Someone from another peak scoffed, "Can you even use a beauty trap?"
The Dharma Peak immediately responded, not to be outdone: "Jiang Yuejing, just look at our Dharma Peak. These senior brothers are as gentle as jade, not like the cold ones from the Sword Peak. And look at these senior sisters—they're practically immortals descended to the mortal realm. The Sword Peak barely has any female disciples."
Jing Yi from the Sword Peak flew into a rage: "If we're comparing handsome guys, then compare handsome guys! Why drag female disciples into this?"
The Peak Master of Dharma Peak gracefully smoothed his robes. "Our Dharma Peak is an open and inclusive peak."
Seeing that the Sword Peak and Dharma Peak were about to start a brawl over who had better people, the Peak Master of Beast Taming Peak chimed in, "Actually, you could also consider our Beast Taming Peak. We have a lot of fluffy spirit beasts over there..." Before he could finish, he was pierced by several icy glares like daggers.
Xing Tiantian stood behind Dachui, her peripheral vision fixed on Yun Shuo as she muttered under her breath, "That chilly look of his practically radiates the desire to pick a fight with them."
Hearing this, Dachui looked puzzled. "What are you talking about, Tiantian?"
Xing Tiantian smiled. "Master, I'm just imagining things."
Dachui remained clueless.
Being fought over by so many people made Jiang Yuejing feel a bit overwhelmed and flattered. It inevitably reminded her of a classic dilemma countless people wrestled with in their childhood: whether to attend Tsinghua University or Peking University.
Just as everyone's momentum was thrown off by the Vice Peak Master of Sword Peak, only the woman from Medicine Peak spoke up in a serious tone: "Our Medicine Peak specializes in alchemy and medicine. We have hundreds of thousands of collected medicinal formulas, our own herb-planting fields, and three grade-eight alchemists." Since the highest grade for an alchemist was grade nine, this clearly demonstrated the strength of Medicine Peak.
When Jiang Yuejing heard the word "alchemy," her immediate reaction was the Red Pill Case from her history textbooks, and she instinctively wanted to refuse. Combined with how she had eagerly majored in biomaterials in her past life only to painfully discover it was a bottomless career pit, she politely declined. The woman from Medicine Peak didn't get angry at all upon being rejected, simply saying that she would be welcome to visit Medicine Peak anytime.
In her past life, Jiang Yuejing's childhood was filled with various martial arts dramas. All the children fantasized about mastering lightness techniques, flying through the air, and traveling the world with a sword—and Jiang Yuejing was no exception. Sometimes she even fantasized that her biological parents hadn't abandoned her, but that as great heroes they had to go punish evil and promote good. Once all the bad guys were beaten away, they would come back for her, teach her martial arts, and take her along to wander the jianghu. Though she found it quite laughable now that she was older, that hero's dream had stayed with her all along.
Therefore, Jiang Yuejing ultimately found herself torn between Dharma Peak and Sword Peak. Qin Wenyu, her mother in this life, belonged to Dharma Peak; going there might allow her to feel the lingering presence of her mother, follow in the footsteps of that gentle woman, and become someone as outstanding as her.
Jing Yi noticed that Jiang Yuejing's gaze kept lingering on Dharma Peak, and he began to panic. Could it be that Dharma Peak's beauty trap had worked, while his handsome-guy trap wasn't cutting it? He looked at Xing Tiantian and urged, "Tiantian, why don't you go use a seduction trap? Your martial uncle has never had a disciple, and today he's finally got his eye on one. You have to help your martial uncle out."
Xing Tiantian replied, "Martial Uncle, I think Senior Brother Yun Shuo would be better suited for a seduction trap."
Jing Yi protested, "No, Tiantian! Look, Dharma Peak used both a handsome-guy trap and a beauty trap. Just having a handsome-guy trap isn't enough; Tiantian, we need you." Xing Tiantian nodded to show she understood, summoned her natal weapon—the Seven-Star Hammer—and heaved it onto her shoulder before casting a flirtatious wink at Jiang Yuejing.
Seeing this, Jiang Yuejing's eyes widened in horror. Seeing her reaction, the Peak Master of Dharma Peak landed a direct counter-blow: "Look at that! Any girl who goes to Sword Peak turns into something like this. The senior brothers and sisters at our Dharma Peak are all wonderful, gentle, beautiful, and considerate."
