After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Gu Changqing invited everyone to an elegantly decorated courtyard in the back mountain.
Faint wisps of sandalwood incense curled up inside the gazebo.
Gu Changqing personally poured a cup of spiritual tea for everyone before slowly speaking with a solemn expression:
“Junior Sister Bai, you've only just arrived. Do you know why those people from Beast-Taming Peak have been dogging our Hidden Sword Peak and targeting us at every turn?”
Jiang Ye picked up his spiritual tea, tilted his head back, and downed it in one gulp.
“Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle...”
He swished it around in his mouth twice like mouthwash before swallowing with a loud gulp.
Then, Jiang Ye rolled his eyes hard at Gu Changqing without any hesitation.
You're asking me, a cutscene-skipping player who only cares about quest rewards?
Seeing that Junior Sister Bai wasn't responding, Qi Linger actually found her tea-drinking style incredibly heroic.
She also picked up her cup and downed it just like Jiang Ye. “Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle... Burp!”
Qi Linger wiped the corner of her mouth and grinned, helping to ease the tension. “Senior Brother Gu, stop keeping her in suspense and putting Junior Sister Bai on the spot. Just spit it out.”
Gu Changqing let out a helpless sigh and began his background introduction:
“The Azure Mystic Sect has four peaks in total: Dao Mystic Peak, Beast-Taming Peak, Hidden Sword Peak, and Azure Mystic Peak.
“The main peak of the sect is Azure Mystic Peak, which is the lineage of the Sect Master. Crucial locations like the Medicine Pavilion, Artifact-Refining Pavilion, and Treasure Pavilion are all located there. It's a neutral force. Meanwhile, the other three peaks are responsible for nurturing disciples. Because of this, the three peaks have constant friction every year as they compete for cultivation resources and talented disciples.”
Qi Linger chimed in from the side:
“Our Hidden Sword Peak was only established fifty-odd years ago. In the eyes of the other two peaks, we're naturally an easy target. On top of that, we have barely over a hundred people in total, which is a fraction of their numbers.”
Gu Changqing nodded, his expression turning grave:
“Sect resources are distributed based on the overall contribution points of each peak's disciples. Since we have fewer people, our contribution points are naturally at the very bottom, and the resources we receive are pitifully scarce.
“What's most outrageous is that starting three years ago, Beast-Taming Peak and Dao Mystic Peak actually teamed up in secret...”
“Correction.” Qi Linger suddenly raised a finger with a serious face. “It was two and a half years ago.”
“Right, two and a half years ago!”
Gu Changqing gritted his teeth. “They deliberately targeted our newcomers in every outer sect tournament! This led to a total wipeout of our Sword Peak's new disciples—not a single one made it into the top ten, and for two and a half years straight, none of us have qualified to enter the sect's core secret realm!”
Jiang Ye yawned as he listened.
He casually grabbed a spiritual fruit from the fruit platter, taking loud, crunchy bites as he cut off their spiel with an indifferent tone:
“Alright, alright. TL;DR.
“Simply put, all I need to do is sign up for that outer sect tournament later, crush them all, and grind them into the dirt, right? What's the big deal?”
Gu Changqing was stunned for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter:
“Hahaha! Junior Sister Bai is indeed incredibly bold! With the combat strength you showed today by easily defeating a Tier Two demon beast, winning first place won't be an issue at all!
“Furthermore, the rewards for the outer sect tournament are extremely generous. In fact, it includes exactly what you need most right now—a Tier Three Foundation Establishment Pill! The reward for first place is even an eight-patterned one, which can greatly increase the probability of a successful Foundation Establishment.”
Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow casually and nodded.
As a veteran player on his ninth playthrough, how could he not know about Foundation Establishment Pills?
Based on his past gaming experience, trying to force a breakthrough without a Foundation Establishment Pill had an outrageously low success rate.
Once it failed, you'd get hit with a week-long “Damaged Meridians” debuff.
Veteran players didn't have the luxury of waiting around for that kind of cooldown.
