Mysterious Sect Master

A night passed, and the first ray of dawn pierced the sky, sweeping over Qingxiao Sect. Water dripped from every eave, a sign that the winter snow was melting.

Li Qingqiu rose early, ready to absorb qi and train. The other disciples did the same, as if untouched by the previous night's events.

They sat cross-legged before the mountain gate, facing the peaks. The magnificent landscape emerged and vanished through the thick fog—a sight that easily drew them into focus.

After last night's shock, the other disciples were clearly shaken and trained more earnestly. As for Yang Jueding, old wounds unhealed and new ones added, he was recovering indoors.

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

Li Qingqiu arrived outside Yang Jueding's room and knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Yang Jueding's voice came through, exhaustion plain in his tone.

He wasn't a cultivator; he needed sleep. But last night he'd been busy expelling poison, leaving him drained in body and mind.

Li Qingqiu pushed the door open, then closed it behind him. He walked to the table, sat down, and looked at Yang Jueding on the bed. "That manual—where did you get it?"

Yang Jueding opened his eyes and met his gaze. "Half a year ago, rumors spread around Fuyang Lake. They said when the tide went out, a path appeared leading to the lakebed. Legend claimed there was a secret chamber left by a Martial Arts Myth from a century ago. I joined the crowd. It was true. I went down with a group of martial artists and was lucky enough to find a box. Inside was that manual. When I came out, Azure Cult experts spotted me. I drove them off and thought that would be the end of it. But they struck when I was wounded from my fight with the Sea Sword Saint."

Speaking of it, he still felt bitter. A fake manual had brought him nothing but injuries—a terrible loss.

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

Yang Jueding's eyes widened in anger. "Fake or not, I wouldn't let those bastards have it. Who knows what disaster they'd stir up using that manual's reputation? They spend their days swindling people. How many nobles have they fooled into squeezing the common folk? For the Azure Cult, whether the manual is real doesn't matter. What they want is the name of the Martial Arts Myth."

"Snatching the Myth's divine technique from the Dragon Subduing Great Hero—if that story spreads, their prestige will skyrocket. They might even worm their way into the court. For years, they've been trying to cling to power. And you saw it yourself—even if I say it's fake, they won't believe me. Even if I handed them the manual, they'd still kill me. They wouldn't stop until they couldn't find a second copy."

Li Qingqiu asked curiously, "The Azure Cult and the White Emperor Mansion—which is stronger?"

Yang Jueding considered it. "About the same. But the White Emperor Mansion has court connections. The Azure Cult doesn't dare provoke them easily. They rarely clash. These days, the White Emperor Mansion doesn't meddle much in martial world affairs. The Azure Cult is different—ambitious, wanting to be the martial world's overlord."

Using this topic, Li Qingqiu chatted more with Yang Jueding, gaining a solid understanding of the current Guzhou Martial Arts World.

He realized the Great Li Dynasty was far larger than his previous life's Huaxia. Guzhou alone was half the size of Huaxia, with over a dozen prefectural cities and countless martial sects scattered across the land.

They talked until Yang Jueding started coughing. Only then did Li Qingqiu stop and rise to leave.

He planned to train the Gale Technique first. Watching the fight last night had made him realize his movement skill still lagged behind the martial world's experts.

As for the Supreme Sword Control Technique, he wasn't in a hurry to practice it. That art required nine swords to truly unleash its effect.

When he had more spells later, he would organize them. A person's energy was limited—he couldn't train every technique he obtained.

Of course, he would definitely train the Supreme Sword Control Technique. He couldn't waste his talent.

Days passed one after another.

Several days later, most of the snow in the mountain forest had melted. Yang Jueding could finally leave his room. He no longer dared to pester Wu Man'er, let alone mention his bet with Jiang Zhaoxia.

Soon, his attention fell on Li Sifeng and Li Sijin.

These two children were young, but they were also good martial arts seedlings.

This made him mutter under his breath—Qingxiao Sect was really something else. Too many geniuses.

Half a month later, Zhang Yuchun finally couldn't hold back. He dragged Wu Man'er and Li Dongyue down the mountain to recruit disciples. As for Yang Jueding, Li Qingqiu had confined him to the sect to avoid running into Azure Cult disciples searching for him.

Yang Jueding had no objection. He'd been thinking the same thing.

That evening, Zhang Yuchun and the other two returned with seven children—six boys and one girl. The oldest was no more than thirteen, the youngest only six.

After a simple initiation ceremony, Li Qingqiu checked their attribute panels. Every single one had extremely low talent and comprehension—below average.

Li Qingqiu sighed inwardly. His master had really left him a solid foundation.

Judging by Lin Xunfeng's eye for selecting people, his ambitions had been considerable. It was a pity he'd been blinded by his obsession with immortality.

Li Qingqiu had the new disciples split by gender and squeeze in with the senior members. Li Dongyue, Li Sifeng, and the others didn't mind. In fact, they were a little excited—now they were elders too.

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

From now on, Li Dongyue could serve as the Transmission Elder. As for Li Sifeng and Li Sijin, he'd have to wait and see.

Worth mentioning—after a month of martial training under Yang Jueding's guidance, Li Sifeng's skills had skyrocketed. He'd already started leaping over walls and walking on eaves, often drawing gasps from the new disciples.

