Chapter 6

Xuan Yunzi currently has four disciples. Excluding the other two senior brothers, Lin Lin naturally sent the message to Yu Li.

However, after waiting for a while, Lin Lin didn’t receive a reply.

He couldn’t quite tell if Yu Li was busy or if he simply didn’t want to deal with this matter, so he assumed he had just ignored it.

He still remembered the first time Yu Li and Yu Tao met. When he gave Yu Tao a greeting gift, he had only gotten it at Yu Li’s request. Yu Li had complained about the trouble and had casually tossed it aside before leaving.

Of course, he was always that cold-hearted and distant. He probably didn’t want to get involved with trivial matters with a newly acquainted junior sister.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Lin put down the Liuli Mirror and decided to talk to both Yu Tao and Zhu Mingyu during the next morning lesson.

No matter what, they were his obedient students, and they were scheduling a duel right under his nose—he couldn’t just ignore it.

But there was something that puzzled him.

Yu Li had been back from Mohe for over half a month now. Even though he was clearly in the sect, other than that one day when he came to teach, Lin Lin hadn’t seen him at all during the past half month.

What on earth was this guy doing every day?

—

“Good morning, kitty.”

Yu Tao arrived at the Training Platform as usual and greeted the black cat with a smile.

The black cat lazily lifted its drowsy little head. Its pale golden eyes glanced at her, and with a soft hum, it lazily responded and then returned to its rest.

For the past half month, the black cat had appeared at Training Platform every day, yawning lazily and nestling in its cat bed, quietly keeping Yu Tao company while she practiced. It would stay there all day long.

After the “fish incident” and understanding the cat’s little temper, Yu Tao grew more fond of the black cat. Their relationship had improved greatly since then, and they were able to coexist harmoniously, unlike before when things had been tense.

However, the cat still wouldn’t let her touch it. Every time she kindly asked, “Can I just touch your tail, just for a moment?”

The black cat would always shrink its eyes in suspicion, its ears would twitch, and it would jump several steps back, clearly showing its unwillingness through its actions.

Yu Tao felt quite frustrated about not being able to pet the cat.

But she was someone who valued integrity. She had told it before that she wouldn’t touch it without its permission, so she had to keep her word.

Thus, Yu Tao could only look at the cat’s tail gently swaying behind it and struggle to resist the urge to reach out.

With a soft sigh, she said, “I won’t be practicing here at the Training Platform today. I’m planning to go to the sword practice field. Just wanted to let you know.”

Reaching the fifth level of Qi Refining was a small breakthrough. Yu Tao had spent a month moving from the first to the fourth level, but it had taken more than half a month just to get close to the threshold of advancing from the fourth to the fifth.

Her dantian was full of spiritual energy, but it still felt like something was missing, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint what exactly was lacking.

She vaguely felt that she might need some practical experience to help her breakthrough.

“I probably won’t come for the next few days. I figured you might get bored all alone at the Training Platform. Do you want to come with me to the sword practice field?”

After hearing this, the black cat stared at her for a moment, then lightly jumped off the training platform and disappeared into the forest.

This meant that the cat didn’t want to go to the sword practice field with her, but Yu Tao didn’t mind much. The main reason she came over was to let it know, in case it was just waiting around here. If it had other places to go, that was fine.

The sword practice fields of Wuchang Sect were divided into two areas: the Twin Stars Sword Practice Field and the Void Sword Practice Field.

The Twin Stars Sword Practice Field was where disciples would spar with each other in pairs, competing in swordsmanship to rank on the leaderboard. The rankings changed in real-time, and the top 50 disciples would receive different rewards based on their stage after each weekly tally.

The Void Sword Practice Field was a trial area with different levels of demon beasts. Disciples would receive rewards after completing the mission goals or defeating the beasts within a set period.

The Void Sword Practice Field had a cultivation requirement of at least Foundation Establishment, so she planned to go to the Twin Stars Sword Practice Field this time.

She took out her precious sword, unwrapping the layers of white cloth that protected it from bumps, revealing the sword’s true form.

It was a white-handled sword, with a silver-white blade that appeared crystal-clear, with a faint indigo hue moving along its surface. It didn’t look like it was made of dark iron, but rather like jade, exuding a beauty of its own.

This sword was called ^[1]“Lin Dong” (凜冬) is “Winter Chill” or “Harsh Winter.”Lin Dong.

