Number One Under Heaven

Self-created spells?

Who was that formidable?

Li Qingqiu was astonished. At present, the only people who truly counted as cultivators, apart from him, his Senior Brother, and his Junior Sister, were Yang Jueding and Xu Ning.

The person who had gone to the underground Spirit Lake today was Jiang Zhaoxia, along with Li Sijin. Could it have been Jiang Zhaoxia?

Carrying his curiosity with him, he leaped into the air and skimmed over the woods like a startled swan. The woods were blanketed in thick white snow, yet he seemed to tread upon the snow itself, leaving not a single footprint.

On the way back from halfway up the mountain to the sect gate, he occasionally saw disciples along the path. Some practiced martial arts, some worked, and some sparred. At last, it felt somewhat like a martial-arts sect.

He arrived at the new courtyard beneath the sect gate. As soon as Li Qingqiu entered, Yang Jueding blocked his path.

"Master, there's something I need to tell you!" Yang Jueding looked utterly exhilarated. His hand closed around Li Qingqiu's wrist, unconsciously tightening his grip.

Li Qingqiu froze. Could Yang Jueding be the one who had created a spell?

That was beyond his expectations, because among them, Yang Jueding had started cultivating the latest.

He immediately followed Yang Jueding away. The two came to the woods beside the new courtyard. Yang Jueding glanced left and right, and after making sure no one was around, planted his hands on his hips and said with a smug grin, "Master, I fused the Primordial Scripture with my Nine Heavens Divine Palm. Its power has increased severalfold."

The Nine Heavens Divine Palm was Yang Jueding's martial art that had made his name throughout the martial world. Its palm force was fierce and powerful yet freely controlled. Anyone struck by it would suffer a shattered dantian and bones broken inch by inch.

Yang Jueding was versed in numerous martial arts, but he had passed the Nine Heavens Divine Palm down to Wu Man'er alone.

Li Qingqiu's eyes lit up when he heard Yang Jueding's words. He had previously imagined using Origin Energy to perform martial arts, but unfortunately, he had failed.

He had not expected Yang Jueding to succeed.

"Let me have a look." Li Qingqiu urged him on.

Yang Jueding turned around and lowered into a horse stance. He clenched both fists and drew them to his waist and abdomen. As he began circulating his energy, the accumulated snow beneath his feet started to melt, turning into wisps of hot vapor that rose into the air.

Li Qingqiu raised a brow, surprised by Yang Jueding's aura.

How long had Yang Jueding been cultivating? He was already this strong?

Most importantly, Yang Jueding was still at Layer 1 of the Nurturing Origin Realm. He had not even reached the second layer. Yet in terms of aura, Li Qingqiu felt that he was already no weaker than Lü Taidou.

Strange. His comprehension in the Legacy System was not particularly strong either!

Li Qingqiu was puzzled. He stared intently at Yang Jueding, waiting for him to strike.

Yang Jueding did not keep him waiting long. When his aura reached a certain height, he suddenly thrust out his right palm. His entire upper body leaned forward as the palm shot out, like a blue dragon surging from an abyss. The terrifying palm force formed a visible wave of air that swept forward. Snow was lifted into the air, as though a river had been cleaved in two.

Boom—

The palm force roared like a dragon, rampaging with tyrannical might. It smashed into an old tree and knocked it down. Just as the palm force continued charging ahead, Yang Jueding abruptly withdrew his palm. The force actually recoiled, dragging the wave of air back toward them. Along the way, flying snow rushed into their faces, mixed even with fallen leaves and bits of gravel.

Li Qingqiu's robe billowed violently in the wind. Narrowing his eyes, he found the Nine Heavens Divine Palm rather cool.

That pullback could keep an enemy who had just suffered a grievous blow from escaping in time. It really had something to it.

Yang Jueding swung his right arm and dispersed the palm force. The powerful air spread around him, tearing several narrow trenches several yards long into the snow.

He turned to look at Li Qingqiu and raised his chin, signaling for Li Qingqiu to give his evaluation.

Li Qingqiu praised him. "Not bad. It's truly formidable. Write this martial art down. It will be stored in the Scripture Pavilion in the future. This will become the Qingxiao Sect's unique inheritance. I won't forget this contribution of yours."

Yang Jueding instinctively wanted to object when he heard that, but the words reached his lips and he held them back.

Without the Primordial Scripture, his Nine Heavens Divine Palm could never have possessed such power.

