Highest Loyalty

After the New Spring festivities, life at Qingxiao Sect returned to its usual calm—some cultivated immortality, others practiced martial arts.

A month later, Li Qingqiu finally broke through to the Yangyuan Realm Second Layer within the underground Spirit Lake. Feeling the Origin Energy in his body several times stronger than before, he couldn't help but lament the gap in talent between himself and Jiang Zhaoxia.

Though the disciples took turns coming to the underground Spirit Lake, in truth, he came the most often. None of the other disciples objected; Jiang Zhaoxia even hoped he would come every day, since he had nothing else to do anyway.

His junior brothers and junior sisters had all been raised by Li Qingqiu. Now that Li Qingqiu was reaping the benefits, they didn't find it unfair—rather, they felt it was what he deserved.

Moreover, the stronger the Sect Master, the further Qingxiao Sect could go.

"Senior Brother, did you just break through?"

Li Dongyue, sitting cross-legged across the lake, looked at Li Qingqiu and asked curiously.

She had clearly felt the spiritual energy here accelerate toward him just now, even affecting her own qi absorption.

Li Qingqiu opened his eyes and smiled. "Mm, I did break through. Now I can begin cultivating the second layer of the Primordial Scripture."

Li Dongyue's expression turned envious. She pressed on, "By the way, Senior Brother, I heard from Senior Yang that in the martial world, there's a hierarchy for martial artists' strength. Do you think the Yangyuan Realm Second Layer counts as a first-rate expert, or even beyond that?"

The scene of Jiang Zhaoxia instantly killing Luo Lie was still vivid in her mind. Though it was a sneak attack, Yang Jueding had said Luo Lie was a first-rate expert—even with a surprise strike, someone who could kill him couldn't be far from that level.

"I wouldn't know about that. Besides, we train to strengthen ourselves, not to constantly compare with others," Li Qingqiu said earnestly.

For those cultivating immortality, the important thing was cultivating the heart. It wasn't about who was ahead today or tomorrow, but over the long years.

Li Dongyue nodded. "I understand. I'm just curious."

The two practiced and chatted for a while, then fell silent on their own.

Two hours later, they left together and returned to Qingxiao Sect.

When they got back, it was nearly dusk. Most of the disciples had already gathered in the courtyard where they usually stayed—also where they ate.

Li Qingqiu spotted Xu Ning standing alone outside the kitchen, waiting to serve the dishes, while the other disciples were already gathered around the table, discussing what they had learned that day.

Aside from cultivating the Primordial Scripture, the disciples spent most of their time following Yang Jueding in martial practice. Though their skills hadn't advanced as rapidly as Li Sifeng's, their bodies had clearly grown much stronger.

Xu Ning hadn't yet cultivated the Primordial Scripture. Without Li Qingqiu's instruction, Li Dongyue and Zhang Yuchun wouldn't dare teach it to the disciples on their own—even Yang Jueding hadn't practiced it.

Of course, Yang Jueding had no interest in Qingxiao Sect's internal arts. For a martial artist, switching internal arts recklessly was a major taboo, unless the new art far surpassed the old.

Changing arts meant rebuilding one's internal qi from scratch, which couldn't be done in just a month or two.

Li Qingqiu walked up behind Xu Ning and asked, "Do you want to train?"

Xu Ning was startled by him. Turning her head, she asked cautiously, "Is it internal arts?"

She was already learning fist and foot techniques, training harder than the other disciples, and often earned praise from Yang Jueding.

But Yang Jueding clearly favored men over women. His focus was on Li Sifeng, and the martial techniques he taught the other disciples were all quite ordinary.

"Of course. And it's Qingxiao Sect's exclusive internal art."

Li Qingqiu smiled, putting on an air of profound mystery. His words delighted Xu Ning. She had seen Yang Jueding display internal qi before and was deeply impressed—she had long wanted to learn internal arts.

"I do! I really do!" Xu Ning nodded frantically like a chick pecking at rice, her eyes practically shining. This was the first time she had shown such excitement.

Li Qingqiu asked with a grin, "If I teach you internal arts, what should you call me?"

"Sect Master?"

"Mm?"

"Master?"

Xu Ning tested nervously. She knew what the master-disciple relationship meant. In the martial world, that bond could be even more important than that between father and daughter, or father and son.

Li Qingqiu's lips curled upward. "Kowtow to me three times. From now on, you'll be my first disciple."

Zhang Yuchun, who was stir-frying, couldn't help but cast a curious glance at them.

"Eldest Senior Brother, how can your first disciple be a woman?"

Jiang Zhaoxia's voice rang out as he walked over carrying a sword.

Ever since he had taken up the iron sword, he had become spirited and sharp-edged. Sometimes, from dozens of zhang away, you could hear the whistling wind of his sword practice in the woods.

Now, Jiang Zhaoxia was universally acknowledged as the strongest in Qingxiao Sect.

At his words, the other disciples turned to look, including Yang Jueding.

Under the gaze of the crowd, Xu Ning's small face flushed bright red, but her look at Jiang Zhaoxia was full of displeasure.

"So what if she's a woman? She might even surpass you one day," Li Qingqiu said dismissively. His words moved Xu Ning deeply, and tears began to well up in her eyes.

Then Li Qingqiu looked at Xu Ning, signaling her to kowtow quickly.

Xu Ning knelt on the spot and kowtowed to Li Qingqiu three times.

And so, Li Qingqiu accepted his first disciple.

He breathed a quiet sigh of relief inwardly. A genius like this—if he didn't nurture her early, it would itch at him.

But he was also afraid that once Xu Ning grew strong, she might threaten his position as Sect Master, so he had to use a little cunning.

This way, Xu Ning, with her Paranoid Destiny, should be bound to him from now on and wouldn't betray him.

