So He Was Jing Jiu

Zhao Layue glanced at him and said, "You're here?"

Jing Jiu murmured an assent and looked toward another conspicuous spot across the stream.

A dozen or so young disciples stood there, their expressions calm and confident. They were all Class One students taught by Gu Han.

Jing Jiu only knew Liu S sui, so naturally he did not know there were two unfamiliar faces among them.

Jing Jiu glanced at him.

Liu S sui turned his face away.

As the disciples surveyed their surroundings, they did not know that they, too, were being observed.

From amid the cliffs, atop the enormous stone pillars, and on the mountaintops veiled in mist, many gazes fell upon the stream bank. Many people also held brushes and paper, noting things down.

The owners of those gazes, brushes, and sheets of paper were all important figures from the Nine Peaks. They would decide which disciples to choose to inherit swords today, and which to pass over.

The Green Mountain Sect's management of its inner disciples seemed very lax. As with the outer disciples, it let them study the Sword Scripture on their own. In fact, the peaks had been secretly watching the disciples' performance throughout Sword Washing, thoroughly investigating every disciple's temperament, inclinations, cultivation level, and strength.

"There's no need to consider Gu Qing. He'll definitely return straight to Twofold Forgetting Peak."

"Liu S sui's situation is different. Though he'll certainly be summoned to Twofold Forgetting Peak as well, he might be willing to study the sword at another peak first."

"Qi Yuanliang's cultivation is somewhat unstable, but he has considerable talent for controlling a sword. We can move him up a place. He should be worth competing for."

"As for Sikong Yimin, I've already spoken to his mother. Yes, through connections with the Hanging Bell Sect. His mother promised that as long as we choose him, he'll come to us."

"Xue Yongge should be attending the next Sword Inheritance Assembly. His great-uncle said that if we're willing to choose him next time, he can help us persuade Qi Feiying this time."

"Qi Feiying has been studying the sword under Senior Brother Gu Han in Class One these past two years. I'm afraid he won't be so easily persuaded."

"As I said, we won't stop him from going to Twofold Forgetting Peak in the future, but he must go as a disciple of our peak."

"Then we can move him a little farther up, just behind Sikong Yimin."

Similar discussions went on constantly amid the cliffs.

The masters and direct disciples of the Nine Peaks watched the young people beside the stream, constantly working through all the possibilities. Their ink brushes wrote down name after name on paper. Some names were crossed out, while others were moved farther up the list. The atmosphere was tense.

This was the Green Mountain Sect's Sword Inheritance Assembly.

A peak could not simply have its wish fulfilled by choosing whichever disciple it wanted to inherit a sword, because it would very likely have to compete with other peaks.

Of the Green Mountain Nine Peaks, Heavenly Light Peak held the most special position. Disciples it chose generally would not refuse.

Shangde Peak, however, was in a somewhat awkward position. Fewer and fewer young disciples were willing to choose it of their own accord.

Twofold Forgetting Peak could select people from the other peaks at any time, so it did not necessarily need to speak up at the Sword Inheritance Assembly. This year, however, things were a little different. The disciple named Gu Qing would apply directly to Twofold Forgetting Peak, and with preparations underway for the Plum Gathering several years hence, how could someone like Guo Nanshan let Zhao Layue and Liu S sui go?

As a result, Cloud-Traveling Peak, Jade Lake Peak, and the others had even fewer options. They had to choose carefully and prepare various contingency plans in advance.

Guo Nanshan was the sect master's foremost disciple and also the chief disciple of Twofold Forgetting Peak. Over the years, he had led his young fellow disciples into the world to slay demons and vanquish evil, fighting bloody battles against the fiends of the Nether Department and those monsters from the North. Yet there was nothing iron-blooded or cold about him. On the contrary, his bearing was gentle.

With grand talents and strategies in his heart, his gaze naturally reached far. He felt neither liking nor dislike for many things in the world.

Looking at the two figures on the bluestone, one standing and one seated, he said with regret, "It seems it really won't work."

His words held two meanings.

After Zhao Layue had returned from Sword Peak a few days earlier, he had held a long, serious conversation with her.

Yet even at the end, Zhao Layue had not promised to join Twofold Forgetting Peak.

As for the second meaning, it naturally referred to Jing Jiu still having failed to obtain a sword, leaving him unable to attend this Sword Inheritance Assembly.

"Even if it worked, I don't think he would do."

Gu Han spoke coldly.

