After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 14

A child with a naturally formed Sword Bone is so clever…

Zhou Zhixue was stunned, staring blankly at Elder Wei.

She didn’t respond, but Qin Qingyi scooted over, grinning: “Elder Wei, your news is truly timely.”

“She is indeed a new disciple taken in by my master, and this is her first time attending a lesson.”

Qin Qingyi’s explanation brought Zhou Zhixue back to her senses, and she hurriedly bowed to Elder Wei: “Disciple Zhou Zhixue greets Elder Wei.”

Fortunately, Elder Wei did not overly fault her for anything, only nodding slightly to acknowledge her.

She looked down at the top of Zhou Zhixue’s head for about three to five seconds before unemotionally withdrawing her gaze.

Yet, these few seconds were enough to make Zhou Zhixue feel nervous and uneasy.

Elder Wei walked to the teaching position for the sword path, raised her voice slightly, and used spiritual energy to wrap her words, conveying them to all the disciples:

“Today, we will study the basic sword manual for Sword Sect disciples—’Ten Thousand Swords Return to Dust’.”

As soon as her voice fell, a chorus of groans rose from the surroundings.

“How is it ‘Ten Thousand Swords Return to Dust’ again? How many times has this been lectured on? Our ears are practically calloused from hearing it.”

“I finally made time to attend the sword path lecture, and it’s this common, street-level introductory sword technique again.”

“Which Sword Sect disciple doesn’t know ‘Ten Thousand Swords Return to Dust’? Is Elder Wei just being lazy and trying to slack off on teaching?”

The disciples were full of complaints. Some regretted wasting their time on a useless lecture, while others directed their dissatisfaction straight at Elder Wei, the instructor.

Even Hu Yu slumped upon hearing “Ten Thousand Swords Return to Dust,” murmuring discontentedly: “This entry-level sword manual has been studied a hundred times if not a thousand. Why are we studying it again today?”

The surroundings were filled with lamentation, but Zhou Zhixue, having just arrived today, didn’t understand why.

Was there something wrong with the introductory lesson?

She looked up in confusion and tugged on Qin Qingyi’s sleeve: “Senior Sister, why are they unwilling to attend today’s lesson?”

Qin Qingyi tilted her head, of course, she knew why.

It was probably because Zhou Zhixue was attending for the first time, and it wouldn’t be good to delve into something too profound, so the simplest introductory lesson was chosen.

But she couldn’t tell Zhou Zhixue this directly. Qin Qingyi propped up her chin, pondered for a moment, and then replied: “It’s probably because they all find the introductory lesson too ordinary, and the sword moves are ones they have already mastered, some even able to recite them backward, so they aren’t interested in ‘Ten Thousand Swords Return to Dust’ and want to learn other, more powerful moves.”

“‘Ten Thousand Swords Return to Dust’…” Zhou Zhixue quietly mouthed the name of the manual, finding it a bit hard to grasp, “A name that sounds so magnificent, is it actually quite ordinary?”

Perhaps to strengthen the bond between junior and senior fellow disciples, or perhaps to make the apology that had been interrupted earlier seem more sincere, Hu Yu was the first to answer her question:

“‘Ten Thousand Swords Return to Dust’ is certainly not some ordinary sword technique; it’s just that the aptitude of these disciples is too dull. Like a mountain pig that can’t appreciate fine grain, they simply cannot comprehend the good things left behind by the Ancestral Master.”

He spoke quite loudly and made no effort to conceal his words. Everyone nearby heard clearly and glared at him, yet they also knew he was a direct disciple of Hidden Snow Peak, so no one could do anything to him.

Elder Wei clearly heard it too. She scanned her gaze across the room. Hu Yu, who had been sitting casually and restlessly, quickly straightened up, afraid of being picked on.

Fortunately, Elder Wei said nothing, and her next sentence even showed considerable agreement with Hu Yu’s statement: “‘Ten Thousand Swords Return to Dust’ is an ancient sword technique secret manual passed down through the ages. Few can utilize even one or two tenths of its power today. You only complain about being tired of hearing it. So, who among you can stand up and demonstrate the final one or two stances of this technique for this Elder?”

At these words, silence fell over the scene.

Followed by a burst of hushed whispers, and even the sound of people sucking air through their teeth as if in pain.

