Chapter 6: Chaoyang Peak
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Chaoyang Peak, one of the five peaks of Zixia, is the first place to be illuminated by the morning sun when the dawn breaks. It is the best spot to watch the sunrise and the clouds rising with the mist. It was named after the ancestors who created the Sunrise Heart Sutra and the Sunrise Thirteen Swords here, and finally became one of the five peaks of Zixia.
Half a month later, on a clear morning, at the top of Chaoyang Peak, two figures stood quietly at the end of the mountain path. The slightly taller one was an old man wearing a light purple long gown, with white hair hanging down, his face calm and peaceful, and his slender figure did not change his elegant demeanor. Beside him was a handsome young man, nearly six feet tall, with a cold expression, wearing a deep blue tight-fitting exercise suit, with a long strip wrapped in purple cloth on his back, and a simple green cloth package slung over his left shoulder, only occasionally flashing a hint of sadness in his eyes, which quickly disappeared.
These two were Xuan Qing and Lu Qing. Half a month's time was enough to take care of some things, and the death of the current head of the Lu family also brought no small shock to the domain of the Purple Mist Sect. On the day of the funeral, including the sect master Luo Qianfeng, the four peak elders, and most of the guardians who were not in seclusion all came to pay their respects. In addition, there was one more person, that is, another Qingfan-level swordsmith of the Purple Mist Sect. The next day, a middle-aged swordsmith who had been nurtured by the Purple Mist Sect and possessed the talent for casting swords, deeply performed a three kneels and nine bows ceremony in front of Lu Yun's memorial tablet. It wasn't until later that Lu Yun learned from Xuan Qing that before Ming Ri became a Qingfan-level swordsmith, Lu Yun had given him many pointers, and even personally helped him forge his first Qingfan-level divine sword, which was an act of kindness no less than that between master and disciple.
After everything was settled, Xuan Qing also asked for instructions from Luo Qianfeng. Luo Qianfeng was very generous and the rewards to the Lu family remained unchanged. However, the position of Guardian that was passed down to Lu Qing would have to wait until he reached the Sword Master realm to take over. The golden heavenly sword named Nian Yun by Yan Ruyue was also allowed to be used by Lu Qing for his foundation building, and it would be handed over to him five years later before the Sword Conference. Additionally, Luo Qianfeng's only condition was that if Lu Qing could not become a Blue Rank Swordsmith before the age of 40, then the original rewards to the Lu family would be revoked.
All of the above is the maximum extent that Xuan Qing can strive for, and Yan Ruyu did not make any more demands on Luo Qianfeng that day. The current empty state of the Lu family does not allow it either.
After re-burying Lu Yun's body and tidying up all the miscellaneous things, half a month had passed. After simple preparations, Lu Qing followed Xuan Qing onto the mountain path of Chaoyang Peak under Yan Ruyu's gaze which was slightly red.
At this moment, at the end of the mountain path, on a gigantic platform slightly below the top of Chaoyang Peak, a magnificent palace covering several acres suddenly appeared before one's eyes. The grand hall was surrounded by bluestone walls, and facing the end of the mountain path was a red wooden gate over ten feet high, with the three large characters "Chaoyang Palace" clearly carved on it. Two young disciples stood guard in front of the gate, their backs to the long swords, their expressions stern, occasionally scanning the surrounding forest. When they saw Xuanqing appear at the end of the mountain path, they hurried forward and bowed to pay respects: "Peak Master, you have returned to the mountain——" After finishing speaking, the two of them glanced a few times at Lu Qing standing beside Xuanqing, seemingly guessing his identity.
Nodding his head, Xuán Qīng looked at the two of them and said: "I'm going out for these two days, is everything all right on the mountain?"
The two men looked at each other and replied in unison: "Master Huifeng, everything is fine on the mountain. All the masters are diligently practicing their sword skills and dare not slack off."
With a satisfied hum, Xuán Qīng summoned the two to gather all the disciples in the Cháoyáng Main Hall. Turning his head to Lù Qīng, he said: "Let's go, although I've already accepted you as my disciple at the foot of the mountain, since we're now at Cháoyáng Palace, this etiquette can't be neglected. You should also get to know some of your fellow disciples, so that in the future, when you spar and learn from each other, it won't feel awkward." After finishing speaking, he led the way into Cháoyáng Palace, with Lù Qīng following closely behind. Upon entering the palace, they arrived at a spacious square that could accommodate hundreds of people. On the empty grounds, there were some disciples practicing their morning exercises. With one glance, Lù Qīng saw that these disciples' sword techniques were quite extraordinary - whether it was their agile movements or the smooth transitions between sword moves, everything seemed to be in perfect harmony. The sword techniques Lù Qīng recognized included the Téng Yún Jiǔ Jiàn (Rising Cloud Nine Swords) he was currently practicing. Even the weakest among them was only slightly inferior to him, and judging from the purple sword energy surrounding their swords, their cultivation levels were higher than his by one rank, having reached the level of a Sword Master and successfully established their foundation.
Along the way, as the two of them passed by, disciples would occasionally bow to Xuan Qing and also take the opportunity to size up this unfamiliar young man Lu Qing. After a moment, in the main hall of the Chao Yang Temple, the disciples arrived one after another, forming two rows on either side of the hall. Lu Qing carefully counted them, there were only about fifty or so people, it seemed that the Chao Yang Peak had too few people. As the former future master of the Lu family, Lu Qing still had some understanding of the situation in the Zi Xia Sect.
