150: On Teaching Children

Sect Leader Wang’s fingers were outstretched, frozen in mid-air, his expression shifting from surprise to bewilderment, and finally settling into a complex mix of amusement and frustration.

His own biological daughter, who would cry as if the sky was falling when he held her, was now smiling so happily in Lin Feng’s arms.

What kind of situation was this?

“Cough…”

Sect Leader Wang cleared his throat, attempting to break the awkward silence.

“Brother Qinglian, it seems… my daughter has a special affinity with you.”

He rubbed his hands together, his eyes darting about, and his little scheme began to stir once more.

“Since that’s the case, the matter of becoming her godfather…”

“Sect Leader Wang.”

Lin Feng, holding the little one in his arms, interrupted him.

He looked down at the bright, clear eyes, and softly asked, “The child has just been born, have you chosen a name for her yet?”

“Ah, yes, yes, yes, a name!”

Sect Leader Wang slapped his forehead, finally brought back to the main topic.

He leaned closer, looking at his daughter’s tender little Face, his own Face beaming with a father’s joy and pride.

“My wife and I have discussed it, and her name will be… Wang Ning.”

“Wang Ning.” Lin Feng silently repeated the name in his heart, then nodded, “A good name.”

In the end, she still had this name.

But he wondered, with parents to protect her and himself to look after her in this life, what different kind of life would she forge?

…

Time flowed by, eight years, like a fleeting moment.

For high-level Cultivators, ten years was merely the time it took for a few closed-door cultivation sessions.

But for a Mortal child, eight years was enough to transform her from an infant in swaddling clothes into a graceful little girl.

During these eight years, Sect Leader Wang had not stopped bringing up the matter of becoming a godfather.

From Wang Ning’s full moon celebration, to her first birthday, then to her third, fifth… he brought it up several times almost every year.

But each time, Lin Feng subtly brushed him off with various excuses.

“Sect Leader Wang, we Cultivators consider the four seas our home; our destinies are uncertain, and I cannot bear the title of ‘godfather’.”

“Sect Leader Wang, I am fated to be with your daughter; being a mentor and friend is enough, there’s no need to be bound by worldly customs.”

After numerous attempts, Sect Leader Wang finally understood.

This Elder Qinglian seemed determined not to establish a father-daughter relationship with his daughter.

Though he was puzzled, he dared not press the matter further.

After all, in the past decade, Lin Feng’s position in the Myriad Sound Sect had already become extraordinary.

Especially after the Star Palace opened several times, the Myriad Sound Sect gained far more benefits than in any previous session. Sect Leader Wang knew well that this was all the Star Palace giving Face to this newly promoted Elder.

While grateful, he dared not bother Lin Feng with mundane affairs anymore.

However, his own daughter seemed to think differently.

Myriad Sound Sect, Qinglian Immortal Cave.

Inside the quiet room, Lin Feng sat cross-legged, the Spiritual Qi around him fluctuating like tides. Wisps of pure spiritual power condensed at his fingertips, transforming into various profound forms.

He was currently comprehending an ancient secret art exchanged from the System.

“Bang!”

The stone door of the quiet room was suddenly pushed open from the outside without warning.

A small figure in a white silk dress rushed in like a cheerful little bird.

“Green Brother!”

A clear, slightly childish voice echoed in the quiet room.

The Spiritual Qi swirling around Lin Feng instantly calmed. He opened his eyes, looking helplessly at the newcomer.

“Wang Ning, you didn’t knock again.”

His tone carried a hint of reproach, but his eyes were full of doting affection.

“Also, you should call me Elder.”

“Hehe.”

The girl stuck out her tongue, then ran carelessly to Lin Feng, blinking her bright, clear eyes.

“But Green Brother looks even younger than Daddy!”

She tilted her head, stating her case with righteous indignation.

Lin Feng looked at her, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

The Wang Ning before him was only eight years old, but her small Face already held the exquisite contours of a future beauty.

Her skin was like snow, her eyebrows like distant mountains, and her eyes were lively and clever, as if they could speak.

When she smiled, there were two shallow dimples on her cheeks.

In time, the title of the Human Realm’s foremost beauty would likely belong to none other than her.

And all of this stemmed from a decision made by Sect Leader Wang.

Ever since Wang Ning was tested and found to possess a Heavenly Spiritual Root and began to Cultivate, Sect Leader Wang had solemnly entrusted the full responsibility of his daughter’s tutelage to Lin Feng.

The reason for his unwavering trust stemmed from an outing several years prior.

On that occasion, he and Lin Feng had journeyed together to a dangerous area to explore for treasures, but unexpectedly encountered an ambush by several seventh-level Yao Beasts.

Each of those Yao Beasts was no weaker than him in strength.

Sect Leader Wang had felt a wave of despair at the time, almost believing he would perish on the spot.

But Lin Feng merely stood calmly in front of him, and with a flick of his sleeve—

Buzz—

A vast swarm of blue beetles appeared out of thin air, forming a blue cloud of insects that instantly engulfed the three arrogant Yao Beasts.

The shrill roars lasted only a few breaths before abruptly ceasing.

When the insect cloud dispersed, only several lifelike ice sculptures remained, the Yao Beasts’ fear and ferocity in their dying moments forever frozen.

That scene was deeply etched into Sect Leader Wang’s mind.

From that day on, in his heart, Lin Feng was no longer just a Guest Elder, but a Grand Elder, like a stabilizing force.

