Chapter 7

Because there were no extra cushions, Zhou Qing found a corner to sit and waited quietly.

Around him, everyone wore identical white robes.

It seems Shi Zhen’s lecture today concerns only Qi Condensation; otherwise, inner and true disciples might have shown up too.

Soon, a woman in a sky-blue robe appeared ahead, her brows like distant ink, her expression cold and serene.

Everyone immediately stood and bowed.

Shi Zhen nodded, sat down, and got straight to the point without wasting words.

“Today’s topic is the Green Wood Spirit Shield, a defensive technique based on wood-element spiritual energy—mandatory for every disciple of Taiqingmen, from core to outer. After all, only the living have a chance to speak of anything else.”

As Shi Zhen moved her spirit, a dense surge of wood-element spiritual energy rushed in from all directions, as if summoned, instantly coalescing around her.

In the blink of an eye, a solid shield formed, its surface clearly patterned, radiating unyielding strength.

The sight left everyone awestruck—they could barely summon such a shield, requiring incantations and hand seals.

Yet Shi Zhen made it seem as simple as a single thought.

Zhou Qing sighed inwardly—he couldn’t achieve such effortless control. Facing a strong opponent, he’d need distance and time to cast.

Otherwise, they’d be upon him before the shield even formed.

Shi Zhen dissolved the shield and began her explanation: “The rhythm of wood flows gently, spiritual breath surges, energy pervades heaven and earth, spirit draws from all directions—this incantation, viewed differently, can be understood as…”

Below, Zhou Qing listened intently; each person understood the same technique in their own way.

[Ignore Point +1]

[Ignore Point +1]

…………

Over the next three days, Zhou Qing kept visiting the [Lecture Halls] on various peaks, grinding points—slow, but cumulative.

Today, his talent skill [Lowered Presence] finally reached max level and upgraded to LV2.

To his surprise, he discovered a skill fragment had appeared during one of his naps.

[Skill Fragment: 3/3 (Obtainable)]

“Obtain.”

Excited, Zhou Qing immediately synthesized it.

The skill fragments instantly vanished, and “Obtainable” turned to “Unobtainable.”

Soon, a message appeared in his mind.

[Talent Skill—Heart Mirror Vision: Can see others’ private notes about the host. Currently allows binding of three individuals.]

[As the skill levels up, the number of bound individuals increases accordingly.]

[Changing a bound individual’s perception of the host grants varying amounts of Heart Mirror Points.]

Zhou Qing blinked—he finally understood his new talent skill. It felt oddly fascinating.

With a thought, his interface appeared.

[Name: Zhou Qing]

[Age: Nineteen]

[Cultivation Base: Foundation Establishment, Early Stage]

[Technique: Taiqing Mystical Qi Scripture]

[Talent Skills: Heart Mirror Vision—LV1 (0/100),]

[Lowered Presence—LV2 (1/100)]

[Skill Fragments: 0/3 (Unobtainable)]

He’d have to start accumulating new skill fragments again.

But soon, he noticed something unusual.

Above the core disciple teaching at the front, three question marks had appeared—[???].

The thousand outer disciples around him showed no such change.

“Since my new talent skill [Heart Mirror Vision] reveals others’ true thoughts about me, the first condition must be familiarity. Here, only this core disciple teaching is half-acquainted with me—everyone else likely hasn’t seen me before.”

Instantly, Zhou Qing understood the skill’s mechanism.

But with its current level, he could bind only three people—he had to choose wisely.

At that moment, someone lightly tapped his back.

He turned—and his expression changed instantly.

The grinning figure wasn’t anyone else but Lu Yaoyao.

Today, she was disguised as a man, dressed in the same outer disciple white robe as him.

“Zhou Senior Brother, you’ve made me search everywhere—I scanned five times before spotting you.”

Lu Yaoyao sat down cheerfully beside him.

Zhou Qing’s face twitched. He glanced around and immediately spotted Li Daoxuan standing at the [Lecture Hall] entrance, glaring at him with clear hostility.

Zhou Qing sighed in exasperation: “What the hell, sister? Why do you keep chasing me?”

Lu Yaoyao replied: “I didn’t come specifically for you—I’m here to listen too. But I heard you were here, so I just came over.”

Zhou Qing let out a hollow laugh.

Do you think I believe that?

A core disciple wearing outer disciple robes?

With a bodyguard trailing behind?

You knew I was here, so you dressed like this to drag me into a rivalry.

Young as you are, you’ve got a good grasp of seduction.

Then he looked at the question mark above Lu Yaoyao’s head—I’ll see what your true note about me really says.

Am I your first target for revenge?

“Bind Lu Yaoyao!” Zhou Qing locked onto her and thought firmly.

The next instant, the question mark above Lu Yaoyao dissolved into three golden characters—[So Cute!]

Zhou Qing gasped sharply, his mind buzzing.

What the hell?

How did it become [So Cute]? Shouldn’t it be [Disciple of My Enemy] or [Kill Him]?

Could it be that I’m so handsome and charming she fell for me at first sight?

That makes no sense—it’s absurd.

“Something’s wrong. Something’s very wrong!”

Zhou Qing frowned, certain this wasn’t simple.

Then he looked at Li Daoxuan at the entrance, gritted his teeth, and bound him too.

Let’s see if the system glitched.

Instantly, Li Daoxuan’s question mark became seven golden characters—[Envious Rival]

Ah, now that makes sense.

Which means—

Zhou Qing stared again at the glowing [So Cute!] above Lu Yaoyao. It felt ridiculous—but also a relief, even a touch of pride.