After joining the Xuan Yuzi sect, he sent a message saying: “How can a disciple of the Sword Sect be without a sword? Go to Ten Thousand Swords Mountain and take one.”

Yu Tao was then taken by her Senior Brother Jiang Xingjing to the Ten Thousand Swords Mountain. As the name implied, the entire mountain was covered in swords, with famous swords scattered all over.

But most of the famous swords had sword spirits, and were proud and aloof, not easily taken by ordinary disciples. Unless they were willing to follow, no disciple could pull them out, even with all their efforts under the mountain’s restrictions.

When Yu Tao first came to the Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, she leisurely wandered around the mountain top, looking around like she was shopping, her eyes sparkling as she took everything in.

When she saw a sword shaped like a kitchen knife, she couldn’t help but exclaim.

She frowned when she saw a sword that resembled a spider.

There were also swords that looked like large cleavers, and others as thin as embroidery needles…

Why do all these famous swords look so strange, she wondered.

The sword spirits trapped within the swords were usually revered by disciples, bathed in their respectful gazes. It was the first time they experienced being treated like merchandise, scrutinized by the eyes of a young girl who had just entered the Qi Refining stage. One by one, their anger levels began to rise.

They intended to humiliate this naïve girl the moment she tried to pull a sword, to show her the cruelty of the world.

But in the end, the young girl merely looked around and then turned to leave the mountain.

She squatted by a dusty, mud-covered sword at the foot of the mountain and asked, “Would you like to come with me?”

The sword spirits: ?

Is this girl out of her mind? Why choose them and go for a worn-out, useless sword?

Yu Tao hadn’t planned to pick a particularly powerful sword. It wasn’t so much that she was choosing a sword, but rather that the sword was choosing her.

She could feel the hostility from the swords, most of them cold and indifferent, dismissing her. But this one sword was giving off a careful, almost hopeful feeling, like it had been rejected and ignored many times before.

Yu Tao gripped the sword’s hilt, pulled it out, and began wiping it clean with a handkerchief, revealing its true form.

After leaving Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, the old man who had been lying in a reclining chair still kept his position, not even bothering to glance at Yu Tao.

Jiang Xingjing looked at the sword she was holding, his expression unchanged. He didn’t say much, simply arranged her accommodations and a cultivation platform, then left.

Although Jiang Xingjing didn’t say anything, Yu Tao could still sense that her sword wasn’t considered a good one.

But she really liked it.

When not in use for her cultivation at Training Platform, she wrapped it in white cloth to protect it from bumps and dust.

That’s where her thoughts ended. Yu Tao sheathed the sword, strapped it to her side, and looked towards the direction of the sword training field. She took a deep breath and said, “Let’s go, Lin Dong.”

—

The morning sky was quiet, and most disciples had already gone to eat, leaving the sword training field nearly empty.

Zhu Mingyu arrived at the Void Sword Training Field after the morning class. For the past few days, she had been spending all her time here.

The best way to improve strength was through real combat. The 1v1 duels at the Twin Star Sword Training Field were just for practice, not enough to truly unlock her potential.

However, today, the disciple in charge of guarding the entrance, Gu Yu, wasn’t present. It was unclear where they had gone. The teacup still had steam rising from it, suggesting it hadn’t been long since they left.

The air was filled with a sweet floral scent, very pleasant to the nose.

It was mid-spring, and the flowers around were indeed blooming beautifully.

Zhu Mingyu waited for a long time, but the person still hadn’t arrived. Impatient, she looked down at a jade token for teleportation on the table, picked it up, and wrote a note saying she had come, placing it under the teacup.

Zhu Mingyu tucked the jade token into her robe and, with her sword on her back, walked toward the water mirror. Halfway there, she felt a chill from behind, as if someone was watching her. The gaze was cold, like that of a venomous snake.

She turned around, puzzled.

The sword training field was empty, with no one in sight.

Perhaps it was just a result of the tension over the past few days, and she was simply imagining things. Zhu Mingyu took a deep breath and tried to relax, then walked towards the water mirror.

—

The rippling water calmed down after a few moments, and Zhu Mingyu entered the Void Realm.

—

Twin Star Sword Training Field.

The large ranking board for swordsmanship was placed at the entrance, with the names of the top 50 disciples displayed high above. This was the honor of the disciples.

The new disciple, Xu Jing, stood in front of the board, staring at the name of the first-place holder—Yu Li.

