When Lu Yaoyao and her friends heard the news, they were ecstatic. There was a significant difference between personal disciples and regular inner disciples. With this promotion in status, Du Qianshan had successfully reversed his fortunes through his own efforts!
After Du Qianshan completed the initiation ceremony and formally became a personal disciple, his friends went to the North Twelfth Peak to celebrate with him. For Lu Yaoyao and the others, the Twelfth Peak only existed through hearsay, as they had never set foot there after joining Guiyuan. Firstly, the Twelfth Peak was located at the farthest part of the sect, and secondly, it was technically a den of sword cultivators. In the Cultivation Realm, sword cultivators were famous for their single-minded pursuit of swordsmanship—in simpler terms, they were sword fanatics. North Twelfth Peak’s disciples were no exception. Caring only about improving their swordsmanship, they rarely interacted with disciples from other peaks.
As they knew almost no one else at the Twelfth Peak except for Du Qianshan, Lu Yaoyao’s group hadn’t felt the need to visit before.
The disciples of North Twelfth Peak dedicated most of their time to swordsmanship and seldom ventured out, but Du Qianshan, because of his friendship with Lu Yaoyao and the others, was often absent from the peak. Consequently, his senior brothers and sisters considered him too relaxed in his practice, resulting in him being closely monitored during mandatory training sessions. Du Qianshan, who enjoyed spending time with his friends, had never mentioned this. In return, he would always compensate by putting in twice the effort upon his return.
Perhaps this was one of the reasons why Du Qianshan’s cultivation advanced rapidly and his foundation remained solid.
When Lu Yaoyao saw the scenery of the Twelfth Peak, she thought it truly deserved to be called the land of sword cultivators—even the falling leaves seemed to carry sword intent. The Twelfth Peak was lush with greenery, with dense trees growing wildly and presenting a unique landscape. Lu Yaoyao and her friends admired the scenery as they made their way to Du Qianshan’s residence.
When Du Qianshan became a personal disciple, his accommodations also improved significantly. Before, he used to share a room with other inner disciples, but now he has his own room. They were on their way to the room he just moved into.
When they arrived, Du Qianshan was in high spirits, filled with joy from his promotion. Seeing his friends made him even more delighted, and he broke into a wide, silly grin: “You guys are here!”
Lu Yaoyao and the others showered him with congratulations and well wishes. The usually composed Du Qianshan showed a rare exuberance befitting of a teenager. After receiving the congratulatory gifts brought by his friends, he assumed the role of a good host and took them on a tour around his new residence.
Afterward, the group exchanged resources they had acquired and traded items they didn’t need at the moment. Lu Yaoyao, being the only one among them to have not only entered the top 100 but also the top 10, received special attention: “You’re going to enter the Suhui Secret Realm in three days. Are you ready, Yaoyao?”
Lu Yaoyao patted her chest, “Always ready!” She didn’t need to prepare anything special, since everything she needed was always packed in her small pouch.
“The Suhui Secret Realm is said to be richer than the sect’s treasury. Rumor has it that you can find whatever you desire in there. Make sure to bring back lots of good stuff,” Chao Muxue advised.
Lu Yaoyao patted her nearly full small pouch. Her private stash was already quite abundant, but she was eager to see what the secret realm had to offer. No one ever complained about having too many good things!
“Yaoyao, you have to take a good look. If you have anything interesting, you must tell us,” Wen Zixing added.
“No problem!” Lu Yaoyao agreed readily. Thinking about what Chao Muxue said, she asked, “Will there be star sand there?” It was the only thing she lacked. Although many had taken her commission in the mission hall, there had been no results so far.
“I’m not sure about this, but everyone says the secret realm is amazing,” Chao Muxue replied, her voice tinged with anticipation.
“Qianshan, now that you’ve become a personal disciple, what are your plans?” Wen Zixing suddenly inquired.
“Plans?” Du Qianshan was confused, “What plans?”
“You know,” Wen Zixing said, waving his hand, “We agreed to go on a field training together after the tournament, remember? And return before the new disciples’ entry trial.”
As Du Qianshan had recently become a personal disciple, it would be difficult to ask for a leave of absence from the North Twelfth Peak Master. As the name suggested, personal disciples received direct teaching from the master; otherwise, even if they respectfully called master, it would be in name only, much like Du Qianshan before, who was just a regular inner disciple of the peak without a true master-disciple relationship.
“I mentioned it to my Master. We’ll go together when the time comes.” Du Qianshan waved his hand.
Chao Muxue smiled, “Anyway, the earliest we’ll leave is in seven days, so we have time.”
“Yes, we have to wait until I return from the secret realm first,” Lu Yaoyao added.
Lu Yaoyao and the others spent the rest of the day exploring the Twelfth Peak, dispersing only in the afternoon.
…
Time passed quickly in anticipation, and soon it was the day for the top one hundred disciples to enter the Suhui Minor Secret Realm. Lu Yaoyao’s four senior brothers were too old to participate, so she stayed close to Lu Junyang. They gathered in the main peak’s open square, where the atmosphere was very solemn.
Lu Chongyun stood atop the steps and solemnly delivered a speech. Then he took out a jade-colored token, which emitted a dazzling light moments later. The light enveloped the disciples and formed a glowing circle before they all disappeared together.
Lu Yaoyao felt a brief disorientation and suddenly found herself in a completely unfamiliar place. She lifted her gaze, surveyed her surroundings, and saw an unending stretch of vibrant green grass. She was not shaken by the sudden transport and was mentally prepared; Brother Junyang had told her beforehand that everyone would be separated upon entering the secret realm, so she shouldn’t panic if she didn’t see anyone around.
Nevertheless, Lu Yaoyao tried calling out a few times. When there was no response, she picked a direction and started walking ahead. The Suhui Minor Secret Realm wasn’t exactly small, and it wasn’t easy to encounter anyone, even with a hundred people inside. After walking for half an hour without seeing a single person, Lu Yaoyao noticed the surroundings were growing increasingly desolate, filled with a sharp, cold aura, as well as a lingering killing intent.
Although the secret realm was the sect’s private repository, it wasn’t completely safe. Obtaining valuable items naturally wasn’t going to be easy, and you’d need to pass numerous challenges beforehand. Lu Junyang had entered the secret realm dozens of times. Though he couldn’t claim to be entirely familiar with every nook and cranny, he had enough knowledge to share with Lu Yaoyao about the things she could find inside and some landmarks to help her navigate. As she compared her surroundings with Lu Junyang’s descriptions, Lu Yaoyao recognized she was near the outskirts of the sword tomb.
In this tomb, the natal swords of the sect’s fallen sword cultivators and the famous swords found by disciples on their journeys were laid to rest. Even before entering, Lu Yaoyao could feel the chilling sword intent and overwhelming pressure. She had a feeling something inside was calling to her. Maybe she could find her own natal sword here?
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