Top Ten of the Heavenly Ranking

The sun rose, and Li Qingqiu was out of bed early. He woke his junior brothers and sisters, and they all began their morning training.

After a night, thick snow had already piled up in the courtyard. Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue had gotten up early to shovel it.

Li Qingqiu told them to put down their shovels and train first.

The seven senior and junior brothers climbed onto the eaves, sat cross-legged side by side, and absorbed the purple qi together. Gradually, wisps of steam began to rise above their heads.

Li Qingqiu opened one eye and glanced at his junior brothers and sisters, quietly pleased.

They were still young, but they were obedient, which made them easy to teach. That filled him with hope for the future of the Qingxiao Sect.

This was the foundation of his enterprise!

An hour later, the disciples hopped down from the eaves and prepared to get on with their own tasks. Li Qingqiu called Zhang Yuchun over and asked him to come along.

Zhang Yuchun had no objections. But when he saw Li Qingqiu bring the Heavenly Rainbow Sword, he raised an eyebrow.

The two senior and junior brothers walked through the woods, chatting casually about trivial matters within the sect.

The terrain of the Tai Kun Mountain Range was steep, and even Li Qingqiu and Zhang Yuchun had to tread carefully as they traveled. The snow blanketing everything made it especially easy to trigger a collapse.

After walking ten li, Zhang Yuchun couldn't help asking, "Senior Brother, where exactly are we going?"

Li Qingqiu kept walking ahead without looking back. "Last night, I dreamed that an immortal guided me. He said there was a treasure hidden in the mountains around here. The dream was so vivid that I wanted to come and take a look."

The Fortune Inheritance had helped him remember the route. It had been a vision, and he had walked through it for real; he still remembered every detail. It was truly wondrous.

"An immortal's guidance?"

Hearing this, Zhang Yuchun nearly broke down. He wanted to ask his senior brother, Do you take me for a fool?

But he had never dared to defy Li Qingqiu, so he could only hold it in and continue indulging his senior brother's foolishness.

The snow covered the Tai Kun Mountain Range. No matter how far they walked, it felt as if they were getting nowhere. Fortunately, Li Qingqiu and Zhang Yuchun had both reached the Yangyuan Realm, and their strength had increased considerably, so they didn't feel tired.

After traveling another dozen or so li, Li Qingqiu finally stopped. There was no path ahead, only a sheer cliff face, with snow piled on either side, making the passage narrow.

Blowing into his hands, Zhang Yuchun looked around in confusion. "Senior Brother, this place doesn't look like it has any treasure at all. It seems the immortal's guidance wasn't very reliable. Should we just give up?"

Li Qingqiu didn't answer. He walked up to the cliff face and began feeling around.

Soon, he seemed to find something. He began pounding on one spot on the rock face. After only three blows, that section of the cliff broke open, leaving Zhang Yuchun staring in astonishment. He hurried over.

A dozen or so breaths later, Li Qingqiu stopped. He had confirmed that he couldn't break through the rock any further. Staring at the hole in front of him, barely large enough to crawl through like a dog, he fell silent.

The dream had only guided him this far. The opening in the dream had been much bigger.

Zhang Yuchun bent down to look inside. It was pitch-black, but he could feel waves of hot air blowing out.

"Let's go."

Li Qingqiu crawled inside first. Zhang Yuchun wanted to stop him, but Li Qingqiu moved too quickly. Gritting his teeth, Zhang Yuchun hurried after him.

The passage was dark and sloped downward. Warm air flowed through it, making them more comfortable, and the farther they went, the wider it grew, easing their unease in the confined space.

After about five zhang, they finally reached the end.

Zhang Yuchun followed Li Qingqiu out of the passage. The drop wasn't high, and he landed easily. When he looked up, his eyes widened and his mouth fell open.

Before them stretched a vast underground cavern. Countless blue-silver ores, large and small, their edges sharply defined, were embedded in the rock walls. Below lay a lake nearly ten zhang wide, its blue surface shimmering with silver light—a dreamlike, beautiful sight.

For some reason, Zhang Yuchun felt refreshed as soon as he entered. His whole body seemed to come alive.

"Senior Brother, this place seems to be filled with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth that we usually breathe in. If we train here, will our Internal Energy grow faster?" Zhang Yuchun asked, gazing around. His excitement was hard to contain.

"That's right. This really is an ideal place for cultivation. It seems heaven is watching over our Qingxiao Sect."

Li Qingqiu smiled, speaking with feigned composure.

In truth, ever since activating the Fortune Inheritance, he had been imagining this moment. He had long since steadied himself.

The two began exploring, observing their surroundings and talking as they went.

"Senior Brother, be careful. There might be poisonous insects or wild beasts hiding here."

"Senior Brother, did an immortal really send you a dream? Couldn't it be something Master told you before?"

"It's a shame this place is so far from the Qingxiao Sect. The round trip will take half a day."

"Senior Brother, if we train here for ten years, do you think we could become masters who shake the martial world?"

Zhang Yuchun kept asking questions, and Li Qingqiu answered casually, with little effort. Zhang Yuchun didn't mind.

Zhang Yuchun was usually steady, but he was still only fifteen. With Li Qingqiu, he could let down his guard.

After circling around a few times, they confirmed that there was only one entrance and that there were no dangers. Only then did they relax.

"What do you think? How should we arrange for our junior brothers and sisters to train here in the future?" Li Qingqiu asked, his gaze fixed on the Spirit Lake.

