~~~

Of those who took the Xiao Sect’s entrance exam, many were children without exceptional backgrounds. Some were orphans. Some were poor. Some were just utterly unremarkable.

Su An considered herself to belong to the latter category.

Her mother died shortly after she was born. Her father was a city guard who spent most of his days guarding the walls. As a result, Su An had grown up largely without adult guidance or supervision. She got into fights with the neighboring kids and wandered into parts of the city a young child wasn’t supposed to.

To Su An, every day was an adventure. Perhaps, that was why she had taken the Xiao Sect’s entrance exam.

The Xiao Sect was the best of the best. People talked about it in reverent whispers, and Su An couldn’t help but find herself drawn to it. The mystery. The power. The fame. She wanted all those things. Her father had no qualms with her chosen path. Most parents wouldn’t. To join the Xiao Sect was a great honor, one many aspired to.

Unlike most of those people, Su An managed to get in.

Su An, daughter of a simple city guard, was accepted into the strongest Sect of Eastern Port City. When said like that, it sounded significant, monumental even. Unfortunately, the truth was anything but.

People from common backgrounds were not uncommon among Outer Disciples, something Su An discovered early on. It was a numbers game. Many took the entrance exam every year, and there are only so many prestigious clans within the city. Thus, many of the people who joined the Xiao Sect were ordinary. Talented but ordinary.

However, it is an entirely different story if one is talking about Inner Disciples.

Many people from ordinary backgrounds joined the Xiao Sect. That much was true. They were people who were considered talented among their peers. Yet, upon entering the Xiao Sect, they learned how average they were. They trained and trained every day only to ultimately be left behind by those who possessed real talent.

Of those who passed the Xiao Sect’s entrance exam with Su An, most never became more than Outer Disciples. Some of them left the Xiao Sect, having given up on ever achieving notoriety. Others were transferred to other branches more suited to their meager talent. It was something Su An saw countless times, and every time it happened, she thanked the Heavens for being gifted with talent above her station. Su An was a true rarity, a person from a common background who had risen to become an Inner Disciple. Many expected her to fail, but she hadn’t.

As an Outer Disciple, Su An had been diligent and talented. As an Inner Disciple, not much changed. There had been some initial friction as she found herself being looked down on by some of the Inner Disciples from wealthier backgrounds, but Su An had managed to win them over. She had always been good at making friends.

For a moment, it looked like her time as an Inner Disciple would be as simple as her time as an Outer Disciple.

Yes, for a moment, Su An had thought someone like her could one day become a Core Disciple and had allowed her mind to be filled with fantasies of what her life would be like once that happened.

Then everything changed.

It wasn’t the result of something someone else did. No one conspired against Su An or accidentally caused her harm. If it had been something so easily solved, everything would have been fine. However, the root of the problem did not lie in anyone else.

It lay within herself.

She was the problem.

It was something Su An had seen countless times before. All people eventually hit a wall, a bottleneck they could not overcome no matter how much they tried. Their growth slowed down until they might as well be crawling while everyone else was running. Eventually, they were left behind. Yes, Su An had seen it countless times. It had happened to many Outer Disciples she had known, and now it was happening to her.

That was how she knew it was the end of her.

It wasn’t as simple as putting in more effort. Things wouldn’t work out just because she tried harder. What Su An was facing was the harshness of reality, and there was nothing she could do other than submit to it.

She would soon lose the authority she had as an Inner Disciple. Her peers would realize she was stagnating and leave her behind.

In no time at all, she’d find herself at the very bottom of the Inner Disciples.

After that, it would only be a matter of time. Either she’d be relegated to a minor position within the Sect, or she’d be sent to one of the Xiao Sect’s branches where someone of her skill could be better used. As Su An agonized over it, she found herself preferring the latter option. At least that way, the other Inner Disciples wouldn’t be able to see her humiliation. Some would even consider it a graceful exit. There were many days in which Su An wondered if she should take the first step and go to Elder Gang to request a transfer before her state became apparent. Better to leave than to be kicked out.

Yet, Su An was never able to go through with it. No matter how much her mind told her it was the wisest choice, she couldn’t do it. Her spirit rebelled against the notion of quietly fading into obscurity. She hadn’t climbed so far only to give up!

That was when she had gone to Liu Jin.

Su An had heard of him before. How could she not? Though he did not realize it, Boss always had a reputation among his fellow disciples. The son of a crippled doctor who had been accepted into the Xiao Sect. The child who was close to Young Master Xiao Nan but did not get along with Young Master Xiao Fang. His notoriety had only grown when news of his engagement had spread through Eastern Port City and then grown even more when the wedding actually happened.

It was around this time that Su An hit her lowest point. Boss had been right when they first met. She had been desperate. While the other Inner Disciples were weighing their options, Su An had jumped right in.

It was the best decision of her life.

It hasn’t seemed that way at first, of course. Boss did not cut the most impressive figure, and interacting with him did little to change that.

Boss could be a little… atypical.

