The Path Toward Heaven

Not counting Liu Shisui, the first guest arrived at Jing Jiu’s small courtyard.

He knew the other party would come, so he stood in the courtyard to wait for the incoming guest.

He wasn’t waiting out of respect; it was because he was not used to people coming to his cave manor, though his cave room was far from being a manor.

Master Lü didn’t know about this, so he was somewhat pleased with his ingenuity and etiquette.

“The answers you gave your classmate in the morning are all correct.”

“But you were wrong in the last question,” said Master Lü while producing a piece of paper from his sleeve.

Jing Jiu was somewhat puzzled, thinking that it was impossible for there to be a wrong answer; he understood what the problem was after taking the paper and looking at it.

“You didn’t quite understand this statement because it is the updated explanation for this textbook.

Of course, this is not your fault; as a matter of fact, the explanation given for that has been the wrong one all these years at the Green Mountain Sect,” Master Lü said nicely while looking at him.

“No, the previous explanation was not wrong; this explanation is,” Jing Jiu protested.

“How could it be wrong when the updated explanation was provided by the Great Grandmaster himself while he was in charge,” said Master Lü, still smiling.

There were two changes made to the current entry-level magic manual compared to the old version at the Green Mountain Sect, all done by Jingyang.

Of course, Jing Jiu knew about it, and furthermore, he also knew one of the changes was totally incorrect.

“Anybody can make mistakes, no matter the person, be it the external disciples or the Great Grandmaster,” said Jing Jiu.

The expression on Master Lü’s face had changed slightly and he mused.

What an absurd thing to say.

Meanwhile he recalled what Jing Jiu had said this morning about changing the rules, that they were not fair or appropriate for cultivating the external disciples…

“You have an outstanding ability to comprehend, and fairly good talent, not to mention the systematic and precise way in which you think, but they aren’t reasons for you to have such gall.”

Master Lü looked at him and said solemnly, “You should know the disciples at the Green Mountain Sect can be very proud, but never arrogant.”

Arrogant?

Thinking of those two changes in the manual, Jing Jiu became somewhat sentimental.

Jingyang was probably the most proud person in the whole world, resulting in him making various mistakes.

Jing Jiu’s silence gave Master Lü the wrong impression that he might have accepted what he had just said. “The wind is more likely to destroy the taller trees in the forest, and similarly, the swords rising above the peaks will more likely face the chaotic winds. If you want to go further on the path of Cultivation, you have to learn how to handle your pride; even if you want to help your classmates, you can always find other options, but don’t defy the rules,” he lectured with loving and caring intent.

“But this is really foolish. There was this external disciple from the South Township; she arrived at Qingrong Peak, but didn’t know the imperial language, and therefore couldn’t understand the magic manual at all. If no one taught her how to read, wouldn’t the Green Mountain Sect miss out on this genius?” Jing Jiu retorted.

The first part of what Jing said made Master Lü quite angry and he was about to reprimand him, but the last part shocked him to some extent.

“How do you know all this?”

This story was about the present Peak Master of Qingrong Peak. It was not a secret, merely an anecdote, yet he is just an external disciple, so where did he hear it from?

Jing Jiu spoke in his own mind: Why should I tell you about watching that girl practice writing every night with my own eyes?

Master Lü thought that perhaps this youth and Zhuo Rusui, plus those young disciples on Liangwang Peak, were the pawns arranged in advance by the Sect?

But which grandmaster is playing a game this time?

…

…

Time flowed like water.

Another year had passed.

And it was the spring time once again.

Liu Shisui walked out of the training hall and strode along the stone path into the depths of the woods.

A dozen or so external disciples were familiar with the routine and knew where he was going. Not surprised at all, they waved to him.

Liu nodded and smiled back to repay their courtesy.

He had turned twelve years old, a youth now from a certain perspective.

His appearance was still the same, friendly and amiable, but his eyes were calmer and more focused, and his temperament had undergone a great deal of change; he smiled while walking, displaying confidence and self-assurance.