Entrusting his daughter to him for tutelage, Sect Leader Wang was a hundred percent at ease.

Lin Feng, naturally, did not decline.

Teaching his future Dao Companion, wasn’t that only right?

He collected his thoughts and waved to the smiling young girl before him.

“Come here.”

“Mm!” Wang Ning obediently responded and walked to him.

“Let me see, how is your progress with the Cultivation Technique I had you Cultivate these past few days?”

Lin Feng reached out and gently pinched her slender wrist.

A wisp of spiritual power entered.

Indeed.

The minuscule amount of spiritual power within her body was still stagnant, showing no progress whatsoever.

Lin Feng clicked his tongue and released her hand.

Looking at Wang Ning’s eyes, which were guiltily avoiding his gaze, he was momentarily at a loss for how to deal with her.

Hit her? He couldn’t bear to.

Scold her? This girl was thick-skinned; it would go in one ear and out the other, completely useless.

In both his past and present lives, he had no experience raising children, and facing such a mischievous little girl, he truly felt somewhat helpless.

“Sigh.”

He sighed.

It seemed that the decisive and cunning Purple Spirit Fairy from the original novel, under the protection of her parents’ wings, was just a playful child who disliked Cultivating during her childhood.

Seeing him sigh, Wang Ning lowered her small head even further, her small hands nervously twisting the corner of her clothes.

“Green Brother, I…”

“Never mind.” Lin Feng waved his hand, “Since you find Cultivation arduous, then today, we won’t talk about Cultivation.”

“Really?”

Wang Ning suddenly looked up, her eyes instantly brightening, filled with anticipation.

Lin Feng looked at her expression, amused in his heart, but keeping a straight Face.

“Today, I’ll tell you a few stories, how about it?”

“Good! Good!” Wang Ning immediately clapped her hands in delight, “Wang Ning loves listening to stories the most! Jingmei Gege tells such good stories!”

Lin Feng’s Face showed a hint of a smile.

He sat cross-legged, motioning for Wang Ning to also sit on the meditation cushion opposite him.

Once she was seated, Lin Feng cleared his throat and slowly began.

“Once upon a time, in a very, very distant place, there was a girl about your age.”

“She, like you, had very loving parents, was cherished as the apple of their eye from a young age, and lived a carefree life.”

Lin Feng’s voice was calm, with a peculiar magnetism that instantly drew all of Wang Ning’s attention.

He recounted Purple Spirit’s experiences from the original novel in a storytelling tone, slowly and engagingly.

He spoke of how the girl was innocent and carefree, and how, under her parents’ protection, she paid little attention to Cultivation.

Wang Ning listened, her small Face nodding in empathetic agreement.

But Lin Feng’s tone suddenly shifted.

“Until one day, a sudden disaster befell her Sect.”

“Her parents, to protect her, perished with a powerful enemy.”

“What?”

Wang Ning gasped, her small Face instantly turning pale, her eyes filled with sorrow.

Lin Feng did not pause, continuing his narration.

“Overnight, that carefree girl lost all her support. The sky she once thought would always shelter her from wind and rain had collapsed.”

“The entire burden of the Sect, the lives and deaths of countless Disciples, all fell upon her shoulders alone.”

Wang Ning’s small hands unconsciously clenched, her lips pressed tightly together, and tears glistened in her eyes.

“Then… then what did she do?” she asked in a tearful voice.

“She didn’t cry.” Lin Feng looked at her, saying each word clearly, “She swallowed her tears. Because she knew that from that moment on, she no longer had the right to be weak.”

“She began to Cultivate desperately, day and night. If others meditated for an hour, she meditated for a day. If others found a Cultivation Technique difficult, she eagerly practiced it.”

“She cast aside all her innocence, learning to navigate the treacherous Elders, and with her still tender shoulders, single-handedly propped up the tottering Sect.”

Inside the quiet room, there was silence.

Only Lin Feng’s calm narration and Wang Ning’s increasingly rapid breathing could be heard.

Lin Feng’s story continued.

He spoke of how the woman, with her extraordinary talent and cunning far beyond ordinary people, advanced step by step in the treacherous Cultivation world.

He spoke of how she befriended allies, how she plotted against enemies, and how she struggled for survival time and again on the brink of death.

Finally, he recounted how the woman, after enduring countless hardships, finally achieved success in Cultivation, stood at the pinnacle of the Human Realm, and eventually shattered the Void Realm, Ascending to the broader Spirit Realm.

The story was finished.

Lin Feng said nothing, merely gazing quietly at Wang Ning before him.

The little girl had her head bowed, her small body trembling slightly.

A crystalline tear slipped from her long eyelashes and landed on the back of her own hand.

But she quickly raised her hand and haphazardly wiped her Face.

When she looked up again, her eyes, which had been filled with sorrow, now burned with an unprecedented flame.

It was a mix of admiration and yearning.

She also wanted to become a woman like the older sister in the story.

Lin Feng was about to speak, to ask her what she felt.

But Wang Ning suddenly stood up from the meditation cushion.

“Green Brother!”

Her voice was no longer childish and naive, but carried a seriousness she had never shown before.

“Please teach Wang Ning to Cultivate!”

“Wang Ning also wants to become a powerful Cultivator like that older sister!”

Lin Feng looked at the blazing fire in her eyes, and finally, a relieved smile appeared on his Face.

He reached out and, just like when she was little, gently ruffled her small head.

It seemed that educating children truly couldn’t be done with brute force.