"Conquer minds or destroy bodies?"
The young lady who came here on a fish stared fixedly at Ye Que as she questioned him curiously.
Ye Que stared at the plump goldfish in the air that was shaking its wide tail and displaying its four transparent fins. With a sway or two of its body, it landed on the Gra.s.s-pecking Cliff. Then, it transformed into a bulging spice bag with a single shake and automatically hung itself on the young lady"s waist. After witnessing this strange scene, Ye Que asked indifferently, "Conquering minds or destroying bodies? You can take it whichever you want."
"I think it"s conquering minds." The young lady placed a finger to her lips. She encircled Ye Que and then looked at the marks left behind on the ground by the battle earlier. "I spotted your Spirit Sword from afar. If I"m not mistaken, it"s one of the 13 Mother and Children of Spring and Autumn Swords recorded in the Million Swords Registry."
"Judging from the situation, your first attack was a warning to Nangong Jie that he shouldn"t act outrageously because there"s always someone stronger out there."
The young lady walked to Nalan Rongruo and sized her up. "You fight a duel with him because you wanted to rescue them. On the other hand, it"s also to persuade Nangong Jie that his cultivation might be higher but his swordsmanship is no match for yours."
"You injured him only superficially with your nine sword skills and left his Spiritual Sea of True Energy intact. This shows that you"re trying to ruin his Taoist belief." The young lady pointed to Ye Que. "Your swordsmanship isn"t gentlemanly at all!"
"Since you"ve won, why didn"t you directly kill him? Be careful of inviting endless trouble upon yourself." Nalan Rongruo"s face reddened after listening to the young lady"s speculation. She was still a little angry. She was upset that her fellow disciples stopped her earlier.
The young lady raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly as if she had seen something funny. "Killing him is what will invite endless troubles. Do you think he won"t have Life-preserving Talisman with him? His father isn"t that stingy. Once you step out of the ley lines of sovereignty of the Imperial Mausoleum, be prepared to be hunted to the ends of the world."
With her finger still pointed at Ye Que, the young lady continued, "You should thank him. He sincerely wishes to save you all. He even reported his name in the end as a way of claiming all responsibility."
"I don"t want to thank him! He"s obviously a thief!" Nalan Rongruo yelled.
The rest was stunned. Only then did the other Qingqiu Sword Sect recalled what had happened.
"Thief?" The young lady looked confused.
"Yes, a thief! We"re all Qingqiu Sword Sect disciples but we"ve never seen him!" Nalan Rongruo pointed at Ye Que. "Why did he know how to use our nine entry-level sword skills? Where did he learn them? If he"s not a thief, what is he?!"
Ye Que looked a little awkward while the young lady looked like realization had just hit her.
"I"m not a thief," Ye Que said with certainty.
"Then are you a Qingqiu Sword Sect disciple?" Nalan Rongruo questioned. "I"ve never seen you. Moreover, your name isn"t included in the list of people coming to the ley lines of sovereignty of the Imperial Mausoleum for training."
After carefully racking his brain, Ye Que replied quietly, "I suppose I"m a Qingqiu Sword Sect disciple."
"Suppose" was a very vague word and not even Ye Que looked certain.
"Suppose?" The young lady clasped her forehead, looking like she had been defeated.
Taking in the look of disbelief on everyone"s faces, Ye Que took in a deep breath and put on an expression that said he had his own reasons. Eventually, he looked as if he couldn"t take on the pressure and finally confessed his secret through clenched teeth. "My master is the Intoxicated Immortal, Zhao Hongding."
"Martial Uncle Zhao!"
"Intoxicated Immortal?"
"Huh!"
Everyone, including the young lady with the goldfish, looked like they finally understood what was going on. Nalan Rongruo cried with surprise while the young lady uttered "Intoxicated Immortal" in shock. The rest sighed in unison.
Ye Que"s expression didn"t change but he was mentally wiping off cold sweat.
Zhao Hongding, the Intoxicated Immortal, was truly the weirdo of the Cultivation World. Never mind his cultivation, he had unparalleled talent in two of his hobbies!
One of them was drinking.
The other was accepting disciples.
Moreover, he often accepted disciples while drunk without regard for time, place, and talent. He followed only his desire and left everything up to fate. If he glanced at a person while in a happy mood, he might very well accept the person as his disciple. Sometimes, he might even forget a disciple that he took in just the day before.
However, the Intoxicated Immortal, Zhao Hongding, occupied a very special position in the Qingqiu Sword Sect. Not even the Sect Leader could do anything about him.
This resulted in a very awkward situation whereby strangers would sometime come to the Qingqiu Sword Sect and claim a connection. They would insist that they were a disciple of the sect and that their master was the Intoxicated Immortal. These people included hawkers and n.o.bility, even entertainers at brothels. Evidently, this had become a laughing stock for the Cultivation World.
"Since you"re Martial Uncle Zhao"s disciple, then there"s no problem."
"You should"ve said so earlier."
"It"s not really embarra.s.sing."
"I"m Nalan Rongruo." Nalan Rongruo, who had looked angry earlier, was now wearing a completely different expression. She flashed her two adorable dimples at Ye Que. This girl was truly temperamental.
Since all of them hailed from the same sect, they soon started exchanging their names as a way of understanding one another. Finally, everyone turned to look at the young woman with a goldfish.
Don"t look at me."
"I"m Li Jianqi."
"I"m from Silent Monastery."
Li Jianqi introduced herself confidently and frankly. Then, Nalan Rongruo and her fellow disciples uttered nearly in unison, "Sword Fanatic!"
Ye Que became curious after seeing their expressions. "Sword Fanatic? Is she famous?"
Nalan Rongruo recalled that Ye Que, being a disciple that the Intoxicated Immortal conveniently accepted, wouldn"t be familiar with the affairs of the Cultivation World as he hadn"t even entered the sect yet. She deftly explained, "Li Jianqi, the last disciple of the Master of the Silent Monastery. She"s a sword genius born in the Pre-celestial Realm. She entered the Post-celestial Realm at eight, the Physic Realm at 13, and the Starburst Realm at 16. She"s the most well-known genius in the past hundred years in the Cultivation World as well as the most promising one from the Silent Monastery to ascend to the Celestial World."
"Legend has it that this young lady is a mysterious being who has an incredible infatuation for cultivation and tremendous love for riding fish. Her hobby is eating swords, especially those belonging to experts. Cultivators who lose to her would have their swords taken. Thus, she gained the nickname of Sword Fanatic."
Nalan Rongruo slowly shifted near Li Jianqi while enthusiastically explaining to Ye Que. Finally, she tugged onto the young lady"s sleeve. "Excuse me. Can you give me your signature? You can sign my clothing."
"Sword Fanatic?"
"Girl genius?"
"The future of Silent Monastery?"
"Loves riding fish? Addicted to eating swords?"
"I"ve never heard of her at all!" Ye Que racked his brain and confirmed that he had never heard of this name. It was to the extent that he didn"t have any impression of the names of Nalan Rongruo and her fellow disciples.
He had stayed in the Qingqiu Sword Sect for tens of years. If not even he had heard of their names, then there could only be one explanation.
The seven people in front of him had all died in the ley lines of sovereignty of the Imperial Mausoleum!
This explanation was the only one that made sense!
Moreover, if Ye Que didn"t show up earlier, it was likely Nangong Jie would have killed Nalan Rongruo and her fellow disciples. The current scenario wouldn"t occur at all. Ye Que was like a b.u.t.terfly that had flapped its wings. Amid all the imperceptible influence, this world was already differing from the world he experienced in tremendous ways.