by EkkoTheDemon
The night passed, and the first light of dawn broke the horizon, sweeping over the Clear Firmament Sect. Water dripped from the eaves of the roofs, a sign that the winter snow was melting.
Li Qingqiu woke up early to practice his essence refinement, as did the other disciples, as if they were unaffected by the events of the previous night.
They sat cross-legged before the sect gate, facing the mountains. The grand scenery was hidden within the thick fog, a sight that made it easy for them to enter a meditative state.
After the shock of last night, the other disciples were clearly afraid and practiced more seriously. As for Yang Jueding, whose old wounds weren't healed and who now had a new injury, he was resting in his room.
An hour later, Li Qingqiu stood up and dismissed the disciples. Jiang Zhaoxia took Wu Man’er into the back forest, while Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue had to chop wood and feed the chickens. As for the youngest, Li Sifeng and Li Sijin, they only had to be careful.
Li Qingqiu arrived at Yang Jueding’s room and knocked on the door.
"Enter."
Yang Jueding's voice came out, his tone unable to hide his exhaustion.
He was not a cultivator; he needed sleep, but he had been busy driving out poison all night, leaving him physically and mentally drained.
Li Qingqiu pushed the door open and closed it behind him. He sat at the table and looked at Yang Jueding on the bed, asking, "That manual—where did you get it?"
Yang Jueding opened his eyes and looked at him, answering, "Half a year ago, there were rumors at Radiant Sun Lake. It was said that when the tide receded, a path to the bottom of the lake appeared. Legend has it that at the bottom, there is a secret room left by a martial world legend from a hundred years ago. I joined the fray, and it was indeed as the rumors said. I entered the lake with a group of martial artists and luckily found a box containing that manual. When I came out, I was seen by experts from the Azure Cult. I beat them back and thought the matter would end there, but they attacked me while I was wounded after my duel with the Vast Ocean Sword Sovereign."
Speaking of this, he still felt depressed; he had suffered so many injuries because of a fake manual. It was truly a loss.
"Since you think it's fake, why not just give it to the Azure Cult?" Li Qingqiu asked in confusion.
Yang Jueding’s eyes widened in anger, "Even if it's a fake, I can't give it to those guys! Who knows how much trouble they'll cause using the reputation of this manual. They love to deceive people; so many high officials have been enchanted by them and exploited the commoners. To the Azure Cult, whether the manual is real or not isn't that important; what they want is the title of a martial world legend."
"If they snatched the divine technique of a legend from the hands of the Dragon-Subduing Hero, their prestige would skyrocket once word got out. They might even be able to get involved with the imperial court. Over these years, they've always wanted to cling to the powerful. And you saw it—even if I said it was fake, they wouldn't believe me. Even if I gave it to them, they would surely kill me. They wouldn't stop until they were sure they couldn't find a second copy."
Li Qingqiu asked curiously, "Between the Azure Cult and the White Emperor Manor, who is more powerful?"
Yang Jueding considered, "They're about the same. However, the White Emperor Manor has connections to the court, so the Azure Cult doesn't dare provoke them easily. The two sides rarely clash. The current White Emperor Manor doesn't involve itself much in martial world affairs, but the Azure Cult is different—they are ambitious and want to be the hegemons of the martial world."
Using this topic, Li Qingqiu chatted with Yang Jueding for a long time, gaining a certain understanding of the current martial world in the Gu Prefecture.
He discovered that the Great Li Dynasty was far larger than ancient China; the Gu Prefecture alone was half the size of China, containing over a dozen prefectural cities and countless martial sects.
He chatted until Yang Jueding began to cough; only then did Li Qingqiu call it a day and leave.
He prepared to practice the Stormstride Art first. Watching the fight last night made him realize his movement techniques still lacked compared to martial arts experts.
As for the Supreme Absolute Sword Art, he didn't want to practice it for now; this spell required nine swords to truly display its effect.
When he had more spells in the future, he would organize them. A person's energy was limited; he couldn't practice everything he found.
Of course, he would eventually practice the Supreme Absolute Sword Art; he couldn't let his talent go to waste.
The days passed one by one.
A few days later, the snow in the forest had mostly melted, and Yang Jueding could leave his room. He didn't dare bother Wu Man’er anymore, let alone mention the bet with Jiang Zhaoxia.
Soon, his attention fell on Li Sifeng and Li Sijin.
Though these two children were young, they were excellent seeds for martial arts.
This made him mutter to himself, 'The Clear Firmament Sect is truly eerie; there are quite a lot of geniuses here.'
Half a month later, Zhang Yuchun finally couldn't resist taking Wu Man’er and Li Dongyue down the mountain to recruit disciples. As for Yang Jueding, he was confined to the sect by Li Qingqiu to avoid bumping into Azure Cult disciples searching for him.
Yang Jueding had no objections; he thought the same way.
That evening, Zhang Yuchun and his group returned with seven children—six boys and one girl. The oldest was no more than thirteen, and the youngest was only six.
After a simple initiation ceremony, Li Qingqiu checked their attribute panels and found their aptitude and comprehension were all "Extremely Low" or "Unranked."
This made Li Qingqiu sigh secretly. His master had truly left him a good core team.
Judging from Lin Xunfeng’s eye for talent, he had grand designs; it was just a pity he had been blinded by the search for immortals.
Li Qingqiu had the new disciples stay in separate rooms for boys and girls, huddling with their seniors. Li Dongyue and Li Sifeng didn't mind; they were actually quite excited to be elders now.
For the first seven days, Li Qingqiu had them familiarize themselves with the sect. After seven days, he had Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue teach them the Primordial Scripture.
