So It Really Was a Cultivation Technique?

Choosing a Fate was just copying it; it wouldn't affect Jiang Zhaoxia, so Li Qingqiu felt no qualms.

As soon as he made his choice, his consciousness was dragged into a dream.

He dreamed a long, hazy dream. In it, he practiced swordsmanship endlessly, the sword in his hand changing again and again.

He had no goal as he practiced. He knew no fatigue, continuing until he grew numb.

When he woke, the dream seemed short. He opened his eyes and saw that it was already dark outside. Moonlight spilled through the window, lending the room a faint glow.

"Senior Brother, dinner's ready."

Zhang Yuchun's voice came from outside the door, hesitant. He had already called three times and was wondering whether he should barge in.

Li Qingqiu hurriedly answered, "I'm coming."

"All right."

Zhang Yuchun let out a sigh of relief, then his footsteps faded into the distance.

Li Qingqiu tried to recall the dream, but found he couldn't remember any of its details. No other memories had appeared in his mind, either.

He stood up and examined himself. Nothing had changed.

His gaze fell on the treasured sword resting on the small table beside him. It was the Heavenly Rainbow Sword, bestowed on him by Lin Xunfeng. With its scabbard, it weighed six jin, so he usually couldn't be bothered to pick it up.

He went to the table and took hold of the scabbard with his right hand, lifting it as his left grasped the hilt.

Li Qingqiu raised his brows, astonishment shining in his eyes.

As he held the Heavenly Rainbow Sword, he could actually sense some kind of power within it—and it felt close to him.

The sensation was wondrous, unlike anything he had ever experienced. If he had to describe it, he would call it spirituality. He could feel the sword's spirit.

"So this is what it means to be an Innate Sword Maniac?"

Suppressing the urge to draw the blade, Li Qingqiu set the Heavenly Rainbow Sword down and turned toward the door.

He could study the Legacy System at his leisure. He couldn't let his junior brothers and sisters worry.

Their master had only just left, and now their Eldest Senior Brother was shutting himself away in his room. The younger ones were bound to let their imaginations run wild.

Li Qingqiu stepped outside and looked into the courtyard. His junior brothers and sisters were already gathered around the dinner table. Beside it stood an old tree with an oil lamp hanging from it, casting light over the tabletop.

They usually ate in the courtyard. In the past, everyone would scramble for food like starving ghosts. Tonight, though, the little ones were behaving themselves, all waiting for Li Qingqiu.

"Eldest Senior Brother!"

"Senior Brother!"

"Senior Brother, come eat!"

His junior brothers and sisters all rose and waved him over. Even the image-conscious Jiang Zhaoxia quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking at them, Li Qingqiu felt warmth in his heart. He was even more confident that he could make the Qingxiao Sect flourish.

He had already cast aside his dream of roaming the martial world. With the Legacy System, he was sure he could make a new life for himself through the Qingxiao Sect.

He hurried over, stopped beside his junior sister Li Sijin, and ruffled her hair before sitting down.

"Sit down, everyone. We'll eat and talk," Li Qingqiu said with a smile. Seeing that he was smiling just as he always did, the others finally relaxed and began serving themselves rice and vegetables.

Second Junior Brother Zhang Yuchun served rice to everyone, acting more mature than his years.

The long table was large enough for all seven of them, but dinner consisted of only three dishes and a soup, with just a little minced meat in the broth. That was life on the mountain. Lin Xunfeng was rarely around, so most of the time they could only eat vegetables they had grown themselves, with the occasional fried egg.

Li Qingqiu picked up his chopsticks and said casually, "Master has left the sect master position to me. I've thought it over, and I've decided to make the Qingxiao Sect bigger and stronger. After all, this is our home."

At once, Sixth Junior Brother Li Sifeng jumped to his feet and hollered, "Bigger and stronger! Bigger and stronger!"

As soon as he started, Fifth Junior Brother Wu Man'er joined in, shouting along.

Li Qingqiu looked at the twelve-year-old Li Sifeng and thought of his Fate.

Wolf Cub Ambition. No scruples.

The boy seemed so sunny and lively. How could his true nature be like that?

"Sounds great, but what can we do with just us?" Jiang Zhaoxia couldn't help scoffing.

Li Qingqiu had a very good impression of him now. After all, Jiang Zhaoxia was the most loyal person present, and the most gifted, too. He would become the sect's strongest fighter one day.

Faced with Jiang Zhaoxia's mockery, Li Qingqiu smiled. "We're still young, and anything's possible. So from now on, we'll work hard and train together, building up our strength first. Once we're all grown, we'll go down the mountain and recruit disciples."

His words excited the other disciples, who began chattering among themselves.

Seeing Li Qingqiu's attitude, Jiang Zhaoxia's anger quickly ebbed. He pursed his lips and muttered, "What good will training do? With Master's third-rate skills? He didn't even leave us any cultivation manuals."

His voice was so quiet that only he could hear it.

After serving everyone, Zhang Yuchun asked, "Senior Brother, Master left us only three manuals: one for boxing, one for swordsmanship, and one for movement. Which should we practice?"

Holding his bowl, Li Qingqiu scooped up a mouthful of rice. As he chewed, he said, "I'll look into it carefully and assign them later. Just set aside some time every day to practice. The most important thing right now is securing enough food. Once we start martial training, our food needs will shoot up, especially our need for meat. So we'll have to raise chickens and pigs and grow more vegetables..."

He outlined his rough plan. Zhang Yuchun's eyes lit up, and he nodded nonstop.

