Chapter 156: Ultimate Skill

Zhang Yuchun’s proposal made Zhao Zhen anxious. He had always aspired to become the strongest Disciple of the Qingxiao Sect, or even the strongest overall, and his failure at the Dharma Battle Assembly deeply stimulated him.

Losing to Xu Ning, he could accept, as she was his Senior Sister, who had started Cultivating earlier than him.

Losing to Xue Jin, however, he truly could not stand. He had lost to Xue Jin many times before the Dharma Battle Assembly, and while he used to be able to use his young age as an excuse, he was now eleven years old, and that excuse wouldn’t work for much longer.

He vowed to win first place in the Dharma Battle Assembly ten years from now!

For this reason, he gave up the rewards for the next Dharma Battle Assembly and, like Xu Ning, intended to participate directly in the Top Ten Showdown, solely seeking victory. It took much persuasion to get his Master to agree.

Yet, just as he was about to start working hard, Zhang Yuchun wanted to extinguish his goal?

How could that be allowed!

Li Dongyue spoke up, “Second Senior Brother, what nonsense are you speaking? Other Disciples are Disciples, but the Eldest Senior Brother’s Disciples aren’t considered Sect Disciples?”

Zhang Yuchun laughed, “I was just joking. I simply feel that the Dharma Battle Assembly is a good opportunity for Disciples to compete for resources. Senior Brother’s apprentices have high Aptitude and resources already, so there’s no need for them to compete. Although Zhao Zhen doesn’t care about the reward, if he participates, he will inevitably eliminate other Disciples, just like Xu Ning.”

Li Sijin walked over, carrying dishes, and snapped, “Second Senior Brother, you just want to fight for your own apprentice, spinning tales. Even if Zhao Zhen doesn’t participate in the Dharma Battle Assembly, your apprentice and the Spirit Control Hall Disciples won’t win first place. Yang Dong will definitely be defeated by my hall’s Disciple, Yang Chengyu, next time.”

Zhao Zhen grew even more anxious. How had the conversation somehow led to the cancellation of his participation qualification?

“Yang Chengyu is indeed good, but the Geniuses in my hall aren’t limited to just Yang Dong,” Zhang Yuchun said, looking at Li Sijin.

Seeing that the two were about to clash, Li Dongyue spoke, “Does only Eldest Senior Brother’s apprentice have resources? Don’t your apprentices have them too? If we are truly talking about fairness and only resource rewards, then Disciples from all Halls shouldn’t participate.”

Zhang Yuchun smiled helplessly, “That’s true. I was just scared by Xu Ning. Senior Brother’s foresight is simply too good. Even if Zhao Zhen doesn’t participate, there’s still Ji Ya. Honestly, that kid is outrageous. The sheer depth of his Origin Qi is beyond my comprehension. Forget my Disciples; even yours will be eliminated if they run into him.”

He admitted that he did have selfish motives, but he felt that Eldest Senior Brother’s apprentices no longer needed to prove anything.

Everyone knew that anyone who became the Sect Leader’s apprentice must possess extraordinary Aptitude.

Everything that an ordinary Disciple could obtain at the Dharma Battle Assembly, they could obtain the moment they became the Sect Leader’s apprentice.

Li Qingqiu tapped the table with his finger and said, “What are you talking about? When did the Dharma Battle Assembly become a ring for competing for Cultivation resources? Those resources are just rewards, icing on the cake. The original intention of the Assembly is to test the Cultivation achievements of the Disciples and let them know their own strength. When you travel the Jianghu and encounter an enemy, are you going to tell them that anyone with better martial arts resources or background than you is forbidden from attacking you?”

Zhang Yuchun’s face flushed slightly, and he dared not speak again.

Li Sijin showed no sense of shame from the warning. She leaned in behind Li Qingqiu and said to Zhang Yuchun, “Exactly! Second Senior Brother, you are too naive!”

Zhang Yuchun was quite annoyed, thinking, “Is there anyone more naive than you?”

However, he realized that Eldest Senior Brother was right. If everything was only viewed through the lens of profit, the essence would change.

