Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

After Lou Zhizheng left, Ling Yunpo learned from Senior Sister An about the old grudge between Ziyun Peak and Qingluo Peak.

To be exact, Elder Ming Hua of Ziyun Peak and Master Su Jian had an old feud.

Apparently, Master Su Jian used to be a notorious tough person, so fierce that even the Sect Leader had to give way to him and showed no mercy in fights.

Whenever he challenged someone, he fought without holding back and almost always finished by severing the opponent’s Life-bound Sword Artifact.

Such ruthless behavior naturally attracted enmity, thus many Sword Immortals, because their fellow sect members’ Life-bound Sword Artifacts were severed by Su Jian, suffered heavy losses in their cultivation levels and came to seek revenge with swords in hand.

And then they were done for.

Initiating challenges to sever sword artifacts and directly killing when challenged. Consequently, the ferocious reputation of Qi Sha True Person spread throughout Shushan, giving rise to claims that he was the “Number One Sword of Shushan.”

Well, if one has the ability to kill all other Sword Immortals, they indeed qualify as the Number One Sword of Shushan—it makes sense.

Moreover, since many Sword Immortals of Shushan were unruly by nature and doubted this notorious reputation, they wanted to test it with their swords, but ended up losing their lives upon trying, nearly leading to a talent drain in Shushan. This forced the Sect Leader to amend the sect rules:

Duels had to be approved in advance by the Criminal Law Hall, and only upon obtaining a Sword Talisman could they proceed. Private dueling was prohibited! Violators would be severely punished!

With the need for approval, there came an examination process.

If the examination revealed the challenged party was Su Jian, the approval would be delayed, and the Sect Leader would be secretly informed.

The Sect Leader would quickly find an excuse to assign the challenger a sect mission, sending them away.

Through these stalling tactics and a form of exile, the collective hatred for Su Jian within Shushan was forcibly quelled.

Later, when Su Jian left the mountain to take in An Zhisu, he was ambushed by an elder from the Demon Sect’s Asura Path and was badly injured and near death. Upon returning to Qingluo Peak, he hastily entered seclusion.

Seeing that the fierce man no longer emerged, the Sect Leader then gradually recalled those who had been sent away.

These people all bore grudges against Su Jian. Although they had calmed down during their exile and no longer thought about challenging Su Jian to their own demise, their spite towards Qingluo Peak remained undisguised.

Hence, the situation for Qingluo Peak turned even more dire.

Hearing this, Ling Yunpo was caught between laughter and tears.

Good grief, so it was that cheap master in eternal seclusion who attracted all the hate!

“As for Elder Ming Hua, he had his Life-bound Sword Artifact severed by Master during a duel, which heavily damaged his cultivation level. It was only after he replaced it with a better Flying Sword that he stopped obsessing over taking revenge, though the enmity remained,” An Zhisu said as she brushed a strand of hair from her cheek to behind her ear and continued.

“If I’m not mistaken, Ziyun Peak must have their eyes on your Flying Sword.”

“They do have some discernment,” Ling Yunpo said earnestly, “I’ve confirmed it myself, this sword is indeed the ancient Qing Ping Sword from the Intercepting Cult, undoubtedly a Tenth Rank Immortal Sword.”

“That explains it,” An Zhisu said, not inquiring about how he confirmed it but merely sighed, “Otherwise, they wouldn’t have chosen to trouble you right after you retrieved the sword from the Sword Pool.”

“Junior Brother, you need not worry about this sword duel challenge. We can just pay off the fines with spirit stones; I’ll gather enough,” Senior Sister An said.

“No, Senior Sister,” Ling Yunpo hurriedly replied, “there’s no such thing as being a thief for a thousand days, but preventing theft for a thousand days? What if Ziyun Peak finds someone else to challenge me after we refuse this duel by paying the spirit stone fine? Where would Qingluo Peak find so many spirit stones to pay the penalty?”

