The first ray of golden sunlight pierced through the bamboo forest, scattering fragments of light across the Qing Stone Path.
Dewdrops glistened on the bamboo leaves, and the entire Sword Courtyard was shrouded in a tranquil and peaceful aura.
Only the sight of early-rising disciples practicing swordsmanship added a touch of vitality to the silence.
However, the tranquility in Ye Chen’s courtyard was destined to be broken.
“Knock! Knock! Knock!”
The sound of knocking was cautious.
Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes from meditation.
After a night of Qi cultivation, even the surrounding spiritual energy had become gentle.
The nameless technique within him operated on its own, like a Deep Abyss that knew no satisfaction, quietly devouring the gifts of heaven and earth.
The faint displeasure of being interrupted during cultivation lingered in his eyes for only a moment before dissipating.
He rose and opened the door.
Outside stood a slightly chubby disciple, a nearly obsequious smile plastered on his face.
When he saw Ye Chen open the door, his eyes lit up.
“Good morning, Junior Brother Ye! I am Wang Mang. I heard you just arrived and came specially to pay my respects.”
He bent over, holding a delicate jade box in both hands.
“This is a three-hundred-year-old ‘Concentration Grass’. It calms the mind and is greatly beneficial for cultivation. It’s a small token; I hope Senior Brother will accept it with a smile!”
Ye Chen’s gaze lingered on the jade box for a moment.
He could even sense the pure medicinal power within.
But he simply shook his head in confusion, his voice calm.
“No reward without merit. Please leave, Senior Brother.”
With that, he prepared to close the door.
“Wait, Junior Brother Ye!”
Wang Mang panicked, hastily reaching out to hold the door, nearly pressing himself into the crack as he lowered his voice.
“Senior Brother, let’s speak plainly! You and Senior Sister Xiao Xiao entered the peak together; your relationship is extraordinary. In the future, you’ll surely become a great figure on Heavenly Sword Peak!”
“As for me… I’ve been in this Sword Courtyard for fifteen years, just hoping that during the next Final Examination, a noble might lend me a hand… If you could say a good word for me in front of Senior Sister Xiao Xiao—”
Before he could finish, Ye Chen’s wrist moved slightly, and an irresistible force closed the door, leaving only a faint reply in the air.
“I can’t help you.”
He had thought this was just an isolated incident, but unexpectedly, it was merely the beginning of a lengthy prelude.
For the next hour, his courtyard door was hardly ever quiet.
One after another, disciples arrived, bringing all sorts of ‘modest gifts’ and eager faces.
Some offered rare ores, others presented treasured sword manuals, and there was even one who attempted to gift two attractive maidservants.
Their motives were the same—to connect with Xiao Xiao through Ye Chen, and even reach Elder Qing Yu of Heavenly Sword Peak.
One among them stirred Ye Chen’s heart slightly.
He was an old man, appearing to be sixty or seventy in mortal years, with graying temples and a weathered face, yet his cultivation remained at the early Foundation Establishment stage.
He was a Wan Nian Ji Ming Disciple, his lifespan nearly exhausted, with no hope of advancement.
He brought no gifts, merely bowed deeply outside the door, his voice hoarse with pleading, hoping for Ye Chen’s guidance—even just a chance to enter the Final Examination retest.
Looking at that face etched with years and unwillingness, a ripple passed through Ye Chen’s heart.
He had seen too many eyes like that.
In the era when chaos first arose, in the age of ten thousand paths contending, countless beings burned everything for a fleeting, elusive hope.
Yet in the end, he merely shook his head in silence.
When a line had almost formed at his door, Ye Chen was finally forced to step outside.
He stood at the courtyard entrance, facing a sea of hopeful and calculating faces.
His voice was clear, reaching every ear.
“Fellow disciples, I’m afraid I must disappoint you.”
“My relationship with Xiao Xiao is not as deep as you imagine—just old acquaintances.”
