Qiu Changtian Is Me!

Kunlun Spring had not originally been a hot spring.

It was merely an underground mineral spring. The water that welled up from it was cold to the touch and never froze, even in winter, and it was rich in minerals.

Or rather, it was the spiritual power of the earth veins contained within those minerals that gave bathing there the effects of beautifying the skin, cleansing away impurities, and purifying one's spirit.

So the female cultivators of the ancient Chan Sect had diverted the spring water into pools built from warm jade, creating indoor hot springs. Today, they had become a popular tourist destination on the borders of Kunlun.

Inside a private hot spring room, Xu Yinglian shed her plain robe, revealing her flawless body. Her long black hair was wrapped in a towel at the back of her head.

She raised one jade foot and cautiously tested the water, then slowly stepped into the clear pool and lowered her curvaceous body into it.

"Ah." Reclining in the hot spring, she leaned against the warm jade wall. Amid the curling steam, Xu Yinglian let out a long breath and wore a blissful expression of comfort.

Who knew how long had passed when a thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.

What was Senior Brother doing right now?

Was he soaking in a hot spring somewhere, too?

Xu Yinglian both revered and resented Senior Brother Qiu Changtian.

She revered his peerless talent; it was truly the envy of all.

And she resented that same peerless talent. It was so terrifying that trying to catch up with him left her close to despair.

The most infuriating part was that her family had decided to arrange a Dao Companion engagement with him without even asking her...

Xu Yinglian slowly dipped her face beneath the water, feeling a little helpless.

In truth, she didn't dislike Senior Brother Qiu, but she had never considered him as a romantic prospect, either.

Qiu Changtian was simply a target she had to surpass.

Once she had thoroughly defeated him, he would be no different from any other dull, idle person in the world. By then, she wouldn't even spare him a glance.

Hmph.

Thinking this, Xu Yinglian's mood improved as she soaked in the hot spring.

Contrary to what she'd imagined, Qiu Changtian was out socializing. He was meeting the Kunlun disciples who had taken the same "Slay Demonic Beasts" assignment.

Everyone involved had gathered at the restaurant. Besides Qiu Changtian, there were three men and two women, all dressed as Kunlun outer sect disciples. They exchanged names.

"This humble one is Lu Zheng. Greetings, fellow Kunlun disciples." One of them performed a respectful bow and spoke first.

"Likewise. I'm Liu Daoran."

"Liu Yiyi."

"Wen Qin."

"Hu Haozhi."

After everyone had introduced themselves in turn, their eyes fell on the last person, Qiu Changtian.

"Qiu Changtian," he said with a smile, introducing himself as well.

The room fell quiet for a moment.

Then the disciple named Lu Zheng chuckled, as if trying to break the awkward silence.

"What a coincidence. You share a name with our generation's Senior Brother First Seat."

Qiu Changtian: ...

Wait, how had I become someone with the same name?

But he was quick-witted, and soon figured out why.

As the Sect Master's personal disciple, Qiu Changtian held an exalted position. He had no need to go out on adventures!

Everyone standing here was an unfortunate outer sect disciple without a master to look after them, forced to fend for themselves.

To raise their cultivation as quickly as possible, they had no choice but to take Qi Refining Stage assignments from the Deacon Hall over and over, just to earn a few spirit stones to help fund their training.

And among all the Qi Refining Stage assignments, slaying demonic beasts was one of the least rewarding and most arduous.

After all, whether exploring ancient ruins or tracking hostile cultivators, there was always a chance of finding an extra Magic Treasure, a pill, or even a cultivation method.

What could you get from slaying demonic beasts? Fur? Meat? Droppings?

The only good thing about this assignment was that it was quick to complete. You could rapidly rack up a large number of missions in a short time, earning enough spirit stones through sheer accumulation... So everyone who took these jobs was an outer sect disciple desperately short on spirit stones.

Forget the Senior Brother First Seat of their generation. Even among the other personal disciples and inner sect disciples, who received a monthly stipend from their masters, who would care about a few spirit stones like these?

Thinking this, Qiu Changtian couldn't insist, "I'm the Senior Brother First Seat you're talking about." So he could only nod along.

The other outer sect disciples didn't seem to notice anything amiss. They simply chatted among themselves to get acquainted.

"Speaking of Kunlun's Senior Brother First Seat, Qiu Changtian, he seems to be all reputation and no substance." The disciple who had introduced himself as "Liu Daoran" let out a cold chuckle. "I heard that when he joined Kunlun, he never even took the Road to Heaven. The Sect Master appointed him directly!"

"Really?" The female disciple named Wen Qin had clearly never heard this and asked in surprise, "If he didn't complete the Road to Heaven, how did the sect determine his aptitude for cultivation? What gave him the right to become the Senior Brother First Seat of his generation?"