As long as she wasn’t here for revenge, he’d be fine. If she truly meant to hunt him down, who knew how many traps awaited him?

I never thought I’d be the most attractive one in the core circle.

Then he looked at Lu Yaoyao, who was listening intently, and blinked. “Lu Junior Sister.”

“What is it, Zhou Senior Brother?” Lu Yaoyao turned immediately.

Zhou Qing cleared his throat. “Actually, I already have someone I like.”

To his surprise, Lu Yaoyao’s eyes lit up. “Really? Which peak? Is she pretty? What’s her name? Is she the one with green hair you mentioned before?”

She asked eagerly.

Facing Lu Yaoyao’s excitement, Zhou Qing was even more baffled.

Why are you more excited than I am?

Aren’t you heartbroken?

Don’t you feel jealous?

After all, the handsome guy you secretly like has someone else now—you’ve lost your chance, maybe even have to settle for second place.

Zhou Qing quickly checked her note above her head—the [So Cute!] was slowly fading.

His heart leapt—he’d said it to make her change her view of him.

Only then could he earn Heart Mirror Points.

Women are natural actresses—acting indifferent and curious in front of me, but secretly terrified.

But the smile on Zhou Qing’s lips froze.

Because [So Cute!] instantly changed to [So Amazing!]

He looked at Lu Yaoyao’s curious gaze—and his face twitched.

What the hell? Is that amazing?

Even love-struck girls don’t think like this.

At that moment, a story Zhou Qing once heard flashed through his mind.

A woman was abused by her husband; everyone urged her to leave, saying he no longer loved her.

But she shook her head vigorously and retorted firmly, “If he didn’t love me, why would he hit only me and not anyone else?”

Look at you—you’re just like that woman now.

【Heart Mirror Points +3】

Seeing the newly gained points, Zhou Qing felt a little better and added, “Yes, green hair—and she’s beautiful. I won’t say her name, to avoid causing her trouble.”

Lu Yaoyao frowned in thought: “Strange—I had Senior Brother specifically check every female disciple in Taiqingmen, but none have green hair. There are two males, though...”

As she spoke, Lu Yaoyao cast a suspicious glance at Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing quickly cut her off: “Your muttering’s a bit too loud.”

“I’ll make this clear—I’m a real man!” Zhou Qing hurriedly said.

Lu Yaoyao burst out laughing: “Of course I know you’re a real man. Forget it, if you like her, you like her. Which young man doesn’t have a few romantic distractions in his youth? I understand. But they’re just temporary. I can foresee it—you’ll eventually fall for a beautiful girl with silver hair.”

Zhou Qing glanced at the thin layer of silver hair beneath her black locks and internally snorted.

You’re not just a little self-absorbed and confident, are you?

“Ahh—”

Suddenly, a junior disciple beside him let out a loud scream, startling both Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao.

“What are you doing?!” Zhou Qing said, clutching his pounding chest.

The man looked utterly confused: “Wait—I clearly remembered no one was beside me. When did you get here?”

Zhou Qing was about to reply when he remembered his talent skill: 【Reduced Presence】—it could now cause Qi Condensation disciples to ignore him by 90%.

The junior disciple’s scream drew the attention of everyone in the 【Lecture Hall】, even the core disciple teaching on the podium paused and turned to look over curiously.

Zhou Qing sighed helplessly and bowed apologetically to the crowd.

The mission was already accomplished; staying longer would make the person at the gate eat someone alive.

Zhou Qing decided to leave immediately.

Fortunately, Lu Yaoyao only opened her mouth slightly and chose not to follow.

“Senior Brother Li!” Zhou Qing bowed as he approached Li Daoxuan.

Li Daoxuan’s expression was grim; he merely gave a curt “Mm.”

Zhou Qing stared at the seven golden characters hovering above his head: 【Rival Worth Envy】—for some reason, he wanted to laugh.

What’s your status? What’s mine? Why are you jealous over this?

Losing brotherly trust over a girl? Too costly—even if we’re not close.

Then again, though they rarely interacted, Li Daoxuan was the eldest disciple of the Sect Master, chief of Shenyue Peak, and widely respected.

He was generous and righteous; Senior Brother had praised him more than once.

After bowing, Zhou Qing couldn’t think of how to change Li Daoxuan’s opinion of him, so he left.

As soon as he returned to Xiao Ling Peak on his sword, a figure appeared behind him.

“You’ve broken through to Foundation Establishment?” Master Mo Xingjian’s voice suddenly rang out, startling Zhou Qing again.

Master, I know you’re amazing, appearing and vanishing like a ghost—but you don’t have to scare me like this.

He bowed: “Disciple is dull-witted; I barely broke through a few days ago.”

Mo Xingjian stroked his beard, clearly pleased: “Good, good. I heard you’ve been running between the 【Lecture Halls】 on all peaks—keep working hard. Don’t let your third senior brother lead you astray. Sneaking peeks at women bathing will always draw criticism.”

“Master, I really didn’t sneak a peek—they just didn’t see me...”

“I know, I know—I’m just reminding you. I’ve got things to do, I’m off!”

Mo Xingjian waved his hand, cutting off Zhou Qing’s defense and leaving immediately.

Zhou Qing stared blankly, gazing at the question mark above his master’s head—wondering what his own note must say in his master’s mind.

But he already had a candidate for the final slot—it concerned his future chances of gaining Heart Mirror Points.

“Pfft pfft, Fourth, over here—”

Just as Zhou Qing was about to leave, a furtive voice came from behind a nearby rock garden: Yan Xiao.

Zhou Qing frowned and hurried over.

“Third Senior Brother, you’ve come out of seclusion?”

(End of Chapter)