Chapter 21: Chapter 20: Spiritual Snake Sword
In the Hundred Break Mountains.
The rolling, winding mountain ranges stretched on endlessly, each peak seeming to compete for dominance, one taller than the next. A peculiar summit, tens of thousands of feet high, soared into the sky like a sharp Treasure Sword piercing the blue heavens. It was exceptionally treacherous, with only a single, winding path snaking its way to the top.
The green mountains were sharp and verdant, their emerald peaks wreathed in clouds.
At the foot of the mountain sat a few simple thatched huts, looking extremely crude.
Wen Qingye looked at the thatched huts nestled against the mountain before him, feeling a little doubtful. "Is this our North Mountain?"
Lil Ya gave a dry laugh and pointed a finger at the mountain towering into the clouds ahead. "The true grounds of our North Mountain are up there. That’s where North Mountain was originally built."
"Then why did you bring me here?" Wen Qingye asked.
Lil Ya said casually, "It’s gone now. It’s been occupied by Demon Beasts."
Wen Qingye wanted to ask more, but Lil Ya cut him off. "You and I are the only two people in the entire North Mountain. The academy isn’t going to dispatch many experts to clean it up."
After speaking, Lil Ya noticed that Wen Qingye’s expression hadn’t changed at all. He felt a flicker of surprise, then said slowly, "These thatched huts... some of the rooms contain a lot of Martial Arts. Take a look for yourself. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me anytime. Cultivation in our North Mountain emphasizes freedom. If you’re hungry or thirsty, you can do as you please in the surrounding area. I’ll come check on you every few days and offer some guidance."
Lil Ya finished speaking and was about to leave, but he paused and added, "Oh, right. In a few months, there’s the Three Mountains... no, the Four Mountains Martial Arts Gathering. You can participate if you want, or don’t if you don’t. No one from our North Mountain ever goes anyway. You can go just to check it out if you’d like."
After saying that, Lil Ya gave a few more instructions and then eagerly ran off into the distance, as if he had finally been liberated.
Wen Qingye shook his head helplessly, then walked into the thatched huts and found the one that contained the Martial Arts.
Fourth-Grade Martial Arts, the Thunder Shocking Sword Skill. Fourth-Grade Martial Arts, the Great Wind Sword Technique. Third-Grade Martial Arts, the Seven-Star Sword Technique...
After searching for a long time, Wen Qingye finally found a relatively high-grade swordsmanship technique: the Fifth-Grade Martial Art, Spiritual Snake Sword.
If disciples from the other mountains saw Wen Qingye choose the Spiritual Snake Sword right now, they would be astonished. Although the Spiritual Snake Sword was a Fifth-Grade Martial Art, it was harder to learn than even some Sixth-Grade or Seventh-Grade Martial Arts. Generally, no one chose to cultivate this particular swordsmanship.
Wen Qingye casually flipped through the manual, memorized a few key points and techniques, then took his sword and walked out to a clearing beside the thatched hut.
Wen Qingye drew his sword, the Sword Scabbard falling to the ground.
"Golden Light Snake Shadow!"
As Wen Qingye’s sword moved, a golden light flashed. It danced ceaselessly like the shadow of a golden snake, fierce and strangely eerie.
"Snake Shadow Ten Thousand Gifts!"
Wen Qingye swung again, his sword a constant blur of motion. Myriad sword-shadows filled the sky and lunged forward, surging like a thousand snakes and striking fear into the hearts of all who might see it.
"Spiritual Snake Frenzy Dance!"
"Spiritual Snake Lightning Strike!"
...
Wen Qingye performed the entire Spiritual Snake Sword technique. Though his first run-through was a bit clumsy, its power was already impressive.
"Spiritual Snake Transforming Dragon!"
Wen Qingye’s sword technique changed. The light from the blade was swift, agile, and serpentine, resembling a giant golden python lunging forward. But on closer inspection, the python seemed to transform abruptly, becoming a shapeshifting dragon covered in scales, its four claws swiping ahead.
This was the strongest move of the Spiritual Snake Sword. Yet after executing it, he felt that something was still lacking.
Wen Qingye thought to himself, ’It seems there’s a real trick to this swordsmanship. I’ll have to practice it in a real fight to get it right.’
Night fell silently. Wen Qingye sat cross-legged on the grassy clearing and began circulating the Longevity Technique. The surrounding Primordial Qi surged frantically into his body. Fortunately, no one was there to witness it. Otherwise, they would have been astonished at the speed he absorbed Primordial Qi—it was even faster than an ordinary person using a Primordial Stone.
