Chapter 101

Mu Chongxi kicked the door open with one swift motion. As everyone looked up, they saw six sword cultivators fiercely fighting each other, with Ye Qiao relentlessly whipping them from behind.

Ming Xuan had also caught on to the fun of deceiving people and would occasionally burst into maniacal laughter from behind.

The two of them together didn’t look like righteous disciples at all; they resembled the triumphant villains from storybooks.

The confused members of the Song family were stunned for a moment. “Um, excuse me, are we here to save these poor cultivators from their misery?”

If that was the case, they could understand why the Changming Sect had rushed over so urgently.

“Which ones are your little sister and senior brother?” another cultivator asked Mu Chongxi. “Is it the one getting beaten the hardest?”

Mu Chongxi was strangely silent for a moment before saying, “No, she’s the one who hit people from behind.”

After a long pause, the man managed to say, “Your personal disciples sure know how to have fun.”

One captured the heir of the Song family, holding the emperor hostage to command the vassals, while the other, who was supposed to be rescued, was chasing six Golden Core cultivators from behind.

This generation of personal disciples had certainly taken their antics to a whole new level.

“Ye Qiao,” Song Hansheng’s breath hitched slightly as he witnessed the scene. There was a calmness that came with the lack of surprise, but his temple veins throbbed. “What are you doing again?”

When the door was kicked open, Ye Qiao turned her head to see ten shocked faces outside. Tilting her head nonchalantly, she asked, “Is something the matter?”

In the dead of night, with so many cultivators gathered here, were they having a collective meeting?

Song Hansheng’s face darkened as well, deeply feeling that these people from the Changming Sect were here deliberately to torment him.

His face twisted for a moment, glaring at the Song family cultivators behind him, “What are you looking at? Leave.”

To hell with saving Ye Qiao; why wasn’t anyone saving those six Golden Core cultivators?

“So that’s why she could get first place in two major competitions; it makes sense,” muttered a cultivator who had just been ranting with Yun Que about Ye Qiao’s recklessness. He sheepishly touched his nose. “No wonder she’s our number one.”

Mu Chongxi was shocked by his shamelessness. First, he claimed “our number one.” Who was this guy?

“Weren’t you just saying that our Ye Qiao only caused trouble?” He raised an eyebrow, feeling that the shamelessness of the Song family truly ran deep.

Mu Chongxi’s words were casual, but Yun Que felt implicitly criticized. She blushed, feeling a rare sense of embarrassment for her earlier words. She opened her mouth but swallowed back what she wanted to say.

Yun Que had never been one to easily envy others or compare herself, but ever since Ye Qiao appeared, it wasn’t just that Song Hansheng ignored her— even her master’s attitude subtly changed.

Sometimes, her master would sigh at her.

Yun Que lowered her eyes, suppressing the emotions swirling within. She was ready to respond to the old man as soon as she returned.

She wanted to learn swordsmanship, to reclaim the praise that should have been hers.

The Song family group came and went in a rush. One moment, it seemed like a world war was about to break out; the next, they had all disappeared without a trace.

Their speed was astounding.

Ye Qiao looked at her variously expressing senior brothers and took the opportunity to send a voice transmission to Ming Xuan, asking him to stay behind while the others went out to talk, so the six rogue cultivators inside wouldn’t hear.

The outside environment was chilly.

“What are you and Ming Xuan up to?” Mu Chongxi pursed his lips. “While we were running for our lives, you two captured six Golden Core cultivators.”

Those were Golden Core stage, not Foundation Establishment. Six of them, each with a sword, would be enough to overwhelm two people.

How did you do it?

“We didn’t capture them; we intimidated them,” Ye Qiao explained. “They thought Ming Xuan was that ghost cultivator and chose to defect to the light. But it’s only temporary, so my suggestion is to throw them in jail once the mission is over.”

Her explanation was vague.

Those rogue cultivators weren’t idiots; how could they believe Ming Xuan was a ghost cultivator?

Everyone was puzzled.

But now wasn’t the time to discuss this. After a moment of contemplation, Xue Yu said, “Let’s leave here first and plan carefully.”

“Keep those Golden Core cultivators too. They’re still useful.”

With Song Hansheng’s stinginess, he wouldn’t lend them people. “Let Ming Xuan stay and watch them.”

Since the second senior brother was afraid of ghosts, assigning him this task might actually be easier, given the deep psychological impact of Ye Qiao and the ghost infant chasing people earlier, making everyone deeply believe in Ming Xuan’s identity.

