At the Hour of the Dog.
Qingyun Dao Sect.
As the last sliver of lingering sunlight vanished, Ye Ping slowly let out a breath.
"Senior Brother, it's finished."
Ye Ping spoke, then broke into a smile.
He was fairly confident in his Art of Painting and Calligraphy. Moreover, ever since entering the immortal sect, Ye Ping had always felt that he had been elevated in every aspect. He was quite satisfied with this painting.
Upon hearing Ye Ping's words, Su Changyu rose and turned his gaze toward the xuan paper before him.
This was premium xuan paper. It could be split into three sheets without affecting its quality. If properly preserved, such paper could be passed down for thousands of years and more.
The value of a sheet of xuan paper like this alone was measured by the foot—one tael of gold per foot.
Since this portrait included both a person and scenery, it was four and a half feet long and two and a half feet wide.
In other words, this sheet of xuan paper was worth eight taels of gold.
Su Changyu, however, did not understand any of this.
He looked at the painting.
Within the painting.
The sunset clouds covered the sky, and the Qingyun Mountain Range resembled an immortal realm on earth. The flowers, grass, and trees were lifelike, and certain details appeared especially true to life.
Yet the most eye-catching part was still the man in the painting.
The man's face was not fully depicted, only shown in profile, yet Ye Ping had captured the aloof and detached bearing of a Sword Immortal.
That man was naturally Su Changyu.
In the painting, he stood atop a mountain cliff, gazing at the sunset. There was an indescribable artistic conception about him, breathtakingly beautiful.
"This painting is not bad."
Though Su Changyu was not particularly cultured, at the very least, he had not abandoned his conscience.
Ye Ping's painting was indeed good. Its only flaw was that it had not captured his handsomeness, depicting merely one ten-thousandth of it. Still, that was not because Ye Ping lacked skill, but because he was simply too handsome. Su Changyu did not think much of it.
Thinking that he could surpass Ye Ping in handsomeness, Su Changyu inexplicably felt delighted.
"As long as Senior Brother is satisfied."
Ye Ping smiled faintly, then took out a square seal and stamped it in the upper-right corner of the painting.
It was his personal seal.
The four words "Hermit Qinglian" were clearly inscribed upon it.
"Senior Brother, please take it."
Ye Ping rolled up the painting and handed it to Su Changyu.
"Many thanks, Junior Brother."
Su Changyu nodded, but before Ye Ping could speak again, a voice rang out.
"Changyu, come quickly."
It was Grand Hua Daoist's voice.
"Junior Brother, continue comprehending the Sword Mark. Senior Brother will take his leave first."
Leaving those words behind, Su Changyu hurried away toward Grand Hua Daoist.
Soon, Su Changyu arrived before Grand Hua Daoist.
"Master, what is it? Did you borrow the money?"
Su Changyu was somewhat curious. He did not understand why Grand Hua Daoist had suddenly called for him.
Could it be that he had borrowed some money?
"I did not borrow any, but your master has thought of a good solution."
Grand Hua Daoist said with a face full of joy.
"You thought of one? What solution?"
Su Changyu was rather surprised. He truly found it difficult to imagine that, given his master's wisdom, he could think of any good solution other than borrowing money.
"Changyu, although I did not borrow any money on this trip down the mountain, I passed by a pawnshop. Haven't our sect's ancestors left behind quite a few things? Why not pawn them all?"
"Though it will be difficult to sell off one hundred taels of gold, we can at least exchange them for some silver. Once we have startup funds, we can think of another way. With two months' time, anything is possible."
Grand Hua Daoist said, beaming from ear to ear.
"Pawn them?"
Su Changyu looked somewhat helpless.
He had thought his master had come up with some brilliant plan. He had not expected such a rotten idea.
More importantly, what valuable possessions did the Qingyun Dao Sect even have?
"Sect Leader, will that work?"
Su Changyu remained skeptical.
"It has to work, even if it doesn't. If there truly is no other way, your master can only visit my distant cousin. Her family is quite wealthy. One hundred taels of gold probably amount to nothing in her eyes."
Grand Hua Daoist spoke seriously.
"You have a distant cousin? Why didn't you say so sooner? Then why are we pawning anything? Let's go find her right now."
Su Changyu had not expected his master to have a distant cousin.
"You don't understand. Your master's cousin has a rather peculiar quirk."
At the mention of his cousin, Grand Hua Daoist looked a little embarrassed.
"A peculiar quirk? That's normal, isn't it? Which rich landlord doesn't have a few peculiar quirks?"
Su Changyu did not think much of it.
"No, her quirk is very strange. She likes men."
Grand Hua Daoist's expression was grave.
"She likes men?" Su Changyu frowned slightly. Wasn't that perfectly normal?
"Alas, not the kind of liking men that you understand. In any case, unless driven to the end of the road, your master will absolutely not seek her out. Enough nonsense. Come down the mountain with your master. Come, come, come. Don't waste time."
Grand Hua Daoist did not elaborate.
He directly dragged Su Changyu down the mountain, no longer caring about anything else.
Meanwhile, at the Back Cliff.
Ye Ping knew nothing of all this.
After Su Changyu left, Ye Ping continued his comprehension.
He wanted to comprehend Sword Momentum as soon as possible. However, after mastering the complete sword technique, Ye Ping vaguely felt that it would not take much longer. Perhaps he would soon comprehend Sword Momentum.
With that thought, Ye Ping turned his gaze toward the Sword Mark on the ground and entered a state of comprehension once more.
Perhaps because he had mastered the complete sword path.
When Ye Ping looked at the Sword Mark again, it had unexpectedly changed in a different way.
Within his mind, four figures continuously demonstrated the Four Thunder Sword Technique.
A trace of Sword Momentum suddenly spread around Ye Ping.
Withered grass and fallen leaves rose into the air, circling around him.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Dull thunder rumbled across the Back Cliff. Ye Ping's speed of comprehension was several times faster than before.
It continued until dawn.
Ye Ping opened his eyes.
With a raised hand, a terrifying Sword Momentum instantly radiated from his body.
Whoosh!
An invisible strand of Sword Qi appeared, sweeping up the dead grass and fallen leaves on the ground before striking a broken stone and leaving behind a faint Sword Mark.
If Su Changyu had been here, he would likely have thrown away his sword on the spot. Ye Ping had condensed Sword Momentum overnight. Although it was only preliminary, it was still utterly heaven-defying.
At the same time.
Within Qingzhou.
Taiyue Sword Sect.
Three major sects stood in Qingzhou, and the Taiyue Sword Sect was one of them, a first-rank immortal sect.
It had three thousand elite disciples under its banner and was considered renowned far and wide.
At this very moment.
At Sword Comprehension Cliff of the Taiyue Sword Sect.
Several outstanding young cultivators sat cross-legged beneath Sword Comprehension Cliff, comprehending Sword Moves.
Upon Sword Comprehension Cliff was an incomparably sharp Sword Mark.
This Sword Mark had been left behind by Daoist Siji, Qingzhou's foremost expert in the sword path.
That was right, Daoist Siji.
Back then, Daoist Siji had owed the Taiyue Sword Sect a favor. Now, the Taiyue Sect Leader had asked Daoist Siji to leave behind a Sword Mark, hoping that the younger generation of sword-path talents could study it carefully.
Thus, this Sword Mark had been left upon Sword Comprehension Cliff.
This Sword Mark was terrifying.
It even carried the sound of thunder.
This was a true mark of Sword Intent.
Compared to Su Changyu's, it would simply be an insult to Daoist Siji.
Just then.
A faint rumble of thunder suddenly sounded.
Before you continue