"Martial Uncle, I don't need the manual. If it's truly powerful, it could bring disaster upon me. If you really feel you owe us something, why not give me that little knife instead?"
Li Qingqiu looked at the manual in Jiang Kuotian's hand as he spoke seriously. As he talked, he raised a hand and pointed at the small knife that contained the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.
Hearing that, Jiang Kuotian frowned—not because he cared about the knife, but because he was thinking over Li Qingqiu's words.
He'd assumed that as long as he warned Li Qingqiu not to pass the manual on, it would be fine. But once you cultivate a martial art, there's always a chance it gets exposed. How could you hide it for a lifetime?
A trace of shame rose in him—this young man had thought things through more thoroughly than he had.
No wonder Lin Xunfeng always went down the mountain alone. With a boy like this guarding the sect, Lin Xunfeng truly could feel at ease.
After weighing it, Jiang Kuotian lifted the little knife and handed it to Li Qingqiu, then said, "Fine. We're men of the jianghu—I won't be sentimental about it. If you run into trouble in the future, come to White Emperor Manor and find me. Even if it means charging into boiling oil or walking through fire, even if I have to shatter my bones and throw away my life, your Martial Uncle will come help you!"
Li Qingqiu took the knife, delighted. "Thank you, Martial Uncle!"
His expression was so moved that Jiang Kuotian found it deeply satisfying.
Li Qingqiu tucked the knife into his clothes, then called for the other disciples to come out and meet Jiang Kuotian. Once there were more people, the courtyard instantly became lively.
The disciples were a little intimidated by Jiang Kuotian's burly frame. At first they were stiff and restrained, but once Jiang Kuotian began telling jianghu stories, their attention shifted. Before long they were chatting easily, and every so often they'd pepper him with questions.
Half an hour later, the rain stopped.
Jiang Zhaoxia also came out of the forest. Ever since starting cultivation, he liked to train alone. Li Qingqiu could see his cultivation level and loyalty through the panel, so he let him quietly do his own thing.
Geniuses always had secrets no one else knew.
The moment Jiang Kuotian laid eyes on Jiang Zhaoxia, he was stunned, as if seeing a rare treasure. He circled him, sizing him up, proclaiming him a once-in-a-century martial genius, and repeatedly urged him to join White Emperor Manor.
Unfortunately, Jiang Zhaoxia didn't budge. His words even carried a hint of doubt toward White Emperor Manor, angering Jiang Kuotian badly.
Li Qingqiu noticed Jiang Zhaoxia clearly didn't take Jiang Kuotian seriously at all—he wasn't afraid of conflict.
The confidence cultivation brought was simply too strong. Although Jiang Zhaoxia was still only at the first level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm, his yuan qi was absolutely the strongest in Qingxiao Sect. Li Qingqiu could feel that much.
Just how big was the gap between first-level Nourishing Yuan and jianghu martial experts? Li Qingqiu was curious too.
One night passed.
Jiang Kuotian didn't wake until noon. Only after eating and drinking his fill did he bid Li Qingqiu and the others farewell.
Before leaving, he still left behind a manual—stuffing it into Wu Man'er's hands.
"If you ever want to go down the mountain, remember to come to White Emperor Manor and visit me—while I'm not old yet!"
Jiang Kuotian laughed loudly as he departed, waving with his back to them, carefree and dashing.
Li Qingqiu watched him go, not looking away until he vanished into the forest. Only then did he withdraw his gaze, while the junior brothers and sisters began discussing Jiang Kuotian and White Emperor Manor.
Li Qingqiu turned and went back into the courtyard. Jiang Zhaoxia followed. After the two of them pulled away from the others, Jiang Zhaoxia leaned in and asked, "Senior Brother… did Jiang Kuotian give you some treasure that contains spiritual qi?"
Jiang Zhaoxia could sense something in Li Qingqiu's chest carrying faint spiritual qi. It was weak, but items like that were rare.
