So, Jingliu took Jing Yuan directly to participate in a large-scale battle.
With the combined teaching of her as his master and his grandmaster, if Jing Yuan were to perish in his first battle, it would mean they had both misjudged him.
Unexpectedly, it led to many surprises instead.
The starship transporting the troops made an emergency landing on an ocean planet.
This place was heavily infested by Abominations. A newly emerged Long-lived Species called the Puppet Octopi hijacked the minds of the Cloud Knights and infiltrated the fleet, nearly succeeding in turning this warship into their nest.
It was Jing Yuan who keenly sensed the crisis and quickly deduced the patterns and solutions for the Puppet Octopi's mind control.
Ultimately, the remaining crew passed the test of distinguishing friend from foe, defeated their opponents, and returned home safely.
Jing Yuan's performance fully confirmed Qi Zhimu's judgment back then; his exceptional strategy and many of his ideas significantly reduced Cloud Knight casualties.
Listening to Bai Heng's praise for Jing Yuan, Jingliu also nodded slightly in approval.
Upon their triumphant return to the Luofu, Bai Heng had to visit the Department of Craftsmanship because her custom weapon was damaged, where she unexpectedly met a Short-Lived Species artisan named Yingxing.
Reunited after more than a decade, she invited him to the Qingxin Residence to meet Jing Yuan and Jingliu, just as Dan Feng happened to drop by for a visit.
Jingliu didn't much care for Yingxing's arrogant personality; her attention remained fixed on Qi Zhimu.
She discovered that Lord Yingyue and her master seemed to have a very good relationship... to the point where he even invited her master to visit the Scalegorge Waterscape.
One must know that the Vidyadhara had always been reluctant to welcome outsiders there.
However, Jingliu soon learned the reason from their conversation: it was because of the Yaoqing's High Elder, Lord Tianfeng.
Lord Tianfeng and Lord Yingyue shared a close personal bond.
Back when he hadn't yet retired from the Yaoqing, Qi Zhimu, as the strongest Vanguard and the uncrowned Sword Master of the Cloud Knights, naturally had frequent interactions with Lord Tianfeng.
Unwittingly, the flames of war flared up once more like falling rain.
Jingliu was used to going on Hunt expeditions with Bai Heng and Jing Yuan; after returning in victory, she would head to the Department of Craftsmanship to find Yingxing for weapon maintenance.
Of course, the maintenance was for her disciple and friend.
Her own sword never needed it. Despite years of war and having cut through countless bones and bodies of Abominations, the blade remained sharp enough to split a hair and was invincible.
She had once asked her master why, but only received the answer that it was a secret of the Qi Family and not to ask further, so she stopped asking.
She only needed to know that with the sword in hand, it was as if she were fighting side by side with her master.
No matter when she went to sleep, she always held this sword... Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was the year 7328 of the star calendar.
Jing Yuan's military achievements for the Cloud Knights became increasingly illustrious.
However, his quick wit and pragmatic methods frequently left his superiors both impressed and plagued with headaches.
Jingliu didn't say much about it; after all, she wasn't one to strictly adhere to conventions herself. Most of the time, she let her disciple do as he pleased, knowing she could handle whatever happened.
The person who truly gave her a headache... was Bai Heng.
Whenever Bai Heng piloted a starship into battle, she would either be swallowed as a snack by a behemoth of the Followers of Abundance by some strange twist of fate or crash-land deep behind enemy lines.
Few starships that passed through her hands returned to port intact; the people of the Sky-Faring Commission secretly called her the starship Killer.
Her jinxing mouth was the same; nine times out of ten, the bad things she guessed or speculated about would come true.
Over time, few in the Cloud Knights dared to travel with her, except for this Vanguard.
Bai Heng wasn't without her merits; her luck in staying alive was astonishingly good, and she always managed to turn misfortune into a blessing regardless of the danger.
This year, the latest Wardance ceremony on the Luofu attracted countless eyes.
With the previous Sword Master retired, the position of the new generation's Sword Master would be claimed by this year's champion.
In the tea room of the Qingxin Residence, Bai Heng immediately encouraged Jingliu to compete for the title.
Jingliu remained silent and looked at Qi Zhimu; seeing no reaction from him, she nodded with little interest.
Even if she won the title of Sword Master, it wouldn't earn her a single gaze from him. Since her master didn't care, she would treat it as a mere pastime.
As it turned out, this Wardance ceremony became the most jaw-dropping one.
No matter who the opponent was, they all fell under Jingliu's swift and decisive sword.
On the night of the finals, she hovered high in the air with her sword, the full moon behind her making her figure appear cold and ethereal, making it hard for anyone to look directly at her.
