Chapter 25

The Luo Sheng Sword School inherited techniques from many different sources. Naturally, this resulted in the many variations that had come into being. Anyone who had reached the realm of spiritual transformation could open up their exclusive branch with a specific focus. Back in the day, Hongluan Peak was established by Ren Mingyue.

Hongluan Peak was located to the east of Luanyun Mountain Range and was considered a hidden branch of the Luosheng Sword School. The so-called remote branch focused entirely on passing down the inheritance, and it was a branch that did not concern itself with sect-related matters. Sage Lu came from the main branch, so after he achieved the Golden Core, he had to assume the responsibilities and obligations of the sect. This also explained why he had made his Way to White Cloud City.

Of course, the aspirant cultivator in the north of Pulao Kingdom was also a top priority. The sword of light flickered in the air, and Sage Lu quickly came to his destination, Hongluan Peak. Hongluan Peak itself was pretty unremarkable. Compared to the nearby mountains, this peak was nothing unique or spectacular. But Sage Lu did not dare climb up Hongluan Peak with the sword of light. He raised his voice, and it was loud enough to be heard throughout Hongluan Peak,

“Disciple Lu Wenbing has arrived by the script order of the Headmaster.”

“Whoever respectfully invites Su Qinghuang, the master of Hongluan Peak, to Cloud Palace, please receive the script!”

He held the script high above his lowered head as he finished speaking. He did not detect any movement from Hongluan Peak even after waiting for quite a while. However, his presence had attracted the attention of the others. The corner of Lu Wenbing’s mouth twitched slightly, but he was not overly surprised. So he continued.

“I came to respectfully invite Su Qinghuang, the master of Hongluan Peak, to make a presence at Cloud Palace. Some aspirant cultivators had begun the test of the twenty-eight and managed to elicit an emotional response from Master Mingyue. The Headmaster has designated this person as a disciple of Hongluan Peak.”

Buzz! A mighty pressure came forth, emanating from Hongluan Peak. On Hongluan Peak, the clouds disbursed instantly, and the sky cleared up suddenly. There were no more clouds or mist. Under the force of this coercion, the rest of the other peaks retracted their gaze of curiosity.

A figure in blue appeared in front of Sage Lu. She wore a veil with a phoenix pattern and was clad in a luxurious blue robe with embroidered phoenixes. Her neck was long and slender with a slim waist. Her legs were long and shapely, peeking under the slits of her robe, showing off her graceful figure. She walked into the void and stopped about twenty paces from Sage Lu.

“Greetings to Master Su!” Sage Lu’s posture remained unchanged. “Please receive the script.”

“The Headmaster is getting more senile as he ages. Does he think that the script makes a proper invitation? My word!”

Her chilling voice was like a sweeping autumn wind that raked the leaves, or perhaps, more like a winter blizzard. This cast a chill in Sage Lu’s heart. The thing was taken away as the script disappeared from his hands.

“Master Su, an aspirant cultivator, elicited a response from Master Mingyue, and he has passed the test of love,” Sage Lu said carefully. “According to the Headmaster’s rules, this aspirant cultivator ought to enter Hongluan Peak.”

“Man or woman?” Su Qinghuang asked flatly.

“It’s a male cultivator, whose body was well endowed by nature, with an immortal frame!” Having lost his original inhibition, Sage Lu replied with a sigh of relief.

“The older brother is indeed senile; how can Hongluan Peak accept a male disciple, let alone such a talented one?” Su Qinghuang glanced at him with coldness in her eyes. “I took the script, but it’s unseemly for you to bark about this on Hongluan Peak. I’ll take a shot at you, and you’ll learn some manners!”

“Master Su?” Sage Lu’s expression changed drastically into one of caution.

However, Su Qinghuang wanted to take care of the matter herself. A slight flutter of her palm struck Sage Lu on the face. Sage Lu immediately activated the sword of light, but unfortunately, it was too late. As soon as that large and mellow force came upon Sage Lu, the profusion of the sword of light immediately dissipated. Sage Lu couldn’t help but let out a scream. Like a meteor falling from the sky, he came down hard and landed at the foot of the mountain.

The air was filled with Su Qinghuang’s giggles. Soon, she disappeared from view. In the bottomless pit at the foot of the mountain, Sage Lu was sure that Master Su had left and secretly let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, this time it was just a slap, which was lighter than the others had suffered. It seemed that Master Su was getting more and more temperamental. He would do well to stay far away from Hongluan Peak in the future.

