Tianjian Sect, Spirit Sword Pool.
Lu Qingning slowly opened her eyes to see an immortal in a plain white robe sitting quietly right in front of her. The immortal was meditating with her eyes closed, while Lu Qingning stared wide-eyed, dumbfounded, looking at the person before her.
Lu Qingning gazed at the immortal for a moment before a cool, clear voice reached her ears: "You have the best innate bone structure of anyone who entered the sect this time. According to custom, you need to accompany me to pay respects to the various sect elders and officially become an inner sect disciple. This is the spirit sword you summoned after entering the Spirit Sword Pool. Take it."
Startled by the immortal's sudden speech, Lu Qingning broke the silence. She awkwardly scratched her head, took the sword, and bowed slightly. "Thank you, Senior Sister."
Seeing the expressionless immortal before her, Lu Qingning did not dare make any rash moves, only chanting silently in her heart: *I hope she didn't notice me staring at her just now!*
The immortal slightly nodded, then led Lu Qingning on a Sword Flight to another mountain peak.
Only once they were on the sword did Lu Qingning slowly collect her wits, blankly recalling everything that had happened before.
She had been on her way to report to university at the age of eighteen when, in a manner most expected yet unexpected, she was struck and killed by a truck.
To her surprise, however, she transmigrated to another world, arriving in Cangzhou, and was reborn as the daughter of a wealthy merchant.
She had displayed extraordinary intelligence since childhood. At the age of five, Lu Qingning resolved a business problem that had been plaguing her father with just a few words.
By eight, she could effortlessly compose poetry and paint, unmatched by any of her peers throughout all of Cangzhou.
Later on, when Lu Qingning mentioned she wanted to go cultivate for Immortality, her doting father readily agreed, though no one expected her to possess any remarkable innate bone structure.
As it happened, it coincided with the Tianjian Sect's once-in-a-century Immortal Ascension Grand Ceremony. Lu Qingning arrived just in time for the sect to open its gates and accept disciples, which finally allowed her to propose going to the Tianjian Sect for Immortal Cultivation.
Coming from a mortal family, Lu Qingning had been given countless instructions and warnings by her parents before ascending the mountain, as they were terrified she might be kidnapped by bandits. They had even paid to hire two mortal martial arts experts, accompanied by seven or eight attendants to wait on her.
Yet how could Lu Qingning, coming from the modern era, endure such servitude? From a young age, she had detested these tedious rules and dogmas.
Therefore, right at the foot of the Tianjian Sect mountain, the moment the Immortal Ascension Ladder appeared, Lu Qingning told her followers, "Alright, the Immortal Ascension Ladder is open. This young lady is going to become an Immortal, so you—stop right here."
Who would have thought that among the servants who followed her were a few who had grown up with her and were just the right age to enter the Tianjian Sect? They actually shouted, "The master ordered us to follow the young lady to the ends of the earth!"
With no other choice, Lu Qingning tossed out a single line: "Oh, do as you please then."
Then she turned and walked away gracefully.
The rules of the Immortal Ascension Ladder were simple: those with good innate bone structure and aptitude could walk to the very end, and the higher one climbed, the better their innate bones and aptitude.
The moment she stepped onto those stone steps, Lu Qingning felt a force pushing her upward, and the higher she went, the faster she moved, without the slightest resistance.
Along the way up the mountain, Lu Qingning even had the leisure to look left and right, and even wanted to turn around to strike up a conversation with a few fellow cultivators. Unfortunately, most people found it extremely arduous, and very few had the spare energy to chat, so Lu Qingning only managed to get acquainted with three or four people.
Yet among them all, she was the only one who kept speeding up from start to finish.
Upon exiting the Immortal Ascension Ladder, Lu Qingning met that older immortal sister.
"Hm? Much earlier than Sect Uncle said. Oh well, follow me. Junior Brother Liu Qi, please wait here for the disciples coming up behind."
Two cultivators were standing not far from Lu Qingning. Beside the immortal sister stood a plump cultivator clad in a cyan and white robe, which made him look even more portly.
Liu Qi smiled warmly and said, "Senior Sister, you can rest assured!"
With that, Liu Qi patted his chest, guaranteeing he would complete the task.
She glanced at Lu Qingning and said, "You came out very early. According to custom, you are qualified to enter the Spirit Sword Pool, but you need to wait for those behind. However, you came out much earlier than the others. To save time, you may go to the Spirit Sword Pool first, and then pay respects to the elders altogether after acquiring your spirit sword."
Lu Qingning let whatever the immortal sister said go in one ear and out the other, concentrating entirely on staring at her.
Whether the immortal hadn't noticed her gaze or chose to ignore it, she went ahead and introduced the origins of the Spirit Sword Pool.
According to the immortal sister before her, the Spirit Sword Pool was a spiritual pool formed by the return of spiritually imbued swords belonging to deceased generations of Tianjian Sect members. The swords within the pool possessed extraordinary origins, and as for what kind of sword Lu Qingning might obtain, it would all depend on her destiny.
Lu Qingning arrived at the Spirit Sword Pool. It was a bottomless pool of deep water, where she could faintly make out the shadows of swords below.
"Sit here in meditation. The sword spirits within the Spirit Sword Pool will be able to sense your aura. If any intend to acknowledge you as their master, they will appear."
Lu Qingning nodded obediently. "Ah, okay. May I ask what the immortal sister's honorable surname is?"
"..." She glanced at Lu Qingning.
"Xiao."
Lu Qingning put on what she thought was a sweet smile and looked at the immortal sister. "My name is Lu Qingning. May I ask what the immortal sister's name is?"
"Xiao Hongyu."
"Oh, then—"
Before Lu Qingning could finish her next sentence, she saw that Xiao Hongyu in front of her had already sat down and entered a state of meditation.
Lu Qingning opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't say it.
Well then, what a cold and aloof senior sister.
Seeing that Xiao Hongyu was meditating, she had no choice but to adopt the meditation posture Xiao Qingyu had described earlier.
For a time, the surroundings were incomparably silent.
Lu Qingning considered her talent extraordinary, believing a spirit sword ought to resonate with her. To her surprise, when she first entered meditation, there was no reaction at all—just utter silence—which left her somewhat bewildered for a moment.
Just when Lu Qingning thought she couldn't sense any spirit swords, an elderly voice echoed in her head, followed shortly by a gentle one.
"This is good stock."
"Mm, not bad."
Then came a third, a fourth... seven or eight voices sounded in Lu Qingning's head.
"Eh? This child looks rather nice."
"Hey, none of you want her? Then I'm going!"
"Don't you dare! I saw this little girl first!"
"I feel this girl and I are fated; she should belong to me."
"Don't be impatient, everyone. Let's see how the girl chooses."
Suddenly, Lu Qingning found her consciousness transported to another world, where more than a dozen people of various appearances appeared before her.
"Girl, who do you want to choose?"
Lu Qingning: "..."
This happiness came a bit too suddenly...
"Can I... have them all?"
"No way!!" everyone shouted in unison.
Lu Qingning: "..."