Chapter 17: 17. Chapter Seventeen

17. Chapter Seventeen

"From the ancient times until now, the strife between Sword Cultivators and Dharma Cultivators has never ceased. After all, there are only so many positions for attaining the Dao; whoever occupies them first can transcend. But in truth, those who can reach that step are few and far between. Most people cannot even survive the Heavenly Tribulation, so fighting back and forth is quite meaningless."

Atian turned her head at the sound. The first thing she saw was a pair of boots resting on the desk. Following the boots upward, she realized that at some point, the Senior Brother who had been sitting behind her had been replaced by a woman with short, ear-length hair. She leaned lazily against the seat, while the original owner of the seat stood to the side, nodding and bowing, his sycophancy too much to look at.

"Of course, this doesn't mean the fighting can stop," the woman said, noticing Atian's gaze. She grinned, the scar on her left cheek curving with her movement, the top of it nearly touching her eye. "People fight for a breath of air, trees fight for their bark; shaking hands and making peace is so beneath one's dignity. Even if you don't go out of your way to provoke others, they will come to provoke you. It's just that annoying."

She shrugged. "The struggle for the Dao Lineage is a matter of life and death. If your skills are inferior, you deserve to die. When it comes down to it, this isn't about personal grudges; it's simply a bottom line that neither side can touch."

"Senior Sister Luo," Li Ke interrupted the woman, frowning with some helplessness. "This is my class..."

"Don't say that, Junior Brother Li," the woman said, her feet on the desk swaying. "We reminded them one by one when they entered the sect: if they violate the sect rules, the Law Enforcement Elder will come to teach them how to behave. Isn't that exactly what I'm doing now?"

Atian understood; the short-haired woman with the scar on her face was Elder Luo Li, whom Su Ying had mentioned—her future instructor.

Just as Li Ke pursed his lips, Luo Li jumped up from her seat, her movement so fast that even Bai Tian, who had been staring at her, was startled.

"Hey, you little brats," Luo Li said, stepping onto the desk while the disciple beside her wore a look of misery. "To fall for such a low-level trick—all of you, go back and reflect properly!"

This was a dismissal. Seeing that Li Ke did not stop her, the terrified disciples vaguely understood that today's class was over, so they hurriedly packed their things and left the Classroom.

Atian followed Zhao Kuo, with Song Zhicheng behind her, scrambling to put on his shoes. As she passed Luo Li, she noticed that the woman had a slender, long sword tied to each side of her waist, which had been hidden under her wide robes while she was sitting.

"Junior Niece Bai Tian."

The slightly raspy female voice interrupted Atian's observation. She looked up and met Luo Li's half-smiling eyes. She was very tall; even though Atian was considered tall among women, she was still a full head shorter than her.

Atian thought that if there truly were a woman in this world who could make one praise her from the bottom of one's heart as "heroic and spirited," it would be someone like Luo Li.

"You made a wise decision," the Elder said in a low voice. "Nurturing the Sword and hiding its edge will drive you mad."

"Tomorrow morning, find me at the Martial Arts Arena."

Her hand holding Wanjie tightened in an instant. Atian nodded and followed the crowd out of the room.

Strangely enough, the stone-carved Jiaotu guarding the entrance of the Classroom was very shy. The moment it saw people, it rolled to the side and shivered. The disciples were used to it and walked around it, though occasionally, someone with a mean streak would jump over its head.

"Ah, I almost stopped breathing when I saw Senior Aunt Luo Li." Zhao Kuo patted his chest dramatically, and even Duanyue, which he carried on his back, twisted, as if it were also letting out a sigh of relief.

"Why?" Song Zhicheng rubbed his hand on his clothes after picking at his foot. "I knew Elder Luo was a straightforward person the moment I saw her!"

"Yeah, she's also very straightforward when she beats you up. She really just hits you without any preamble," Zhao Kuo, a man of experience, agreed with narrowed eyes.

Atian wasn't as curious about Elder Luo Li's style, as she would experience it firsthand tomorrow. By comparison, Li Ke's sudden outburst caught her attention more. "Senior Brother Zhao, today, Uncle-Master Li Ke..."

"Shh!" Zhao Kuo covered Bai Tian's mouth with quick reflexes. He looked around guiltily, and only after realizing no one was paying attention did he let out a sigh of relief. "My little auntie, this is too shameful. Can we talk about this back in the room?"

Having his dark history from his youth dug up was bad enough; the only consolation was that the room was full of fellow fools who had been just as silly, so no one could judge anyone else. Now that they had left the Classroom, he absolutely did not want anyone else to know about this.

As a model young lady of good breeding, Atian considered herself very reasonable. In the past, when the magistrate's daughter and the scholar's daughter argued, she often "convinced people with reason." Taking care of Senior Brother Zhao Kuo's fragile self-esteem wasn't a big deal, especially since she hadn't seen anyone else in the Beihai Sword Sect who was a housekeeping expert and willing to help her dry her clothes for free.

So, monopolies are truly undesirable.

