The Mysterious Sect Leader

A night passed. At dawn, the first rays of sunlight pierced the sky and swept over Qingxiao Sect. Water dripped from one roof after another, a sign that the winter snow was melting.

Li Qingqiu rose early to absorb qi and practice. The other disciples did the same, seemingly unaffected by what had happened the previous night.

They sat meditating in front of the mountain gate, facing the mountains. The magnificent landscape appeared and disappeared in the thick fog, and its beauty made it easy for them to settle into their practice.

After the shock of the previous night, the other disciples were clearly frightened and practiced with greater diligence. As for Yang Jueding, his old injuries had yet to heal and he had sustained new ones, so he was resting inside.

An hour later, Li Qingqiu stood and dismissed the disciples. Jiang Zhaoxia took Wu Man'er to the back mountain, while Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue still had to chop wood and feed the chickens. As for the youngest ones, Li Sifeng and Li Sijin, all they needed to do was stay safe.

Li Qingqiu went to Yang Jueding's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Yang Jueding's voice came from inside, his exhaustion impossible to hide.

He wasn't an immortal cultivator and needed sleep, but he had spent the entire night expelling the poison, leaving him weary in both body and mind.

Li Qingqiu pushed open the door, then closed it behind him. He went to the table and sat down, looking at Yang Jueding on the bed. "Where did you get that manual?"

Yang Jueding opened his eyes and looked at him. "Half a year ago, a rumor spread around Fuyang Lake. It said that when the water receded, a path to the bottom of the lake would appear. Legend had it that a secret chamber lay down there, left behind by the Martial Arts Myth from a hundred years ago. I joined in the search, and it was just as the rumors said. I went into the lake with a group of martial artists and was lucky enough to find a box containing that manual. When I came out, experts from the Azure Cult spotted me. I drove them off and thought that would be the end of it. I never expected them to attack me after the Sea Sword Saint and I had both been badly injured."

Even now, thinking about it left him frustrated. He'd been saddled with a body full of injuries over a fake manual. It was a terrible bargain.

"If you thought it was fake, why not let the Azure Cult have it?" Li Qingqiu asked, puzzled.

Yang Jueding glared and snapped, "Even if it was fake, I couldn't let those people have it. Who knows what kind of trouble they'd stir up under the manual's name? They love to swindle and deceive people. Plenty of high-ranking officials and wealthy families have fallen for their tricks and squeezed the common folk dry. For the Azure Cult, whether the manual is real or fake isn't that important. What they want is the title of the Martial Arts Myth."

"If word got out that they'd snatched the Martial Arts Myth's supreme art from the Dragon Subduing Great Hero, their prestige would soar. They might even manage to get their hooks into the imperial court. For years, they've been trying to curry favor with the powerful. And you saw for yourself: even when I said it was fake, they wouldn't believe me. Even if I gave them the manual, they'd still kill me. They'd only stop once they'd searched everywhere and failed to find a second copy."

Li Qingqiu asked curiously, "Which is stronger, the Azure Cult or White Emperor Mansion?"

Yang Jueding considered it. "They're about evenly matched, but White Emperor Mansion has ties to the imperial court, so the Azure Cult doesn't dare provoke them lightly. The two sides rarely clash. White Emperor Mansion doesn't get involved in the martial world much anymore, but the Azure Cult is different. They're ambitious and want to rule the martial world."

The topic gave Li Qingqiu a chance to chat with Yang Jueding at length, and he gained a better understanding of the current state of Guzhou's martial world.

He discovered that the Great Li Dynasty was far larger than Huaxia in his previous life. Guzhou alone was half the size of Huaxia, with more than a dozen commandery cities and martial arts sects scattered throughout.

They talked until Yang Jueding started coughing, at which point Li Qingqiu finally called it a day and left.

He planned to practice the Gale Technique first. Watching the fight the previous night had made him realize that his movement skills still fell short of those of the martial world's experts.

