Elder Yun said, "You little brats! You never put any effort into sword practice, but you're happy to join outsiders in slandering your eldest senior brother!"
The disciples immediately lowered their heads, though a few remained unconvinced. "Elder Yun..."
"Go run twenty laps around the back mountain right now! If you don't finish, don't come to the Martial Hall today!"
After that disciple was forced to leave, no one dared argue again. Elder Yun stroked his beard and sighed, then said to Tang Yao, "Sorry you had to see that. Come with me."
"I'll teach you the Azure Cloud Sword Instruction."
Tang Yao smiled and shook her head to show that it was fine. Those words couldn't hurt her at all!
Seeing Tang Yao nod, Elder Yun flicked his sleeve and told the dozen or so disciples, "You lot come along too! Watching it one more time will do you good."
They all followed Elder Yun to the training grounds.
Clad in gray robes, Elder Yun stood in the center, holding a plain, ancient-looking longsword that gleamed with a faint, cold light.
"A sword is not merely a weapon in your hand, but intent within your heart."
He raised the longsword, pointing its tip straight at the heavens. The movement seemed slow, yet it held power.
"The sword's momentum is like the wind, without shape or form, yet everywhere. Sword intent is like the clouds, ethereal and ever-shifting, yet poised to strike." The elder's voice gradually rose, and the longsword in his hand began to dance.
Sword light swept through the air, stirring a faint whistle as it cut through the wind. Elder Yun moved as lightly as the breeze, yet his sword grew ever fiercer. At times, its light was like a sudden gale; at others, like clouds rolling and unfurling, impossible to fathom.
"Before the sword moves, intent arrives. After the sword moves, intent endures."
"This is the sword intent of the Azure Cloud Art. Now I'll demonstrate its first form for you: Wind Breaker!" Elder Yun's voice rang out again. With a sharp twist of his wrist, his longsword traced a fierce arc, sword wind howling as though it would tear the air apart.
His figure was like a bolt of azure lightning, incomparably swift. Amid the flashing sword light, the fallen leaves around him were swept up by Sword Qi and scattered through the air.
Opposite Elder Yun, Tang Yao followed his movements, her azure sword in hand and Sword Qi swirling around her. She actually reproduced Elder Yun's movements exactly, though her execution was still somewhat unpracticed overall.
"How... how is that possible?" one disciple muttered in disbelief. "Tang Yao only watched once, and she can already perform the first form?"
The other disciples exchanged looks, at a loss for words. Although they, as inner disciples, were less talented than personal disciples, they still needed at least three months to absorb the Azure Cloud Sword Instruction. Some among them still couldn't perform the first form even now.
Even Senior Sister Xue'er had needed nearly half a month of practice before she could perform it.
Approval flashed through Elder Yun's eyes at Tang Yao's performance. "Good! Not bad. You really are a promising little sword practitioner!"
Tang Yao was a little bewildered as Elder Yun patted her shoulder.
She had simply drawn a gourd by copying the one in front of her!
"Now, does anyone still refuse to accept your eldest senior brother?" Elder Yun asked the disciples before him with a smile.
The disciples hung their heads like quails, no longer daring to utter a single idle remark.
Tang Yao scratched her head and asked at an inappropriate moment, "Have you been practicing this for a long time?"
"How come I learned it after watching just once?"
The disciples: "..." Damn it, someone drag this menace out of here.
Seeing this, Elder Yun put away his smile and addressed the disciples sternly. "For cultivators, what matters most is character! If you can't even show the most basic respect, how can you go any farther down the path of cultivation?"
"Don't judge others through rumors and gossip. You're old enough-do you still not understand that?"
The disciples all felt ashamed and no longer dared look Tang Yao in the eye. It wasn't guilt toward Tang Yao, but shame at having misjudged her strength. The cultivation world had always been this way: strength did the talking, and no one wanted to be the bird that stuck its head out.
Elder Yun sighed. "That's enough for today. Dismissed." With that, he waved his hand, then shifted his gaze toward Tang Yao.
"Yao'er, don't be impatient after you return. Build a solid foundation. Come to the Martial Hall every day between seven and nine in the morning and practice more."
Although Elder Yun had dismissed them, no one around dared move. They could clearly sense that the elder was angry.
Only Tang Yao nodded and bowed to Elder Yun. As she left, the crowd voluntarily cleared a path for her. Even those who remained unconvinced couldn't make a fuss now.
Tang Yao spread her hands helplessly and sighed as she walked away. "Ah, I suppose this is what having an Innate Sword Bone means."
Everyone: "..."
They all spat blood.
More like an innate shameless bone, damn it...
As Tang Yao passed Mu Shixue, she said quietly, "You seem to be very popular with the new disciples."
Mu Shixue frowned and glanced toward Tang Yao.
"If they ostracize Tang Xin again and you don't stop them, don't blame me for showing you no courtesy."
Mu Shixue slowly clenched her fists and bit her lip. After a moment, she said, "Xin'er has always been cold and distant. I didn't notice she was being ostracized."
Tang Yao didn't reply to Mu Shixue, leaving her with only the sight of her retreating back.
Tang Yao was thoroughly puzzled. As the female lead, she should have been able to summon wind and rain in the Sword Sect, getting whatever she wanted. At the very least, she shouldn't have been in the situation she was in today. Besides, in the original novel, the female lead had been admitted as an exception on the eve of the sect tournament because the personal disciple positions hadn't all been filled. Yet now she was already a personal disciple, so far ahead of time.
Where exactly had things gone wrong...
That evening, at the Mountain and Water Abode.
The night was like ink, shrouding the entire mountain. A breeze brushed past, bringing a trace of chill, when a dark figure suddenly blocked Mu Shixue's path.
Mu Shixue watched the other person warily. Reacting extremely quickly, she had already gripped her sword hilt, but just as she was about to draw-
The black-robed man's overwhelming Spiritual Qi pressed down on Mu Shixue like a mountain, leaving her unable to move. Mu Shixue gritted her teeth and tried to lift her foot, only to find that she couldn't raise it no matter what.
"What exactly do you want?"
The black-robed man raised an eyebrow, not inclined to speak in riddles either.
He went straight to the point, his tone both irresistible and full of temptation. "Do you want to take Tang Yao down a peg at the new disciple tournament?"
"I'll naturally do my utmost. A Golden Core defeating a half-step Golden Core is child's play!" Mu Shixue planted one hand on her hip and refused to look at him.
The black-robed man laughed. "Are you really that confident?"
With that, he took out a pill that glimmered with an eerie light and held it before Mu Shixue. "This is a high-grade pill that enhances your strength. Most people won't be able to tell. Take it, just in case."
Mu Shixue knitted her brows and slapped his hand aside, snapping disdainfully, "Aren't you afraid I'll tell my master? Who are you? Why should I trust you?"
A person and a pill of unknown origin-she wasn't an idiot.
The black-robed man silently lowered his hood, allowing the moonlight to illuminate his face.
Upon seeing his appearance, Mu Shixue's pupils abruptly contracted, and her attitude immediately changed. Just as she was about to speak, the black-robed man stopped her. Chuckling softly, he raised a finger in a shushing gesture.