"This matter has to start with the crisis that nearly wiped out the Lu family..."
As Ouyang Lan spoke of her proud accomplishment, her eyes sparkled with delight.
When it came down to it, Lu Wu-bing's entry into the Celestial Star Sect had truly been set in motion by her alone.
If she had not quietly tipped him off from the sidelines and inadvertently revealed her identity...
Even if Lu Wu-bing had wanted to come looking, he would not have known which way the door opened.
"You did the right thing. Your father was being far too cautious. For all these years, the Lu family has treated the sick and saved lives, like living Buddhas to countless households. Their reputation is excellent. How could a family that had accumulated such virtue be left unaided?"
Qin Huaiying offered her judgment, anger appearing on her face once more.
"That Eastern Sea Sword Sect has acted with utter abandon in recent years, and its reputation has gone rotten. Back when Gu Qingyun was still around, they at least cared somewhat for their feathers. Now, though, they have become increasingly unbearable.
People like that can be offended if they must be offended... I refuse to believe Gu Dongting would dare come knocking at our door."
For hundreds of years, the name of Three Divine Peaks had resounded throughout the martial world. It had never relied on being kind to others or currying favor with fellow cultivators.
It had been carved out by the swords in their hands.
Those who cowered and hesitated could hardly be called righteous heroes.
"Mother is mighty."
Ouyang Lan's blood boiled as she listened. Clenching her little fists, a flush rose to her cheeks as she cried out softly.
"I always said Father could be too wishy-washy. Better to seek it in the straight than beg for it in the crooked. When we meet people from the Eastern Sea Sect, if they refuse to act like human beings, then just cut them down until they scatter like fallen petals and flowing water."
"You are not allowed to speak of your father that way."
Qin Huaiying laughed despite herself.
Raising a hand to rub her forehead, she sighed. "These past years, the Celestial Star Sect has truly been like a lone boat tossed by wind and rain, beset by troubles within and foes without. It is enough to give anyone a headache.
Before our own troubles have even been settled, the Northern Zhou Demonic Sect has begun pressing south in force. At a time like this, your father does not wish to erect another powerful enemy. He has his reasons."
"Still, some things cannot be avoided merely because one wishes to avoid them. Take the Violet Sun Sect—they never considered retreating. They chose to advance."
Thinking of that Senior Brother Bi from the Violet Sun Sect and his lofty ambitions, Qin Huaiying shook her head. Senior Brother has grown old in the end.
"And then you said that after your little junior brother presented the sword manual, he forced Senior Brother to accept him as a disciple..."
Imagining her senior brother being driven into a corner by a young boy, Qin Huaiying could not help laughing. "Haha, this child, this child—how did he even think of that...
Truly, he was caught between advancing and retreating. Now I understand how your father felt.
Unless he was willing to throw away his title of Righteousness Reaching the Heavens, he had no choice but to take this disciple, whether he wanted to or not."
"Yes. Later, after Blood Cloud Elder of the Blood Lotus Sect launched that surprise attack, Father told us to listen to Little Junior Brother more.
What happened afterward proved that his judgment had not been wrong in the slightest."
Ouyang Lan chattered away, recounting the perilous scenes of that day one by one.
Even Qin Huaiying secretly broke into a cold sweat as she listened.
Not until Ouyang Lan spoke of how the two had fled through the night, then at daybreak cut through the net of heaven and earth laid by the Eastern Sea Sect and Tiger's Den Stronghold with a single sword, did she finally let out a long breath.
"Good. Courageous and resourceful. When the moment came, he dared to act. He killed well."
"Most rare of all, after breaking through their net, he was not carried away by victory. Instead, he concealed his tracks and took the route through Hengshan a hundred li away. That was a stroke of divine inspiration."
At the crucial point of the tale,
Qin Huaiying clapped in admiration.
"To master a single move of White Rainbow Pierces the Sun to the point of consummate perfection in just a few days, and slaughter Seventh Rank fighters like pigs and sheep—then naturally, those stronghold masters of Chaoyang Stronghold in Hengshan could not withstand the two of you..."
"What about the Inch Step?"
Ouyang Lan lowered her head, looking somewhat embarrassed.
Strictly speaking, this movement art was not meant to be passed down ahead of time.
