Gong Ning shielded her disciple behind her and looked at the three people walking over.

She recognized the Outer Sect Elder from the Sky-Sword Pavilion. His name was something like Gong Changqian.
He had achieved the Golden Core fifty years ago, but like most, he lingered at that stage, afraid to advance further, fearing that one day he would truly reach Nascent Soul and be struck dead by a bolt of lightning.

But she didn’t recognize the girl.
However, the system that had been silent in Gong Ning’s mind for a long time suddenly started blaring.

[Beep beep! There is a cultivation genius near you, please seize the opportunity!]

Only then did Gong Ning take a closer look at the girl.
For some reason, the other party was also staring intently at her, her calm gaze inscrutable.

Jiang Yuyao was the first to speak, “Well, well, here to freeload on tea at my Heart-Sword Hall again? But I see you’ve come empty-handed?”

That Wang Cheng shifted his gaze from Gong Ning and respectfully answered the Sword Immortal, “The Sword Immortal knows why I have come this time, and I believe Elder Gong Ning is also aware of my intentions…”

Gong Changqian, however, was not so polite. “Gong Ning, you were originally a Golden Core cultivator. Not only were you defeated by the demonic path and had your cultivation destroyed, but you were also turned into a woman. You’ve not only disgraced the righteous path, but you’ve also completely shamed our Gong family!”

Jiang Yuyao’s expression soured. “I think you’re wasted at the Sky-Sword Pavilion. How about you go be a judge at the Sword of Justice Bureau? Go teach the people there how to convict a hero who protected her disciples. Also, Elder Wang Cheng, I’d like to ask you something. If you became a woman, would you be willing to marry?”

That Wang Cheng actually had the gall to reply, “Men have their roles, and women have their destinies. If one day I become a woman, I would naturally fulfill my duties as a woman.”

Gong Changqian grew impatient again. “Gong Ning, the Sky-Sword Pavilion, in consideration of your merit in protecting the disciples, has not stripped you of your elder position, nor have we expelled you from the family. On behalf of the Gong family, I ask you one thing: will you marry or not?”

Gong Ning smiled and replied, “First, thank you for the main family’s kindness. But even though Gong Ning is now a woman, what she longs for in her eyes and yearns for in her heart is still a woman.”

Gong Changqian sneered, “It seems you intend to be the first person to betray the Gong family in a hundred years? Have you thought this through? With your cultivation gone, will you have another hundred years? Can you even survive the next heavenly tribulation?”

“You don’t need to trouble the Sky-Sword Pavilion with that. Gong Ning is staying in my Heart-Sword Hall, which may not be any worse than your Sky-Sword Pavilion.”

Jiang Yuyao was subtly competing in her words.
She couldn’t say it outright because the seven factions of the Profound Heaven Sword Sect had strict rules: under normal circumstances, disciples and elders could not leave their own factions to join another.

Actually, Jiang Yuyao had long spoken to the Sect Master about this matter, but the Sect Master was a master of evasion, neither agreeing nor refusing.

The reason was simple: it was difficult to manage.

The Sky-Sword Pavilion was not just a faction, but also a family.
As long as their actions did not harm the sect, he could only turn a blind eye.

But Gong Ning was also a hero who had protected disciples.
One could not let those who gathered firewood for the masses freeze to death in the snow and wind.

Jiang Yuyao remembered the Sect Master saying that he had secured an opportunity for Gong Ning.

Just then, Gong Changqian took out a contract, “Gong Ning, the main family had already anticipated your betrayal, but in consideration of your past as a Gong family disciple, we will give you a chance. Didn’t you recruit a disciple? In the new disciple competition a month from now, if your disciple can shine brightly and defeat Elder Wang Cheng’s disciple, proving that you are indeed better suited for the Heart-Sword Hall than our Sky-Sword Pavilion, the Gong family will not pursue any of your responsibilities.”

‘This was the opportunity the Sect Master had secured?’

Jiang Yuyao glanced at the girl, then at Tao Lingling, who was cowering behind Gong Ning.

