Chapter 7: First Attempt (Part 1)

  If you want the horse to run, you have to feed it grass. Asking for recommendation votes to rush to the new list, everyone helps to top ten steps, let ten steps go and kill one person, a thousand miles without leaving a trace, killing all the way to the front.

  Becoming a disciple wasn't that complicated either. After simply offering tea and kowtowing to the ancestral portrait in the main hall, Lu Qing officially became the 16th generation disciple of Chaoyang Peak, and at the age of 12, he became the youngest junior brother. Previously, the youngest senior brother when he became a disciple was already 13 years old. Now, two years have passed, and he is three years older than Lu Qing.

  After instructing the many disciples to give more guidance and help to Lu Qing, this new junior brother, Xuan Qing spoke again: "Which courtyard is willing to spare an empty room for Lu Qing?"

  Everyone looked at each other in dismay. Considering Lu Qing's age, even if he had reached the peak, it would only be the cultivation of a sword attendant. As for them, even the one with the lowest cultivation among them had already successfully built their foundation and reached the cultivation of a sword wielder. So, no matter which institute Lu Qing was assigned to, he would still be at the bottom. Living under the same roof, they would even have to spend their own cultivation time to guide him on ordinary days. Who would do such a foolish thing for someone unrelated?

  Seeing no one responding, Xuan Qing's eyebrows slightly furrowed, just about to speak up in reprimand, but then he saw that the originally standing-in-the-left-column fatty had taken a big step forward. As for Fatty's previous small movements, Xuan Qing was of course clear about them, but sometimes aren't these disciples' friction with each other important reasons for promoting their cultivation? Moreover, this fatty is usually quite likable, so Xuan Qing didn't want to reprimand him in front of everyone either.

  Only to see this fatty take a step forward, cup his hands and say: "My Purple Bamboo Institute still has an empty room, if Land Master doesn't mind, it's possible for us three to live together with Zhao Master." After finishing speaking, he turned his gaze towards Lu Qing: "I don't know how Land Master feels about this?" In the midst of speaking, his eyes blinked at Lu Qing, and surprisingly, he didn't care that Xuan Qing was still in front of him. Xuan Qing also didn't get angry, on the contrary, there was a hint of comfort in his eyes.

  Looking at the fat man's friendly and cunning eyes, Lu Qing also felt a warmth in his heart. He had seen the expressions of others just now, and he could guess what they were thinking. So at this moment, he was even more grateful to the fat man for not caring, and nodded in response: "Thank you, brother, I'll go to the Purple Bamboo Temple."

  Lu Qing had a place to go, and Xuan Qing didn't waste any more time. He instructed Pangzi to take Lu Qing to the Purple Bamboo Temple to settle down, and then explained the rules of Chaoyang Peak and some things to pay attention to in daily life to Lu Qing before dismissing everyone, leaving only Xuan Qing standing quietly inside the main hall, staring at the portrait above his head, lost in thought.

  After leaving the main hall of Chaoyang, the disciples of Chaoyang Peak left in twos and threes. The fat master took Lu Qing to meet two young men who were about 18 or 19 years old. They both wore tight-fitting greenish-gray martial robes. One had a sword-shaped eyebrow, a handsome face, and long hair tied up with a purple bamboo pin. He carried a four-foot-long purple-golden sword on his back, which emitted a sharp aura that was almost palpable to Lu Qing's eyes. The sword was forged from rare purple gold mixed with high-quality hundred-year-old refined iron, although it didn't quite reach the level of a top-grade divine sword, it was close. In the younger generation of Zixia Sect, owning such a fine sword undoubtedly proved that its owner had exceptional strength and was among the best. The other senior brother also carried a green long sword on his back, which was slightly inferior to the previous purple sword, forged from high-quality copper mixed with hundred-year-old mysterious copper, but it was still a rare good sword.

  At this time, both of them were looking at Lu Qing with a kind face, and the fat man began to introduce himself: "My name is Duan Qingyun, I am your sixteenth senior brother. You can call me Fat Senior Brother in your daily life. The one next to you with the purple sword is your third senior brother Zhao Qianye, and the one holding the green sword is your seventh senior brother Yu Jihua. From now on, you will live together with us in the Purple Bamboo Courtyard. If you have any difficulties in your cultivation, feel free to ask, we will do our best to help you."

  "Not bad, fatty. Although you're usually up to no good, this time you've finally done something right." Yu Jihua said with a smirk, rolling her eyes.

  Duan Qingyun felt a bit embarrassed upon hearing this, "I say, there's no need to destroy my stage like that."

  "On the other hand, Zhao Qianye took over and said: 'However, I think Ji Hua didn't say anything wrong —'"

  "Ah——" Duan Qingyun was suddenly speechless, while Zhao Qianye and Yu Jihua exchanged a glance and burst out laughing, attracting the attention of passing disciples.

  Looking at the harmonious scene in front of him, Lu Qing couldn't help but feel a sense of expectation for his future life. It seemed that even his originally scarce confidence was gradually increasing at this moment. He bowed to the three of them and said sincerely: "Then from now on, I will have to rely on the guidance of the three senior brothers."

  "Oh, you think you can too?" Just as Lu Qing was speaking, a cold voice cut in. The four of them turned their heads to look, "It's you..." Duan Qingyun's face involuntarily turned pale, and he said in a chilly tone.

  It was him, Lu Qing thought to himself, the newcomer being the young disciple he had just seen in the grand hall who didn't get along with Duan Qingyun. Behind him followed four young disciples, all of whom lagged half a step behind, clearly taking their cue from him. The group of them walked up to Lu Qing and his companions.

