Surely Senior Brother isn't unaware of Master's true strength

Fang Hanyu looked at Xiao Ruobai, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

He thought to himself: Master's cultivation is so unfathomably profound, yet Eldest Senior Brother only lost to him by a single move. Could it be that Senior Brother is also a peerless expert...

At this thought, his heartbeat suddenly accelerated. He took two steps forward, his tone filled with disbelief.

"Senior Brother, you actually only lost to Master by one move? How incredible must you be to last that long against Master!"

"What kind of move was it?"

In his eyes, to be only one move short against a Master who could obliterate a Holy Land with a wave of his hand meant his Eldest Senior Brother was simply too amazing.

After all, the Saint Elders of the Dayan Holy Land couldn't even withstand a single finger from Master.

Xiao Ruobai hadn't expected his junior brother to have such a huge reaction, and it made him a bit embarrassed.

His face reddened as he stammered, "Master only used one move at the time. It was too fast, I didn't see it clearly."

He remembered it clearly. He had just broken through to the Core Formation realm and eagerly wanted to spar with Master.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even touch the hem of Master's clothes.

Finally, Master made a single move, and he ended up with a bruised and swollen face.

The admiration on Fang Hanyu's face froze for a moment. He blinked. "...Just one hit?"

He had imagined countless rounds of an earth-shattering battle, with sword qi crisscrossing and battle aura surging to the heavens, ending with his senior brother narrowly losing by a single move. He never expected it to be just "one hit".

"What else?"

Seeing him stunned, Xiao Ruobai grew anxious, his face turning even redder.

"Master said sparring should stop at an appropriate point. Did you expect us to fight for three days and three nights? Just tell me, did I lose by one move or not? There wasn't a single move more!"

He had secretly felt frustrated for days back then, thinking he was too useless.

Now, being stared at by his junior brother with a "you're actually this amazing" look, his toes were curling so hard they could almost dig out a bamboo hut in the ground.

Seeing his senior brother's reaction, Fang Hanyu thought: Senior Brother couldn't possibly still be unaware of Master's true strength, could he? No way, right?

Should I tell him? Forget it, what if he finds it even harder to accept.

With this in mind, he hastily scratched his cheek and changed the subject.

"Senior Brother, I just arrived here and still don't know where we are. Could you explain a bit?"

Xiao Ruobai was taken aback, then remembered his own ignorance when he first arrived at Zizhu Peak. The slight embarrassment in his heart instantly dissipated, and he cleared his throat.

"This is the Xuanzhou region. The sect we are currently in is the Qingxuan Sect, and this peak is called Zizhu Peak."

He pointed toward the distant, mist-shrouded main peak.

"The Sect Master and the other Peak Masters are over there. However, our Zizhu Peak is quite special. Aside from Master and us, very few people usually come here."

As he spoke, a trace of complex emotion flashed in his eyes—back when Master took him in as a disciple, the entire sect had questioned the decision.

Master had withstood the pressure from all the elders, his words "I choose my disciples based solely on whether they are pleasing to my eye" echoing resoundingly. His lips couldn't help but curve into a slight smile.

Now that they had a junior brother to accompany Master together, Zizhu Peak could be considered a bit livelier.

Hopefully, Master's "illness" would improve a bit.

Fang Hanyu nodded, memorizing the names Xuanzhou, Qingxuan Sect, and Zizhu Peak in his heart. He then asked, "So on our Zizhu Peak... is it just the three of us, master and disciples?"

"There's also a bird."

Xiao Ruobai pointed. A little black bird was currently perched on Gu Changge's shoulder, preening its feathers.

"Master says its name is Little Black, it's a pet Master keeps."

Fang Hanyu followed his gaze, assuming it was just an ordinary spirit bird, and asked no more.

Meanwhile, Gu Changge, reclining on the bamboo cot, was absentmindedly listening to their conversation when a system notification suddenly rang in his mind:

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the [Zizhu Peak's New Seedling] task by recruiting the Chaos Sword Body possessor, Fang Hanyu. Task rating: Perfect."

"Ding! Reward issued: Invincible Domain expanded to one million miles!"

"Ding! Extra reward obtained: A complete Space Great Dao!"

Gu Changge's fingertips paused, the sweet juice of the White Spirit Fruit almost dripping onto his robes.

He looked up toward the horizon as his spiritual sense spread out like a tidal wave. The mountains, rivers, towns, and villages of Xuanzhou were instantly reflected clearly in his mind, and even several neighboring provinces fell within his perception range.

"A million miles, huh..."

To think there was also a Space Great Dao. What a profit.

Gu Changge gazed at the deepening twilight. He initially wanted to instruct Xiao Ruobai to take Fang Hanyu to the front mountain tomorrow to process his identity token, but he suppressed the thought as soon as it arose.