Although this new disciple somehow already had some cultivation, the difference in their innate talent was too great.

Wang Cheng’s disciple was calm and sharp-eyed, already knowing how to conceal her aura at such a young age.
Her innate talent was a once-in-a-century prodigy, while Tao Lingling…

‘Who encouraged her to cultivate? Or did she encounter some great misfortune that required her to defy fate through cultivation?’

If she hadn’t already had some cultivation, she probably wouldn’t have even been able to step onto the Immortal-Ascension Platform.

“I accept.”

To the surprise of both Jiang Yuyao and Gong Ning, it was Tao Lingling who personally shouted these words.

Gong Ning saw the determination in her disciple’s eyes and no longer hesitated.
She took the contract, bit her finger, pressed her handprint on it, and then threw it back.

Wang Cheng immediately caught it and respectfully replied, “My apologies, Elder Gong Ning. We will meet again in a month.”

As he left, he gave Gong Ning a deep look.

Jiang Yuyao felt very uncomfortable.
For some reason, she felt an urge to gouge out his eyes.
At the same time, she also sensed a murderous aura.
Tracing its source, she found it was coming from the girl.

But it quickly vanished, leaving its target unknown.

“This disciple of yours… forget it. I’m going to Flower Islet to find that she-devil. See if I can turn you back within a month.”

She didn’t think Tao Lingling could win.
Although the new disciple competition was just a bunch of fancy but impractical moves, and she could indeed make a dazzling display, defeating the opponent was too much to hope for.
It was better to find another way.

If she could be turned back, the crisis would resolve itself.

Jiang Yuyao tossed her jade pendant to Gong Ning and immediately summoned a flying treasure to depart.

Gong Ning looked at Jiang Yuyao’s Hall Master jade pendant and sighed.
Her finger was still throbbing.
Without her cultivation, even a small wound wouldn’t heal properly.

But then, her finger entered a warm, soft place.
She looked down to see her newly accepted disciple sucking on the tip.

Gong Ning immediately pulled her finger out.
Thinking that rejecting her disciple like this might not be right, she added, “You heard them just now. Your Master was once a man. So whether it’s the intimacy from before or this right now, it is not in accordance with propriety.”

As she said this, she was a little worried.
What if her disciple looked at her with strange eyes…

But Tao Lingling would absolutely not make the same mistake as her previous life.
Not only that, she even pressed Gong Ning’s hand against her own chest.

“What does it matter! Master’s kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain. How could I distance myself from Master over such trivial matters?”

Her words deeply moved Gong Ning, but the warmth on her palm made her very uneasy.
Although her disciple was young, she was already at a budding age.
And even if she didn’t care, if others found out in the future, they would look at her with strange eyes.

Only, Gong Ning found that her strength was actually no match for her disciple’s.

“Ahem… why don’t you rest first? I’ll help you get settled in.”

Tao Lingling was different from other outer sect disciples; she held the status of a direct disciple of an elder.

In the Profound Heaven Sword Sect, the direct disciples of the seven factions were the highest, followed by the direct disciples of inner sect elders, then outer sect elders, and below them were the ordinary inner and outer sect disciples.

“No, I want to cultivate! Master needs me to protect her now, right?”

Tao Lingling remembered that in her previous life, they had indeed caught the she-devil later on.
But the she-devil’s magical treasure didn’t turn people into women, but into monsters.

Like a mirror reflecting the heart, one’s appearance is born from the heart, and the environment changes with the heart.
Beauty and ugliness manifest themselves; good and evil are instantly judged.
It was called the Heart-Reflecting Mirror.

So Master couldn’t be changed back.
Now, she could only rely on herself.

Gong Ning couldn’t help but laugh out loud again.
She was no longer reserved, crouching down and hugging Tao Lingling’s small body.

“You child, you always warm my heart. It’s so wonderful that you’re my disciple.”

It was just that this disciple really liked to nuzzle.
She nuzzled against her chest, which even Gong Ning herself was too embarrassed to touch, making them sway left and right.
Gong Ning felt her face burning and didn’t dare let her disciple see.