Chapter 9: Taking a Master

“Now, how about you call me Master?”
The clear, pure voice echoed in his mind.
Meng Yingxing had heard Xiu Qingcheng say so much before, but only this one sentence sounded so different.
It was like a painless carving knife, wishing to engrave this sentence into his mind.
Meng Yingxing did not reply for a moment, and Xiu Qingcheng thought he was unwilling.
‘Are the conditions I offered still not enough?’
Xiu Qingcheng was now biting her non-existent fingers.
“If you take me as your master, I will protect you from now on!
I’ll guide you in cultivation to ascend, help you show off in fights to win the Divine Weapon Trial, and from then on, no one will ever look down on you again!”
‘This still can’t win you over?’
Meng Yingxing reacted immediately, quickly shaking his head, “No, I—”
He was about to agree, when Liu Chenxin, who had been waiting outside somewhat impatiently, happened to burst in again.

“Junior Brother, aren’t you ready yet?
Elder Mu Xin might be gone later!” Liu Chenxin stepped over the threshold with one foot, one hand on the door, looking with a hint of petulance at the boy standing in front of the mirror in the room.
The boy’s long hair was like spilling ink, his crimson eyes clear to the bottom, and he held a long sword with intricate patterns, giving him a faint shadow of a knight-errant.
“Junior Brother, stop admiring yourself.” Liu Chenxin narrowed her eyes.
“I’m coming now.”
Meng Yingxing looked at the sword in his hand, then quickly followed Liu Chenxin out.
“I’ll tell you later.”
Xiu Qingcheng heard this kid, Meng Yingxing, casually brush her off in his mind.
A bewildered expression appeared on Xiu Qingcheng’s face.
She didn’t know what he was thinking.
‘Either agree or don’t, why say ‘later’?’

On the way to Wuyun Peak’s main hall, Meng Yingxing quietly followed behind Liu Chenxin.
Along the way, Xiu Qingcheng saw many Wuyun Peak disciples.
They all greeted Liu Chenxin very warmly, and Liu Chenxin actively returned their greetings one by one.
But she noticed that whenever they saw Meng Yingxing, their faces invariably showed a hint of disdain, or at the very least, an expression of indifference.
“Does your Tianfeng Sect have a rule that everyone has to look at people through their nostrils?” Xiu Qingcheng couldn’t help but complain to Meng Yingxing, as if standing up for him.
Meng Yingxing gave a bitter laugh, “As the chief sect of Changle Continent in Jintian Jiuzhou, Tianfeng Sect has extremely strict entry requirements.
Those who can join, besides talent, also expend a great deal of effort.”
“I was born in the Tianfeng Sect.
The sect elders were willing to give me a chance.
With talent like mine, I wouldn’t even be able to touch the steps of the Tianfeng Sect’s mountain gate.
So, those proud sons of heaven who struggled through countless hardships to get up the mountain naturally don’t welcome me.”
‘Sure enough, some people are born in Rome.’
“Are your parents from the Tianfeng Sect?” Xiu Qingcheng asked, a little curious.
Meng Yingxing shook his head, “I heard from others that my parents were ordinary people who encountered misfortune and ended up in the Tianfeng Sect.
They both died one after another after I was born.
The sect, out of humanitarianism, has supported me until now.”
“If I don’t get a rank in this Divine Weapon Trial, I’ll have to leave the mountain.”
Hearing Meng Yingxing say this, Xiu Qingcheng actually thought the Tianfeng Sect seemed pretty decent?

“Junior Brother, what are you shaking your head about back there?” Liu Chenxin wanted to see if Meng Yingxing was keeping up, and when she turned around, she saw him shaking his head.
Meng Yingxing straightened his body and nodded to indicate that he understood.
“Kid, we can communicate in our minds; your body doesn’t have to move.” Xiu Qingcheng reminded him.
Xiu Qingcheng had also figured it out: only Meng Yingxing could hear her voice now.
It was a thousand percent certain that some connection had formed between her and Meng Yingxing for this situation to occur.
Following Meng Yingxing and Liu Chenxin’s footsteps, the main hall where Wuyun Peak Elder Mu Xin resided was also close at hand.
Xiu Qingcheng heard Meng Yingxing continue, “I grew up on Welcoming Guest Peak with ordinary people who did odd jobs in the Tianfeng Sect.
Although I had cultivation aptitude, it was very poor.
People within the sect basically treated me as an errand boy, and I never had any dealings with the elders, except for Elder Mu Xin, who would occasionally come to visit me.”
‘So, Elder Mu Xin is special to Meng Yingxing?’
“Why does she come to see you?” Xiu Qingcheng asked casually.
“I don’t know.
I asked her too, and she said she pitied me,” Meng Yingxing said honestly.
Xiu Qingcheng: “…Alright, there are still kind-hearted people.
May good people live peaceful lives.”

