Chapter 80: The Sword Pavilion’s Tradition?

The house and spiritual fields were given to her by her master—there was no way she would hand them over to anyone.

But since her master was the Supreme Elder, surely they wouldn’t dare try anything… right?

"Junior Sister, why are you guarding that door so tightly?"

Just as Li Qingran’s thoughts ran wild, Yue Qianchi, standing on her flying sword, chuckled and teased, "What’s the matter? Afraid we’ll tear down your little house and take it over?"

The surrounding Sword Pavilion disciples burst into laughter.

There was no malice in their laughter—only amusement.

Li Qingran, caught red-handed, turned bright red, unable to say a word.

"Li Qingran, did your master create this house and these fields for you?"

Li Qingran lifted her gaze for a brief moment before quickly looking away. She mumbled, "Yes… my master arranged it. Master said it’s for me alone… The spiritual fields… I’m the only one tending them too…"

"Oh."

Su Qinian glanced at the fields, silently astonished.

The fertility of these fields was already at the level of high-quality land.

Even his own medicinal garden was only about this level—and it wasn’t much bigger than what Li Qingran had.

Yet, right under his nose, ten such fields had been cultivated in an instant.

Who exactly was Li Qingran’s master?

There was no way someone could infiltrate the Sword Pavilion without him noticing.

They must have used some kind of treasure… but even so, such a feat was practically divine.

"Master, Junior Sister Qingran is afraid you’ll steal her spiritual fields~"

Yue Qianchi’s playful remark snapped Su Qinian out of his thoughts. Seeing Li Qingran’s wary expression, he rolled his eyes.

"You think I’m going to tend to your spiritual fields for you? You sure have high expectations!"

The Sword Pavilion disciples erupted into laughter once again.

Li Qingran’s face turned an even deeper shade of red. "D-disciple didn’t mean it that way…"

Su Qinian raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then what did you mean?"

"I just…"

Li Qingran shut her mouth, unsure what to say.

She had never seen a sect master interrogate a disciple like this before.

Su Qinian, seeing her at a loss, stroked his beard in satisfaction and said, "You chose this peak for your cave residence. However you develop it is up to you. No matter how extravagant it becomes, it’s still yours. Our Sword Pavilion may not be rich, but we’re not so desperate that we need to seize resources from our own disciples."

"That’s right, Junior Sister. We were just curious and came to take a look. I mean, it’s not every day you see such a large spiritual field," Yue Qianchi added with a sigh. If she had a field like this, she wouldn’t have to spend money on spirit herbs anymore—she could just grow her own and even sell the excess for a profit.

"Senior Sister… you can plant your herbs here if you’d like…"

Li Qingran figured Yue Qianchi had always been kind to her, so helping her grow some spirit herbs wasn’t a big deal.

Yue Qianchi snorted and crossed her arms. "I appreciate the thought, but you should use the fields yourself. You’re planning to become an alchemist or a healer, aren’t you? You’ll need these fields. Work hard!"

"Oh, right—here, take this."

She pulled a small cloth pouch from her storage bag and shoved it into Li Qingran’s hands. "These are basic spirit herb seeds. I bought too many last time. You can have them."

"Senior Sister…"

Li Qingran opened her mouth to refuse, but Yue Qianchi cut her off with a smirk.

"If you refuse, I’ll plant dogtail grass all over your field!"

Li Qingran: "…"

"Junior Sister, I brought you two jugs of spirit wine this morning. Don’t forget to take them inside."

From his flying sword, Xu An, the senior disciple of Lingyun Peak, waved at her with a smile.

"You must be the new Junior Sister, right? I’m Gongsun Sheng, second disciple of Lingyun Peak."

A sword cultivator stepped forward, taking out a small device and handing it to her.

"This is something I crafted. Just infuse it with Spiritual Qi, and it will unleash 108,000 spirit steel needles. It might save your life one day."

"Junior Sister, I am Zhen He, a direct disciple of Hidden Sword Peak."

Another sword cultivator, sitting on a celestial crane with his sword across his lap, handed her a small pouch.

"Inside are three Hidden Sword Pellets, each containing my condensed sword energy. They can instantly kill anyone below the Foundation Establishment Stage and heavily injure those at the Golden Core Stage. Keep them for protection."

"Junior Sister, I raise celestial cranes. Here’s one for you."

"Junior Sister, I don’t have much, so here are some elixirs. Heh heh!"

"Junior Sister, this hairpin suits you—take it!"

One after another, gifts were pushed into Li Qingran’s hands until she could no longer hold them all. The pile of items grew so high that even the celestial crane from Zhao Le Senior Sister had to help carry some.

"Here. Take this."

A cool, indifferent voice spoke.

Li Qingran peeked out from behind the mountain of gifts and blinked in confusion.

The speaker was the ruthless cultivator she had seen earlier—the one who cultivated the Emotionless Dao while sleeping on a turtle’s back.

As expected of someone on the Emotionless Path—he even talks like he’s cutting with a blade…

"I am Duan Feng, direct disciple of Ruthless Cliff."

Duan Feng held out a dark, heavy sword case. His tone was as calm as ever.

"Joining the Sword Pavilion means becoming a sword cultivator. Your sword is no longer just a weapon—it is your partner, your kin. Even if it is a wooden sword, you must remain loyal to it until it is no longer usable."

"Nearly all of our resources go into nurturing and refining our swords. This sword case can temper and restore your blade, enhancing its sharpness over time. It is yours now."

"I… I can’t accept this… It’s too, too valuable…"

Li Qingran was already overwhelmed by the sheer number of gifts. She stammered, unsure of what to do.

"It’s just an object. Besides, I have a better one."

Duan Feng placed the sword case on top of the pile, perfectly balancing it before turning and walking away.

His own sword hung at his waist—its dark, polished blade wrapped in a faint green glow.

He was also the only disciple who wasn’t floating in the air.

When all the gifts had been given, Li Qingran found herself completely surrounded by presents.

The celestial crane had to carry some for her.

This outcome was far beyond anything she had expected.

She had thought her fellow disciples would demand something in return, but after giving their gifts, they simply left, chatting and laughing among themselves.

Yue Qianchi helped Li Qingran carry everything into her house.

The two of them sat on the cliffside of Luoxia Peak, each holding a jug of Xu An’s spirit wine under the moonlight.

"This is a tradition in the Sword Pavilion. You’ll get used to it."

Yue Qianchi ruffled Li Qingran’s hair with a gentle smile.

"But… why did they give me so much?"

Li Qingran was still confused.

Wasn’t the Sword Pavilion supposed to be poor?

One senior even gave her all his life-saving elixirs, keeping only a single one for himself.

Yue Qianchi gazed at the moon, eyes filled with sorrow. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke.

"Junior Sister… it’s been a long time since we had new disciples in the Sword Pavilion."

"The path of a sword cultivator is difficult—far harder than in other sects. It requires immense perseverance and countless resources. We don’t want to lose another disciple to hardship."

Li Qingran might not know the history of the Sword Pavilion, but she could see the sadness in Yue Qianchi’s eyes.

She reached out and firmly grasped Yue Qianchi’s hand, fingers interlacing.

"Senior Sister, I won’t die. I’ll do my best to live on. And you can’t die either—you’re our Pavilion’s Senior Sister!"

Yue Qianchi froze—then let out a hearty laugh.

"That’s right!"

She raised her wine jug, letting the moonlight flow into her drink.

"As long as I, Yue Qianchi, am here, no one will harm my fellow disciples!"

Enhance your reading experience by removing ads for as low as $1!