After reaching Foundation Establishment, Bai Qingxue’s days were no different from before.
Morning at the cold pond, afternoon in the quiet room, evening practicing her swordplay.
She didn't need anyone to remind her, nor did she ever slack off.
But while performing these tasks, her heart no longer felt that faint, inexplicable sense of groundedness she once had.
When she cultivated before, she could feel herself moving forward; every step counted.
Now she was still moving, but she didn't care much about how far she had gone or where she was headed.
The news of the True Disciple Ceremony was brought by Liu Ningshuang.
That day, when Bai Qingxue returned from the cold pond, Liu Ningshuang was sitting under the old plum tree in her courtyard, waiting for her.
Bai Qingxue paused slightly upon seeing Ningshuang after entering, then walked over and bowed.
“Elder.”
Liu Ningshuang waved her hand, signaling for her to sit.
A teapot sat on the stone table—not the one Lu Xueqing usually used, but a coarse ceramic pot used for guests on the peak.
The tea was cold. Liu Ningshuang hadn't drunk any; she just let it sit there.
“In seven days, the peak will hold a True Disciple Ceremony for you,” Liu Ningshuang said in her usual indifferent tone. “This was personally ordered by the True Lord. People from every peak will attend.”
Bai Qingxue nodded without asking why.
The True Disciples of the Xuantian Sect’s Peak Masters weren't acknowledged behind closed doors; the entire sect had to be informed.
This was the rule. As for the reasons behind the rule, Bai Qingxue didn't want to think about them, nor could she be bothered to look deeper.
Liu Ningshuang withdrew her gaze and stood up.
“Prepare well.”
With that, Liu Ningshuang left.
Bai Qingxue sat under the old plum tree, looking at the pot of cold tea on the stone table.
She reached out and touched the side of the pot, finding it cold to the touch.
She didn't add hot water, nor did she pour it out. She just let it sit there.
...
On the morning seven days later, the area in front of the Xueji Peak main hall was paved with solid slabs of white jade. Seven ice pillars stood around the perimeter, their tops burning with unquenchable ice flames.
The elders of all seven peaks were present, and disciples from each peak stood in formation to observe the ceremony. Their frost-white, green, and crimson Daoist robes formed a vast sea of color in the morning light.
Meanwhile, Bai Qingxue walked up from the stone steps.
At this moment, Bai Qingxue had changed into a frost-white True Disciple uniform. The fabric was thicker than the ordinary disciple uniform, with silver ice lotus patterns embroidered on the collar and cuffs that shimmered with a cold light under the sun.
The Frost Condensation Sword she used daily hung at her waist, and her silver-white long hair was pinned up with a white jade hairpin, revealing her cold and elegant features.
Upon seeing Bai Qingxue, the disciples on both sides of the main hall fell silent in unison.
Hundreds, even thousands of gazes fell upon her—some filled with envy, some with awe, some with curiosity, and some with complex, indefinable emotions.
“Is that the Bai Qingxue?”
“Reaching Foundation Establishment within three years of joining and being taken as a True Disciple by True Lord Shuanghua... she’s the first on Xueji Peak in a hundred years.”
“I heard she has an Ice Heavenly Spiritual Root and is a Natural Dao Seed.”
“More than that. She took the top spot in the New Disciple Grand Competition. Have you heard about what happened in the Luoyun Mountain Range...”
The whispers surged like a tide, then automatically receded as Bai Qingxue drew near.
Bai Qingxue’s expression remained unchanged as her boots made soft tapping sounds against the white jade floor.
True Lord Shuanghua sat in the seat of honor.
True Lord Shuanghua wore a frost-white Daoist robe, her long hair as silver as snow. Her face, however, was so young she didn't look like someone who had lived for hundreds of years.
Her gaze fell on Bai Qingxue, calm as still water, revealing no emotion.
Bai Qingxue walked to the center of the hall, stopped before True Lord Shuanghua, and bowed deeply.