A streak of sword light like moonlight descended, splitting the entire arena in two and defeating her opponent head-on.
From that night on, Jingliu gained a title.
Transcendent Flash.
Her strength was so great that many busybodies began to compare Jingliu with the Sword Masters of the other Xianzhou ships.
Among the various Xianzhou ships, the pinnacle of Cloud Knight martial arts is the Sword Master, and the pinnacle of Sword Masters is the Alliance's Sword Champion.
In short, there were various opinions, but unfortunately, the Sword Champion is not decided through combat but must be personally bestowed by the Marshal.
If the Marshal doesn't speak, it's all empty talk.
Jingliu didn't care about the outside world's voices; she only cared about Qi Zhimu's reaction.
But this time, her master, who she expected to show no reaction, unexpectedly said to her:
"You did well."
For those four words alone, Jingliu wore a very faint smile on her lips even when out on Hunt expeditions.
Even upon her return, that smile had not faded.
The usually carefree and fearless Bai Heng was absolutely terrified this time, wondering if Jingliu had been possessed by a Suiyang.
She even ran to the Qingxin Residence to express her concerns to Qi Zhimu.
Jing Yuan was no different; like Bai Heng, he had never seen his master smile since becoming her disciple.
"..."
After hearing Bai Heng's worried words and seeing his grand-disciple's complicated expression, Qi Zhimu fell silent.
It wasn't that he didn't know he was being too harsh with Jingliu and keeping her at a great distance.
He also knew he couldn't keep treating her this way, or else she would likely develop problems.
Of course, the "problems" didn't refer to the mara affliction, but rather that her state of mind could easily become pathological.
After that unexpected romantic moment in the hot spring when they talked things through, Jingliu had returned to being the normal disciple she was in the early years.
Therefore, now that his disciple had been honored as the Sword Master, there was no need to keep a cold face and act against his heart.
After all, in his heart, Jingliu had always done well and had always been his pride.
Qi Zhimu had always known there were issues with how he acted as a master, but he had no choice.
He couldn't get too close to her... otherwise—
It would ruin her... He lowered his eyes to the jade pendant tied to his sleeve, lost in thought.
Bai Heng was also used to Qi Zhimu's silence; like master, like disciple, she thought.
Footsteps came from behind.
"Dan Feng, Yingxing, you're here. Cough, and Jingliu, is the check-up at the Alchemy Commission done?"
Seeing Jingliu's calm expression, Bai Heng felt a bit guilty.
She knew very well that Jingliu's senses were extremely sharp; she didn't know if her words just now had been overheard.
Fortunately, Jingliu just nodded slightly in greeting and said nothing.
"Bai Heng, this is for you." Yingxing handed over a recurve bow that looked ordinary but had a faint glow on its surface.
"This is...?"
"The multi-functional, handy weapon you wanted. I'm confident it will meet all your needs."
"As expected of an artisan who earned the title of Zhuming's Furnace Master, you're full of confidence." Bai Heng's eyes curved into a smile.
Yingxing smiled and took out two other items.
Unexpectedly, the Array blade in his right hand was in Jing Yuan's hands the next second.
"Mhm, I can tell at a glance it was tailor-made for me. Good brother, I'll treat you to a meal at the Supreme Flavor Pavilion another day."
Jing Yuan caressed the blade, unable to put it down, and followed up with a question.
"Does it have a name?"
"No, name it yourself."
"Then let's call it Shihuo Mengshen."
"What does it mean?"
"Fleeting fame and profit are but vain toil for the soul; a sigh for the steed passing through a crevice, a spark from a flint, a body in a dream."
"..." Yingxing's eye twitched slightly.
The reason he could never win an argument with Jing Yuan was that this guy relied on being cultured... speaking in ancient Xianzhou phrases he couldn't understand.
"High Elder, this spear is for you."
"For me?" A hint of surprise flashed in Dan Feng's eyes.
After taking the spear and examining it closely for a moment, his surprise deepened, and he showed an expression of approval.
"Thank you."
Although Yingxing's personality was somewhat arrogant now, he could still read the room. Seeing Jing Yuan's questioning gaze, he explained.
"The Sword Master's equipment doesn't need my attention. The sword in her hand is far better than anything I can create right now. I wonder which Furnace Master's hand it came from?"
"It's an heirloom; its origin is untraceable, only known to have been used by an ancestor." Before Jingliu could speak, Qi Zhimu unexpectedly answered for her.
This surprised Jingliu for quite a while.
But... when her master gave her the sword, he hadn't said it was a weapon used by a Qi Family ancestor, but rather a sword his mother had used during her lifetime.
Despite her confusion, she naturally wouldn't undermine her own master.