"It's just a pity that with my current cultivation, I can only unleash one palm strike. The consumption is too great." Yang Jueding smiled bitterly.

It was truly strange. His current special Internal Energy was broader and stronger than his previous Internal Energy, yet the moment he unleashed it, it was completely drained.

This allowed him to see the upper limit of the Primordial Scripture. It was by no means comparable to ordinary martial arts. Calling it an unrivaled divine art was absolutely no exaggeration. If such a peerless art entered the martial world, it would certainly stir up a bloody storm.

At this thought, his gaze toward Li Qingqiu changed.

This master truly treated him sincerely. Otherwise, he would never have taught him such a divine art.

"You've only cultivated the Primordial Scripture for how long? Take it slowly. In ten years, you'll be able to become a top expert in the martial world too." Li Qingqiu encouraged him.

"Ten years? Are you underestimating the Primordial Scripture, or are you underestimating me? In ten years, I'll be Number One Under Heaven!"

Yang Jueding spoke with soaring heroism. Then he thought of something and added, "Apart from our own people, of course."

The talents of Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning were frightening to him. Wu Man'er and Li Sifeng also possessed tremendous potential.

Li Qingqiu did not continue this topic. Instead, he asked how Yang Jueding had fused the Primordial Scripture with the Nine Heavens Divine Palm. Yang Jueding did not conceal anything and explained it in detail.

After listening for a long while, Li Qingqiu still did not understand how Yang Jueding had come up with such an ingenious idea. He could only attribute it to Yang Jueding's experience in martial arts.

Yang Jueding's advantage was his martial-arts experience. It was an advantage they could not surpass in a short period of time.

Regardless, Yang Jueding had created a spell for the Qingxiao Sect. That was a great accomplishment.

Thus, before dinner, Li Qingqiu had Zhang Yuchun kill a chicken to celebrate. He also announced the matter to the disciples, using it to inspire them to create things of their own.

As for what kind of peerless art Yang Jueding had created, Li Qingqiu did not explain.

After dinner, Jiang Zhaoxia came to Li Qingqiu's room to ask about the matter. Faced with Jiang Zhaoxia, Li Qingqiu did not conceal anything.

Upon learning that Yang Jueding had borrowed from the Primordial Scripture, transformed his own unique art, and created an even stronger martial art, Jiang Zhaoxia fell into a brief silence. In the end, he said nothing more and directly bid Li Qingqiu farewell.

If this could spur Jiang Zhaoxia on, then it was a good thing. Li Qingqiu was looking forward to Jiang Zhaoxia creating a spell.

Not to mention a legacy—even a martial-arts sect would never refuse an increase in the number of martial arts it possessed. Put it more broadly, this was the foundation of a sect.

Late at night, near midnight, Li Qingqiu arrived at the woods where Qin Ye and Wu Baoyu had agreed to meet. After waiting for a while, Qin Ye arrived.

Qin Ye stood in the woods, nervous and uneasy. He felt somewhat regretful, but he truly wanted to become stronger too badly.

He knew very well that if he followed Yang Jueding in practicing martial arts, at most, he could maintain the same strength as the other disciples. It would be difficult for him to distinguish himself within the Qingxiao Sect. He was gambling on an opportunity.

Crack—

The sound of a branch snapping beneath a foot came from nearby, interrupting Qin Ye's thoughts. He turned his head and saw Wu Baoyu walking over from the darkness with an oil lamp in hand.

Neither of them noticed Li Qingqiu hiding in the tree.

"Although you were very afraid, you still came. That proves you have ambition in your bones."

Wu Baoyu's voice rang out. Qin Ye could not see his expression, which made him even more nervous.

Before long, Wu Baoyu emerged from the darkness. He hung the oil lamp from a nearby branch, then drew the two wooden staffs from behind his back and tossed one of them to Qin Ye.

Qin Ye nearly failed to catch it. Fortunately, the night was dim, and Wu Baoyu did not notice that his face had flushed bright red.

"Do you know why I chose you?" Wu Baoyu stared at Qin Ye and asked.

"Because I'm diligent?"

"No. Because your aptitude is poor, and your master doesn't value you."

Wu Baoyu's words stabbed into Qin Ye's heart like a knife.

Qin Ye had long realized that his master did not think highly of him. Yet Xu Ning's talent was plain for all to see, and he had been suppressed until he could not even muster a temper.

Behind the tree, Li Qingqiu cursed under his breath. Wu Baoyu was actually sowing discord.

