Why You Must Watch Your Mouth
“What an embarrassment!”
“I didn’t raise you like this...”
The adults, completely clueless about the sudden collective sobbing of the children, broke out in cold sweats as they dragged the kids away.
How does Cheong know the rotten ecosystem of the sect clans so well?
Baek Mu-ae, lounging in the seat of honor and leisurely sipping his liquor, had grasped the full story of the commotion. He’d been focusing all his attention on Baek Cheong from start to finish.
My son wouldn’t have shown her anything awful.
His granddaughter had barely left the main house at all—only a brief outing to Yeonha Fortress, and even that had been carefully managed to shield her from anything unseemly. Yet here she was, displaying a chilling insight into the harsh realities of the cultivation world. There was no explaining it.
It must be thanks to her extraordinary intellect.
Baek Mu-ae pondered the reason, inwardly filled with profound admiration. To intuitively grasp the principles of the world without ever hearing or seeing them—it went beyond commendable, stirring even a touch of awe.
And with a body at Refining Qi 5-star, she’s attained enlightenment in Five Elements Unity and even crossed the threshold into the Heart Image Realm. A prodigy among prodigies.
He’d stood guard as her protector when she consumed the Low-Grade Five Elements Pill last time and seen it clearly with his own eyes. She was even more exceptional than he’d thought, brimming with tremendous potential.
The only flaw...
Baek Mu-ae’s brow furrowed deeper the more he dwelled on it.
Her dantian is abnormally vast.
After swallowing the Low-Grade Five Elements Pill, Baek Cheong’s spiritual roots had grown, boosting her qi absorption far beyond the norm. But the dantian Baek Mu-ae had examined was impossibly expansive for Refining Qi—like an endless sea. No matter how superior her absorption, filling such a vast dantian to advance to the next realm would be a distant dream by natural means.
Even Heaven must fear her.
Unaware of the full details—that she had trash O-yeong-geun—Baek Mu-ae chalked it up to Heaven’s capricious fate.
Meanwhile, Baek Cheong savored the hard-won leisure she’d claimed by fending off the pesky brats. Taking advantage of the adults’ distraction as they soothed the children, she enjoyed the feast’s delicacies while subtly maneuvering her divine sense to browse the Moomyeongbang.
Her utterly motionless demeanor only made her look deeply lost in contemplation to Baek Mu-ae.
Has she entered meditation already?
Watching his granddaughter like that, Baek Mu-ae tumbled into misunderstanding once more. Amid the banquet’s clamor, her unshakable composure and profound meditation were truly admirable.
Never slacking for a moment in her contemplation—she can’t help but grasp the world’s truths.
Baek Mu-ae stroked his chin beard with a pleased smile. Though the vast dantian was a glaring weakness, her brilliant mind and earnest approach to enlightenment made her future achievements impossible to predict.
Even if Mujin lacks cultivation talent, he’s skilled at reading situations and navigating society. As long as she stays under the Biun Sect’s protection as promised, even great elders won’t dare extend their demonic claws.
But the cultivation world was a jungle of the strong devouring the weak—complacency was forbidden. A lax mindset might tempt someone to ignore the Biun Sect’s shield and reach for his granddaughter. Better to prepare solid countermeasures.
...I should use this chance to forge ties with the Heavenly Sword Sect too.
Baek Mu-ae emptied his cup, resolve firm. With the Heavenly Sword Sect’s backing as well, even Origin Infant experts and above wouldn’t dare step forward.
Above all, the sword maniacs’ grudges were so viciously tenacious that even deranged cultivators would hesitate ten times before acting.
Cheong has ties to the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sovereign, so it shouldn’t be impossible.
Baek Mu-ae began devising a plan to invite the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sovereign to the Yeonha Baek family.
Oblivious to his scheming, Baek Cheong tittered inwardly while stifling laughter as she browsed the Moomyeongbang.
The Yeonha Baek family’s New Year’s banquet continued for several days, ripening into full splendor.
After the first day’s internal gathering to strengthen family bonds, from the second day onward, distinguished guests from across the cultivation world—those with ties to the Baek family—began arriving in droves. From nearby clan heads to envoys from prestigious families and sect branches on distant continents, the lineup was dazzling and varied.