Li Qingqiu continued, “It is human nature to seek benefits for your apprentices and Disciples, but do not cross the line. For the School, resources will naturally favor Disciples with higher Aptitude or greater contributions. Fairness? That can only be relative. The fact that I can give people the opportunity to start Cultivating is already the greatest benevolence.”

His gaze fell upon Zhang Yuchun. His eyes were calm, but they made Zhang Yuchun feel extremely uneasy.

Seeing that Eldest Senior Brother had become serious, Li Sijin immediately stopped joking around.

Seeing his Master speak, Zhao Zhen immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He sat back down and looked at his Master with adoration.

“Yu Chun, don’t always stare down the mountain. You need to pay more attention to your own Disciples. Don’t just take whatever they say as fact. I’m giving you a heads-up: the Law Enforcement Hall will deal with Qin Yue, and this is my instruction.” Li Qingqiu continued.

No one is perfect; everyone has flaws. In Li Qingqiu’s opinion, Zhang Yuchun had done very well, but his energy was limited. While managing the Spirit Control Hall, he also had to deal with various Powerful Families and handle intelligence. With such heavy responsibilities, it was natural that he overlooked paying attention to his apprentices.

Perhaps because he felt indebted, Zhang Yuchun wanted to do something for his apprentices.

As the Eldest Senior Brother, Li Qingqiu’s job was to offer timely reminders.

As for conflicts arising, that was fine. They had conflicts growing up, and Li Qingqiu believed that Zhang Yuchun and his other Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters would not harm the interests of the Qingxiao Sect.

When Zhang Yuchun heard Li Qingqiu mention Qin Yue, he immediately became nervous and cautiously asked, “Senior Brother, what mistake did he make?”

“You will know tomorrow,” Li Qingqiu replied indifferently.

Zhang Yuchun immediately understood that Senior Brother was angry. Feeling panicked, he decided to conduct a thorough investigation tomorrow.

Tonight, he could not go looking for Qin Yue, lest he alert the enemy.

Between his apprentice and the Eldest Senior Brother, he trusted the Eldest Senior Brother more.

His concern for his apprentices stemmed from the care Eldest Senior Brother had shown him, his Junior Brothers, and Junior Sisters since childhood. He would not forget his original intention.

In Zhang Yuchun’s heart, the Qingxiao Sect existed because Li Qingqiu existed. Even if it meant abandoning the Qingxiao Sect for Li Qingqiu, he would be willing.

“Eldest Senior Brother, it’s the New Year. Don’t scare Second Senior Brother. He usually works very hard. It is precisely because he bears so much that you have so much time to Cultivate and teach your apprentices,” Li Dongyue advised.

Li Qingqiu smiled, glared at her, and said, “The Aura I just established was ruined by you again.”

Zhang Yuchun also smiled. It was like this when they were young; whenever Eldest Senior Brother scolded or hit them, Li Dongyue would step in to mediate.

Speaking of which, only Li Dongyue never made Eldest Senior Brother angry, nor did she make them angry.

Seeing the atmosphere lighten, Li Sijin immediately laughed and said, “Eldest Senior Brother, I have an idea. Waiting ten years for one Dharma Battle Assembly is too long, and the Disciples are very enthusiastic about fighting now. Why don’t we hold Outer Sect Competitions, Inner Sect Competitions, and True Inheritance Competitions every year? This way, there won’t be a huge disparity in cultivation levels.”

Zhang Yuchun’s eyes lit up, and he praised, “That’s a great idea.”

Li Dongyue smiled helplessly, “What’s good about it? How large would the expenditure be if we did this?”

Li Qingqiu waved his hand, saying, “We can discuss this later. It’s the New Year; let’s talk less about official business.”

“Grand-Disciples, do you have any good wine today?”

A laugh came from the direction of the courtyard gate. True Man Qingxiao swaggered into the courtyard. Seeing him, Li Sijin rolled her eyes and immediately headed toward the kitchen.

Li Qingqiu looked at her, confused.

Li Dongyue laughed softly, “Grandmaster took a liking to Yang Chengyu, the Disciple under her Hall, and wanted to poach Yang Chengyu for the Law Enforcement Hall. Sijin is still angry at him.”

