The first lesson

Master Lü stepped forward and knocked on the table.

The gray-robed man woke, rubbed his dry eyes, and looked up. Seeing Master Lü, he was delighted, but then he noticed the wet mud on his lapels and shoes and started in alarm.

"Master Lü, what happened?"

Just as a child who had learned to walk would never think of crawling again, what Daoist cultivator who had learned Sword Flight would still want to walk?

"I merely wanted to be careful," Master Lü said. "What if those other three sides heard the news and came to snatch him away?"

"We all belong to the same sect," the gray-robed man said. "Surely they wouldn't go that far."

"And what if another sect came to snatch him away?" Master Lü asked.

The gray-robed man laughed. "You exaggerate so, Senior Brother. I must see just what sort of genius you've found to make you this nervous."

Master Lü motioned Jing Jiu and Liu S sui forward. "This is Ming Guoxing, the immortal master in charge of registration at our sect's southern gate. Until you enter the inner sect, you must address him as Martial Uncle."

Liu S sui hurriedly called out, "Martial Uncle Ming."

Master Lü looked at Jing Jiu, and only after a moment's daze came back to himself, full of admiration. "What a beautiful child, carved from ice and sculpted from jade. Senior Brother Lü, you truly had an extraordinary encounter today."

"Whether he is merely a fine-looking shell is another matter. The one I chose is the younger one."

Master Lü sighed, making no attempt to keep his words from Jing Jiu.

In just three days on the road, his impression of Jing Jiu had grown steadily worse, and he even felt some regret.

He had never seen anyone so lazy.

Of course, what truly displeased him was seeing Liu S sui, whom he considered a genius, being ordered about by someone else like that.

Martial Uncle Ming looked at Liu S sui as instructed. Seeing the child's fresh aura and steady gaze, he nodded involuntarily, thinking that he was indeed promising.

Then he examined him with his Sword Sense and was so startled that his voice trembled with nerves.

"An innate Dao Seed?!"

"Indeed," Master Lü said with a smile.

"Then what are you standing there for?" Ming Guoxing cried urgently. "Get inside!"

Master Lü led Jing Jiu and Liu S sui through the stone gate.

Ming Guoxing gently patted his chest and exchanged a smile with him, finally reassured.

Once they entered the mountain gate, they were disciples of the Green Mountain Sect. No one could snatch them away now.

Never mind those cultivation sects—even someone from Chaoge City would be powerless, and not even the Never-Old Forest or the Curtain Rollers would dare set foot here.

Over countless years, who had dared act brazenly in the Green Mountain Sect?

Ming Guoxing picked up his brush, dipped it in the inkstone, spread open the register, and looked at Liu S sui. "Name?"

Liu S sui answered a little nervously, "Liu S sui."

Ming Guoxing paused. "Your name, not your age."

Liu S sui widened his eyes. "That is my name. Is that not allowed?"

He too had disliked the name at first, but by now he had long grown used to it and even rather liked it.

"Never mind ten years old. You could call yourself Ten Thousand Years Old if you wanted."

Ming Guoxing beamed as he spoke.

After registering Liu S sui's details, he looked at Jing Jiu and asked, "And you?"

Although he had prepared himself, the sight of that impossibly beautiful face still made him narrow his eyes and click his tongue twice inwardly.

"Jing Jiu. From Zhaoge."

The youth gazed at a solitary peak in the distance and answered casually.

Still caught up in his excitement, Ming Guoxing paid no heed to his rudeness. He even offered a few gentle words of encouragement before turning to Liu S sui, intending to converse with this innate Dao Seed.

To his surprise, Liu S sui walked farther through the mountain gate without so much as glancing at him, because Jing Jiu had already started moving.

On the mountain path, the white-robed youth led the way, while the little boy followed close behind with the luggage on his back.

Ming Xingguo was astonished by the sight. "What is going on here?"

"They are master and servant."

Master Lü frowned, recalling what Liu S sui's father had told him that night.

"An innate Dao Seed is someone's servant?" Utterly shocked, Ming Xingguo looked at Master Lü. "Whatever their relationship before, once they enter the mountain gate, worldly affairs no longer matter. Didn't you tell them?"

Master Lü felt rather helpless. He had explained this perfectly clearly on the first day. Jing Jiu had said nothing, but no matter what he said to Liu S sui, the boy would not listen.

The clouds and mist had long dispersed, but the wind still carried ample moisture. The mountain path was gentle too, making the walk quite pleasant.

Liu S sui surveyed the surrounding cliffs and peaks, his little face full of curiosity, feeling both nervous and excited.

Perhaps influenced by him, or perhaps stirred by still more distant memories, Jing Jiu also let his gaze linger a little longer on the surrounding scenery.

In this mood, they soon covered more than ten li of mountain paths and reached a cliffside terrace halfway up the mountain.

Towering trees grew everywhere along the cliffs, with dozens of thatched cottages scattered among them.

Mist rose again, veiling and revealing the cottages. A closer look showed that each cottage was separated from the others by courtyard walls.

As they reached the terrace, the paths branched more and more. Unsure which way to go, Liu S sui looked at Jing Jiu.

Behind the cliff came the clear, pleasing sound of water, presumably a spring. Music gradually rose as well, mingling with the water and sounding all the more ethereal.

Jing Jiu stepped toward it, and Liu S sui hurried after him.

Following the sound, the two passed through green trees and glimpsed a building in the mist.

Sunlight suddenly fell, driving away the mist and revealing the building's true appearance: a hall with black eaves and blue-green walls, bearing a distinctly austere, forbidding air.