"What else could it be?" Liu Daoran curled his lip. "He's probably from some cultivation clan, with connections."

Everyone was speechless. It was practically an open secret that scions of great cultivation clans claimed most of the inner sect and personal disciple positions in the Kunlun Taiqing Sect. Some people with poor aptitude even managed to secure a place because their elders served Kunlun as True Persons or elders, much to the other disciples' contempt.

"Forget the Senior Brother First Seat. Let's look at this assignment." Seeing everyone's spirits sink, Lu Zheng hurriedly tried to smooth things over and explained, "Tu Lou have recently entered the spirit-stone mine at Old Dragon Ridge and are disrupting the excavation."

"These monsters resemble wild sheep. They have four horns, are skilled at running and leaping, and eat people. Once they see blood, they become vicious."

"Fortunately, they can't wield the Five Spirit Arts and are low-tier demonic beasts. As long as we're careful and strike first with our flying swords, they shouldn't be difficult to kill."

"Old Dragon Ridge isn't far from here. If all goes well, the round trip should take no more than two hours."

He passed around the assignment scroll for everyone to read, and nobody had any objections.

After all, Qi Refining Stage cultivators hadn't yet undergone marrow cleansing. Though their bodies were as frail as ordinary people's, their flying swords were sharp enough to be deadly.

Unless a demonic beast managed to ambush them, it would die as soon as a flying sword pierced a vital point. This wasn't some fantasy novel's turn-based duel, where "you cast a fire spell, then I unleash a wind blade."

With the assignment confirmed, everyone prepared to set out. Just then, Qiu Changtian spoke up.

"Wait a moment. I have a junior sister who'll be coming with me. Would you mind waiting while I bring her here?"

"That wouldn't be ideal," Lu Zheng said awkwardly. "The spirit stones for this assignment aren't much to begin with. Splitting them five ways is manageable, but six ways would leave us with too little."

Qiu Changtian was speechless. He had already checked the reward for the assignment: a hundred and twenty low-grade spirit stones. Splitting it five ways or six ways only meant four fewer stones each. What difference could such a tiny amount make?

The other disciples said nothing, but their expressions all meant the same thing: they didn't want another person added to the split.

Then Qiu Changtian understood. Four low-grade spirit stones meant nothing to him, but to these outer sect disciples, it was a painful sum.

"How about this?" He changed tack with a smile. "My junior sister and I will both help, but we'll only take one person's share of the reward."

"That would be wonderful!" Lu Zheng was overjoyed. It was essentially like getting an extra pair of hands for free. "But would your junior sister agree?"

"She won't mind," Qiu Changtian replied with a smile. "She's from a cultivation clan and doesn't care about a few spirit stones."

The moment those words came out, everyone's expressions tightened. Lu Zheng was about to ask, "Then why come on an assignment at all?" when Hu Haozhi rudely cut him off.

"Fellow Daoist, if you're bringing your junior sister, hurry up. You can't expect all of us to wait around for the two of you!"

The others were disciples of the two hundred and eightieth generation, having only recently joined the sect. Hu Haozhi, however, belonged to the two hundred and seventy-ninth generation and had entered Kunlun thirty years before them.

So when he interrupted with the air of a senior, Lu Zheng couldn't press the question. He merely looked doubtful.

"Right, right. Please wait a moment, everyone. I'll be back shortly." Qiu Changtian turned and left.

Only after he had vanished from sight did Liu Daoran sneer. "How could a young lady from a cultivation clan come out and do this kind of hard labor? This guy's probably full of hot air. Everyone be careful later. Don't let him fish in troubled waters."

"Never mind that," Liu Yiyi suddenly said, though she had been silent until now. "At least he's quite handsome."

"You think so too?" Wen Qin said excitedly. "He really looks like a refined young nobleman from a great clan!"

"Can good looks buy spirit stones?" Liu Daoran said darkly. "A pretty face is just a rotten sack of grain. Get it?"

"You ugly guy wouldn't know the first thing about it!" Wen Qin had been fed up with him for a while and cursed him outright. "If you're jealous of his looks, keep it to yourself! Stop being so snide and making everyone sick!"

"You!" Liu Daoran was furious and was about to fire back, but Lu Zheng hurried over to break it up. "All right, all right. We're all fellow Kunlun disciples. Don't let this sour things between us."

After finally calming down, Liu Daoran began thinking about leaving the group and working alone.

After all, he'd already fallen out with the women in the group. If he didn't talk back, he'd have to swallow the humiliation and take their abuse; if he did, he'd lose face. He might as well leave.

But then he thought that if he slunk away like this, those female cultivators would probably gossip about him behind his back, laughing at and slandering him.

He might as well wait until the other guy brought his junior sister back, so everyone could see what kind of "young lady" she was!