Li Qingqiu shot him a glance. "Yeah. Once I study it properly, I'll get you one too. Junior Brother, you have to understand—my cultivation speed isn't as fast as yours. I need something to rely on. If one day you're not around, I still need a way to save my own life."
Those words made Jiang Zhaoxia practically bounce with joy, the corners of his mouth rising despite himself. He snorted and said, "How could I not be around? Relax. With me here, no one can threaten Qingxiao Sect."
He'd always been arrogant by nature. After cultivating the Hunyuan Scripture and stepping onto the path of immortality, he grew even more proud, convinced he was powerful.
The two senior brothers chatted as they walked back to the courtyard.
After returning, Li Qingqiu went to his room alone, while Jiang Zhaoxia—same as always—slipped off to cultivate in the back mountain forest.
Closing the door, Li Qingqiu sat on the bed and took out the little knife, beginning to examine it carefully.
A weapon containing spiritual qi… could it be a magic artifact?
The Taiqing Hunyuan Scripture wasn't just a simple qi-gathering method. It also covered basic arts like alchemy, artifact refinement, formations, talismans, and more. Following a few methods recorded in the scripture, he began trying them.
The simplest was to inject yuan qi into the artifact and see whether it had a binding restriction.
In the next instant, Li Qingqiu shuddered violently. His right hand loosened, and the knife fell to the ground.
A restriction!
He lowered his head and looked at his trembling right hand—it felt numb, like he'd been shocked.
So it really was an artifact!
"In the end, my cultivation is still too low. I'll try again after I break through to the second level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm."
He thought it to himself. That single attempt had drained more than half his yuan qi—he couldn't afford that.
He carefully picked the knife up, then considered where to hide it.
After fussing for a long while, he buried it in the dirt beneath his bed, barely managing to mask its spiritual qi.
Satisfied, Li Qingqiu stepped out of his room. Next, he planned to focus his efforts on Wu Man'er—help him step into the first level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm, then activate the Fortunate Opportunity.
At the same time, he couldn't help anticipating something else.
If everyone entered the cultivation realm… would the Dao Lineage grant another reward?
…
To Qingxiao Sect, Jiang Kuotian's visit was only a small interruption. Li Qingqiu arranged for the disciples to take turns guiding Fifth Junior Brother Wu Man'er.
Wu Man'er's intelligence was lacking, but through repeated guidance, he finally developed muscle memory. He grew accustomed to the qi-gathering method and, before winter arrived, at last stepped into the first level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm.
A prompt popped up before Li Qingqiu's eyes while he was sitting on the mountaintop gathering qi—so vivid he could see it even with his eyes closed:
[As your Dao Lineage has, for the first time, brought all disciples into the first level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm, this marks a milestone for Qingxiao Sect. You gain one inheritance reward opportunity.]
Li Qingqiu was instantly overjoyed. So there really was an inheritance reward!
He scooted back one zhang to make sure he wouldn't topple off the cliff, then immediately activated the inheritance reward.
[Claim Inheritance Reward]
[Activating Dao Lineage Inheritance]
[You Obtained a Spell—Gale Step Technique]
[Accept Inheritance?]
Inheritance!
A flood of memories surged into Li Qingqiu's mind, and his eyes closed again.
The wind was bitterly cold. Thick fog shrouded the mountains. Snow began drifting down from the sky, dusting Li Qingqiu's body—yet he remained perfectly still, unaffected.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Li Qingqiu opened his eyes, delight shining in them.
The Gale Step Technique truly lived up to being a spell. It wrapped the body in spiritual wind, allowing low-altitude gliding, and it could also boost the body's reaction speed. A spell like this was incredibly convenient in mountain forests.
His first thought was how much easier it would make going down the mountain.
He rose to his feet, impatient to practice Gale Step.
But he couldn't practice it on the mountaintop—what if he fell to his death?
