This sounded simple, but upon closer thought, it was quite shocking.
No matter how basic the Azure Sword Art was, it was still the foundation upon which the Azure Sword Sect was built.
For a cultivation method like this, even formal disciples needed three to five years of hands-on instruction from their master just to grasp the basics.
Yet Jiang Qingshan learned it merely by watching others practice their swordsmanship?
What kind of terrifying talent was this?
Seeing Gu Chengyin's astonishment, Jiang Jianli smiled bitterly. "It's absurd, isn't it?"
"But that is the truth. When the previous sect master discovered this, he felt my father had a solid foundation and made a special exception, allowing him to cultivate the Azure Sword Art."
"As a result, he cultivated all the way to the Golden Core realm."
The hall fell silent for a moment.
Even Lin Qingyan revealed a hint of surprise.
From a lowly servant to a sect master, from a mortal to a Golden Core cultivator.
No matter how you looked at it, this was the exact template of a protagonist.
But then, Jiang Jianli's tone turned somewhat sour and sorrowful.
"Although my father is in the Golden Core realm, he never really received an education."
Jiang Jianli's voice lowered, carrying a trace of helplessness.
"He worked as a servant since childhood. He never attended school, never read the classics or history, and couldn't even recognize all the written characters."
"After he became the sect master, all the sect's affairs were handled by the elders. My father was mainly used to..."
"...keep up appearances."
Gu Chengyin nodded slightly.
This development was not surprising.
Although Jiang Qingshan was a Golden Core cultivator, he used to be just a servant after all.
He had little education, limited worldly experience, and a soft personality.
It was purely because his cultivation talent was too good—absurdly good.
And since he was the sect's only Golden Core cultivator, the position of the Azure Sword Sect's master had to be his.
Even if he later started to study, read, and improve himself, he had long been reduced to a figurehead by the other elders.
Just like Luo Zhao, who held the status and authority of the Crown Princess in name only.
But was tightly restricted by the veterans using set after set of rules.
Jiang Jianli continued, "Later, when I revealed my cultivation talent, those people began to deliberately suppress me."
Her tone was very flat, so flat it sounded as if she were talking about someone else's affairs.
Yet beneath that flatness, something was clearly hidden.
"I was young and arrogant back then, fighting with the other disciples every day."
"Which led to being punished every day."
"And so, my cultivation resources became fewer and fewer."
Hearing this, Gu Chengyin finally understood.
No wonder Jiang Jianli, as the only daughter of the sect master, had no resources to use.
It wasn't that they wouldn't give them to her; it was that they didn't dare to.
How could those elders, who had made Jiang Qingshan a mere figurehead, allow his daughter to grow powerful?
What if she succeeded in her cultivation? What if she became a second Jiang Qingshan?
Wouldn't the situation they had painstakingly maintained all these years be completely ruined?
That was why they had to suppress Jiang Jianli, restrict her, and keep her stuck in the Foundation Establishment realm forever, so she could never threaten them.
Even if Jiang Qingshan wanted to protect Jiang Jianli, he was helpless against the sect rules.
Because he was a puppet sect master, the slightest display of favoritism...
...would cause even greater disputes and put Jiang Jianli in even more danger.
Gu Chengyin looked at Jiang Jianli, but her face showed no dissatisfaction; instead, a trace of tenderness flashed across it.
"Although my father is somewhat weak-willed, he has always been very good to me."
"I was ignorant back then, and in a fit of anger, I left the Azure Sword Sect."
"But also because of that..."
Jiang Jianli paused, the tenderness in her eyes deepening.
"...I was able to meet Yuanyuan."
Yuanyuan.
Shangguan Yuan.
Gu Chengyin looked at Jiang Jianli and suddenly understood.
He understood why she was so gentle when mentioning Jiang Qingshan.
He understood why she could be so calm when talking about her past of being suppressed.
Because she no longer cared.
The grievances she suffered those years, the resources that were withheld from her, the experiences of being suppressed.
After meeting Shangguan Yuan, none of it mattered anymore.
Shangguan Yuan gave her respect, gave her care, and gave her a warmth she had never experienced before.
So now, when Jiang Jianli mentioned the Azure Sword Sect and those elders,
when she mentioned her experiences from those years, she could be as calm as still water.
Because this was not her home.
Her home was in the Divine Capital.
In the Shangguan Manor.
In the place where Shangguan Yuan was.
Gu Chengyin fell silent for a moment before asking softly, "So, you have no attachments to the Azure Sword Sect?"
Jiang Jianli's gaze became somewhat complex.
"It's not that I have absolutely no attachments. After all, this is where I grew up."
"Although I suffered a lot of grievances those years, I am familiar with every blade of grass and every tree here."
"Moreover, my father is still here."
Gu Chengyin understood.
It wasn't that Jiang Jianli had no feelings for the Azure Sword Sect.
It was just that these feelings were more about her concern for her father and nostalgia for her old home, rather than a desire for the position of sect master.
Gu Chengyin thought for a moment and asked again, "Then do you want to be the sect master?"
Jiang Jianli froze.
She looked at Gu Chengyin, as if trying to read something from his face.
But Gu Chengyin just looked at her quietly, his gaze open and candid.
Jiang Jianli remained silent for a long time before finally shaking her head.
"No."
"I don't want to be any sect master. I just want to stay by Yuanyuan's side, watch over Yun'er, and protect our home."
"I don't want to meddle in the affairs of the Azure Sword Sect."
Gu Chengyin nodded and didn't speak.
Jiang Jianli, however, suddenly laughed:
"You brat, why are you asking this?"
"Could it be that you want me to be a puppet sect master to help you control the Azure Sword Sect?"
Gu Chengyin blinked, looking completely innocent. "Madam, you are mistaken. Am I that kind of person?"
Jiang Jianli sneered. "You aren't that kind of person? Then who was it just now that pinned the entire Azure Sword Sect to the ground?"
Gu Chengyin coughed lightly, looking a bit sheepish.
Looking at his expression, Jiang Jianli suddenly found it somewhat amusing.
When this guy was scheming against people, he was as shrewd as a fox.
But when exposed, he would put on this innocent look.
Truly...
Jiang Jianli shook her head, put away her smile, and said seriously, "What exactly do you want? Just say it straight, don't beat around the bush with me."
Gu Chengyin looked at her, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke:
"Madam, you are Yunying's mother. I respect you, and I trust you."
"So I will speak frankly. Please do not take offense."
"I want the Azure Sword Sect."
"I want every single person in the Azure Sword Sect to be my, Gu Chengyin's, person."
Listening to this, Jiang Jianli did not speak, nor did her face show the slightest hint of surprise.
Gu Chengyin continued, "After this inspection tour is over and we return to the Divine Capital, I have many things to do."
"Therefore, I need manpower, I need power, and I need a trustworthy backing."
"The Azure Sword Sect is very suitable."
Jiang Jianli remained silent for a long time, finally sighing as she said:
"You brat, your ambition is truly vast."
Gu Chengyin smiled faintly. "Madam overpraises me."
Jiang Jianli rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't help asking:
"Then what do you plan to do? Force my father to abdicate directly? Or suppress those elders?"
Gu Chengyin replied, "Yes, and no."
"But before that, I would first like to ask Madam to convey my intentions to your esteemed father."
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
