Late spring morning light drifted over from the other side of the sea, falling gently onto a small courtyard in Yuxin City.
The sky was clear and beautiful; a few thin clouds hung idly in the distant sky, as if reluctant to block this rare warm sun.
Inside the courtyard, a figure in white was dancing with a pair of weapons.
They were a pair of oddly shaped blades—the axe heads curved like crescent moons, with blades split into two ends, one long and one short, one yin and one yang.
Yun Xueshang held one in each hand, her movements slow and smooth like flowing water, without a trace of sharp killing intent, yet a round and harmonious aura circulated around her body.
She had already mastered the Meridian-Mandarin Duck Axes.
In her hands, the twin axes sometimes crossed each other like mandarin ducks intertwining their necks, sometimes separated like the sun and moon hanging side by side.
Where the blade edges passed, the air rippled and twisted, faintly revealing black and white afterimages, head-to-tail, circulating endlessly.
‘Calm the mind, use softness to overcome hardness, go with the flow…’
knock knock.
A light knock at the courtyard door interrupted the next move Yun Xueshang was about to deliver.
She stopped her stance and slowly returned the twin axes to her sides.
“Good morning, Chief Yun.”
The door opened. Standing outside was a somewhat timid rabbit-eared girl, and beside her—beside her was Ji Ling, dressed in a black robe, her expression unreadable.
“Good morning, Little Pomegranate, Elder Ji.”
Yun Xueshang nodded softly, greeting these two unexpected visitors.
“Little Pomegranate, did you come to play with Rongrong? She went out with Yan’er today, so I’m afraid she can’t play with you.”
“No, Cloud Sword Head, I didn’t come to play with Rongrong.”
Ning Shiliu looked up at her with a soft voice:
“I came here specifically with Elder Ji to see you.”
‘To see me…?’
Yun Xueshang was slightly stunned.
At that moment, Ji Ling slowly spoke:
“As you can see, Sixteen has broken through to the Foundation Building stage. It’s time for her to choose her own cultivation path and prepare for future training.”
“I’ve already tested her. Based on her talent and comprehension, she is not suited for my path—the Sword Pill Path, which focuses on the Sword Path with Alchemy as a secondary.”
“I also took her to see Yue Jue, but she’s not suited for the Sword Array Path either, which focuses on the Sword Path with Formation as a secondary.”
She paused, her tone slightly bitter, as if she had something difficult to say:
“Right now in the South Sea, only the three of us Peak Masters are here. So… I brought her to ask for your help in seeing whether she is suited for learning the pure Sword Method.”
Yun Xueshang blinked as she listened to her request.
After a junior disciple of the Xiaoyao Sword Sect broke through to Foundation Building, the elders from each peak would hold joint lessons.
Based on the disciple’s academic performance, they would determine which peak’s inheritance and path would suit them best.
Some disciples were exceptionally gifted, like her late Master Jiang Changge—Yun Xueshang had heard him boast many times that he could walk almost any peak’s path, and every peak wanted him.
But most people, like Ji Ling and Yun Xueshang herself, had talent that only fit one single path.
Now that Ning Shiliu had broken through in the South Sea and couldn’t return to the Xiaoyao Sword Sect for testing, it was natural that Ji Ling and the others had to test her personally.
“Alright, please bring Little Pomegranate in. I’ll help examine her and see if she’s suited for the path of my Mianyun Peak.”
Yun Xueshang nodded and welcomed the two inside.
“Innate Single Gold Spirit Root, Xin Metal attribute, constitution yin-soft and nimble, not fierce and domineering…”
Seeing Yun Xueshang holding Ning Shiliu’s wrist and murmuring softly, Ji Ling couldn’t help but speak:
“What does that mean? She can’t cultivate the Single Sword Path either?”
Sword cultivators were usually fierce and skilled in combat, with overwhelming frontal pressure.
But from what Yun Xueshang said, Ning Shiliu’s constitution was actually somewhat yin-soft…
“That’s not it. A single Gold Spirit Root is actually very suitable for cultivating the Mianyun Peak’s Sword Path.”
Yun Xueshang shook her head:
“My Sword Spiritual Root, for example, is actually a rare variant of the Gold Spirit Root.”
“So Little Pomegranate’s Gold Spirit Root could be said to be the most suitable for a pure sword cultivator’s path.”
“Then what about the Xin Metal attribute…”
“Xin Metal is soft by nature, not good at being fierce, but it is flexible and cunning. It’s not suitable for using a long sword in direct combat, but she can use other weapons.”
As Yun Xueshang spoke, she produced a rolled-up slender soft sword from her hand:
“In my search for sword techniques, I once consulted some Daoist friends about the use of a soft sword. From what I’ve observed, given Little Pomegranate’s constitution, cultivating the soft sword would be the most suitable choice.”
“Elder Ji, if you have no objection, how about letting Little Pomegranate learn the use of the soft sword from me?”
Ji Ling looked at Yun Xueshang’s sincere eyes and hesitated slightly in her heart.
‘If Sixteen cultivates this path, she will likely have to formally join Mianyun Peak and become Yun Xueshang’s disciple…’
She furrowed her brows slightly and looked down at the rabbit-eared girl beside her.
As if sensing her gaze, Ning Shiliu looked up, tugged at her robe, and said softly:
“Elder Ji, I think I can…”
“Alright, then let Sixteen study with you.”
Before she could finish, Ji Ling interrupted her.
‘Huh? But I actually meant to say that it’s fine if I don’t study with Chief Yun…’
Under the girl’s slightly surprised gaze, Ji Ling turned to Yun Xueshang, let out a long breath, as if making a difficult decision, and said solemnly:
“I know I’ve never treated you well. If you hold any resentment toward me, I accept that.”
“But Sixteen is just an ordinary disciple, unrelated to our grudges. I hope you won’t bring the conflict between us onto her.”
Seeing Yun Xueshang silent, she closed her eyes again, pulled out a pouch of Spirit Stones and a few bottles of pills:
“These are some Spirit Stones and pills, consider it as…”
“There’s no need for that, Elder Ji.”
Yun Xueshang quickly snapped out of her surprise and reached out to refuse:
“When I was young, you took care of me a lot. I’ve never dwelled on those things after my Master passed away.”
She pushed back the items Ji Ling had offered:
“Please feel free to leave Little Pomegranate here to study with me. I will teach her seriously—that is my duty as a Peak Master.”
“… “
Ji Ling stared at her, then looked down at Ning Shiliu, who was tugging at her robe and watching her with concern.
“Alright, I understand.”
After another long breath, she nodded, put the pills away, and divided the pouch of Spirit Stones in half—though half, it was still considerable:
“But you must still accept these Spirit Stones. Consider it tuition for Sixteen’s private lessons.”
“Alright.”
Seeing this, Yun Xueshang didn’t insist and just nodded.
She turned to Ning Shiliu, who was anxiously drooping her long ears while watching their conversation, and handed the soft sword into her hand:
“Then, Little Pomegranate, let’s start learning from now. I’ll teach you the first lesson of the soft sword.”
Ning Shiliu took the soft sword, glanced at Ji Ling’s expression, then turned to Yun Xueshang—the girl in white she rarely saw and didn’t know well, despite being her good friend’s mother, because of the conflict between Ji Ling and her.
She thanked her softly:
“Alright, thank you for being willing to teach me, Chief Yun.”
“Since you’re Rongrong’s good friend and you’re going to learn swordsmanship from me, there’s no need to be so formal in private.”
Yun Xueshang curved her eyes at her and said gently:
“Just like you call Yan’er Aunt Hua, call me Aunt Yun.”
“Yes, Aunt Yun.”
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