Take Him Down

"Senior Sister Xu, come with us."

Xu Xinran was still hesitating, so Gu Yiyi urged her again. "Song Xianming only cares about himself. He hasn't spared a thought for you, Senior Sister Xu. If we disciples of the Famous Sword Sect don't carry out our duties, our cultivation next month will definitely suffer."

Resource allocation throughout the Famous Sword Sect was very fair. Take Gu Yiyi, for instance: although she was the Seventh Elder's biological daughter, her status did not mean she could have whatever she wanted within the sect.

Like ordinary disciples, she had to carry out duties every month.

This was partly how the Seventh Elder raised his daughter, and partly a clear demonstration of the fairness of the Famous Sword Sect's allocation system.

The path of cultivation was like rowing upstream: if you did not advance, you fell back.

Many people believed that once they reached a certain realm, it became fixed. That was not actually the case. Attaining a realm involved three aspects.

The first was one's state of mind,

the second was one's physique,

and the third was Spiritual Qi.

State of mind was easy to understand. Many people suffered a sudden fall in their realm after a devastating blow or after a demonic obstruction took root in their hearts. Once they resolved that obstruction, their realm would quickly recover.

Physique was also easy to understand. Illness in the body could destabilize one's realm as well.

Cultivators could fall ill, too, and some illnesses could even kill them.

As for Spiritual Qi, that involved aids such as medicinal pills and the essence of the sun and moon.

Spiritual Qi was scarce in the world today, and all cultivators needed medicines to maintain the circulation of Spiritual Qi within their bodies, keeping it abundant and on an upward course. Only then would advancing to a higher realm become possible.

Under these circumstances, Song Xianming telling Xu Xinran not to take a mission was equivalent to making her fall behind others in physique over the coming month. Her realm might even drop.

From her perspective, she naturally would not leave with Song Xianming so decisively.

But the two were Dao companions, after all. If she refused to leave, a rift would likely form in their relationship.

Xu Xinran did not take Gu Yiyi's well-meaning persuasion to heart.

At this point, Qin Yi offered some weighty words. "Junior Sister Xu, come with us. As Pine Cloud Peak's head disciple, Song Xianming certainly doesn't lack resources. But you're different. If you don't go, once the other female disciples surpass your realm, he might choose one of them as his Dao companion instead."

Again, Dao companions were not husband and wife.

It was more like a partnership.

Qin Yi's words were undoubtedly more effective than Gu Yiyi's.

After hearing them, Xu Xinran hesitated only briefly before nodding and deciding. "All right, I'll go with you."

With Xu Xinran's agreement, the team was formed once more.

Everyone promptly boarded the Willow Leaf Boat together.

Gu Yiyi called Miao Xiufeng over to operate the Willow Leaf Boat. He had no complaints and obediently went to steer it.

Qin Yi had originally thought how wonderful it would be if he could take the two girls on a mission alone.

Getting rid of that third wheel Miao Xiufeng sooner or later was the proper thing to do.

But after seeing Miao Xiufeng's boat-handling skills, he suddenly felt that keeping the fellow around as a tool might not be bad either.

After their brief time together, Qin Yi had gained a rough understanding of Xu Xinran's and Miao Xiufeng's personalities.

Xu Xinran was a rather traditional woman at heart. Shaped by all manner of rules and restrictions, a woman's duties were etched into her bones.

Thus, besides being quiet, she was also reserved and good at considering others.

Miao Xiufeng had the personality of an ordinary passerby: timid, afraid of trouble, and fond of watching a spectacle.

"Teach me how to operate this Willow Leaf Boat." While they were sailing, Qin Yi came over to ask him for guidance.

Miao Xiufeng generously shared the method with him. "If you want to learn, Senior Brother Qin, you'll certainly pick it up right away. Operating this Willow Leaf Boat doesn't require any particular skill. You just need to connect your thoughts to it. There's a driving formation at the bow. Inject spiritual power into it, and the Willow Leaf Boat will fly according to the user's thoughts."

Following Miao Xiufeng's instructions, Qin Yi looked toward the bow. Sure enough, there was a small driving formation there.

Activating the driving formation with spiritual power meant continuously consuming spiritual power throughout the journey.

"Would you like to try, Senior Brother Qin?"

"No need. Your boat-handling skills are excellent. Keep steering."

Naturally, Qin Yi would not rush to take on strenuous work.

Atop the Famous Sword Sect's gates, Song Xianming stood on the highest peak, watching from afar as Qin Yi and the others sailed their Willow Leaf Boat into the clouds on the horizon. In his fury, he nearly ground his back teeth to pieces.

Bitch!

You really dared to disobey me!

I told you to leave, yet you actually dared to go on duty with them!

Song Xianming hated Xu Xinran, but he hated Qin Yi even more. Qin Yi had thoroughly humiliated him today. Fortunately, few people had seen their clash. Had a large crowd witnessed it and word spread, he would have lost all face as Pine Cloud Peak's head disciple.

"Junior Brother Song, why are you here alone?"

Suddenly, another Willow Leaf Boat flew out from the Famous Sword Sect's inner sect and briefly stopped as it passed.

Only one person stood aboard that Willow Leaf Boat, wearing flame-colored robes with a crimson longsword strapped to his back.

His eyebrows swept up toward his temples, and his face was fierce. One look at his features was enough to tell that he was a born villain.

In fact, had Qin Yi seen him now, he would indeed have been able to see through the system that this man was a destined villain.

In the normal course of the story, this man was Hua Yunfeng's greatest rival.

If Hua Yunfeng wanted to reign supreme among the Famous Sword Sect's younger generation, he had to defeat this man.

His name was Xiahou Tai.

He was the head disciple of the Famous Sword Sect's second peak, Willow Leaf Peak.

Although everyone was currently talking about Hua Yunfeng's talent, this man's talent was not inferior to Hua Yunfeng's in the slightest.

He had not been born at the ninth level like Hua Yunfeng, but his cultivation progressed extraordinarily quickly.

It was just that he was hot-tempered, perverse, and not particularly likable.

Thus, as the chosen one, Hua Yunfeng was naturally more popular.

Within the Famous Sword Sect, Song Xianming happened to be a supporter of Xiahou Tai. They belonged to the villain camp together.

"Where's Junior Sister Xu? Aren't you two stuck together like glue these days? Why are you alone now?" Xiahou Tai asked with a smile.

It would have been fine had he not mentioned it, but at his words, Song Xianming grew furious again. Kicking a stone away, he pointed toward the distant horizon and briefly explained how Xu Xinran had gone on duty with Qin Yi and the others.

After listening, Xiahou Tai naturally did not mock him. He merely said, "Someone from a mere Emerald Bamboo Peak dares act so arrogantly?"

"That fellow's realm is very high. He hasn't even been in the sect for half a month, yet he's already reached Foundation Establishment late stage. At least late stage," Song Xianming said.

Xiahou Tai sneered. "So what? Apart from Hua Yunfeng, no one in the entire Famous Sword Sect counts as an opponent. At a time like this, that fellow Qin actually dares jump out and run wild. If he needs to be dealt with, then we'll deal with him."

Song Xianming's eyes lit up. Was Xiahou Tai implying that he would avenge him?

"Want to take him down?" Xiahou Tai asked.

Within the Famous Sword Sect, he needed Song Xianming as a pawn, so when Song Xianming ran into a little trouble, he was naturally happy to help resolve it.

"Of course I do," Song Xianming said.

Without wasting words, Xiahou Tai waved him aboard.

Once Song Xianming jumped onto his Willow Leaf Boat, he immediately steered it at full speed toward the horizon ahead as well...