However, he could not help reflecting as well. He had indeed neglected Qin Ye somewhat. Although Qin Ye had obtained the opportunity to become his disciple through an exchange of benefits, he was still his disciple after all.

Li Qingqiu decided that he would look after Qin Ye more in the future. After all, this boy was usually very proactive in his work and was completely free of the profligate, pampered airs of a wealthy young master.

"I can't get close to Xu Ning, so I can only find you. I need you to pass this staff art down. If it's passed to another disciple, it will be difficult for this staff art to remain an inheritance of the Qingxiao Sect. Besides, your Qin family has ambitions in officialdom. In the future, you can rely on this staff art to dominate the battlefield. Once you master it, you'll be an enemy of ten thousand." Wu Baoyu's tone was indifferent, without the slightest fluctuation of emotion.

Qin Ye was puzzled. He asked cautiously, "Senior, after experiencing such a thing, you still allow me to use your staff art to join the army?"

Wu Baoyu answered expressionlessly, "The emperor is foolish and treacherous ministers hold power. That is only temporary. We were born on this land, and protecting this land will forever be the duty of martial artists like us."

After hearing this, Qin Ye felt his blood surge hotly through his veins. At the same time, he developed a deep respect for Wu Baoyu.

"Let's begin. This staff art is called the Ten Thousand Army Demon Subduing Staff. The expert who passed it on to me was extremely mysterious. I don't know his true name. If you meet him one day, thank him on my behalf. This is absolutely the Number One staff art Under Heaven."

After saying this, Wu Baoyu held the long staff horizontally before him.

Hearing this, Li Qingqiu completely relaxed. He was not interested in the Ten Thousand Army Demon Subduing Staff, and this was Qin Ye's personal opportunity. He did not want to interfere.

Over the following days, Wu Baoyu taught Qin Ye the staff art whenever he had free time.

Seven days later.

Zhang Yuchun found Li Qingqiu and said that Wu Baoyu had gone down the mountain. Afraid that he would cause trouble for the Qingxiao Sect, he had chosen to leave.

Li Qingqiu did not send anyone after him. After all, Wu Baoyu had left behind his own peerless art.

"Senior Brother, it seems our goal of reaching fifty disciples before the end of the year is impossible." Zhang Yuchun sighed.

Without any reputation, recruiting disciples was simply too difficult.

Unless he went to recruit refugees. But among the refugees, there were either orphans or the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled. What the Qingxiao Sect needed now was able-bodied manpower.

Li Qingqiu smiled. "I was just saying it casually. Compared with expanding our numbers blindly, laying a solid foundation first is what matters."

Zhang Yuchun remained somewhat glum. After the two chatted for a while, Zhang Yuchun rose and left, while Li Qingqiu continued gathering qi and cultivating inside the room.

Nothing particularly noteworthy happened that winter. After Feng Dai and the others left, they did not return, and no one even came up the mountain to seek lodging.

In the blink of an eye, two months flew by. Xu Ning successfully reached the third layer of the Nourishing Yuan Realm. Apart from her, no one else in the Qingxiao Sect had reached the second layer of the Yangyuan Realm, which was enough to show how difficult cultivation truly was.

With the New Year approaching, someone finally came to visit. It was Qin Ye's father, Qin Jue. He had also brought more than a dozen servants. The servants carried one large chest after another, containing grain, fine wine, quilts, and bedding. Their sincerity was ample.

Li Qingqiu, Zhang Yuchun, and Yang Jueding accompanied Qin Jue as they drank tea and chatted. Qin Ye swept the ground in the courtyard while listening to their conversation.

After chatting for a while, Qin Jue suddenly said, "By the way, a major event happened last month. A Demonic Sect expert who had withdrawn from the world for more than a decade reappeared. That man carried an iron staff and forced his way into the Imperial Palace, killing more than a hundred Imperial Guards. He nearly captured the emperor, but in the end, he was killed through the combined efforts of experts from the Heavenly Protection Guard. His head was hung from the walls of the imperial city to warn the world."

"That Demonic Sect expert was no simple man. He was the Demonic Sect's Qu Bei Guardian, Wu Baoyu. He committed every evil imaginable and slaughtered people like flies. He died a truly miserable death—his eyes were even gouged out. I heard that the emperor disliked his gaze very much."

Clatter!

The broom in Qin Ye's hands fell to the ground. His expression went blank as he stared fixedly at his father.