  Duan Qing Yun stepped forward and blocked Lu Qing's path: "Tai Yun, today is Brother Lu's first day in the sect. I don't want to say much to you, it's better if you leave."

  Tai Yun's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he patted his left sleeve with his hand. His eyes narrowed into a smile as he said, "Oh, you're still so fond of meddling in other people's business, haha. Don't worry, Lu Shidi has just arrived at our Chaoyang Peak, and as his senior brother, I'll naturally take good care of him. As for you, my interest is not that great."

  Duan Qingyun's face revealed a cold smile without any concealment: "Get closer, get closer. Why didn't you tell Master back then in the grand hall? As far as I know, your Qingxin Courtyard still has several empty rooms over there?"

  "Brother Duan, you're really..."

  "Taiyun, everything in moderation, we don't have time now—" Just as Taiyun was about to respond, Zhao Qianye, who was standing on Lu Qing's left side, suddenly interrupted.

  As he looked at Zhao Qianye's calm and peaceful eyes, Taiyun's smile on his face involuntarily froze. In that gaze, he felt a strong pressure, as if being struck by a heavy hammer, deeply impacting his heart and making him exhausted from responding. He originally wanted to say a few more words, but under Zhao Qianye's plain gaze, he couldn't utter them no matter what. By the time he came back to himself, Lu Qing and the others had already walked far away.

  A disciple next to him stepped forward with some concern and said, "Ninth Brother, are you okay?" But found that Taiyun's face turned pale and white, his eyes were gloomy, but after a while, he quickly calmed down, just faintly shouting: "Let's go——" Then took the lead and turned to leave, The four people behind him looked at each other, and a meaningful smile appeared on their mouths at the same time, and they followed quickly.

  On the other hand, the side of Chaoyang Palace leaning against the mountain is composed of dozens of large and small courtyards. Each courtyard is different, but they all look elegant. Various rare flowers and grasses are scattered everywhere, and even the pleasant sound of birds chirping can be heard from time to time. It's really a great place to live. Lu Qing came here for the first time and couldn't help feeling dizzy, but soon he felt some doubts.

  Seeing the confusion on Lu Qing's face, Yu Jihua smiled and said: "Are you wondering why there are so many courtyards here? Why didn't they assign one to you in the main hall just now, but instead let you stay in someone else's courtyard?"

  Lu Qing's face turned slightly red upon hearing this, after all, his thoughts had been seen through, and anyone would feel a bit uncomfortable in such a situation. However, he still nodded and looked up, waiting for Yu Jihua's answer. Turning his hand over, he inserted the long sword into his waistband, and Yu Jihua looked at Lu Qing with a low voice: "Because of strength, only when one's strength reaches the level of a Sword Master can they have their own independent courtyard, and among this generation of disciples in Chaoyang Peak, only Eldest Senior Brother has an independent courtyard."

  "Big Brother Master?" Lu Qing asked in surprise.

  "He didn't come to the main hall just now," Duan Qingyun interjected, a rare look of reverence on his face, which made Lu Qing, who had been watching him with amusement, feel somewhat surprised. Who was this senior brother after all?

  Only to see Yu and Hua continue: "Master brother Nie Qingtian, at the age of 13, entered the door and converted to practicing our Chao Yangfeng's Xu Ri Xin Jing. At the age of 14, he successfully built his foundation and reached the Sword Holder stage. Two years later, with the Xu Ri Thirteen Swords, he made a big splash in the semi-annual competition and successfully advanced to become the fifth master brother. After two months, he broke through again and entered the second realm of the sword path, the Sword Guest stage. In the next semi-annual competition, he used his Qing Feng Zui Jian technique to suppress everyone and became the great master brother of our Chao Yangfeng. And in the following three years, under the guidance of Master, he broke through again and entered the Sword Master stage, known as one of the top ten young masters of our Purple Cloud, until a month ago's competition, no one could survive more than 50 moves in Master brother's hands. Just now, he didn't come to the main hall because...

  Yu and Hua stopped abruptly, their piercing eyes gleaming with intensity, while Zhao Qianye's expression was equally grave, causing Duan Qingyun, who didn't understand the situation, to scratch his ears in confusion.

  "Why?"

  A faintly discernible look of envy appeared on his face, and Yu Ji Hua let out a sigh: "Because he had gone into seclusion after the last Grand Competition, all for the sake of——"

  "Sense his sword intent!"

  What!

  Duan Qingyun and Lu Qing were both shocked, the sword intent was something that they didn't even dare to think about at this point, yet Nie Qingtian had already grasped it at just 19 years old. Was this really the difference between a genius and an ordinary person? The boundary that others struggled to break through after four or five years of hard work seemed so effortless in front of Nie Qingtian. From this moment on, Lu Qing silently remembered this name, but at the same time, he felt lost. Could he really surpass them within five years? That realm was still so far out of his reach, and even though he had confidence in his own abilities, he was now filled with uncertainty.

  "So, Lu Shidi, remember that in the Azure Peak, everything must be achieved through one's own strength. Other means are useless here. I hope you understand that only by improving your strength can you make progress every day. Now that you've joined our Purple Bamboo Institute, if you encounter any difficulties, feel free to come find us, just don't stir up trouble." Yu Jihua finished speaking and gave a meaningful glance at Duan Qingyun, while the fatty looked somewhat intimidated and turned his head away, scanning the surrounding flowers and trees as if everything was none of his concern.