Once class began, Jiang Yuejing realized that Liang Zhi belonged to the Dharma Peak. He drew talismans in one smooth, flowing motion without the slightest hesitation. Liang Zhi had his own distinct rhythm when teaching, explaining the nuances of talisman crafting in meticulous detail. A single wrong stroke could yield the exact opposite result. Jiang Yuejing followed the steps Liang Zhi outlined and began to draw. On her very first attempt, her brush slipped at a corner, and the talisman was completely ruined.
Liang Zhi strolled around the classroom, keeping a watchful eye on the junior disciples as they practiced, offering pointers from time to time. "Don't let your hands shake, keep the spiritual power flowing steadily, and be bold with your strokes. The more frightened you are, the easier it is to make mistakes."
After failing several times, Jiang Yuejing finally succeeded in drawing a fire talisman. Looking at the successful talisman paper, her heart swelled with joy. Just then, Liang Zhi happened to wander over. Seeing the talisman in her hand, he nodded with satisfaction and said, "Jiang, try channeling your spiritual power into it."
Hearing this, Jiang Yuejing tried channeling her spiritual power. The talisman paper quickly caught fire, transforming from a tiny spark into a fireball the size of two hands. Liang Zhi nodded. "Not bad. You still need more practice, Junior Sister." With that, he moved on to guide other disciples.
Sitting in the classroom, Jiang Yuejing had a surreal feeling, almost as if she were still back in university. Because she had gained quite a bit of attention when she first entered the sect, quite a few people took the initiative to befriend her, and through this, she got to know many senior and junior brothers from the other peaks.
One day, Jiang Yuejing went to the Dharma Peak dining hall for a meal with a senior sister from the Dharma Peak. The dishes at the Dharma Peak dining hall were somewhat different from those at the Sword Peak, but Jiang Yuejing was not a picky eater. The two of them found a table, sat down, and chatted while eating, but Jiang Yuejing kept feeling like someone was watching her. She quickly spotted the person: a man sitting diagonally across from her on her left. When the man saw that she had noticed him, he flashed an apologetic smile.
The senior sister sitting opposite Jiang Yuejing noticed that she had suddenly stopped talking. Looking up to see what she was doing, she saw Jiang Yuejing looking over her shoulder. The senior sister turned around to see who it was, only to find that it was her own martial uncle. She immediately greeted him respectfully as "Martial Uncle." The man nodded, walked over, and gazed at Jiang Yuejing again.
Feeling rather unnerved by the constant stare, Jiang Yuejing asked somewhat brusquely, "This martial uncle, is there something wrong with my appearance? Or am I not allowed to eat in the Dharma Peak dining hall?"
The man twitched the corner of his mouth, trying to put on a friendly smile. "I apologize. You just looked a lot like a junior sister of mine, and I couldn't help looking a bit longer." Jiang Yuejing immediately thought of Qin Wenyu, but since she didn't have a very favorable impression of this martial uncle at the moment, she simply replied, "I see. I apologize for my tone just now."
The man said, "No worries, no worries. Go ahead and eat, I'll take my leave."
During her time in the Medicine Peak classroom, the students were required to memorize the names of medicinal herbs and their properties for a long time. For some reason, Jiang Yuejing found her memory getting better and better; she was able to memorize these dry and tedious facts very quickly.
One day on her way to the dining hall after class, she ran into Yun Shuo. Jiang Yuejing realized she hadn't seen this Senior Brother Yun for quite some time, and she still hadn't thanked him for the help he gave her when she first entered the sect. So it felt entirely natural to step forward and greet him. Yun Shuo nodded, glanced at the few people around Jiang Yuejing, and said, "Come with me."
When they were finally alone, Jiang Yuejing took the initiative to speak, saying sincerely to Yun Shuo, "Senior Brother Yun, thank you for always helping me."
Yun Shuo acknowledged this with a hum, then asked, "You've been in the sect for a few months now. Have you figured out what path you want to cultivate?"
Jiang Yuejing shook her head. "Not yet."
"Didn't Martial Uncle Jing tell you?" Yun Shuo continued.
Jiang Yuejing replied, "Master gave me a few manuals on mental cultivation, but I haven't chosen one."
Yun Shuo asked expressionlessly, "Why? Do you not want to raise your cultivation level?"