His eyes were filled with hope and longing.

Senior Brother Yu Li had only come to the sword training field once, two years ago. He immediately challenged the first-place disciple at the time, and since then, his name had remained at the top.

The second-place disciple had tried multiple times to reclaim first place over the past two years, but had never been able to surpass the spiritual shadow left by Senior Brother Yu Li’s overwhelming power.

Xu Jing looked at his own rank—9997th—and clenched his fists. With unwavering determination, he muttered, “Someday, I’ll grow strong enough to challenge Senior Brother Yu Li!”

“You’re a new disciple?”

A voice came from behind him. Xu Jing turned in confusion and saw the figure dressed in white. His eyes widened in surprise, and he stammered, S-senior Brother Yu Li!”

But within a second, his face turned red.

It was over—he had definitely just said those overconfident words out loud, and now Senior Brother Yu Li probably thought he was being foolish and overestimating himself.

He lowered his head and said, “Yes, I just joined the sect about two months ago.”

Although they had seen each other in the teaching hall half a month ago, Xu Jing didn’t have the confidence to think that Yu Li would remember him out of the hundreds of disciples.

Yu Li asked softly, “What’s your name?”

Xu Jing obediently replied, “Xu Jing.”

“Mm, Xu Jing.”

Yu Li tossed the challenge token to him, “Go register for the challenge.”

Xu Jing: ???

Xu Jing froze for a moment after catching the token. “Senior Brother Yu Li, are you joking…?”

No, rank 9997th against rank 1—this gap in strength is too huge, right?

Yu Li lightly furrowed his brows. “Didn’t you want to challenge me?”

“If you don’t want to, I’ll find someone else…” he said, glancing at the few disciples who were gradually arriving.

“Yes!”

Xu Jing quickly responded, “I’ll go register with the Sect Uncle right away!”

But within a second, Xu Jing’s mind had switched gears. Why not fight? After all, this is with Senior Brother Yu Li! He might never get another chance in his life to face him.

Although, he probably won’t last more than three moves.

But now, this is an opportunity that has come right to his door—he can have a direct confrontation with Senior Brother Yu Li!

Winning was definitely impossible. Xu Jing had never considered the possibility of winning, he was just thrilled at the chance to spar with the Senior Brother he had admired for so long. That alone was an enormous stroke of luck.

Gu Feng, the Sect Uncle in charge of recording challenge matches, raised an eyebrow when he saw who Xu Jing was challenging and began to scold him: “You brat, don’t aim too high.”

“Besides, you know the rules of the training field. If you’re below the top 50, you need the other person’s consent to challenge. You need to present a challenge token…”

Xu Jing carefully placed the token on the table. “Here, Sect Uncle Gu Feng.”

Gu Feng: ?

Gu Feng checked it over and confirmed that it was indeed Yu Li’s challenge token. He immediately frowned deeply. “You kid, what are you doing with someone else’s token?”

Xu Jing sighed helplessly. “Sect Uncle Gu Feng, although this is hard to believe, and I myself find it unbelievable, this token really was given to me by Senior Brother Yu Li. He’s outside right now. If you don’t believe me, you can go take a look.”

Gu Feng, filled with confusion, walked out of the door and immediately spotted the white-clad youth standing in front of the leaderboard.

He was scrolling through the spirit net interface with his fingers, seemingly looking for something.

Gu Feng approached and asked suspiciously, “Senior Disciple Yu Li, Xu Jing challenged you—did you agree to it?”

The young man’s gaze stayed on the spirit net, not lifting his head, and he lightly hummed in acknowledgment. “Yes, I agreed.”

“Then please trouble Sect Uncle to register.”

“Tsk.”

Gu Feng glanced back at Xu Jing, who was hunched over and looking somewhat awkward inside the room, then asked, “Registering is easy enough, but what’s so special about this kid? Why did you agree to his challenge?”

Found it.

What a coincidence—it just so happens that Xu Jing is right ahead of her.

Yu Li turned off the spirit net and relaxed his brow and eyes slightly. “It’s nothing, just some personal reasons.”

Gu Feng didn’t press further. He nodded, “Alright, then I’ll go register.”

After taking a couple of steps, he turned back and reminded, “Remember to go easy on him. A little lesson is fine, but he’s just a kid. Don’t leave him with a psychological scar.”

