The Ten Greatest Swords Under Heaven

Yang Jueding, still shaken by Xu Ning, started arguing with Cheng Canghai. Cheng Canghai had been frightened at first, but as they argued, he got worked up enough to try to stand and fight. Xu Ning shot him a glare, and he hurriedly dropped back to his knees.

"All right. Beating him to death won't help now. Let's think about how to make this right."

Li Qingqiu spoke up. Stealing was detestable, but what Cheng Canghai had stolen wasn't particularly valuable. It wasn't a crime deserving death.

Yang Jueding glared at Cheng Canghai, then looked at Li Qingqiu. "This man is Cheng Canghai. His lightness skill is unmatched, and people in the martial world call him the Thief King. He once stole a priceless treasure from the Prefect's residence in the provincial seat, then sold it to another powerful family and used the proceeds to help disaster victims. He's a real hero. And he's earned a reputation for keeping his word. Whatever he promises, he'll see through, and he's never let anyone down."

He actually admired Cheng Canghai. In these degenerate times, there weren't many martial artists who still held fast to the spirit of chivalry.

Li Qingqiu looked at Cheng Canghai and asked, "Why did you come to Qingxiao Sect?"

Cheng Canghai replied, "The authorities are after me. The newly appointed county magistrate of Black Stone County is skilled in martial arts and cares for the people, but for some reason he's set his sights on me. He insists on capturing me, the Thief King. He chased me all the way to the Tai Kun Mountain Range. I was starving, so I had no choice but to resort to petty theft."

"That doesn't answer my question. The world is vast, so why did you have to come here?" Li Qingqiu's gaze sharpened, and irritation crept into his voice.

Cheng Canghai's expression shifted. Through gritted teeth, he said, "To tell you the truth, the Crown Prince is coming to the Tai Kun Mountain Range to hunt next New Spring. I came early to prepare. I plan to steal the Peace Sword from his waist."

Yang Jueding's eyes widened. "You've got some nerve! If you do that, the court will send a heavy force to search the Tai Kun Mountain Range. Qingxiao Sect will get caught up in it too."

The disciples around them looked at Cheng Canghai differently now. They hadn't expected him to be so bold.

Zhang Yu couldn't help speaking up. "The Peace Sword was bestowed on the Former Emperor by an expert when he pacified the realm. It ranks second among the Ten Greatest Swords Under Heaven. If you steal it, the whole world will be swept up in bloodshed."

Cheng Canghai grinned. "Exactly. If I succeed, my name as the Thief King will rise to even greater heights. Besides, I want to slap the imperial family in the face. They boast about an age of peace, yet they refuse to lower their heads and see how the common people live. As for Qingxiao Sect getting caught up in it, I thought the sect would disband once Lin Xunfeng retired from the martial world. I only came up the mountain today looking for a place to stay. I never expected you'd be roasting chicken..."

"It smells so good. I'm starving, absolutely starving!"

By the end, he couldn't stop swallowing.

After getting beaten up, he was even hungrier.

Li Qingqiu looked at Yang Jueding and asked, "You said his lightness skill was unmatched?"

Yang Jueding's anger subsided, and he nodded. "In the martial world of Guzhou, his lightness skill is among the best."

Then it hit him. How had Xu Ning caught Cheng Canghai?

He couldn't help turning to look at Xu Ning.

Cheng Canghai noticed his gaze and hurriedly said, "If I hadn't been so hungry, how could anyone have caught me? Of course, her lightness skill is impressive too..."

Xu Ning, who had reached the Yangyuan Realm Second Layer, had already begun cultivating the Gale Technique. She was now used to darting swiftly through the mountain forests.

"In that case, your punishment is to stay at Qingxiao Sect for a year and teach my disciples your lightness skill. You can atone for your crime that way. We won't let you go hungry while you're here. If you refuse, we'll send you to Black Stone County."

Li Qingqiu fixed his eyes on Cheng Canghai and spoke sternly.

Cheng Canghai's expression shifted. "Could you make it a little shorter? I'm afraid I'll miss my grand plan."

"So many people have heard your grand plan. Do you really think you can still pull it off? Don't waste your effort. Make up your mind: are you in or not?"

Li Qingqiu said impatiently. He was still waiting to eat.

Cheng Canghai's expression turned stormy. With everyone watching, he eventually nodded in agreement.

"All right, let's get dinner ready!"

Li Qingqiu clapped his hands and headed for the long table. The disciples busied themselves at once, quickly scattering and leaving Cheng Canghai alone on his knees.

Cheng Canghai was stunned. He hadn't expected Qingxiao Sect to be so easygoing, or Li Qingqiu to trust him so much.

He hurriedly scrambled to his feet and went over to Yang Jueding.

He was terribly curious about Qingxiao Sect. It was completely different from what he'd heard about it.

When dinner was served, Cheng Canghai shamelessly squeezed in beside Yang Jueding and helped himself to the meal.

"We've got nothing better to do. Why don't you tell us some of your stories, Thief King? It'll help everyone get to know you better."

Seeing how subdued the atmosphere was, Zhang Yu spoke with a smile. At his words, everyone turned to look at Cheng Canghai.

Cheng Canghai glanced at Li Qingqiu. Seeing that Li Qingqiu didn't object, he drained the wine in his bowl and began telling his story.

"Where should I start? Let's begin with how I learned martial arts. I was born in the first year of the Kai dynasty. The realm was in turmoil that year, and disaster struck my family. The Emperor ordered my entire household executed. My father found a chance to get me out, but the soldiers caught sight of me and gave chase. They drove me to the edge of a cliff. I steeled myself and jumped!"

