Chapter 97: Rising to Fame, Martial Tomb

A mysterious large army has infiltrated Guzhou Prefecture territory. This is absolutely not a small matter.

To pass through the territory of every prefecture, one must possess a transit document. Jianghu people can evade this scrutiny by traveling through the wilderness, but a massive group like an army definitely cannot escape detection.

The fact that this army could pass through various checkpoints means it must have been allowed by the Imperial Court, but the lack of circulating news indicates it is a secret operation.

That evening, Li Qingqiu immediately convened the Hall Masters to discuss the matter.

Jiang Zhaoxia’s injuries had already healed, but his defeat by Shen Yue dealt him a massive blow. Recently, he had been in secluded cultivation, hoping to reach the Nourishing Origin Realm Seventh Layer soon.

“We truly cannot be careless about this matter. If the Demonic Sect is truly a chess piece of the Emperor, then we have already offended the Emperor. Both the Emperor and the Prefect want to deal with us, but they need a reason. After all, we have received imperial commendation. I am just afraid that the whereabouts of the di xuan sword will force them to stop looking for excuses.”

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Zhang Yuchun said with a solemn expression and a heavy tone.

Li Sifeng, holding the di xuan sword, snorted, “What is there to fear? I’ll block a thousand people, Fifth Senior Brother blocks a thousand, Third Senior Brother blocks three thousand, and Eldest Senior Brother blocks ten thousand. We’ll shatter their morale.”

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh. Li Dongyue glared at him, saying exasperatedly, “Do you think the soldiers of the army are just chickens and dogs that you can slaughter casually? They also practice martial arts year-round and wear armor.”

Jiang Zhaoxia said, “His words are not necessarily without reason. If a large army truly comes to attack, we only need to kill their generals amidst the ten thousand soldiers, and they will immediately fall into disarray.”

Yang Jueding nodded. Unconsciously, his confidence was growing, because the growth speed of the Qingxiao Sect was simply astonishing.

The threshold for a True Disciple is the Nourishing Origin Realm, Second Layer. The Nourishing Origin Realm, Second Layer is already more formidable than most first-rate masters. It is not difficult for a first-rate master in the Martial Forest to defeat over a hundred soldiers. Calculated this way, the Qingxiao Sect truly does not fear ordinary armies.

However, encountering an army numbering over one hundred thousand changes the concept entirely. Just facing such a massive force makes it difficult to raise one’s Battle Intent.

“I actually don’t think this army is coming for us. If they were, my family would definitely have someone inform me in advance. Not just me, but the Aristocratic Family Disciples in the School would also be notified. This army might have a different mission,” Zhu Yan said. This statement brought everyone back to their senses.

That’s right. The current Qingxiao Sect is no ordinary Gang. It is connected with numerous Aristocratic Families and officials, and even has vested interests tied to them. If the Imperial Court wanted to deal with the Qingxiao Sect, it would be impossible for them to receive no news.

Li Qingqiu said, “Regardless of whether they are coming for us or not, we must take precautions. Let’s add thirty more Disciples to the Law Enforcement Hall.”

No one objected. The Disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall are the busiest, so allocating more Disciple quotas was very reasonable.

Excluding Utility Disciples, the registered Disciples of the Qingxiao Sect have already broken through the thousand mark, which shows how great the Qingxiao Sect’s reputation is, and this is only the beginning.

“Next, we will adjust the Guest Quarters, concentrating them in one area to reduce the monitoring pressure on the Law Enforcement Hall Disciples.”

Li Qingqiu continued, handing this task over to Zhang Yuchun.

Afterward, he brought up the matter of the Sword Sect.

“The Sword Sect will be managed by me, and three Elders will be appointed. Temporarily, these will be Jiang Zhaoxia and Shen Yue. The third Elder will be selected from the School, based on which True Disciple has sufficient seniority and ability.”

Li Qingqiu’s plan did not receive unanimous agreement from the Hall Masters.

Yang Jueding frowned and asked, “Sect Leader, won’t establishing a Sect within the School leave hidden dangers of division?”

Zhang Yuchun, Li Dongyue, and Li Sijin also thought the same.

