Following the schedule given by her master for nearly a month, Jiang Yuejing was no longer the type to gasp for breath just running to the dining hall. She could now hold a horse stance for an entire morning without resting or trembling, and she felt her physical endurance had greatly improved.
On this day, Jiang Yuejing was swinging her sword as usual while Jing Yi tilted his head to supervise his apprentice's posture. Suddenly, he said, "My little apprentice, I feel like you've made huge progress now. In a couple of days, you'll be going to the study rooms for classes, so Master needs to rearrange your schedule."
Without stopping her movements, Jiang Yuejing replied, "Thank you, Master."
Jing Yi asked, "My little apprentice, have you thought about which study rooms you want to attend?"
Switching hands to continue swinging her sword, Jiang Yuejing answered, "Not yet. Do you have any recommendations, Master?"
After pondering for a moment, Jing Yi said, "You can arrange to go to the study rooms at Dharma Peak and Formation Peak first. The spellcrafts of Dharma Peak and the talisman-drawing and formation-laying of Formation Peak are both very useful. As for the study room at Pill Peak, you can give it a try; you have a Wind Spiritual Root, which is quite suitable for alchemy. Even if you can't learn to make pills, getting to know the spiritual herbs of the world is worthwhile. As for the study rooms at Artifact Peak and Beast Taming Peak, you can go listen in if you have free time. Hmm, you don't need to go to the study room at Sword Peak—having me teach you swordsmanship is enough."
Jiang Yuejing silently memorized her master's words in her heart. Indeed, having a top-tier Sword Peak master for one-on-one guidance meant she really didn't need to visit the Sword Peak study rooms.
Jing Yi added, "I will also be giving lectures later on, so I might not always be able to supervise your practice, but my little apprentice, you mustn't slack off."
Hearing this, Jiang Yuejing asked, "Master is going to teach classes too? Does that mean the ones teaching me spellcrafts and formations will also be elders and peak masters from various peaks?"
Jing Yi laughed heartily, "Ha ha ha, you silly apprentice! Most of the ones teaching you in the study rooms are senior brothers and senior sisters from the various peaks, and they are more than enough to teach you. What Master means by teaching classes is at the Sword Peak Disciple Hall, specially guiding Sword Peak disciples to advance further. It's once a month, so only twelve times a year."
Jiang Yuejing asked again, "Then what if there are disciples practicing the saber or the long spear—can you teach them too, Master?"
Jing Yi answered with confidence, "Of course! Teaching them is more than enough for me. Since these disciples all belong under Sword Peak, it means that whether you use a sword, a saber, or Dachui, there are common principles shared among them."
Having arrived at the Taqing Sect for nearly a month, Jiang Yuejing was still quite curious about her mother. Wondering if she could get some information from her master's side, she beat around the bush and asked, "Master, do you know all the junior and senior uncles of your generation?"
Jing Yi replied, "Not quite. I know all the inner disciples of Sword Peak from my own generation, and some of the outer disciples. As for the other peaks, I know the peak masters and elders, but not many others."
Jiang Yuejing was unfamiliar with the interpersonal relationships within the Taqing Sect, so she didn't dare rashly tell anyone that her mother was Qin Wenyu. What if she ran into someone who used to be at odds with Qin Wenyu and ended up sabotaging her? Therefore, the only person in the Taqing Sect who knew she was Qin Wenyu's daughter was Yun Shuo, and Yun Shuo had a cold personality and probably wouldn't talk much with others.
The next day, Jiang Yuejing went to copy the course schedule according to her master's instructions to take back and study the timings. There were quite a few disciples copying schedules here, and Jiang Yuejing couldn't squeeze into the outer circle. However, enterprising disciples had already started a business, selling a schedule for one low-grade spirit stone.
Operating on the principle of not wasting time—since there were many study rooms, the schedules were long, and copying it herself would take a very long time—Jiang Yuejing decisively spent one low-grade spirit stone to buy a booklet containing the copied schedules of all the study rooms.
