Jing Yifei

Sanbao was in no hurry to head up the mountain. He looked around casually, and it seemed his estimation was correct: this Jing Yifei was truly no ordinary person. The mountain peak he inhabited was extremely remote, and with very few disciples in the sect (the Master Selection Manual had noted "none at present"), it should be an excellent place for quiet cultivation.

Walking slowly along the winding mountain road, he turned a corner and a stone tablet appeared on the side of the path. Three large characters were inscribed upon it: Fire Cloud Peak.

He felt the world around him; the spirit energy was incredibly dense, and there was a faint, scorching aura in the air. This Fire Cloud Peak must be an exceptional place for cultivating fire-attribute spirit power.

The mountain road gradually grew steeper. After rounding several bends, the view suddenly opened up. Ahead, a massive flat area existed somewhere on the mountainside of Fire Cloud Peak, where a majestic and imposing stone hall was built against the mountain, appearing quite abrupt.

Just as he reached the main gate, a burly man rushed out from the hall.

"Who goes there? Fire Cloud Peak is a restricted area, no entry allowed. And don't bother telling me you're a disciple of the Cloud Saint Sect; I know you are, and it's useless. Unless you have a direct order from the sect leader, we don't see anyone. Get lost, or you'll be tasting my club."

As if he already knew Sanbao's intentions, the man blocked every possible path for him in one breath.

"I don't know if this counts as an order from the sect leader, but why don't you take a look?" Sanbao handed over the Master Selection Inscription Tablet, secretly finding it amusing, as the very bottom of the tablet was stamped with the sect leader's seal.

The man took the Inscription Tablet and stared at it for a long time as if he were actually reading it, before tossing out a sentence that nearly made Sanbao faint.

"I can't read. You go now..."

"If you can't read, why were you staring at it for so long?" Sanbao thought to himself, though he replied with a chuckle: "Then could you please find someone who can?"

"Except for Elder Jing, no one in Fire Cloud Hall can read. Get lost, don't waste my time." The man was impervious to reason and seemed somewhat annoyed; had he not seen that Sanbao was quite young, he might have already started a fight.

Sanbao felt quite frustrated. This Elder Jing was truly strange; in a dignified place of cultivation, there wasn't a single person who could read. It was bizarre.

"Then let me tell you: this is an order from the sect leader. I am a newly admitted disciple of the Cloud Saint Sect, and I've come to apprentice under Elder Jing. You'd better go report this!" Dealing with such a simple-minded man, Sanbao had no other choice but to treat the Master Selection Inscription Tablet as a direct order.

"Oh, really? Let me look again. If you dare to lie to me, watch out for my club. Wait here." The man took the Inscription Tablet again and examined it up and down several times. Seeming to find nothing wrong, he threatened Sanbao once more before carrying the tablet into the hall to report.

A full hour later, the man returned with a woman in black. She was about thirty years old, tall, with a cold, stern expression and an aura of intense killing intent. Even while she was still dozens of meters away, a powerful Spirit King aura pressed down upon Sanbao.

Sanbao was slightly surprised, thinking to himself: This Fire Cloud Hall actually has a Spirit King expert other than Jing Yifei? And she can't read—how did she cultivate? Strange.

"You are Luo Sanbao? Why did you choose this place?" Seeing that Sanbao remained calm and composed in the face of her powerful aura, the woman felt a spark of curiosity, thinking that this youth possessed an extraordinary backbone.

To an ordinary Spirit Scholar, a Spirit King might be considered a formidable expert, but to someone like Sanbao, who had grown up around Spirit Emperors and Spirit Sovereigns, it meant nothing at all. The pressure of a Spirit King naturally had almost no effect on him.

"Elder Jing is a remarkable person, hence I chose this place."

Sanbao's answer was concise and to the point, which surprised the woman again. She thought to herself that this youth was indeed different from the average new disciple.

"You cultivate gold-attribute spirit power?" The woman looked at Sanbao with interest before asking.

"Yes."

"Then you must know that I cultivate fire-attribute spirit power. If you choose me as your master, how am I supposed to teach you?" the woman said indifferently.

The first rule for most new disciples when choosing a master was that the master and disciple must cultivate the same attribute of spirit power. Otherwise, no matter how good the master was, they likely wouldn't be able to provide much guidance. This was common knowledge.

Sanbao knew he didn't need any spirit techniques or spirit skills from a master, so he had completely forgotten about this rule.

"What? You are Jing Yifei?"

Sanbao finally realized that this woman in black was the ill-tempered Jing Yifei.

"What, do I not look like it?" Jing Yifei asked in return, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.

"Yes, no, like, oh, no, not like..."

