Would It Kill You Not to Show Off?

Lu Changsheng returned to Qingyun Peak, his face clouded with worry.

His once leisurely days had been disrupted.

He was busy teaching Ning Yuxin to cultivate and earning Spirit Stones, and his second senior brother had even assigned him the job of resisting a beast tide.

If that were all, he could have let it slide. At most, he would tag along with his senior brothers and the elders, go through the motions, and be done with it.

But Luo Xianling actually wanted to steal the sect master's Spirit Stones for him. If the sect master found out, wouldn't that be disastrous? Wouldn't he make life difficult for him?

What if he sent him to guard the spirit medicines in the Hundred Herbs Garden again? Should he bring a back basket or a burlap sack this time?

"Ah!"

Lu Changsheng sighed softly, lamenting how hard life was.

But the instant he looked up, he saw a familiar figure standing there. It was actually Shi Feng, whom he had met before.

That old man was standing beside him as well.

Sensing someone approach, the old man turned around. Seeing Lu Changsheng, he merely smiled and nodded.

Shi Feng, however, remained full of hostility. Still, he said nothing more and continued looking toward the back of Qingyun Peak.

Lu Changsheng did not particularly care. He was merely curious about why they were here.

Yet the very next moment, he sensed two presences emerge, accompanied by powerful fluctuations of Law Power.

Two figures leaped from the ground into the sky. They were Zhou Qingyu and that young man from the Profound Heaven Sect.

Zhou Qingyu moved through the air, forming seals with his hands. Azure Law Power swept out, turning into a ribbon of light that struck downward.

As it danced across the sky, fierce winds howled, stirring the mountain forests.

He had already reached the ninth level of Essence Condensation and was only a step away from Core Formation. But Lu Changsheng noticed that he had suppressed his cultivation to only the seventh level of Essence Condensation.

The young man from the Profound Heaven Sect moved as well. Sweeping his arms, he sent crimson Law Power into the lofty heavens, like a roaring tiger bearing a measure of dominance.

As their Law Power collided, a boom rang out. The surrounding spiritual power was thrown into disarray, and spiritual light rose into the sky, blossoming with strange colors.

There were also faint sounds of Law Power being annihilated.

All of Qingyun Peak became a scene of clamor, the sand and stones beneath their feet bouncing.

Watching his hair flutter, Lu Changsheng could not help frowning.

"Are they sparring?"

As he murmured to himself, he sensed that the young man from the Profound Heaven Sect was also at the seventh level of Essence Condensation.

As far as he knew, the only person in the Profound Heaven Sect with that cultivation at this age was its second disciple, Li Changfeng.

As the two continued exchanging blows, neither gave ground. Their Law Power constantly intertwined, and they seemed evenly matched in the contest, with no winner emerging for a long time.

The old man watched intently as well, paying Lu Changsheng no attention whatsoever.

Taking all this in, Lu Changsheng sank into thought.

Soon, light flashed in Li Changfeng's hand, and a long spear appeared. The instant it entered his grasp, it thrust out like a dragon, flashing with waves of silver radiance and ringing out.

He swung both arms, seemingly raising an immense weight as he struck forward.

Zhou Qingyu stood suspended in the air, unmoved, one hand behind his back and two fingers of the other pressed together. A piercing sharpness surged into the heart.

Streak after streak of Sword Qi appeared out of thin air, hovering beside him. With a point of his fingers, the many streaks of Sword Qi swept across the heavens. The successive sounds of air being torn apart made one's heart instantly tremble.

The old man's expression froze at that moment as well. He sensed the sword intent Zhou Qingyu had produced, and even he was moved by it.

The moment the Sword Qi descended, the spear shuddered, letting out a startling ring.

It had risen like a roaming dragon, only to be forcibly stopped right before him.

The Sword-Rays were far too keen, their killing might astonishing. Li Changfeng was driven back, his sleeve sliced off as Sword Qi swept across the hem of his robe and slashed across his neck.

Yet he kept holding on. His spear collided with it, leaving sword marks one after another. Horror appeared in his eyes; the power of the Sword Dao inspired dread at the very sight.

As expected, Li Changfeng lost.

The battle came to an abrupt halt.

Li Changfeng cupped his hands in salute.

"Brother Zhou, you truly are extraordinary. I concede defeat!"

