Xie Liufeng never expected that Chu Xinghui’s decision to change his initial plan was because of him.

Cultivators who are independent, roaming the world, and those under the protection of a sect are fundamentally different. A large, well-established sect not only provides a vast array of cultivation resources, martial arts manuals, and mature training methods, but also offers its disciples protection when traveling, guarding them from those with malicious intentions.

Moreover, with Chu Xinghui’s talent, he would likely be given special attention once he entered a sect.

This was something Chu Xinghui could not have been unaware of.

And considering that even if he joined the Beiyue Sword Sect and took another master, Xie Liufeng would never abandon him…

But Chu Xinghui still chose to alter his goal for Xie Liufeng’s sake.

When Chu Xinghui said that Xie Liufeng was important to him, it was never an empty statement.

The passionate feelings of a young man could not be easily ignored.

Xie Liufeng sighed, trying to clarify: “Is there a chance that I specially arranged for you to go directly to Qingjing Peak after passing the initiation trial because Qingjing Peak is my domain?”

Chu Xinghui stood still for a while, processing the information hidden in those words.

Xie Liufeng, unsure of how he would react, stood quietly, waiting.

Chu Xinghui finally absorbed everything, observing the person before him carefully.

He then changed his words: “I’ve decided. I still think the Sword Sovereign is more powerful than you. I plan to go to the Beiyue Sword Sect to become his disciple.”

Xie Liufeng: “…”

How did he lose his importance so quickly?

But now, Xie Liufeng didn’t dare express his thoughts. He cautiously probed Chu Xinghui’s attitude: “If you’re upset…”

Chu Xinghui shook his head: “I’m not upset.”

He looked up at Xie Liufeng and said seriously: “You didn’t hide anything from me, you just didn’t mention it, and I didn’t ask. If you hadn’t said anything, we would have misunderstood each other. So you told me directly. Identity is just identity, as long as there’s no misunderstanding, that’s all that matters. What’s important to me is you, not your identity.”

Moreover, he had had the chance to learn about this earlier.

But since it wasn’t particularly important for either of them, they hadn’t dwelled on it.

Xie Liufeng was stunned for a moment.

After a while, he smiled as usual: “Since we’ve decided, I’ll go pack up my things.”

Chu Xinghui didn’t understand how the conversation had jumped to this point. He looked at him with confusion.

Xie Liufeng reached out and gently tapped his head: “Since you’re going to the Beiyue Sword Sect, I also should go back to the sect.”

*

After discussing everything, Chu Xinghui finally agreed to set off for the Beiyue Sword Sect to become a disciple.

Although the Beiyue Sword Sect was located in the North Yue region, it was still quite far from Wanling Valley. It took Chu Xinghui a whole day to reach the foot of the Beiyue Sword Sect’s mountain.

Not far from there was the registration point set up by the sect at the base of the mountain.

The busiest time for registration had already passed, but since Beiyue Sword Sect was the best sword cultivation sect in the entire cultivation world, people were still coMing and going. There were still many people queuing at the registration point.

Just as Chu Xinghui was about to join the line, a cry for help caught his attention.

He turned around and saw three Foundation Building cultivators robbing a female cultivator of her storage pouch.

Although it was suspicious to act so boldly right under the Beiyue Sword Sect’s nose, Chu Xinghui couldn’t ignore it and stepped forward to intervene: “The Beiyue Sword Sect is right there. Is it really wise to act so arrogantly?”

The three burly men sized him up. Seeing his young age, they sneered: “Who are you? What does it have to do with you what we’re doing?”

Chu Xinghui didn’t say much. He directly released his spiritual power.

Golden Core stage.

The three men instantly realized they were no match for him and quickly ran off, casting wary glances at Chu Xinghui.

The matter was settled, and Chu Xinghui was about to leave when he suddenly felt someone tugging at his clothes. He turned around and saw the female cultivator who had been robbed, holding onto him shyly, her gaze filled with hesitation. She spoke softly: “This humble one is Qin Suyun. May I ask your honorable name, benefactor?”

Chu Xinghui shook his head: “I was just passing by. You’re too kind. The Beiyue Sword Sect is nearby. Next time, you can seek help from them directly.”

Qin… Although it was inappropriate, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of prejudice toward this surname.

So he quickly bid her farewell and continued on his way.

What he didn’t see was that behind him, Qin Suyun’s gaze darkened as she silently followed him.

*

Chu Xinghui reached the registration point, ready to queue, when he suddenly saw the female cultivator again.

Qin Suyun’s eyes brightened, and she quickly approached him: “What a coincidence. Fellow Cultivator, are you here to join the Beiyue Sword Sect as well? Can I call you senior brother now?”

Chu Xinghui looked at her more carefully this time, then frowned and asked: “Do you know Yue Yao?”

Qin Suyun was taken aback for a moment, then quickly lowered her eyes, her tone tinged with curiosity: “Yue… Yue Yao? Who is that? A senior sister from this registration?”

Chu Xinghui shook his head: “Nothing. I wish you success.”

Was it his imagination? The way she walked, her tone, and even her small gestures… all seemed to have a strange similarity to the Saintess of Bihai Taohua Island.

But in the end, this wasn’t something that concerned him.

So he politely bid farewell to the female cultivator again and joined the line.

Qin Suyun watched helplessly as Chu Xinghui left, biting her lip. She had no choice but to walk off in another direction for the time being.