Jiang Yuejing explained, "My path should be explored by myself, not chosen for me by others. Once I decide which path to cultivate, I will press forward toward that goal from then on. There are three thousand Great Daos, and our predecessors have recorded many of them, but we who cultivate the Dao do not simply follow the paths of others. If you walk someone else's path all the way to the end, are you certain you will still be yourself and not someone else? In my view, the paths recorded by our predecessors merely serve to provide guidance, helping us avoid some detours rather than making us follow blindly in their footsteps step by step."
As she said this, Jiang Yuejing had another thought in her heart: she felt a sense of unreality toward this world, as if it were all a dream. If it was a dream, she might as well let go and do what she loved, fulfilling those wishes she could never achieve in reality.
Yun Shuo gazed intently at the young woman beside him. These words stirred quite a strong ripple within his heart, yet his expression remained unperturbed. Lowering his gaze, he merely let out a soft hum.
The two walked in silence for a stretch before Yun Shuo broke the quiet. "I have to go out for a while. If you run into any trouble, you can look for Senior Sister Xing and Senior Brother Wen. By the way, I'm taking you to meet someone."
Yun Shuo produced a flying Dharma treasure, signaled for Jiang Yuejing to step on, and then flew toward the Beast Taming Peak. Arriving at the doorway of a house, Yun Shuo knocked twice and led Jiang Yuejing inside. Inside sat a man in blue robes with a handsome face and well-defined features. Yun Shuo introduced him. "This is Xu Yuan."
Xu Yuan? Jiang Yuejing immediately remembered that her mother's writings had mentioned that Xu Yuan had chubby cheeks that were very satisfying to pinch. Looking at the man before her, whose cheeks were firm and long since rid of any baby fat, Jiang Yuejing could not help but reveal a look of disappointment.
Xu Yuan found it strange enough that Yun Shuo had brought a young woman to see him, and seeing the look of disappointment that crossed her face when she heard his name, he couldn't help asking, "What, are you disappointed with me?"
Realizing instantly that her expression had been far too obvious, Jiang Yuejing hurriedly replied, "Hello, Senior Brother Xu. My name is Jiang Yuejing. I've heard tales of Senior Brother Xu's reputation before—how every spirit beast is completely docile and obedient in front of Senior Brother Xu. I always imagined that Senior Brother had three heads and six arms to be able to awe these spirit beasts into submission, and I've always been curious. Meeting you today for the first time, I realize I was wrong. Senior Brother actually subdues spirit beasts through sheer personal charm."
This remark cracked Xu Yuan up, and he patted Yun Shuo's shoulder. "Yun Shuo, you're quite the smooth talker. Typical of you."
Yun Shuo: ?
Yun Shuo had no idea what Xu Yuan meant, nor had he spoken a word, so he couldn't fathom why Xu Yuan was patting him.
Xu Yuan looked closely at the young woman and said, "How is it that you look somewhat familiar to me?"
Jiang Yuejing smiled and replied, "Attractive shells are all alike."
Xu Yuan laughed even harder. "You really are... you really are quite interesting." He swallowed back the word "narcissistic" that was about to slip out.
Yun Shuo cut straight to the point. "I need to go out. Take care of Jiang Yuejing for me." Then he turned to Jiang Yuejing. "If there's anything inconvenient to ask Xing Tiantian and Wen Mo about, ask him for help."
Xu Yuan's gaze darted back and forth between the two of them. Recalling rumors he had heard earlier, he immediately patted his chest and vowed, "Don't worry, Yun Shuo, I'll take care of her as if she were my own wife."
Yun Shuo said coldly, "Mind your words."
Xu Yuan immediately zipped his lips, his eyes telegraphing: I know, I know.
Watching their interaction, Jiang Yuejing wondered if this Senior Brother Xu had something seriously wrong with him.
"I'm leaving." Yun Shuo said this both to Jiang Yuejing and as a farewell to Xu Yuan.
Xu Yuan protested in dissatisfaction, "Why are you leaving the moment you get here?"
Yun Shuo stood holding his sword, staring unblinkingly at Xu Yuan. Before long, Xu Yuan couldn't take it anymore. "Fine, just go already." He made a sweeping gesture to show them out.
Yun Shuo produced the flying Dharma artifact once more and had Jiang Yuejing step on first. Xu Yuan couldn't help chiming in again, "Why don't you use your sword to carry her instead?" The only response he got was a cold glance from Yun Shuo.
"Junior Sister Jiang, remember to come find me to play often!" Xu Yuan immediately turned around and waved enthusiastically at Jiang Yuejing.
