Chapter 99: An Honest Man’s Words of Love

The old man pondered for a moment, then said anxiously, "Yuanyuan, I’ll mail you some twenty-year-old tea leaves and the Profound Spirit Returning Elixir. Once I’m done here, I’ll find a chance to visit and check on this little guy you mentioned. If you run into any trouble, tell Grandpa right away, got it?"

Su Yue broke into a smile. She hadn’t expected her grandfather to be so generous—to think he would offer twenty-year-old Ancient Enlightenment Tea! That was a top-tier resource.

"Thank you, Grandpa! You’re the best!"

The old man thought for a moment, then added a careful warning. "Take good care of that little guy. He’s more important than you think. But let me give you a fair warning: if you dare lie to Grandpa, I’ll tell that blond-haired father of yours where you are. When that happens, don’t blame Grandpa for being ruthless, you hear?"

"Oh, Grandpa, don’t worry. You yourself said Yan Sea is a blockhead. How could he possibly lie to me?"

The old man shook his head and muttered, "That’s not necessarily true. Back in the day, that blond-haired father of yours..."

"Alright, Grandpa, let’s not talk about it. I have something to do here, so I’m hanging up. Bye..."

A dial tone buzzed from the phone. The old man stared at it and heaved a long sigh.

’Sigh... They’re all so ungrateful. When they need something, it’s ’Good Grandpa.’ When they don’t, they’re ’busy’.’

The old man looked up at the sparse leaves, his heart troubled. ’Where am I going to get twenty-year-old leaves from? But... if someone really could achieve the Tribulation Sword Dao Foundation in the first realm, then it wouldn’t just be worth some leaves—it would be worth chopping down the whole tree.’

’If that old coot Mr. Lanren were still alive... Ah, forget it. Getting old makes you overthink things. If there were a Tribulation Sword Grandmaster right now, they could probably uncover the secret of that place...’

’In the end, it’s still Mr. Lanren’s fault for dying too early. If he could have just held on for a few more years, we wouldn’t be in this situation now.’

After thinking for a moment, the old man opened his phone’s contact list, muttering to himself as he scrolled.

"White Hen... no, that old crone’s insults are too nasty..."

"Yang... no, not him either. Have I even paid him back from last time?"

"Hmm... let’s see. It’s gotta be you, Mr. Lei!"

With that, he pressed the number.

"Hey? Tiger, my friend, I have to tell you something. Those tea leaves I was saving for you got eaten by bugs. There’s none for you this year. Nothing I can do about it, really."

There was a pause on the line, and then a thunderous voice roared, "You shameless bastard, Tang! You dare try to screw your granddaddy out of his share? Believe it or not, I’ll come over there and pluck you bald!"

The old man’s face darkened. He put his hands on his hips and cursed back, "Hah! You bald tiger! You think you can go a round with your grandpa? I’ll skin that hide right off you! I’m telling you, there are no tea leaves. I was just calling out of the goodness of my heart to let you know, and you dare curse at me? Well, let me tell you something else: not only is there none for you this year, there won’t be any next year either! So there!"

With that, he hung up the phone.

’This whole bunch is nothing but trouble. You think it’s easy for me to look after this damn tree?’

...

Inside the Kuaidou Training Chamber, Yu Fei sat upright in the meditation room.

His Green Lotus Sword Nourishing Skill seemed to have hit a bottleneck. His Sword Intent lacked a certain spiritual charm, and he was stuck just one step shy of mastering the Sword Nurturing Skill. Three cycles of sword nurturing had yielded no progress whatsoever.

After a moment’s thought, Yu Fei stood up and went through a set of fist forms to ease his frustration.

He had already completely mastered Ruyi Shen Jin, so practicing the Six Harmonies Killing Fist no longer increased his power, but it was a good way to stay loose.

After moving around for a bit, Yu Fei opened the refrigerator.

’Huh? Is this... Level 2 energy liquid?’

The top-tier VIP treatment at the Aurora Martial Arts Hall included a free, unlimited supply of energy liquid. However, this only applied to Level 1 energy liquid, the standard version available on the market.

