Chapter 4

The feat of Ye Qiao creating a large pit in the back mountain right after joining the sect was so astonishing that when she received her identity token and arrived at her residence, she garnered a lot of attention.

She received various kinds of glances, mostly out of curiosity and inquiry. Fortunately, Ye Qiao was thick-skinned. She nodded to them as if acknowledging their presence like a leader visiting the countryside, then entered her courtyard.

The outer sect disciples who had been watching her thought, “…” You really are shameless, aren’t you?

The courtyard was similar to a quadrangle, with each outer sect member having their own room. Ye Qiao briefly counted her spirit stones when a disciple approached her.

“Do you know Mu Chongxi?”

The scene of her and Mu Chongxi descending from the sky had left a deep impression, making many curious about their relationship.

Ye Qiao shook her head, “Not really. We just happened to meet.”

The male disciple nodded knowingly. As expected, how could a personal disciple be familiar with someone from the outer sect?

“I’m Du Chun, a sword cultivator. What about you?”

“Ye Qiao.” She responded concisely and sincerely, “I’m an orphan.”

Du Chun was taken aback by her straightforwardness. He realized this girl had a knack for killing conversations. He racked his brain for a topic, “There’s an early class tomorrow. Want to go together?”

Du Chun seemed cheerful and probably wanted a companion as he was new here.

“No problem.” Ye Qiao didn’t refuse; having company was naturally good.

The world of cultivation wasn’t easy. Just after joining, without any buffer time, they started classes immediately.

The sword cultivation course mostly involved swinging and practicing with swords, which could be monotonous and tedious for other sword cultivators.

However, for Ye Qiao, who came from the modern world, it was a completely new experience. As a child, she had admired the graceful and fierce sword-wielding immortals in TV dramas, their movements elegant and powerful.

“This is the sword manual for Changming Sect’s outer sect,” the inner sect disciple distributing the manuals warned, “Although these are just basic sword techniques, you must not slack off. An elder will inspect your progress daily.”

Ye Qiao had spent the previous night drawing talismans, so she was a bit exhausted.

She vigorously rubbed her face and flipped through the sword manual called “Qingfeng Technique.” Indeed, it contained basic techniques, and the starting moves were quite simple.

Ye Qiao observed the outer sect disciples around her practicing their sword techniques. She had a good memory and quickly noticed a problem: although they were all practicing basic sword techniques, each person’s movements were slightly different and not quite standard.

Lowering her eyes, Ye Qiao studied the Qingfeng Sword Technique manual intently, flipping through each page. As she focused, she began to feel as if the little figures in the book were coming to life, wielding their swords in front of her with a swift and fierce grace.

Gradually, Ye Qiao felt herself entering a mystical state where the surrounding noises faded away, and her mind was filled with the movements of the little figures. The fluid sword shadows danced before her eyes, sharp and dazzling.

She didn’t know what was happening, and when she came back to her senses, she was told she had been in a trance for an hour.

If an elder had been present, they would have recognized that Ye Qiao had entered a state of deep meditation.

Entering such a state requires a high level of comprehension, and most cultivators are considered highly talented if they can do it two or three times.

It was rare for someone like Ye Qiao to enter this state so easily.

Du Chun walked over to her, “Did you learn it?”

Ye Qiao, still filled with the images of the little figures wielding swords, instinctively nodded, then shook her head.

She felt like she had learned it, but since she hadn’t tried it yet, she didn’t dare to claim she had mastered the sword technique after just one reading.

Du Chun, though skeptical that she could learn the Qingfeng Technique in just one afternoon, kindly reminded her, “I heard there are several branches of major families among the outer sect this time. We should keep a low profile.”

Otherwise, drawing attention might make things difficult for them in the outer sect.

Initially wanting to test her skills, Ye Qiao decided against it after hearing his words. “Thank you.”

As someone who had long navigated the workplace, she understood that standing out too much often led to being ostracized.

Being mediocre wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Mediocre results were the least conspicuous.

Ye Qiao had no grand ambitions; she just wanted to get through her time in the outer sect peacefully.

After a day of classes, Ye Qiao’s performance was neither outstanding nor the worst. She put away her sword and, with her stomach growling from hunger, headed to the cafeteria.

Though Changming Sect was demanding, it was also quite humane, providing food and lodging. Besides practicing with swords, she didn’t have to push herself too hard in cultivation.