Yu Li was silent for a moment before replying with a single word, “Alright.”

The challenge record list would update in real time on the spirit net.

As soon as some disciples saw that there was a challenge issued to Senior Brother Yu Li at the Twin Star Training Field, the news spread like wildfire. In no time, the Twin Star Training Field was packed with disciples, with no space to spare.

Everyone was very curious about this suddenly appearing “Xu Jing” and wondered who he was, as they hadn’t heard his name before.

“He’s not trying to recreate what Senior Brother Yu Li did back then and quickly take the first place, is he?”

“I’m dying to know, who is this guy?!”

“I don’t believe Senior Brother Yu Li would lose!”

The training field’s challenge space allowed the participants to choose whether it would be open to all or fully closed. Xu Jing didn’t want to be beaten up in front of all the disciples.

So, when the disciples outside the challenge area shouted “Open! Open!”, he decisively selected the closed space option.

Some beating, he thought, would be fine as long as it was done privately.

At the moment Xu Jing stepped onto the challenge platform with his chest held high and his head tilted upward, he felt like a true warrior, drawing his sword.

“Let’s begin, Senior Brother Yu Li.”

The young man responded with a calm “Mm, you go ahead.”

With the difference in their strength laid out so clearly, Xu Jing didn’t hold back. He became serious, launching an attack with a swift thrust of his sword.

The sharp tip of the sword moved quickly. Just as Xu Jing thought he was about to strike Yu Li’s shoulder, the young man casually sidestepped to the left, evading the attack with ease.

“A little slow. You don’t need to hold back, try a little faster.”

Xu Jing froze, immediately understanding.

“I understand, Senior Brother.”

His expression hardened as he gripped his sword tightly and began to execute a series of sword techniques. The young man would always calmly dodge, then take the time to explain the flaws in Xu Jing’s movements, suggesting ways to improve.

Compared to the young man’s effortless responses, Xu Jing, the attacker, was sweating heavily. As time passed, he began to feel as though his body was weighed down by a stone, making each movement increasingly difficult. His swordplay slowed down as well.

Eventually, the young man simply stood there, not moving, and Xu Jing’s sword couldn’t even come close to him.

Is this the gap between us…?

Xu Jing thought, his heart heavy. Senior Brother Yu Li hadn’t even made a move against him. He had just let Xu Jing attack, and even at this point, Xu Jing couldn’t even touch the corner of his clothes.

No.

He wouldn’t accept it.

At the very least…

Xu Jing swallowed the blood rising in his throat, gritted his teeth, stood straighter, and tightened his grip on his sword.

Xu Jing gathered all of his spiritual energy and channeled it into his sword. Holding his breath, he used every ounce of his strength to strike the final blow.

The sword tip broke through the air, a surge of spiritual power rushing forward.

‘Clang!’

The sword dropped onto the challenge platform, vibrating twice.

Still not enough…

Xu Jing collapsed, exhausted, his head drooping in frustration.

The young man in white moved his fingers slightly, and the sword that had fallen to the ground flew back into Xu Jing’s sword sheath.

His voice was calm: “You succeeded.”

“But I still have someone to meet later, so I don’t have time to change clothes.”

As the opponent, he of course understood the intent of the attack.

If he hadn’t deflected the sword just now, if he had failed to dodge in time, the strike would have surely torn through his clothes.

Xu Jing lifted his head, panting, looking utterly disheveled, but his eyes were bright: “Really, Senior Brother Yu Li!?”

The young man across from him raised a hand and made a gesture. In an instant, Xu Jing felt an immense weight lift off his body. The crushing pressure, like a heavy stone, disappeared, leaving him feeling incredibly light.

What followed was a torrent of spiritual energy that rushed into his dantian, gathering and compressing, beginning to impact the threshold.

The realm that had been blocked for two months was finally broken through.

…He was about to establish his foundation!

At this moment, Xu Jing understood everything. He immediately sat cross-legged and began circulating his energy. His eyes even welled up with tears, deeply moved.

He looked at Yu Li. “Thank you, Senior Brother Yu Li, for your guidance!”

Yu Li, however, let out a soft laugh, his tone strangely ambiguous: “It’s a bit early to say thank you.”

Xu Jing was confused. “…Huh?”

Before he could respond, he saw the young man in front of him activate his jade token, his expression calm: “I lost.”

Xu Jing: “????”

March 25th, cloudy.

