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Qing Xuanling, seated cross-legged in her room, exhaled slowly. Her aura seemed slightly more stable than before.
Two nights had passed since she'd received the Five Elements Ingot.
During that time—besides focusing on nourishing the ingot—she'd also practiced the Wandering Sword Art and the Purple Phantom Movement Technique. She'd achieved quite different results with each.
She'd perfected her control over the first two Wandering Sword Art moves and even begun learning the principles of the third move—a significant advancement for such a short practice period.
However, the opposite was true for the movement technique.
Despite spending more time practicing it, she hadn't even reached the entry level. She was still in the process of locating the minor meridians required to execute the technique.
It wasn't that the Purple Phantom Movement Technique was more complicated than the Wandering Sword Art—in fact, quite the opposite. But unlike movement techniques, Qing Xuanling already had experience with sword techniques.
Moreover, she possessed innate sword talent—making learning sword techniques considerably easier.
But she lacked such advantages with movement techniques—so Qing Xuanling's true learning speed was revealed through this movement technique.
'I suspected as much—but I won't master even the first move of this movement technique for at least a month… With my spiritual roots, it's nearly impossible to quickly locate those meridians and improve control over them.'
True—she could ask Xuan Dan to learn the movement technique too, allowing her to learn faster. But the difference wouldn't be obvious. Xuan Dan's talent for such things wasn't much better than hers—perhaps even worse.
After all, the Purple Phantom Movement Technique primarily used Yin-attributed minor meridians—the complete opposite of Xuan Dan's natural fire affinity.
So she was on her own with this.
"Well—I suppose I'll have to proceed steadily and patiently as before…" Qing Xuanling smirked wryly.
At some point, she'd grown accustomed to her recent cultivation speed—especially her rapid strength increases.
She'd nearly forgotten the era when she'd stayed awake to cultivate longer, risked her life in the Scarlet Forest to awaken latent potential in life-or-death situations—and gained only minuscule cultivation improvements in return.
Impatience faded from her eyes as she moderated her mental state. She'd already endured fighting for her life while barely increasing her strength—so taking so long to learn a single technique wouldn't affect her.
She shook her head. "It's true—going from scarcity to abundance is easy, but going from abundance back to scarcity is impossible… I can't believe I grew frustrated over taking so long to learn a technique."
She laughed and stood up, ready to begin her day. Xuan Dan sat in a corner of the room, studying the Celestial Flower's Pink Fire manual. Qing Xuanling didn't disturb her and opened the shutters, letting in the morning sun.
It was six o'clock.
She bathed and dressed—once again wearing the black robes with embroidered crimson flowers that Madam Yechan had gifted her.
A knock came at the door precisely at seven.
Qing Xuanling paused and glanced at Xuan Dan. She sighed—and transformed into a beam of light that flew toward Qing Xuanling's glabella.
Qing Xuanling's brow furrowed slightly—but quickly returned to normal. Not because the information received this time was small—but because her pain tolerance had recently increased.
She took one last deep breath and opened the door. Outside waited a mortal girl wearing the clan's servant attire—a rather simple set of red robes. The girl bowed deeply as Qing Xuanling stepped out.
"I've come to inform Master Xuanling that the Green Breeze University—established by the Young Master—will officially commence operations today. Your presence is requested as a member of the first student generation."
Qing Xuanling blinked—but before she could respond, similar words came from the room beside hers. Qing Wentian had just opened his door, receiving the same message as Qing Xuanling.
They exchanged glances—slight surprise in their eyes—but quickly accepted it.
'Wentian is the clan's greatest current genius—it's natural he'd also be invited to this so-called university…'
'Xuanling has now thoroughly demonstrated her potential—it would be strange if she weren't invited…'
They smiled at each other while sharing similar thoughts. After some brief conversation, they decided to follow the girl—and the boy guiding Wentian—toward the Green Breeze University's location.
Qing Xuanling and Qing Wentian chatted casually as they were guided along paths and trails they'd never seen before—but felt no concern. After all, they were within clan territory. Nothing dangerous would happen here.
Though Qing Xuanling still maintained a trace of caution in her eyes. Since that ambush, she hadn't been able to truly relax in open spaces or crowded areas. She always felt someone might be waiting for an opportunity to kill her.
It was somewhat tiring to remain constantly alert—but she didn't consider it bad. A little caution might save her life.
"So you've been in seclusion lately? Then you must be close to reaching late-stage…?"
"Eh? Your sword might awaken sentience? What envy!! And what's more, master Gao will reforge your sword?! I've heard he's the most talented refiner in the clan for the past two centuries!..."
"The other day I heard Uncle Gui caught his wife with Inspector Hong! Apparently, Inspector Hong's position in the Punishment Hall was removed!..."
Qing Xuanling and Qing Wentian discussed various matters—from cultivation to the most mundane gossip. In the end, the conversation was mostly Qing Wentian rattling off gossip while Qing Xuanling listened with interest.
Though Qing Xuanling spent all her time training and cultivating, that didn't mean she lacked interest in these somewhat useless worldly things.
Who wouldn't enjoy hearing how a man was thrown naked from his home by his wife? Or the woman searching for her child's true father among seven men?! All highly interesting matters!
Of course—all such incidents occurred in the residential zone for retired clan members or those who didn't plan to increase their strength and simply wished to live peacefully. Few belonged to the latter group—but they still existed.
