Joking aside, the work still needed to get done.
With her master in no position to show himself, Li Yingling felt that as the eldest senior sister, she naturally had to step up and take on the responsibility.
Reporting progress to her master was her duty, and even though she hadn't brought it up directly, she had always believed deep down that this master—who initially seemed unreliable—was actually incredibly dependable.
Li Yingling had always respected and admired Chu Xingchen, and with his approval, she felt even more confident and resolute about carrying out her plans.
Since he was willing to joke with her, even if his words were exaggerated, it really meant he was endorsing her approach so far.
After updating her master on the current situation and briefly outlining what she planned to do next, Li Yingling took her leave under his one instruction: just don't sell him out.
The entire sect was pushing this initiative forward, and as the eldest senior sister, she couldn't afford to drop the ball—especially not and face Cui Hao's mockery later.
Even though Cui Hao had the lowest cultivation and backed down fastest, he was also the most reckless with his words.
Even Li Yingling, who commanded respect from all the junior disciples in the sect, had ended up as the subject of a hundred-thousand-word report about her.
Losing face in front of her master was one thing—that was just acting spoiled.
But losing face in front of her junior disciples? That was actual humiliation.
Li Yingling, who had always prided herself on being a genius, wouldn't let that happen.
————————
Ten days later.
Yun Li finalized the date with the Buddhist sect to officially implement the Small Vehicle Buddhist Teachings.
"Eldest senior sister?! Why are you here?"
Inside the Tianyan Sect courtyard, Yun Li pushed open the door and saw Li Yingling and Zhang Miaoyu sitting on a nearby chair not far away.
Li Yingling glanced over at him leisurely, a light smile on her lips:
"Isn't today the day you're meeting with the Buddhist sect?"
Yun Li looked surprised: "Are you coming to negotiate in person?"
"I'm too busy for that myself. But at this stage of things, I need to make an appearance." Li Yingling stood up, checked the position of the sun, and continued. "After all, whoever shows up today might be some important figures, and I'm worried you can't handle it and might end up selling our master to the Buddhist sect."
For well-known reasons, all discussions about the Buddhist sect promoting Small Vehicle Buddhist Teachings had taken place within the Tianyan Sect and never extended beyond it.
This meeting was no different—the Buddhist sect was sending someone to the Tianyan Sect.
Yun Li naturally had no objections, nor could he have any, since strictly speaking, the eldest senior sister was now his direct superior.
It was just that…
Something about Li Yingling today felt off.
It wasn't her teasing—that was normal for her.
What was strange was that she had actually waited outside his room for him to come out.
If it were really Li Yingling's personality, she would have kicked the door open and dragged him out herself.
When something seemed off, there was usually a reason…
The eldest senior sister was ruthless when it came to setting people up.
Yun Li tested the waters carefully: "Thank you for waiting for me today, eldest senior sister."
"Don't overthink it with your petty calculations." Li Yingling stood up, her gaze seeming to see right through his scheming, her tone particularly relaxed. "I waited at the door today simply because you've been handling things well lately. This is my way of rewarding you."
"You don't need to speculate wildly. After all, if I want to beat you up, you can only let me, and I don't need an excuse for that."
"So all you need to do now is thank me."
Yun Li fell silent for a moment, then spoke with genuine conviction:
"Thank you, eldest senior sister…"
Regardless of anything else, Yun Li still acknowledged the eldest senior sister's capabilities—both her cultivation talent and her intelligence. It was just a pity she didn't take her work seriously.
"Good." Li Yingling nodded in approval. "Go to the meeting first. I'll come in once your discussion starts. A smart person like you should know not to ask questions he shouldn't."
This sentence revealed Li Yingling's real purpose for waiting today.
Yun Li swallowed the "why" that was on the tip of his tongue, nodded crisply instead, and with a light bow, naturally kept his mouth shut as he headed toward the meeting hall arranged with the Buddhist sect.
Zhang Miaoyu peeked out, watching Yun Li's retreating figure with a puzzled look.
"Enduring the sect's trials will prevent him from being bullied when he goes out in the future." Li Yingling suddenly said. "Consider it a lesson in love."
Zhang Miaoyu nodded lightly in agreement:
"What the leader says makes sense."
"Let's go." Li Yingling patted Zhang Miaoyu's shoulder and strode outside.
————————
Yun Li adjusted his mood and walked into the meeting hall with some confusion, preparing to face the Buddhist sect's real heavyweights.
After all, promoting Small Vehicle Buddhist Teachings was a major undertaking, and if it was really going to be implemented, a Buddha with authority would likely show up.
But when he actually entered the meeting hall and looked at the person in the main seat, Yun Li was still taken aback:
"Why is it still you? Has the Buddha not arrived yet?"
Wu Wang's face didn't carry the expressionless calm he had in the Great Hero Hall—instead, he wore an extremely warm smile:
"You came too. This time, under the Venerable Buddha's orders, I'm continuing to lead this matter."
As Yun Li walked to his seat, he asked strangely:
"Can you actually make decisions?"
Wu Wang gestured toward the several fellow monks following him below and continued smiling:
"I brought so many colleagues to advise while you came alone. Normally for something this important, shouldn't I be asking you whether you can make decisions?"
Yun Li didn't answer, instead taking his seat as his slight worries dissipated.
He thought he would be facing a Buddha directly, but instead it was this slightly unhinged Wu Wang, someone he had been dealing with for a while.
Whatever the case, Yun Li felt he had a psychological advantage when dealing with Wu Wang.
He nodded calmly: "Naturally I can."
Though he said this, Yun Li really didn't have confidence in his heart.
They said promoting Small Vehicle Buddhist Teachings was a matter that would shake the world, yet whether in negotiations or concrete actions, there was truly no one who could make the final call—at least their status clearly wasn't qualified enough.
Normally for something this important, shouldn't it be a group of sect elders at Mahayana cultivation or above gathered together discussing things, with a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator making the final decision before implementation?
But this major matter… it seemed to be just a bunch of small fry messing around.
The meeting was being held at the Tianyan Sect, yet not a single Tianyan Sect cultivator had shown up or even inquired about it. The Buddhist sect had only sent an Integration realm cultivator with monks of unknown cultivation levels.
And Yun Li especially didn't know how he had ended up pushed to the front lines.
He had this feeling that even if they negotiated until the sky fell and set treaty after treaty, once they walked out that door, no one would actually care what they discussed.
It was like a bunch of low-level cultivators playing house.
Wu Wang gazed calmly at Yun Li, then nodded with a light smile:
"That's good. The Venerable Buddha is paying close attention to this matter, or rather, all the Central Province immortal sects are watching it."
"Success or failure isn't just about whether the matter itself goes well…"
Yun Li silently drew in a breath before he even finished listening.
That damn monk.
Didn't he know consequences should be stated in advance?
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