Back at the Yiqing Peak, Jiang Yuejing began practicing her swordplay. Recently, her master had started teaching her some sword techniques, but because she was unfamiliar with them, her movements lacked continuity—which her master described as being no better than a toddler's clumsy antics. To build muscle memory, Jiang Yuejing had no choice but to practice the exact same move over and over again.
Midway through her practice, Jing Yi arrived. After offering a few pointers on her form, he told her to stop and take a break.
During the break, Jiang Yuejing voiced the thoughts on her mind. "Master, I've heard that most people who practice swordplay start from childhood as a foundation. My bones and muscles are basically fully formed now; isn't it too late for me to start learning the sword?"
Jing Yi looked at Jiang Yuejing and nodded. "There is indeed such a saying, but disciple, it is not too late for you to start now. Even if you were thirty-six now, as long as you want to do it and put your mind to it, it is never too late. Practicing the sword now certainly requires more effort than it does for those who have trained since childhood. But among those who start practicing from a young age, how many aren't simply doing whatever their master tells them to do? They lack independent thinking, fail to understand the meaning behind these sword forms, and never truly enter the Dao. In the end, whatever they wield is nothing more than flashy empty forms."
Hearing this, Jiang Yuejing's mind cleared instantly, and the lingering gloom that had been weighing on her heart vanished completely. "Thank you for your guidance, Master. This disciple will certainly not live up to your expectations—er, I mean, I won't let you down!" Jiang Yuejing even cracked a joke. "Still, Master, thirty-six is indeed quite old."
As Jing Yi rummaged through his storage ring, he retorted, "At thirty-six, one is still in their prime even among mortals, and among cultivators, one is considered quite young. Different stages of life bring different gifts bestowed by the passage of time."
Jing Yi retrieved a dozen small medicine packets from his storage ring and placed them on the table. "Look here, disciple. This is Bone-Soothing Powder. No matter how tired you are after practicing your sword, if you put this into your bathwater, it will relieve all your aches and pains, and you'll be full of life again by the next morning. I got this from the Medicine Peak."
Jiang Yuejing immediately put on a sweet, spoiled act. "Thank you, Master! You're the best."
Jing Yi thoroughly enjoyed his disciple's pampering, but he still put on a stern face and said, "I hadn't planned on giving this to you so early, but take it—you can increase the intensity of your sword practice from now on."
Seeing the look of gratitude on his disciple's face, Jing Yi continued, "There are all kinds of trials awaiting you on your future path of cultivation. If you choose never to leave the mountains for the rest of your life, Master is willing to protect you for a lifetime. But Master knows you wouldn't be willing to be cooped up in one place."
Hearing Jing Yi's words, Jiang Yuejing knew her master was looking out for her future. She hugged his arm, shook it gently, and promised, "This disciple will never let Master down."
"If you shake my arm any more, it's going to snap," Jing Yi feigned seriousness.
"Master~"
Jing Yi sighed. "Female disciples really are better, just like having daughters. Unlike Wen Mo and the others who never act spoiled, I'm the only one on the entire Sword Peak blessed with this. Hahaha."
After the master and disciple bantered for a while, Jiang Yuejing went back to practicing her sword. Jing Yi picked up a branch and held it four feet in front of Jiang Yuejing. "Disciple, look at the leaf at the tip of this branch. Your final sword strike must pierce that exact leaf." On her first try, Jiang Yuejing's strike was slightly off, hitting only the edge of the leaf and leaving a tiny nick.
On her second attempt, drawing on her earlier experience, she thrust forward again, but Jing Yi flicked his wrist slightly, causing her to miss by an even wider margin. Jiang Yuejing took a breath and tried a third time, but once again, Jing Yi's wrist twitched at precisely the right moment, and she missed again.
By the fourth try, Jiang Yuejing had learned her lesson. She feinted with a fake sword strike toward her master. Jing Yi immediately ducked to evade the blow, then quickly transitioned into a thrust toward the leaf—only to twitch his wrist again just as the sword was about to touch it. Jiang Yuejing looked up to see her master looking at her with a beaming smile. As it turned out, she had been played with all along.
"Not bad, you've improved," Jing Yi praised. "However, anyone could tell that was a fake move at a glance. Practice some more." With that, he used his spiritual power to fix the branch in place, letting Jiang Yuejing practice on her own while occasionally manipulating the branch twice to add a bit of difficulty for his disciple.