After all, while the hall had thinned it hadn't emptied completely, as some cultivators had chosen to remain in the Sword Assembly Hall rather than go watch the tournament.
The lazy beauty's gaze drifted over the Core Elders and Core Disciples still lingering, her golden eyes filled with disinterest, until finally… they landed on Lian'er!
The mischievous beauty was at that moment vividly gesturing and chatting with a duo of Core Disciples Qiu Yuelan didn't even bother to recognize.
'Let's hope that Lian'er will act like usual and maybe… maybe in this way she will entertain me and it won't be as boring…' she thought, a faint flicker of fondness and amusement stirring in her golden eyes as they lingered on Lian'er.
But for the Sect Master, the reason she appreciated Lian'er was not the same as it was for the other members of the Wandering Sword Sect.
No, no, no, it wasn't because Lian'er was kind with everyone, or because she acted mischievously in an endearing way like a cute little sister, or even because she was such a complete social butterfly…
The lazy beauty couldn't care less about any of that, for the true reason she looked at her with fondness was precisely because of Hua Lianyu's mischievousness!
When Lian'er acted mischievously, like with her earlier lively entrance in the Hall, it brought with it a spark of entertainment and distracted Qiu Yuelan from the boring events she was 'forced' to oversee.
'Hum?' just as her gaze landed on the one with whom Lian'er was speaking, her brow rose as the impression struck her that she had seen him before.
'Who is this?' she thought somewhat curiously, 'His face looks familiar…'
Tap, tap, tap.
The rhythmic tapping of her finger on the armrest of her 'throne' echoed as she pondered who he was. For a few seconds the answer escaped her, before finally her thoughts drifted to the Scripture Pavillion—then she remembered!
'Oh! That guy, the one who was studying at the Scripture Pavillion and had insane comprehension, mental strength, and all that,' her gaze fixed itself on Mikael's visage, 'If I remember right he didn't look exactly like that before, right? He seems more handsome now, if I aren't wrong?'
A glint of interest flickered in her lazy golden eyes as she shifted in her seat, adopting a posture that was, for once, a little more attentive.
Two people who were both relatively interesting were speaking together, and perhaps if she listened she could momentarily cure her boredom and make this tiresome waiting more bearable.
It was with that thought that the lazy Sect Master let her attention drift toward the conversation unfolding between Lian'er, Mikael, and Kiara.
The others having all left to see the Inner Disciples' tournament, some Core Disciples had invited Lian'er to accompany them, but she had refused, preferring instead to remain here and speak with Mikael.
On that note, nearly all the Core Disciples in the group had gone to the Inner Court, and as for speaking with Lian'er now that she had emerged from seclusion?
This was something that could always happen later, after the tournament that only happened every 20 years was finished, for they didn't want to waste this 'rare occasion' just to 'catch up' with Lian'er, especially since there wasn't much to catch up on considering she had only just come out of seclusion.
Especially considering that for cultivators, going into seclusion was totally normal, just as not seeing a friend for a couple of years or more was normal, so this 'catch up' wasn't really important or 'needed' and could always wait until after the tournament.
This was the mindset behind why they left, and accompanying these Core Disciples they all knew were Amelia and Lyra, because both girls were interested in watching the tournament, though for entirely different reasons from each other…
Consequently, they both followed these Core Disciples and also went to watch the tournament, something that would never have happened ten years ago when they had just entered the Akashic Records Universe.
Because at that time spending time with their Senior Sister they didn't see in years would have been infinitively more important but—
As the years passed their mindset changed and adapted, becoming more and more like a 'cultivator mindset,' which meant that by now a 'long span of time' was far less of a big deal for all of them.
Long periods no longer weighed on them as they once did, which was why they could leave Lian'er without feeling the need to talk to her.
Even though it was the first time they had seen each other in years, they didn't feel bad or have a need to 'catch up,' because for them 'long separation' was not nearly as significant as it had been before, and they understood that they could always catch up later.
And the girls' reactions didn't offend or sadden Lian'er in the least, as she—having lived in the Cultivation World—had always considered such things to be normal and therefore didn't react negatively in any way.
In the end, once everybody had gone their own way, there was only a group of three left, a group made up of Hua Lianyu, Mikael, and Kiara.
***
Meanwhile Mikael—unaware of the attention from the lazy beauty he was currently receiving—was conversing with Lian'er.
"..., yeah I've made some progress, as always you know me, don't you?" said Mikael in response to what Lian'er had just said.
The mischievous beauty puffed her chest out as she proudly answered, "Of course I do! Who knows more about my awesome Junior Brother than me, his beloved Senior Sister!?" she declared, putting deliberate emphasis on both the words Junior Brother and Senior Sister.
Mikael rolled his eyes in amusement, 'Her obsession with being a Senior Sister…' his gaze lingered on the mischievous beauty who didn't seem to have changed in the slightest, 'She truly hasn't changed even after her long seclusion…'
As Lian'er kept puffing her chest out, Mikael gave her a teasing smirk, "Senior Sister?" tilting his head with mock curiosity as a 'confused' expression crossed his visage, "I'm not so sure about that."
Lian'er puffed her cheeks like an angry hamster as she 'angrily' demanded, "What do you mean? Aren't I an awesome Senior Sister?"