“Has Elder Wei gone mad from practicing the sword? The final stance? Who can perform that? Isn’t this deliberately making things difficult?”

“Didn’t they say the final stance was lost long ago, and now only half of it is recorded? How could anyone perform the complete final stance?”

Finally, a disciple couldn’t help but stand up: “Elder Wei, if you are unwilling to teach, so be it. But you have lectured on ‘Ten Thousand Swords Return to Dust’ for several days already, and now you ask disciples to demonstrate the final stance? Everyone knows the final stance of ‘Ten Thousand Swords Return to Dust’ is incomplete and simply cannot be executed!”

As soon as he spoke, many disciples chimed in, saying that Elder Wei was intentionally making things difficult for the disciples who came to listen to the lesson.

Others took advantage of the chaos to say that it was not easy for them to attend the lecture in the first place, only to be forced to listen to a lesson from which they could not learn anything genuine. For a moment, the crowd was agitated, clamoring for Elder Wei to change the lesson.

Qin Qingyi found the noise irritating. These disciples were so noisy, it truly disturbed the peace.

Usually, she would tolerate it, but today she had brought her junior sister. To encounter such a terrible learning environment on her first lesson—how would her junior sister view the Sword Sect after this?

She might even think: So, the Great Immortal Sects are nothing more than this, noisy and disorderly like a common marketplace, utterly unbearable.

Thinking this, Qin Qingyi couldn’t help but “tsk” once. Her spiritual energy stirred, and her sword, “Liubai” (Blank Canvas), at her waist swooshed as it flew out of its sheath on its own.

The entirely silver sharp sword did not pause, circling all the chattering, arguing disciples once, and then hovering in mid-air. The clear clang of the sword sounded like ripples spreading out. A light-blue glowing jade tablet was attached to the sword’s tassel. It was this jade tablet that instantly made all the noisy disciples fall silent.

Someone with sharp eyes recognized the sword.

“It’s Senior Sister of Hidden Snow Peak’s sword, ‘Liubai’! Goodness, I didn’t realize Senior Sister Qin is already an acting Elder of the Enforcement Hall.”

In an instant, the eyes of those around her were filled with envy.

The light-blue jade tablet represented nothing less than the symbol of an acting Elder of the Enforcement Hall. Originally, this tablet was meant for True Person Wen Qing, but since True Person Wen Qing didn’t want to manage affairs, she gave it to her.

In any case, this item was quite useful: to enforce the law externally and deter minor villains; to punish disciples who violated sect rules internally—it was very effective.

Qin Qingyi hadn’t intended to be so conspicuous.

Seeing that the surroundings had quieted down, Qin Qingyi raised her hand to recall her sword, then slightly bowed to the silently waiting Elder Wei on the platform: “My actions just now were presumptuous. Please forgive me, Elder. Please continue with the lesson.”

Her attitude was excellent, so good that Elder Wei could find no fault with it.

Having a disciple who could help her maintain classroom discipline certainly saved her a lot of trouble.

She nodded in satisfaction, raised her hand, and used her sword as a brush to inscribe the words “Ten Thousand Swords Return to Dust” in the air.

Then, she slowly began to recount the origin of this sword technique.

Qin Qingyi, along with Xie Su and Hu Yu, had heard these things no less than dozens of times. The three were completely uninterested and found the lecture boring. Xie Su and Hu Yu had already begun to quietly discuss where they would go to hang out after class.

Zhou Zhixue, however, was listening with great fascination beside them.

Not only was she listening attentively, but the little girl had also brought paper and a brush, tucked away in her bosom at some point. She sat upright, listening while diligently taking notes.

The other disciples around her, who were similarly bored with the lecture, chuckled dismissively upon seeing her—it was such a simple lesson, what was there to take notes on?

Qin Qingyi also leaned over and glanced. She found that although Zhou Zhixue’s handwriting was immature, her notes captured the key points. The tightly packed page was entirely dedicated to the sword stances of “Ten Thousand Swords Return to Dust” that Elder Wei was discussing, and they were all meticulously broken down.

Elder Wei hadn’t lectured in such detail, which meant that Zhou Zhixue was independently figuring out how to break down the sword moves.

Qin Qingyi raised an eyebrow, her interest in Zhou Zhixue piqued.

Are children with a naturally formed Sword Bone all this clever, grasping everything so quickly?