The Peak Master Is Gone

The three of them walked along the path.

Not long after walking out of the mountain gate, they saw a few small wooden cabins standing in a distant clearing. Firewood, cleanly chopped by a sword, was neatly stacked in the corner.

There was also a young man in a green robe standing in the courtyard.

He was unsmiling, simply using a longsword to chop at wooden logs over and over again, splitting the firewood into perfectly square and uniformly sized pieces that piled up into a small mountain.

"We're here."

Chu Jinghong stopped in his tracks and opened his arms wide, signaling that they had entered the territory of the Profound Heaven Sword Lineage.

"We're here already?"

Ye Shu was a bit dazed.

He looked at the few ordinary wooden cabins in front of him, then at the youth chopping wood inside, and couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother Chu, is this our... base?"

"What, is there a problem?"

Chu Jinghong tilted his head and looked at him.

"No problem, it's just... usually people build their bases on mountain peaks. Why did you put yours at the foot of the mountain?"

Ye Shu asked, somewhat puzzled.

From the mountain gate to this place, it was a few miles at most. For cultivators, that was basically the equivalent of stepping right out the front door onto the main street.

"Oh, you mean this."

Chu Jinghong smiled, looking profound and enigmatic. "That's because we don't like being up high. As the ancient saying goes, 'A mountain needs not be high; it is famous if an immortal resides there. A body of water needs not be deep; it is spiritual if a dragon lives there.'"

"As they say, to cultivate the Dao, one must first cultivate the heart."

"Living too high up, you cannot see the suffering of the masses. Standing too high up, you cannot see the hardships of the people."

"I see, I've learned something today."

Ye Shu cupped his hands in respect.

Xiao Qingli also followed suit and cupped her hands, parroting with a slightly off pronunciation, "Lerned sumfin, lerned sumfin!"

"Hmph, hmph."

Seeing this, Chu Jinghong couldn't help but hum proudly. It wasn't in vain that he had stayed up late last night writing that script.

"Let's go, I'll take you to meet the others."

Chu Jinghong turned around and walked toward the small wooden cabins. Ye Shu held Xiao Qingli's hand and followed.

In the courtyard, the white-robed youth stopped what he was doing.

He raised his head and glanced at Ye Shu.

Those eyes were very clear, like a pool of fresh water, yet they carried a faint sense of sharpness, just like... an unsheathed sword.

Ye Shu met his gaze with a calm look.

The youth merely looked, then withdrew his gaze. Instead, Chu Jinghong stepped forward and patted his shoulder.

"Junior Brother Lu, stop chopping your stupid firewood! Aren't you going to greet our new junior brother?"

The youth stood still in place, just chopping wood.

"First, I am your senior brother."

"Second, he hasn't officially joined the sect yet, so he is not my junior brother."

"..."

Chu Jinghong choked on his words for a moment, then bumped his shoulder in annoyance. "You're younger than me, so I should rightfully be your senior brother."

"Master said I joined the sect earlier than you."

"So I am your senior brother."

The youth kept his head down, his voice flat and devoid of fluctuation.

"You jerk, would it kill you to give me some face in front of the newcomer?" Chu Jinghong muttered through gritted teeth.

The youth did not speak.

He raised his head, looked at Ye Shu, and said indifferently:

"You are very strong."

"Thank you." Just as Ye Shu was about to reply with some pleasantries, he saw the other party slowly draw a longsword from behind his back.

"A spar?"

Ye Shu froze for a moment.

"Now?"

"Now."

The youth nodded.

Just as Ye Shu subconsciously wanted to summon his Male Mandarin Duck Sword, Chu Jinghong abruptly interrupted the two of them.

"Spar my foot!!!"

He shouted at Junior Brother Lu, "He hasn't even officially joined yet, and you already want to fight him? Can you change this temper of yours?"

After saying that, he pulled Ye Shu aside.