Then, True Lord Shuanghua raised her hand slightly. The ice flames before the main hall suddenly flared, and the seven ice pillars simultaneously emitted a piercing white light. A chill surged from all directions, instilling an involuntary sense of solemnity in everyone present.
“Bai Qingxue.” True Lord Shuanghua’s voice wasn't loud, yet it carried clearly throughout the entire hall. “From this day forward, you are a True Disciple under my tutelage.”
True Lord Shuanghua then produced a long sword from her sleeve.
The sword’s blade was entirely transparent, as if carved from a single piece of ice crystal. An ice lotus was engraved on the hilt, its petals layered one upon another.
“This sword is named ‘Shuanghua,’ the same as my title. It has been with me for three hundred years; today, I bestow it upon you.”
A low collective gasp echoed through the hall.
Bai Qingxue took the Shuanghua sword with both hands. The blade felt slightly cool in her grip, resonating with the ice lotus inside her body.
She could feel the power slumbering within the sword—a power so heavy she felt she might never be able to fully utilize it.
Yet she still accepted it, like taking something that would eventually have to be returned.
“Disciple Bai Qingxue thanks the True Lord.”
Bai Qingxue knelt and kowtowed toward True Lord Shuanghua.
As Bai Qingxue’s forehead touched the cold ground, the light from the ice flames happened to fall upon the crown of her silver-white hair, appearing as if she were being crowned with an invisible diadem.
However, as Bai Qingxue knelt there, her heart was empty.
No gratitude, no excitement.
She was simply completing a motion; once finished, she could stand up.
True Lord Shuanghua looked at her, and within those seemingly empty eyes, something seemed to flicker slightly.
But it vanished in an instant.
“Rise.”
Bai Qingxue stood up and turned to face the crowd in front of the hall.
Everyone’s gaze fell upon her.
Bai Qingxue stood there, dressed in frost-white with hair of silver, holding the Shuanghua sword.
Applause first broke out from the direction of the Xueji Peak disciples.
Then came Qingyun Peak, Chixia Peak, Tianshu Peak, and the remaining three peaks.
The applause surged like a tide, echoing above the main hall.
Bai Qingxue didn't smile, nod, or wave.
She just stood there, gripping her sword, her expression as calm as ever. It wasn't intentional coldness; there truly was nothing in her heart.
The applause was loud, but it didn't reach her heart.
There were many gazes, but not one felt warm to her.
She felt as if she were standing at the bottom of a deep well; she could see the light when she looked up, but the light could not reach her.
After the ceremony concluded, the disciples of the various peaks gradually dispersed.
Shen Yao rushed out from the crowd and ran up to Bai Qingxue, her face flushed red and her eyes shining like two bright stars.
“Junior Sister Bai! No, I should call you Martial Aunt Bai now! You’re amazing!”
Shen Yao said a great deal, but Bai Qingxue didn't catch all of it.
She only heard the word “successor.” Shen Yao said the sword meant the True Lord viewed her as her successor. Bai Qingxue looked at Shen Yao’s excited face and wanted to say “perhaps,” but in the end, she only uttered one word.
“Mm.”
Then Bai Qingxue turned and walked away.
Shen Yao shouted something behind her, but she didn't hear it clearly. The stone steps were long, and she walked very slowly.
Bai Qingxue’s fingers rested on the hilt of the Shuanghua sword. The cold sensation from her fingertips was identical to the temperature of the ice lotus in her dantian.
She suddenly wondered what True Lord Shuanghua had been thinking when she gave her this sword.
Was it expectation, a handing over of responsibility, or did she simply feel it was time to give it away?
Bai Qingxue didn't know. She only knew that when she took the sword, her heart was empty.
She had no promise, no determination, not even the thought of “I will use this well.”
For some reason, after reaching Foundation Establishment, Bai Qingxue always felt a bit empty inside...
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