Soon the tea finished boiling and he poured it for everyone to drink as they all chatted with each other.
“So, will you all enter seclusion to break through to the Inner Sea realm?” Shen Yuan asked while sipping on his tea.
Ling Mei and the others looked at each other as Wan Ling was the first to speak, “Yes, I will enter seclusion as my cultivation seems to have reached the peak of Foundation Establishment Realm.”
“I as well…” The rest of them agreed since they were all on the verge of breakthroughs after getting so many benefits from the Mystique Realm.
Shen Yuan nodded his head approvingly, “You all should discuss your cultivation with Big Sister Huo Rong and Bing Rong.”
Bing Rong and Huo Rong nodded their heads as Huo Rong spoke, “Yes, you can ask us anything if you are not sure about your cultivation path.”
The disciples’ eyes lit up as they started to ask the questions which were troubling them.
Shen Yuan moved back a little as he sipped his tea while Bing Rong and Huo Rong answered their questions.
[You seem to be enjoying yourself quite a bit here.]
Yue Lan’s voice echoed inside his head, making him chuckle.
“It’s because I’m happy, both Sister Huo Rong and Sister Bing Rong seem to be happy with their disciples,” he said to Yue Lan internally.
[Well, enough about that. Will you cultivate that Fire Cultivation Technique today or some other day? It would be a major breakthrough for you if you manage to learn the Fire Intent from it.
]Shen Yuan thought deeply for a bit before he answered her back, “I will cultivate it after a few days; I will finish everything that I want to do in the Outer Sect in that time and will increase my cultivation base to join the Inner Sect.”
[Hmm, I see. Well, that works as well.]
Shen Yuan curiously asked, “But why are you interested in that all of a sudden?”
It’s because I’m curious whether you will be able to comprehend the Fire Intent or not.
Her voice turned mischievous as she replied.
“You do know that I could have learned Fire Intent all on my own without a technique if I wanted it? It’s not a high-level Intent like the Space Intent that would cause problems for me.”
Shen Yuan replied back with a shake of his head.
[While that might be true, but comprehending a technique will increase your speed by dozens to hundreds of times; else you might have to meditate upon those Intents for decades or centuries.]
Shen Yuan turned silent as he knew what she said was the truth; he might have comprehended the Intents but it would have taken a long time to do that.
He soon shook his head to get rid of these useless thoughts, “I need to cultivate faster, for me to meet up with them again.”
His gaze turned nostalgic, heading into the abyss of memories, but before he could delve deeper into it, someone placed a hand on his shoulder as a gentle voice echoed in his ear, “What happened, Yuan’er?”
Shen Yuan raised his head to see Bing Rong looking at him with concerned eyes. He smiled lightly as he shook his head.
“It’s nothing, I was just thinking about my cultivation.” He glanced around and saw that nearly everyone had left the courtyard.
“Hmm? Did they all already leave?” He turned his head back and asked Bing Rong softly.
Bing Rong smiled softly and cupped his cheeks with her hand, “Yes, they already left. Huo Rong seemed quite reluctant to part with you, but I managed to send her away.”
Shen Yuan saw her playing with his cheeks gently as he raised his hand and placed it on top of hers, “How did you even manage to do that?”
“Hehe, it’s a secret.” Bing Rong revealed a rare smile as she seemed quite happy to play with Shen Yuan’s cheeks.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, embracing her gently as he breathed in her fragrance. He didn’t say anything as all words seemed to pale in comparison to his actions.
Bing Rong also didn’t say anything as she placed her head on his chest and closed her eyes to enjoy the moment.
They sat beneath the plum blossom tree, peacefully embracing each other as the soft noises of the insects seemed to make the courtyard alive.
They stayed like that for a while when Bing Rong raised her head and looked directly into Shen Yuan’s eyes, “I heard what happened between you and Huo Rong.”
Shen Yuan’s lips twitched as he had suspected something like this to happen due to Huo Rong’s personality.
Nonetheless, he didn’t move his gaze away as he gently raised his palm and placed it on her cheek, “Are you angry with me due to that?”
Bing Rong continued staring into his eyes and stayed silent for a while as if wondering about something.
Shen Yuan felt his heart quickening at the growing tension.
But Bing Rong soon spoke softly with a shake of her head, “I’m not angry at you; why would I be angry in the first place?”
Shen Yuan got silent as he didn’t know how to ask her that. He silently looked at her, not knowing how to continue the conversation.
Bing Rong smiled, “I’m content as long as you are happy. And one of us was bound to do it with you first. That’s why we already decided who it will be in the Dual Cultivation Chambers after you sent us in. That’s why Yue Lan helped Huo Rong to complete her seclusion faster.”
Shen Yuan’s eyes widened as he stared at her; he didn’t think they would have done this behind his back.
“You—” he tried to speak but Bing Rong placed her finger on his lips and continued, “You don’t need to worry too much about it. We both decided on this ourselves.”
Shen Yuan silently looked at her, his mind turning into a mess as he didn’t know how to take in everything that was happening.
After a while of thinking about his position, he sighed and pulled Bing Rong for a hug, “Thank you for understanding,” he silently whispered in her ear.
Bing Rong’s face lit up with a sweet smile as she embraced him back.
They stayed silent for a bit before Shen Yuan spoke, “Let me show you around my courtyard.”
Shen Yuan smiled as his mood had brightened up a lot after this chat with Bing Rong.
She smiled and stood up from his embrace, “Sure, I want to see where you have been living all this while.”
Shen Yuan stood up as well. He put away all the items from the ground in his storage ring, “Good, let’s go to the bamboo grove first; it’s a nice little place in this courtyard.”
He extended his hand towards Bing Rong, who smiled lightly and grabbed it. They intertwined their hands and started walking slowly towards the bamboo grove while admiring the calm atmosphere.
“Isn’t this place beautiful?” Shen Yuan said while looking at the green bamboos.
