The young woman watched Zhang Deming's reaction and chuckled. "Junior Brother, you thought I was a Duality Ancestor because I fell from the sky, didn't you?"
Zhang Deming nodded. "Yes. Could it be that Senior Sister fell off the back of an Immortal Crane?"
From what Zhang Deming understood, stable Flying Techniques mostly required Duality Stage Cultivation to learn and execute. Furthermore, the lowest level for such a Technique was Law Level.
Some rare, High-Tier Secret-Level Techniques could barely manage short-term flight.
Hearing Zhang Deming's reply, the young woman's expression darkened. 'Fell off the back of an Immortal Crane?'
'Do I look that stupid?'
"Er, no. I was practicing Flying with this."
The young woman, who called herself Ling'er, pointed at the backpack on her back, which had a distinctly modern design.
Hearing this, Zhang Deming finally took a closer look at the backpack that ruined the overall aesthetic of her outfit.
'Does that look like the jetpacks from my past life that never quite took off?'
'No way. I can accept the Array Light Curtains. At least those aren't completely out of place; it just means the related path of Arrays is highly developed.'
'But this... a double-strapped flying backpack... that's a bit much. It looks way too sci-fi!'
While Zhang Deming was still in a daze, the young woman took the initiative to explain, "You've probably never seen this before, Junior Brother. This is a Flying Artifact from the Outer Realm."
"It doesn't require any Cultivation or consume Spiritual Power. It's a pretty neat curiosity, but the quality isn't great."
Zhang Deming's face twitched. 'That confirms it. It really is a jetpack.'
'Outer Realm?'
'This is the second time I've heard that term. Don't tell me it's Earth?'
Of course, Zhang Deming didn't ask rashly. After all, this was their first meeting.
"Besides, this thing is so... fun... I mean, it has great educational value," the young woman said, her face unable to hide her excitement and glee, as if she were showing off a new toy.
'Uh, if you'd hide your excitement a little better, I might actually believe you're using it to study.'
Seeing the exhilarated look on her face, Zhang Deming didn't know how to respond. He could only follow up on the topic, asking, "Studying Flying? Does Flying require studying?"
The young woman looked at Zhang Deming with confusion. "Why wouldn't Flying require studying?"
"Flying Techniques aren't just difficult to master; even after you master one, you still need a lot of flight training to get used to it."
"I'm just laying the groundwork early."
'Uh, you make it sound like you're training to be a pilot!'
'Huh?'
'A pilot?'
'That's right, aren't they basically pilots?'
He had read too many novels and watched too much TV in his previous life. After arriving in this Extraordinary world, he subconsciously thought that as long as you knew the Technique, you could fly.
But in his past life, most people would scream their heads off on a roller coaster, let alone while flying.
A normal pilot, besides learning the technical skills, needed not only mental fortitude to handle the stress but also the physical endurance. They had to go through extensive training to become qualified.
And Cultivators weren't flying while seated in a cockpit; they were flying directly.
That was far more intense than being a pilot.
'How could they possibly know how to fly right away?'
There was a huge gap between *being able* to fly and *knowing how* to fly.
It seemed Zhang Deming had never realized this problem before. He'd always assumed that learning the Technique meant you could fly like a bird, that you'd instantly know how.
'So, is Flying in the Cultivation Realm a highly difficult major course, just like being a pilot in my past life?'
'But an Advanced Apprentice preparing for a Duality-Stage Technique... Senior Sister, do you really think anyone would believe that?'
'Is she for real? Or is she just pulling my leg?'
"Er, you're right, Senior Sister. I don't know much about these things. Your goals are truly ambitious!" Zhang Deming replied sheepishly.
Hearing this, Ling'er looked a little embarrassed. "Well, to be honest, part of it is just because I got too excited about a new toy," she said awkwardly.
"Senior Sister, are you alright?"
Just then, an Immortal Crane descended from the sky, and a young man with a nervous expression leaped off its back.
Zhang Deming turned his head and was stunned again. He had actually seen this person before; it was Ji Ming, the guy who had inexplicably greeted him some time ago.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. This thing has an emergency protocol. It buffers my speed when I fall, so it just hurts a little at most," Ling'er replied.
'You're hurting? My back is the one that's killing me!'
Zhang Deming couldn't help but complain silently.
"We should hurry back. If Master finds out, I'm going to get chewed out again," Ji Ming said, stepping forward.
"Alright!" Ling'er turned her head, glanced at Zhang Deming, and said, "Goodbye, Junior Brother."
He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but Zhang Deming felt she seemed a little reluctant to leave.
'Eh, I'm overthinking it. We just met.'
Zhang Deming replied, "Goodbye, Senior Sister."
Only then did Ji Ming notice Zhang Deming standing to the side. He looked at Zhang Deming, also surprised, and said, "Hey, what a coincidence, Junior Brother."
Zhang Deming nodded. "Hello, Senior Brother. It is quite a coincidence."
"What 'Junior Brother'? You should be calling him Senior Brother. You entered the sect after he did," Ling'er suddenly interjected.
Zhang Deming furrowed his brow slightly. Ling'er then waved the Identity Card in her hand, projecting a Light Curtain that displayed Zhang Deming's basic information. "Here, look," she said.
Ji Ming looked a little awkward. "Alright, Senior Brother it is."
"Let's go, Senior Sister Ling'er. We're out of time. Master should be here any minute."
"I told you to put it away first, but you wouldn't listen. You just had to play with it. If Master catches you and changes his mind, taking it back, don't you come crying to me."
"He wouldn't dare!"
She sounded fierce, but the young woman quickly said her goodbyes to Zhang Deming, nimbly hopped onto the Immortal Crane's back, and took off immediately.
Once the two were high in the sky, Ji Ming looked at the young woman and said:
"Senior Sister, couldn't you have waited a few more days?"
"The issue with the Demon Beasts on the back mountain isn't even resolved yet. It's obvious Master won't be staying for more than a few days before he leaves again."
"He'll be gone for a month at the very least, maybe two at most. Won't you have more freedom to do whatever you want then?"
"Why cause such a ruckus now?!"
On the back of the Immortal Crane, Ling'er stared blankly at the ground below and whispered, "I just got a flying backpack and came out to play. It was a complete coincidence."
Hearing this, Ji Ming maintained a calm tone and said, "Is that so? When we ride the Immortal Crane back, it gets reported."
"If Master finds out you came to Little Qing Mountain, there's no way he won't discover what you did at the assignment office."
"And as for the one down there..."
"Even though he's in the Outer Sect now, it doesn't change much."
"If you cause a big scene again, it won't end like it did back then, with the matter being suppressed and swept under the rug."
Ling'er froze for a moment. Then, to Ji Ming's astonishment, she jumped straight off the back of the Immortal Crane.
"Senior Sister!!!"
"I'll fly back on my own. Don't include me in the report. You're the one who rode out here to wander around aimlessly. Where you went is your own business."
Her voice, unusually calm this time, drifted up from her rapidly falling figure.
"You..."
"Sigh... You're all the death of me!!!"
"The old one is stubborn, the young one is even more stubborn... And dammit, I'm only seventeen! I'm the youngest one here, okay?!"
"I'm being run ragged trying to smooth things over for everyone! You think this is easy for me?!"