Ma Hua laughed, fine creases forming on his round, plump face. "He won't do, and that's that."

So the final conclusion was that he would not do.

Jing Jiu would not do.

Lin Wuzhi walked over from below the cliff.

Guo Nanshan nodded.

Lin Wuzhi nodded as well.

Both were direct disciples of the sect master, but for some reason, they seemed rather distant.

Lin Wuzhi suddenly stopped and said, "Jing Jiu has signed up."

Guo Nanshan was silent for a while before saying, "That's a good thing."

Gu Han said coldly, "What is that fellow trying to stir up now?"

Ma Hua narrowed his eyes slightly, still wearing that harmless smile, but a cold glint flashed through his eyes.

"Uncle-Master Mo has wanted him all along. It now seems his judgment truly is much better than that of juniors like us."

Lin Wuzhi looked at him as he spoke.

Guo Nanshan said, "I've always had great hopes for this young man as well."

"Really? I certainly couldn't tell."

Lin Wuzhi glanced at Gu Han and spoke with the hint of a smile.

"Junior Brother Gu only wanted to temper him a little."

Guo Nanshan said, "He's too proud. A moderate amount of pressure will help him grow."

Lin Wuzhi said with a sigh, "After all these years, I'm still not used to the way you talk as though your own claims settle everything."

Guo Nanshan said, "That's because you've never understood this student of yours."

Lin Wuzhi raised his eyebrows slightly. "I'd welcome the details."

Guo Nanshan looked toward the bluestone in the stream and said, "What people call laziness is actually an attitude. He has no love for anything in the world and looks down on everything from on high. Such extreme pride has no meaning for our Green Mountain Sect or for all the living beings beneath heaven. If he cannot recognize this clearly, he has no right to come to our Twofold Forgetting Peak."

Lin Wuzhi said with faint mockery, "Have you never considered that he might not want to go to Twofold Forgetting Peak at all? What purpose does this serve besides making him unhappy?"

"To enter Twofold Forgetting Peak and walk the world is an honor for every Green Mountain disciple. One day, he'll understand that."

Guo Nanshan looked at him and said gently, "Junior Brother, if you weren't unwilling to accept your defeat beneath my sword, shouldn't you be standing beside me now as well?"

Lin Wuzhi looked at him quietly, then suddenly said, "I think you may be disappointed today. And... twice."

The bluestone at the very front of the stream was conspicuous.

Many gazes rested on it.

Everyone paid close attention to Zhao Layue, but much of that attention still shifted to the person beside her.

The white-robed youth sat on the bluestone, his languid air drawing considerable attention, because he was simply too good-looking.

"Is that Jing Jiu? He really is extraordinarily beautiful."

"Fourth Senior Sister, did you really not see him when you went to South Pine Pavilion the year before last? What a pity."

The female disciples of Qingrong Peak looked toward the stream bank and discussed him excitedly.

This was their first time seeing Jing Jiu. Though they had heard many rumors, only after seeing him in person today did they understand what it meant for hearing of someone to fall short of meeting them.

Jing Jiu was too good-looking.

"Will he participate in the Sword Inheriting Grand Tournament today?"

The Qingrong Peak disciples looked toward Uncle-Master Mei Li with hopeful eyes.

Mei Li shook her head and said, "Wait until next time."

The Qingrong Peak disciples were somewhat disappointed.

Mei Li was no less so.

Jing Jiu's sleeves fluttered in the wind. Clearly, there was no sword hidden inside them. It seemed no miracle had occurred; he had still failed to obtain that sword.

Mei Li was now more concerned about the choice Zhao Layue would make later.

Among the Green Mountain Nine Peaks, Qingrong Peak and Past Arrival Peak had the most female disciples. The former, in particular, consisted almost entirely of female sword cultivators.

In her view, Zhao Layue, a rare female innate Dao Seed, ought naturally to come to Qingrong Peak to inherit a sword.

Of course, she felt that a youth as beautiful as Jing Jiu ought to come to Qingrong Peak as well.

A gentle breeze came, scattering the mist and revealing a corner of a curtain.

A clear, gentle voice came from behind the curtain. "Little Layue still hasn't agreed?"

Mei Li said respectfully, "That's right, Peak Master. But I hear she hasn't agreed to go anywhere else either, so we should still have hope."

"Mm... who is that white-robed youth beside her?"

"That is Jing Jiu."

"So he was Jing Jiu."