As for the Supreme Sword Control Technique, he didn't want to practice it just yet. It required nine swords to truly unleash its power.

Once he had more spells, he would sort them out. A person's energy was limited; he couldn't practice every art he came across.

Of course, he would definitely practice the Supreme Sword Control Technique. He couldn't let his talent go to waste.

The days passed one after another.

Several days later, most of the snow in the mountains had melted, and Yang Jueding was able to leave his room. He no longer dared to pester Wu Man'er, much less bring up his bet with Jiang Zhaoxia.

Before long, his attention turned to Li Sifeng and Li Sijin.

Though the two children were young, they were promising candidates for martial arts.

He couldn't help muttering that Qingxiao Sect was downright bizarre. It had so many geniuses.

Half a month later, Zhang Yuchun finally took Wu Man'er and Li Dongyue down the mountain to recruit disciples. As for Yang Jueding, Li Qingqiu had confined him to the sect, so he could only stay at Qingxiao Sect and avoid running into the Azure Cult disciples searching for him.

Yang Jueding had no objections. He'd had the same idea.

That evening, Zhang Yuchun and the others brought seven children up the mountain: six boys and one girl. The oldest was no more than thirteen, while the youngest was only six.

After a simple initiation ceremony, Li Qingqiu checked their status panels and found that every one of them had extremely poor aptitude and comprehension. They were all third-rate at best.

Li Qingqiu couldn't help reflecting that his master had left him quite a crew.

Judging from the way Lin Xunfeng had picked his disciples, he must have had grand ambitions. It was a pity that the prospect of immortal cultivation had gone to his head.

Li Qingqiu assigned the new disciples separate rooms according to their gender, where they would share space with their elders. Li Dongyue, Li Sifeng, and the others didn't mind. If anything, they were excited. They were elders now, too.

For their first seven days, Li Qingqiu let the new disciples familiarize themselves with the sect. After that, he had Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue teach them the Primordial Scripture.

Li Dongyue could become the Transmission Elder in the future. As for Li Sifeng and Li Sijin, it was too early to say.

It was worth mentioning that after a month of martial arts training under Yang Jueding's guidance, Li Sifeng had made tremendous progress. He could already scale walls and leap across rooftops, often leaving the new disciples gasping in amazement.

Winter was finally over, and New Spring was just around the corner.

The Great Li Dynasty celebrated the New Year, too, and every year, the festival made Li Qingqiu think of his previous life.

That afternoon, Li Qingqiu sat in the courtyard to rest. He'd just finished practicing the Gale Technique and was a little tired. Watching the disciples bustle about, each busy with their own tasks, put him in a good mood.

Some swept the ground, some carried water, and some repaired the eaves. Everything was moving in a better direction.

Jiang Zhaoxia and Zhang Yuchun entered the courtyard one after the other and sat down on either side of Li Qingqiu.

"Senior Brother, we wanted to ask you something. We'd like to go down the mountain and buy some weapons in town. What do you think?" Jiang Zhaoxia asked.

There were only two swords in all of Qingxiao Sect, and Lin Xunfeng had taken one of them with him. Jiang Zhaoxia had been itching for a new one for ages.

He wanted a sword—a real sword!

He wasn't the only one. The other disciples needed weapons to practice martial arts, too. They couldn't keep learning only fists and kicks.

Li Qingqiu glanced at him and asked in return, "Where are we going to get the money to buy them?"

Zhang Yuchun chimed in. "We plan to perform sword forms in the city and ask for donations. Senior Brother, if we want the sect to get anywhere, we need money. I also want to use the opportunity to spread the word about Qingxiao Sect. Later, we could earn money by helping people resolve their troubles. We really need it. With eight more mouths to feed, we're already starting to run short on grain."

Helping people resolve their troubles was how many martial arts sects got their start. Put plainly, they became hired muscle.

Besides, the more famous they became, the more people would want to join them.

Li Qingqiu had wanted to spend a few years building up the sect first, but Zhang Yuchun had a point. Besides, they weren't planning to pick a fight with the major martial arts sects.