Chu Xinghui, however, did not notice her.

Yet, thinking of Yue Yao, Chu Xinghui remembered something else.

Following Yue Yao’s instructions, he had headed south and encountered Qin Yuwen, who seemed to be colluding with Yue Yao… In the end, Qin Yuwen had died, and the poison was cured. Though the events that transpired were hard to fully attribute to Yue Yao, in some sense, her predictions had indeed come true.

But what about that “sacred object”?

He pondered whether he should contact Yue Yao again, but before he could act on it, Ming Xiao appeared out of nowhere, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him aside: “How many times have I told you to come already? Why are you only here now?”

Ming Xiao didn’t give him a chance to speak, immediately shoving a piece of paper and a pen into his hands: “This is the registration form. Fill it out, hurry up.”

The form could be picked up by a friend or relative on behalf of the applicant, so it saved Chu Xinghui from having to wait in line.

Noticing the look in Chu Xinghui’s eyes, Ming Xiao’s face reddened slightly, but he stubbornly said: “I’m not rushing for you to be my fellow disciple. Even if you become my fellow disciple, you still won’t be able to surpass me.”

Chu Xinghui, understanding his personality, thanked him and filled out the registration form.

*

Three days later, the registration period for the Beiyue Sword Sect’s disciple intake finally concluded.

The Sect Master, Fang Yan, collected the reviewed forms and assembled a meeting with the idle disciples to give them an overview of the new applicants basic information.

Soon, someone noticed Chu Xinghui’s profile.

Ice-element spiritual root, broke through to Golden Core before age twenty… a once-in-a-lifetime talent.

One of the elders immediately hinted at Fang Yan: “Sect Master, I still have a slot for a direct disciple. Let’s pay attention to this one and, once he passes the trial…”

Before he could finish, someone interrupted him: “Since this disciple has an ice element spiritual root, it’s somewhat related to my water element as well. I have a position for a closed-door disciple.”

The two of them exchanged glances.

One suggested: “Shall we go to the sword-testing grounds?”

The other nodded: “Let’s go.”

Fang Yan immediately stood up to stop them.

He had received a message from Xie Liufeng, who had reminded him honestly: “Brothers and sisters, don’t get any ideas. This child is Senior Teacher disciple.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the lively atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

Someone couldn’t help but confirm: “Xie Qinghe?”

Fang Yan nodded: “Yes.”

Some who had been in seclusion for a long time, still stuck on the earliest news, murmured: “… Wasn’t it said that he died?”

Someone with better information corrected them: “He’s not dead. He’s alive again.”

Seeing the conversation taking an unexpected turn, someone finally brought it back to Chu Xinghui: “So this child is Xie Qinghe’s disciple outside the sect? No wonder his cultivation is so advanced for his age.”

A young man with striking features in the crowd sneered: “Come on, you bunch of sword cultivators, always focused on practicing your swords, but never keeping up with the news. This kid may be Xie Qinghe’s, but he might not be Xie Qinghe’s disciple.”

This person was Xie Liufeng fellow disciple, Xue Heng.

“Do you all remember when Xie Qinghe went to Lingxiang Sect to save someone? My disciple heard some rumors when he was out.” Xue Heng paused theatrically, then dropped a bombshell: “This young man is very likely Xie Qinghe’s Dao companion.”

Everyone in the room knew Xue Heng’s personality, and someone quickly spoke up, trying to smooth things over: “As expected of Senior Brother Xue, you’re so well-informed. Please, do tell us more.”

Xue Heng felt flattered, clearing his throat and embellishing the rumors he had heard from his disciple, Ming Xiao, until it was practically a whole new story.

The room fell into a heavy silence.

Finally, someone couldn’t help but express their thoughts: “Ugh, ‘red eyes, waist clasped, pinned to the wall and kissed’? Xue Heng, if that’s really Xie Qinghe, I’ll give you my main spirit sword to chop vegetables.”

Xue Heng, though he realized he might have exaggerated a bit, remained firm and said: “… Even if I embellished a little, there’s probably some truth to it. You can choose to believe or not, I won’t lose anything.”

Though the story was obviously fabricated, everyone in the room couldn’t help but entertain the possibility.

After a brief silence, a peak master spoke up: “… Eh, I have an idea.”

His friend, knowing how cunning this particular peak master was, tried to stop him: “Why don’t you hold off on that for now?”

But the peak master pressed on: “Well, Teacher Xie hasn’t shown his face in eight hundred years. Even if we sneak this kid away from him, will he even know?”

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became: “If this kid is really Teacher Xie Dao companion, then taking him as a disciple would mean we’ve somehow surpassed Teacher Xie… Hah! That would be exhilarating.”

Before he could finish, someone chimed in: “Yeah, yeah, that sounds thrilling. Let me join in too.”

The peak master, irritated, snapped: “Go away, go away. Everyone, fight for it. Whoever gets him first can be the one to take him.”

As soon as he spoke, it suddenly hit him—something felt off.

The voice… it sounded oddly familiar…

Fang Yan shot him a glance and cleared his throat loudly.

The peak master turned around and was startled to see Xie Liufeng standing in the crowd, listening intently.

Xie Liufeng grinned, his eyes squinting with amusement as he greeted everyone cheerfully: “Good morning, brothers and sisters!”

 

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