Besides, Foundation Establishment was about forging one's Dao foundation. The strength of the foundation would affect future stat scaling. In Jiang Ye's words, it was the difference between “perfect max IVs” and a “defective product.”
Now that I'm playing the role of the overpowered mentor, I have to max out my essence, qi, and spirit with triple cultivation. The goal is a max-stat power trip!
Gu Changqing continued to paint a pretty picture:
“As long as you secure a spot to enter the sect's secret realm, the sword intent inside will not only be of great help for your breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, but it will also allow you to comprehend the direction of your divine abilities in advance...”
Jiang Ye waved his hand with extreme perfunctoriness. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, right, right, right. You're absolutely right, Senior Brother.”
As a veteran player, do I really need an NPC to teach me how to play the game?
...
After a long chat (mostly listening to one-sided bragging), it was finally time to part ways.
Gu Qingxue elegantly summoned a flying sword that emitted a chilling aura, then looked back at Bai Zhirou (Jiang Ye).
Jiang Ye's eyes lit up!
Without needing an invitation, he eagerly trotted over, preparing to step onto the sword and hold onto his “exclusive handles” (her slender waist).
Behind him, Gu Changqing's incredibly oblivious voice suddenly rang out:
“Senior Sister Gu! As the saying goes: don't fly and drink, don't drink and fly! Safety is the number one priority!”
Whoosh!
Two pairs of hostile, almost physical glares instantly locked onto Gu Changqing!
Gu Changqing shuddered under the intense scrutiny. The alcohol in his system instantly vanished by half, and cold sweat broke out all over his body.
Wait... I was just kindly giving a traffic safety warning. Why are you both looking at me with murder in your eyes?!
With Gu Changqing spoiling the mood, Gu Qingxue's thin-skinned nature couldn't handle it.
Her fair face flushed slightly, and she awkwardly retrieved her flying sword. With a wave of her hand, she retrieved a spacious, luxurious Dharma Boat from her spatial ring.
Jiang Ye shook his head with a face full of regret.
He stepped onto the Dharma Boat and collapsed onto a comfortable leather seat, completely throwing any fairy-like posture out the window as he crossed his legs.
He inwardly lamented missing out on the sword flight. Yes, that was definitely the only thing he was regretting.
The Dharma Boat took off smoothly.
Gu Qingxue stood quietly at the bow of the Dharma Boat, bathed in the bright moonlight as the night breeze fluttered her skirt.
She turned her head and looked at Bai Zhirou's completely uninhibited, sprawling posture. Instead of feeling disgusted, she actually found her junior sister's genuine nature rather cute.
Gu Qingxue shook her head with a smile and said softly,
“Junior Sister Bai, there were too many people in the cave dwelling earlier, so there were some things that weren't convenient for me to say.”
Just as she finished speaking, the Dharma Boat landed smoothly outside the courtyard where the outer sect disciples resided. Gu Qingxue turned her head, her eyes gentle. “Let's go into your room first, and I'll tell you in detail.”
Jiang Ye: “?”
He instantly sprang up from his seat like he had been injected with adrenaline!
He then spoke excitedly in his mind:
“Holy crap! Little Bai! We've got a situation here!
“This cold NPC wants to go into your room in the middle of the night to share some intimate words! This is absolutely a confession! Tell me, are you going to accept, or are you going to play hard to get before agreeing?!”
Bai Zhirou: “...”
Jiang Ye felt like little demon horns were growing on his head as he coaxed her:
“Little Bai, should I help you win over this cold senior sister tonight?!
“Don't you dare do anything reckless! That's Senior Sister Gu!”
While the two of them were frantically bickering in her mind, Jiang Ye and Gu Qingxue had already walked into the room.
Click.
The door was shut tightly behind them.
Jiang Ye instantly wiped away his playful demeanor and sat upright on the edge of the bed with a solemn expression.
He looked at Gu Qingxue, took a deep breath, and wore a tragic expression of someone prepared to face death:
“Senior Sister Gu! There are no outsiders here now. I've already prepared myself mentally!
“Go ahead and speak. I can handle whatever you throw at me!”
Rate on N.U.