Compared to human cultivators, ghost cultivators were more unpredictable and murderous. A slight misstep could lead to death.

No one dared to provoke Ming Xuan, fearing that the ghost infant might devour them in a fit of anger.

Ming Xuan looked at the six trembling people and felt immensely satisfied. In the past, in the secret realm, he had always been targeted by six Golden Core cultivators, but now he commanded six Golden Core cultivators.

…

After temporarily parting with Ming Xuan, Ye Qiao was still pondering how to complete the mission quickly.

With so much time having passed without any movement, perhaps they could try to provoke that ghost cultivator to reveal themselves.

After all, she had stolen his son. Ye Qiao didn’t believe he could remain indifferent.

Confrontation was inevitable.

Ye Qiao had successfully amassed all the hatred from the Song mansion.

She remained unperturbed, even calmly thinking about something else.

What was the opportunity for the female lead to obtain the inheritance?

Innate talent?

Unlikely.

Yun Que’s talent wasn’t necessarily the best, but her luck was undoubtedly superior. If the last wisp of the sword cultivator’s soul was about to dissipate, in desperation, he would pass the inheritance to whomever he found.

And Yun Que was a personal disciple of the five sects, a righteous disciple, making her even more trustworthy.

As for where Yun Que obtained the inheritance in the novel, Ye Qiao wasn’t sure. She only remembered that when the female lead obtained the opportunity, she helped the Song family solve a problem, making Song Hansheng join her harem, captivated by her beauty and wisdom.

Song Hansheng was a typical young master of a prominent family, focused on team benefits. He had no regard for beautiful but useless people. If Yun Que obtained the inheritance and became a genius in both sword and talisman, she would indeed earn Song Hansheng’s respect.

That night, clouds obscured the moon, and the surroundings were quiet. Yun Que tried to call out the old man’s name in her mind.

The Song family had lost many cultivators over the years, some of whom were powerful enough to preserve their souls for hundreds of years. She had recently encountered an old man who repeatedly offered her an opportunity.

Yun Que hadn’t agreed immediately.

But now, she didn’t want to hesitate anymore.

“Senior,” she called softly, “are you still there?”

“I accept,” Yun Que said. “I am willing to receive your inheritance.”

A thin old man finally floated slowly in front of Yun Que and asked, “Have you thought it through?”

Yun Que nodded without hesitation, “Yes, I have.” She couldn’t let Ye Qiao remain so arrogant for long.

The old man scrutinized her for a moment. “Since that’s the case, then let all the other cultivators come as well.”

“After all, my inheritance has always gone to the one with the strongest aptitude.” Initially, he considered Yun Que because she had decent aptitude and was a direct disciple of one of the five major sects. Plus, he was running out of time and had to choose the best he could from a group of less-than-ideal candidates.

But now it was different. Suddenly, so many direct disciples had arrived in the mansion.

He would definitely choose the best one.

… What?

This was not what Yun Que had expected. Her voice almost got stuck in her throat, her beautiful eyes wide open. “Senior?”

“Are you joking?”

It turned out he wasn’t joking because the next second, except for Zhou Xingyun, all the other sword cultivators collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Zhou Xingyun was puzzled. “?”

“What happened?” This series of changes shocked Xue Yu.

Were they all dead?

He instinctively shook Ye Qiao and kicked Mu Chongxi, discovering that all the sword cultivators were unconscious.

“Most of them are sword cultivators,” Xue Yu looked at the senior brother. “Aren’t you going to faint too?”

Join the crowd, senior brother.

Zhou Xingyun looked at the fallen sword cultivators and guessed a bit. He smirked, “Someone is selecting a successor for their sword technique.”

As for why he didn’t faint, it was because inheritance selection typically excluded those from powerful families with their own inheritances. His family had its own inheritance, so he wasn’t included.

Meanwhile.

Ye Qiao woke up groggily and almost thought it was another domain. Mu Chongxi pinched her, “Does it hurt?”

Ye Qiao shook her head, “No.”

But—

“Why the heck did you pinch me for no reason?”

She kicked him expressionlessly. Mu Chongxi didn’t dodge; it didn’t hurt anyway. He thought for a moment, “It’s a dream.”

—A dream?

Ye Qiao thoughtfully observed the gradually waking people, most of whom were from the Song family, including Yun Que. Counting them, almost all were sword cultivators.

