"Grandmaster Bai, good morning!"
The next morning, Zhu Jinming spotted Bai Fanxian sitting on the house's balcony sipping tea and called out a greeting. He was taking a walk along the clinic's beachside area.
Since treating Zhu Jinming's wife would likely take a long time, Bai Fanxian had allowed her to stay overnight at the clinic the previous day. She was the first patient in her clinic to receive this special privilege.
Her husband Zhu Jinming benefited as well. Though he didn't sleep there, he could visit his wife early in the morning like this. The life force flowing through the Border left his body feeling energized and refreshed—even better than staying at places claiming to have the purest air.
"...Mm."
Bai Fanxian nodded. But as Zhu Jinming approached, he bumped his head into an invisible wall. He rubbed his head in confusion, reaching out to feel around. He couldn't cross to that side.
"It's dangerous... just watch from there."
Bai Fanxian didn't speak loudly, but Zhu Jinming could hear her clearly from afar. A groaning sound came from the sea before him. Then two figures burst up from the water.
One was a shirtless old man swinging his sword so fiercely the blade whistled through the air. On the other side was a lean man in a casual white t-shirt, holding a longsword. His seemingly weak arms casually deflected all that ferocity.
Liu Yianfei had grown almost unrecognizably strong after reaching Sage realm and recovering from the old illness that frequently relapsed. No longer needing to circulate qi to suppress his wounds, he could use his abilities to their fullest.
Zhu Jinming had never witnessed such high-level combat. He gaped, then startled violently when a sword beam flew straight toward him. But when it struck the invisible wall, it dissipated without trace.
He touched the Border lightly, understanding why Bai Fanxian said he shouldn't enter.
Sword Master Zheng Renyi slashed his sword with full force, unknowingly drawing in heaven and earth's power bit by bit. His sharp gaze fixed on his opponent. He was gradually merging as one with his sword without realizing it.
Liu Yianfei, now in Sage realm, still remembered that feeling well. When Grandmasters broke through to Sage, they first had to create their own "Intent."
Sword Master Zheng Renyi seemed close to opening that door.
He stared with brilliant eyes. The aura around him trembled. The sword in his hand vibrated rhythmically like a heartbeat. But as he approached the final moment, the qi throughout his body dissipated. He fell splashing into the water, snapping back to awareness. Zheng Renyi clambered out in confusion.
"Almost there..."
Liu Yianfei helped pull him from the water. "Almost there..."
It had been so close. Bai Fanxian flew down from the balcony, flicked her hand to send a pill into Zheng Renyi's mouth, and channeled her qi to help restore him.
"You're too impatient."
The lady of the house spoke offhandedly, almost like complaining but not quite. The old man couldn't help laughing softly.
"I got a bit excited. Guess I need to train more."
Though he'd failed, his eyes and expression showed no surrender. His body recovered enough to stand and walk on his own.
"Thank you very much, young lady."
"...No problem."
Bai Fanxian withdrew her hand. Though this man showed nothing, she could sense the regret hidden in his heart.
Cultivation sometimes came down to fate like this...
.
.
.
"Are you going somewhere, my lady?"
After morning training ended, it had barely passed six o'clock. Everyone in the house had picked up Bai Fanxian's habit of rising early, even the children. The two were taking the Dragon Queen for a flight on the large black bird.
Huang Zihuan had just finished preparing breakfast when he saw Bai Fanxian about to leave. He asked in surprise.
Normally the young lady didn't go out at this time.
"I'm going to visit that man for a bit."
Mm... her words remained as vague as always.
"You mean Barbatos, right..." The elderly butler set down the plate in his hand. He raised a cloth to wipe his hands, preparing to go along.
"You don't need to come. I'll be back before the clinic opens."
Bai Fanxian refused. She walked out to the courtyard just as the children rode the black bird back down.
"Let us come too!"
Somehow they'd heard. When the young woman met those bright, hope-filled eyes, she couldn't harden her heart.
"...Then you two can come along."
"Can we bring Little Red too?"
"...Mm."
Bai Fanxian looked at the Dragon Queen in Hui'er's arms. She still performed her duties well and acted obedient. Nothing to worry about.
In the end, all three people and one creature rode the large black bird to the Eastern Command. Its larger size and good living at Bai Fanxian's home had developed its strength enough to comfortably carry heavy loads.
The Eastern camp still had its tall, imposing wall standing in the forest. Every wall section had units on duty reporting surrounding situations.
Normally their work wasn't much. Only occasionally would wild animals stray near the base.
But today was different. The staff working the monitors could detect some object approaching the base at high speed.
"Report to command immediately!"
"What is it!?"
"Too late! Tell all units to prepare!"
