Chapter 70: Chapter 70: I Am But Humble Dust, Yet My Heart Aims for the Sky
Nine days had passed, and it was now late December.
The days grew colder.
Until they entered the Spirit Realm, Martial Artists were still flesh-and-blood mortals, incapable of Qi Refining and Grain Avoidance.
Wei Yanran had been kneeling there for nine days without food or water. Her beautiful face was utterly gaunt, drained of all color.
WHOOSH.
The cold wind howled.
Ning Jiang looked up at the sky. Inky clouds pressed down, so heavy they seemed about to collapse, suffocating the world into a dreadful silence.
A callous, biting wind whipped past. The delicate flowers and grasses had long since bent to the ground in submission, trembling.
A storm was brewing.
"It’s going to rain."
Ning Jiang looked away. He walked past Wei Yanran without even a pause and went inside.
「One hour later.」
BOOM!
A clap of thunder split the sky, and a torrential rain began to fall.
The downpour was sudden and fierce. Raindrops as large as beans pelted the tiles, making a PITTER-PATTER sound.
"Little Brother, are you just going to let her keep kneeling out there?"
Inside, Ning Yu’an watched Wei Yanran get soaked to the bone, her heart aching with pity.
Generally, Martial Artists were impervious to heat and cold.
But Wei Yanran hadn’t eaten or drunk in nine days. Her body was now so weak she was no different from an ordinary person. Furthermore, it was the dead of winter, a time of freezing cold, and now she was caught in this miserable downpour.
At this rate, Wei Yanran might not survive.
"Sister An, do you think I have a heart of stone? That I’m being unreasonable?" Ning Jiang asked.
Ning Yu’an shook her head. "I know you must have your reasons for doing this, Little Brother."
"Wei Yanran is actually not bad. Kneeling for nine days shows she has perseverance. Unfortunately, she’s wrong about one thing."
Ning Jiang sighed softly. "A storm like this can’t last long. I’ll go check on her when it stops."
The rain poured down in sheets.
The rain didn’t stop until the next morning.
At the crack of dawn, Ning Jiang went outside.
Wei Yanran’s body was ice-cold, and she was trembling uncontrollably. Her frail frame looked as if it could collapse at any moment. Her breathing had grown faint, like a water lotus unable to withstand the biting wind.
"You look half-dead. Still not going home?" Ning Jiang said, flicking a fingernail.
"Never!"
Wei Yanran stubbornly pushed her weak body upright and raised her head to look at Ning Jiang. Her eyes held a look of someone willing to abandon everything to achieve their goal—a resolve that no force in the world could alter.
"Your gaze is impressive. But alas, Wei Yanran, do you know where you’ve gone wrong?"
Ning Jiang decided to enlighten her. "Your horizons are far too narrow. In your heart, there is only vengeance, only hatred. What else is there?"
"Making vengeance your only goal, your everything, is like being a frog in a well that can only see the patch of sky above it. If, instead, you had the ambition to reach the Nine Heavens, if you wanted to soar across the blue sky, only then could I give you wings and let you fly."
"To put it bluntly, your ambition is too small. You only know revenge. But to be my disciple, your heart must be vast enough to hold the heavens and the earth. You must have the will to devour the sun and moon. Only a person like that is qualified."
"How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan?"
"And right now, Wei Yanran, you are nothing but a tiny sparrow!"
Ning Jiang’s calm words struck Wei Yanran like a thunderbolt.
In his words, she heard an overbearing will capable of devouring the sun and moon. It was an aura that looked down upon all creation, an ambition to stand at the very pinnacle of the heavens and the earth.
Ning Jiang’s gaze drifted into the distance. "Liu Xianyu’s father was killed by Young Master Soaring Dragon. Do you know what makes her stronger than you? She wants revenge, yes, but she also has the Sword Dao in her heart. She has a devotion to the sword, a will to improve. Unlike you. Your heart is hollow, empty of everything but vengeance."
"Wei Yanran, I don’t care if you are humble, ordinary, or weak."
Ning Jiang’s voice softened as he recalled his own past, one hundred thousand years ago. He had been born common, an orphan, utterly alone.
Though he was just a humble commoner, his heart was set on the path of cultivation, his ambitions were vast, and in the end, he became a Legendary Venerable.
"What I truly care about is whether you have the will to strive upward. Wei Yanran, I’ll leave you with this one sentence." Ning Jiang spoke slowly, enunciating each word. "Though I was born as insignificant as dust, my heart still yearns for the sky!"
Wei Yanran’s delicate frame trembled violently.
’Though I was born as insignificant as dust, my heart still yearns for the sky.’
Those fourteen short words struck her like rolling thunder, branding themselves deep into her soul.
She took a deep breath.
Then.
She bowed respectfully to Ning Jiang. "Wei Yanran is grateful for your teachings."
This bow came from a place of complete and utter conviction.
She finally understood why this young man had been so calm the moment he became the Pill King, revered by all.
’Because in this young man’s eyes, what was a mere Pill King?’
’Did he even care about the entire Cyan Cloud Country?’
’His eyes held the entire world!’
"It’s good that you understand. Get up. You’re not yet qualified to be my disciple, but if you wish to learn Alchemy, I can teach you a few things," Ning Jiang said.
Wei Yanran nodded and forced her weak body to stand. But before she was steady, the world began to spin. With a soft cry, she fainted and collapsed into Ning Jiang’s arms.
Helpless, Ning Jiang scooped her up in his arms and carried her inside. "Sister An, looks like I’ll have to trouble you."
