CH 11

Early the next morning.

A white Luan carried clouds away from Zhongling Peak as it flew in the direction of Wenjian Peak.

“Shidi, shifu told me that after you finish your morning class at Wenjian Peak, you are to come back to Zhongling Peak to continue meditating for the rest of the morning. In the afternoon, if you have some free time, you can go to the medicinal fields and infuse some of your spiritual power into the plants.”

Bai Xuan said to Chu Qi, “After I send you to Wenjian Peak, you’ll still need to go back to cultivate. Xiao-Bai will wait for you at Wenjian Peak and take you to Zhongling Peak when you’re done.”

Xiao-Bai was the white Luan’s name.

“I’ll remember.”Chu Qi nodded in response.

Half an hour later, the white Luan landed on Wenjian Peak.

Wenjian Peak wasn’t as elegant or delicate as Zhongling Peak. There were many craggy rocks with weeds growing from in between the cracks. Since the disciples practiced with their swords here year-round, the air was permeated with sword intent. The whole mountain was surprisingly quiet. There were no birds or beasts living here.

To be more convenient for sword training, Chu Qi changed into the sword cultivator’s robes today. After he removed those cumbersome and delicate silver leaf accessories, Chu Qi felt much more at ease.

Chu Qi found a place away from everyone else to stand. He planned to send Yan Jiuge a message first to see if he had arrived.

At this time, many sword cultivation disciples had arrived at Wenjian Peak, but it still wasn’t time for morning classes since the Elders hadn’t yet arrived. The sword cultivation disciples found a place to practice on their own. The swishing sounds of swords slicing through the air as they practiced in the morning light made for a unique scene.

“Isn’t his sword technique too imposing?”

“Obviously, everyone’s practicing the same basic sword forms… Why is there such a big gap?”

“It’s the first time that I’ve seen such swordsmanship that can make the basic forms look like this!”

“…”

Suddenly, amidst the sounds of sword training, there were a few surprised voices having a discussion. This attracted the attention of most of the remaining sword cultivators.

If it was about anything else, these disciples wouldn’t get distracted, but since it was about sword skills, it really aroused their curiosity.

As a result, the sounds of training outside of the square died down, and everyone gathered in the same direction.

Such a change also caught Chu Qi’s attention. He stopped putting spiritual power into his identity token and curiously went over to take a look. It wouldn’t be too late to send a message afterwards.

After all, Chu Qi was a swordsman in his last life.

—

The sun shone through the stone forest1, and the breeze blew gently across the mountain.

A slender shadow slanted from east to west and landed in an open space not far from Chu Qi’s feet.

The surrounding discussions seemed to have faded away as Chu Qi stared blankly at the figure who was concentrating on practicing the sword.

He was wearing a simple swordsman’s attire, with black wraps tied around his forearms, which looked much more casual than the black bracers.

But his swordsmanship was the exact opposite.

Every move appeared like flowing clouds and running water, he had a nimble body and a silver light flashed across his sword.

The fierce sword energy pierced through the air, and with a swishing sound, the blade brushed against the peaceful morning sun. The sharp blade appeared as if it were wrapped in gold foil, and the sword light that came off it was gorgeous.

When the sword was swung, its reverberating momentum was like a dragon soaring out to sea. When it came to a stop, it was as unshakeable as the universe once it settled.

The person and the sword were united. Their heart was one with the sword’s intent.

Shiing—!

The sound of metal colliding was heard as the spiritual sword was returned to its sheath.

There was silence all around. The people watching still hadn’t recovered.

But the fingers of the person who was practicing just now had loosened from the hilt.

The sparse sunlight fell between his brows, softening his aggressive aura, and gently outlined the handsome and loose facial features with a glimmer of light in his eyes.

The boy’s figure was tall and straight, and he wore a willful expression.

But for a moment, he raised his eyes, as if feeling something in his gut, and accurately fixed his gaze on Chu Qi. He shouted, “Ah-Qi!”

Taking three steps for every two, Yan Jiuge walked towards Chu Qi in the middle of the crowd.

Against the crisscrossing light and shadow, Chu Qi’s expression was blank for a moment.

The Yan Jiuge in his memories should be like this. Not broken like that by heart demons.

“What are you in a daze for?”

The boy’s voice sounded suspicious and a shadow fell in front of Chu Qi, blocking the wanton morning sunlight.

Yan Jiuge’s breath was very steady. Even though he had just finished practicing the sword, there was no hint of disorder.

He approached, lowering his head a little, and looked over Chu Qi’s appearance. “Why did you change into these clothes?”

Not as good-looking as the medical cultivator’s robes.

Chu Qi came back to his senses, raising his eyes before answering, “These are more convenient for sword practice.” There really were too many silver accessories before.

“I see.” Yan Jiuge nodded. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the crowd that was gathered around him, and frowned slightly.

He still remembered how the other sword cultivators stared at Chu Qi during the entrance ceremony. 

Would Ah-Qi get too much attention if he wore his medical cultivator robes again?

Thinking of this, Yan Jiuge said to Chu Qi, “Let’s go, don’t just stand here like an idiot. I will take you to Wenjian Peak’s lecture hall. The Elders will be here soon.”

Just as he finished speaking, a serious-sounding voice came from the center of Wenjian Peak’s square, “It’s time for morning classes.”

The Elders teaching today’s class had arrived.

Now, whether it was Yan Jiuge, Chu Qi, or any of the other disciples, they needed to sit on one of the cushions in the lecture hall to prepare for morning class.

The huge crowd moved from the edge of the square to the middle of it.

Yan Jiuge brought Chu Qi to sit down at the front, only thirty chi away from the sword cultivator Elder who was teaching.

