Watching Zhou Qin depart, Ruan Hongling murmured softly, "I never expected the usually aloof Zhou Qin to have such a passionate heart, though she nearly caused a catastrophe. If Mei Duo had genuinely said she didn't want to be a Bandara, I doubt we could have simply stood by. That would have surely ignited another fierce war between the Esoteric sect and Taoism..."

Ziyuan sighed lightly. "Although Mei Duo knows nothing of the cultivation world, she understood that if she refused, Zhou Qin might very well die here. So, she agreed. What truly impressed me, however, was Zhou Qin's composure before the several Guardian Divine Monks—her face never changed, completely self-possessed. Setting aside everything else, just that cultivation of qi and that bearing already surpass many practitioners who have cultivated for far longer."

"No matter what level Li Yundong's future cultivation reaches, he can rest assured; his attainments and skills will certainly be inherited through Zhou Qin! She is destined to become an earth-shattering female cultivator! When one sect produces two peerless prodigies like Li Yundong and Zhou Qin simultaneously, it’s impossible for that sect not to achieve unparalleled glory!"

For some reason, Ruan Hongling was instantly reminded of her own Ling Gong Sect. Overcome by the sect's current decline, she said with a pang of bitterness, "What good is having one brilliant disciple? True mastery lies in ensuring every disciple they take in afterward is also formidable!"

Ziyuan smiled faintly. "I wonder where Li Yundong's next disciple is to be found."

Just as Zhou Qin was establishing her foundation at Karis Holy Mountain, far away in Pennsylvania State University in the United States, Chris, who had once been an exchange student in Tiannan City, was basking in the warm campus sunshine while preparing her graduation thesis.

Pennsylvania in December was enduring the torment of an invading cold front. University students usually dressed in thick layers, tightly wrapping scarves around their faces to prevent the biting wind from seeping into their clothes.

But this day was a rare clear one. The sun shone warmly on the evergreen lawns, and many beauty-conscious female students had shed their heavy down jackets, freely displaying their graceful and exquisite figures.

Chris was wearing a goose-yellow hand-knitted crewneck sweater, a plaid woolen long skirt, and a pair of warm, skin-toned thermal leggings. She appeared delicate, tall, and sexy. Her golden hair cascaded in waves over her shoulders, and her exquisite, doll-like face drew gazes of admiration and affection from men wherever she went.

Carrying a few books, Chris found a relatively clean patch of lawn, then began flipping through her reading material while enjoying the warm winter sun.

But she hadn't read for long when she suddenly heard someone shouting loudly in the distance: "Chris! Hey, Chris!"

Chris looked up toward the source of the voice. The sunlight was a bit glaring, causing her to instinctively tilt her head. Her golden locks fell beside her cheeks, lending her already round and beautiful face an added touch of feminine softness and hazy allure.

She raised a hand to form a sunshade over her brow and squinted slightly. She saw John, whom she hadn't seen for two or three months. She instantly broke into a smile: "It's you, John! Long time no see, how have you been?"

Although John and Chris were close friends who often interacted, he was momentarily stunned by the beauty she exuded at that moment. He slowed his pace, as if afraid to disturb the tranquility of the scene, which resembled a pastoral oil painting.

John couldn't help but exclaim, "Chris, you've become even more beautiful since returning from China!"

Chris smiled slightly and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "Have I? I don't feel like anything has changed?"

John shook his head. "No, you have an added aura of mystery and quiet beauty; it's truly breathtaking!"

Chris closed her book with a smile and said, "John, did you come here specifically to flatter me today? If so, thank you. If not, please get to your main point, because..." Chris shook the book in her hand, "...I still have my graduation thesis to prepare."

John looked closely and saw that the book in Chris's hand had Chinese characters on the cover. John grinned and said, "Ha, I recognize these characters..."

Saying that, John cheerfully sat down beside Chris and painstakingly tried to decipher the characters on the cover.

But he stared at them for a long time, feeling they were extremely familiar, yet he simply couldn't name them, which made him scratch his head in frustration.

Chris pursed her lips and teased him in Chinese, "I told you your Chinese was far from good enough, and you didn't believe me!"

John glared with his bull-like eyes and retorted stubbornly in slightly broken Chinese, "Nonsense! I'm the fastest improving student in the Confucius Institute Chinese class right now; even the teacher praises my progress!"

Chris chuckled, "Alright then, Mr. Fastest Progress, how can you not recognize these four simple characters?"

John, exasperated, reverted to English, "Who told you these characters look so strange? Damn it, what four characters are these?"

Seeing John so agitated that veins were popping on his forehead, Chris couldn't help but burst into laughter. "I was just teasing you. These characters are Huang Di Nei Jing (The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon). This is ancient Chinese seal script; even many Chinese people might not recognize them! This is a treasured book from my grandmother. When she gave it to me, I couldn't recognize them either."

John finally relaxed, patted his chest with lingering relief. "That’s a relief. That means it’s not a problem with my Chinese. Chris, you scared me just now; I thought my Chinese was still as rotten as dog poop. If it were, Master would abandon me again!"