Cheng Canghai's voice rose and fell dramatically, quickly captivating everyone. Even Li Qingqiu was drawn into his tale.

Dinner that night lasted a full hour. Stories like this were a rare treat for Qingxiao Sect's disciples. After listening, each of them was left in a turmoil of emotions, eagerly awaiting Cheng Canghai's next tale.

Li Qingqiu didn't care whether the story was true. The disciples were enjoying it, so he didn't stop them.

He had Cheng Canghai share a room with Yang Jueding. That night, he faintly heard sounds of fighting coming from Yang Jueding's room, but they soon died down.

Early the next morning, the disciples noticed that the injuries on Cheng Canghai's face had worsened. When they asked him about it, he only said he was fine.

Stealing the chicken had been detestable, but Cheng Canghai had won the disciples' favor with his tales of chivalrous deeds. He quickly became one of the Qingxiao Sect disciples, though whenever he saw Xu Ning, he still chose to go around her.

In the days that followed, Cheng Canghai grew increasingly curious about Qingxiao Sect, just like Zhang Yu and Yang Jueding.

Wu Man'er's immense strength made him feel as if he'd run into a monster.

What he found most absurd was that Li Sifeng, who wasn't even thirteen yet, could compete with him in lightness skill. Though he won, the gap between them wasn't large.

Did Qingxiao Sect really have so many monstrous talents?

No, Qingxiao Sect must be hiding some astonishing legacy of peerless martial arts!

Seven days later, Zhang Yuchun and Jiang Zhaoxia finally returned.

When Li Qingqiu received word, he returned to the sect's courtyard. The moment Jiang Zhaoxia saw him, he held up three fingers and grinned triumphantly, then went back to his room to change into a sect robe.

Nurturing Origin Realm Layer 3!

That kid had still caught up. My cultivation advantage from cheating had vanished again.

Li Qingqiu sighed inwardly. Still, he was happy about it. At least Qingxiao Sect had grown stronger.

Zhang Yuchun came over to Li Qingqiu, then turned and pointed at an old beggar not far away. "Eldest Senior Brother, this is the expert I told you about. His name is Wu Baoyu. Third Junior Brother wouldn't let me tell you, but he lost the first time he challenged Senior Wu. Then he secluded himself to cultivate for two days and challenged him again. Only then did he win."

Li Qingqiu raised an eyebrow. Jiang Zhaoxia, at the Nourishing Yuan Realm Third Layer, had still lost?

This Wu Baoyu was no ordinary man.

Li Qingqiu sensed the Internal Energy within him. It was as if he were looking at a second Lü Taidou.

"You can take charge of him. You're the one who brought him here, after all," Li Qingqiu said with a soft laugh. Zhang Yuchun often went down the mountain, and having an expert like this at his side would put Li Qingqiu's mind at ease.

At this, Zhang Yuchun was overjoyed and hurriedly thanked Li Qingqiu.

Li Qingqiu patted his shoulder, then went with him to meet Wu Baoyu.

Unfortunately, Wu Baoyu was aloof and had no interest in Li Qingqiu. Li Qingqiu didn't force the issue either. After an awkward few words, he left.

He still had to go back and continue cultivating the Spring Return Ghost Immortal Needle.

Summer gave way to autumn, and the mountain where Qingxiao Sect stood was blanketed in autumn colors. Below the sect gate, a flight of stone steps ten zhang long led to a new courtyard. It had five rooms and a crude practice ground in the middle, where disciples often sparred.

A month had passed since Wu Baoyu joined Qingxiao Sect. The sect had gained four more disciples, recruited from the foot of the mountain by Zhang Yuchun.

That afternoon, Li Qingqiu sat before the sect gate, turning over the small knife Jiang Kuotian had given him last year.

Yang Jueding sat down beside him, gazing at Wu Baoyu, who was watching the disciples spar in the courtyard below.

After changing into Qingxiao Sect's robes, Wu Baoyu had the air of a grandmaster. Though he was gaunt and his back was slightly hunched, even with his hands folded behind his waist, he gave off an unmistakable sense that he was no ordinary man.

He was fifty years old, his hair already gray, yet his eyes remained sharp and full of menace.

"This Senior Wu Baoyu really is extraordinary. He may well be a peerless expert. Even after cultivating the Primordial Scripture and reaching the Nurturing Origin Realm Layer 1 recorded in the manual, I'm still not confident I could defeat him."

Yang Jueding sighed softly. Every time he met Wu Baoyu's gaze, he felt uneasy, so he tried to avoid crossing paths with him.

Wu Baoyu was a man of few words. Now and then, he would offer the younger disciples a few pointers, and just a handful of words could suddenly make everything clear to them. The disciples held him in high regard.

Li Qingqiu looked up at him and smiled. "He certainly is extraordinary, but that's a good thing, isn't it? How many people in the Azure Cult do you think could match him?"

"For the Azure Cult to have risen to such prominence, it must have peerless experts. Most likely, their leader is one. Still, I think you should stay wary of Wu Baoyu. There's something suspicious about him. Waiting in the forests near the Tai Kun Mountain Range for experts to challenge him sounds ridiculous. I suspect he came for Qingxiao Sect. Perhaps he's not targeting your master, but your grandmaster."

Yang Jueding spoke with a grave expression. He was afraid Li Qingqiu might trust Wu Baoyu too easily.

Li Qingqiu nodded slightly. Since Wu Baoyu had joined Qingxiao Sect, his loyalty had indeed been rather low, but at least it was above sixty, so Li Qingqiu hadn't paid it much attention.

It was worth mentioning that Wu Baoyu had no special Fate. Though he was a peerless expert in martial arts, his aptitude for cultivating immortality was mediocre.