"This disgusting business of the Heartless Dao is most likely the work of the Fangxian Dao."

As soon as they returned to their courtyard, Zhao Kuo busied himself preparing tea and snacks, incredibly virtuous. His room was also spotless, enough to make Song Zhicheng, who had turned his own room into a dog's den, blush with shame.

However, such a high-level vocabulary as "blushing with shame" did not exist in a mountain bandit's dictionary. He simply took off his shoes in a grand manner, sat cross-legged on the rattan chair, and swung his feet.

"When I was still a mountain king, I had heard of the Fangxian Dao," he said, rubbing his chin. "It is said that the entire south belongs to them; they are surrounded by followers and are very grand."

"Those are all branches; the main sect of the Fangxian Dao is very low-key," Zhao Kuo said fairly, even though he had almost been tricked. "The situation of the Fangxian Dao is very complex. Don't look at them as the head of the Four Great Immortal Sects now; in reality, the interior is already in chaos."

Atian looked grave while sweeping the snacks off the table.

Drawing a sense of presence from the curious eyes of her Junior Brother and Junior Sister, Zhao Kuo immediately forgot his previous embarrassment. "I went to the Fangxian Dao with my master when I was a child. They are the Alchemy Sect among the Dharma Cultivators. The disciples of the direct lineage rarely leave their caves, spending their time refining pills. Over time, lured by the pills, many errand-runners gathered around them, and the Fangxian Dao grew strong because of this."

"The branches within the Fangxian Dao now, such as the Instrument Cultivators and Spirit Cultivators, were formed after the outsiders who attached themselves to the sect in those years multiplied and grew. It's just that as time passed, they no longer respected the direct lineage of the Fangxian Dao like their predecessors did, and each had their own hidden agenda."

"I get it, I get it," Song Zhicheng said, picking at his foot. "It's just the servants bullying their masters."

Atian had to admit that Song Zhicheng could still hit the nail on the head.

Zhao Kuo rubbed the teacup with his palm, thinking that although his own sect used all sorts of tricks to get votes, the fellow disciples got along harmoniously. Unlike the faction-ridden Fangxian Dao, he couldn't help but sigh, "There are benefits to having fewer people."

The awkwardness of the Beihai Sword Sect was that even if they wanted to have an internal struggle to spice up their lives, they might not be able to gather enough people.

While the disciples were chattering about the "Fangxian Dao" over there, the Elders over here were no less worldly.

After driving away a room full of disciples, Luo Li dragged a cushion over and sat beside Li Ke, humming a little tune and tapping her leg with her hand. She sang terribly, not only off-key but also tone-deaf, yet she didn't realize it at all, shamelessly leaning in under Li Ke's nose to annoy him.

"Senior Sister Luo, did you go to Luofu Mountain?" Li Ke's nose twitched when Luo Li leaned in, as if he had smelled something unpleasant, and he showed a look of disgust.

"What else?" Luo Li stopped humming and raised her eyebrows. "To cause trouble at my Beihai Sword Sect—not smashing their broken gate directly was me giving Wei Sheren face."

Wei Sheren, the Sect Master of the Fangxian Dao, the number one Alchemy Cultivator of the Yuanguang Continent, and a well-known "good guy" in the cultivation world.

"This matter was not done by Wei Sheren." Li Ke's tone was very firm. The cultivation world emphasizes Life Dual Cultivation; only when one's temperament meets the standard can one's cultivation soar.

"In any case, it must have been done by those branches," Luo Li sneered. "The Fangxian Dao has been made a mess by those guys over the years. Wei Sheren is also unlucky; clearly the Sect Master, yet I hear his words can't even leave the main peak."

"The Fangxian Dao has taken too many shortcuts over the years; that they would be backlashed is to be expected," Li Ke said, covering his mouth with a handkerchief and coughing a few times. "If Wei Sheren could cut off his arm to save his life, the Fangxian Dao might still have a chance of returning from the dead."

Luo Li smiled upon hearing this, the scar on her face revealing a hint of sharpness. She was not a beauty in the traditional sense, but she had her own style. She took a letter from her bosom and handed it to Li Ke. "If Wei Sheren is unwilling to cut off his arm, Junior Brother, you might as well help him."

Li Ke understood the implication and his eyes widened slightly. He took the letter and unfolded it, seeing a flamboyant character for "Discuss" written on it.

"The Grandmaster's meaning is that for this year's Qingtan Assembly, you will go with him."

"Qingtan, Qingtan..." A flush appeared on Li Ke's pale face. "The Grandmaster doesn't want to talk with his mouth anymore, then. It's just that I haven't left the sect for a long time; I don't know how many people in this world still remember me, Li Ke."

"So what?" Luo Li smiled dismissively. "Destroying foundations, defiling the Dao Lineage—they are already riding on our heads, so don't blame others for opening a dye house. Everyone says my Beihai Sword Sect produces madmen; I'm afraid they haven't seen what we look like when we truly go mad."

"Before I raise the little madman, you, the old madman, will have to work hard for a while."