"Junior Brother Ye, my Junior Brother Lu has a bit of a problem with his brain. He wants to slash everyone he meets a couple of times. I reckon even his future wife won't be an exception. He's not targeting you; he's just the kind of person who can't sleep at night whether his blanket is placed horizontally or vertically."

"He's going to be like this for the rest of his life."

"Anyway, just don't stoop to his level."

Ye Shu nodded.

"Understood."

Chu Jinghong breathed a sigh of relief. "As long as you understand. I was afraid you'd actually fight that blockhead. Don't be fooled by his lack of brains, people like him hit the absolute hardest in a fight."

After saying that, he dragged Junior Brother Lu over.

"Let me reintroduce him to you. This is the second disciple of our Profound Heaven Sword Lineage, Lu Shouzhuo, at the Golden Core stage."

"Greetings, Senior Brother Lu."

Ye Shu then seriously cupped his hands and bowed.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Lu!" Xiao Qingli, who was hiding behind him, also poked her head out and called out in a crisp voice.

"Thank you."

Lu Shouzhuo nodded.

Ye Shu: "..."

Is this what they call reading and replying with nonsense?

"Senior Brother Chu, I still have one thing I don't understand."

Ye Shu suddenly asked.

"What is it?" Chu Jinghong looked back at him.

"I saw people coming and going at our mountain gate in an endless stream, so I assumed there must be many disciples. Why is it so deserted here, with only the two of you?"

"This..."

Chu Jinghong was startled, a trace of cold sweat appearing on his forehead. Truth be told, this new junior brother was quite sharp.

"That's... that's because those people are all just useless trash who can't be molded. Our lineage only accepts true, peerless geniuses. Ordinary mortals simply don't catch our eye."

Chu Jinghong bluffed with a straight face.

"Anyway, introductions are pretty much done. Let's handle the lineage admission procedures first."

He pulled a piece of paper from his chest pocket and handed it over.

"Ah?"

Ye Shu was completely dumbfounded.

"Is it this hasty? Shouldn't we go meet the Peak Master first?"

"The P-Peak Master had some matters to attend to and went out. He hasn't returned yet."

Chu Jinghong stammered, "I already informed the Master yesterday. You just sign this paper first, and it won't be too late to pay your respects when he comes back."

Seeing him say this, Ye Shu had no other choice.

"Alright."

He nodded and quickly scribbled a few strokes on the paper.

"Good, good, good! So straightforward!"

Seeing that he had finished signing, Chu Jinghong's mouth nearly split open from smiling as he hurriedly tucked the paper into his chest pocket like a hidden treasure.

Ye Shu's mouth twitched.

Why did he feel like he had just joined a pyramid scheme?

Right at this moment, a young man suddenly drifted in from outside the courtyard. He wore a brownish-yellow Daoist robe that fluttered in the wind. With a face full of righteousness and an elegant posture, a longsword hung at his waist as he slowly landed in the courtyard.

Ye Shu turned his head.

Seeing that this person had an impressive appearance, an extraordinary bearing, and faintly carried an aura of being the master of this place, he immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Junior Ye Shu greets the Peak Master."

"Peak Master? What Peak Master?"

The young man froze for a moment, then smiled.

"I am not the Peak Master. I am the Eldest Senior Brother of the Profound Heaven Sword Lineage, Jian Wuhen."

"You must be the new junior brother, right?"

"Not the Peak Master?"

Ye Shu was taken aback, then nodded. "I am. Dare I ask, Eldest Senior Brother, where is the Peak Master of our Profound Heaven Sword Lineage?"

Hearing this, Jian Wuhen looked at him with a face full of confusion.

"Did no one tell you? We don't have a Peak Master. Our Master has already passed away."

P-passed away????

Ye Shu was stunned.

Amazing. At first, he thought at most that this was just a run-down mountain peak with a down-and-out master, but as it turned out, they didn't even have a master at all.

Chu Jinghong, meanwhile, covered his face with one hand, looking utterly desperate.