But if Chen Jingzhai were really to join Hongluan Peak, it would be interesting to see what would happen next. Sage Lu shook his head a bit and turned into a sword of light. He disappeared from where he was instantly and flew towards Cloud Palace. In addition to Chen Jingzhai, four other aspirant cultivators were being tested. If Chen Jingzhai did not emerge as the winner, these other four still had the opportunity.

In particular, two aspirant cultivators had immortal frames that were rare even by the standard of the Luo Sheng Sword School. He didn’t want to miss it. If the main branch wanted to prosper, high-quality disciples were its top priority. As an immortal receiver, he had the right to choose one, so he didn’t want to miss such an opportunity. As soon as he arrived at Cloud Palace, he saw Su Qinghuang, the master of Hongluan Peak, sitting under the Headmaster.

She sat in the position meant for Elder Qin. When he looked at Elder Qin again, he saw that he was sitting at the very end at this time, and his countenance stunk to the high heavens. Sage Lu gasped in secret and didn’t dare to stare at him any longer. He stood in the corner silently without uttering a sound. Inside the imageries gathered by clouds and mist, Chen Jingzhai had already grown quite old. The test was about the Great Path of the heart at the second level.

In the first small test, he passed the test of love. In the second small test, Chen Jingzhai had to forsake his home and country. In the third small test, Chen Jingzhai had cut off all earthly relations. In the fourth small test, Chen Jingzhai slew demons by himself. In the fifth small test, Chen Jingzhai faced the invasion of monsters and martyred himself. In the sixth small test, Chen Jingzhai turned to the Way in his twilight years.

At this time, it was the depiction of Chen Jingzhai in the sixth stage which appeared relatively unremarkable. But Sage Lu, including the other elders, gave him a look of approval. In truth, the second test was not a test about which path to cultivate or even which path was being chosen. The real test was to fathom one’s perseverance and determination towards the Way. Altogether, Chen Jingzhai’s performance was beyond reproach.

Because no matter which test, he had always insisted upon the Way and clung to what he thought was right. In the examination of love, he chose to let go. Between home and country, he decided to give up. In the face of everyday earthly entanglements, he decided to extricate himself. In front of demons and monsters, he chose to be martyred. In the front of this mortal coil, he decided to devote himself to the Way. Simply judging from these aspects, Chen Jingzhai was indeed the seedling for cultivation.

“But he is not suitable for Hongluan Peak!” Su Qinghuang gave a different response.

“Indeed, he is not suitable,” Headmaster Fuyun sighed softly. “Hongluan Peak approached the Way through affection, and Chen Jingzhai’s heart is determined; his affection is almost akin to ruthlessness, and he is clear in the choices he makes, difficult to deter!”

“But the rules cannot be broken,” Elder Qin said with a sour face. “Since Master Mingyue has an agreement with the Headmaster, which is recorded in the bill, he had to be a disciple of Hongluan Peak.”

“Let’s wait and see,” Headmaster Fuyun pondered. “If he can persist until the inquiry made by the Hall of the Master, he will be an exception and named as an elder of Hongluan Peak. He will be our younger brother, and that would make Master Mingyue his teacher.”

“This…” The rest of the elders were equally speechless.

“I think that will work,” Su Qinghuang said with a blank expression. “If he becomes my junior brother, you all can teach him the Luotian Celestial Scripture instead of the Hongluan Scripture. As far as the inheritance of Hongluan Peak is concerned, I am more than enough as its heir.”

To become her disciple, one had to cultivate the Hongluan Scripture. But since the latter portion of this scripture had been lost, even Su Qinghuang herself had to stop at the Golden Core. But as her younger brother, it would be a different story. It was enough for one person to inherit the Hongluan Scripture, and Chen Jingzhai may cultivate other methods.

“Then it shall be so!” Headmaster Fuyun decided, “Let’s judge him by his performance first.”

If he could enter the Hall of the Master to have his name enquired, it meant that Chen Jingzhai and the Luo Sheng Sword School shared the same destiny; he would become its true heir. With Chen Jingzhai’s aptitude and merit, exceptional promotion was not out of the question. But an essential matter here was that Hongluan Peak was, by nature, a hidden branch. In the secret department, inheritance was the most important thing, and it was feasible to pass it on, skipping a generation. Everything from acting on behalf of the master to accepting disciples was acceptable.

But for the main branch, such an arrangement would not work at all. For the main stem, rules and precedents were of the utmost importance. Therefore, Chen Jingzhai had to go through the test on the twenty-eight. He could only be the true heir of the sect, which was no different from any other disciples. In the Cloud Palace, everyone assented to the arrangement made by the Headmaster, and all of them watched Chen Jingzhai as he continued his tests.