“You have a point,” An Zhisu said, her brows still deeply furrowed, “But Junior Brother, do you know? Ziyun Peak has a secret technique called ‘Ziwei Gathering Crown’.”

“With the cost of three years of stagnation in cultivation, unable to progress an inch, it can temporarily boost one’s strength by a rank.”

She continued with a worried tone:

“Once we, the Sword Immortals of Shushan, reach the Marrow Cleansing Rank, we can cultivate the method of ‘nourishing the sword with the body’.”

“Normally, the Flying Sword can be hidden inside the body, nourished by one’s blood to improve its quality.”

“During combat, one can also achieve ‘Man-Sword Unity,’ greatly enhancing the impact and lethality of the Flying Sword.”

“If that Lou Zhizheng uses a secret technique before the duel to forcibly break into the Marrow Cleansing Rank, your chances of winning would be minuscule.”

“Senior Sister An.” Ling Yunpo said passionately, “Facing a challenge from a higher rank, others might hesitate, but I, Ling Yunpo, have no fear!”

[Unyielding Persona, Synchronization Value +1.]

“A true Sword Immortal should cut off life and death to have a possibility of achieving the Great Dao! If one retreats to protect oneself against a trickster playing the clown, what will one do when facing the great calamities and tribulations later on?”

He spoke with righteous indignation, only to hear the Kunlun Mirror numbly say:

[Unyielding Persona, Synchronization Value +1.]

“Junior Brother.” An Zhisu bit her lower lip, her eyes brimming with tears.

Strike hard once to prevent a hundred more strikes—how could she not understand this principle? That’s how she made it through herself back then!

Only this time, the one facing the challenge of a higher rank wasn’t herself, but her junior brother with an honest character and a stubborn will!

How could she possibly watch her junior brother go to his death with her eyes wide open?

“Senior Sister An.” Ling Yunpo carefully wiped the tears from her cheeks and said with determination, “If you’re truly worried about me, then teach me more swordsmanship.”

As for how to defeat a Marrow Cleansing Rank Sword Immortal, I will ask the Kunlun’s Ziwei Master myself, hmph.

Matching his words about sacrificing life for righteousness, Ling Yunpo’s face also displayed an appropriate expression of facing death without fear, committing with his life, which made An Zhisu choke up once again:

“Junior Brother…”

Seeing the naive Senior Sister An completely fooled by Ling Yunpo’s feigned unyielding persona, even shedding tears for it, the Kunlun Mirror felt inexplicably angry.

It quietly opened a small gap in the Mirror Flower Water Moon.

While weakening the unyielding persona’s aura, it also allowed his true temperament to shine through.

Hmph, cancel the mental suggestion again!

An Zhisu: ?

How come, just now my junior brother seemed to have changed into a different person?

If before, Ling Yunpo gave her the impression of a steadfast young man who “knew the risks but would still bet his life,”

Then just now, although it was just a fleeting moment, that temperament seemed to be…

Calculating? Confident? Not the slightest bit panicked?

Hmm, could it be that junior brother actually has a plan and it’s just not convenient to say it out loud?

Ah, honestly, Junior Brother Ling, is there any strategy that can’t be discussed with your senior sister?

Thinking this, An Zhisu felt somewhat puzzled.

But after all, she was someone with an extremely gentle nature towards her own people and protective of them, so since her junior brother wasn’t willing to say it outright, she, of course, wouldn’t deliberately expose him. She dried her tears, nodded and smiled brightly:

“Yes, I’ll teach you!”

“Whether it’s the Two-Handed Sword Control Technique or any other swordsmanship, as long as I know it, I’ll teach it to you!”

Watching the deep sibling-like affection between these two, the Kunlun Mirror fell into a long contemplation.

Originally, it simply couldn’t bear to see An Zhisu deceived so pitifully, so it quietly removed Ling Yunpo’s facade to let her get a glimpse of his real character.

How did it end up seemingly increasing An Zhisu’s affection for him?