Wuyun Peak Main Hall.
Although known as the main hall, in reality, it was just a slightly larger hall.
At the innermost part of the hall, there were a few tables and chairs, and several smoky incense sticks were lit around them.
As soon as Meng Yingxing and Liu Chenxin smelled the incense, they both felt their spirits lift.
“It smells quite good.” Xiu Qingcheng took a few deep breaths of the fragrance.
She discovered that not only could she move now, but she even had a sense of smell!
‘I just don’t know if I have a sense of taste.
I’ll decide to stick the Ting Tian Sword into a dish next time to find out.’
“Master!”
“Elder Mu Xin.”
Liu Chenxin and Meng Yingxing stood before Mu Xin, respectfully bowing.
“Liuer, Yingxing.” Seeing the two, Mu Xin turned and nodded at them.
Her still-charming face had lost its sternness from last night, becoming exceedingly gentle.
She stepped forward, looking Meng Yingxing up and down, “Yingxing, how is your body?
Is there still any discomfort?”
Meng Yingxing bowed his head, saying in a low voice, “Thanks to Elder Mu Xin’s treatment, I am now completely well.”
“I am here now precisely to thank Elder Mu Xin for your help—”
Meng Yingxing profusely thanked Mu Xin, making Xiu Qingcheng’s ears itch.
Then the three of them started small talk.
Xiu Qingcheng had no interest in listening, so she looked around.
She also noticed a very strange point: when Mu Xin’s gaze fell on Meng Yingxing, her eyes always looked odd.
‘Like… carrying some emotion?
Guilt?
Or unease?’
Xiu Qingcheng remembered Meng Yingxing saying earlier that Mu Xin was a great benevolent person, and only then realized there was nothing wrong with Mu Xin’s gaze; it was simply the look one gives to a pitiable creature!
“If you leave the Tianfeng Sect later and encounter difficulties, remember to tell me,” Mu Xin said to Meng Yingxing.
It seemed Elder Mu Xin was indeed kind to Meng Yingxing, it was just… she also didn’t believe Meng Yingxing could win a rank in the Divine Weapon Trial.
Afterward, Meng Yingxing did not linger, descending Wuyun Peak with Liu Chenxin waving goodbye.
After all, as someone who hadn’t officially entered the sect and had a “reputation” outside, he wasn’t qualified to stay long on Wuyun Peak.

After returning to the courtyard, Xiu Qingcheng also let herself go, flying out of the scabbard again and zipping around Meng Yingxing’s courtyard, or watching Meng Yingxing repair the room that had been damaged by yesterday’s fight.
She flew over and helped Meng Yingxing chop two pieces of firewood.
The former divine weapon now reduced to the likes of an axe, Xiu Qingcheng could only lament that she was a phoenix in decline.
When Meng Yingxing finished his work, Xiu Qingcheng flew in front of him and pressed, “Now, can you tell me?”
Meng Yingxing looked up at Xiu Qingcheng, who seemed to have deliberately flown a foot higher.
In a trance, he could almost see a free-spirited girl with her chin propped and legs crossed, on this sword.
He naturally knew what Xiu Qingcheng was asking.
He also knew that perhaps taking a sword as a master was quite absurd.
But besides Xiu Qingcheng, perhaps no one else would ever be willing to take him as a disciple.
But more importantly, she said she would protect him and make others no longer look down on him.
Discrimination, prejudice, ridicule—
Meng Yingxing had endured hardships since childhood, with no one consistently by his side.
Perhaps Xiu Qingcheng’s words were insignificant, but to him, they were as warm as sunlight.
He would always remember these two days.
A sword had broken through the wind and snow, and would share the heavenly light with him.
Meng Yingxing took a deep breath, lowered his head to pat the dust off his clothes, then knelt down and bowed deeply to the ground.
“Disciple, greets Master!”