As for Jiang Zhaoxia's arrogant words, Xu Ning might be displeased, but it didn't escalate to hatred—after all, Jiang Zhaoxia had saved her before.

"Alright, let's eat first."

Li Qingqiu pulled Xu Ning up, patted her knee, and smiled warmly.

The way he treated ordinary disciples versus his personal apprentice was bound to be different. Li Qingqiu even felt a bit like he was raising a daughter, even though he was only seven years older than Xu Ning.

The Sect Master taking a disciple was a major event, and over the dinner table, everyone discussed it.

Some playful, bold disciples took the initiative to beg Li Qingqiu to take them as apprentices, but he flatly refused them all. Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue, however, couldn't resist and each took on one disciple.

As for Jiang Zhaoxia, he paid no attention to these disciples. His cold face kept them from daring to get close.

Yang Jueding set down his wine bowl and sighed. "Sect Master, the position of eldest disciple is no small matter in any sect. Are you sure she can handle it?"

Hearing this, Xu Ning clenched her back teeth so hard they ached.

There was no helping it—she was not only young but also thin. No matter how Yang Jueding looked at her, she didn't seem destined for greatness, certainly not as impressive as his precious Li Sifeng.

Unfortunately, Li Sifeng was of the same generation as Li Qingqiu, so he couldn't take him as an apprentice.

"Even if she can't, it's fine. Although Qingxiao Sect is a martial arts sect, we don't walk the path of aggression and competition. More than martial skill, I care about her character and sense of responsibility. I believe this child will satisfy me."

Li Qingqiu spoke these fine words, continuing to win over Xu Ning.

He almost wanted to applaud Yang Jueding, thinking to himself, I didn't even bribe you, so why are you shoving your face forward to help me?

Li Dongyue couldn't help but speak up. "Alright, Xiao Ning has already become Eldest Senior Brother's apprentice. From now on, she's our junior disciple. Let's look to the future."

"Junior disciple! Xiao Ning, you're my junior disciple now!"

Young Li Sijin laughed happily. She was a year older than Xu Ning, but when the two stood together, she always seemed more like the younger sister—mainly because she was still naive, while the quiet Xu Ning appeared more composed.

Xu Ning's small face finally relaxed, and she broke into a smile. She really liked Li Sijin's liveliness, so she couldn't help but serve her more food again.

Li Qingqiu called up the Legacy System panel to check Xu Ning's loyalty.

99/99!

Good heavens, maxed out!

In Li Qingqiu's view, this was already the highest loyalty possible. A full one hundred loyalty—was that something a normal person could achieve?

He could safely invest in her training!

Three days later, Li Qingqiu brought Xu Ning and Li Sijin to the underground Spirit Lake to train. Today, he would teach Xu Ning the Primordial Scripture for the first time, and Xu Ning was full of anticipation.

The two little girls huddled together, always chattering away, but Xu Ning was eager to cultivate and soon pulled the restless Li Sijin along with her.

Sure enough, Xu Ning's speed in cultivating Origin Energy was absurd.

With the boost from the underground Spirit Lake, she managed to produce a thread of Origin Energy in just one hour. Li Sijin was utterly shocked.

Not just Li Sijin—even Li Qingqiu, who had mentally prepared himself, was startled.

Li Qingqiu turned to Li Sijin and said, "Don't tell anyone about this. If someone asks, just say it took her an entire day to produce inner energy."

"Why?" Li Sijin asked blankly.

"I'm afraid your Third Senior Brother will be traumatized."

Hearing this, Li Sijin thought of Jiang Zhaoxia's sour face and nodded in deep agreement.

She also felt that Third Senior Brother was petty and easily angered.

Even with Li Qingqiu's warning, Xu Ning's feat of producing Origin Energy within a single day still shocked Zhang Yuchun and the others.

Cultivators had an exceptionally keen perception of Origin Energy. Yang Jueding and the other disciples didn't notice, but Li Qingqiu's junior brothers and sisters detected it the moment they saw Xu Ning.

They began to change their view of her, and even Jiang Zhaoxia did the same.

But Jiang Zhaoxia's change of heart was only slight. In his eyes, Xu Ning's success was mostly due to the underground Spirit Lake. If she trained outside, she definitely wouldn't be faster than him.

Xu Ning's success made Li Qingqiu even more hopeful for Qingxiao Sect's future.

In the days that followed, the seven disciples recruited from the village still couldn't produce Origin Energy, so Li Qingqiu could only have them focus on martial arts.

The underground Spirit Lake couldn't be easily exposed, and with too many people, it would also affect his own cultivation and that of his junior brothers and sisters.

Time passed day by day.

Spring went and summer came. Li Qingqiu had just turned seventeen, but his junior brothers and sisters all thought his birthday was in autumn. He never corrected them, because he didn't like making a big fuss over his own birthday.

One afternoon.

Li Qingqiu sat on the grass in front of the mountain gate, with nine swords laid out before him. He was establishing a connection with the swords to cultivate the Supreme Sword Control Technique.

Suddenly.

He looked up, following the mountain path downward. From the forest emerged a man, wearing a belted yellow robe and carrying a sword on his back. He was tall and sturdy, clearly a martial artist.

The Yellow-Clad Man looked up and saw Li Qingqiu at the mountain gate, a bright smile spreading across his face. He stepped onto the stone steps and asked, "May I ask if this is Qingxiao Sect?"

Li Qingqiu said irritably, "Can't you see the words above my head?"

The characters "Qingxiao Sect" were carved into the mountain gate. Such blindness was simply intolerable to him.

The Yellow-Clad Man wasn't offended. He chuckled and said, "I saw them, but I needed to hear you say it yourself. Allow me to introduce myself—I am your new Sect Master of Qingxiao Sect. My name is Mo Jiujiao."

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