The bitter chill of midwinter swept through the courtyard of Qingxiao Sect, ice and snow blanketing everything in white. The cold that day seemed to pierce straight into one's heart.
After hearing Qin Jue's news, both Li Qingqiu and Zhang Yuchun's expressions changed. They hadn't expected Wu Baoyu to die—just like that.
Though Wu Baoyu hadn't stayed long at Qingxiao Sect, they had spent time together day and night. His sudden death still struck them hard.
Zhang Yuchun was hit the hardest. Wu Baoyu was the one he had personally invited up the mountain. Among all the disciples, he had spent the most time talking and training with him. Now, hearing of his tragic end, Zhang Yuchun's whole body trembled slightly.
The first to react was Yang Jueding. He raised an eyebrow and asked in surprise, "A Demonic Sect Guardian? That's an apex master! How could he be so reckless—charging into the imperial palace alone?"
His question drew Qin Jue's attention. Qin Jue turned his gaze from Qin Ye back to Yang Jueding and replied, "Exactly. I was puzzled too when I first heard it. People said he might have suffered qi deviation. After all, when the current emperor took the throne, he ordered a purge of the Demonic Sect. To the surviving remnants, he must be their mortal enemy."
He paused, then sighed. "Still, those old masters who once shook the martial world truly are terrifying. The imperial palace is heavily guarded, yet Wu Baoyu managed to break in through the front gate and fight his way all the way to the emperor's sleeping quarters. It's unbelievable. They say even the Imperial Guards were alarmed that night. Even the Heaven-Guardian Division had to exert great effort to subdue him. The man truly possessed the courage of ten thousand men. If someone like him had fought on the battlefield, it would have been a blessing for the Great Li Dynasty. Unfortunately, he chose the demonic path instead."
"Wu Baoyu committed many crimes. His death is deserved. But I fear the emperor might be startled and launch another grand cleansing of the martial world."
At that, worry appeared on Qin Jue's face.
Seeing Zhang Yuchun's pale expression, Li Qingqiu asked, "Aside from that, are there any other major events in the jianghu?"
Qin Jue smiled and nodded. "Of course. The martial world never runs out of trouble. I heard that the Qing Sect and the Seven Peaks Alliance are about to clash. That Qing Sect's ambition is growing fast—it might just become the next Demonic Sect."
Meanwhile, Qin Ye noticed Yang Jueding giving him a discreet signal. Quickly, he bent down to pick up the broom and turned his back to the others, continuing to sweep snow. Tears slid silently down his cheeks.
His tears melted into the snow, leaving no trace—just like Wu Baoyu's death.
After a while of small talk, Li Qingqiu took the chance to lead Zhang Yuchun away, leaving Yang Jueding behind to accompany the Qin father and son.
Back inside, the moment Li Qingqiu closed the door, Zhang Yuchun suddenly slapped himself hard across the face.
Li Qingqiu frowned. "What are you doing?"
Gritting his teeth, Zhang Yuchun said, "If I hadn't brought him to Qingxiao Sect, the County Magistrate wouldn't have noticed him. He wouldn't have gone to the palace. Senior Brother, he went there to clear our names—to die for us. Now that he's dead, no one will bother asking who he was close to before."
Li Qingqiu shook his head. "You couldn't have known any of this. And even if he hadn't come here, he still would've gone to the palace—sooner or later. Don't forget why he kept accepting challenges. He wasn't seeking defeat. He wanted to pass on his martial legacy. Haven't you noticed since he came up the mountain, his spirit was always dull, lifeless? Nothing surprised or delighted him anymore."
Zhang Yuchun's expression softened, but his heart remained heavy.
It was the first time he had seen someone he knew die—and die so miserably. A fire burned inside him, yet he didn't know how to vent it.
Li Qingqiu said earnestly, "Second Junior Brother, Qingxiao Sect is still too weak. There are many things beyond our power. All we can do is grow stronger—so we won't have to suffer the same tragedies as others."