Emergency mode in an instant. But before they could ready themselves, something cut through the air overhead. Large black wings covered the sky above. They hadn't expected such a huge bird!
It circled once above the command center. Its wild animal instincts caught the many hostile intents aimed upward from below.
"Stop! That's Grandmaster Bai!"
Jin Ling happened to be in the area. He looked up and saw a familiar figure standing on that bird's back. He hurriedly shouted for the many gunmen to lower their weapons.
If someone accidentally fired, it would definitely cause chaos.
Jin Ling wiped his sweat and rushed toward the field where the black bird was slowly descending after sensing no danger.
"Grandmaster Bai, hello!"
He quickly greeted her, then noticed two small children clinging behind her. Both looked disheveled, like they'd just been through rough play.
"Is your Marshal here?"
Bai Fanxian avoided saying the name directly and chose to ask this way instead.
"He's been out since yesterday... but he left instructions with me."
Jin Ling thought how fortunate the Marshal had correctly guessed Grandmaster Bai's impatience and assigned him tasks early.
"Then let's go. I don't have much time this morning..."
Bai Fanxian stepped down from the black bird's back. It raised its head to rub against her palm, its intelligence resembling a human's. It chose to wait peacefully in that wide clearing.
"Little Instructor!"
But before they could enter the building, someone on one side of the field called out.
It was Lu Pin—the man who'd had that incident with Hui'er yesterday. He made this loud noise, showing an excited, delighted expression while rushing across the field at incredible speed.
"What brings Little Instructor here?"
He asked curiously, not noticing the strange expressions of those present.
Because the one he was calling "Little Instructor" was Hui'er!
"...You mean me?"
The little girl asked in confusion, looking left and right. Besides her, only the Dragon Queen in her arms was in Lu Pin's line of sight.
"Of course! Will Little Instructor play on the testing machine again today?"
He looked completely different from yesterday. Even Bai Fanxian was surprised enough to turn toward Jin Ling, who sighed.
"...I only just found out he has this side too."
Yesterday, since he didn't need to personally guide Bai Fanxian, he'd stayed in the testing room after they left. Who would've thought that less than a minute later, loud commotion nearly brought the room down.
Everyone working there knew the testing machine's difficulty well. They were shocked that a seven or eight-year-old child could pass it without breaking a sweat.
But greater chaos came when Hui'er's test recordings became treasured items everyone wanted. Her movement methods and weight distribution underwent complete analysis.
The scientists viewed it as precious treasure. But finally, faced with glaring stares, they had to make multiple copies to distribute before the situation calmed.
Jin Ling hadn't expected Lu Pin to practically be first in line to grab those recordings. The moment he got a copy, they saw him training beside the field all night.
"...Will it be okay?"
Jin Ling realized something. Hui'er was Bai Fanxian's small disciple. They'd recorded her techniques without permission—quite rude.
"It's fine..."
Bai Fanxian shook her head. The ultimate principles couldn't be mastered by just anyone. Even among her own people, only Hui'er had reached a certain level so far. The principles were too abstract for videos to help much.
"Little Instructor! Please look at my punches. Is this right?"
Lu Pin didn't care what they were saying. His bold nature had always been like this. He'd even dared challenge the Black Hawk unit in front of Liu Yianfei. Anyone could see how crazy he was.
Hui'er glanced at the punches casually and chose to ask first.
"Why do you call me Little Instructor?"
"Why do I call you Little Instructor?" Lu Pin answered quickly. "Because Little Instructor is better than me. And I'm learning from Little Instructor. But because Little Instructor is still quite young, I call Little Instructor 'Little Instructor.'"
He spoke in one breath. Hui'er stood dazed for a moment, looking at this man whose personality had changed almost 180 degrees.
"And it looks like there's not just one..."
Jin Ling pointed toward the back. When she turned to look, dozens of burly men rushed straight over at full speed, kicking up dust. They'd been in the training room yesterday and received recordings to study. The more they watched those movements, the more they felt spellbound. Even the military's martial arts Grandmaster instructor was stunned by Hui'er's movements after her state changed.
The moment they heard their "Little Instructor" had come again, they were ready to drop everything and rush to this field.
"...The Marshal said if it doesn't cause too much trouble, he'd like that child to come train the military personnel."
He remembered Zhang Xianyuan's casual words and took the opportunity to relay them to Bai Fanxian.
Bai Fanxian looked at Hui'er, who was starting to feel awkward from being praised and admired. This child could remain calm facing death or countless battles. But she didn't know how to handle situations like this.
Oh well... consider it repaying Zhang Xianyuan. And it would help this child grow a bit more too.
"Hui'er... every day when I come here, you can be their 'Little Instructor,' then."
"..."