Mission: Seduce the Master!

Xie Qing silently watched as Li Yuilan's carriage disappeared into the distance, reluctantly parting with him. However, the Master's order was an order, so she could do nothing about it.

The man looked around. Now, the house they had built looked very lonely, and the feeling of peace and tranquility had vanished with her departure. The man sighed.

"Who would have thought that I would become so attached to her that Li Yuilan's absence would be torture for me. Now I can't even focus on cultivation," thought Xie Qing, sighing weakly and waving his hand, summoning his carriage. "Maybe I should also return to the estate? It has become too boring..."

It seemed as if they had spent not a few weeks, but years together. Xie Qing scratched the back of his head, feeling that over time he had become more sensitive.

"Not sure if this is good or bad..."

***

Clang! Clang!

"Kha-ah!"

Loud metallic clanging sounds echoed. The scene was in Xie Qing's garden, where on a fairly wide area, he was training with Xu Mei, who with her brilliant and graceful movements could easily make Xie Qing lose.

The man tiredly fell on his buttocks, throwing the training sword aside. His right wrist ached because, while blocking Xu Mei's attacks, he had to use almost all his strength, and even that was not enough.

"Master, you are truly amazing. Now I understand why they call you the strongest swordsman," Xie Qing expressed his thoughts aloud, admiringly clicking his tongue.

"Pfft. I am not the greatest swordsman, got it?" Xu Mei merely shrugged and corrected Xie Qing: "Only those who have not seen 'her' think so. That's why it's foolish to call me the greatest."

"Hmm? You mean the Empress of Swords?" Xie Qing asked, tilting his head in confusion and adding: "About my great master."

"Correct!"

Xu Mei smirked and puffed out her chest. Although she seemed to harbor less than kind feelings towards the Empress of Swords and often cursed her, when it came to sword skills, the woman did not skimp on praise.

"Her sword is rightfully considered unsurpassed. And do you know why?" Xu Mei began to speak passionately, and seeing Xie Qing's interest, she slyly smirked and added: "Because even I find it hard to catch the movements of the Master's sword, understand? I can't imagine how one can resist what one cannot even see."

"O-o-o. I didn't expect to hear praise from you."

"Do you think I only know how to be rude?"

"Well..."

"Hmph!"

Xu Mei sulked, furrowing her brows and pouting, while Xie Qing awkwardly laughed. Nevertheless, he was truly interested in the personality of his Great Master.

"What is she like... the Empress of Swords?" Xie Qing asked, his eyes showing genuine interest.

"As a person or as a swordsman?" Xu Mei asked in return with a strange expression.

"The former."

"Total crap."

"Eh?"

Xie Qing was speechless, hearing a curse from the woman's lips. He looked at her in confusion, as she appeared annoyed.

"W-why? Is there a special reason?" he wondered.

"Ah, there are many. Firstly, she is arrogant, a narcissist, lazy, eccentric, proud, and just an old hag who only knows how to annoy people," Xu Mei replied with the utmost sincerity.

"Um..."

Xie Qing fell silent. Actually, the first thing he thought after such a portrayal of the Empress of Swords was...

"You two are somewhat similar, actually..."

However, he did not voice this aloud. What he did have was a strong instinct for self-preservation.

"However..." Xu Mei suddenly added and seriously looked at Xie Qing: "Even if her personality is crap, her skills and cultivation level are quite convincing. For example, she can easily defeat me and all my acquaintances alone with one strike."

"Eh... so strong?" Xie Qing was astonished.

Transcendence - a cultivation level where with each stage, the difference in power becomes more and more pronounced. However, even so, it is hard to imagine a cultivator who could defeat someone at their own cultivation level.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Therefore, Xie Qing's first reaction was disbelief, but seeing Xu Mei's serious expression, he could not help but frown.

"So strong?"

Xie Qing had only encountered the Empress of Swords as a projection in the Ancestral Cave, but that was just a projection, and her behavior, to put it mildly, was quite... strange.

However, hearing Xu Mei's honest opinion, even Xie Qing began to think of his great mentor as some kind of monster.

"Master... if we compare our talents, who is better?" Xie Qing wondered and frowned.

"Eh... it's hard for me to answer," Xu Mei scratched the back of her head and awkwardly twirled the sword in the air: "The Master never really talked about herself, and the people who dominated in her generation are either long dead or have disappeared. So I don't know about her talents and records. But I can only say that she is terrifyingly strong."

"I see..."

Xie Qing frowned.

"Who would have thought that she would be so old that even the Master knows nothing about her," the man muttered, rubbing his chin.

"Bastard, haven't you been beaten enough?"

Xu Mei angrily snapped, pinching his cheek.

***

"How interesting..."

On a towering mountain, at its very peak where the ground was not visible, sat a woman. Behind her was a huge pavilion.

Her bright silver hair trailed on the ground. In her elegant, beautiful silver eyes with pupils resembling a cross. She sat in the lotus position, dressed in a flowing white robe with long sleeves.

Her face was neat, even somewhat petite. She looked young, no more than twenty years old. But...

"That boy was interested in me? Why?" the girl asked, smirking.

"Yes... Master."

Behind her stood Xu Mei, who was as beautiful as ever. She grimaced, looking at the woman in front of her.

"What's with the outfit? You hated such girly clothes."

"Ah? Why not? Do you think it doesn't suit me?"

"It suits you, but... your unusual appearance makes me sick."

"Haha, excellent. Then I'll keep wearing it just to spite you."

The girl... no, the Empress of Swords, let out a loud, elegant laugh, and then looked at Xu Mei with a smirk.

"I see you are already pregnant? Quite good, but isn't it a bit early?"

"Early? Old woman, I am considered an adult woman," Xu Mei replied, frowning in confusion.

"Seriously? In my days, two thousand years was the age of a teenager. Ah, it was better back then..." sighed Mei Feng, the Empress of Swords, waving her hand: "Anyway, congratulations. It seems even idiots can become mothers. What a discovery. Live and learn."

"And your rotten mouth hasn't changed."

Mei Feng giggled - surprisingly, her laughter was sweet and pleasant to the ear. Then, she stood up and looked at her disciple with a smirk.

"So, what do you want? You never came to me without a reason."

Xu Mei remained silent for a few seconds, then opened her mouth.

"I..."