Hearing this, Zhou Qingyu remained composed, still standing with his hands behind his back.

"You flatter me, Brother Li. You are already an outstanding figure among our peers. I merely benefited from the Sword Dao!"

"I was no match for you. No one in Cang Province can compare to your talent, Brother Zhou!"

Li Changfeng chuckled softly and descended from the sky.

The old man also spoke. "The Cangyun Little Sword Immortal truly lives up to his reputation. I have learned much!"

"You praise me too highly, Senior!"

With that, the three took their leave.

Lu Changsheng paid them no mind. He merely looked at Zhou Qingyu and sank into thought, unable to help feeling rather helpless.

If those innocent young girls who knew nothing of the world had seen that scene, what would have happened?

Who knew how many would have fallen for him?

"Would it kill you not to show off?"

He muttered to himself. The cooler Zhou Qingyu's pose had looked just now, the worse his headache became.

They had clearly come to probe him, yet he had not concealed his abilities in the slightest. How utterly straightforward.

Last time, when the Profound Heaven Sect had sent people to assassinate Ning Yuxin and her brother, he had already left one alive. Had they failed to catch him? Or had they failed to get anything out of him?

Had no one even warned Zhou Qingyu?

But there was nothing Lu Changsheng could do. It was not that Zhou Qingyu liked showing off. Rather, he knew that this was simply his nature: devoted to the Sword Dao, his mind free of distractions, he did not care about such things.

But the more he stood out now, the more thoroughly others would prepare their methods when dealing with him.

"Ah!"

Lu Changsheng sighed helplessly. Watching it made him want to go up and give Zhou Qingyu two resounding slaps.

Zhou Qingyu noticed him as well. Descending from the sky, he spoke slowly.

"Little junior brother, I heard from second junior brother that he's taking you to resist the beast tide?"

"That's right!"

At the mention of this, Lu Changsheng's headache grew worse.

Zhou Qingyu, however, said calmly, "Staying in the sect all the time is no way to go on. Getting out for more experience would be good too. Stay by my side when the time comes!"

"All right!"

Lu Changsheng nodded without standing on ceremony. After all, that had been his plan to begin with.

In any case, wherever Zhou Qingyu was, no one apart from Shi Feng would pay him any attention.

The Cangyun Little Sword Immortal's limelight was enough to overshadow everything.

He only needed to follow along and play a bit part. He could even pick up a couple of Demon Beast carcasses along the way to sell. If he could earn some Spirit Stones, it would not be too much of a loss.

After saying this, Zhou Qingyu left, returning to continue cultivating.

Watching his departing figure, Lu Changsheng said, "He really does have more and more of a sword immortal's bearing!"

Over their ten years together, although Zhou Qingyu had never been a man of many words, he cared deeply about this little junior brother, piling all his insights and realizations before him without reservation.

Whenever he obtained anything good at an Immortal Ascension Assembly or in a secret realm, he always thought of Lu Changsheng.

"This senior brother is too straightforward. I really can't stop worrying about him. I need to get him into one of those great sects. With his talent, he'll definitely be able to receive better protection!"

He thought of the Dynasty War.

Every few years, the Yue Kingdom would hold a Dynasty War.

At that time, every sect throughout the Yue Kingdom would send its elite disciples into the battlefield.

There, the most dazzling geniuses would be determined, then recruited by more powerful sects and given more and better resources.

Their original sects would also receive protection. This was one of the reasons the Cangyun Sect had remained standing all this time.

After all, such a small place would often only hold those disciples back. They needed a broader stage.

As long as Zhou Qingyu earned a placing and entered an immortal sect, the Cangyun Sect would receive protection, and staying here would be safer for him as well.

The cultivation world was far too cruel, and the outside world was too dangerous. He did not dare reveal too much of himself either.

The tree that towered above the forest would be struck by the wind; excessive brilliance invited an early death. He still understood such simple truths.

The strongest cultivators in the Yue Kingdom were only at Nascent Soul, and there were not many of them. As long as he did not court death, he would still be quite safe.

With that thought, he was about to return to his room. But above Azure Cloud Peak, a streak of light shot into the sky, bursting into a swath of azure radiance that lingered for a long time.

Lu Changsheng knew that it was a warning that the beast tide was approaching.