Chris looked at John with a gentle smile, a flicker of confusion crossing her beautiful eyes. "John, do you really want to learn martial arts that badly?"

John nodded vigorously without hesitation. "Of course! Chris, didn't you want to go apprentice yourself to a master day and night right after we got back a few months ago? Why are you asking that now?"

A look of difficulty crossed Chris's face. "I did consider it. My grandmother supports me going, but my father won't let me, and my mother wants me to finish my studies first. After thinking it over myself, I feel the whole thing is a bit too ethereal and uncertain..."

John exclaimed dramatically, "Good heavens, Chris, surely you aren't still doubting the Master's abilities? Have you ever seen anyone in this world dodge a bullet from five meters away? Have you seen anyone jump down from the fourth floor holding a person and act completely fine? Have you seen anyone punch so hard in mid-air that they send a burly man like me, weighing nearly two hundred pounds (90 kg), flying?"

John suddenly turned serious. "I know your parents want you to inherit the family business, which is why they want to keep you close. However, I am definitely going back to China, and I've even secured my visa these past few days! I came to find you to ask if you want to come with me?"

Chris lowered her head with a complex expression, unable to stop herself from recalling her memories as an exchange student at Tiannan University.

In Chris's view, Tiannan City University lagged far behind Pennsylvania State University in every aspect. The quality of both students and teachers was inconsistent, and the local officials and educators left her with many negative impressions of bureaucracy.

But what imprinted itself most deeply on Chris was that incredibly magical Chinese young man. Even every time Chris closed her eyes, she could visualize Li Yundong’s supernatural performance while dodging bullets, an act akin to a demon god.

That was truly a memory so profoundly shocking it would last a lifetime!

Especially when her grandmother mentioned that Li Yundong might be a legendary cultivator who possessed the art of longevity, Chris's heart fluttered. She desperately wished she could immediately beg Li Yundong to teach her that art of eternal life.

But as days turned into weeks, that impulse slowly subsided and calmed. Chris ultimately chose her studies over the vague promise of cultivation.

However, just as Chris thought she was about to forget the entire affair, John reappeared, still holding the same unwavering admiration for that mysterious and powerful Eastern young man, still determined with iron resolve to travel to the distant East to seek apprenticeship!

The memory Chris had almost forgotten was stirred up again. Her heart suddenly began to pound. She kept her head lowered, silent, simply tracing the exquisite cover of the book in her hand.

Seeing the flicker of emotion in Chris's eyes, John began to coax her, "Chris, what are you hesitating about? Do you know how old you are? Come on, you are only twenty! You look like an eighty-year-old grandma worrying about everything!"

"Do you know what twenty is? It’s the age for roaming and seeking adventure! While we are still young and still possess the courage to travel and strive, if you don't go out now, when will you go? Will you regret it when you are old and can no longer move?"

Chris felt a sharp jolt in her heart. She recalled the words her grandmother, Lin Guoying, had once told her: "Chris, if you ever meet a true master, do not hesitate; find a way to become his disciple. Otherwise, you will end up like me someday, watching your years age and your youth fade. By the time I reached this point, regret was useless!"

That sentence ignited the wild, adventurous spirit inherited from her sailor grandfather within Chris's blood. She slowly lifted her head, her eyes shining with a radiant light.

Seeing the look in Chris’s eyes, John exclaimed happily, "Chris, have you decided to come to China with me?"

Chris sighed with a smile. "Oh, John, John, you could be a politician someday; you have excellent rhetorical skills!"

John grinned. "I’m not Arnold Schwarzenegger!"

Chris smiled wryly. "That’s true, Arnold isn't as good at fighting as you are!"

John cooperatively struck a bodybuilder's pose, followed by a few fighting stances, his eyebrows almost flying off with excitement. "Chris, when do we leave? I can’t wait to fly to China and start a brand-new life!"

Chris shook her head and laughed. "You really are an optimist! You need to improve your Chinese first. You have to know, that bastard doesn't seem too willing to take us as disciples!"

John waved his hand dismissively and said in deliberate Chinese, word by word, "Chris, as the saying goes, sincerity moves mountains! I don't believe my sincerity cannot move the Master! I will definitely convince him to take me as a disciple!"

Chris smiled and replied in Chinese, "Thank heavens, those few sentences were relatively standard. It looks like you’ve practiced for a long time!"

John laughed heartily and switched back to English. "I practice them dozens of times every day! Damn it, Chinese is so hard to learn! But I’ll be in China soon to continue learning, hahahaha!" Saying this, John happily flipped a backward somersault on the spot, chirping excitedly like a child, his face flushed with delight. "Haha, we are going to China! Chris, let's go together... to the East!"

Chris smiled, about to reply, when a voice suddenly cut in from nearby: "Going to the East? Going where in the East? Are you two planning to elope? Heh heh, if you are eloping, take me with you!"