After digging out the cave abode, it was time to eat.
My senior brothers led me to the open-air dining area at the top of the mountain.
In truth, it was just a large, flat rock—just as they put it: harmony between nature and humanity.
I asked, “Don’t senior brothers practice inedia (fasting)?”
Yan Chuan said, “Inedia pills taste terrible! Besides, the food I cook is too delicious—I can’t bear to skip it.”
Su Ning nodded: “Right, Yan Chuan’s cooking is amazing!”
Murong Zhuo smiled: “That’s why none of us can bear to fast!”
Gu Chenguang swallowed his saliva: “Especially the braised pork belly! I can down three steamed buns with it!”
My eyes lit up: “Braised pork belly?”
I watched as Yan Chuan pulled out pots, pans, bowls, and ladles from his storage bag and started a fire to cook.
Looking at those pots, I noticed they had patches on them as well.
Me: “Even pots can be patched?”
“Of course!” Yan Chuan said proudly. “I patched them using artifact-refining techniques—they’re even sturdier than before!”
Me: “…”
Fine then.
A moment later, a large dish of braised pork belly came out of the pot, glistening with oil and smelling mouth-wateringly fragrant.
Yan Chuan poured out a basket of steamed buns from his spatial ring.
Each of my senior brothers grabbed a bun and ate with great relish alongside the braised pork.
I picked up a steamed bun too and took a bite.
Hard.
Really hard.
Harder than my dad’s heart.
Yan Chuan said sheepishly, “The buns have been sitting for a while, so they’re a bit hard. Little Junior Sister, soak it in the broth before eating.”
I broke the bun open and soaked it in the rich gravy of the braised pork belly.
Delicious!
A ten-thousand times better than the porridge my dad cooked!
A thousand times better than the roasted demon beast meat I ate on the road!
I buried my head and wolfed it down.
After finishing one bun, I grabbed another.
After finishing the second, I grabbed a third.
Watching me, my senior brothers’ eyes gradually widened.
After finishing the third, I grabbed a fourth.
Su Ning stammered, “L—Little Junior Sister, you… eat slowly, don’t choke.”
I shook my head: “It’s fine, I’m hungry.”
I kept munching.
Fifth.
Sixth.
Seventh.
Eighth.
Ninth.
Tenth.
In the end, I ate ten steamed buns and half a pot of braised pork belly.
My belly was round and plump, looking just like a little watermelon.
My senior brothers were all dumbfounded.
Yan Chuan asked cautiously, “Little Junior Sister, is that enough? Do you enough, I’ll go make more.”
I slumped on the rock, rubbing my belly, and sighed contentedly: “I’m full. This is the fullest meal I’ve had in a long time.”
Shen Qingchen looked at me with gentle eyes: “From now on, you’ll get to eat your fill every day.”
I nodded vigorously.
At night, I lay on the stone bed, covered with the quilt given by Sixth Senior Brother Gu Chenguang, looking up at the cave ceiling.
The cave ceiling was rough rock, but it had been smoothed over by my senior brothers’ sword energy, so it wasn’t too harsh on the eyes.
Outside came the sounds of the wind and chirping insects.
It was very quiet.
But I didn’t feel afraid.
Because I knew my senior brothers were in the caves right next door.
If anything happened, I could just shout and they would hear me.
I suddenly thought of a question, scrambled up, ran to the cave entrance, and called out to next door: “Third Senior Brother! Fourth Senior Brother!”
Third Senior Brother Su Ning poked his head out from the adjacent cave opening: “What’s wrong, Little Junior Sister?”
Fourth Senior Brother Yan Chuan also emerged from his cave: “Having a nightmare?”
I shook my head: “I just wanted to ask—why is our Heavenly Sword Sect so poor?”
Su Ning and Yan Chuan exchanged a glance.
Then they walked over and sat on the platform at my cave entrance.
Murong Zhuo and Gu Chenguang came over as well.
Finally, Shen Qingchen joined us too.
Surrounding me under the moonlight, my senior brothers began telling me about the sect’s “history of wealth creation.”
Though it really should be called a “history of fortune squandering.”
Su Ning: “A long, long time ago~”
Yan Chuan: “So long ago that Third Elder still had hair.”
Murong Zhuo: “So long ago that First Elder hadn’t started petting spiritual beasts yet.”
