“Mingjia, the weather has turned cold. It’s time to take a disciple…”
In the grand hall, the sect master of the Supreme Sect could no longer maintain the benevolent expression he had cultivated for years. He glared fiercely at the white-robed female cultivator below, who was still yawning.
The female cultivator wore no makeup, yet her beauty remained ethereal and transcendent. Only the faint traces of tears at the corners of her eyes, remnants of her earlier yawn, betrayed her weariness.
“No, it’s too cold. I can’t get up.”
Mingjia’s voice was lazy, her body slumped against the chair as if she had no bones.
Sect Master Xuanji couldn’t stand seeing Mingjia like this. He roared in frustration, “When it’s hot, you’re afraid of sweating. When it’s cold, you say you can’t get up! I don’t care. If you don’t take a disciple today, I’ll cut off the spirit stones for Sword Peak!”
At these words, Mingjia’s eyes widened instantly, and she sprang up from her chair.
“Absolutely not! Absolutely not! I was planning to inscribe an array on my Langyue Sword next month!”
As a sword cultivator, poverty was the norm, being meticulous with every coin was a virtue, and enhancing one’s own life-bound sword was a matter of life and death!
With the sect master threatening to cut off her lifeline, Mingjia naturally dared not refuse any longer.
“Get out and find a disciple now!”
A surge of exasperated true qi struck her, and Mingjia was sent flying out of the hall.
The sweeping disciples outside the hall, seeing Mingjia expelled by Sect Master Xuanji, bowed respectfully, unfazed by the sight.
Everyone in the Supreme Sect knew that since the previous master of Sword Peak ascended, the newly appointed peak master, Mingjia, was an extremely lazy person.
Not only had she not taken a disciple in all her years in the position, but she had also dismissed the outer disciples responsible for sweeping Sword Peak, claiming it was to save spirit stones.
Now, the vast Sword Peak had only Mingjia, a lone peak master.
Mingjia aimlessly flew on her sword.
The sect’s recruitment period had already passed. Where was she supposed to find a disciple?
Unconsciously, Mingjia landed on the Heart-Questioning Stairs at the back of the mountain. Looking at the long, seemingly endless path, she suddenly felt hungry.
Look at these Heart-Questioning Stairs. Don’t they resemble heavenly ladders made of pork? Crispy to bite into, with a spicy flavor…
“…Still only able to climb twenty steps? You’re truly useless! Even the dogs from the Enforcement Hall can climb fifty steps!”
“If I were you, I’d just bash my head against these stairs and die! What’s the point of cultivating immortality?”
“Oh, still daring to glare at me! Jun Moyao, do you still think you’re the young lady of the Jun family? Who are you putting on airs for?”
“Your spiritual roots are ruined, hahaha…”
Far ahead on the Heart-Questioning Stairs, three outer disciples in their sect robes were mocking a girl dressed in servant’s clothing.
The girl was drenched in sweat, her clothes disheveled, gasping for breath. The spiritual energy around her was dissipating, and she seemed unable to even perform the simplest act of drawing qi into her body.
Yet, despite this, her spine remained straight, like an unyielding pine tree.
Perhaps feeling momentarily intimidated by Jun Moyao’s gaze, the outer disciples grew furious and began to attack her.
Even though they were only at the Qi Refining stage, they were insurmountable mountains for Jun Moyao in her current state.
Jun Moyao was knocked to the ground by the three, doing her best to protect her vital points and preserve her life. Her deep eyes remained resolute.
“…Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Do not bully the youth for their poverty!”
The girl forced the words out through gritted teeth, though the outer disciples paid no heed.
Watching Jun Moyao being beaten to the brink of death, Ming Jia remained motionless, yet several streams of spiritual energy emanated from her body, instantly sending the outer sect disciples flying.
Just as the outer sect disciples were about to resist, they caught sight of the white robes Ming Jia wore—a garment reserved only for peak masters. Their expressions instantly changed.
“P-Please spare us, True Lord! Have mercy!”
Those who could become peak masters typically possessed the strength of the Nascent Soul stage, and addressing them as “True Lord” was a wise choice.
Ming Jia remained as languid as ever, her indifferent gaze falling upon Jun Moyao, whose chest still rose and fell faintly. “Can you still get up?”
Jun Moyao struggled to support herself, trying to rise from the ground, only to fall back repeatedly. Blood and dust had already blurred her face beyond recognition.
“If you can stand, I will take you as my disciple,” Ming Jia said, not stepping forward to help but leaning against a thick tree, her eyes heavy with weariness.
As soon as these words were spoken, the three outer sect disciples were terrified out of their wits.
“True Lord! Jun Moyao is nothing but a waste! Her spiritual roots are damaged! You must not take her as your disciple!”
“She has no chance at immortality in this lifetime! Please reconsider, True Lord!”
“She couldn’t even ascend the Heart-Questioning Stairs, which means she harbors inner demons!”
All sorts of half-truths and lies were spoken to tarnish Jun Moyao’s reputation.
If Jun Moyao became the True Lord’s disciple, these disciples feared they would face dire consequences, as Jun Moyao would surely seek revenge.
Ming Jia seemed not to hear them, her eyes half-closed.
Her silence left the outer sect disciples too afraid to speak further, as the faint yet unmistakable spiritual energy surrounding them served as a clear warning.
Thus, the only sounds at the foot of the Heart-Questioning Stairs were Jun Moyao’s struggles to rise and her labored breathing.
Perhaps Heaven took pity on this unfortunate girl, for in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Jun Moyao finally staggered to her feet!
“Jun Moyao, is it? From now on, you are my personal disciple.”
A flash of spiritual energy later, a token for a personal disciple of the Sword-Bearing Peak appeared at Jun Moyao’s waist.
Ming Jia tossed Jun Moyao a bottle of elixirs, which she opened without hesitation and swallowed one pill.
Instantly, all of Jun Moyao’s external injuries healed, and her spirit was revitalized, though her damaged spiritual roots still prevented her from gathering qi.
“Thank you, Master!”
The outer sect disciples were both shocked and envious, wishing they were the ones Ming Jia had taken as her disciple.
“Let’s go.”
Seeing that her newly accepted disciple was clearly incapable of sword flight, Ming Jia reluctantly shared her own Langyue Sword, pulling Jun Moyao along as they vanished from the Heart-Questioning Stairs.
The outer sect disciples breathed a sigh of relief, though the envy and resentment in their eyes grew even more intense.
“Why should Jun Moyao…”
Before their jealous words could fully escape their lips, the familiar, lazy voice echoed in their ears.
“Go to the Enforcement Hall and receive your punishment yourselves.”
The disciples instantly collapsed to the ground, fainting from sheer terror.
Although Sword-Bearing Peak had only Ming Jia as its sole living resident, it still boasted numerous structures, as it had once been a major peak centuries ago.
As for her newly accepted disciple, Ming Jia felt little emotion. After all, this was a choice she had been forced to make to appease the sect master.
Pointing Jun Moyao toward the long-abandoned disciples’ quarters, Ming Jia told her she could choose any place to live before hastily retreating to catch up on sleep.
Jun Moyao, left to her own devices, showed no sign of disturbance in her eyes. Though the monthly allowance and attire for a personal disciple had yet to arrive, her dusty figure remained resilient and upright.
She gazed at the tranquil, almost desolate Sword Peak, and let out a heavy sigh, as if expelling all the impurities from her body.
Who could have imagined that she, Jun Moyao, was actually a person reborn!