Chapter 42: Not a Good Thing
Jiang Yue sat in his room and catalogued his belongings.
He planned to retreat to challenge the origin forging realm, but before that, he had to make sure that he had everything that was needed.
"I received a cultivation technique from the pagoda, and master gave me an origin forging pill. I also have healing pills..."
"I should prepare protection talismans just in case."
As a true disciple of the peak master, Jiang Yue could use a heavily protected element cave to break through to the origin forging realm.
However, he wasn’t assured.
He felt that he still needed to exchange for a guardian talisman to protect him when breaking through.
"It’s better to be safe than sorry."
Jiang Yue had just decided this when he felt a tap on the courtyard’s protection array.
He returned his things to the storage bag and walked to the entrance.
"Senior sister, is there something?" He asked.
The girl who had visited was called Cao Ya.
She was his master’s eldest disciple and the first beauty of the third peak.
Jiang Yue had heard that she was one of the seven flowers of the Sea Cloud Sect, but he didn’t know much about that.
"Master asked me to bring this to you."
She handed over a small token that looked like a copper coin.
"What is it?"
"You can use it to exchange for one thing on the first floor of the inner sect martial hall."
Jiang Yue was excited when he heard that.
Although he didn’t need another cultivation technique, there were a lot of good things in the inner sect martial hall.
Having a free token would save him a lot of contribution points.
"Thank the master for me."
"Mmmh."
Jiang Yue was about to return to his small courtyard when he saw that Cao Ya was not leaving.
"Is there something else?"
"Someone is looking for you." She said.
"Who? Where is he?"
The person who had planned to re-enter his courtyard quickly stepped past the protection array.
It was five days since he parted with Yu Nianzhen, and he couldn’t wait to see him.
Cao Ya saw his reaction and frowned.
"Junior brother, that person should be the disciple of supreme elder Yang..."
"Is that so?" Jiang Yue was more excited when he heard that.
"Junior brother..."
"Is there something?"
"You should have less contact with that person in the future."
Jiang Yue clenched his hands when he heard that.
After five days on the third peak, he had heard a lot.
One of the things he knew was that Nianzhen’s master was an outcast.
He used to be a powerful master, and when he got injured, others saw the chance to step on him.
However, they did not expect the man to have thick skin.
He occupied the best mountain in the sect and still insisted on receiving the benefits due to a supreme elder.
Others saw him as a rice bucket who occupied sect resources without producing any benefits for the sect.
However, Jiang Yue didn’t care about any of this.
What he cared about was that the man was Nianzhen’s master.
If Nianzhen liked such a master, then he would have nothing bad to say about him.
Although his master had also asked him to have less contact with Yu Nianzhen, Jiang Yue didn’t plan to follow such an instruction.
After all, this life was only worth it if he had Yu Nianzhen as a companion.
"Where is he?"
"He is waiting in the outer region."
Jiang Yue didn’t hesitate.
He rushed down the mountain, and half a shichen later, he arrived in the outer region.
Yu Nianzhen was standing just beyond the mountain array.
Although he couldn’t see within, he was facing the mountain, and Jiang Yue laughed when he saw him.
"What is he wearing?"
He ran out of the array and came face to face with Yu Nianzhen.
"Your master’s taste is a little special." Jiang Yue teased, and Yu Nianzhen felt bitter.
He had threatened, begged, and bribed, but nothing worked.
His cheap master was set on letting him wear the red robe.
At this point, he could only thicken his skin and swallow the shame.
"How have you been these days?" He asked.
"I am fine. What about you?"
"Also fine."
Yu Nianzhen wanted to visit Jiang Yue as soon as the master ceremony ended, but his master would not let him.
At first, he was forced to listen to a lecture about the birds and bees.
After that, his master examined his cultivation and gave him some advice.
When that was done, he refined the storage ring and was surprised to see that the ring was only one of the gifts.
Inside the ring, Yu Nianzhen found an origin forging pill, a gold card with fifty million gold coins, one hundred low-grade spirit stones, and a sword cultivation technique manual.
"Your master is so generous."
Jiang Yue was envious when he heard what Yu Nianzhen received from his master.
Other than the origin forging pill, Jiang Yue only received an illusion mirror from his master.
"My master only has me as a disciple, but your master has many disciples." Yu Nianzhen soothed and rubbed Jiang Yue’s hair.
"I will give half of everything to you."
"Of course, you will." Jiang Yue said proudly.
Yu Nianzhen chuckled and pulled Jiang Yue to stand on a wind glider.
Disciples would normally use flying treasures to travel around the inner sect, but the two were still in the meridian awakening realm.
They could only use a wind glider that didn’t need to be controlled using qi.
"Where are we going?"
"Martial hall and the resource hall."
"Do you also have a token?"
"Master said that all true disciples will receive one when they recognise a master."
The wind glider was a lot slower than Yang Xu’s Firebird, but the two made it to the martial hall in less than a shichen.
"I didn’t ask, how does your master have a sword cultivation technique manual?"
"He found it in the land of the fallen."
Yu Nianzhen was also surprised when he received the manual.
It turned out that the initial impulse to receive Yu Nianzhen as a disciple was because he had a sword origin.
When he was young, Yang Xu found a powerful sword cultivation technique in the land of the fallen.
Normally, he would send such finds to the sect’s martial hall in exchange for contribution points or other resources.
However, the manual this time was a little special, and he decided to keep it.
It was fortunate he did so. Otherwise, Yu Nianzhen would need to accumulate contribution points for many decades before he had enough to exchange for the complete manual.
"What about you? How is the technique you received from the pagoda?"
"It’s good, I will show it to you later."
Jiang Yue was quite proud of his reward.
The manual was called the ten thousand illusions manual.
Although he didn’t know its grade, he knew that it was powerful since it had come from the tenth floor.
"Good."
The two entered the martial hall, and Jiang Yue gasped in surprise.
"It’s smaller than the outer sect martial hall."
The outer sect martial hall was three to four times larger than the inner sect martial hall.
"The outer sect martial hall only has general books, basic breathing techniques, and some cultivation techniques. Those things in the outer hall are not valuable."
Jiang Yue also understood this.
In the martial hall, materials were divided into five sections: qi cultivation techniques, body refining techniques, soul refining techniques, movement techniques, and martial arts.
All the scrolls were low-grade silver rank, and the two headed to the martial arts section.
"Did your master give you any advice?" Yu Nianzhen asked.
"No."
Although Jiang Yue had recognised Chen Qing as his master, the master had a lot of disciples.
He had received a few pointers, but proper guidance would start after he broke through to the origin forging realm.
Unlike Jiang Yue, Yu Nianzhen had received a lot of guidance.
"I will accompany you to the sword section first."
"Good."
The sword section occupied an entire wall, and individual scrolls were placed thirty centimetres apart.
Each scroll contained general information about a sword art and not the actual art.
If one liked an art, they would record the name of the art using their identity jade and then head to the elder in charge to exchange the actual manual.
"Do you have any ideas?"
Yu Nianzhen sighed in desperation.
His master had asked him to choose ten low-grade silver rank sword arts, and he had agreed.
At that time, he thought that the cost of ten arts wouldn’t be too expensive.
However, he had seriously underestimated his master’s black belly.
From what he could see, the cheapest sword art could be exchanged with a thousand contribution points.
If he exchanged ten arts, all his contribution points would be gone.
Jiang Yue looked at Yu Nianzhen and felt pity for him.
He had envied him for having a generous master, but it looked like he thought too much.
Nianzhen’s master was not a good thing!