Aside from him and Fourth Junior Sister Li Dongyue, the other disciples weren't interested. None of them wanted more chores, though it wasn't easy to object right now. Their master had left, and they would have to depend on themselves.

Li Qingqiu told Zhang Yuchun what they would need and asked him to handle it, giving him free rein to assign the disciples.

Looking at Zhang Yuchun, he said, "Second Junior Brother, you're steady and you love to read. The Qingxiao Sect's future depends on you. Go ahead and do what needs doing. If anyone gives you trouble, tell me. I won't say I'll break their legs, but I can at least make them hurt for three or five days."

At this, the other disciples shuddered. Even Jiang Zhaoxia's expression turned uneasy.

As Eldest Senior Brother, Li Qingqiu really would beat them. He had established that authority when they were young, and every one of them had taken a beating from him.

"Don't worry, Senior Brother. I absolutely won't let you down!" Zhang Yuchun said excitedly.

He had long wanted to take charge of things, but he was soft-hearted. Apart from Fourth Junior Sister, everyone dared to walk all over him.

Li Qingqiu smiled and nodded, then chatted with his junior brothers and sisters about the martial world to get them looking forward to the future.

The Qingxiao Sect was small, but their master had a bit of a reputation. Every year, seasoned martial wanderers came up the mountain to visit and told them plenty of stories about the martial world.

The land beneath their feet was ruled by the Great Li Dynasty, which was divided into the Fourteen Provinces of the Nine Regions. The Qingxiao Sect was in Tai Kun Mountain Range, in Guzhou. Mountains stretched for a hundred li in every direction, dotted with villages and towns, while the nearest city lay two hundred li away.

In this feudal dynasty, much like ancient Huaxia, cold weapons ruled and martial arts flourished. Guzhou alone had countless large and small gangs, and seven sects renowned throughout the land.

When Li Qingqiu was a child, he had once seen a wandering swordsman spit out a burst of force that shot two zhang and left a mark on a tree trunk. He had been awestruck, and from that moment on, he had wanted to learn martial arts.

This was the martial-arts world he had yearned for in his previous life. How could he not learn martial arts?

Li Qingqiu remembered that he still had one chance to receive a Legacy System inheritance, and his heart immediately burned with anticipation.

Could he draw an unparalleled divine art?

If the Qingxiao Sect wanted to grow strong, it needed a signature technique to defend the sect. Without powerful martial arts, how could they make a name for themselves in the martial world?

Lin Xunfeng's third-rate skills certainly wouldn't cut it.

Throughout dinner, the Qingxiao Sect disciples dreamed aloud about the future. There was none of the sadness of being abandoned by their master. As long as Li Qingqiu was there, they weren't afraid.

A full hour passed before they finally dispersed, leaving Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue to clear the table.

Li Qingqiu returned to his room and sat cross-legged on the bed. Suppressing his excitement, he brought up the Legacy System and chose to begin the inheritance.

[Claim Inheritance Reward]

[Begin Legacy Inheritance]

[You have obtained a Qi Absorption Cultivation Method—Taiqing Primordial Scripture]

[Accept inheritance?]

Taiqing Primordial Scripture?

It sounded like a cultivation method. He wondered if it was powerful.

Li Qingqiu immediately chose to accept the inheritance. In the next instant, a flood of memories poured into his mind.

That night, Zhang Yuchun, Jiang Zhaoxia, Wu Man'er, and Li Sifeng lay awake for a long time. Li Sifeng was the most excited, endlessly dreaming aloud about the future and keeping his senior brothers talking.

Li Dongyue and Li Sijin also whispered together in their room. They encouraged each other, saying they would help the Eldest Senior Brother shoulder the burden.

The moon set, and the sun rose.

The first ray of morning light split the horizon, illuminating the rolling mountains.

Jiang Zhaoxia got up early and began practicing his boxing in the courtyard. Now and then, he glanced toward Li Qingqiu's room, worry flickering in his eyes.

He remembered Li Qingqiu saying as a child that he wanted to roam the world with a sword, free to avenge wrongs and repay kindness. Now, with so many junior brothers and sisters tying him down, would Li Qingqiu feel stifled?

Before long, the chickens began to crow. Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue also came out of their rooms. They greeted each other, then got to work.

Jiang Zhaoxia did as he pleased and didn't like chores. Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue, however, worked without complaint. It was thanks to those two that the others had such an easy time of it.

Meanwhile,

inside his room, Li Qingqiu opened his eyes after sitting cross-legged on the bed all night. His gaze swiftly cleared.

He instinctively stretched, his whole body aching from sitting all night.

Recalling the details of the Taiqing Primordial Scripture, he suddenly turned pale.

Wait!

It really was a cultivation technique?

Li Qingqiu was stunned. The Taiqing Primordial Scripture taught one to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, draw in the essence of the sun and moon, and condense Spiritual Yuan Qi within the body.

Yuan Nourishing, Spiritual Sense, Sunlight Illumination...

Each level of the cultivation method extended one's lifespan, even specifying how many years one could live.

Those who reached the Spiritual Sense Realm could live for three hundred years, while the Sunlight Illumination Realm granted a lifespan of six hundred years.

Li Qingqiu was truly shocked. He had always thought this was a martial-arts world, where people might have inner strength or Internal Energy at most.

Had Master lost his mind, wanting to seek immortality?

So cultivation was real?

The Legacy System wasn't a martial sect system at all. It was a cultivation sect system!

Li Qingqiu came back to himself, even more excited.

If he could cultivate immortality, who would bother practicing martial arts?