Ordinary people could use the Level 1 version as an emergency sports drink or liquid meal. But from Level 2 onward, the energy liquid was exclusively for Martial Artists. If an ordinary person were to drink it by mistake, it would cause organ failure—the effect was no less than poison.

Yu Fei took out a bottle of the energy liquid and carefully examined the label. After checking and rechecking, he confirmed it: the entire fridge was stocked with Level 2 liquid.

After a moment’s thought, he called Jia Yun, the VIP customer service supervisor.

"Miss Yun, there’s a batch of Level 2 energy liquid in my room’s refrigerator. Was this a mistake?"

Level 2 energy liquid usually started at 500 yuan a bottle on the market. Although this liquid was perfect for his current needs, he didn’t want to take advantage of a potential mistake. ’I have money now,’ he thought. ’I can buy it through the proper channels.’

Jia Yun’s energetic voice came through the phone. "The Hall Master specifically instructed us to stock that for you. He said you should use it without any worries, and that your teacher is aware of it."

"Okay, thank you!"

After ending the call, Yu Fei was still a bit confused. He had no connection to the Hall Master; they’d never even met. ’Sure, anyone who can open a martial arts hall must be wealthy and powerful,’ he thought, ’but there’s no reason for him to give me special treatment.’

After thinking it over, he decided to send a message to his teacher, Yan Sea, for confirmation. If his teacher wasn’t aware of it, Yu Fei was willing to pay the difference, because the Level 2 energy liquid was perfect for his current daily training regimen.

In the northeast corner of the Aurora Martial Arts Hall, a window offered a faint glimpse into the Kuaidou Training Chamber. Though the view was dim, both Yan Sea and Su Yue possessed extraordinary perception and keen senses; none of Yu Fei’s movements escaped their notice.

Su Yue held onto Yan Sea’s stiff arm and asked softly, "Did Yu Fei really comprehend Sword Intent?"

Yan Sea nodded. "I confirmed it myself. When enhanced by his Sword Intent, his Qi Blood projects an inch from his body with the sharpness of a mundane weapon."

Hearing this, Su Yue kept her grandfather’s opinion to herself. She trusted that Yan Sea wasn’t one to make things up. Yu Fei was only in the first realm; there was no way he could deceive her dear blockhead.

DING DONG.

Yan Sea’s phone chimed. Before he could even take it out, Su Yue had snatched it, expertly keyed in the password, and was reading the screen.

Seeing the message from Yu Fei, Su Yue couldn’t help but smile.

"Your student is quite cautious. I had someone replace the energy liquid with Level 2 and told them to say you knew about it, yet he still felt the need to confirm with you. His character is pretty good, though."

Yan Sea was very pleased to hear this. "It’s good to be cautious. That’s how you avoid danger and keep from falling into enemy traps."

Su Yue rolled her eyes at him and jabbed an elbow into his side.

"Honestly. You’re his teacher, for goodness’ sake. With Yu Fei’s Qi Blood foundation, he should have been using Level 2 energy liquid in his daily training long ago. But you didn’t even think to remind your own student. All you do all day is trail him like a stalker."

Yan Sea fell silent, his face dark as he stared blankly into the distance.

’To be honest,’ he thought, ’these past few days have felt like a dream. Su Yue’s return, Yu Fei’s progress in his martial path... it’s just been one piece of good news after another. Sometimes, I wonder if I’m dreaming it all.’

Su Yue continued chattering at his side, but when she turned and saw Yan Sea spacing out, she suddenly grew indignant.

"Say something!"

Yan Sea snapped back to reality. He looked at Su Yue’s delicate face, her eyes so full of life. Even her angry expression was like a beautiful landscape. He blurted out without thinking, "You’re still as beautiful as ever!"

Su Yue froze for a second, a visible blush creeping up her cheeks.

A sweet nothing from an honest man can move the heart more than anything, because you know he speaks the truth.

Su Yue smoothed down her bangs and turned her head away.

"You goof... Just hurry up and reply to your student."

"Oh..."