“My entry into Heavenly Sword Peak was due to her light; I had no choice in the matter.”
He paused, sweeping his gaze over the crowd.
“As for your requests, I am powerless. In the future, please do not disturb me again.”
He had found a reasonable explanation.
His words were polite, but the sense of distance and finality was unmistakable, extinguishing all hope.
Watching them disperse in small groups, their faces filled with complex emotions, Ye Chen shook his head slightly.
From the mortal marketplace, to the sacred land of cultivation in the eyes of cultivators, from the Outer Court to the Inner Courtyard, and now beneath the Main Peak…
Order prevailed, yet hierarchies were strict.
No matter where, the entanglements of human affairs could never be escaped.
All under heaven hustle for profit; all under heaven bustle for gain.
He did not wish to, nor had the energy, to waste his precious cultivation time on such trivial matters.
With a single thought, Ye Chen returned indoors, shedding his conspicuous moon-white robe and changing into the plainest blue cloth attire.
After doing so, he looked like a newly admitted Inner Courtyard disciple.
He quietly left the courtyard, heading towards a secluded area outside the Sword Courtyard.
Passing through layers of bamboo forest and skirting several martial practice fields, the terrain gradually opened up.
Soon, an endless expanse of emerald waves appeared before his eyes.
It was a vast lake.
The surface was as calm as a mirror, reflecting the blue sky and drifting clouds.
The water was a deep green, like a giant unpolished jade, bottomless.
From time to time, dense spiritual energy would rise from the lake, turning into a faint mist visible to the naked eye.
It lingered above the water, only to be blown away by a passing breeze.
Ye Chen instantly realized this lake was not naturally formed, but forged by a great power through miraculous means.
The spiritual energy within was chaotic yet strong, merging countless rivers and veins.
More importantly, each strand was primitive and wild.
For ordinary cultivators, forcibly absorbing this energy was no different from drinking poison—the complexity would damage their meridians.
Yet for cultivation sects, such a treasure trove of spiritual energy was a sacred ground for cultivation, fought over by countless disciples.
But as he looked around, aside from the occasional disciple passing along a distant path, the lakeshore was deserted.
Only the sparse sound of wind swept over the water, bringing a trace of chill.
Why?
Before Ye Chen could ponder further, a clear and teasing female voice sounded from behind him.
“This junior brother… are you new here?”
Ye Chen turned.
A flash of blazing red entered his vision.
The newcomer was a female cultivator dressed in the standard attire of an Inner Courtyard disciple.
Her fiery red hair was tied into a neat ponytail, a few stray strands falling boldly over her forehead.
Her features were delicate and fair, with a heroic air rarely seen in women.
Though not as ethereally beautiful as Xiao Liuli or Ling Qingshuang, she had a vibrant and captivating charm.
At that moment, she stood with arms crossed, studying Ye Chen with interest.
Seeing his ordinary aura and plain clothes, standing alone and staring at the lake, her suspicion was confirmed.
Ye Chen nodded politely, his expression calm.
“I am Ye Chen, a newly admitted Inner Courtyard disciple. May I ask, Senior Sister, why, with such dense spiritual energy here, do no cultivators practice by the lake?”
Upon hearing this, the red-haired woman burst out laughing.
Her laughter was bright and unrestrained.
She strode over to Ye Chen, patting his shoulder in a familiar manner.
“Junior Brother Ye Chen, you really are new—not even knowing this!”
She pointed at the deep lake, her eyes gleaming with challenge and excitement.
“See that? The spiritual energy in this lake isn’t so easy to handle. Ordinary Qi Cultivation Techniques can’t even refine its power.”
Her bright eyes met Ye Chen’s, a sly smile on her lips.
“Because this place isn’t for ‘cultivation’, but for ‘trials’.”
She paused, announcing the answer one word at a time, her voice echoing across the empty lakeshore.
“This place is called ‘Wen Dao Lake’.”