Li Sifeng, however, held a different opinion: “I think it’s quite good—mutual checks and balances, and mutual supervision.”

Li Qingqiu looked at him in surprise, unexpected that he possessed such foresight.

Zhu Yan followed up, saying, “Exactly. Although the Seven Halls have clear divisions of labor, if the School needs to avenge Disciples or purge traitors, the Seven Halls are not convenient to act. Furthermore, the Sword Sect can undertake some tasks that are inconvenient to disclose. The name’Sword Sect’ also demonstrates that this branch is different from the Seven Halls.”

Jiang Zhaoxia said, “The Sword Sect will be controlled by me and Senior Brother. Nothing will go wrong.”

The Innate Sword Obsessive was not repelled by the Sword Sect at all; he was even looking forward to it.

Although the Thirteen Sword厉 had established their reputation, they did not meet his expectations, because those thirteen people were not pure swordsmen, including Xue Jin.

Seeing that many agreed, the other Hall Masters who had concerns could only drop the matter.

After chatting for another half an hour, Li Qingqiu finally adjourned the meeting, asking Zhang Yuchun to stay behind alone.

Once only the two of them remained in the courtyard, Li Qingqiu asked, “How has Chu Jing been recently?”

“A couple of days ago, he accepted a mission from the Experience Hall and went down the mountain. I am worried he might have gone to report us. Senior Brother, I now think it would be better to expel or imprison him,” Zhang Yuchun said with a frown.

Since learning that he had been deceived by Chu Jing, his goodwill toward Chu Jing had vanished, replaced by apprehension.

Li Qingqiu said, “Then we will see what the situation is when he returns next time. Currently, we don’t have any unsavory intelligence that we are afraid of leaking out.”

Zhang Yuchun nodded. The two only discussed this matter and soon returned to their respective rooms… The Law Enforcement Hall conscripting thirty Disciples caused quite a stir within the Qingxiao Sect. The treatment for Disciples in the Seven Halls is superior to ordinary Disciples; entering the Seven Halls is equivalent to finding a proper job with real authority. How could the Disciples not compete?

Xu Ning was busy with secluded Cultivation, so Li Qingqiu personally appointed Chai Yunshang to be responsible for this matter.

Hall Masters and Elders from other halls had approached Chai Yunshang, hoping to recommend Disciples, but Chai Yunshang firmly rebuffed them, completely disregarding Face.

When Zhang Yuchun mentioned this matter to Li Qingqiu, he felt both helpless and gratified.

The reason he wanted to put Disciples into the Law Enforcement Hall was not to plant spies, but to secure better treatment for his apprentice. He was effectively the Vice Sect Leader of the Qingxiao Sect, and this was the first time someone had shown him such a lack of Face.

He was not angry; instead, he was very happy. Once Chai Yunshang’s methods and temperament became widely known, and other Disciples realized she was ruthless, they would stop seeking him out to plead for favors.

Li Qingqiu smiled proudly, “Of course! My eyes, Senior Brother, can see through everything. I recognized long ago that she is very suitable for the position of Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall.”

What a Talent for Enforcing Punishment!

Truly fierce!

Taking charge of the Law Enforcement Hall’s authority for the first time without fear of offending others—I like it!

Li Qingqiu was in high spirits and decided to reward Chai Yunshang with three Spirit Stones.

The news of Chai Yunshang rejecting the other Hall Masters spread quickly. Her personal selection of Disciples gave more Disciples a chance, and this matter brought her fame within the School.

Currently, the registered Disciples of the Qingxiao Sect exceed one thousand. Including the Utility Disciples, the total number surpasses twelve hundred. Looking across the Guzhou Prefecture Martial Forest, in terms of sheer size, it can be considered a major School.

Where there are people, there is Jianghu. Jianghu also appeared within the Qingxiao Sect. Some praised Chai Yunshang, while others disliked her. Disciples close to Chai Yunshang inevitably faced difficulties from Disciples in other halls.

Li Qingqiu did not intervene in this matter. He believed Chai Yunshang could establish herself on her own.

