Will the Senior Brother Return to the Sect? - Chapter 5

The beast-drawn carriage carrying the two travelers ambled away from Yuanwu City, leaving behind nothing but the sight of the ruined gate.

The manager of the Mingfeng Trading Firm, watching from a hidden vantage point, glanced at the injured Elder Yu of Yuanwu Gate. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, secretly relieved: “Thank goodness, thank goodness I didn’t show any disrespect to Honorable Qi.”

As an outpost manager for Mingfeng, his cultivation might not have been top-tier, but his discernment was keen. It was obvious that Elder Yu was no match for Honorable Qi. And since Elder Yu was one of the strongest cultivators in all of Yuanwu Gate, it meant that unless the entire sect joined forces to surround and suppress Honorable Qi, defeating him was nothing but a pipe dream.

Furthermore…

He turned his gaze back to Elder Yu.

While he didn’t know the full extent of the elder’s injuries, he had been humiliated in front of everyone. This was detrimental to the reputation Yuanwu Gate had spent years cultivating in Yuanwu City. Although the sect held the most power there, there were other Golden Core cultivators in the city besides those in Yuanwu Gate. The fact that the sect’s own guardian elder had been defeated meant their strongest asset was, for the moment, incapacitated. For the other families in Yuanwu City, this was a golden opportunity to weaken the sect’s prestige and elevate their own standing.

The manager quietly retreated from the scene. Back at the firm, he pondered for a while before drafting a letter to request Golden Core-grade medicinal pills from elsewhere. When the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman reaps the benefit; the Mingfeng Trading Firm might just make a fortune from this.

By the time the carriage reached another city, Wen Qixue had finally recovered some of his strength.

Su Xuanlin looked at the long queue in front of the city gate, studied the plaque above from afar, and climbed back into the carriage. “Honorable One, we have arrived at Fengqin City. Do you know this place?”

Wen Qixue looked at him. “You’re asking me about a city in the Eastern Continent?”

Su Xuanlin sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “Well, you see, I’ve always been with the ancestor, and my cultivation is low, so I’ve never ventured out. I’m not very clear on the geography of the East.”

Wen Qixue pushed open the carriage door and peered toward the gate. “This city seems decent. At the very least, it’s fine for a short rest. However…”

His eyes narrowed slightly as he thought of something.

Su Xuanlin immediately tensed up. “Honorable One, has something happened?”

Wen Qixue shook his head and held out a hand toward him. “Give me a sword; I’ll go take a look.”

Su Xuanlin was puzzled but obediently took a sword from his storage ring. “How will you take a look? This sword has fire-attribute properties…”

Before he could finish, Wen Qixue stepped out of the carriage. Su Xuanlin then watched in awe as the fire-attribute longsword hovered obediently in mid-air.

Su Xuanlin gasped. “Sword flight!”

He had heard of this. It was said that once a sword cultivator reached the Foundation Establishment stage, they could perform this feat, but he had never seen it in person.

Seeing his curiosity, Wen Qixue asked, “Do you want to try?”

Su Xuanlin stared intently at the sword. “Can I? But I don’t know how to…”

Wen Qixue stepped onto the blade and scooped Su Xuanlin up. “Get on.”

In the next instant, the sword shot into the sky, rapidly reaching a height Su Xuanlin had never dared to imagine. Watching the view expand and the ground stretch out beneath him, his heart raced. He whispered to himself, “Will I be able to fly this high one day?”

Standing behind him, Wen Qixue replied, “That’s not difficult. Once your cultivation reaches the required level, as long as you don’t have an inherent fear of heights, it will come naturally.”

Su Xuanlin was skeptical. “Really?”

Wen Qixue nodded as if it were obvious. “Correct. As long as you successfully reach the Foundation Establishment stage, spirit manipulation is a basic skill—it’s very easy. It’s not just sword flight; any artifact you can control with spiritual energy can be used to fly.”

Su Xuanlin: “…” That wasn’t his experience at all. There were quite a few Foundation Establishment disciples in Yuanwu Gate, but the vast majority couldn’t fly. If they could, they would have simply flown over the city instead of searching house-to-house when they were hunting them down earlier.

By then, Wen Qixue’s attention had shifted away from Su Xuanlin. He looked down at Fengqin City. “This Fengqin City appears to be small, yet there are far too many people coming in today, and very few leaving.”