Oh dear.

Was this the place of inheritance in the novel?

Ye Qiao remembered this was one of the female lead’s fortuitous encounters.

Unexpectedly, so many people ended up here by mistake?

Ye Qiao wasn’t sure what went wrong, bringing so many people in. More curious than this was whether the female lead, with her charm, could still gain favor in front of so many people.

Ye Qiao thought it was unlikely.

With a natural sword bone ahead, the old man might not look at anyone else.

Seeing everyone gradually waking up, Ye Qiao pulled Mu Chongxi to a corner to avoid attracting attention.

They huddled together, heads close. “If everyone fainted, would it be dangerous outside?”

Ye Qiao’s usually calm expression stiffened slightly.

Normally, she could guarantee no problem, but recently, she had offended that ghost cultivator and kidnapped his son.

Mu Chongxi’s expression cracked with her silence, “What did you do again?”

Ye Qiao felt guilty and mumbled, “Nothing much. I’m an honest person, don’t you trust me?”

Mu Chongxi snorted.

He didn’t need to guess that Ming Xuan and Ye Qiao had been up to something secretly. He just didn’t know what.

While the two bickered, Yun Que was anxiously searching for the old man. She was going crazy. Wasn’t he supposed to make her the successor? Why bring so many people?

Many were clueless, and the two from Changming Sect huddled in the corner were the least conspicuous.

Mu Chongxi almost fell asleep when a sudden voice startled him awake. He saw an old man appear in front of him, holding a sword, smiling slightly. “Kid.”

“I have an inheritance to give you. Would you consider inheriting my legacy?”

The old man smiled kindly, “This sword technique is for you alone.”

“Why just me?” Mu Chongxi, wary from reading many storybooks, eyed the old man suspiciously. “Are you trying to harm me?”

The old man was speechless.

Seeing no response, Mu Chongxi pointed at the technique in the old man’s hand, “Or does practicing this require castration first?”

Ye Qiao opened her eyes, feeling a sense of resolution upon seeing the old man.

The female lead’s golden opportunity had been intercepted.

Given the importance of sword bones in the sword path, who else but Mu Chongxi?

Ye Qiao didn’t interfere but soon realized something was wrong. She nudged Mu Chongxi with her elbow.

She noticed everyone was staring at them with a look of bewilderment, as if they were watching lunatics.

Ye Qiao found it strange. Were she and her fourth senior brother the only ones who could see the old man?

Mu Chongxi snapped back, “What?”

Ye Qiao whispered, “It seems only we can see him. Don’t react too much.”

Noticing the two whispering again, the others were speechless.

What? Did the Changming Sect disciples have endless topics to discuss?

Ye Qiao lowered her voice, but the old man could still hear. She didn’t bother hiding the fact she could see him and openly discussed it with Mu Chongxi.

“This senior must be a sword cultivator who failed to ascend and fell,” Ye Qiao gestured for him to take the initiative. “He’s selecting someone to inherit his legacy.”

“Wait a moment.”

The old man’s attention was entirely on Mu Chongxi, a naturally gifted sword bone, a perfect candidate. He hadn’t spared even half a glance for the girl beside him.

His gaze shifted directly to Ye Qiao, his tone slightly surprised, “You can see me?”

Ye Qiao was stunned for a moment and then sincerely asked, “Is it that not everyone is worthy of seeing you?”

Is this a matter of worthiness?

The old man couldn’t help but widen his eyes, scrutinizing Ye Qiao closely. “That boy has a naturally unique sword bone. What about you?”

How could she see him?

Indeed, Mu Chongxi was dying to know what kind of aptitude Ye Qiao possessed.

For a long time, Ye Qiao’s aptitude had been a mystery. The outside world had speculated endlessly without any conclusion. Many believed her aptitude was high, and the idea of her having average aptitude was considered a distraction.

Of course, Ye Qiao’s die-hard fans firmly believed she was exceptional and unmatched.

However, the purity of Ye Qiao’s spiritual roots had always shown up as average on the testing stone.

“What do you think I am?” Ye Qiao suppressed her curiosity, remaining calm and composed as she met the old man’s gaze.

The old man sized up Ye Qiao for a long time. Apart from a naturally unique sword bone, what other aptitude could be so special?

He had a vague suspicion. Besides the naturally unique sword bone, there was one other kind of aptitude that surpassed it.

Which was—

“Have any of you heard of heavenly-grade spiritual roots?”