"You! You made her kneel for so many days and get soaked in the rain all night. Now that she’s collapsed from exhaustion, you want to wash your hands of it?" Ning Yu’an chided.
"I’d love to see it through to the end, but she’s a woman, and propriety must be maintained between men and women. I can hardly be the one to change her clothes," Ning Jiang said with a smile, handing Wei Yanran over to Ning Yu’an.
Wei Yanran didn’t awaken from her unconscious state until two full days later.
After she woke, Ning Jiang casually handed her a book of Pill Formulas. "Start practicing with this," he said. "If there’s anything you don’t understand, come and ask me."
"Thank you." Wei Yanran accepted the book of Pill Formulas, then hesitated. "For the next few days, would it be possible for me to stay here?"
"You may, but don’t stay long, and don’t come bothering me all the time. Otherwise, you can go right back where you came from," Ning Jiang said flatly.
Wei Yanran gave a bitter smile. To this young man, she, one of the Four Great Beauties of Luoyang, was apparently no more than a bag of bones beneath a pretty face, someone to whom he paid no mind.
’This man was a paradox, containing great sentiment and, within it, even greater ruthlessness.’
In the days that followed, Wei Yanran slowly reverted to her former Iceberg Beauty persona. She was careful not to disturb Ning Jiang, coming to him for guidance only once each day.
In addition, Liu Xianyu also came once a day for Ning Jiang’s pointers on her Sword Technique.
Liu Shiyi came by as well, seeking his advice on her Zither Skill.
"Your Zither Skill has improved greatly, but it’s still lacking something."
After receiving this evaluation from Ning Jiang, Liu Shiyi understood that she was still not worthy of hearing him play a song.
Slowly, time passed until it was January first.
Only a little over ten days remained until Luoyang’s annual gathering.
Early that morning, Liu Xianyu arrived with a piece of news.
Wenhua City, Luoyang’s foremost Sword Cultivator, had appeared at the Bamboo Sea Manor.
"Every year on January first, Senior Wenhua City teaches Sword Technique at the Bamboo Sea Manor. Anyone can go and learn. I even received a few pointers from him myself back in the day," Liu Xianyu explained.
"Interesting. It seems he has the heart of a true teacher," Ning Jiang said. "As it happens, I’ve been wanting to meet him."
Of course, Ning Jiang had no regard for Wenhua City’s Sword Technique.
However, he was interested in the Bamboo Sea Manor itself. He hadn’t forgotten his promise to buy it for Ning Yu’an.
"Let’s go take a look."
...
「Bamboo Sea Manor.」
A gentle breeze rustled the bamboo leaves, making them surge layer upon layer, like undulating waves.
This was the same place where the Pill Conference had been held.
People wearing Treasure Swords appeared one after another. These were the Sword Cultivators of Luoyang City.
Across the land, Sword Cultivators had always made up a large proportion of all Martial Artists.
However, very few were able to make a name for themselves with the sword.
Sword Cultivators had three realms: Arm Sword Control, Body Sword Control, and Heart Sword Control.
Even those who had achieved Arm Sword Control were rare.
As for Body Sword Control, there were only three in Luoyang City’s younger generation: Liu Xianyu, Wang Ziming, and Gao Jin.
And as for Heart Sword Control, which made one a Grandmaster of their generation, there was only Wenhua City.
"Liu Xianyu is here!"
Suddenly, a commotion erupted across the plaza, and the gazes of numerous Sword Cultivators shifted in her direction.
As one of the Four Great Beauties and a genius of the Sword Dao who had achieved Body Sword Control, the name Liu Xianyu was renowned throughout Luoyang City.
Countless people throughout Luoyang City admired Liu Xianyu, completely infatuated with her.
"Huh? Who’s that white-haired person with Liu Xianyu?"
"If I’m not mistaken, that must be the recently notorious White-haired Ghost Ning Jiang."
"White-haired Ghost Ning Jiang? You mean the one who single-handedly swept through numerous candidates for the Ten Greats with his sword a while back?"
"That’s right. The matter has been confirmed. It’s true."
The crowd broke into a flurry of discussion.
By now, his identity as the White-haired Ghost Ning Jiang was impossible to hide.
That head of white hair was too distinctive.
"To be honest, I’d love to see if his Sword Technique is really as fast as they say," one Sword Cultivator said, eager for a challenge.
He was a young man with a competitive spirit.
"Don’t embarrass yourself. Even Gao Jin lost to him. Is your Sword Technique better than Gao Jin’s? Among the younger generation today, I’d say only Liu Xianyu and Wang Ziming could possibly beat him. Besides them, it would take someone from the older generation."
"That’s Wang Ziming, the one who’s considered my equal."
While the Sword Cultivators were busy discussing Ning Jiang and Liu Xianyu, Liu Xianyu, standing beside Ning Jiang, pointed in a certain direction.
Following her slender, elegant fingers, Ning Jiang saw a young man with a ramrod-straight posture.
The young man was about twenty, handsome, with sharp, sword-like brows and eyes as bright as stars. He carried an air of solemn dignity.
Wang Ziming was one of the two members of the Ten Greats from the Wang Family.
"Between your Sword Technique and his, who’s stronger?" Ning Jiang asked offhandedly.
"Before, his Sword Technique was a little stronger than mine—a bit sharper."
As she spoke, Liu Xianyu’s eyes lit up, and a happy smile touched her lips. "But after your guidance, my Sword Technique has improved by leaps and bounds. I’m not any weaker than him now."