Jiang Zhaoxia and Zhang Yuchun were already strong enough to protect themselves.

"Fine. Just remember to be careful when you're out there. Don't underestimate others just because you're capable, and don't pick fights lightly," Li Qingqiu cautioned.

He was quite comfortable with Jiang Zhaoxia and Zhang Yuchun going together.

Jiang Zhaoxia grumbled, "Do you still think we're children?"

Zhang Yuchun nodded. "Senior Brother, I'll make sure to keep Third Junior Brother in check."

"..."

Jiang Zhaoxia stared resentfully at Zhang Yuchun, while Zhang Yuchun kept his eyes straight ahead, as if he hadn't noticed.

After they chatted for a while, Jiang Zhaoxia hurried to set off. Even the nearest town was a two-day journey away, and spending the night in the mountains was unavoidable.

Li Qingqiu could only pack provisions and water flasks for them, then watch as they headed down the mountain.

He stood before the mountain gate, watching the backs of his two junior brothers. The sight reminded him of Lin Xunfeng's departure, and he couldn't help calling out, "Be back before New Spring!"

"Don't worry, Senior Brother!"

Zhang Yuchun looked back and waved to Li Qingqiu, beaming, while Jiang Zhaoxia didn't turn around.

Even after their figures vanished into the mountains, Li Qingqiu still didn't take his eyes off the path.

"Don't worry. That Jiang brat is strong, and Zhang Yuchun isn't bad either. I'm more worried the martial artists down there won't know when to keep their eyes open and will bring trouble on themselves."

Yang Jueding came to stand beside Li Qingqiu and offered him some reassurance.

He genuinely thought Jiang Zhaoxia fought dirty. Lately, Jiang Zhaoxia had often challenged him to spar, hoping to learn practical combat skills. As long as Yang Jueding didn't use Origin Energy, he could usually keep Jiang Zhaoxia pinned down.

But Jiang Zhaoxia's progress had been astonishingly fast. Before long, every move he made was aimed at a vital point, leaving Yang Jueding terrified.

That boy would become a great man one day!

Li Qingqiu had agreed to let them go down the mountain because he'd seen Jiang Zhaoxia spar with Yang Jueding.

Yang Jueding had taught Jiang Zhaoxia plenty of practical lessons about the martial world.

Li Qingqiu finally looked away and smiled. "I can't help it. It's their first time going down the mountain, so of course I'm worried."

With that, he turned and walked back into the sect.

Yang Jueding turned to look at him and asked, "Sect Leader, when will you let me witness your swordsmanship? I heard from that Xia brat that your talent with the sword is even greater than his."

Without looking back, Li Qingqiu replied, "Forget it. I don't like fighting."

Watching him walk away, Yang Jueding found him more and more mysterious.

Over the next few days, Li Qingqiu was constantly on edge, afraid something might happen to Zhang Yuchun and Jiang Zhaoxia. He didn't share his worries with the others, though.

Finally, on the evening before New Year's Day, Zhang Yuchun and Jiang Zhaoxia returned.

"Senior Brother! We're back! Someone, come give us a hand!"

Zhang Yuchun's voice came from the direction of the mountain gate. Li Qingqiu and the others heard him and immediately rushed over.

Li Qingqiu was the fastest. When he reached the gate and took a closer look, he let out a sigh of relief.

Zhang Yuchun and Jiang Zhaoxia each carried a shoulder pole. Several weapons poked out of their bundles, glinting with the cold sheen unique to metal. Neither of them seemed to be missing any limbs.

So that was what they needed help with. Li Qingqiu had thought they'd been injured.

Li Qingqiu turned and told the disciples who had hurried over to lend a hand, while he stayed right where he was.

Why should the Sect Leader do all that heavy lifting?

His gaze shifted to someone behind Zhang Yuchun: a little beggar who had followed them. The child was filthy and gaunt, with messy hair; it was impossible to tell whether they were a boy or a girl.