This type of gossip and scandal would never occur in the dormitories where Qing Xuanling and Qing Wentian resided—that essentially the clan warriors' quarters. Most living there focused entirely on increasing their strength.
Considering this—one had to wonder how Qing Wentian knew so much gossip and news from the retirees' zone…
Qing Xuanling gave Qing Wentian a strange look—he continued rattling off gossip after gossip, face flushed with excitement…
She wanted to say something—but the servants ahead suddenly stopped and turned around. Both spoke simultaneously:
"Masters—simply follow the path ahead to reach Green Breeze University. We can accompany you no further!"
Qing Xuanling and Qing Wentian were stunned.
Before they realized it—they'd arrived at a forest filled with lush trees and undergrowth. Both were certain they'd never been in such a place before.
The path the servants mentioned was a small stone trail that appeared well-maintained—not a single blade of grass between the stones or bushes encroaching on the path.
Qing Xuanling nodded gratefully to her servant while retrieving a gold coin from her pocket and handing it to the young servant girl, who accepted it with eyes sparkling with emotion. Qing Wentian did the same.
Working as servants for the Qing Clan's cultivators wasn't a bad job—in fact, many mortals yearned for such positions. The clan had always maintained a policy of treating servants relatively well—so it was natural servants received wages.
But the best part of the job was contact with young cultivators—whose sense of mortal money value wasn't exactly refined. Thus, many generously gave rewards without hesitation.
Qing Xuanling and Qing Wentian belonged to that group. They didn't truly understand the value of mortal coins—only offering one of the dozens of coins the clan gave them monthly.
Both stopped paying attention to the servants and began walking along the stone path. It was quite long. They continued advancing while still chatting. However, Qing Xuanling's eyes kept scanning the surroundings—
As if searching for something.
Qing Wentian didn't notice and kept chattering while Qing Xuanling only gave short replies.
He talked so much it was giving Qing Xuanling a headache. She suddenly remembered why she sometimes avoided meeting Qing Wentian. She sighed and was about to tap Qing Wentian's neck—but a whistle suddenly split the air!
Fisshhh!
A bright point shot from a bush beside the stone path—aimed directly at Qing Wentian's neck!
Qing Xuanling's eyes narrowed—and without hesitation, she shoved Qing Wentian aside while clenching her hand into a fist wreathed in sharp Qi. Without hesitation, she struck toward the bright object!
Crack!
The sound of something shattering echoed as the bright object—revealed to be an arrow—shattered into pieces upon colliding with Qing Xuanling's fist, which remained completely unharmed.
Qing Wentian's golden eyes widened in shock—not comprehending what was happening for a moment.
"Get up, damn it—we're under attack!" Qing Xuanling roared furiously while unsheathing the provisional sword at her waist. "Prepare for the next attack—it's not the last—!"
Five arrows flew again—interrupting Qing Xuanling's words. She clicked her tongue and used the second move of the Wandering Sword Art: Nine Changes. She intercepted the arrows effortlessly.
But at that moment—a sudden chill down her spine sent shivers through her!
She tried to turn—but what she saw froze her heart. A black-clad figure had somehow appeared behind her!
Her body attempted to twist—but it was already too late. She could already feel the dagger the assassin held piercing her entrails.
Fortunately—none of that happened.
After all—she wasn't alone this time, unlike that ambush a week ago.
"Bastards—how dare you attack us within clan territory!"
Qing Wentian's roar suddenly erupted!
Simultaneously, a fire dragon suddenly appeared beside the assassin—slamming into him and sending him flying!
Qing Xuanling stared at Qing Wentian—surrounded by eight fire dragons—with widened eyes. Beyond his sudden power eruption, she was shocked by the aura emanating from him.
The aura of a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator! Qing Wentian had reached the seventh layer!
She sighed in relief and teased slightly. "Tsk—if you're so strong, why the hell did you freeze up while an early-stage cultivator saved your ass?"
Qing Wentian's face flushed slightly. "Shut up! How was I supposed to expect we'd be attacked inside the clan…?"
Qing Xuanling's lips twisted as she tried not to smile—and gripped her sword tighter. She hadn't forgotten the arrow-shooting assassin. The only reason she hadn't gone to attack him was that she couldn't sense his presence.
She'd been waiting to see if the assassin would attempt to attack while she spoke with Qing Wentian—but it seemed he'd fled upon seeing his companion fall.
She hesitated briefly—then finally shook her head. "Let's check on the one you just knocked down. There might be clues on his body about how he entered the clan—or if he's a spy-"
Qing Xuanling's face suddenly lost all color. The same happened to Qing Wentian. Both stared fixedly at the person who had suddenly appeared before them—floating several meters above the ground…
Qing Xuanling suddenly recalled a lesson from her youth—about cultivation realms.
'The primary hallmark of a Foundation Establishment cultivator is… their ability to fly!'
Qing Xuanling's mind froze—unable to fully process the current situation.
The floating figure—dressed in black attire revealing only two completely white eyes—tilted his head and spoke in a mocking tone.
"Heh—you two truly put on a fine performance—worthy of two prodigies of the glorious Qing Clan! Pity this old man came today to devour some young geniuses!"
A cold, calculating aura pressed down on Qing Xuanling and Qing Wentian—attempting to force them to kneel.
The two youths' bodies filled with helplessness as they felt their lives slipping from their hands. Such was the gulf between two great realms.
Qing Xuanling had never realized just how small and insignificant she was before a Foundation Establishment cultivator…