Zhang Yuchun took a deep breath and nodded slightly.
They chatted briefly before Zhang Yuchun left.
Alone in the room, Li Qingqiu sat cross-legged on the bed, his face darkening.
Wu Baoyu's death had truly shaken him. Jiang Zhaoxia had only managed to defeat Wu Baoyu after breaking through to the third layer of the Nurturing Essence Realm—and that was during a friendly duel. A Wu Baoyu fighting to the death would have been far stronger.
Yet in the imperial palace, someone had killed him—someone capable of slaying a martial artist on par with the third layer of Nurturing Essence.
The thought chilled Li Qingqiu.
Then he reconsidered. It made sense. The emperor held supreme authority under heaven. Naturally, he could gather the mightiest experts in the Great Li Dynasty.
After all, not every master wished to live hidden away in the mountains.
The whole purpose of training and growing stronger—wasn't it to pursue fame and fortune?
Li Qingqiu felt an urgent need to get stronger. The world was in chaos, and who knew when the imperial court's sword might fall upon Qingxiao Sect.
He meditated alone for the time of one incense stick, then left his room to help the disciples prepare for the New Year.
It was the second New Year since he became Sect Master. He couldn't let his grief affect his disciples' mood.
During the festival, Qin Jue took the chance to ask if Li Qingqiu wanted more disciples. The Qin family could send another batch. Li Qingqiu politely declined.
After the festivities ended, Qin Jue and his servants went down the mountain, and life at Qingxiao Sect returned to normal.
That night, Li Qingqiu took Qin Ye into the forest and passed him the first layer of the Supreme Purity and Primordial Harmony Sutra. During that time, Li Qingqiu never mentioned Wu Baoyu's name again.
Ever since hearing of Wu Baoyu's death, Qin Ye had become withdrawn, losing his usual liveliness. Li Qingqiu worried he might spiral into despair, so he used this chance to teach and encourage him.
Half a month later—
Li Qingqiu finally broke through to the fourth layer of the Nurturing Essence Realm. With his Heavenly Thunder Spiritual Root, his cultivation speed was now the fastest in the sect, and he spent the longest time at the Underground Spiritual Lake.
From the third to the fourth layer, the improvement was greater than all the previous jumps combined. The strength that came with it soothed his unease.
Though Jiang Zhaoxia hadn't yet reached the fourth layer, he had created a new sword technique.
The Art of Sword Control.
That day in the forest, Li Qingqiu had watched in shock as Jiang Zhaoxia stood on his sword and floated in midair—speechless for quite some time.
The Nine Heavens Divine Palm was impressive, but it didn't fit his style, so he didn't bother learning it. Jiang Zhaoxia's newly created Sword Control Technique, however, was something Li Qingqiu genuinely wanted to master.
When his senior brother asked to learn it, Jiang Zhaoxia didn't refuse. Instead, he was overjoyed. To him, this meant his creation had finally been acknowledged—it even surpassed Yang Jueding's innovations.
As the winter snow melted completely, the Taikun Mountain Range welcomed spring. Life returned to every corner of the land, the air filled with fresh vitality.
That day, a gentle breeze swept through the mountains.
In a stretch of open wasteland, Cheng Canghai leaned on his hoe, glancing up toward the peak nearby. A figure stood there—Li Qingqiu—with an eagle circling above his head.
Cheng Canghai had been part of Qingxiao Sect for some time now, yet the longer he stayed, the more puzzled he became.
Why did the lightness techniques here seem no different from flying?
Why did the eagle seem to possess inner energy?
And why were even the children so unnaturally strong?
But the one he found most unfathomable was the Sect Master himself. Li Qingqiu didn't seem to practice external martial arts at all—he was either gone for days or seen sitting cross-legged like some celestial immortal.
"King of Thieves, stop slacking off!"
Not far away, Yu Lin's teasing voice rang out. The nickname made the veins on Cheng Canghai's forehead bulge. Those little brats loved calling him that—"King of Thieves."