Zixia Sect, with a history of over 1,600 years, has jurisdiction over twenty major mountains within its territory, covering an area of two hundred miles. It boasts six swordsmen at the level of Sword King or above, one Sword Emperor, and more than two thousand disciples. Located in the central part of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains on the Sword God Continent, Zixia Sect is a Qingfan-level sect, ranking lowest among the four major sects: Qingfan, Jintian, Baoling, and Zihuang. However, do not underestimate Zixia Sect. The Sword God Continent comprises ten thousand great mountains and three thousand islands in the Sword God Sea, with over a thousand sects in total. Yet, the four major sects of Qingjinbaizihuang only number around a hundred, indicating that each sect is not to be trifled with. Otherwise, they would not have been able to stand among the top hundred strong sects for so long. Zixia Sect, in particular, holds a nearly paramount position even among all Qing-level sects.
As for the current Zixia Sect, it is based on the five peaks of Zixia, namely the central Zixia Peak, the eastern Chaoyang Peak, the southern Yunwu Peak, the western Luori Peak, and the northern Miandui Peak. The surrounding mountains are surrounded by large and small towns and villages, which are all attached to the martial protection of the Zixia Sect. These towns and villages are managed by the disciples or affiliated families assigned by the Zixia Sect. In return, these towns and villages must offer a certain amount of tribute to the Zixia Sect, or engage in activities such as mining to exchange for it, and provide qualified young people to join the sect for cultivation every generation.
The Sword God Continent has no country, ordinary people can only survive by relying on the sect or establishing a certain number of towns and villages to communicate with each other. The Purple Mist Sect was founded over 1,600 years ago and has since developed to have more than 2 million affiliated dependents, with both sides being interdependent and inseparable.
As for why there are only over 50 disciples of Zhaoyang Peak, as seen by Lu Qing now, it's Master Xuanqing's doing. He is the master, and he decides on the number of disciples to take in. As if seeing the doubt in Lu Qing's eyes, Xuanqing explained: "My Zhaoyang Peak's Town Swordsmanship - Yangyang Sword Style was lost for two hundred years due to the accidental death of our 13th generation ancestor during a sword fight, resulting in the loss of the last five styles. Since then, fewer and fewer disciples have joined my Zhaoyang Peak. Compared to other four peaks with hundreds of people, now we only have these few dozen disciples left."
"But that's not the most important thing," Xuan Qing paused and continued, "Swordsmanship is dead, people are alive. No matter how profound your swordsmanship is, without long-term hard work and deep cultivation, it's useless. Ordinary swordsmanship can also exert unimaginable power if used properly. I hope you understand this."
"And you too, don't envy the disciples of other peaks. The swordsmanship of our Chaoyang Peak is also not inferior to others. Moreover...” Xuan Qing's voice suddenly rose, his gaze swept across the crowd of disciples like lightning, and after a long time, "Whoever can comprehend the sword intent before the Five Peaks Sword Conference five years later, I will exceptionally impart the Yangyang Heart Sutra to him!"
"What——" The disciples under him heard the words and were suddenly overjoyed. Lu Qing didn't know, they still didn't know that apart from the current Xuri Heart Scripture they were cultivating, Chaoyang Peak also had a profound sword technique called Yayang Heart Scripture, which was the peak of Chaoyang Peak's sword techniques. It had nine layers of cultivation realm, enough for them to cultivate to the distant Sword Emperor Realm. Compared to the Xuri Heart Scripture, which only had six layers of realm, not only did it greatly accelerate the absorption and transformation of heaven and earth's original energy into sword energy, but also had an effect on refining sword energy that was unimaginable with the Xuri Heart Scripture. Moreover, generally speaking, to be granted the Yayang Heart Scripture, one must have the realm of a Sword Master and comprehend their own unique sword intent; otherwise, they would have to wait until they advanced to the rank of Sword King before being granted it. Now that one condition had been removed, how could this not make them overjoyed?
However, after the initial excitement, the disciples fell silent again, as most people clearly realized that even if they could grasp the sword intent and receive the inheritance, the difficulty was still unimaginable. Moreover, it had to be done within five years. To understand sword intent, one had to comprehend the sword soul and reach the Sword King level, a feat only achievable by exceptional geniuses who might gain insight through their seniors' guidance or coincidental opportunities. The possibility of such an occurrence was extremely low, with perhaps only one or two prodigies emerging from ten thousand swordsmen, and they themselves did not possess such talent.
But in the crowd, there was one person who caught Lu Qing's attention at this moment. It was a big fat boy of about sixteen or seventeen years old on the left side. His round face had a pair of round eyes that were gleaming with mischief as they darted back and forth. A black martial arts uniform that fit him perfectly wrapped tightly around his body, accentuating the rolls of fat on his waist. At this moment, he had his hands crossed, looking superior, casting a sideways glance at a young disciple in the right column. The young disciple also looked angry, possibly restrained by Xu Ming's presence and unable to lash out, but his fists were clenched tightly, with flashes of ferocity darting through his eyes from time to time.
