After hearing the whole story from Senior Sister An, Ling Yunpo's heart sank.
The matter itself wasn't complicated. For some reason, this month's allowance for Green Snail Peak had been changed by the Hall of Governance from mid-grade spirit stones to low-grade spirit stones.
As currency, the two were more or less equivalent.
But as materials for casting Spirit-Gathering Arrays, low-grade spirit stones were far inferior to mid-grade ones.
So An Zhisu had taken up her sword and gone to the Hall of Governance to demand an explanation for why their allowance had been effectively cut.
The result was that Senior Brother Shi from the Hall of Governance challenged her, claiming she had insulted the Hall.
A word of explanation was in order here. The Shangqing Sect of Shu Mountain advocated communicating through the sword. Those at the same stage could challenge each other and spar to compare swordsmanship.
If the challenged party wished to refuse, they had to pay spirit stones to the sect as punishment.
As a corresponding condition, if the challenged party accidentally killed the challenger during the duel, they would face no penalty.
An Zhisu hadn't been on her guard for this duel. She had already reached the peak of the Abode Transformation Stage, with one foot over the threshold of the Golden Core Realm. At her stage, no one was truly her match.
But during the duel, her opponent used some secret art to forcibly raise his cultivation, briefly gaining the strength of a False Core. Caught off guard, Senior Sister An was gravely wounded.
"Stone Ziming! The nerve of him!" Ling Yunpo roared in fury. "To scheme against Senior Sister like that! I, Ling Yunpo, will never let him get away with it!"
[Unyielding character setting, synchronization +1.]
"Shut up, A Jing! I was serious just now. I wasn't trying to raise my synchronization!" Ling Yunpo gritted his teeth inwardly.
"Don't take it to heart, Junior Brother." An Zhisu shook her head. "Stone Ziming is already dead."
Ling Yunpo: ...
So the guy's False Core cultivation put him an entire major realm above you, and you still killed him?
And you hadn't even known about it beforehand. If you'd been prepared, would you have come out of the duel without a scratch?
That's ridiculous, Senior Sister! Your strength is just ridiculous!
"Still, that scoundrel got off easy." Ling Yunpo sneered. "Otherwise, I'd have gone to his door with my three-foot sword and taught Stone Ziming what he was dealing with!"
"He's at the Abode Transformation Stage, and you're at the Qi Refining Stage. How are you supposed to challenge him?" An Zhisu said with a smile, shaking her head.
"Then I'll challenge his junior brothers!" Ling Yunpo said indignantly. "He hurt you, so I'll pay it all back to his junior brothers... no, tenfold!"
"Well said." An Zhisu nodded approvingly. "A Sword Immortal should have that kind of fire. To repay kindness and avenge wrongs with a clear heart—whoever blocks my way, be they Gods or Devils, I'll cut them down with one sword!"
As she spoke, she let out a quiet sigh:
"But don't be too impulsive. The problem with our allowance still can't be solved."
Ling Yunpo was at a loss for words, too.
The duel was one thing. The allowance was another.
The elder in charge of the Hall of Governance was at the Nascent Soul Realm. Senior Sister An couldn't exactly threaten the man with her sword.
Even if Stone Ziming had acted on his own at first, after Senior Sister An killed him, the Hall of Governance was even less likely to change the allowance.
Otherwise, people outside would think An Zhisu had frightened the Hall of Governance into submission, forcing the elder to readjust the allowance. How would the Hall of Governance ever hold its head up in Shu Mountain again?
Wouldn't that Nascent Soul elder lose face?
Thinking about it, Ling Yunpo couldn't see a way out, either.
The trouble all came down to their cheap master, Su Jian, shutting himself away in seclusion and refusing to come out!
It wasn't that Shu Mountain had no rules, but rules weren't laws. When things fell through the cracks, the sect's elders had to step in and mediate.
Now Green Snail Peak had no elders. If they ran into villains who exploited loopholes in the rules, wouldn't they be putty in their hands?