Zhang Yuchun pondered. "We can't all come here together. Someone has to guard the Qingxiao Sect, and I still need to recruit disciples. Senior Brother, we can't let anyone outside our seven know about this place. I suggest we come in pairs and take turns training here for a day at a time. What do you think?"

Li Qingqiu glanced at Zhang Yuchun and nodded approvingly. "Not bad. That's a good suggestion. You've taken into account the risks that might arise. I'm pleased."

Zhang Yuchun scratched his head and smiled bashfully. "In the martial-world stories Master told us, many people and sects that weren't strong enough got into trouble because they possessed divine skills or treasures."

"That's right. There's only us in the Qingxiao Sect, and we're still too young. We have to be careful. We can't afford to lose even one of us," Li Qingqiu said with a sigh.

Lose one of us?

Zhang Yuchun's expression shifted. Just imagining Li Qingqiu and his junior brothers and sisters dying before his eyes filled him with fear.

No!

He would never allow that to happen!

Zhang Yuchun was an orphan too. He had been abandoned at six and had been lonely since childhood, never feeling secure. He had long since come to think of Li Qingqiu and the others as family. He treasured that bond, which was why he was willing to work tirelessly without complaint.

Li Qingqiu picked up a crystal by the lake and felt the rich spiritual energy contained within it. He had wanted to take one outside, but then he reconsidered. The spiritual energy in that small knife had been enough for a newly initiated cultivator to detect. Taking out a Spirit Stone like this might invite disaster.

So he set it back down and reminded Zhang Yuchun not to let anyone else take the Spirit Stones out, either.

They didn't stay long. After confirming the place, they prepared to head back and make arrangements.

After crawling out of the opening, Li Qingqiu pulled weeds over it to conceal it, then covered them with snow. Only then did he feel safe enough to leave.

"Don't mention this outside, either. If a powerful expert happens to pass by and hears us from far away, we'll be in trouble."

Li Qingqiu spoke to Zhang Yuchun seriously. Zhang Yuchun nodded; he understood how important that underground Spirit Lake was.

The two headed back toward the Qingxiao Sect, chatting about other things as they went. Zhang Yuchun planned to wait until the winter snow melted before going down the mountain to recruit disciples. The snow had been getting heavier lately, and he feared that taking the village children up the mountain might lead to an accident.

Li Qingqiu had no objections. He wasn't in a hurry to expand the Qingxiao Sect. First, they needed to strengthen their core, so they wouldn't run into trouble when dealing with others.

The journey back was still rough. Their footprints had already been covered over by the winter snow.

Halfway back, Li Qingqiu suddenly stopped.

Zhang Yuchun, following behind him, asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"

"Listen carefully," Li Qingqiu said softly.

Zhang Yuchun immediately held his breath and listened intently. Soon, he heard a faint voice coming from deep in the woods beside them.

"Help... me..."

Zhang Yuchun, who had already reached the Nurturing Origin Realm Layer 1, immediately focused his gaze. Looking through the crisscrossing trees, he spotted half a face. A man was lying behind a large tree, leaning against a rock and looking toward them from a distance.

Zhang Yuchun jumped in fright and pointed at him. "Senior Brother, he's calling for help. Should we do something?"

Li Qingqiu didn't need him to point. He had already spotted the man too.

After hesitating for a moment, Li Qingqiu said quietly, "Let's go take a look. Be careful. Don't let him ambush us."

Zhang Yuchun nodded, and the two immediately pushed through the undergrowth and approached the man.

Yang Jueding, his consciousness already growing hazy, felt a surge of immense joy as he watched the two youths approach.

He had seen Li Qingqiu and Zhang Yuchun from afar when they were heading down the mountain, but he hadn't been able to call out to them in time. So he had waited for them to come back.

Just as he was about to give out, he finally saw them.

He had used all his strength to call for help, but his voice had still come out weak.

Li Qingqiu and Zhang Yuchun cautiously approached Yang Jueding, keeping a safe distance as they studied him.

Snow covered the man. His robes were filthy and disheveled, and dried blood clung to the stubble on his face. The headband tying back his long hair was almost falling off. Judging by his appearance, he was in his thirties. He had a terrible wound in his abdomen, and the blood had frozen solid.

Zhang Yuchun asked, "Who are you, and why are you here?"

"Give me... water..."

Yang Jueding looked at them weakly and spoke in a feeble voice. He tried to raise his right hand, but could barely manage it.

Zhang Yuchun looked at Li Qingqiu. When Li Qingqiu nodded, he immediately took a water flask from inside his robe and tossed it to Yang Jueding.

Yang Jueding, who had seemed so weak, suddenly sat up and caught the flask. He opened it roughly and gulped down the water.

Zhang Yuchun was startled and instinctively stepped back.

Li Qingqiu could sense a kind of energy surging inside the man, keeping his body at a certain temperature. That was how he had managed to endure for so long.

A martial-world expert who had cultivated Internal Energy?

Yang Jueding drank all the hot water in one go, then lay back down. He seemed much more relaxed. Looking at Li Qingqiu and Zhang Yuchun, he grinned. "Thank you for saving me, young masters... My name is Yang Jueding."

Li Qingqiu and Zhang Yuchun stared at him intently.

Yang Jueding was taken aback. "You haven't heard of my name? I'm the Dragon Subduing Great Hero, one of the top ten on Guzhou's Heavenly Ranking!"