In the future, Li Dongyue could serve as the Hall Master of Transmission. As for Li Sifeng and Li Sijin, he would wait and see.
It was worth mentioning that after a month of training under Yang Jueding’s guidance, Li Sifeng's physical skills had improved by leaps and bounds; he had already begun to walk on walls, causing the new disciples to gasp in awe.
Winter ended completely, and the new spring was approaching.
The Great Li Dynasty also celebrated the Spring Festival; whenever the festival arrived, Li Qingqiu would think of his previous life.
One afternoon, Li Qingqiu was resting in the courtyard. He had just finished practicing the Stormstride Art and was somewhat tired. He watched the disciples going about their tasks, feeling quite good.
Some were sweeping, some were carrying water, and some were repairing the eaves; everything was moving toward a better future.
Jiang Zhaoxia and Zhang Yuchun walked into the courtyard one after the other, sitting on either side of Li Qingqiu.
"Brother, we wanted to ask you something. We want to go down to the town and buy some weapons; what do you think?" Jiang Zhaoxia asked.
There were only two swords in the entire Clear Firmament Sect, and one had been taken by Lin Xunfeng. Jiang Zhaoxia was nearly unable to restrain himself.
He wanted a sword—a real sword!
Not just him; the other disciples also needed weapons for their training. They couldn't just learn hand-to-hand combat forever.
Li Qingqiu glanced at him and asked in return, "Where would we get the money to buy them?"
Zhang Yuchun added, "We plan to go into the city and perform sword routines for tips. Brother, if the sect wants to truly rise, it must have money. I also plan to take this opportunity to promote the Clear Firmament Sect. Later, we can earn money by helping people solve their troubles. We really need money; with eight more mouths to feed, our grain supply is getting tight."
Helping people solve troubles was how many martial sects got their start; to put it bluntly, it was being an enforcer for hire.
Furthermore, once their reputation grew, more people would want to join.
Li Qingqiu had wanted to wait a few years, but he felt Zhang Yuchun had a point. Besides, they weren't going to oppose the major sects.
The strength of Jiang Zhaoxia and Zhang Yuchun was already enough to protect them.
"Fine. Just remember: you must be careful out there. Don't look down on others just because of your own skills, and definitely don't pick fights easily," Li Qingqiu instructed.
With Zhang Yuchun and Jiang Zhaoxia acting together, he was quite at ease.
Jiang Zhaoxia said huffily, "Do you take us for children?"
Zhang Yuchun nodded, "Brother, I will definitely keep a lid on Third Brother."
"..."
Jiang Zhaoxia looked resentfully at Zhang Yuchun, but Zhang Yuchun looked straight ahead as if he hadn't seen the gaze.
The three chatted for a while, and Jiang Zhaoxia was eager to head down. The nearest town was two days away, and spending a night in the forest was unavoidable.
Li Qingqiu could only prepare dry rations and water skins for them and watch them descend.
Standing at the sect gate and looking at the backs of his two brothers, he couldn't help but think of Lin Xunfeng leaving. He shouted, "Make sure you're back before the Spring Festival!"
"Don't worry, Brother!"
Zhang Yuchun turned and waved at Li Qingqiu with a bright smile, while Jiang Zhaoxia did not turn back.
After their figures disappeared into the forest, Li Qingqiu still didn't withdraw his gaze.
"Relax. That Jiang kid is incredibly sharp, and Zhang Yuchun's skills aren't bad either. With those two going down, I'd be more worried about those blind martial artists looking for trouble and asking for a beating."
Yang Jueding arrived at Li Qingqiu’s side and offered comfort.
He truly felt that Jiang Zhaoxia was a ruthless fighter. During this period, Jiang Zhaoxia had frequently sparred with him to gain combat experience; without using Spirit Essence, he mostly dominated Jiang Zhaoxia.
But Jiang Zhaoxia’s progress was too fast; toward the end, every move was lethal, leaving him trembling with fear.
'This kid will surely become a great figure in the future!'
The reason Li Qingqiu agreed to let them descend was because he had witnessed the sparring between Jiang Zhaoxia and Yang Jueding.
Yang Jueding had passed on quite a bit of martial world experience to Jiang Zhaoxia.
Li Qingqiu withdrew his gaze and smiled, "I can't help it; it's their first time leaving. I'm bound to worry."
After saying that, he turned and walked back into the sect.
Yang Jueding turned his head to look at him and asked, "Sect Leader, when will you let me experience your swordplay? I heard the Xia kid say your sword talent is even better than his."
Li Qingqiu answered without looking back, "Forget it. I don't like fighting."
Yang Jueding looked at his back, feeling more and more that he was mysterious.
...
For the next few days, Li Qingqiu was constantly restless, fearing Zhang Yuchun and his brother might run into trouble, but he did not express his concern to anyone else.
Finally, on the evening before the Spring Festival, the two of them returned.
"Brother! We're back! Someone come and help us!"
Zhang Yuchun's voice came from the direction of the gate. Hearing it, Li Qingqiu and the others swarmed toward them.
Li Qingqiu was the fastest; when he arrived at the gate and looked, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhang Yuchun and Jiang Zhaoxia were each carrying a shoulder pole. Weapons peeked out from their bundles, reflecting a cold metallic light, and neither of them seemed to be missing any limbs.
So that was the "help" they needed; Li Qingqiu had thought they were injured.
Li Qingqiu turned and told the arriving disciples to lend a hand, while he stood still on the spot.
How could a Sect Leader do such laborious work?
He looked behind Zhang Yuchun; a small beggar was following them. The child was filthy and skeletal, with messy hair that made it impossible to tell if they were a boy or a girl.