The disciples who had been knocked to the ground by the swordsman were now all drawing their swords at him, but he glanced at them indifferently and ignored them.
Li Jiang said coldly, "Since you came to keep your promise, why did you hurt my disciples?"
The swordsman sneered, "Injury? I didn't even draw my sword, just a light palm strike. It's just that their cultivation is too low and they overestimated themselves."
Li Jiang narrowed her eyes slightly, recalling the promise she had made to him in the past, and said, "It has only been eight months since we last parted, not even a year."
The swordsman seemed impatient: "I have urgent business to attend to and can't wait any longer. Let's fight now, draw your sword!"
Li Jiang is a man of principle and values rules. He means it when he says it will be for a year, and he won't make a move until the appointed time. Besides, the swordsman made the bet himself, so he has no right to break it.
Seeing that Li Jiang remained unmoved, the swordsman grew increasingly irritated. "I really can't wait two months. Can't we fight now?"
Li Jiang remained silent.
The swordsman paced back and forth anxiously. The sword on his back seemed to sense his emotions and began to stir, startling the disciples who were attacking him, who suddenly retreated.
"Tell me, what will it take for you to hit me?"
Li Jiang said calmly, "A year is a year, and nothing I say will do. Please leave."
As Li Jiang turned to leave, the swordsman suddenly shouted, "I really have something to do. My old man keeps urging me to go back to the academy. Once I go back this time, I might not be able to get out again. Really, I'm not lying to you!"
"Academy?" Qinghe asked. "Are you talking about Apocalypse Academy?"
The swordsman nodded: "That's right, it's Apocalypse Academy."
"Are you a disciple of Apocalypse Academy?"
The swordsman seemed reluctant to elaborate: "I suppose so."
Qing and Qi Rong exchanged a glance; they had arrived just in time.
Qinghe turned her eyes, walked to Li Jiang's side, and whispered a few words in her ear.
Li Jiang looked at her: "You really want to go?"
"Um, senior brother, please help me."
Li Jiang pondered for a moment, then said, "Alright, since the last divine pearl is still missing, it's time to set off to find it. But what about Master..."
Qing smiled gracefully: "Don't worry, Master and Dean Zhuge are old friends, he will agree."
"That's good."
He turned around and said loudly to the swordsman who was still anxiously pacing in circles, "If you really want to fight, how about this: I will go with you to Tianqi Academy, and we can fight in two months. However, I will go with my fellow disciples. What do you think?"
"Really?" The swordsman's eyes lit up. "That's great! Let's go together, let's go together!"
"I have yet to ask your name."
The swordsman waved his hand: "What fancy name? My name is Zhuge Changdeng. You can just call me Zhuge."
They hit it off immediately, and the next day they said goodbye to their master and set off on their journey.
The journey wasn't too far, nor too short. Since they had nothing else to do, the group decided to ride horses at a leisurely pace, enjoying the scenery and the breeze. How delightful!
Qi Rong and Qing He were in front, Mu Dong and Shen Xun were in the middle, and Li Jiang and Zhuge Changdeng were behind.
Li Jiang chatted with him casually: "Are you really Dean Zhuge's son?"
Zhuge Changdeng patted his chest and said, "It's the real deal."
Li Jiang looked him up and down. "Doesn't seem like it."
Zhuge Changdeng smiled indifferently, "You're not the only one who says that, so I usually use an alias when I'm out in public. I only told you this because you're a respectable opponent."
Li Jiang raised the corner of her mouth slightly, "But Tianqi Academy is known for its alchemy, I thought..."
"You thought I would follow in my father's footsteps and become an alchemist?" Zhuge Changdeng sighed. "You're not the only one who says that, but alchemy is not for me. The path I want to take is the path of the sword. My dream is to become the most outstanding swordsman on this continent, and in the future, to prove my Dao with the sword and become a god with the sword!"
He pointed to the heavens and swore an oath, his heart filled with passion and boundless emotion.
Qinghe turned around and asked, "So what level have you reached in your cultivation?"
"A Grand Swordsman." He scratched his head. "That's roughly equivalent to the Nascent Soul stage of a cultivator."
She wasn't very clear about the levels of sword cultivators, but judging from his smug look, they must be quite high.
As the sun began to set, the group arrived at a small town and found an inn to stay in.
With Qi Rong, a wealthy man, around, Qinghe specially chose a high-class inn with three floors of private rooms, elegantly decorated. On the two vermilion pillars in the main hall, there were two couplets with bold and vigorous calligraphy, which matched the grand hall.
As soon as Qinghe entered, he felt that the inn exuded a quiet and elegant scholarly atmosphere. Even the people coming and going to stay and eat were reserved and refined, displaying the demeanor of gentlemen.
Qinghe released his divine sense and discovered that everyone in the inn was an ordinary person without any cultivation. However, when he extended his divine sense a little further away, he found that apart from the inn, all other places were filled with cultivators. Compared to the outside world, this place had become a gathering place for ordinary people, or even a sanctuary.
She turned her head to look at Qi Rong and saw that he had also frowned.
Qinghe composed himself and walked to the counter. "Boss, six superior rooms, please."
The boss, without looking up, continued working on his abacus and said, "No."
Qinghe glanced at the empty room upstairs, devoid of any life, a slight smirk playing on her lips. She took a silver ingot from her sleeve and placed it on the table. "Do you have any now?"
The boss remained with his head down, but pushed the abacus aside and casually flipped through a thick ledger instead. "Still nothing."
Qinghe raised an eyebrow slightly; it was quite unusual for her to refuse business that was offered to her.
"Why won't you give us a room? Give us a reason first."
Qing and his hands were stacked on the edge of the counter, showing an air of determination to never give up.
The boss then raised his head, glanced at the group briefly, and then looked at Qinghe, saying, "I am the owner here. If I say there is no such thing, then there is no such thing. This is the reason. Please proceed."
After speaking, he continued to look down at the ledger.
This reason was indeed hard to refute. Qinghe looked around. There were too many people around, and after a moment's thought, he decided it was best not to move. He turned to the others and said, "Since the boss doesn't welcome us, let's find somewhere else."
"Alright."
As soon as they stepped out of the inn, they heard someone call out to them from behind.
Everyone stopped and looked back. It was a scholar holding a half-read paper book. The pages were wrinkled, indicating that he had read it countless times.
He bowed to Qinghe and said, "I hope you won't take the boss's words to heart. He was just a bit harsh, but he's actually a very nice person."
Seeing that he was a polite person, Qinghe couldn't help but ask, "Oh? What do you mean?"
The scholar replied irrelevantly, "Excuse my intrusion, but are you all heading to the Apocalypse Academy?"
Qinghe raised an eyebrow. "How did you know?"
The scholar said, "To be honest, Yunya Town has always been a place where many cultivators come and go. It is a good place to settle down because it is close to Tianqi Academy, economically prosperous, and rich in spiritual energy. Cultivators settle here to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for cultivation. Over time, there are fewer and fewer ordinary people like us who cannot cultivate. The houses and lands have all become the property of the cultivators, while we locals have become homeless."
He paused at this point, a look of sorrow on his face.
Qinghe truly didn't expect that such a thing would happen in Yunya Town.
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