too heaven-defying; one had to reach the realm of a Sword God to even begin to grasp its mysteries. As for himself, thanks to the system, he had reached the state of Great Perfection the moment he claimed the technique, otherwise, he would never have been able to unleash its full power.

"Understood. I will strive to reach the Sword Heart Divine Mastery realm as soon as possible," Jiang Yueli declared with conviction. It was not just for the sake of the technique, but for herself as well; she wanted to follow in her master’s footsteps and live up to his expectations.

"Good!" Li Tianyuan nodded and said, "Disciple, you must be exhausted from your training these past few days. Go and get some rest."

"Diligent cultivation is a virtue, but one must not be overly hasty. More haste, less speed. You must remember that your cultivation level is still low, and your mental energy is not yet strong enough to sustain such prolonged practice."

He offered his advice with heartfelt concern. This girl was practically throwing her life away for her training, completely disregarding her own well-being. Although Li Tianyuan understood why she was so desperate to improve her strength, she was still young, and her path of cultivation had only just begun. The road ahead was long, and being too impatient might ironically prove counterproductive.

Jiang Yueli nodded obediently and said, "Yes, Master, I understand."

"Go on then. Remember not to train anymore tonight; get a good night's sleep and recover your spirits," Li Tianyuan urged. After she acknowledged him, she bowed and took her leave.

"I hope that girl doesn't push herself too hard," Li Tianyuan muttered to himself as he watched her depart. He shook his head and turned back to enter the Lingyun Palace.

***

Night fell.

A crescent moon hung in the sky, spilling silver light that draped the world in a thin veil. It was deep into the night; the surroundings were silent, save for the occasional chirp of insects.

In her room, Jiang Yueli lay with her bright eyes wide open, looking out the window. Her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, her delicate, oval face glowed like snow, and her beautiful willow-leaf eyebrows were slightly furrowed.

"Sigh..."

"I can't sleep at all!" Jiang Yueli lamented, clutching her head. "All I can think about is training!"

"What should I do? Master told me to rest, but I really can't sleep!" She pulled her knees to her chest, buried her face in the soft pillow, and let out a frustrated groan.

"Forget it... forget it. Since I can't sleep, I might as well practice in secret. Perhaps once I start circulating my internal energy, I'll drift off!"

"Besides, Master won't know if I’ve rested or not!"

After a long while, Jiang Yueli stuck out her tongue and muttered playfully. She rolled over, sat up, channeled the spiritual energy within her, closed her eyes, and began to run her cultivation technique. Very soon, she was completely immersed in her practice, unable to pull herself away.

...

"Rebellious disciple... truly a rebellious disciple!"

At that moment, a cry of lamentation suddenly echoed through the Lingyun Palace.

Li Tianyuan had been in the middle of a pleasant dream when he was jolted awake by the system notification announcing a massive return of cultivation essence. He immediately realized that Jiang Yueli must have been practicing in secret, and had even made a breakthrough, triggering the system's reward. After all, Ye Chen’s aptitude was not high enough to advance this quickly.

Sure enough, he opened the system interface. His good disciple, Jiang Yueli, had already broken through to the Yin-Yang Realm.

Wonderful, just wonderful! He hadn't realized this girl was so cunning. She seemed obedient and docile on the surface, but she was actually so rebellious. She had only been his disciple for a few days, and already she was ignoring his instructions. He had told her to balance work and rest, yet she had gone right back to secret training.

***

Such a rebellious disciple left Li Tianyuan feeling both gratified and helpless.

He was gratified because Jiang Yueli’s talent was indeed exceptional, and her diligence was unmatched. He was helpless because she was so obsessed with cultivation that she dared to treat his words as mere wind. She had the makings of a master-defying disciple!

However, Li Tianyuan could do nothing about it; he couldn't very well forbid his disciple from training. With a sigh, and perhaps feeling infected by the diligence of his two disciples, Li Tianyuan sat cross-legged as well. If his disciples were working this hard, how could he, their master, possibly justify sleeping?

And so, he began his first session of cultivation since his transmigration.

Early the next morning, as a faint white light appeared on the horizon, Jiang Yueli arrived at the Lingyun Palace. She was taken aback to see her master sitting in his chair, yawning.

"Master, what is wrong?" Jiang Yueli asked, puzzled.

Logically speaking, a master of such high cultivation as him should have long since entered a state of transcendence and been full of energy. Why did he look so listless today?

Upon hearing her, Li Tianyuan felt a vein pop in his forehead. *It’s all because of you, you rebellious disciple!* As a man from Earth, sleep was one of the greatest joys in life, and now even that had been stripped away.

"Ahem!" Li Tianyuan coughed awkwardly and said, "It is nothing. I have been practicing a supreme secret technique these past few days, which consumed a great deal of my mental energy. There is no need for concern."

"Oh, I see," Jiang Yueli nodded in sudden realization. *So that was it!* She thought, *I knew it. Someone like Master must be practicing every single day, and on such heaven-defying techniques, no less. It is only natural that it would consume a vast amount of mental energy.*

"By the way, disciple, while you were at the Haotian Sword Tower, I took on a new student. I will have you two meet shortly," Li Tianyuan said as he slowly stood up with a cheerful smile.