Dual Cultivation

"I see… so that's what Disciple Li feels…" Sect Master Huang closed his eyes after listening to Su Yang's explanation.

"Can I call Disciple Li here?" He then asked a moment later.

Su Yang nodded, "I was going to do that if you didn't ask."

Sect Master Huang proceeded to summon Li Xiao Mo using the communication jade slip.

Sometime later, Li Xiao Mo knocked on the door.

"I am here, Sect Master." Li Xiao Mo's voice resounded outside.

"Enter."

Upon hearing Sect Master Huang's voice, Li Xiao Mo opened the door and entered the room.

"Disciple Li greets Sect Master Huang and Sect Master Su." Li Xiao Mo gave them a formal greeting.

"You can drop the formality, Li Xiao Mo. Come, sit next to me." Su Yang patted the seat beside him in a casual manner.

Li Xiao Mo swallowed nervously before taking a seat beside him.

"Disciple Li, I only have one question for you." Sect Master Huang looked at her with a serious expression on his face.

"Do you wish to follow Sect Master Su?" he asked.

"Eh? I—"

However, before she could respond, Sect Master Huang interrupted, "I don't care about your feelings for the Yellow River Sect. I only want to know whether you want to follow him or not."

Li Xiao Mo's eyes widened, and after a moment of silence, she nodded her head.

"I do, Sect Master. I want to be with Su Yang— I really do." Li Xiao Mo responded with a serious face of her own.

Sect Master Huang closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

After a good minute of silence, he opened his eyes back up and said in a solemn voice, "Disciple Li, as of this moment, you're no longer a disciple of our Yellow River Sect. With my authority as the Sect Master, I hereby strip you of your disciple status."

Li Xiao Mo's eyes widened with shock, and she immediately opened her mouth to speak, but alas, no words came out as she was completely left speechless by the way Sect Master Huang handled this situation!

"This is for your own good, Disciple— No, Li Xiao Mo. While we treasure your talents, we also know that our Yellow River Sect cannot fully nurture a genius like you. However, Sect Master Su is a completely different story. He will even bring you to the Divine Heavens, where you'll be able to fully spread your wings. I cannot keep you here. Therefore, forget about us and go with Sect Master Su."

"Sect Master Huang…" Li Xiao Mo suddenly felt the urge to cry, but she managed to hold her tears.

She stood up and lowered her body, bowing to Sect Master Huang.

"Thank you, Sect Master Huang, for all of your hard work and for allowing me to become a part of this sect even though it was only briefly. However, I don't think I will be able to forget about you or the time I've spent in this place, so forgive me for that."

Sect Master Huang nodded his head without saying anything else.

"Let's go. I'll bring you back to the Profound Blossom Sect for now." Su Yang said to her.

Once they began to leave, Sect Master Huang suddenly said, "Sect Master Su— your gift! You can take them back! We won't—"

"Keep it or I will flip this entire place upside-down." Su Yang quickly interrupted with a malicious smile on his face.

Sect Master Huang's eyes widened with shock. To his surprise, Su Yang actually threatened him, forcing him to accept the gift, just like how he'd forced Li Xiao Mo to follow him.

Su Yang left the place with Li Xiao Mo a few seconds later, leaving Sect Master Huang speechless.

"I didn't think that you'd really come to the Yellow River Sect to get me, Su Yang." Li Xiao Mo said to him after they soared to the sky in the flying boat.

"What makes you say that?" Su Yang then asked.

"I thought you were only trying to cheer me up back at the Yang Pagoda. I wouldn't have minded if that was actually the case since you definitely cheered me up."

"Oh? And what makes you think that I'd do that to you?" Su Yang continued to ask.

"Well… Our first encounter wasn't pleasant, to say the least."

Su Yang chuckled and said, "My first encounter with many of my current partners wasn't completely pleasant, either. One of them even tried to feed me poison. However, I still accepted her into my family because I believe people can change and I could tell that her feelings were genuine. If I refused someone because of some minor inconveniences, I wouldn't have so many partners today."

"As for you, Li Xiao Mo, it's the same thing. You have changed drastically since our first meeting, and I can tell that your feelings are genuine. In fact, I have known about this ever since our reunion at the Regional Tournament."

Li Xiao Mo looked at him with a passionate gaze before speaking, "So you… you really don't mind having me by your side?"

Su Yang didn't immediately answer her question.

Instead, he picked up her chin with his hand and gave her a passionate kiss on the lips.

A few moments later, he spoke with a charming smile on his face, "I don't mind it at all."

"Even though we haven't known each other for that long?" she then asked.

And he continued, "You know, I have accepted someone into the family after knowing her for only a single day. In fact, it was more like half the day."

"Half a day? And you accepted her into the family?" Li Xiao Mo looked at him with wide eyes.

"Yes, and I have spent over 1,000 years with her without having a single second of regret." Su Yang nodded.

"Unbelievable…" Li Xiao Mo mumbled in a dazed voice.

"And I'm sure it'll be for the same with you as well, Li Xiao Mo." Su Yang said to her.

Li Xiao Mo finally nodded her head with a blissful expression on her face and with all of her doubt washed away.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the Profound Blossom Sect.