Let's Go Lend a Hand

Kong Jiao had naturally arrived at Lingyu Pavilion early.

"Oh, so that's how it is." Hearing the senior sister's reply, Kong Jiao scratched his head with an embarrassed grin.

Facing the senior sister's gaze, he quickly explained,

"I just resigned from my post at the Miscellaneous Books Pavilion. I've never been to Lingyu Pavilion before, so I don't know much about the rules here. I've made a fool of myself before you, Senior Sister."

"No wonder you looked so unfamiliar, Junior Brother." The female disciple did not mind and smiled faintly before adding, "But I can register you in advance. Once the sect's assignment comes through, I can simply add you in directly."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Senior Sister." Hearing that he could save himself another trip, Kong Jiao naturally could not have wished for more. He immediately clasped his hands in gratitude.

"You're welcome. But your cultivation isn't high, Junior Brother, so you must be careful when you go to Frostmoon Altar. That place isn't within our Cangwu Sect's territory. Disciples from other sects will also go there to gather materials, so friction is unavoidable."

Kong Jiao was not bad-looking, and his words were pleasant to hear. Sun Feiyuan kindly offered him a reminder.

"When the time comes, stay close to the group. With fellow sect brothers looking after you, you'll have someone to rely on."

"I understand, Senior Sister." Kong Jiao hastily nodded.

"The rewards for the Frostmoon Altar gathering assignment aren't fixed. You must hand in three Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi. Once completed, you'll receive twenty spirit crystals and ten contribution points."

"You can keep any extra Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi for yourself, or hand them over to the sect for ten spirit crystals and five contribution points per stalk."

"If there's no problem, give me your waist token so I can register you."

With Sun Feiyuan's enthusiastic help, Kong Jiao completed the advance registration for the Frostmoon Altar gathering assignment.

Before leaving, he made a point of thanking this warmhearted senior sister again.

After Kong Jiao left, a male disciple beside Sun Feiyuan, who was also responsible for assignment registration, teased her, "Junior Sister Sun, why are you so warmhearted today?"

"I don't know. I just find this junior brother rather pleasing to the eye." Sun Feiyuan was quite frank.

Then she muttered softly, "It was just a very natural feeling. It made me want to help him."

Standing at the entrance of Lingyu Pavilion, Kong Jiao looked at the gray-and-white fortune above his head and smiled.

So this is what it feels like to benefit from good fortune. When had things ever gone so smoothly in the past?

The date for going to Frostmoon Altar had already been set.

It would be two months later.

That gave Kong Jiao ample time to enter seclusion and attempt a breakthrough into the fourth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm.

Even the senior sister responsible for registration had said that Frostmoon Altar was not Cangwu Sect territory.

That meant disciples from other sects would certainly be gathering Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi there as well.

If a conflict broke out then, lacking strength would put him in a very passive position.

If he encountered someone ruthless and vicious, his life might even be in danger.

Just as Kong Jiao was considering whether to return and enter seclusion first or ask around for information on Frostmoon Altar,

A nervous-looking young girl suddenly ran up from the long staircase below Lingyu Pavilion.

She was around sixteen or seventeen, with childishness still lingering on her pretty face. Small and delicate, she charged along like a whirlwind, bumping into several passing disciples in succession.

Those disciples had wanted to fly into a rage, but upon seeing the girl's lovely appearance, they swallowed the harsher curses that had nearly left their mouths.

As she ran, the girl looked around anxiously, seemingly searching for someone.

Then she spotted Kong Jiao standing blankly at the entrance of Lingyu Pavilion. As though she had found a great savior, her dark, gleaming eyes filled with delight.

"Senior Brother Kong!" The girl's crisp voice jolted Kong Jiao out of his daze.

He then saw her figure sprinting straight toward him.

"Junior Sister Zhou." Recognizing her, Kong Jiao smiled with a knowing look.

Of course he knew this girl. She had entered the outer sect in the same batch as he and Shangguan Yuzhou.

Her full name was Zhou Tingyu.

If he remembered correctly, Zhou Tingyu had admired Shangguan Yuzhou ever since entering the sect. Whenever she had nothing to do, she would circle around him, calling him Senior Brother Shangguan all day long.

And since Kong Jiao was rather close to Shangguan Yuzhou, he naturally had not spared this girl from teasing. Over time, the two had grown familiar with each other.

More importantly, when he had been competing for the outer sect post at the Miscellaneous Books Pavilion, this girl had helped him. Kong Jiao remembered that favor.

Zhou Tingyu's talent was slightly better than Kong Jiao's. She had three spirit apertures and was currently at the third level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm as well.

Her cultivation speed had previously been almost equal to Kong Jiao's.

But over the past few months, Kong Jiao had obtained the Spirit Spring and tempered his spiritual power by clearing pests from the spirit fields.

He was now nearly at the fourth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm.

"Senior Brother Kong, hurry and come with me! Senior Brother Shangguan is fighting someone. Let's go lend a hand!" Anxiety covered Zhou Tingyu's face. After rattling it all off, she did not wait for Kong Jiao's agreement and reached out to grab his arm.

"Isn't it perfectly normal for him to get into fights with people?" Kong Jiao initially tried to resist, shouting as he attempted to shake free of Zhou Tingyu's grip.