When the number of School Disciples exceeds ten thousand, conflicts within the School will only increase. His personal involvement would only intensify the contradictions. What he needs to do is mediate conflicts from a macroscopic perspective, allowing the Qingxiao Sect to develop more healthily.

Regarding the Sword Sect, Li Qingqiu did not allow the news to spread. Instead, he had the Tiangong Hall first establish the Sect Headquarters for the Sword Sect. The Sword Sect would be located on Qingxiao Mountain, not far from Xuanxin Hall. This was also a measure to prevent the Sword Sect from becoming estranged from the School in the future.

The Sword Sect cannot separate from the School; that is the bottom line.

When selecting Sword Sect Disciples, Li Qingqiu would only choose those with high loyalty, especially loyalty to him personally.

As long as he is alive, the Sword Sect will not descend into chaos, and the Qingxiao Sect will not experience division.

Summer passed and autumn arrived. Zhang Yuchun finally discovered that Disciples had died.

It was a Disciple who returned and informed him. Five Disciples had gone down the mountain together to execute a commissioned mission, but they were killed by a group of mysterious Martial Artists, with only this one Disciple escaping back.

Zhang Yuchun also discovered that many Disciples had been down the mountain for over four months.

Every Disciple who goes down the mountain must register. If they do not return after a certain period, the School issues an investigation mission. This is also a form of protection for the Disciples. Every Disciple is informed of this when they leave the mountain, and they decide their own experience period based on their mission. If they do not return after the deadline, the School initiates tracing procedures.

Only then did Zhang Yuchun realize that the existence of the Sword Sect was highly necessary.

Because investigating the life and death of a Disciple cannot be done by sending just one person, and the Seven Halls simply cannot spare the manpower. Furthermore, if the Disciple’s death was a conspiracy, directly conscripting Disciples to investigate might alert the enemy.

He informed Li Qingqiu of this matter. Li Qingqiu then assigned the Thirteen Sword厉 and the Seven Sons of Qingxiao to enter the Jianghu and investigate.

Years passed, and the Seven Sons of Qingxiao all stepped into the Nourishing Origin Realm. Combined with Zhang Yuchun’s nurturing and resource allocation, their minimum Cultivation level was the Nourishing Origin Realm, Second Layer, with Huang Shan reaching the Nourishing Origin Realm, Third Layer.

After the Thirteen Sword厉 and the Seven Sons of Qingxiao were dispatched down the mountain, Li Qingqiu suddenly felt that the personnel he had on hand were still insufficient.

Xu Ning, Zhao Zhen, Yuan Li, and Ji Ya all needed to Cultivate. Assigning them missions now would be a waste of their talent.

However, Li Qingqiu was not overly worried, because the Hall Masters of the Seven Halls were also cultivating their own confidantes and capable assistants. When the time came, he could just mobilize the talents they had painstakingly nurtured.

The Seven Halls do not interfere with each other and each holds power, but the Sect Leader’s authority surpasses everything. The Seven Halls should all be used by him!

The news of Disciples encountering danger ultimately could not be suppressed and began circulating within the School, causing more Disciples to adopt a more cautious attitude toward going down the mountain for experience.

That evening, Zhu Yan, the Deputy Hall Master of the Tiangong Hall, found Li Qingqiu, and the two spoke inside the room.

“I already know the origin and target of that large army. It is an army from Zhongtian Prefecture, carrying an Imperial Decree of the Son of Heaven. No checkpoints dared to stop them, and they were strictly forbidden from discussing the matter. A Hall Uncle of mine works as an official in the Ministry of Personnel. He heard that this army is heading for a Martial Tomb.”

Zhu Yan spoke softly, recounting the information she knew.

“Martial Tomb?” Li Qingqiu asked, confused.

Zhu Yan continued, “The Martial Tomb of the martial arts myth. Legend says the martial arts myth was buried in Guzhou Prefecture and left behind underground palaces throughout Guzhou Prefecture. Those were all meant to confuse people. No one knows where his true Martial Tomb is hidden, but I heard that the servants who served the martial arts myth passed down their lineage and have been secretly guarding the Martial Tomb.”

Thanks to Ye Chenzhi for tipping 100 Qidian coins~