Sanbao stammered in reply. At first, he had assumed Jing Yifei was a grumpy old man. He hadn't expected her to be a woman, and a young-looking one at that. It was truly interesting.

"Seeing that you are young and your aptitude is decent, I will be blunt with you. You can come to my Fire Cloud Hall, but I only need a fire boy. Aside from tending the fire, I won't teach you anything. You should take this chance while you're still new to choose another master, so as not to ruin your future." Jing Yifei seemed to value Sanbao somewhat, as she spoke with a hint of regret.

"A fire boy it is!" Sanbao had already made up his mind; there was no way he would change it now.

"Suit yourself. A-Tie, have A-Hua arrange his lodging later." Jing Yifei didn't say anything more and turned to leave.

Every time new disciples arrived, there were always two or three who wouldn't give up until they hit a wall, but they naturally couldn't stay for more than a few months. Jing Yifei didn't care, though she constantly cursed the ridiculous rule that allowed Cloud Saint Sect disciples to choose their own masters.

"Yes, Master." Sanbao performed a simple apprenticeship bow and called out.

"You're really something. I've never seen Elder Jing speak so politely to anyone! My name is A-Tie, you're Sanbao, right?" The gatekeeper A-Tie had been watching in a daze. In all these years, he had never seen Jing Yifei treat anyone with such courtesy.

"Yes, I am Sanbao. Nice to meet you, A-Tie. I suppose we'll be fellow disciples from now on..."

"I wouldn't dare. I'm just an outer disciple who guards the gate. If Elder Jing hadn't taken me in, I would have been kicked off the mountain long ago!"

A-Tie had also been a new disciple of the Cloud Saint Sect. His talent in his youth had been decent—otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to enter the sect—but fate was cruel. After joining, his cultivation progress was slow, and by the age of twenty-five, he hadn't even reached the Spirit General realm.

According to sect rules, he was supposed to be sent down the mountain to handle worldly affairs. Jing Yifei, seeing that he was simple and honest, took him in as a hall boy for Fire Cloud Hall, where he also helped with chores. To put it bluntly, he was just a servant of Fire Cloud Hall.

Although new disciples weren't as prestigious as core disciples, they were still a grade above outer disciples.

"You joined earlier, so you are my senior. I'll call you Senior Brother Tie from now on."

"Haha, alright, nice to meet you, Junior Brother!"

A-Tie was simple and straightforward. Seeing that Sanbao didn't look down on him, he laughed out loud.

Since Sanbao was a newcomer, the two naturally had a long chat.

Half a day later, Sanbao had a fairly good understanding of Fire Cloud Hall.

The entire Fire Cloud Hall, including Jing Yifei, A-Tie, and an old woman named A-Hua who swept the floors and cooked, only consisted of three people. He was the fourth person in Fire Cloud Hall, which explained why A-Tie said no one else could read besides Elder Jing.

Fire Cloud Hall occupied a vast area. Aside from the main hall in the center, which had three large chambers, there were over a dozen side halls in the back, each containing several rooms. In total, there were dozens of rooms, making it a place with plenty of space but very few people.

After An Duan settled Sanbao into a side room within the annex, his journey of joining the Cloud Saint Sect could be considered complete. The time ahead would be spent focusing on cultivation, allowing himself to grow strong as quickly as possible—strong enough that he would no longer need to evade any opponent or worry about the existence of any enemy.

Early the next morning, Jing Yifei brought Sanbao to a room in the central main hall of the Fire Cloud Hall—the Earth Fire Hall—and tossed a small booklet to him.

The Earth Fire Hall was not large in area, but the ceiling was exceptionally high, reaching a full ten meters. In the center of the hall stood a massive bronze cauldron, about two meters wide and over five meters tall. Standing beside the cauldron, Sanbao felt particularly small.

Apart from the giant cauldron, there was nothing else in the entire hall.

"This is the technique for collecting earth fire—the Earth Fire Technique. Since you want to stay in the Fire Cloud Hall, you must cultivate it to some extent. My requirement is simple: collect earth fire for me once a week. Familiarize yourself with it for a few days, and I will teach you the art of collecting earth fire when the time comes..."

After a brief introduction, Jing Yifei drifted away.

Looking at the bronze cauldron several meters high in the center of the Earth Fire Hall, Sanbao gave a bitter smile.

It was no wonder Jing Yifei had no disciples under his tutelage. Coming here meant not only receiving no guidance on cultivation but also having to specifically collect earth fire for him; this was certainly not the way of a master.

Fortunately, Sanbao had no such ulterior motives, and instead, he became even more curious about this Jing Yifei.

(Third update, brothers, keep up the support, I will continue updating tonight.)