A future giant of the immortal realm couldn't die here!
The sun set and the moon rose, and the snow grew heavier.
That night, everyone at Qingxiao Sect celebrated because Wu Man'er had cultivated yuan qi. Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue killed a chicken to celebrate, and they even brought out a jar of old wine their master had hidden for twenty years.
Wu Man'er was only thirteen, but he was already growing broad-shouldered and thick-backed. Sitting between Li Sifeng and Li Sijin, he looked like an adult—his shoulders were nearly as wide as the two of them put together.
Jiang Zhaoxia sat beside Li Qingqiu, looking at Wu Man'er and grinning smugly. "Fifth Junior Brother might be a bit slow, but his martial talent is definitely the strongest among us. Give me ten years—no, five years—and I can make him a top-tier jianghu expert."
Li Qingqiu poured wine as he smiled. "Easy to say. What about you? Are you a top-tier expert?"
The moment he said it, Jiang Zhaoxia grew even more pleased.
"Don't even mention it—I really might already be top-tier now. Honestly, Senior Brother, this internal skill of yours is crazy strong. In the jianghu, it would definitely count as a divine art!"
By the end, Jiang Zhaoxia was actually praising Li Qingqiu—something rare.
Li Qingqiu chuckled to himself.
Brother, this isn't a martial 'divine art.' This is a damn cultivation method!
Li Qingqiu had no intention of revealing that. Up to now, all his juniors believed what they cultivated in their bodies was just inner qi.
Everyone was in high spirits, imagining the future.
With a little wine in him, Zhang Yuchun looked at Li Qingqiu and said, "Senior Brother, I think we need to recruit disciples earlier. Everyone's training—if all the chores rely on me alone, I'm willing but I can't keep up."
He wanted to become a powerhouse too!
He knew clearly that in the future Qingxiao Sect, seniority alone wouldn't convince people. Having a hard fist was true confidence.
Li Qingqiu was very satisfied with Zhang Yuchun's efforts these past days, and he also felt his second junior brother was exhausted.
"Then we'll recruit seven people first. You handle it. Recruit from the village below—male or female doesn't matter. We'll provide food and lodging, no fees. Tell them it's repayment for their help. And after they've cultivated here for ten years, if they want to go home, we won't stop them."
Li Qingqiu nodded. Zhang Yuchun was happy at first, but when he heard the last part, he frowned.
"Senior Brother, if we let them go down the mountain, won't all our effort training them be wasted?" Zhang Yuchun argued.
Li Qingqiu waved a hand. "You can't calculate it like that. They'll have worked for us for ten years too. And if Qingxiao Sect can't retain people, that means we haven't done well enough."
Hearing that, Zhang Yuchun felt it made sense—and he felt even more admiration for Li Qingqiu.
Senior Brother's perspective was broad. No wonder Master chose him as sect leader. In comparison, he himself was too focused on benefits.
Zhang Yuchun and Li Qingqiu continued discussing Qingxiao Sect's development. The other disciples chatted about cultivation and jianghu matters. Their laughter made the courtyard lively—winter snow couldn't extinguish the vigorous spirit here.
When the banquet finally ended, Li Qingqiu had the juniors clear the table while he returned to his room alone.
Jiang Zhaoxia didn't help either, but aside from Li Qingqiu, no one dared say a word to him.
Li Qingqiu placed a brazier full of charcoal in front of his bed, climbed onto the bed, summoned the Dao Lineage panel, and activated Fortunate Opportunity.
[Claim Fortunate Opportunity Reward]
[Activating Fortunate Opportunity]
[Scanning for Fortunate Opportunity]
[Fortunate Opportunity Captured: Discovered An Underground Spirit Lake. Accept the Guidance?]
An underground spirit lake?
Li Qingqiu raised an eyebrow. It felt like he'd struck gold.
Maybe this would be the foundation of Qingxiao Sect's rise!