Ye Qiu did not sleep that night.
Because Lu Li made him look at a beauty all night.
You like looking, don't you?
Come on, I'll turn around so you can look.
Look until you've had your fill!
Only at dawn did Ye Qiu finally get a chance to catch his breath. Then he plunged under the covers and slept like a log.
At dusk, Lu Li came again, bringing wine and plenty of small dishes.
Ye Qiu recognized them. They were all dishes he had ordered at the Listening Wind Tower.
Lu Li set out the wine and asked him if he liked the singing there.
Then he sang to Ye Qiu all night.
He even played the flute for a while.
It really did sound lovely.
On the third day, he came again and asked Ye Qiu if he liked the dancing there.
Ye Qiu shook his head. "No."
Lu Li danced all night anyway.
After all, he had learned it especially for Ye Qiu, with the Courtesan teaching him step by step.
On the fourth day, Lu Li appeared again.
He asked whether Ye Qiu liked seeing someone without a stitch on.
Ye Qiu looked up at him.
Lu Li said, "Well, I'm not letting you see!"
Ye Qiu: "..."
On the fifth day, Ye Qiu finally had some peace. Lu Li seemed to have gained another insight and gone off to break through.
Ye Qiu slept until noon, then wrote a Family Letter to his grandfather: Things are a little troublesome. I'll have to wait a while longer.
Then he went to challenge the Trial Tower. Three days later, his grandfather's reply arrived. This time, it contained eight words: All is well at home. Focus on cultivating!
Ye Qiu sighed. Did his grandfather mean he did not need to go back at all?
Wu Xiaokai had seemingly vanished from the face of the earth these past few days. Ye Qiu had looked for him several times without finding him.
As he walked toward Green Moon Mountain, he asked inwardly, Brother Snake, why am I always one step behind Lu Li?
The Great Serpent said, "That kid has a unique constitution."
Ye Qiu said, "That isn't the whole story."
The Great Serpent grew curious. "What do you think?"
Ye Qiu said, "Even the finest steel needs a master's skill to hammer it into shape... Could his teacher simply be that good?"
The Great Serpent thought for a moment. "You want to poach his teacher?"
Ye Qiu said, "I certainly can't lure her away. Nan Qingyue treats Lu Li exceptionally well... But I'm thinking of joining them."
The Great Serpent said, "There's no need for that. You have me to teach you."
Ye Qiu said, "That's exactly what worries me!"
The Great Serpent: "..."
"So that's what this is about. You look down on me? You think I'm not as good as his teacher? This dragon is—"
Ye Qiu said, "Brother Snake, you've misunderstood me. There's no question about your abilities!
I mean that perhaps your methods don't quite suit me, or your level is so far above mine that I can't keep up yet..."
The Great Serpent felt a little better.
Ye Qiu secretly wiped away his sweat. Brother Snake was his greatest trump card, a vast treasure trove. He would need his help plenty of times in the future, so he had to keep him happy!
Still, he really did need to change his approach.
Before long, he returned to Green Moon Mountain. Nan Qingyue was sitting at the Stone Table, engrossed in a book.
Lu Li was nowhere to be seen.
Ye Qiu walked over and stole a glance, but Nan Qingyue snapped the book shut before he could make out what was inside.
He did, however, clearly see the four large characters on its cover: Husband Taming Manual!
A bloodstained Whip was drawn across those four characters.
It did not look particularly friendly.
Nan Qingyue put the book away and gave him a sidelong glance. "What do you want?"
Ye Qiu smiled. "Senior Nan, are you in love?"
Nan Qingyue snorted. "I'm reading it for my Li'er."
Ye Qiu: "..."
He took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Teacher Nan truly deserves to be called a Super Mentor. You think of everything. Your disciple must be so lucky."
Nan Qingyue gave him an ambiguous smile.
Ye Qiu said, "What do you think of me?"
Nan Qingyue lifted an eyebrow. "Want to become my disciple?"
Ye Qiu said, "My talent is actually quite good. I cultivate both body and magic, and I've even comprehended an Artistic Conception. Besides, I'm dutiful. I'm especially good at taking care of my teacher."
Nan Qingyue smiled. She was beautiful too, not far behind Lu Li, and she had a mature charm of her own.
Ye Qiu promptly brought out five hundred thousand Spirit Crystals!
A token of his devotion!
Nan Qingyue glanced at him. "Do you have a million?"
Ye Qiu fell silent. Then he gritted his teeth and brought out a million. "Everything I own! Really!"
Nan Qingyue took it at once. "I suppose it's possible."
Ye Qiu was delighted and stepped forward with a grin. Nan Qingyue said, "But I have one condition for taking disciples."
Ye Qiu said, "Name it. I'd climb a mountain of blades and descend into a sea of fire to get it done!"
Nan Qingyue said, "No brothel-goers!"
Ye Qiu: "..."
Why did Lu Li tell her everything?
"Scumbag!" Nan Qingyue snorted and turned to leave.
Ye Qiu hurriedly said, "My money..."
Nan Qingyue said, "The book says men turn bad once they have money and start visiting brothels... I've decided that in your household, the woman will manage the money from now on!"
Ye Qiu chased after her. That was a million Spirit Crystals! He had worked so hard to save them.
Before he could speak, however, Nan Qingyue added, "Don't try to reason with me. If you want to argue, go ask Chen Qingyun whether he can withstand one strike of my sword!"
Ye Qiu: "..."
Nan Qingyue went into her room, opened the Husband Taming Manual, and continued studying it.
Whenever she found a useful passage, she circled it in red so Lu Li could pay particular attention to it later.
Ye Qiu stood alone on the mountaintop, his heart aching so badly it bled.
My million Spirit Crystals!
Just then, a commotion broke out below the mountain. Ye Qiu saw a crowd rushing off in one direction.
He frowned.
Looking that way, he saw a colossal flash of Blade Light slice across the sky with a boom.
The Blade Light was blinding.
Ye Qiu's expression grew grave.
What domineering Blade Qi!
"Brother Ye, something's happened!" came a shout from below. Wu Xiaokai was racing toward him.
Ye Qiu went down to meet him. Wu Xiaokai said, "Lu Li went to Saber Cliff to pull out the saber!"
"Saber Cliff? That forbidden ground?" Ye Qiu's expression changed. He had known about that place since childhood.
It was said that a saber stood embedded there, and there was something uncanny about it.
Over the centuries, many people had tried to pull it free, but none had succeeded. Several had even died.
Among them were Great Powers Beyond the Law Gathering Realm!
Rumor also had it that the saber had already been there when the Founder of Nanzhou Academy arrived.
In fact, that saber was said to be part of the reason Nanzhou Academy had been founded here!
"He uses a sword. What's he doing getting mixed up with Saber Cliff?"
Wu Xiaokai looked at him and said quietly, "Don't you use a saber?"
Ye Qiu's eyes flickered.
For me?
"Let's go see." He and Wu Xiaokai joined the stream of people and hurried toward the place where the Blade Light had risen.
As they went, they saw a second flash, then a third. Each Blade Light was more terrifying than the last.
Even from far away, they could feel its domineering pressure!
The Blade Light had even cleaved the clouds apart!
The elders' faces changed. Ye Qiu even spotted the Grand Law Enforcer.
His expression was unbearably grim.
He was clearly worried!
It seemed that even in his eyes, touching that saber was extremely dangerous, no matter how outstanding Lu Li was!
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