Watching Liu enter that small courtyard, other disciples gathered together and talked again.

As the most favored disciple at the Green Mountain Sect, Liu’s every movement had attracted others’ attention.

Just one night later, everyone knew he had applied for the inner sect examination.

Only those who had reached the State of Spiritual Stability and could communicate with the Sword Seed fulfilled the requirements for entering the sect.

The unusual thing was that it took him merely a year to achieve this feat.

Over the years, rumor had it that it took the Great Grandmaster who had just descended only half a year to enter the inner sect.

Zhuo Rusui was the closed-door disciple of the Sect Master of Green Mountain Sect, at the moment practicing behind closed doors on Tianguan Peak. It had taken him a year and a half to enter the inner sect from the North Bird Pavilion.

A genius like Zhao Layue had taken one whole year to do so.

Nobody believed that Liu Shisui could pass the inner sect examination; though he had the one-in-a-million natural Dao quality, he was still not match for Sister Zhao in the eyes of the disciples.

Yet the other opinion was that Liu should have a better chance of succeeding if not distracted by other matters.

The so-called “other matters” naturally referred to those related t Jing Jiu’s courtyardBecause of these matters, many people were less than pleased with Jing Jiu, thinking that he deliberately delayed Liu’s progress out of jealousyOf course, some disciples didn’t take this view, and were quite grateful that Jing Jiu didn’t listen to Master Lü and still helped them once a while.

Master Lü also gradually stopped focusing his attention on Jing Jiu, and no longer thought he was selected beforehand by an important figure on a certain peak.

His reasons for relaxing his attention was because Jing Jiu was simply too lazy.

He had never participated in any of the patrols carried out by the external disciples, and he didn’t even bother giving a reason for his absence, always asking Liu Shisui to plead on his behalf.

Moreover, nobody ever saw him practice anything.

Such a person, no matter how knowledgeable and smart he was, would ultimately get nowhere

…

…

Entering the small courtyard and seeing Jing Jiu on that bamboo chair, the sweet smile on his face turned into a bitter one.

He had advised Jing Jiu many times of the years, but Jing Jiu didn’t listen, still laying there every day on the bamboo chair bathing in the sun and daydreaming as usual.

But nobody knew exactly when a ceramic plate filled with some sand appeared beside the bamboo chair..

Liu had observed closely as the sands in the plate accumulated, and by now, a third of the plate was filled with sand.

Nobody knew what this could be used for, and Jing Jiu had never explained, but Liu could perceive that Jing took them seriously and wouldn’t even let him touch them.

“Young Master, I talked to Master Lü last night…I’m ready for the inner sect examination.”

“I did so because I really think I am ready,” Liu Shisui said somewhat nervously.

“It’s been more than a year; it would be a problem if you weren’t ready,” Jing Jiu replied after glancing at him once.

Liu Shisui all of a sudden realized that the Young Master had taught him the breathing method back in the village, and this meant he had already started practicing, even before setting his foot in the Green Mountain Sect. He felt disappointed to some degree, as it also meant that he was not the fastest person to pass the inner sect examination; but he felt a lot better when thinking he might have a better chance, so his confidence increased a great deal.

“You both have natural Dao quality; you shouldn’t be surpassed by that…” Jing Jiu said.

“Sister Zhao,” Liu Shisui finished the sentence, showing a trace of helplessness.

“Oh, yeah,,” Jing Jiu said.

The atmosphere in the courtyard suddenly became solemn.

It was not because the topic could not continue, but because Liu had a lot of other things on his mind

It had been over a year since they came to the Green Mountain Sect; the people and things he met here would be hard to imagine had he still been in the village, and he had also progressed at an unimaginable speed.

Yet the more he understood, the more he became disturbed.

No matter whether it was the breathing method back in the village or what had happened afterwards, it was obvious that Jing Jiu had many secrets.

Were those secrets a problem? Was the problem theirs or the Green Mountain Sect’s?

After a long silence, Liu Shisui finally whispered, “Young Master, are you a spy from other sects?”

…