"Awesome? Maybe you are, but a Senior Sister?" he shook his head slowly, amusement dancing in his eyes, "Forget it, I don't see a 'Senior Sister' acting the way you do—just think about your grand entrance in the hall…"
"Yeah, it was truly something else… excessively 'mature' I would even say, maybe I was wrong you truly act like a 'Senior Sister'" he mercilessly teased the mischievous beauty whose pout deepened as she heard him speak.
Stomp.
She angrily stomped on the ground, "Mouh, that was just today! Otherwise I am a perfect Senior Sister you just… just don't see it! That's all." As she spoke she tried to inject confidence in her voice but she clearly wasn't successful as even she wasn't really believing her own words…
"Mmn… if you want we can go with that, but—" a flicker of amusement passed through his eyes, giving Lian'er a sudden bad feeling as he continued, "why don't we ask a neutral third party? I'm sure Kiara will be able to judge and decide whether you really are a 'perfect Senior Sister.'"
'I'm doomed!' was the only thought that ran through Lian'er mind as her gaze shifted toward the blue-haired beauty who had been silently listening.
Because she knew that with Kiara's… character, she would without a doubt take her Darling's side.
"Lian'er as a Senior Sister?" Kiara fell silent for half a second before continuing, "Definitively not, Darling~ is right, you are the farthest image one can have of a 'Senior Sister.'"
CRITICAL DAMAGE!!
Lian'er staggered backward, clutching her chest as if she had been physically struck, and this was especially so because Kiara's words were brutally honest—they weren't even too partial toward her Darling!
Still, Hua Lianyu wasn't one to 'forfeit' so easily, and soon enough a cute pout made its way onto her heavenly visage as she complained, "It's not fair, Kiara isn't neutral, with her being all crazy about you, she'll always take your side…"
"..."
Their gazes locked, silence stretching for a couple of seconds until—
Smirk.
Giggles.
Smirks spread across Mikael and Kiara's visages while Lian'er herself erupted into melodious giggles, showing that their earlier banter had been nothing more than the kind of lighthearted exchange shared between people close to each other, where neither side feared that a careless word could truly offend as both knew it would never be taken the wrong way.
After that they simply continued their conversation in the same easy atmosphere, speaking of everything and nothing in a lighthearted tone.
This went on for a while with various topics surfacing, one of the more interesting being when—
"Sooo Lian'er~"
The mischievous beauty tilted her head inquisitively as Mikael continued, "To be honest your seclusion lasted longer than I expected, was it for the best or for the worse?" he asked, his words indirectly probing whether she had succeeded or not.
Hua Lianyu, not being a true airhead like Yulan, could occasionally be sharp and immediately grasped what he was truly asking.
"Hehe, won't tell you! It's a secret—but maybe you'll learn about it later… in the Secret Realm, for example. You will definitely be amazed, or maybe not? Who knows~" she replied with mischief, acting deliberately mysterious as if to 'pay him back' for his earlier teasing.
'I see…' thought Mikael as his gaze lingered on Lian'er, her joy illuminating the hall for all to see, 'So she succeeded!' His lips curled faintly upward. 'That's good…'
After the point of Lian'er's seclusion was brought up, others were too—the Bai Sisters, Kiara's cultivation, Mikael's cultivation, Kiara's music progress and far, far more. The conversation carried on in a lighthearted tone while still carrying hints of 'catching up'.
It was a conversation that stretched on for hours, time passing quickly as the trio waited for the Inner Court tournament to finish so they could finally depart for the Realm of Broken Skies.
Fortunately they didn't need to wait too long, as after a little more than 3 days and a half the tournament ended, and with it came a group of more than 120 Inner Disciples who would also enter the Secret Realm alongside their Senior Brothers and Sisters.
"At least they are here… now I need to take care of the rest of this damn Secret Realm!" cursed Sect Master Qiu Yuelan under her breath as she lifelessly rose from her throne and then—
With all the joy of somebody walking toward their own funeral, she crossed the Sword Assembly Hall, her movements inevitably drawing every gaze to her, "Follow me," she half-heartedly said, and without caring whether anyone truly listened, she kept walking until she stepped outside the Hall.
The Core Disciples who would enter the Secret Realm together with the Core Elders responsible for protecting them before and after entry naturally followed in their Sect Master's footsteps.
The only exception was the Inner Disciples who, for the majority, were seeing the Sect Master for the very first time, and so when faced with her lifeless and bored demeanor they were left stunned, 'This is the Sect Master?!!!'
With those thoughts swirling through their minds they remained in place until Grand Elder Theren's voice resounded through the hall, "What are you wasting time for? Follow your Sect Master!"
"YES!"
With the Grand Elder's voice acting like a whip that snapped them back to reality they quickly hurried after the large group, leaving only the two Grand Elders within the Sword Assembly Hall.
Author Note:
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———
At the start I had planned to write the tournament and had Mikael participate in it with even Core Disciples needing to participate to get their spot for the Secret Realm exploration but actually I realized that this tournament arc would do nothing except slowing down the story while bringing pretty much nothing.
So at the place I created these couple of chapters which were on a slice of life side while advancing the plot, at the same time the tournament didn't even include Mikael or the girls and happened out of our view…
———
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— End of Chapter —