But though Zhou Tingyu was not tall, she was quite strong.

Afraid of hurting her, Kong Jiao did not use any force. He could only helplessly try to persuade Zhou Tingyu.

"Don't drag me along. I don't want to go. Nothing will happen. When have you ever seen Senior Brother Shangguan suffer a loss?"

Fights between sect disciples never led to anything serious. At worst, someone got badly beaten.

Zhou Tingyu had never fought anyone herself and clearly did not know the rules involved. Worry had thrown her into confusion, and Kong Jiao's words fell on deaf ears.

She dragged him by the arm and refused to let go.

Kong Jiao sighed, having already given up on persuading her. He could only say feebly,

"Junior Sister Zhou, let go. I'll walk on my own..."

He and Shangguan Yuzhou were old acquaintances, and they had even obtained an opportunity together. Making a trip there was no big deal. If the situation truly turned bad, he could always run.

At the foot of Lingyu Pavilion Mountain, quite a few outer sect disciples had gathered on both sides of the long staircase.

They watched with great interest as three people fought fiercely atop the bluestone steps.

Shangguan Yuzhou was fighting one against two. The longsword in his hand flashed with sharp sword light, yet he showed no sign of falling behind.

His sword momentum was unpredictable, sometimes sharp and fierce, sometimes transforming into an endless drizzle, unceasing as a torrential downpour.

Though attacked from both front and back, he advanced and retreated with measured control, calm and unhurried.

"Shangguan Yuzhou, today I'll let you know the consequences of offending me, Wu Chang'an!" One of his opponents was a rough-looking man with hair greasy with grime and a disheveled appearance.

He was at the fourth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm. Wielding a colossal sword nearly as tall as an adult and absurdly heavy, he launched a frenzied assault on Shangguan Yuzhou.

As he fought, he cursed, "You dog-born bastard! I was cultivating peacefully in seclusion, and you actually came to my cave abode to curse and shout! If I don't beat you until you're crawling around looking for your teeth today, I won't be able to vent the hatred in my heart!"

His companion, also at the fourth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm and wielding twin sabers, attacked viciously as he loudly egged him on. "Why waste words with him? He's fighting two against one. Keep defending long enough, and he's bound to lose."

"Senior Brother Wu, do you dare have the senior brother beside you step back and fight me in a man-to-man duel?" Shangguan Yuzhou laughed loudly. Even under their joint assault, he still had the leisure to mock them. "In a clash of the sword path, ganging up on one person won't temper the sword in your hand."

"Fuck your mother!" Wu Chang'an did not fall for that and cursed outright.

Together with his companion, he answered Shangguan Yuzhou's suggestion with an even fiercer offensive.

After battling for some time, the smile on Shangguan Yuzhou's face gradually vanished, and he began to seem somewhat unable to keep up.

Wu Chang'an and the helper he had brought were both at the fourth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm, their cultivation no lower than his.

The only reason he had managed to hold on was because he had learned the Drifting Rain Sword Art obtained from Chu Jianghe's cave abode.

Switching between the Drifting Rain Sword Art and the Eight-Foot Sword Scripture, blending hardness and softness, he had barely managed to cope.

But after failing to gain ground for so long, his spiritual power had been greatly depleted. Drawing on his many years of fighting experience, Shangguan Yuzhou judged that he likely could not win today.

I need to find a chance to slip away. His eyes shifted slightly. Shangguan Yuzhou was not the type to stubbornly fight to the bitter end. Seeing that he could not gain an advantage, he had already begun looking for a way out.

Shangguan Yuzhou's decline was also noticed by the disciples watching from both sides.

"Shangguan Yuzhou is about done for."

"He's already impressive enough. Fighting one against two opponents of the same realm, and dragging it out for this long—Shangguan Yuzhou is dazzling enough. As expected of a genius among the previous batch of disciples."

"Something is strange about his swordsmanship. It isn't entirely the Eight-Foot Sword Scripture he cultivates; there's another sword art mixed in. Looks like he learned a new sword art again."

Although everyone thought Shangguan Yuzhou could not defeat the two working together, none believed he would suffer a loss.

After all, with the strength he had displayed, even if he could not win, if he truly wanted to escape, Wu Chang'an and the other man would never be able to stop him.

Clang! Shangguan Yuzhou's sword momentum suddenly surged, knocking the two men surrounding him away at the same time.

Then his body flashed as he darted down the mountain steps, clearly preparing to make his escape.

"Don't let him get away!" Wu Chang'an had long hated Shangguan Yuzhou to the bone. If he let this chance slip away, he might never get another opportunity to deal with him.

How could he possibly let him leave? Together with his companion, he moved to give chase.

In that instant, an unexpected development occurred that no one present had foreseen.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Sharp whistling tore through the air.

Three feathered arrows shot down from the staircase above Lingyu Pavilion, directly covering the route Wu Chang'an and his companion would take in pursuit of Shangguan Yuzhou.

Forcing the two to halt.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The arrows missed their targets, their shafts piercing the stone slabs and embedding themselves in the bluestone staircase.

Bone-piercing Cold Breath spread from the arrow shafts, frosting even the bluestone steps they had penetrated white.