Once the notorious King of Thieves, he now spent his days digging soil and chopping firewood. If word got out, people would die laughing.
"I got it."
Cheng Canghai grumbled irritably, replying without turning his head. Out of habit, he looked back at the mountain peak—but Li Qingqiu and the eagle were already gone.
He wasn't surprised anymore. Just shook his head and went back to work.
At that same moment, Li Qingqiu and the young eagle he had nurtured with his vital energy darted swiftly through the forest, chasing and weaving between the trees.
The little eagle had been brought once to the Underground Spiritual Lake. Since then, it had grown at an astonishing rate—now twice the size of its siblings.
Even flying through the dense forest, it was agile and fast, dodging branches with ease, moving like a streak of lightning.
Li Qingqiu used the Gale Technique, yet even then, he could only just keep up with it.
After traveling roughly five li through the mountain path, Li Qingqiu stopped and whistled.
The eagle circled around a large tree before diving back toward him and landing heavily on his shoulder.
Its body was already as large as Li Qingqiu's upper torso, forcing him to tilt his head aside to look at it.
"Xiao Ba, could you maybe eat a little less? You're getting too heavy—I can barely carry you anymore."
Li Qingqiu chuckled while stroking its head.
The eagle's name was Xiao Ba. He hoped that one day, it would become a younger sibling figure to his disciples—and protect them when he couldn't.
Xiao Ba bobbed its head comically, earning a laugh from him.
They continued onward. After walking for about half an hour, they reached a mountain stream where Jiang Zhaoxia and Li Sijin were waiting.
Jiang Zhaoxia sat cross-legged on a rock by the stream, meditating. Li Sijin sat nearby on open ground, surrounded by sheets of yellow talisman paper and brushes dipped in crimson ink.
At the moment, Li Sijin's lips were pouted in frustration.
"What's wrong? Stuck again?" Li Qingqiu's voice came from the forest.
Li Sijin turned and saw her Senior Brother approaching, but instead of smiling, she scowled.
"Senior Brother, this Earth Talisman Codex is way too hard! I can't even make the simplest spirit talisman work!"
She groaned, clutching her head and ruffling her hair until it became a tangled mess.
The Earth Talisman Codex was a Dao Lineage Inheritance reward Li Qingqiu had received, unlocked through Yang Jueding's development of spellcraft.
Human focus was limited—no one could learn every technique or art.
Each of his disciples already had their own chosen path. After thinking it through, Li Qingqiu decided that the youngest, Li Sijin, should be the one to study talismans.
No one else in the sect understood them anyway, so she could research at her own pace.
Li Qingqiu smiled. "Well, compared to fighting and killing, isn't studying talismans a bit easier?"
Li Sijin pouted. "I'm just complaining. I'm not giving up."
When Li Sifeng was injured before, it had shaken her deeply. Over the past year, she had changed a lot—she trained hard now and wasn't as playful as before.
Li Qingqiu crouched beside her and started discussing the Earth Talisman Codex. After a few questions, she gradually found her rhythm.
She soon realized she wasn't as hopeless as she thought—at least, the questions her brother asked were much too simple in her eyes.
Hearing her mocking him, Jiang Zhaoxia, who was facing away from them, couldn't help but smile faintly.
Li Qingqiu stayed with them for about half an hour before continuing up the mountain.
Today, Li Dongyue and Li Sifeng were cultivating at the Underground Spiritual Lake, so for once, he had decided to rest.
As he climbed toward Qingxiao Sect's main peak, he spotted a group halfway up the slope—Feng Dai and his nine constables.
They seemed to be in a heated argument and hadn't gone any further up.
When they noticed Li Qingqiu approaching, Feng Dai suddenly stepped forward and knelt before him. The nine constables followed suit, kneeling halfway down.
"It was my fault that Senior Xiao died. Please, Sect Master, punish me!" Feng Dai gritted his teeth, his face filled with grief.