Heavenly Sword Peak was exceptionally peaceful.
Numerous courtyards were scattered across the mountain, surrounded by beautiful scenery. The entire peak felt secluded and tranquil, far removed from the noise of the outside world.
Lu Qing quietly surveyed Heavenly Sword Peak. There were very few people here, not even a single Menial Disciple. As for cleaning the sect grounds, the Dust-Cleansing Formation handled everything automatically.
Lu Qing himself no longer needed ordinary food or water. He had long since reached the stage where he could sustain himself entirely on the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, abstaining from mortal food. If he ever truly wanted to eat something, he could simply conceal his identity and visit one of the mortal cities below the mountain. There, countless delicacies from land and sea could be found.
Everything from his previous life had already turned to dust.
Lu Qing no longer wished to dwell on it. Whatever feelings he had once held had scattered with the wind after that final battle. Three thousand years of deep bonds had ended there. Even now, Lu Qing had no intention of settling old scores with them. He simply had no desire to become involved with them ever again.
From now on, they could each live their own lives without interfering with one another.
Back then, Lu Qing had accepted seven disciples and poured everything he had into nurturing them until they became a generation of Female Great Emperors. Yet in the end, all his devotion had earned him betrayal.
How could he not have become utterly disheartened?
In this life, Lu Qing only wanted to take things easy and live a carefree life. He would fulfill the responsibilities that truly belonged to him and ignore everything else.
This time, he would live for himself.
His gaze swept across the deserted Heavenly Sword Peak.
In his previous life, how exhausted had he been while raising those seven disciples? How much hardship had he endured for them?
And what had he received in return?
His corpse had been left beneath the heavens, and even after his death, people had cursed and spat upon his name.
In this life, Lu Qing wanted only one thing. He would live for himself.
As for those seven disciples, whether they thought Su Chen was wonderful, whether they believed their master was the villain, or whether they had other thoughts entirely, none of it had anything to do with Lu Qing anymore.
He would not care.
In his previous life, Lu Qing had devoted nearly all his energy and attention to those seven disciples. Meanwhile, he himself had gradually faded into obscurity, becoming little more than a supporting figure in their lives.
That would never happen again.
In this life, he was destined to live without attachments, free and unrestrained.
He would finally live brilliantly for himself.
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Lu Qing suddenly felt a ripple pass through his state of mind. His heart stirred, and a trace of surprise appeared within him.
In his previous life, although his strength had been extremely weak among the Great Emperors, the countless hardships he had endured while nurturing his disciples and the dangers he had experienced along the way had tempered his state of mind to the pinnacle of the Great Realm.
Yet no matter what he did, he had never been able to touch the threshold beyond the Great Emperor Realm, a boundary that seemingly no one in the world could reach.
But now, in this life, his thoughts had become clear and unobstructed. His state of mind had unexpectedly advanced once again, allowing him to faintly touch that elusive threshold he had never reached before.
This meant that in this life, he finally possessed a sliver of possibility of surpassing the Great Emperor Realm.
This was undoubtedly wonderful news.
‘In this life, I will live only for myself.’
Countless thoughts passed through Lu Qing’s mind, leaving his heart clearer than ever.
Afterward, Lu Qing turned his gaze toward Ye Lian’er and Zhang Shi.
In his previous life, he had already seen through their true natures and knew that neither of them possessed a bad character. Moreover, his master had left behind a final wish, hoping Lu Qing would preserve the inheritance of Heavenly Sword Peak, allow it to flourish, and pass it down from generation to generation.
These two were indeed promising seedlings suitable for carrying on the inheritance.
As for painstakingly nurturing them?
Forget it.
Lu Qing no longer had the heart for that.
He himself was what mattered most.
In this life, Lu Qing would focus his attention on himself. No matter what happened, his own interests would come first.
Lu Qing said, “Ye Lian’er, Zhang Shi, come here.”
“Master.”
The two hurried over and stood respectfully before Lu Qing.
Looking at them from such a close distance, Lu Qing carefully observed the two.
Ye Lian’er was dressed entirely in white. She stood gracefully, possessing an extraordinary figure and bearing that immediately distinguished her from ordinary people. Her future potential was clearly limitless. Moreover, the emotions revealed through the subtle movements of her eyes made it easy to tell that she was someone who valued relationships deeply.
At this moment, she stood respectfully before Lu Qing.
She was indeed a promising disciple.
Zhang Shi, meanwhile, appeared somewhat slow-witted at first glance. In reality, however, he was exceptionally honest and straightforward. He resembled a massive, sturdy stone. Although he might not be an unparalleled piece of unpolished jade, his steady and dependable nature was exceedingly rare. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping dot com.
At the very least, Lu Qing could safely entrust the inheritance of Heavenly Sword Peak to him.
