Jing Jiu was somewhat dazed and asked, "What?"
Liu S sui said nervously, "If you're a spy from another sect, then you should hurry and leave. I won't tell anyone."
Only then did Jing Jiu understand what he meant, smiling as he shook his head and dropped the grain of sand pinched between his fingers.
A year ago he had already asked Liu S sui why he still stayed by his side.
Liu S sui refused to answer and seemed not to have understood, but Jing Jiu knew he could understand his question.
Back then Liu S sui had already grown suspicious of him, even deliberately arranging that Q&A session just so he could earn some merits for the sect to plan for the future. Such thoughts and arrangements were indeed naive and childish, but what more could one ask of a young boy?
After that day Liu S sui had never brought up related topics, until today, when he finally asked.
That was because he was about to enter the inner sect, becoming a true Green Mountain Sect disciple and no longer just Jing Jiu's boy servant.
At this Jing Jiu was not disappointed, much less angry, instead finding it rather endearing.
This had nothing to do with betrayal, only growth.
So he smiled.
His smile was exceptionally pretty, much like ten-thousand-year-old ice finally melted by the spring sun, giving birth to an extremely beautiful lotus flower from within.
Liu S sui was dazzled by his smile and sighed, "Young Master is still so good-looking."
Jing Jiu looked at that face reflected in the porcelain plate and said, "Yes, it's been two years and I'm still somewhat not used to it."
Liu S sui snapped out of it and asked with unease, "Young Master, what kind of person are you really?"
Jing Jiu said, "I don't want to tell you."
Liu S sui looked somewhat crestfallen and let out an "oh".
Jing Jiu looked at his appearance and comforted him, saying, "I'm not a spy anyway."
Liu S sui thought about it earnestly and found that it was indeed true, and so stopped worrying.
How could someone as beautiful as the Young Master possibly be a spy? Besides, he was also... so lazy.
Where in the world was there such a lazy spy? Staying holed up in the small courtyard all day long, what could one possibly find out from that?
All the outer sect disciples of the South Pine Pavilion had come before the Sword Hall, and those deacons had come as well.
Liu S sui stood on the stone steps and looked back, his mood somewhat nervous-not because of those gazes of anticipation or jealousy, but because Jing Jiu really hadn't come.
Master Lü patted him on the shoulder and said, "No problem."
He knew clearly that he wasn't the first to discover Liu S sui was an innate Dao Seed, but Liu S sui was brought back personally by him from that small mountain village. During this past year he had given Liu S sui the utmost attention and protection, and he believed he understood Liu S sui very well. Not only was this child exceptionally gifted with extraordinary spirit roots, more importantly, his disposition was steadfast and loyal, his cultivation diligent, and his foundations laid extremely firmly. The probability of him passing the inner sect examination today was very high.
He thought once more of another person whom he had also originally viewed with great promise-namely Jing Jiu. In his view Jing Jiu had ordinary talent and average spirit roots, but his comprehension and intellect were extremely outstanding, far surpassing ordinary disciples and even far outclassing him. It was just that... that youth had truly too little drive for progress. Half a year ago he had used sword awareness to check once and discovered that Jing Jiu hadn't even cultivated a Dao Seed yet, which had disappointed him to the extreme.
Master Lü stopped thinking about this matter and said to Liu S sui, "Remember, having no distracting thoughts is the most important thing."
Liu S sui nodded emphatically, and amidst the parting gazes of his teachers, elders, and fellow disciples, walked into a seemingly ordinary room deep within the Sword Hall.
In charge of this examination was an immortal master dispatched from Past Arrival Peak-the sixth peak-along with Ming Guoxing, the recruiting immortal master from outside the South Pine Pavilion's mountain gates back then.
"Greetings, Uncle-Master Ming. Greetings, this Uncle-Master."
To this day Liu S sui had not yet entered the Nine Peaks, but among the Nine Peaks he already enjoyed immense fame.
