Chapter 15: Master’s Arrangements

Entering Lingxiao Pavilion, illuminated by Jiang Liuzhao’s Natal Spirit Fire, the chill from the rain outside vanished instantly.

As before, Jiang Liuzhao sat poised on the high platform deep within the main hall.

This time, however, a slender young figure stood beside the platform.

Lu Mingyi’s gaze swept lightly over her before returning, and she walked slowly to stand before Jiang Liuzhao, bowing once more. “Master, what is it you need?”

Jiang Liuzhao first addressed Qi Yinxue. “As I told you earlier, this is your Third Senior Sister, Lu Mingyi.”

“Mm… mm! I know, Senior Sister Lu is… really nice…” Qi Yinxue nodded, seeming nervous either from being in front of Jiang Liuzhao or talking about Lu Mingyi. A flush colored her cheeks as she darted a quick glance at Lu Mingyi, then looked away.

Lu Mingyi spoke up next. “I’ve heard about you too, Little Junior Sister—Qi Yinxue, right?”

“Mm-hmm!” Qi Yinxue nodded vigorously, appearing far more tense than the casual Lu Mingyi.

Jiang Liuzhao glanced first at her new disciple, then turned to Lu Mingyi. “Yinxue hails from Jiangling, much like you. Her Metal-Water Dual Spiritual Roots align well with yours. I won’t have time to guide her personally in the coming days, so you’ll teach her cultivation techniques and the Crimson Sky Sword Art.”

“Me?”

Before Lu Mingyi could process that Jiang Liuzhao intended to pass down the Crimson Sky Sword Art to Qi Yinxue, her initial surprise was that her master wanted her to teach the junior sister.

In her current state, wasn’t her master afraid she’d hold the girl back?

“Are you unwilling?” Jiang Liuzhao asked.

“Ah, no, no…”

From the corner of her eye, Lu Mingyi saw Qi Yinxue still blushing. She worried that refusing might leave a lasting shadow on this shy, timid junior sister.

“Then every three days, Tingyu will come fetch you from Jin Ji Pavilion.” Tingyu was the Snow Crane’s name, and with that, Jiang Liuzhao settled the matter.

Only then did Lu Mingyi belatedly realize that by deciding to teach Qi Yinxue the Crimson Sky Sword Art, her master was essentially declaring this little junior sister as the future heir to Sword Peak.

For a moment, she couldn’t quite pin down the mix of feelings in her heart. Just then, that voice echoed in her ear, mimicking Jiang Liuzhao’s tone:

[Yinxue has a pure and kind nature. You won’t need to worry about her being influenced by you.]

The junior sister did seem soft by nature, but what did “not worry about being influenced” mean?

Did her sudden cultivation drops rub off on people or something?

Amid her depression, Lu Mingyi couldn’t help thinking that so far, this voice hadn’t been wrong. A month ago, she’d heard it here saying her master was seeking a new disciple—and sure enough, one had arrived a month later.

Seated high above, Jiang Liuzhao quietly lowered her gaze, watching her. After a moment of silence in the hall, she turned to Qi Yinxue. “Yinxue, you may go for now. I need to speak with your Third Senior Sister alone.”

“Yes.”

Taiqing Sect rules allowed disciples at Golden Core Stage and above to purchase land and build their own residences. Those below were assigned housing based on outer, inner, or direct disciple status.

Direct disciples typically lived in side halls adjacent to their peak lords’ main halls. Lu Mingyi had done the same before, so just seeing the direction Qi Yinxue retreated toward told her the girl was now residing in Lingxiao Pavilion.

Once Qi Yinxue had left the main hall, Jiang Liuzhao summoned a soft cushion with spiritual power and said mildly, “Sit.”

The scene felt just like their past master-disciple meetings in Lingxiao Pavilion—yet something had changed.

No sooner had Lu Mingyi sat than Jiang Liuzhao transmitted via spiritual sense: “Sect matters have kept me busy lately, neglecting the Shen Family Head. I will personally visit Pill Peak soon.”

With Jiang Liuzhao’s Great Ascension Stage cultivation, she must have sensed Shu Yi’s presence from the start. This message was clearly for the woman outside the hall.

Only then did she lean slightly forward from the high platform, looking down at Lu Mingyi. “Now that you’ve met the Shen Family Head, you must know of that prophecy. What are your thoughts?”

Lu Mingyi had already covered this with Shen Pianchen, so her response flowed smoothly.

In short, it all surely tied back to the Demon Sect—especially since Shen Pianchen had revealed the Sect Leader’s original divination text, which never mentioned the “Child of Prophecy” linking to the Demon Sect.

Lu Mingyi even thought: If the prophecy was truly reliable and the Five-Colored Stone real, why couldn’t it mean the Child of Prophecy obtains the stone, destroys the Demon Sect, and brings peace to the world?

After hearing her out, Jiang Liuzhao merely closed her eyes briefly and stated categorically, “You don’t believe that divination.”

Lu Mingyi choked, thinking: Who could believe such an ominous prophecy?

But the prophecy came from the Sect Leader, her master’s senior sister. Lu Mingyi hesitated, wondering if admitting disbelief disrespected her.

In the end, facing Jiang Liuzhao, she answered honestly. “Cultivation defies the heavens. This disciple believes in making one’s own fate.”

As she spoke, Lu Mingyi met Jiang Liuzhao’s gaze squarely. Those deep, ink-black eyes, serene from on high, clearly reflected her own figure.

The next instant, Jiang Liuzhao’s long lashes fluttered, veiling the light in her eyes. Her voice remained as clear and unchanging as ever: “I remember the day you joined the sect. You told me your aspiration was to ‘exterminate the Demon Sect and make your name resound through the world.'”