Twin Star Sword Training Field.

Although this challenge took place in a closed space, the Twin Star Sword Training Field at Wuchang Sect was still packed with people, with even the aisles blocked and passable only with great difficulty.

The last time such an unprecedented spectacle occurred was two years ago, when Senior Brother Yu Li challenged the number one rank at the time.

This time, he was still the main character, but this time he was the one being challenged.

Under the gaze of thousands of eyes, the closed space slowly opened, and the young man in white walked out first. His figure was graceful, his steps light, and there was not a trace of battle on him.

The person behind him, Xu Jing, was completely different. Sweating profusely, his hair was a tangled mess, and he looked utterly disheveled.

The difference was clear.

“I told you, Senior Brother Yu Li would definitely win. Who is this Xu Jing anyway? How could he possibly beat Yu Li…”

Before the words were even finished, the name on the leaderboard suddenly jumped.

The new number one was 【Xu Jing】.

The air in the arena froze.

Even breathing seemed to stop.

Three seconds later, the discussions erupted loudly, and the place exploded with chatter, with all sorts of opinions flying.

The most common complaint was about accusations of foul play.

Inside the building, Gu Feng, disturbed by the noise, felt his scalp tingle. He dug at his ears and then activated a silence spell that swept across the entire arena. Afterward, he said, “No loud shouting in the training field. If you want to talk, take it elsewhere.”

After restoring order, Gu Feng pulled Yu Li into a room and asked, “Disciple, are you feeling too tired lately? Or did you get injured during your trip to Mohe?”

In the room, Hua Lian was sitting with his legs crossed, munching on sunflower seeds. He snorted and said, “Look at him—does he look like someone who’s injured?”

Gu Feng froze for a moment. “Why are you here too?”

Hua Lian leisurely turned the leaderboard page, shaking his head and clicking his tongue. “9997th, 9998th, you really know how to play.”

Gu Feng was confused. What did that mean?

Yu Li lazily lifted his eyelids and glanced at him. “Is this why you came?”

“Of course not.”

Hua Lian slapped the sunflower seed shells in his hand. “I’m here to join you.”

He threw his empty jade token to Gu Feng. “Uncle Feng, I want to challenge the disciple ranked 9996th. Please register me.”

Gu Feng: “…”

An empty ranking meant that he had never registered in the Sword Training Field before, so he was automatically placed at the very bottom of the list, making challenging the 9996th position completely reasonable.

But…

Gu Feng closed his eyes. “Hua Lian, you, a Golden Core cultivator, are going to bully a Qi Refining stage kid? Don’t you feel ashamed?”

“So what?”

Hua Lian shrugged nonchalantly. “There are people in the God Transformation stage who aren’t ashamed to fight against Qi Refining stage. What’s the big deal with me?”

He curled the corner of his lips into a sly grin and looked at Yu Li. “You agree, right, Junior Brother?”

Yu Li couldn’t be bothered with his sharp tongue and instead glanced toward the door, his brows slightly furrowed.

He knew that Yu Tao had a bit of a sense of direction problem, but still… it shouldn’t take more than half an hour to find the Sword Training Field, right?

Gu Feng felt speechless, but since Hua Lian’s request didn’t violate any sect rules, he could only comply.

It just goes to show that someone who’s shameless is unbeatable.

“The disciple ranked 9996th is out of the sect right now. You’ll have to choose someone else.”

Hua Lian clicked his tongue. “I was hoping to get ahead of him.”

“Fine then, change it to the 9999th rank. That number is more auspicious anyway.”

Coincidentally, the disciple ranked 9999 was already at the Sword Training Field. After Gu Feng communicated with him, the disciple, upon hearing it was Hua Lian, asked several times in disbelief.

Gu Feng patiently answered each time, and eventually, they settled on the arrangement.

He tossed the jade token back to Hua Lian, irritably saying, “Challenge Platform 13. Go.”

Hua Lian cheerfully accepted the jade token, but before leaving the room, he suddenly stopped, turning back with a drawn-out tone:

“Though, some people might not make it to their 9998th position today.”

He paused for effect, then continued, “When I passed by the Void Sword Training Field earlier, I overheard an anxious Master Yu Yu, who was pacing around. Apparently…”

He paused again, as if savoring the moment. “A Qi Refining stage disciple took advantage of his absence and broke into the Void Realm.”

—

Word Count: 4,265