If everyone treated the rules as nothing, it would inevitably drive master and disciple apart.
People did not fear having too little; they feared having less than others.
He could learn it, but I could not. That would become a serious problem.
More often than not, sects that had flourished for a time would bury countless hidden dangers after a master showed favoritism.
Just like the Celestial Star Sect now: the sword arts had split into three branches, each harboring its own thoughts.
On the surface, it appeared to be because each person had different ambitions and they could not piss into the same pot.
In truth, it was because they had inherited different cultivation methods, and thoughts had taken root in their hearts. To some extent, they all resented their master for failing to keep the bowl of water level.
How could disciples then unite their hearts and strength to build the sect properly?
Though Ouyang Lan was usually carefree and happy-go-lucky, paying no attention to the mundane affairs of the sect,
there were still some matters she understood.
This was also why, after teaching Inch Step, she had not gone on to teach the Celestial River Orthodox Method.
Inch Step was a movement art. So long as it was not used before fellow disciples, no one could tell.
But the Celestial River Orthodox Method was internal energy...
Forget testing it in combat—even those with keen eyes could tell at a glance exactly which internal cultivation art a person practiced.
"What Inch Step? You have never taught it to your disciple Wu-bing, understand? I have never heard of it either."
Qin Huaiying blinked her eyes, and at that moment, it was as though she had suddenly gone deaf.
Ouyang Lan's little mouth fell open. For a moment, she did not understand.
"Look at that foolish face of yours. Could you not allow your Junior Brother Wu-bing to comprehend some marvelous uses of lightness arts by himself? Even if someone truly saw it by accident, it would not matter.
If anyone has questions, tell them to master Inch Step within ten days and see if they can do it. Therefore, what Wu-bing practiced definitely was not Inch Step—it merely looked a little similar."
That was right. This movement art was an advanced technique. Forget ten days; being able to get started within a month already counted as being a very promising seedling.
Ordinary disciples could not even locate their acupoints accurately, much less grasp the complex variations in the speed, weight, urgency, and flow of internal energy.
To truly execute this footwork required long, bitter training until it became instinct. Otherwise, it was simply impossible.
With one careless misstep, not only would one fail to run quickly, one might even trip over one's own feet and fall hard enough to come away bruised and swollen.
"Then there is nothing to worry about. Afterward, Little Junior Brother drove off Blood Butterfly Lin Qiu-yan and killed Yin-Yang Monk. There is not much more to say about that.
Though we went through danger after danger, in the end, we still won."
"Wait. Lanlan, are you talking about that flower-plucking thief? And Bao Xiang Mituo's junior brother, that vicious monk with something wrong in his head... Was he the one with the black-and-white face, wielding a monk's staff?"
Qin Huaiying was too shocked for words.
Blood Butterfly, the flower-plucking thief, was one thing. He possessed only Fifth Rank cultivation. Though his saber was fast, it was not so fast as to be impossible to block.
Yin-Yang Monk was different. No matter how poor his abilities might have been, he was still a Fourth Rank cultivator, a peak second-rate expert.
Even in the entire martial world, he was a formidable figure whose name carried weight.
How had they won?
No, that was not right.
Blood Butterfly Lin Qiu-yan's saber was fast, but his movement art was even faster.
The reason he could commit such cruel and vile acts, then continue roaming free in pleasure without being executed by righteous heroes, was because he had cultivated Spirit Butterfly Valley's superior movement art, Thousand Mile Butterfly Dance, to the Greater Mastery Realm.
Perhaps it was because he had grown accustomed to fleeing for his life.
Perhaps his talent in lightness arts surpassed all his peers.
Or perhaps this movement art was exceptionally suited to Lin Qiu-yan...
In truth, after mastering Thousand Mile Butterfly Dance, he had escaped twice while being hunted by experts of the upper three ranks.
He had not dared fight them, of course. The moment he saw things turn unfavorable, he fled at once.
Yet being able to withdraw unscathed despite such an enormous gap in strength and cultivation
was already an extraordinary feat.
And yet such a universally despised flower-plucking thief had suffered an enormous loss beneath the sword of her own newly initiated little disciple, fleeing with grievous wounds.
One could imagine the shock this news would cause if it spread.
No one would believe it.
Before you continue