King of Thieves

Regarding Zhang Yu's impromptu price increase, Li Qingqiu agreed. He planned to first assess Zhang Yu's skill level and dismiss him if his teaching was subpar.

At dinner that day, Li Qingqiu announced that all disciples would begin their studies the following day, attending Zhang Yu's classes. The lessons would be held on the newly cleared open ground below the mountain gate, and no one was permitted to skip class.

Thus, after morning practice the next day, everyone except Li Qingqiu went to attend the class. Even Yang Jueding was curious to see if this teacher possessed any real skill.

In his opinion, Zhang Yu's asking price was too high!

Ever since becoming the Elder of Martial Arts Transmission, Yang Jueding had begun considering matters from the Qingxiao Sect's perspective.

At noon, Li Qingqiu returned to his courtyard and listened to his junior brothers and sisters share their opinions. Their evaluations of Zhang Yu were surprisingly high. They found Zhang Yu's teaching engaging, and even Yang Jueding admitted that Zhang Yu was quite knowledgeable.

Hearing this outcome, Li Qingqiu felt relieved.

However, it was a pity that no matter how good the teaching method, students would eventually grow tired of it.

One month later.

Li Qingqiu brought Xu Ning up the mountain. They had visited the underground Spirit Lake that day, and Xu Ning had successfully reached the Yangyuan Realm Second Layer. Her face was radiant, and her smile was irrepressible.

Arriving at the open ground below the mountain gate, Li Qingqiu saw Zhang Yu instructing five disciples.

"I am very pleased with your eagerness to learn. You must never learn from that brat Li Sifeng. That kid will suffer because of his temper sooner or later."

When Zhang Yu mentioned Li Sifeng, his tone was filled with indignation.

Li Qingqiu, hearing this from afar, knew that Li Sifeng had pranked Zhang Yu again today.

Since they had become familiar with each other, Li Sifeng enjoyed playing jokes on Zhang Yu, teasing him for not practicing martial arts.

That's right, Zhang Yu did not practice martial arts. He said it was a rule set by his master, the Nine Veins Old Man, that if one learned the Heaven Stealing Art, they could not practice martial arts. He had always kept this in mind.

Li Qingqiu gave Xu Ning a look, and she understood. They quietly lowered their footsteps and tiptoed past Zhang Yu from behind.

Zhang Yu's peripheral vision caught sight of them, and his eyes widened. He quickly waved and called out, "Sect Master! I have something to discuss with you!"

Li Qingqiu pretended not to hear and quickly walked up the steps, with Xu Ning closely following. The master and disciple entered the mountain gate one after the other.

Zhang Yu dejectedly withdrew his hand. In front of his disciples, he had to maintain his demeanor as a teacher and refrain from using vulgar language.

Meanwhile.

Li Qingqiu arrived at the courtyard and saw Li Dongyue sitting under a tree, holding Yuan Li in her arms, while Yuan Qi stood beside them, playing with Yuan Li.

In another corner of the courtyard, two female disciples were sewing clothes. Upon seeing Li Qingqiu enter the courtyard, they quickly stood up and bowed to him. This etiquette was taught by Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu believed that the Qingxiao Sect's rules were not clear enough. While bowing might seem cliché, it was a way to consolidate status. If juniors did not bow to their elders, they would become lazy over time and even disrespectful.

Although Li Qingqiu could not fully agree, Zhang Yuchun, Jiang Zhaoxia, and Yang Jueding all supported it, so he could only let Zhang Yu teach etiquette.

After nodding to the two female disciples, Li Qingqiu was about to walk towards Li Dongyue when Zhang Yuchun emerged from a nearby room and quickly approached him.

"Senior Brother, I want to borrow someone!" Zhang Yuchun grabbed Li Qingqiu, saying with a serious expression.

Li Qingqiu asked, "Borrow whom?"

"Borrow Third Junior Brother. I failed to recruit people down the mountain, didn't I? I finally encountered a martial world expert who claimed that if anyone could defeat him, he would grant the victor one request, even if it meant serving them like an ox or horse for a lifetime. So, I want to ask Third Junior Brother to step in. Third Junior Brother is worried about the Seven Peaks Alliance and the Azure Cult attacking, so he's reluctant to go down the mountain."

Zhang Yuchun said with some helplessness. He felt that the Qingxiao Sect would not encounter trouble in the next six months, and even if there was trouble, it could be resolved without Jiang Zhaoxia.

Li Qingqiu continued to ask, "Are you sure he's an expert?"

"Yes, that expert is in a forest on the edge of the Tai Kun Mountain Range. He's reportedly been there for several years and acts strangely. I went to see him a few days ago, and he does have some skills. I couldn't defeat him, which is why I rushed back to ask Third Junior Brother to help. I'm afraid he'll run away, or someone else will get there first."

Zhang Yuchun replied, his face showing anxiety.

He was truly anxious about recruiting disciples for the Qingxiao Sect. Apart from the village below the mountain, he couldn't recruit anyone elsewhere. When people heard it was the Qingxiao Sect, they thought it had no future. Another reason was that he was too young and looked unreliable.

The Qingxiao Sect had many things to do now, but the disciples were too young, and labor was scarce. He had to find a way to recruit experts into the sect.

Li Qingqiu thought for a moment. Zhang Yuchun's failure to defeat the person and his return indicated that the opponent was not bloodthirsty. It would be fine to send Jiang Zhaoxia. Zhang Yuchun had been very busy these days; he should let him have his way this time.

"Go ahead and tell Third Junior Brother that I agree," Li Qingqiu said.

Zhang Yuchun was overjoyed. He quickly thanked Li Qingqiu and turned to leave.