On her way back, Jiang Yuejing ran into Xing Tiantian, Wen Mo, and the others. Xing Tiantian warmly greeted her, "Junior Sister Yuejing, how come you never come find me to play?"
After greeting everyone, Jiang Yuejing said, "I've been practicing the sword according to my master's requirements lately and haven't had time to go out. Huh? Senior Sister, are you all here to copy schedules too?"
Xing Tiantian realized, "So that's how it is. We're here to be assigned teaching duties; the classes at the Sword Peak study rooms this year will all be taught by the few of us, heh heh." With that, Xing Tiantian warmly invited Jiang Yuejing to go eat with them at the dining hall.
Xing Tiantian looked Jiang Yuejing up and down, resting her chin on her hand, "Junior Sister, I feel like you've changed a bit. Hmm, I feel like your temperament has become different."
Hearing this, Wen Mo chimed in, "Indeed, your temperament has improved a lot. Compared to the last time I saw you, your waist and back are much straighter."
Pleased by the praise from both of them, Jiang Yuejing felt wonderful inside. It seemed that this period of arduous training had not only improved her physical fitness but also corrected her posture—a delightful and unexpected bonus.
On the way, Xing Tiantian walked alongside Jiang Yuejing and asked with a mischievous smile, "Junior Sister, has Senior Brother Yun come looking for you?"
Not understanding why Xing Tiantian would ask this, Jiang Yuejing answered honestly, "No."
Hearing this, Xing Tiantian frowned, her voice involuntarily raising a pitch: "No? Why wouldn't he?!"
Wen Mo, hearing Xing Tiantian's sudden outburst from ahead, asked, "What's not?"
Xing Tiantian's brain spun rapidly to come up with an excuse to cover it up: "Um... the dining hall doesn't have big chicken legs today."
Neither Wen Mo nor Jiang Yuejing quite understood Xing Tiantian's train of thought, but Wen Mo still offered, "There will be big chicken legs on the menu the day after tomorrow."
After that, Xing Tiantian looked at Jiang Yuejing with eyes full of anticipation, keeping that expectant gaze all the way through the meal. Jiang Yuejing was somewhat baffled. Seeing that Jiang Yuejing still hadn't reacted, Xing Tiantian hinted, "The few of us will all be teaching at the Sword Peak study rooms."
Not understanding why Xing Tiantian was repeating this, Jiang Yuejing could only say, "Didn't you mention that just a moment ago, Senior Sister?"
Immediately seeming to realize something, Jiang Yuejing explained, "Master said I don't need to go to the Sword Peak study rooms for my studies; he said he can teach me himself. So I'm sorry, Senior Sister, I probably won't be attending your classes."
Xing Tiantian said, "That's not what I meant." Seeing Jiang Yuejing's puzzled expression, Xing Tiantian put on an expression that practically said, *Hurry up and ask me if Yun Shuo is going to teach.* Unfortunately, Jiang Yuejing never caught on to what Xing Tiantian meant.
After eating, Xing Tiantian dragged Jiang Yuejing to her room. The living quarters of Xing Tiantian and Wen Mo were both on the main peak of Sword Peak. Xing Tiantian's room was filled with all sorts of items, brimming with the warmth of daily life, and the two-room dwelling was kept in meticulous order by her.
Jiang Yuejing couldn't help praising, "Senior Sister, you are truly amazing. Your room is so pretty."
Hearing the compliment, Xing Tiantian couldn't help making a smug little expression, and then pointed far off in a certain direction out the window, "Senior Brother Yun lives over there." Then she pointed in another direction, "Senior Brother Wen lives that way."
At this point, Jiang Yuejing still didn't understand Xing Tiantian's intent and merely said, "You all live on Sword Peak. It must be very lively." Then, changing the subject, she asked, "Senior Sister, I heard from Master that you practice hammer techniques. Why don't you have a separate subsidiary peak?"
