Chapter 3: Sword Exchange Pavilion

Chapter 3: Sword Exchange Pavilion

Chu Liang gazed at his teacher confusedly, almost as if he had a question mark on his forehead.

He couldn't help but express, "Esteemed Teacher, Jade Sword Peak is the most powerful among all the peaks in our sect. They have nearly a hundred disciples, and they have a few members who are well-known for having reached the Golden Core Realm. They do indeed have the highest chances of becoming the head disciple. As for me... I only just broke through the Spiritual Awareness Realm a few days ago."

The head disciple represented the face of every new generation of disciples in the Mount Shu Sect. The competition for such a position was undoubtedly intense.

Meanwhile, having the position of grand peak master meant being the most prestigious, respected, and powerful figure among the thirty-six peak master. If the situation were to arise that the Four Guardian Elders were unable to become the sect leader, the grand peak master would be the next in line to be the new sect leader.

As for Di Nufeng... she was infamous as the scourge of the Mount Shu Sect—a heavy drinker who was skilled in combat and had an extremely fiery temper, so much so that she was well-known all over the martial community for it.

Despite that, Di Nufeng had stubbornly fought for and won the position of a peak master with the powerful abilities she had cultivated. However, Mount Shu's Sect Leader had been reluctant to assign her any disciples, fearing that she might be a bad influence on them. Follow current novels at novelhall.com)

Later on, she descended the mountain to perform heroic deeds, and that was when she personally selected and took in Chu Liang, who had the aptitude for cultivation, to be her disciple. No one could say anything about it since she'd brought him back to the sect herself. Then once she discovered that there wasn't much fun in having a disciple, she never took in another disciple.

Now, Di Nufeng suddenly wanted her sole disciple to compete for the position of head disciple, and she even wanted to take the position of grand peak master...

Chu Liang was somewhat astonished.

How could she even dare think of attempting such a thing?

Di Nufeng walked over and patted Chu Liang's shoulder. "You don't need to feel so pressured. You should have at least half a year before the summit. Just make sure to prepare for it thoroughly. If you manage to become the head disciple, your teacher, I, will be sure to compensate you fairly. You can ask for anything you want."

Upon hearing that, Chu Liang glanced at Di Nufeng's chest.

"Hey..." Di Nufeng's gaze suddenly sharpened menacingly as she pointed her finger at him. "What are you thinking about?"

"Esteemed Teacher, please don't misunderstand," Chu Liang said. "I was just thinking about how you've staked such a precious treasure, the Phoenix Spirit Blood Jade, for the bet. So, I will definitely prepare for the summit to the best of my abilities. That's for sure. It's just that... it will be quite difficult to win the position of Head Disciple. I hope Master won't blame me if I were to fail."

"Oh, you're just looking at the jade."

Di Nufeng touched the jade pendant hanging from her neck down to her chest and chuckled mischievously.

She continued, "Anyway, just do your part. If you were to become the head disciple and I become the grand peak master, we would have access to a great quantity of resources... Then we could divide those resources between us 30-70. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

While fantasizing about her bright future, she couldn't help but let out a greedy laugh.

"Heheheheheh..."

...

Chu Liang walked out of the pavilion and calmed his emotions, preparing to head to his next destination.

It was Mount Shu's main peak, Heaven-Reaching Peak.

"Sure. Well, there's no hurry for that. Let's have a match first."

Elder Shen waved his sleeves, and a Go [2] board appeared on the table before him. Accompanying the board were two small bowls of playing pieces, one black and the other white.

"I managed to win against you by chance in our last match. It seems you're dissatisfied about that," Chu Liang said with a smile.

He sat down right away, without the slightest intention of rejecting Elder Shen's proposal.

"Of course! I went home and mulled over it for a long time, but I found a way to break your strategy."

Elder Shen made the first move.

"In that case, just like we've always done... If you lose, you'll have to share some inside information with me," Chu Liang replied with a hint of playfulness.

An hour later...

The angle of the sunlight shining in through the window had shifted slightly.

The young man withdrew his hands into his sleeves. He watched the old man opposite him stare fixedly at the Go board, racking his brains to come up with a move that could turn the tables in his favor.

"Elder Shen, it is indeed a deadlock," Chu Liang stated with a smile.

"Hmm..." Elder Shen scratched his glossy balding head and glanced at the board a few more times before finally tearing his gaze away.

He shook his head and said, "You little rascal... You're always smiling, looking so innocent as if you wouldn't hurt a fly. Yet, on the Go board, you're unwaveringly ruthless, each move made with the intention to kill."

"Well, it's just luck, really. There were a few times mid-match when my game plan almost fell apart," Chu Liang responded modestly.

"Oh, come on... I can't compete with the keen minds of young folks like you," Elder Shen said. He leaned back, patted his belly, and continued, "In addition to reporting about your completed mission, I assume you're here to pick up a new mission, right?"

"That's right. However, there are too many missions for disciples of the Spiritual Awareness Realm; it's the category with the highest number of listings. There are hundreds of them, and I'm not sure which one I should choose," Chu Liang remarked.

"Let me think for a moment... You prefer demon-slaying missions. Hmm, one of the better ones..." Elder Shen muttered to himself.

Then he raised his hand, and an inscribed bamboo stick flew out from amid the row of bamboo tubes behind him. It landed on his palm, and he handed it to Chu Liang.

"Have a look at this one," Elder Shen said.

Chu Liang took the bamboo stick and saw a line of words written on it in a small font.

Hunt the demons at Official Ming's residence in Xingzhou City.

1. They are disciples who work as attendants in the Sword Exchange Pavilion ?

2. It's an abstract strategy board game that originated in China as 圍棋 weiqi, but it's more famous in the English-speaking world under the name Go, the Japanese name for the game. ?