Their brotherhood was sincere. As long as Zhang Yuchun said Li Qingqiu agreed, Jiang Zhaoxia would believe him. Of course, Zhang Yuchun would not lie. He would not issue any orders in Li Qingqiu's name before Li Qingqiu agreed.

Li Qingqiu approached Li Dongyue and smiled, "Dongyue, you must take good care of this little one. I have a feeling he can become the pride of the Qingxiao Sect in the future."

Li Dongyue smiled and said gently, "Whether he becomes outstanding or not, I will take good care of him."

"Sect Master, do you really think so? Then can you take my brother as a disciple?" Yuan Qi asked expectantly.

After arriving at the Qingxiao Sect, his relationship with Li Qingqiu had become distant. He also knew that gaining Li Qingqiu's approval was not easy. At the very least, he had not shown any extraordinary martial arts talent. On some nights, he would feel dejected.

Li Qingqiu smiled and said, "Alright, when he grows up and can read, I will take him as a disciple."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Qi was overjoyed and immediately knelt down to kowtow to Li Qingqiu.

Li Dongyue noticed that Li Qingqiu did not stop him, which secretly surprised her. Could little Yuan Li's aptitude truly be extraordinary?

Xu Ning's cultivation achievements had already proven Li Qingqiu's discernment. Among so many disciples in the Qingxiao Sect, Li Qingqiu did not easily accept disciples, which showed how strict he was in choosing them.

"Get up, Yuan Qi. Don't always focus on your brother. You must also strive to practice martial arts. Aptitude is one aspect, but hard work in the future is also very important."

Li Qingqiu said earnestly. Hearing this, Yuan Qi stood up and nodded solemnly at him.

Afterward, Li Qingqiu had a brief chat with Li Dongyue and then returned to his room. He felt somewhat tired today, possibly due to expending too much Origin Energy while cultivating the Spring Return Ghost Immortal Needle.

Cultivators can go without sleep, but that's only when they aren't expending Origin Energy. For Li Qingqiu, occasionally dreaming wasn't a bad thing.

He slept very soundly, only waking when he heard a commotion.

He opened his eyes to see that the sky outside the window had already darkened.

He wondered to himself, why hadn't anyone called him for a meal?

He got up and immediately heard someone begging for mercy and other disciples shouting angrily outside the courtyard.

"Huh? We have an outsider?"

Li Qingqiu stood up and walked towards the door of his room.

At the same time, near the main entrance of the courtyard, over a dozen disciples had gathered. In their midst, a young man in black knelt on the ground, bruised and swollen, tears streaming down his face. He clasped his hands together, begging for mercy, looking utterly pathetic.

Xu Ning stood in front of him, her small face very serious.

Zhang Yuchun and Jiang Zhaoxia had already gone down the mountain with provisions. No one was dispersing the disciples, and the crowd made a lot of noise.

Yang Jueding vaulted over the courtyard wall and landed on the ground. He stood behind the disciples and looked closely, exclaiming in surprise.

"Cheng Canghai, what are you doing here?" Yang Jueding asked.

The man in black kneeling on the ground looked at him, but there was no surprise, only shame and indignation. He lowered his head, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into.

As Li Qingqiu emerged from his room, Li Dongyue, holding the young Yuan Li, also walked over. They looked at each other, and Li Dongyue shook her head, indicating she didn't know what was going on either.

"What's all the noise about?"

Li Qingqiu strode over and asked.

Hearing his voice, the disciples quickly parted and bowed to him.

This scene made Zhang Yu, standing at the edge, nod in satisfaction.

Qin Ye spoke first, "Master, this person snuck into our sect to steal things and was captured by Senior Sister."

The Senior Sister he mentioned was naturally Xu Ning. Although Xu Ning was younger than him, she had become Li Qingqiu's disciple first, and her martial arts were so formidable that he was genuinely impressed.

Stealing things?

Li Qingqiu didn't doubt it. After all, the Qingxiao Sect nowadays was not what it used to be; there were things worth stealing.

He walked up to Cheng Canghai and sized him up.

Cheng Canghai quickly said, "I was just hungry and wanted to take something to eat..."

Xu Ning reprimanded, "Was that 'taking something'? You stole an entire roasted chicken and even took two jars of wine. Those two jars shattered on the ground. This matter isn't over!"

Li Qingqiu's expression also turned grim upon hearing this.

Although the Qingxiao Sect was now wealthy, with so many mouths to feed, every matter required careful consideration. A whole roasted chicken was a rare luxury, and this guy dared to steal it!

"I'll pay for it! Give me a chance, five days at most, and I'll definitely bring the money to compensate you!"

Cheng Canghai said urgently. He couldn't bother with anything else and turned to Yang Jueding, saying, "Dragon Subduing Great Hero, you know the weight of my promises. Please speak up for me."

Yang Jueding was so angry he was puffing out his cheeks upon hearing that two jars of wine were gone. Now, seeing Cheng Canghai ask him to intercede, he said irritably, "Speak for you? I'm too ashamed to acknowledge you. The dignified King of Thieves, instead of stealing the wealth squeezed from the common people by the corrupt officials, comes to our mountain to steal chicken and wine? And you were caught by a child! Aren't you ashamed!"

It was better that he didn't say anything. As soon as he spoke, Cheng Canghai couldn't hold back and burst into tears, "Yang Jueding, is she a child? She's practically a demon child! You couldn't possibly be her match either!"

Yang Jueding was furious at this. How could he not be Xu Ning's match?

He had watched Xu Ning ascend the mountain, and in such a short time, she had surpassed his twenty years of arduous cultivation?

But when his gaze inadvertently swept across Xu Ning's profile, his heart inexplicably trembled.