Jiang Yuejing nodded and prepared to make her choice: "Then I choose Dha..." Before she could finish, Yun Shuo suddenly spoke up: "Sword Peak is more suitable for you than Dharma Peak. Martial Uncle Jing has no disciples, he has plenty of patience, and his guidance for you will be much more meticulous."
Hearing this, Jing Yi nodded eagerly. "Right! You'll be my very first chief disciple!"
Yun Shuo's words swayed Jiang Yuejing's mind once again. After thinking for a moment, Jiang Yuejing bowed in turn to all the others who had extended olive branches to her: "Thank you, Venerables, for your immense kindness. I intend to go to Sword Peak."
Seeing this, the man standing in the center asked, "So, in the end, are you going to Sword Peak?"
Jiang Yuejing nodded. The man said, "Alright, go ahead. Jing Yi is quite good." Jiang Yuejing walked straight toward the Sword Peak side, stepped up to Jing Yi, and bowed. "Greetings, Master."
Jing Yi chuckled as he reached out to steady Jiang Yuejing. "Good disciple, come right over here."
The man in the center continued calling out names: "Lin Wende, test your Spiritual Root."
Jiang Yuejing stood beside Xing Tiantian and asked curiously, "Senior Sister, why do we have to test our Spiritual Roots all over again?"
Hearing this, Jing Yi immediately turned his head to answer before Xing Tiantian could open her mouth: "Little disciple, it's because this Spiritual Stone is much more detailed, just in case anyone tampered with the Spiritual Roots to slip past the recruitment process."
Jiang Yuejing nodded. "So that's how it is."
Dachui snapped, "Did he ask you? She was asking our Tiantian."
Jing Yi retorted, "Shut your trap, Dachui. This is my little disciple."
Seeing this, Xing Tiantian immediately came to her master's defense: "Martial Uncle, Yuejing Junior Sister was recruited by me, so I think you need to pay us a finder's fee."
Jing Yi didn't get angry at all when he heard this; he simply nodded. "Fair enough, fair enough." He then retrieved a large quantity of spirit stones, materials, and elixirs from his storage ring and handed them to Xing Tiantian. Xing Tiantian hadn't expected Jing Yi to give her so much and tried to refuse, but Jing Yi insisted, "Take it, take it. Your martial uncle is in a good mood."
Dachui chimed in as well, "Just take it. Your martial uncle is a man with two imperial treasuries; he's not going to miss this little bit."
Xing Tiantian promptly accepted the items, swapped places with a disciple standing nearby to move over to Yun Shuo's side, shared a portion of the treasures with Yun Shuo, and then walked back.
Over the next while, four or five single-element Spiritual Root disciples were successively recruited, also sparking a scramble among the various peaks. Jiang Yuejing stood quietly behind Jing Yi, silently trying to memorize everyone. The man calling out names in the center had a clear voice, distinct articulation, and a handsome, upright appearance. Jiang Yuejing had a quite favorable impression of him.
Jiang Yuejing whispered to Xing Tiantian, "Who is that man in the center? Which peak does he belong to?"
Jing Yi spun around again. "Why are you asking about him? He doesn't belong to any peak."
Jiang Yuejing said, "Master, you've got amazing ears." Recalling how nimbly and stylishly that man had flown on his sword before the mountain gates, she replied, "Because I think he looks very handsome."
Who would have thought that while calling out the next name, the man in the center would suddenly change his tone with a smile on his face: "My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Yang Yao, the current Sect Master of Taqing Sect." Hearing this, Jiang Yuejing's face turned beet red. She never expected the sect master to be able to hear what she said from so far away, yet she couldn't help but complain inwardly: Isn't a sect master supposed to be holding down the fort in the main seat? Why is he down here acting as the master of ceremonies?
The selection process didn't last much longer. Once it concluded, Jing Yi directly led Jiang Yuejing away, arriving at his own subordinate peak. With a cheerful mood, he told Jiang Yuejing, "Little disciple, the vast Yiqing Peak has finally welcomed its second master."
Jiang Yuejing asked, "This is Yiqing Peak?"
Jing Yi explained, "Yiqing Peak is a subordinate peak of Sword Peak. As for your master here, I am the Vice Peak Master of Sword Peak, which also makes me the Peak Master of Yiqing Peak."
Jiang Yuejing was puzzled. "A subordinate peak with only one master?"