This was the Sword Hall of the Green Mountain Sect's South Pine Pavilion, where newly admitted disciples would live and study for a long time.

Dozens of boys and girls stood on the level ground before the Sword Hall, all wearing blue-green robes of the same style.

Master Lü stood on the stone steps. "We were only waiting for you two. Hurry and join the ranks."

Liu S sui was very surprised. "Young master, how did the immortal master get here?" he asked Jing Jiu. "We never saw him pass us on the road."

Having entered the mountain gate, Master Lü no longer needed to worry about leaving traces that would bring other sects to steal his disciples. He only needed to mount his flying sword to reach this place in moments.

Jing Jiu understood this, but it never occurred to Liu S sui.

Hearing Master Lü's words, the dozens of disciples turned to look at Jing Jiu and Liu S sui, their faces full of curiosity.

An air of "finally here" filled the space before the Sword Hall.

These disciples came from all over the continent and had already spent some time at South Pine Pavilion, yet they had still received no instruction in immortal methods or swordsmanship. The wait had long since begun to make them anxious.

They had heard that this was because the immortal master who would teach them was waiting for one disciple.

Making so many people wait and waste their time for a single disciple naturally showed them how highly the immortal master valued him.

These disciples were all promising talents personally selected by immortal masters of the Green Mountain Sect, confident that they would set foot on the great path reaching heaven. Faced with this situation, they were naturally curious about the new disciple, while inevitably feeling some resistance toward him.

All were outer disciples who had only just entered Green Mountain. Unable to detect Liu S sui's talent through Sword Sense, they naturally focused their gazes on Jing Jiu in front.

A burst of low, unrestrained exclamations rose from the crowd, then became excited chatter, buzzing like a swarm of bees.

"How can anyone be so good-looking?"

"How was a face like that born?"

"His bearing is extraordinary too. He might be a young nobleman from Zhaoge."

The female disciples in particular felt their faces grow warm for some reason as they gazed at that handsome face. They turned away and raised their hands to fan their cheeks gently.

One male disciple suddenly said, "Don't you think his ears are strange?"

At his words, everyone looked and discovered that the white-robed youth actually had a pair of protruding ears. They looked...

"So cute."

A girl gazed at Jing Jiu and spoke dreamily.

Master Lü coughed twice.

The youths willing to enter the mountains to cultivate were naturally devoted to the Dao. Reminded by their teacher, they quietly guarded their Dao hearts and stopped examining Jing Jiu or discussing him.

It grew very quiet before the Sword Hall.

At a prompting look from Master Lü, Jing Jiu and Liu S sui went to stand at the back of the group.

"These are the introductory mnemonics. You must study them diligently."

Master Lü lightly swept his sleeve. Dozens of thin booklets flew out of the Sword Hall and scattered like falling leaves, landing with perfect precision in each disciple's hands.

The sight was truly wondrous. Liu S sui and the other young disciples alike marveled at it.

"There are many Daoist cultivators in the world. Each sect has different cultivation methods and divides its realms differently, but there is no difference in essence. What you must learn now are the methods of the initial realm."

Master Lü motioned for the disciples to open their thin booklets. "Our Green Mountain Sect's great Dao is simplicity itself. The initial realm has only two stages. The first is Attuned Form."

Finally hearing genuine methods of cultivation, the young disciples grew intensely attentive. Their eyes followed the words recorded in the booklets, yet they would not miss a single word from their teacher.

"What is Attuned Form? The Nanhua Daoist Canon says: 'The bodily form preserves the spirit; each has its patterns and rules. This is called innate nature.'"

"What you must do is master the introductory cultivation method, strengthen your bodies, temper your wills, and set your bearing right. Only then can the two communicate, each with its beginning and end."

"Return inward from the outward. Only when you perfect the Youyi Realm will the Dao seeds within you become stable enough to endure the Chaos of the Heart Gang, grow strong, and enter the second realm, Embracing the Spirit."

At this, some disciples raised their heads, hope and yearning appearing on their faces.

"What is Embracing the Spirit? Huai Ji says: 'Embrace the spirit in stillness, and the form will right itself.'"

"This stage may be called an extension of the Youyi Realm, or a Daoist cultivator's first great leap. At this stage, a Daoist cultivator's will becomes incomparably firm, naturally sensing the spiritual qi between heaven and earth. As the Dao seed gradually grows and meridians gradually form, you can absorb the spiritual qi between heaven and earth and turn it into true essence. This is nourishing the human spirit with the spirit of heaven. Once your Spirit Sea is full, you may be said to have achieved the realm's initial attainment. As for what constitutes perfection, that depends on your Sword Gall..."

Master Lü's voice was not loud, yet it reached every disciple's ears with perfect clarity.

The sun had already climbed to the middle of the sky. The clouds and mist had long dispersed, and the light blazed down, making it rather hot.

Yet not one disciple complained of the heat. They listened to the immortal master's teaching with utter concentration, almost as though they could not feel it.

A young disciple from Lelang Commandery was lost in yearning for the realms the immortal master described when he suddenly heard some stray noises beside him.

He turned to look and froze at the sight.

Liu S sui was pouring tea for Jing Jiu.

The tea poured from the pot had long since gone cold, giving off no warm mist.

Yet the sound of tea falling into the cup was still so clear, like spring water.

Jing Jiu took the teacup, drained it, and handed it back.

Liu S sui put away the teapot and cup, then took a round fan from the bundle and began fanning Jing Jiu.

The sound of the breeze stirred by the round fan was distinctly audible before the quiet Sword Hall.