Lu Qing looked at Ye Lian’er and said, “I am the 32nd Peak Master of Heavenly Sword Peak, but my ambitions do not lie upon this peak. Sooner or later, I will leave and wander freely beneath the heavens. Ye Lian’er, your talent is extraordinary, so Heavenly Sword Peak may not be enough to contain you in the future. Even so, you must cultivate diligently. When you travel through the outside world someday, do not tarnish the reputation of Heavenly Sword Peak. In the future, I hope you can stand guard over Heavenly Sword Peak and protect its inheritance.”
Ye Lian’er replied with utmost seriousness, “Master, I will definitely give it everything I have.”
Her heart was filled with emotion. She had never expected her master to place such importance on her.
Lu Qing then looked toward Zhang Shi and said, “Zhang Shi, your talent is somewhat inferior, but your temperament is steady, like a foundation stone. Your future achievements may not necessarily be limitless, but you prefer tranquility over constant activity. Cultivate diligently. In the future, the position of Peak Master of Heavenly Sword Peak will belong to you. I hope Heavenly Sword Peak will flourish in your hands and become renowned throughout the Eight Desolations.”
Zhang Shi hurriedly nodded and said, “Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Master. I… I’ll work as hard as I can! I won’t disappoint you!”
His face flushed bright red.
He had not even formally stepped onto the path of cultivation yet, but his master was already saying that his future accomplishments could be extraordinary and that he would someday become an important figure like the Peak Master of Heavenly Sword Peak.
How could Zhang Shi possibly remain calm?
How could he not feel excited?
They had only just entered the sect. Even if a new disciple possessed extraordinary talent, who would dare guarantee that the disciple could eventually become a Peak Master?
Yet their master valued him that highly.
How could Zhang Shi not be overjoyed?
After finishing his instructions, Lu Qing nodded and said, “Take these. There are some spirit stones inside. As for the cultivation arts contained within, simply read through them after you return.”
Lu Qing took out two storage pouches.
The pouches contained spirit stones. Normally, disciples of every peak would receive cultivation resources upon joining the sect. Since Heavenly Sword Peak had the fewest disciples, each disciple received more resources than those of the other peaks.
Each pouch contained 30 mid-grade spirit stones.
Besides those, they also contained a basic Qi Condensation cultivation art.
Lu Qing’s thoughts drifted back to his previous life.
Back then, he had been extraordinarily meticulous when teaching his disciples. Apart from constantly looking after those women, he had even dug out the cultivation insights he had recorded when he was still weak.
He had made several copies, personally reviewed every one of them, filled in anything that was lacking, and only then distributed them among four of his disciples. He had instructed them to memorize those cultivation insights first so they could establish a solid foundation before formally beginning their cultivation.
Afterward, he had gone to extraordinary lengths to search for supreme-grade Qi Condensation arts specifically suited to them.
But in this life, Lu Qing no longer had the desire to go through all that trouble.
He simply handed them the resources distributed by the sect.
The moment he passed the items over, a series of system notifications appeared.
[Ding! You have received a ten-thousandfold return.]
[Because this is your first time using the system, you have triggered a critical reward and received a hundred-thousandfold return.]
[Ding! You have obtained one Divine Marrow-Cleansing Stone. [An exceedingly rare treasure that can only be encountered through extraordinary fortune and is exceptionally scarce throughout the world.]]
[Ding! You have obtained the Heaven-Severing Emperor Qi Condensation Art. [Emperor Grade] [A supreme cultivation art that can only be encountered through extraordinary fortune. Once someone has mastered it, it becomes unusable by anyone else.] [Currently Invalid]]
[Explanation: The complete contents of this Emperor-Grade cultivation art have already been mastered by another person. No one else can use this cultivation art to enter the Qi Condensation Realm.]
‘Heaven-Severing Emperor Qi Condensation Art…’
Lu Qing looked at the returned reward and slightly furrowed his brows. His heart stirred as memories of the past resurfaced once again.
In his previous life, he had treated his disciples unbelievably well.
He had given nearly all the rewards returned by the system to those ungrateful disciples.
One had to understand that once Lu Qing gave away a reward returned by the system, giving that item to someone else would not trigger another ten-thousandfold return.
Divine-Grade Artifacts.
Supreme-grade spirit stones.
He had willingly given all of them away without hesitation, regardless of the cost, simply because he wanted to devote everything he had to raising those disciples.
How foolish had he been?
The very first Emperor-Grade cultivation art he had obtained through the system’s return from an ordinary sect reward had been given directly to Ye Feiyan.
Every Emperor-Grade Qi Condensation art was unique.
Once someone mastered one, no other person in the world could ever master that same art because there was only one path leading to each Emperor’s Dao.
Because of this, merely searching for seven different Emperor-Grade Qi Condensation arts for his seven disciples had consumed an unimaginable amount of Lu Qing’s time and effort.