Remembering the last time Xiao Ruobai went down the mountain, he had inexplicably wandered all the way to the back mountain of Dan Ding Peak. In the end, it was the little black bird that had to fly out and guide him back. The memory made his temples throb.

"Never mind."

Gu Changge tapped his fingers on the armrest of the bamboo cot, took out a communication jade slip from his storage ring, and injected spiritual energy into it.

"Xuanfeng, Zizhu Peak has accepted a new disciple. Come to Zizhu Peak tomorrow to pick him up and take him to get his identity token processed."

As the jade slip transformed into a streak of light and sped toward Qingyun Peak, Gu Changge couldn't help but mutter, "Having that kid make the trip is far more reliable than counting on Xiao Ruobai to know the way."

At this moment in the Qingyun Hall, Xuanyangzi was guiding Li Xuanfeng in his cultivation.

Just as Li Xuanfeng was about to reply, the communication jade slip at his waist suddenly grew hot. He took it out, read the contents, and his eyes instantly lit up.

"Master! It's a message from Martial Uncle Gu! He says he has accepted another junior brother and wants me to go to Zizhu Peak tomorrow to take him to process his identity token!"

"He took in another disciple?"

Xuanyangzi abruptly straightened up, carrying a hint of surprise.

"In the past, he refused to take disciples no matter how much we asked, and now he's actually taken another one!"

He rubbed his hands together, a flash of joy in his eyes.

"No, I have to tag along tomorrow and have a look, see if they need anything else added."

Li Xuanfeng nodded and replied, "Then this disciple will wait for you at Zizhu Peak early tomorrow morning."

At the crack of dawn, before the mists of Zizhu Peak had fully dissipated, two brisk sets of footsteps could be heard.

Xiao Ruobai had already gone to the back mountain to continue tempering his battle intent.

As soon as Xuanyangzi arrived, he saw Gu Changge sitting by the stone table. Standing beside him was a youth dressed in a plain white Daoist robe. The youth had a lean figure, yet a sharp and fierce sword intent was hidden between his brows.

"Is this the newly accepted disciple?"

Xuanyangzi's eyes lit up. His gaze circled around Fang Hanyu, and the more he looked, the more extraordinary he found the boy.

Although this youth did not reveal his cultivation base, the sword qi lingering around his body made even him feel a slight tingling in his heart.

Li Xuanfeng also cupped his hands in greeting. "Martial Uncle Gu, this disciple has come as you instructed."

Gu Changge nodded and pointed at Fang Hanyu. "This is Fang Hanyu. You should get to know each other."

Fang Hanyu bowed as instructed, his voice clear and cold. "Greetings, Sect Master. Greetings, Senior Brother Li."

Xuanyangzi hastily waved his hands. "Ah, just call me Martial Uncle, Martial Uncle is fine!"

He rubbed his hands together and pulled a Spirit Measuring Jade from his sleeve. "Hanyu, come, let your Martial Uncle see your aptitude—"

"There is no need." Gu Changge raised a hand to press down on the Spirit Measuring Jade, his tone flat.

"When I take in a disciple, I never care about aptitude, only if they are pleasing to my eye."

I'm afraid the results would scare you to death, Gu Changge thought to himself.

Xuanyangzi's hand paused, and then he chuckled.

"I was being presumptuous. Junior Brother Changge's judgment naturally cannot be wrong!"

He stuffed the Spirit Measuring Jade back into his sleeve and took out a gleaming longsword from his storage ring. The scabbard was carved with flowing cloud patterns, and a faint sword qi circulated around it.

"This is a Heaven-grade longsword, Flowing Frost. I obtained it from a secret realm in my early years. The blade can channel the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, making it perfect for sword cultivators."

Xuanyangzi handed the sword over as a meeting gift.

"Take it and play around with it, Hanyu. Come visit Qingyun Peak more often in the future. That girl Jinghong also practices the sword. You young people should interact more; it is a good opportunity to spar and compare sword techniques."

Fang Hanyu looked at Gu Changge. Seeing his master nod, he accepted the longsword with both hands. The moment his fingertips touched the hilt, the blade hummed softly, as if resonating with the sword qi inside his body.

"Thank you for your generous gift, Martial Uncle."

Gu Changge watched this scene and casually tossed a grape to Xuanyangzi. "Let Xuanfeng take him to handle the token. If you have nothing else to do, stay and have a cup of tea."

Xuanyangzi caught the grape, smiling so widely his eyes narrowed into slits. "I will drink! I absolutely must!"

Li Xuanfeng held back a smile and said to Fang Hanyu, "Junior Brother, let us go. I will take you to the front mountain to register."

Just as the two turned around, they heard Xuanyangzi's exclamation from inside the bamboo hut: "Whoa! The spiritual energy in this tea is even richer than last time!"

Fang Hanyu paused his steps, turned his head to look at the mist-shrouded Purple Bamboo Peak, and touched the Flowing Frost sword at his waist.

This place is truly wonderful!