Su Xuanlin followed his gaze, watching the bustle of the crowds. It was true. He looked up at Wen Qixue. “Is there something wrong with that?”

Wen Qixue guided the sword downward. “Nothing necessarily bad. There’s probably an event in the city, like an auction. During such times, entry fees and local costs like inn lodging will be higher than usual.”

Su Xuanlin flinched at the thought of the expense. “That sounds like a bad deal.”

“It’s also possible a sect is holding a recruitment drive nearby,” Wen Qixue mused, though he clicked his tongue in thought. “I’m not familiar with Fengqin City; I don’t know what sects might be in the area. Do you?”

Though Wen Qixue had spent his Golden Core years soaking in secret realms all over the continent, he had never been to this particular region. Su Xuanlin shook his head. He was young and weak; he never left home, so he had never been to this city, only heard rumors when his ancestor hired people to fetch materials they lacked.

Wen Qixue decided not to dwell on it. He put the sword away and said, “We’ll know once we take a look. But I suspect it isn’t a sect recruitment.”

“Why?” asked Su Xuanlin.

“Fengqin City isn’t that far from Yuanwu City,” Wen Qixue replied, looking ahead. “If a sect were truly recruiting nearby, Yuanwu City would surely hear whispers of it, and people would have gone out to try their luck.”

Su Xuanlin stared at Wen Qixue blankly. Wen Qixue glanced at him. “What is it?”

Su Xuanlin looked as if he had gone simple-minded. He bit his lip, sounding a bit aggrieved. “If there really is a sect recruiting here, will you leave as soon as I get in?”

Wen Qixue: “…”

He couldn’t help but flick Su Xuanlin on the forehead. “What are you thinking? Your spiritual roots are unique. Even if there is a sect recruiting, these obscure, minor schools wouldn’t be able to teach you anything.”

Up until this point, Su Xuanlin had always practiced according to basic manuals. He had never considered that his mutant roots required a completely different path of cultivation.

He looked unsettled. “Are mutant roots harder to cultivate? And… could it be…” He stole a nervous glance at Wen Qixue. “Is it possible that I just have Fire Spiritual Roots and my talent is just mediocre?”

Wen Qixue looked at him. “I cannot confirm your innate talent yet, but as long as the Spirit Source Stone was functioning correctly, the colors it displayed during your test prove it cannot be a simple Fire Spiritual Root.”

“Besides, no matter what your talent is or what your roots actually are, we have to look at the sect you want to join first.” He patted Su Xuanlin’s head. “Don’t overthink it. At your current cultivation level, you just need to do everything in your power to practice.”

Su Xuanlin was silent for a long time. He adjusted his mindset, let out a long breath, and looked ahead. “Then, Honorable One, shall we head into Fengqin City now?”

Wen Qixue nodded. “Let’s go. Let’s see what the state of the cultivation world is like these days.”

The queue outside the gate was long, and they took their places at the back. Some people bypassed the line through a side gate. Su Xuanlin was startled. “Honorable One, why are those people allowed to enter directly?”

Wen Qixue glanced at the side gate. “Oh, those are cultivators with high cultivation levels, or perhaps they hold an invitation from the City Lord or another high-ranking cultivator. The guards won’t stop them.”

Su Xuanlin looked envious. “High-ranking… just how high do you have to be?”

Wen Qixue pondered for a moment. “For a city of Fengqin’s size, which is slightly better than Yuanwu but not by much, perhaps a Foundation Establishment cultivator counts as ‘high-ranking’.”

“But that standard isn’t universal,” he added. “Take the Yuling Dynasty in the East—that’s a massive city. You’d need to be a Nascent Soul cultivator to be considered high-ranking there.”

Su Xuanlin’s eyes lit up. “Honorable One, have you been to the Yuling Dynasty? What is it like? Is it far from here?”

Wen Qixue didn’t quite know how to answer. “What is it like… it has the Yuling Academy, the greatest power in the dynasty. As for the distance, I haven’t the slightest idea.”

He stood by the carriage and began to walk along with the queue. “I don’t even know where I am anymore.”

Su Xuanlin was taken aback and hurried to keep up. “Then, Honorable One, aren’t you worried?”

Wen Qixue remained perfectly calm. “There is nothing to worry about. As a cultivator, moving forward is all that matters.”