Winter had fully passed. New Spring was approaching.

The Great Li Dynasty also celebrated the Spring Festival. Every Spring Festival, Li Qingqiu thought of his past life.

That afternoon, Li Qingqiu sat resting in the courtyard. He'd just finished training the Gale Technique and was a little tired. Watching his disciples busy at their tasks, he felt quite pleased.

Someone swept the floor. Someone carried water. Someone repaired the eaves. Everything was moving toward the good.

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

"Senior Brother, let's talk about something. We want to go down the mountain to the town and buy some weapons. What do you think?" Jiang Zhaoxia asked.

The entire Qingxiao Sect had only two swords, and Lin Xunfeng had taken one. Jiang Zhaoxia had been holding back for too long.

He wanted a sword. A real sword!

Not just him—the other disciples needed weapons for martial training too. They couldn't always practice bare-handed.

Li Qingqiu glanced at him. "And where would we get the money?"

Zhang Yuchun chimed in, "We're planning to put on a sword performance in the city to earn tips. Senior Brother, if the sect wants to truly rise, we need money. I also want to use this chance to spread Qingxiao Sect's name. Later, we can earn money by helping people solve problems. We really do need funds. With eight extra mouths, our food stores are already tight."

Helping people resolve disasters and troubles is how many martial arts sects get their start—plainly speaking, it means working as hired muscle.

And only with a big reputation would more people want to come and pledge their allegiance.

Li Qingqiu had wanted to settle down for a few years before discussing it, but he felt Zhang Yuchun had a point. Besides, they weren't trying to go head-to-head with the major sects of the jianghu.

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

"Alright, just remember—when you're out there, you must be careful. Don't rely on your own abilities to look down on others, and don't start conflicts lightly." Li Qingqiu cautioned them.

With Zhang Yuchun and Jiang Zhaoxia acting together, he was still quite reassured.

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

Zhang Yuchun, on the other hand, nodded and said, "Senior Brother, I'll definitely keep Third Junior Brother in check."

"..."

Jiang Zhaoxia shot Zhang Yuchun a resentful look, but Zhang Yuchun didn't avert his gaze, as if he hadn't noticed it at all.

The three chatted for a while, then Jiang Zhaoxia was eager to head down the mountain. The nearest town was still a two-day journey on foot, and spending the night in the wilderness was unavoidable.

Li Qingqiu could only prepare dry rations and water flasks for them, then watch them descend the mountain.

He stood at the sect gate, looking at the backs of his two junior brothers, and couldn't help but think of the scene when Lin Xunfeng had left. He called out, "Make sure you're back before New Spring!"

"Don't worry, Senior Brother!"

Zhang Yuchun turned back and waved at Li Qingqiu, his smile bright, while Jiang Zhaoxia didn't look back.

Even after the two figures disappeared into the forest, Li Qingqiu still hadn't withdrawn his gaze.

"Relax. That Jiang kid is formidable, and Zhang Yuchun's skills aren't bad either. With these two going down the mountain, I'm more worried about those jianghu fools who don't know their place and ask for trouble."

Yang Jueding came to Li Qingqiu's side and offered words of comfort.

He genuinely thought Jiang Zhaoxia fought dirty. During this time, Jiang Zhaoxia had often sought him out for sparring, wanting to learn practical combat experience. Without using Origin Energy, Yang Jueding basically had the upper hand over Jiang Zhaoxia.

But Jiang Zhaoxia improved so fast that by the end, every move was lethal, making Yang Jueding's heart race.

This kid would surely become someone great one day!

The reason Li Qingqiu had agreed to let them go down the mountain was precisely because he had witnessed Jiang Zhaoxia's sparring sessions with Yang Jueding.

Yang Jueding had passed on plenty of jianghu experience to Jiang Zhaoxia.

Li Qingqiu withdrew his gaze and smiled. "I can't help it. It's their first time going down the mountain, so I'm bound to worry a little."

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

Yang Jueding twisted his head to look at him and asked, "Sect Master, when will you let me experience your sword technique? That Xia kid says your talent with the sword is even greater than his."

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

Yang Jueding watched his retreating back and found him more and more mysterious.

Over the next few days, Li Qingqiu was constantly on edge, afraid that something had happened to Zhang Yuchun and the others, though he didn't voice his worries to anyone else.

Finally, on the evening before the New Spring festival, Zhang Yuchun and the others returned.

"Senior Brother! We're back! Someone come help us!"

Zhang Yuchun's voice came from the direction of the sect gate. Li Qingqiu and the others rushed over as soon as they heard it.

Li Qingqiu was the fastest. When he reached the sect gate and looked closely, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Yuchun and Jiang Zhaoxia were each carrying a carrying pole. Various weapons poked out from their bundles, reflecting the cold metallic gleam unique to steel, and the two of them looked perfectly intact, with no missing limbs.

So that's what the help was for. Li Qingqiu had thought they were injured.

Li Qingqiu turned back and instructed the disciples who had arrived to lend a hand, while he himself stood still.

Would a Sect Master do such menial labor?

His gaze shifted to behind Zhang Yuchun. There was a little beggar following them, covered in filth, skin and bones, with hair so messy it was impossible to tell if it was a boy or a girl.