No wonder Senior Sister An always fought so viciously. If she couldn't establish her authority, Green Snail Peak might not last a single day!
"Don't worry, Junior Brother." An Zhisu smiled. "Before Master went into seclusion, he left some valuables in the side room. I'll sell them at the market outside and turn them into spirit stones. It won't interfere with our cultivation."
"Senior Sister, that still isn't a long-term solution," Ling Yunpo said quietly.
"I know. I'll think of something," An Zhisu said earnestly.
Speaking of cultivation, Ling Yunpo himself wasn't short on spirit stones.
That was because Qiu Changtian over in Kunlun was a direct disciple of the Ziwei Sect Master and the foremost disciple of his generation. The cultivation resources he received each month were quite generous.
Of course, the spirit stones Qiu Changtian received from the Kunlun Sect had to go into the Spirit-Gathering Array at Jinling. He couldn't simply hand them over to Ling Yunpo, lest Senior Sister An get suspicious.
Otherwise, if the other junior disciples noticed that the number of spirit stones in the array didn't add up, there would be trouble.
"By the way," the Kunlun Mirror suddenly said in his mind, "do you like Senior Sister An?"
"I do." Ling Yunpo admitted it frankly. "My senior sister is beautiful, sweet-natured, and kind. She takes such good care of me. Isn't it only natural that I like her?"
"Then what about Xu Yinglian?" The Kunlun Mirror fell silent for a moment before asking again.
Ling Yunpo was silent for a long while, too, before he finally spoke:
"A Jing."
"What?"
"The sky is actually colorless. It never deceived you; it was your own eyes that deceived you."
"...What do you mean?"
"The one who made a Dao Companion marriage pact with Xu Yinglian was Qiu Changtian of the Kunlun Taiqing Sect. What does that have to do with Ling Yunpo of Shu Mountain?"
The Kunlun Mirror: ...
It felt like it might crack on the spot.
Ling Yunpo's expression didn't change as he continued:
"This world has neither truth nor lies, only facts that stand plainly before us."
"But everyone in this world mistakes the 'facts' that benefit them for the truth, and lives by them."
"Because if they didn't, they'd have no other reason to keep going."
"But in reality, for the countless people who occupy most of the world..."
"The 'facts' they can't use to affirm themselves are the only truth there is."
"I am neither Qiu Changtian nor Ling Yunpo."
"I am the savior, the one destined to gather every fragment of the Sky Mending Stone and utterly destroy the Age of Dharma's End that is destined to come."
"Under such a crushing burden, I must stop at nothing to pursue a higher existence."
"Gather the strengths of every sect, master the ten thousand arts of every school, and leave everyone else in the dust."
"Until I stand, once and for all, above the nine heavens!"
The Kunlun Mirror was left speechless.
Fine. Cultivators were pretty much all like that, seeking to make overwhelming power their own. It was understandable.
"Are you going back to Kunlun now?"
"Mm. Let's reload the save." Ling Yunpo nodded.
[Countdown to World Destruction: one thousand years.]
[Please hurry and search for the Sky Mending Stone.]
The Kunlun Mirror recited mechanically:
[Location One: Kunlun Taiqing Sect, Jinling Cave Mansion.]
[Identity: Qiu Changtian.]
[Mirror Flower Water Moon template overlay in progress. Traversing time and space.]
On the stone bed in his own cave mansion, Qiu Changtian suddenly opened his eyes.
It was still nighttime outside. The time was just after Qiu Changtian had finished studying the Daozang and returned from Yuxu Palace with Xu Yinglian.
Qiu Changtian stepped out of his cave mansion and gazed at the Milky Way and the glittering stars overhead, unable to stop a sigh from escaping him.
The path of cultivation required wealth, companions, methods, and a place to practice. Without wealth, nothing else was possible.
...He'd have to find a way to get Ling Yunpo some money.
With getting Ling Yunpo some cash as his opening move, the upright and noble path of Great Chief Disciple Qiu began.
Before you continue