As Xiao Zheng’s son-in-law, no one would bat an eye at Boss living in the main house. Anyone else would have moved there already, yet Boss didn’t. Instead, he made the trip from his small home in the Outer Districts to the Xiao Sect and back almost every day. Instead of indulging in the luxury he had earned, Boss kept acting as if his status hadn’t changed. He treated the patients that showed up at his little family clinic as if he weren’t the son-in-law of the most powerful man in the city.

If she had to be honest with herself, Su An had been certain Boss had been faking it at first.

The Xiao Sect was a harsh competitive environment. Outer Disciples wanted to become Inner Disciples. Inner Disciples wanted to become Core Disciples. Core Disciples wanted to become Elders. Even Elders competed with each other for power and influence within the Sect. Yet, that wasn’t the case with Boss at all! He seemed almost removed from the competition happening at every level of the Xiao Sect, always doing things at his own pace.

At first, Su An thought she had saddled herself to someone with no ambition, but that wasn’t the case. The answer was far more simple than that, and it shamed Su An that it had taken her so long to realize it.

How many times had she been in his home before she had noticed it? How many weeks had passed before she noticed the expression on Boss’ face was completely different when he was listening to his father or grandfather?

When Boss learned at the Sect, he did it because he had to.

When Boss learned from his father or grandfather, he did so because he wanted to.

What Boss wanted and what the rest of the Xiao Sect wanted weren’t the same thing at all.

It was another one of Boss’ oddities, but it was one Su An could work with. She wanted to earn Boss’ trust, and what better way to do it than through the thing he showed most interest in? While the ways of medicine and alchemy escaped her, even someone like her could serve as a test subject.

It all began when Boss was practicing a simple healing technique. Seeing her chance, Su An had offered to let him use the technique on her and made a cut on her arm before Boss could reject her offer. That had been the first time, but it was far from the last. Little by little, it had become routine for her to help Boss practice his skills on her.

That was when it happened.

“It seems you are not properly controlling the flow of your Qi between your lower and middle Dantian.”

One sentence.

With one sentence, Boss completely changed her outlook. With one look at her meridians, he accurately identified the problem that had been eluding her for months. When she asked him to elaborate, he did so without once taking advantage of her obvious eagerness. When she accidentally blurted out that it’d be nice if he could give her more help with her cultivation, Boss had accepted without a second thought.

With one sentence, Boss had helped her regain everything she had been losing and more. Su An was no longer someone in danger of being sent to some faraway branch of the Xiao Sect. Instead, Su An became one of the Inner Disciples chosen to represent the Sect during the Eastern Port City Tournament!

She had called Liu Jin Boss many times before and had grown fond of him over time, but it was with that one sentence that Su An started meaning it from the bottom of her heart.

People didn’t understand how great Boss was yet, but they would. Of that, Su An was certain. It had already started happening after the spar with Xiao Fang, and the tournament had further helped cement his status within the Xiao Sect. Boss probably hadn’t noticed it, but that was fine. Su An would do her best to exalt his virtues and crush those who spoke ill of Boss within the Sect. That, she decided, was her role.

Then the fight with Yun Han happened.

Never in a thousand years would it have ever occurred to Su An that Boss would willingly get into the ring with Yun Han.

Boss wasn’t a coward, but Boss also wasn’t stupid!

Watching that fight had been the worst experience of Su An’s young life. Every second of it, her heart had been ready to stop as she watched Boss challenge someone who could kill him with ease. Every second, her heart had leaped with hope as Boss pulled another surprise before it froze with terror once more.

By the end of it, she was pretty sure she had aged several years.

She didn’t wait for Boss to return to the Xiao Sect’s room. She immediately rushed out to meet him in the hallways at top speed.

“Boss!”

She caught him in the tightest hug she was capable of, lifting him off his feet. Su An knew Boss wasn’t good with physical contact. Indeed, she caught his panicked look out of the corner of her eye.

Good!

That would show him for worrying her so much!

“Boss! I can’t believe you fought Yun Han! It was an amazing fight!”

Su An immediately shut her mouth when she realized just how proud she had sounded there. No! That wouldn’t do at all! Boss couldn’t get the idea that this type of thing was okay for him to do!

“Ah, but Boss definitely shouldn’t have done that! This Su An has lost years of her life just from watching! Boss can never do that again! In fact, this Su An should go right now and tell Boss’ father about this!”

A guilty expression appeared on Boss’ face, further proving that bringing up his father was always the most effective strategy against him.

Before Su An could continue with her guilt trip, a polite cough caught her attention.

It was then that she remembered Young Master Xiao Fang had been with Boss. Indeed, he stood there with his arms crossed, an amused look on his face.

“Well, brother-in-law,” Young Master Xiao Fang said, “I see you are in good hands now. We’ll talk more later.”

With that, the Young Master of the Xiao Sect walked away, effectively abandoning Liu Jin to Su An’s mercies.

Liu Jin looked at Su An.

Su An looked at Liu Jin.

“I am definitely telling your father about this,” she said.

Boss was Boss was Boss.

One day, he’d be better than everyone. One day he’d shine brighter than Young Master Xiao Fang and even Young Master Xiao Nan.

Of that, Su An was certain.

Until that day came, someone needed to remind him not to do boneheaded stunts.

~~~