“May the Yeonha Baek family prosper endlessly!”
“We wish Lord Patriarch robust health in the new year!”
The banquet hall buzzed with blessings and greetings every time new guests arrived.
As the direct bloodline and the family head’s youngest daughter, Baek Cheong had no right to skip such major external events. She had to sit primly, letting the adults’ tedious talk of cultivation world politics and vested interests flow in one ear and out the other.
Ah, cultivation sounds way more fun than this.
She yawned inwardly nonstop but kept a demure smile on her face. Fortunately, unlike previous years, the Moomyeongbang existed as an escape, dulling the boredom somewhat.
Nothing soothed tedium like sneaking her divine sense past the adults’ watchful eyes to check the Dou posts.
But her peaceful gallery browsing didn’t last long.
“Cheong-ah, your friends are here. They’re around your age, so mingle and catch up.”
Turning at her mother’s call, she saw a gaggle of young prodigies—brought along by the clan and sect envoys—heading her way. Mostly early teens stuck at Refining Qi 2- to 4-star, fresh-faced little cultivators.
It was the typical custom: while adults networked strategically, the kids built connections too.
Here comes kid hell again.
Baek Cheong stuck on a forced smile, inwardly sticking out her tongue.
The children surrounded her with innocent faces, eagerly boasting about their clans and sects.
“I’m a promising disciple of the Azure Cloud Valley! Our valley lord’s a Gold Core mid-stage master!”
“Hmph, compared to our Iron Thread Sect’s spells, Azure Cloud Valley’s are just child’s play!”
They name-dropped middling sects and realms in a pointless bragging contest worse than squirrels fighting over nuts.
In the end, the kids’ posturing was just a childish farce—utterly boring.
How did I survive last year?
Baek Cheong fiddled with her teacup, expression bored, letting it go in one ear and out the other.
But her aloof, detached attitude oddly ignited the children’s competitive spirits.
“Hey!”
“Lady Baek doesn’t seem interested!”
Above all, Baek Cheong’s unparalleled beauty and poise drew the kids’ eyes like magnets, boys and girls alike. They crowded close, desperate for her attention.
“Lady Baek, try this spirit fruit—it’s a secret family heirloom. Want a taste?”
“Check out my treasured sword’s ornament! Isn’t it cool?”
With the kids chattering nonstop on both sides till her ears bled, Baek Cheong had no bandwidth left to sneak onto the Moomyeongbang.
As she racked her brain for an escape from this renewed ordeal,
“Tch, trying to catch Lady Baek’s eye with fruit or trinkets? How childish.”
The boy introduced as a prodigy from the Bright Clarity Temple snorted and stepped forward. Puffing up arrogantly, he lowered his voice conspiratorially.
“Lady Baek, want me to share a huge secret known only to our sect elders? Truth is, they found a hidden manual buried by a demon king a thousand years ago on the mountain behind our Bright Clarity Temple. The elders are secretly excavating it without telling other sects.”
Silence fell over the rowdy group. Even whispered, the close proximity made it impossible not to overhear.
The boy froze, realizing he’d blurted a major sect secret just to impress her. It was too huge to be a lie.
This might actually be interesting.
Baek Cheong’s eyes gleamed at info beyond mere bragging.
Leaning forward with evident interest, she asked,
“Really?”
The boy’s shoulders shot up to the heavens at her first lively reaction.
“Y-Yeah! I overheard it sneaking around—the entrance has a formation guarding it, so...”
As the boy excitedly spilled more, jealousy and impatience flared in the other kids’ eyes.
They wanted that sparkling gaze and attention all to themselves—their competitive frenzy overriding reason.
“Pfft, that’s no secret! Our family’s is way bigger! Our patriarch pretends to be upright, but he’s secretly trading with southern demonic sects! I saw the ledgers myself!”
A nearby girl shot her hand up, unwilling to lose.
“Our sect’s senior brother is a bastard child of the sect leader—there’s rumors, and I have proof!”
In an instant, the kids devolved into a full-blown exposé frenzy, blurting family and sect scandals, hidden corruption, and concealed fortuitous encounters. They shouted louder, spittle flying, to outdo each other’s shocking revelations. Some even fact-checked the wilder claims among themselves.
This is why you have to watch your mouth around kids.