Yet compared with everything he had sacrificed afterward, that had been insignificant.
He had poured countless resources into them and given away nearly every valuable reward he received.
As a result, Lu Qing’s own cultivation progressed painfully slowly.
He had originally been a Peerless Prodigy. Yet in the end, he had been the slowest among them to ascend to the position of Great Emperor. Even after becoming a Great Emperor, his strength remained far inferior to theirs.
What Lu Qing had never imagined was that the opportunities he had personally placed into their hands and the disciples he had personally raised would one day turn the very blades he had given them against their own master. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Memories of the past surged through his mind.
Lu Qing’s hands clenched tightly into fists.
He took two slow breaths.
Then his eyes gradually returned to calm.
‘My previous life is already over. Let it remain in the past.’
Lu Qing’s gaze remained tranquil.
‘As for the Heaven-Severing Emperor Qi Condensation Art… I didn’t expect Ye Feiyan to have already begun cultivating it.’
Lu Qing looked at the reward without any visible emotion.
As a future Great Emperor, it ultimately made little difference whether Ye Feiyan cultivated the Heaven-Severing Emperor Qi Condensation Art. Even if she began with an ordinary Qi Condensation art, she could still refine and rebuild her foundation in the future. It would merely require additional effort.
Unexpectedly, however, she had still chosen to cultivate it.
Lu Qing did not pay much attention to the matter.
Instead, his gaze shifted toward the first reward.
The Divine Marrow-Cleansing Stone.
It was extremely valuable and possessed miraculous effects.
However, it was useless to Lu Qing.
Even so, in this life, he had no intention of casually giving such a precious treasure away.
Lu Qing’s gaze settled on Ye Lian’er and Zhang Shi.
Although he had already decided not to devote himself to raising disciples in this life, much less form deep emotional attachments with them, his former master’s final wish remained.
Because of that, Lu Qing did not want to handle the matter carelessly.
The Divine Marrow-Cleansing Stone possessed miraculous effects, but he did not want to give it away.
However, Ye Lian’er and Zhang Shi still needed Emperor-Grade Qi Condensation arts.
In his previous life, Lu Qing had exhausted an unimaginable amount of effort gathering seven different Qi Condensation arts and eventually compiling seven Great Emperor Qi Condensation manuals.
Now, gathering entirely new Qi Condensation arts would be quite troublesome.
He would probably have to search through the entire Scripture Pavilion, then comb through it more than 10 times before he could possibly uncover two overlooked cultivation arts.
‘Even if I have to search through the entire place, I’ll find a way. A little trouble is still just a little trouble. I can’t allow the future inheritance of Heavenly Sword Peak to become inferior to those ungrateful disciples.’
‘Ye Lian’er and Zhang Shi can’t be too weak either. Otherwise, what inheritance would Heavenly Sword Peak even have left?’
Lu Qing shook his head.
Originally, he had planned to teach them casually. However, after thinking carefully, he realized that would not work.
The rivals of Heavenly Sword Peak were the other peaks.
Several Great Emperors would eventually emerge from those peaks. If Heavenly Sword Peak failed to produce even one, its inheritance would inevitably decline.
‘Anyway, searching for the cultivation arts will only take around 10 days. After I finish this, I’ll spend at most another 10 years or so laying a proper foundation for these two disciples. Once they’re capable of carrying the banner of Heavenly Sword Peak themselves, I’ll have nothing left tying me down.’
Having reached that conclusion, Lu Qing made his decision.
He would first obtain an Emperor-Grade Qi Condensation art for both Ye Lian’er and Zhang Shi. Then he would spend several years establishing their foundations.
Once that was done, he would finally be free of all lingering responsibilities.
Around 10 years really was not long.
In his previous life, he had devoted an entire 3,000 years to his disciples.
Compared with that, what were a mere 10 years?
Countless thoughts passed through Lu Qing’s mind.
What he did not know was that aside from the first Heaven-Severing Emperor Qi Condensation Art, which Ye Feiyan had cultivated briefly, several of the remaining Emperor Lineage Qi Condensation Arts had never actually been cultivated by Xiao Ning and the others due to certain special circumstances.
As long as Lu Qing recreated those cultivation arts, he could obtain the corresponding returns.
Unfortunately, he knew nothing about this.
Thus, Lu Qing merely looked at Ye Lian’er and Zhang Shi. After a moment, he calmly said, “For now, just read through the Qi Condensation cultivation arts inside. There is no need to cultivate them.”
He continued, “Before long, I will give each of you a new cultivation art. I will also obtain some pills for you. Once everything is ready, you can begin cultivating properly. We of Heavenly Sword Peak do not cultivate these ordinary arts.”
Ye Lian’er’s heart filled with delight as she said, “Thank you, Master.”
Zhang Shi also replied, “Thank you, Master.”