“Yes.” Lu Mingyi nodded, surprised her master remembered those words.

She felt inexplicably tense now—probably from getting thoroughly rebuffed by Shen Mingzheng earlier, and worrying Jiang Liuzhao might think she coveted the “Child of Prophecy” fame.

But Jiang Liuzhao seemed merely to recall the memory, not pursuing it. She nodded slightly. “The sect will handle rumors about the divination. You needn’t worry for now.”

She paused, then added, “As for taking Yinxue as a disciple, the acceptance ceremony was rushed. When I announced it to the world, you were at Contemplation Cliff. That’s why I had Yinxue bring Tingyu to find you today—to explain in person.”

“Yes. Thank you, Master.”

Lu Mingyi hadn’t expected Jiang Liuzhao to explain the matter, feeling deeply honored.

But then she puzzled inwardly: When had she ever felt this restrained around her master before?

[Even the steadiest Dao Heart falters before their temptations, Little Deer. At your young age, can you truly remain unmoved?]

Before Lu Mingyi could savor hearing the old nickname, the second half plunged her into fresh doubt.

“Little Deer” was how Jiang Liuzhao had called her when she first joined—though as years passed, it had faded.

But more importantly, what temptations? What shaking of resolve?

Lu Mingyi’s brows furrowed slightly. Most of what she heard from Jiang Liuzhao was vague, contrasting sharply with others.

The more she thought, the stranger it seemed. What was this voice’s origin, and what did it want from her?

Still, Lu Mingyi resolved to verify its words’ reliability soon—otherwise, constant suspicion would drive her mad.

“Is there anything else you wish to ask?” Jiang Liuzhao spoke again from the high platform.

Steadying her mind and voice, regulating her breath, Lu Mingyi probed cautiously. “Master… has Senior Sister been busy with Xiao Family affairs again? Doesn’t her clan have peers who can help?”

“The Xiao Family’s generation has only Yuxie as outstanding. The rest are merely average,” Jiang Liuzhao replied matter-of-factly, as always.

Lu Mingyi pressed her lips, her heartbeat quickening at the answer to come. “I’ve seen Senior Sister distracted by family matters, frustrated she can’t help much. So I thought… perhaps she has a close friend who could assist?”

At Lu Mingyi’s words, Jiang Liuzhao’s lashes trembled faintly. Her fingers on the table curled slightly. After a silent moment, she said:

“Clans rarely welcome outside interference.” She paused, as if recalling something, and continued softly. “Yuxie’s maternal line from the southwestern Xie Family had one who entered the sect with her—exceptionally talented, taken as direct disciple by Sanhua True Person of Beast Peak. But that disciple had an innate flaw and has long passed.”

“Few would now presume to meddle in Yuxie’s family affairs.”

It’s this person!

The crucial clue hit Lu Mingyi like a thunderbolt, plunging her into an abyss.

If such a person truly existed, didn’t it prove the voice right?

Then everything she’d heard lately…

“Lu Mingyi.”

Lost in a daze, Lu Mingyi heard Jiang Liuzhao call her name.

Looking up, her master’s sharp gaze fixed on her from the platform. In those usually inscrutable, bottomless eyes gleamed faint concern:

“Is there something you wish to tell me?”

Lu Mingyi’s lips parted, thoughts racing wildly. Words bubbled to the tip of her tongue.

She wanted to confide her worries—to say she’d heard voices of familiar people, laced with malice.

She wanted to ask what Jiang Liuzhao thought might shake her, and whether her master truly saw her as fickle-hearted, easily swayed…

But then, Jiang Liuzhao’s Identity Token on the table flickered—a new message.

Jiang Liuzhao’s brows furrowed slightly, displeased by the interruption, but she accepted it first. Moments later, a transmission array in the hall’s corner lit up, and a sword of pure silvery white appeared within.

As it arrived, Lu Mingyi felt the Gu Li sword on her back tremble faintly—indicating a connection between the blades.

It was forged from rare Flowing Cloud Star Iron, no doubt.

And who it was for went without saying: Long Rainbow Sword Venerable’s new disciple, Qi Yinxue.

Lu Mingyi swallowed her words.

Master is busy now. My ethereal, uncertain troubles can wait.

“Reporting to Master, this disciple has nothing else.”

Lu Mingyi bowed and prepared to withdraw.

Jiang Liuzhao’s distant-mountain brows knit tighter. She exhaled softly and waved her hand, permitting Lu Mingyi to leave.

Though she tried to feign nonchalance, Lu Mingyi’s steps out of Lingxiao Pavilion felt leaden. Closing the hall doors, she could no longer suppress the pain in her Dantian. Her brows clenched, teeth gritted against the urge to vomit blood.

As if mirroring her mood, the weather—which had cleared just before she entered—now poured rain once more, heavier than before.

Lu Mingyi swallowed a healing pill, ignoring her body as her mind raced to the Book Collection Pavilion’s first floor. She needed the Taiqing Sect disciple registry—to find that Xie-surnamed direct disciple of Beast Peak.

She needed answers, fast.

As Lu Mingyi moved to dash into the rain, a graceful figure landed before her—the Snow Crane Tingyu.

Tingyu, a spirit beast of lofty cultivation, could control the weather around itself. Spreading its wings, it shielded Lu Mingyi from all wind and rain.

“Thank you…” Lu Mingyi smiled weakly, wrapping her arms gently around Tingyu’s slender neck. The soft feathers against her skin seemed to soothe the worries weighing on her heart.

Tingyu didn’t move, only spreading its wings wider to keep every trace of chill from Lu Mingyi.