Gu Chenguang: “So long ago that none of us were born yet.”
Eldest Senior Brother: “Get to the point.”
Su Ning quickly straightened up: “In short, a long time ago, the Heavenly Sword Sect used to be rich.”
Me: “How rich?”
Yan Chuan: “Word has it that at its absolute peak, there were nine main peaks, eighteen auxiliary peaks, three thousand disciples, and over a hundred elders. The sect hall was built with white jade, the Scripture Pavilion held a hundred thousand secret manuals, and alchemy rooms and artifact-refining chambers were fully equipped.”
Murong Zhuo: “Back then, Heavenly Sword Sect disciples wore Cloud Brocade robes when going out, flew on supreme-grade flying swords, ate spiritual rice for every meal, and cultivated using high-grade spirit stones!”
Gu Chenguang: “Supposedly, even the chore disciples sweeping the floors could collect one hundred mid-grade spirit stones a month!”
Me: “…Then how did it end up like this?”
All the senior brothers let out a collective sigh.
Shen Qingchen: “Because our Patriarch was a sword maniac.”
Su Ning: ”
“Our Patriarch believed that sword cultivators should focus solely on practicing the sword, and that everything else was just a unorthodox distraction. So he ordered that the sect set up no alchemy rooms, artifact-refining chambers, or talisman halls, requiring disciples to focus exclusively on practicing the sword.”
Yan Chuan: “At first it was fine—the sect had savings, and with the disciples focusing entirely on practicing the sword, their strength was indeed formidable. The Heavenly Sword Sect became the number one sword sect in the cultivation world.”
Murong Zhuo: “Out of the top ten on the Cultivation World’s Genius List, our sect could occupy five spots.”
Gu Chenguang: “But later, the savings ran out.”
Su Ning: “Without knowing alchemy, elixir pills have to be bought.”
Yan Chuan: “Without knowing artifact refining, magic treasures have to be bought.”
Murong Zhuo: “Without knowing how to draw talismans, spirit talismans have to be bought.”
Gu Chenguang: “Besides, being a sword cultivator is ridiculously expensive.”
I asked: “How expensive?”
Gu Chenguang: “A sword needs maintenance, upgrades, and repairs. A single good sword can be so costly it’s worth an entire city.”
I recalled those cold, glistening swords my senior brothers rode during sword-flight.
Although the sect was poor, my senior brothers’ swords looked immensely expensive at a single glance.
That kind of expense was saved up bit by bit through frugal living—by wearing a single pair of boots for ten years.
I asked again: “Then why not learn some other skills? Alchemy, artifact refining, drawing talismans… practicing the sword while running side hustles on the side?”
All the senior brothers fell into a collective silence.
Su Ning spoke with difficulty: “Can’t afford an alchemy furnace.”
Yan Chuan nodded dejectedly: “Herbs are even more expensive.”
Murong Zhuo hesitated: “As for artifact refining… the heavenly treasures and worldly materials required… are even pricier than herbs.”
Gu Chenguang shook his head: “Mainly, if we had that extra money and time, we’d rather spend it practicing the sword.”
This sentence resonated with all the senior brothers.
Su Ning’s spirits lifted: “Right! During the last Grand Sect Competition, I knocked a disciple from the Beast-Taming Sect off the stage with a single strike!”
Yan Chuan clenched his fist: “Last time I fought a Qingyun Sect disciple, he threw a whole stack of talismans at me, and I sliced right through them with my sword—he was so terrified he surrendered on the spot!”
Murong Zhuo winked: “And those from the Hehuan Sect—they tried to charm me, but I won even with my eyes closed.”
Gu Chenguang boasted proudly: “A senior brother from the Zen Sect said my sword intent was too sharp; even his chanting couldn’t suppress it.”
Eldest Senior Brother spoke calmly: “The path of a sword cultivator lies in purity.”
The senior brothers all nodded in unison.
Under the moonlight, their eyes shone brightly.
Even though they wore patched clothes, lived in mountain caves they dug themselves, and had to count every single steamed bun they ate…
Their backs were held straight and upright, without a hint of inferiority or resentment in their tones.
That was a sense of pride unique to sword cultivators.
I suddenly felt that the Heavenly Sword Sect didn’t seem quite so poor after all.