A useless person with five spiritual roots? I sacrificed the proud daughter of heaven.

"Dear senior brothers and sisters, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have been so petty about a bracelet, and I shouldn't have said those things without thinking. I know I was wrong, please forgive me."

"Ah!"

Mu Yao sneered and glared fiercely at Chu Heng.

Chu Heng's brow twitched. He turned around and saw Sheng He looking at him mockingly. Looking down, he discovered that Zhao Yanran had somehow hidden behind him again.

"Yanran, come here."

"Senior brother..."

"Senior Brother, why are you making things difficult for Junior Sister Yanran? She hasn't done anything wrong... What?"

Chu Heng frowned as he looked at the person who spoke. Wu Yan shrank back and his voice gradually faded away.

Seeing that Zhao Yanran was still hiding and refusing to come out, Chu Heng simply grabbed Zhao Yanran by the collar and dragged her in front of Sheng He.

“Yanran, the one who suffered the most in this matter is Junior Sister Sheng. You should apologize to Junior Sister Sheng separately.”

Zhao Yanran lowered her head, her face flushed. When she looked up, she saw Sheng He staring at her with a mocking expression.

She was laughing at herself.

She was definitely mocking herself.

Zhao Yanran clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white. After a long while, she slowly loosened her grip.

Shenghe, we have a long future ahead of us!

"Senior Sister Sheng, I'm sorry, it's all my fault, please forgive me."

Sheng He waved his hand magnanimously: "As long as Junior Sister Zhao doesn't say anything ambiguous that causes misunderstandings in the future, that's fine."

"We also hope that our senior brother can find the culprit who spread the rumors as soon as possible and clear Junior Sister Zhao's name."

Chu Heng readily agreed, and without even bothering to collect the spirit stones, he pulled Zhao Yanran away from the Discipline Department.

He thought that while Zhao Yanran was still young, it was essential for him to give his junior sister a few lessons in moral education.

After Chu Heng and his companion left, the Discipline Department returned to its lively state, with many disciples coming forward to apologize to Sheng He with clasped hands. As a result, Sheng He made many friends.

On the way back to Sword Peak, Mu Yao looked at Sheng He, who seemed perfectly normal, and after holding back for a long time, she couldn't help but ask, "Sheng He, can you act for me again?"

Sheng He raised her head, her eyes filled with a sense of bewilderment.

"What's the play?"

"Why do you turn into a block of wood when you're with me?!"

Mu Yao gently patted Sheng He's head, then blinked frantically, her face scrunched up: "Just like that! You suddenly became a different person, tears just came out of nowhere."

"Tell your senior sister how you learned this move! Your senior sister wants to learn it too!"

Sheng He raised her head expressionlessly, blinked gently, and tears slid down her cheeks.

"Yes! Yes, that's it!"

"It's just an example of using their own methods against them."

Sheng He wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve: "People always sympathize more with the weak. When someone bullies the weak, I can't just let them bully me for no reason. I have to find a way to get back at them."

"Aren't powerful people all very concerned about their image? This is called using the weak to bully the strong."

"Using the weak to bully the strong?"

Mu Yao looked at Sheng He curiously: "What a novel idea! Did you come up with this yourself?"

Sheng He shook her head; this was a trick she had learned from Zhao Yanran in her previous life.

If Zhao Yanran just frowned and shed a few tears, everyone would give in to her, and she would become right even if she was wrong.

“Senior sister, you are a disciple of Martial Uncle Jinglan. Martial Uncle Jinglan is very protective of his own. Who would dare to bully you? So, senior sister, you don’t need to learn such a helpless method.”

At this point, the two seemed to simultaneously recall Sheng He's unreliable master, and Mu Yao patted Sheng He on the shoulder in a righteous manner.

"Don't be afraid, your senior sister is here for you! If you need anything, just come to me! I'll protect you!"

Sheng He looked at Mu Yao, the sunlight shining on her face, revealing an exceptionally bright smile.

Sheng He smiled faintly. She wasn't good at expressing her feelings, so she could only respond silently in her heart.

Okay, senior sister, I will protect you from now on, even if it costs me my life.

Upon returning to Sword Peak, Master Tianyu was still nowhere to be found, and Mu Yao also went back.

It was still early, and the sun had just risen. Sheng He took out a porcelain bottle from his storage ring, poured out a fasting pill, and swallowed it.

Mu Yao just stuffed several porcelain bottles into her hands, and she probably didn't even see which ones they were.

Thinking of this, Sheng He chuckled softly and picked up a twig from the ground to continue practicing.

By midday, the sun was getting increasingly scorching. Sheng He had gathered up the branches and was about to go inside when he heard shouts behind him.

"Little Shenghe! Little Shenghe!"

Sheng He wiped his sweat and turned around to see his master rushing over.

Tianyu looked at Shenghe with a flustered expression and checked her over from head to toe: "I heard from Muyao that you were bullied? Let your teacher see if you are hurt anywhere?"

Sheng He shook her head: "No, they couldn't bully me."

"That's good, that's good." Tianyu said, glancing at the branch in Shenghe's hand out of the corner of her eye, and pulled Shenghe into the house like a thief caught in the act.

"Little Shenghe, how have you been practicing swordsmanship these past few days?"

"It's alright. Senior Sister Mu Yao came over to give me guidance last night, and I've already become familiar with the basic movements in 'Swordsmanship Fundamentals'."

Tianyu nodded with satisfaction, his eyes constantly glancing at Shenghe's storage ring.

"Have you read all the books your teacher gave you?"

Sheng He opened his mouth, then silently nodded, recalling the pile of articles such as "How to Become a Sword Cultivator," "What I Did When a Sword Cultivator Couldn't Pay for Sword Maintenance," and "How a Sword Cultivator Should Seduce a Pill Cultivator."

Tianyu chuckled awkwardly, took out a long sword and placed it on the table: "I grabbed the wrong one in my haste yesterday. Those were all improper books, not suitable for someone your age. Here, your teacher has specially selected a sword manual for you today. You can practice it first."

"Also, since you're going to learn swordsmanship, don't practice with tree branches. This sword is called Frostbite, and it was the first sword I ever used. It will be your sword from now on. If you come across a better one in the future, or if you want to forge your own natal sword, you can change it then."

"Alright, it's getting late. You should rest now. If you have any questions or are bullied, don't try to tough it out on yourself. Just come and find your master!"

Tianyu gently touched Shenghe's hair and lifted her foot to leave.

After taking only a couple of steps, Tianyu seemed to remember something and casually mentioned, "By the way, you don't need those books anyway, so why don't you give them to me first?"

Sheng He: ...

She knew that this was her master's true purpose in coming.

After finally seeing Tianyu off, Shenghe picked up Aoshuang from the table and examined it carefully.

This is a long sword that is pure white and cool to the touch. It is about three feet long and has no other decorations except for a luminous pearl the size of a fingernail inlaid on the hilt.