An innate Dao Seed was bound to be an object of key cultivation by the Green Mountain Sect; who would dare look down upon him?
That Uncle-Master from Past Arrival Peak nodded with a gentle expression, while Ming Guoxing was overjoyed, smiling as he patted him on the shoulder.
One had to know that Liu S sui's name was written on the roster in his own hand; in the future when this child shook the world with his fame, it would also count as his glory.
Ming Guoxing thought of that unimaginably handsome youth in white from that day and asked, "How has your Young Master been recently?"
Liu S sui didn't know how to answer.
That Uncle-Master from Past Arrival Peak glanced at Ming Guoxing, inquiring with his eyes.
Ming Guoxing gestured across his face with his right hand, and that Uncle-Master from Past Arrival Peak immediately knew who he was talking about, smiled, and said nothing.
"Regardless of whether you can pass the examination later, the specific details of the exam-especially the insights gained within-must not be told to anyone."
That Uncle-Master from Past Arrival Peak restrained his smile and looked at Liu S sui as he spoke.
Ming Guoxing was also very solemn, adding, "Including that Young Master of yours."
Liu S sui was silent for a moment before acknowledging the command.
Ming Guoxing and that Uncle-Master walked out of the small cabin and closed the door.
Liu S sui walked up to the desk and took a somewhat nervous breath.
On the desk sat a display rack, upon which rested a strip-like object. It looked pitch-black, but its surface was exceedingly smooth, and a faintly extremely cold aura radiated from within it.
This was the Sword Embryo.
Liu S sui calmed his mind, placed his palm upon the Sword Embryo, closed his eyes, and began to urge the flow of True Essence within his meridians.
The Sword Embryo could sense a cultivator's amount of True Essence, and could trace it back upstream to project the finest reflections upon the cultivator's Spirit Sea.
Only when the Spirit Sea was filled could it provide sufficient nourishment for the Dao Seed to form a Sword Fruit.
A cultivator without the hope of forming a Sword Fruit naturally had no qualification to enter the Green Mountain Sect's inner sect.
A hum sounded.
That sound felt muffled, yet was incomparably clear, resembling countless swords clashing simultaneously.
Ming Guoxing outside the door and that Uncle-Master from Past Arrival Peak looked at each other, filled with shock and joy.
It truly was the legendary innate Dao Seed-it could actually cause the Sword Embryo to produce such strong resonance!
One had to know that child had been cultivating for merely a year and was only twelve years old now!
Half an hour later, Liu S sui walked out of the Sword Hall.
Master Lü, the disciples, and the deacons outside the Sword Hall had already heard that sword ring, but still looked at him nervously.
Liu S sui nodded, then smiled happily.
Master Lü was immensely gratified, and those outer sect disciples shouted in even greater excitement, their cheers carrying far away.
The cheers traveled to that small courtyard deep in the woods, and Jing Jiu smiled.
He had never thought that S sui wouldn't be able to pass the inner sect examination, so he couldn't be bothered to go take a look.
An innate Dao Seed, undergoing Foundation Establishment half a year early, and having eaten a Purple Mystic Pill besides-if even with all this he still couldn't succeed?
Then unless this person possessed a bottomless Spirit Sea just like him, but where in the world could one find a second him?
The courtyard gate was pushed open, and Liu S sui ran in, yet was unable to speak.
He didn't know how to express his state of mind.
In a rare occurrence, Jing Jiu stood up from the bamboo chair.
He put his hands behind his back, looked at Liu S sui, and said calmly and earnestly, "The Great Dao is perilous and long, with few accompanying you to the very end. Since you have already set out, you must be all the more focused. With the years passing from now on, forgetting is a natural matter; do not deliberately remember, for that is not beautiful."
Liu S sui was stunned for a moment before understanding what he was saying, and said angrily, "I won't forget at all."
(Screw it, I'll keep them coming tonight. Pressuring myself to restore two chapters a day.)
Before you continue