This was practically a lifelong dream for a corporate worker like her.

As soon as class ended, Ye Qiao saw Mu Chongxi in his flamboyant red clothes. She blinked and wasn’t surprised, “It’s you.”

In the novel, Mu Chongxi was known for his fiery enthusiasm.

In other words, he could strike up a conversation with anyone, even a dog.

Mu Chongxi was excited, “Come on, I’ll show you around.”

Since Ye Qiao was someone he had brought into the sect, he eagerly came to find her after hearing that the outer sect had finished class.

Ye Qiao casually agreed, but her attention was elsewhere.

She glanced at the red sword at Mu Chongxi’s waist and thoughtfully asked, “Is that your life-bound sword?”

The swords in the cultivation world were made from unique materials. Even Ye Qiao’s basic sword was heavy, and just swinging it a dozen times had left her wrist sore.

This made her curious about cultivators’ spirit swords.

“Yes,” he replied, gripping the hilt. “It’s called the Chaoxi Sword, ranked third among spirit weapons. It was a gift from my master.”

“Can I touch it?”

Mu Chongxi hesitated, “This is my wife.”

For sword cultivators, their swords were their wives.

Ye Qiao, going along with it, asked, “Can I touch your wife?”

Mu Chongxi: “???” Are you serious?

In the end, Ye Qiao did get to touch Mu Chongxi’s wife…uh, sword.

The feeling was bone-chillingly cold, and the longer she held it, the more her hand felt numb. Ye Qiao blew on it lightly, “It’s so cold.”

Mu Chongxi pondered, “It must be the material of the spirit sword.”

“This sword is made from thousand-year-old ice.”

“But it’s surprising that the Chaoxi Sword didn’t attack you?” He was puzzled.

“Anyone who tried to touch it before was sent flying.”

Spirit swords had tempers, especially top-tier ones like the Chaoxi Sword.

Ye Qiao didn’t think much of it, “I guess it means I’m likable.”

The cafeteria was a common place for outer sect disciples. After getting her food, Ye Qiao focused on eating.

She wasn’t picky, and despite Changming Sect only serving steamed buns, they tasted quite good. She grabbed five in one go and ate with great enthusiasm, surprising Mu Chongxi.

It was the first time he’d seen someone eat so much.

After hesitating, he asked, “If you’re not too tired tonight, want to go down the mountain for a walk?”

Ye Qiao thought about it, “Sure.” She had some talismans she drew last night that she could sell for spirit stones.

Speaking of which, Mu Chongxi pointed at her, “So you’re a sword cultivator.”

She nodded, “Yes, why?”

“Then why do you also draw talismans?” He was very curious, “Are you dual-cultivating?”

Dual-cultivating was rare in the cultivation world since mastering one path was already difficult, let alone two.

Mu Chongxi had resigned himself to being just a sword cultivator, lacking the talent for drawing talismans.

Ye Qiao replied, “No. I just doodle casually. So far, I can only draw the most basic talismans.”

She couldn’t be considered a talisman cultivator and had never seen a formal talisman book. The talismans she drew were low-grade, relying mostly on the original owner’s memories.

Mu Chongxi thought for a moment, “If you want to learn talisman drawing, you could ask Ming Xuan for guidance.”

“Ming Xuan?” She hesitated.

The name sounded very familiar to her.

“Is it that Ming Xuan from one of the eight major families?” Ye Qiao asked.

Mu Chongxi nodded, “Yes, he’s from the direct line of the eight major families. They’re very proud and aloof, and Ming Xuan is the only talisman cultivator among this year’s personal disciples. He’s difficult to get along with and usually only interacts well with our third senior brother. I’ll find some time to ask him if he can teach you.”

Ye Qiao knew about Ming Xuan.

He was the second male antagonist in the novel.

Later, unable to break through his cultivation stage, he developed inner demons and eventually fell into the demonic path, becoming the young master of the demon clan.

According to the novel’s plot, once Ming Xuan fell into the demonic path, he fell in love with the female lead, Yun Que, at first sight and began competing with a group of men for her affection.

Just… how to put it.

Whenever Ye Qiao thought about Ming Xuan turning to the demonic path and Mu Chongxi ultimately destroying his own cultivation heart and becoming an ordinary person, she felt a bit queasy.

How did such a promising group of righteous geniuses end up with such tragic fates?