Li Qingqiu suddenly understood.

Yang Chengyu was the Disciple with the highest Aptitude in the Cultivation Hall, and had even achieved a Top Ten ranking in the Dharma Battle Assembly, so it was inevitable that he would be targeted.

Among the Seven Halls, the Cultivation Hall had the weakest strength on paper. Most talented Disciples would not choose the Cultivation Hall, feeling that planting flowers and grass offered no future.

That Genius Disciple named Yang Chengyu was actually selected by Li Qingqiu and asked Li Sijin to recruit him. At that time, Yang Chengyu had not yet displayed his talent.

Many Genius Disciples had poor martial arts Aptitude before stepping onto the path of Immortal Cultivation, making them easy to overlook. Immortal Cultivation and Practicing Martial Arts are two different things; Immortal Cultivation tests Aptitude more severely.

Li Qingqiu had no intention of interfering. Such matters could not be completely stopped, and Disciples were not objects. They would have their own ideas about where to go.

After True Man Qingxiao arrived, the Lingxiao Courtyard immediately became lively.

He saw Zhao Zhen writing a Secret Manual, immediately went over, and started lecturing Zhao Zhen, saying that at such a young age, he should focus on training and not think of so many tricks.

Zhao Zhen was unconvinced, feeling that he was contributing to the School, and the two began to argue.

Afterward, high-ranking members of the School such as Wu Maner, Yang Jueding, Zhang Yu, Zhu Yan, Shen Yue, and Chai Yunshang arrived successively.

Li Qingqiu glanced at Shen Yue. This old man Cultivates very fast!

He’s already reached the Nourishing Origin Realm, Fifth Layer!

As expected of his Excellent Aptitude and outstanding Comprehension Ability. Of course, the Thousand Spirit Blessed Land also deserves a large part of the credit for his rapid Cultivation.

Li Qingqiu was curious who was stronger: Shen Yue, who had become a Sword Cultivator, or Xu Ning… After the lively Spring Festival passed, the winter snow covering the Taikun Mountain Range gradually melted.

On the mountaintop, Li Qingqiu sat cross-legged on the edge of the cliff. A small, silver Sword Shadow floated before him.

He was researching the Soul-Snatching Flying Sword that he had created himself.

He had always pondered one question: What was the Spell he was best at?

He knew many Spells, but he hadn’t mastered any particular Dao. The reason he could easily defeat and kill opponents was primarily because his Cultivation Level was high enough.

After replicating 【Thousand Refinements】, Li Qingqiu decided to practice an Ultimate Skill, one that even other Immortal Cultivators could not Master to his level.

【Innate Sword Obsessive】 allowed him to quickly gain insight into the Dao of the Sword. Paired with 【Thousand Refinements】, it was the perfect combination, enabling him to Master an Ultimate Skill in the shortest possible time.

He condensed the Soul-Snatching Flying Sword shadow again and again, causing new insights to constantly flood his mind, making it impossible for him to stop.

Suddenly.

A figure flew up from beneath the cliff. It was Zhang Yuchun.

Zhang Yuchun had also learned Sword Flight now, but his Cultivation Level remained stuck at the Nourishing Origin Realm Fourth Layer. This level was sufficient for him, as he couldn’t spend most of his time Cultivating inside the Blessed Land.

He landed beside Li Qingqiu and whispered, “Senior Brother, something has happened to the Jiang Clan.”

Li Qingqiu didn’t even open his eyes and asked, “Which Jiang Clan?”

“Third Junior Brother’s Family. The entire clan was massacred by the Lingtian Sect. Only one son escaped—Third Junior Brother’s biological younger brother, Jiang Nian. He even visited our Qingxiao Mountain when he was little,” Zhang Yuchun said with a grave expression.

Hearing this, Li Qingqiu opened his eyes. He glanced at Zhang Yuchun and asked, “What was the reason?”

Zhang Yuchun hesitated for a moment, then said, “They were targeting Third Junior Brother. The other party also had Jiang Nian deliver a message: the Li Clan is next, and they vow to execute the entire Li Clan before the sixth month.”