Jing Yi laughed heartily. "Indeed, though now there are two of us. I came up with the name Yiqing myself—names like Spear Peak or Saber Peak just sound unappealing. As for why there can be a subordinate peak with only one person, it's because the Peak Master of Sword Peak is my older brother, haha." Afterward, he assigned a courtyard to Jiang Yuejing and took her to meet Jing Liu, the Peak Master of Sword Peak.
When Jing Yi arrived, Dachui, Yun Shuo, and the other male disciple whom Jing Yi had roped into his handsome-guy trap that day were already at Jing Liu's place.
"Brother, look at the new disciple I just took in," Jing Yi announced the moment he stepped through the door. Jiang Yuejing immediately stepped inside and bowed to the Peak Master.
Jing Liu asked, "What made you suddenly feel like taking on a disciple today?"
Jing Yi smiled and said, "Because today I suddenly felt that my predestined affinity for taking a disciple had arrived."
Dachui ruthlessly exposed him: "It's because he saw Yun Shuo's recruitment list for new disciples and noticed there was a Wind Spiritual Root, so he went."
Jing Liu simply acknowledged, "Hmm."
Jing Yi said unceremoniously, "Apprentice, look at that one over there. His name is Wen Mo, and he is the Peak Master's eldest disciple. If you like him, Master can help you lock it down," he pointed toward the male disciple who had served as bait number one in the handsome-guy trap.
Then he pointed at Yun Shuo. "You should recognize this one—Yun Shuo. If you happen to be into this type, he's a bit harder to handle since his master is quite fierce, but your master will help you out."
Jiang Yuejing broke out in a cold sweat. "Master, there's really no need..."
Dachui mercilessly roasted him: "Do you ever consider the opinions of Wen Mo and Yun Shuo?"
Jing Yi said with absolute confidence, "My disciple is so good-looking, how could they possibly not like her?"
Jing Liu finally spoke up: "Alright, stop messing around." He then produced a storage bag and handed it to Jiang Yuejing. "Junior Niece, this is a welcoming gift for you. From now on, cultivate diligently under your master's guidance. Wen Mo, show your junior sister around Sword Peak and take her to collect her disciple jade token."
Wen Mo answered, "Understood, Master." Then he turned to Jiang Yuejing and said, "Junior Sister, let's go."
Following Wen Mo on a tour of Sword Peak's main peak, Jiang Yuejing discovered just how vast it was. The dining hall, disciple hall, and other facilities were all located on the main peak. Wen Mo took Jiang Yuejing to collect her disciple jade token and robes.
"With your disciple jade token, you can access most of the public areas within Taqing Sect. Let me take you to see some other parts of the sect. There are spirit birds like cranes around here; if Junior Sister doesn't know how to fly on a sword yet, you can ride them. Sword Peak disciples don't have to pay to ride the spirit birds—the Peak Master covers the cost for us."
Hearing this, Jiang Yuejing smiled. "Are we really that rich?"
Wen Mo shook his head. "Quite the contrary. Ordinary disciples of Sword Peak are actually quite poor. The moment we get spirit stones, we spend them on our own great treasures. Sword cultivators don't make money as quickly as alchemists or artifact refiners, so we're relatively poor."
Jiang Yuejing asked curiously, "What's a great treasure?"
Wen Mo twirled the spirit sword in his hand, executing a brilliant sword flourish. "It's our natal weapon."
Jiang Yuejing asked again, "But earlier today, Martial Uncle Dachui said my master has two imperial treasuries."
Wen Mo curled his lip. "That's because the other treasury is my master." Hearing this, Jiang Yuejing couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Following Wen Mo, Jiang Yuejing learned a great deal. Taqing Sect had many instruction rooms, and various peaks dispatched instructors to lecture the disciples there, allowing disciples to freely choose which instruction rooms to attend for their studies. Wooden plaques were hung outside the door of each instruction room, detailing schedules similar to a class timetable to help disciples manage their time effectively. The next round of classes would begin in a month, and this upcoming month also served as a buffer period for the newly initiated disciples, giving everyone time to get on the right track and gain a better grasp of their own schedules.
Wen Mo then brought Jiang Yuejing to the Mission Hall, where sect disciples could accept tasks. Completing these tasks would earn them mission points, which could be exchanged for spirit stones, elixirs, magic tools, and other cultivation resources.