Wen Qingye settled into life in the small thatched hut below North Mountain. When hungry, he ate fruit from nearby plants; when thirsty, he drank from the stream. Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.
For him, all that mattered now was getting stronger. He had to change his own fate, and the fate of Zhang Xiaoyun.
Perhaps without anyone noticing, Wen Qingye was always being compared to Wen Tongyu, just as Zhang Xiaoyun was compared to Zhang Hui. The two of them were like a pair of small fish in a swamp—swimming, struggling, just trying to survive.
But he, Wen Qingye, had always been one to hold his fate in his own hands.
During this period, Lil Ya actually did visit. He gave Wen Qingye some Primordial Stones and asked about his progress. When Lil Ya learned that Wen Qingye’s cultivation was at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer Heaven, he simply sighed, said nothing more, tossed him a few Second-Grade Pills, and left.
On this day, Wen Qingye’s cultivation successfully broke through to the Eighth Level of Qi Cultivation. His mastery of the Spiritual Snake Sword had reached the point of perfection, the pinnacle of the art.
If anyone else knew that Wen Qingye had not only learned the Spiritual Snake Sword in just three days, but had also mastered it to such a degree, who knows how they would react.
Between the Four Mountains of Qig Mountain Academy lay a wide, open area. This was a public space where one could find not only students from the Inner Courtyard but also some of the academy’s most iconic buildings.
The premier structure of Qig Mountain Academy: the Heaven-Reaching Martial Pavilion.
The Heaven-Reaching Martial Pavilion had existed since the founding of Qig Mountain Academy. The Pavilion has eighteen floors in total, each one perilous and exceptionally dangerous. It was a place where students of the academy frequently came to test themselves, including disciples from both the Outer Courtyard and the Inner Courtyard.
Another building, unique to Qig Mountain Academy, was the Celestial Essence Hall.
The Celestial Essence Hall contained a vast amount of Primordial Qi. One day of cultivation inside was equivalent to ten days outside, so countless people wished to enter the Celestial Essence Hall to cultivate.
Students of Qig Mountain Academy were given one opportunity every three months to cultivate in the Celestial Essence Hall. This rule was established to prevent the hall’s Primordial Qi from being depleted too quickly.
Wen Qingye left his thatched hut and walked toward the Heaven-Reaching Martial Pavilion. He wanted to see for himself what this place was all about. Wen Qingye knew that blind training, without external pressure, made it very difficult to raise one’s cultivation.
Not far ahead was a wide terrace where a tall stone pagoda stood. Its capped roof was quaint and elegant, giving it a grand and magnificent appearance.
Many people were gathered near the terrace. Most were new students who had just enrolled in the academy this year; only a few students from the Inner Courtyard were seen hurrying past.
"Lu Hongfei from East Mountain is so incredible. He reached the 4th Layer in one go yesterday! I heard he stopped for some other reason, or he might’ve gone even higher."
"Of course he is! I heard Lu Hongfei is East Mountain’s most outstanding new student this year."
"Tch, what’s so great about Lu Hongfei? Look at those guys from South Mountain—they reached the 4th Layer on their very first day! And that Xia Moyu shot straight to the 5th Layer. Even Sister Xiangyang praised him personally, calling him the genius of geniuses among the freshmen."
As the crowd chattered, Wen Qingye realized he was a bit late. These new students had already made their attempts at the Heaven-Reaching Martial Pavilion.
Suddenly, Wen Qingye spotted Gao Yuerou not far away, laughing and chatting with several companions. The group included both men and women, and judging by their clothes, they were likely all disciples of South Mountain.
Gao Yuerou had clearly seen Wen Qingye as well and hurried over. "Wen Qingye, where have you been? Why couldn’t I find you these last few days?"
At that moment, Gao Yuerou’s other companions also came over, looking at Wen Qingye with curiosity.
Wen Qingye smiled and said, "I went to North Mountain."
"North Mountain?"
Everyone who heard Wen Qingye couldn’t help but cry out in surprise.
One of the young men smacked his lips. "Kid, you actually went to North Mountain? You know that nobody goes there, right? Forget about facilities, they don’t even have instructors—just a single Mountain Master."
Gao Yuerou frowned slightly. "Why did you go to North Mountain? Why don’t you come to our South Mountain instead? We have lots of instructors, and you can learn a lot more from sparring with everyone."
Wen Qingye was about to refuse when the same young man immediately cut in, "How could that work? South Mountain doesn’t normally accept male disciples. Yuerou, you know that."
"Yeah, Zhou Yang is right. He could try checking out East Mountain or West Mountain instead," another chimed in.
Gao Yuerou hadn’t expected her companions to reject him so bluntly, and her face flushed red with embarrassment.