Xing Tiantian explained, "Because there's no need. Both my master and I use hammer techniques because we were both born with divine strength, and very few people have this constitution. So very few disciples can learn this, and there's no need for the two of us to open up a subsidiary peak."
Jiang Yuejing was puzzled: "But my master opened a subsidiary peak all by himself and became a subsidiary peak master."
Hearing this, Xing Tiantian burst out laughing, "Ha ha ha, Junior Sister, you were tricked by Uncle Jing! Uncle Jing became a subsidiary peak master not because he has a subsidiary peak, but because back when the peak master was away traveling, Uncle Jing always acted as the deputy peak master managing Sword Peak. Later, when the peak master returned, Uncle Jing said he wanted peace and quiet, so he moved out of Sword Peak, relocated a new mountain to use as his cave dwelling, and went off to seek solitude."
"Seek solitude? But from what I've seen, Master's personality seems like he enjoys being lively?" Hearing this, Jiang Yuejing became even more confused.
Xing Tiantian found it even funnier: "Sword Peak's administrative duties are heavy. When Uncle Jing was acting peak master, he often complained that he was being annoyed to death by all sorts of matters. Even though Uncle Jing always talked like that, Sword Peak was still kept in perfect order by him."
Finishing that, Xing Tiantian asked another question, "Junior Sister, you don't think your master is a sword cultivator, but rather uses other weapons like me, do you?"
Seeing Jiang Yuejing nod, Xing Tiantian laughed so hard she bent over: "Uncle Jing is too good at bluffing! Of course Uncle Jing is a sword cultivator. He's just relatively... well, how should I put it, elegant? He practices the sword through the qin, but he is still a sword cultivator."
After sitting at Xing Tiantian's place a bit longer, Jiang Yuejing checked the time and took her leave: "Senior Sister, I must be going. The cultivation time I agreed on with Master is almost here, and he might be waiting for me."
"Alright, I'll walk you out." Xing Tiantian picked up a sachet and handed it to Jiang Yuejing, "This sachet has the effect of calming the mind and soothing the spirit. Take it and hang it by your bed."
Jiang Yuejing accepted the sachet: "Thank you, Senior Sister. No need to walk me out, I can just run back myself—it's a good way to work out."
Hearing Jiang Yuejing say this, Xing Tiantian didn't insist further, simply watching as Jiang Yuejing jogged off into the distance.
Jiang Yuejing hadn't been to Xing Tiantian's dwelling before, so she wasn't very familiar with the return route, wandering around in a circle before she found a familiar place.
Yun Shuo was sitting inside his room with his eyes closed in meditation. Hearing the *thud-thud* sound of footsteps, he habitually released his divine sense, only to see Jiang Yuejing running in circles in the exact same spot not far away. Because Yun Shuo liked peace and quiet, he had set up a formation outside his room, never expecting Jiang Yuejing to accidentally wander into it. Assuming Jiang Yuejing had come looking for him, Yun Shuo cast a spell to open the formation, only to watch Jiang Yuejing simply turn around and jog away.
Carrying the booklet with the course schedule, Jiang Yuejing found Jing Yi. Jing Yi flipped through it and suggested, "People are more alert in the morning and prone to drowsiness in the afternoon. Apprentice, try to schedule your classes in the mornings; you can go straight to the study room after finishing your morning run."
Jiang Yuejing asked, "Won't I be smelly, though?"
Thinking about it, Jing Yi agreed—a young girl shouldn't smell sweaty, as it would affect his apprentice's image. He said, "I'll teach you a Cleansing Spell. Watch my hand gestures, form the seal like this," while speaking, he guided his apprentice's hands step by step.
Jiang Yuejing learned quite quickly. With a single Cleansing Spell, the stains, dust, and sweat on her body all vanished.
After studying the course schedule carefully, Jiang Yuejing found it rather simple and straightforward; almost at any given time, there was only one class running. This actually made things convenient for her, sparing her from any indecision. Soon, Jiang Yuejing finalized her class times and informed her master.