Chu Qi raised his head and recognized the person teaching as Elder Chang. Elder Chang was from a long line of sword cultivators, and had strict requirements. If a student dared not to listen carefully in his class, they would be punished.

“Today, there are new disciples in our class, so I will go over the basic sword forms of Tianxuan Sect once again.”

After Elder Chang finished speaking, he took out his spiritual sword and demonstrated the basic sword forms for the disciples who had just entered Tianxuan Sect.

Every move was slowed down so that they could see it clearly.

Yan Jiuge learned the basic forms from Liu Weiming yesterday, and after seeing it again now, he found that there was nothing new about it.

However, seeing how seriously Chu Qi was paying attention, he continued to listen patiently.

As sword cultivators, they had different understandings of sword techniques. Sword intent was something that was very personal. Even if it was the same move, it could have a different aura depending on which swordsman was performing it.

After listening for a while, Yan Jiuge realized that he and the Elder’s sword intent were incompatible, so his eyes drifted downwards and he fell into a trance.

The deadline was approaching. If he wanted to find an opportunity to leave Tianxuan Sect, he would need to advance to ‘Foundation Building’ quickly. Then, Ah-Qi wouldn’t have an excuse not to recognize him as a shixiong…

Yan Jiuge was thinking about it.

Suddenly, he realized that the peaceful atmosphere had changed.

Then, a heavy pressure came from in front of him, and the voice of Elder Chang who had been teaching became a lot more irritable, “That disciple who can’t pay attention, stand up for me!”

“…”

Being caught not paying attention, Yan Jiuge raised his head and was about to stand up—

Unexpectedly, he heard the sound of cloth rustling at his side first. Following the movement of the person next to him, the hem of his clothes brushed against Yan Jiuge’s fingers, causing his eyes to be filled with surprise.

The boy who stood wore an ashamed look on his face as he said, “This disciple knows his mistake. Asking the Elder for punishment.”

Chu Qi didn’t expect it at all. He was only distracted for a short while, and he was even careful to wait until Elder Chang demonstrated a move and had his back turned, yet he was still caught with incomparable precision.

“It was this disciple’s fault.”

At this moment, a crisp voice sounded from Chu Qi’s side, and Yan Jiuge also stood up to admit his mistake.

“…” A look of bewilderment flashed across Chu Qi’s eyes. Was Yan Jiuge also distracted?

“You, you…” Elder Chang was very angry. He hated when disciples were arrogant and didn’t like to listen to his lectures seriously. It was fine if he found one, but in the end, two stood up!

However, the disciple who stood up first seemed to be quite young. It was probably his first time coming to Wenjian Peak to listen to a lecture.

“Hmph! Since you’re new and are first-time offenders, as long as you can skillfully perform the sword moves I just demonstrated, I will forgive you. Otherwise, you will go to the Library Pavilion to sweep the grounds for half a month and reflect.”

Elder Chang declared.

Hearing what he said, Chu Qi sighed with relief. Fortunately, he had just shown the basic sword forms of Tianxuan Sect. He knew this.

Yan Jiuge, who was beside Chu Qi, frowned. It would be a bit difficult for a medical cultivator to learn the basic sword forms after only seeing it once.

He was about to intercede on Chu Qi’s behalf, when he saw Chu Qi striding forward with the spiritual sword he had given him in hand. There wasn’t a hint of nervousness.

“…” Yan Jiuge closed his mouth and hesitated, but did not say anything more.

Forget it. It wouldn’t be a big deal to accompany him to sweep the Library Pavilion grounds. Although it was rough work, the two of them could spend some more time together.

Yan Jiuge thought to himself.

Seeing that Chu Qi stepped forward first, Elder Chang’s gaze swept over Yan Jiuge, who remained standing in place. Elder Chang was patient, and stepped a few steps to the side, giving Chu Qi room to demonstrate his sword skills.

Anyway, neither of them could get away. If they couldn’t perform, they would have to sweep the grounds for him.

Chu Qi drew Gui Yin out from its scabbard, heldthe sword in the direction of Elder Chang, and saluted.

“You may begin.” Elder Chang said.

There were a total of thirteen moves in Tianxuan Sect’s basic sword set. They were simple and didn’t have any extra flourishes and could be learned without using mental skills.

When Chu Qi learned these moves in his last life, he put in a lot of effort. This was because he always felt that his swordsmanship was a little lacking compared to Yan Jiuge’s, so he practiced in secret many times.

The moment he lifted his sword, the image of Yan Jiuge practicing earlier flashed through Chu Qi’s mind. 

When Chu Qi raised his eyes again, his warm gaze turned firm.

As he concentrated his breath, the distracting thoughts in his heart faded away. Only the spiritual sword and himself were left in the world.

Even if one’s talent didn’t allow them to achieve the union of man and sword, they could still enter such a state through pure concentration.

The surroundings became quiet except for the sound of the spiritual sword piercing through the air.

Shiing—!

The silver light settled down as the sword pointed at the dark blue mountains. All thirteen moves were performed and the sword qi in the air whispered as if in response.

After being reborn, Chu Qi’s state of mind was completely different from back then, when he was obsessed with condensing sword intent. Naturally, his sword skills have also undergone some changes.

With these changes, a new momentum was revealed in his sword technique.

“Intelligent and smart, transparent and free and easy. It’s only the first day and you can achieve such a state. You are very talented. As long as you practice diligently in the future, it will only be a matter of time before you condense sword intent.”

After seeing Chu Qi’s attainments in swordsmanship, Elder Chang’s tone eased a lot, and his eyes were full of admiration.

“Would you like to join me as my personal disciple?”

[1] 石林 – A specific kind of geological feature found in Yunnan.