SHIIING!
Zhuo Jingfeng's colossal blade cleaved the air—and the demonic cultivator—in one fluid motion.
Gu Qingxi's eyes narrowed. Precision. Power. This swordsman moved like a honed instrument. The Gu family's so-called experts couldn't touch his shadow.
"I am Zhuo Jingfeng of Azure Sky Sect's Violet Bamboo Peak." He bowed, bloodied sword now sheathed. "You have my thanks, Miss...?"
"Gu Qingxi." She mimicked his bow.
"You turned the tide." His earnestness was almost painful. "I've hunted this scourge for months. Half the bounty is yours—"
Gu Qingxi waved dismissively. "Merely self-defense."
"Nonsense! If he'd taken a hostage—" Zhuo patted his spatial pouch, expression noble... until it froze. His hand dug deeper. And deeper.
Silence stretched.
His ears turned scarlet.
No coins clinked.
"Truly, no need," Gu Qingxi rescued him. A penniless hero. Their first meeting etched itself: A giant sword. A giant bounty. Zero giant coins.
"Tch! Centuries pass, yet sword cultivators remain dirt-poor!" The Patriarch cackled. "Living on spirit stones and prayers! Mark my words, girl—avoid them. All stubborn pride and empty pockets..."
No wonder he died young, Gu Qingxi mused, tuning him out.
"I'll deliver your share once claimed!" Zhuo vowed, dignity clinging by a thread. "Where shall I find you?"
"No fixed abode."
Zhuo blinked but didn't pry. "Your destination, then?"
"Celestial Sword Peak."
His face lit up. "Ah! Of course!"
Gu Qingxi: ???
"Fate binds us! We're practically family already!" Zhuo beamed.
Gu Qingxi: Family?! Since when?!
"You're a talisman master, yes?" he pressed, eyes alight with memory. "Those black-flame seals—"
"Self-taught," she conceded.
His gaze softened with profound pity. "How... resourceful."
Gu Qingxi: What tragedy is he imagining now?!
"But extraordinary!" Zhuo rushed to add. "Qi Refining Level 1 wielding such power? Unheard of!"
Before she could protest, he summoned his giant sword. "Quickly now! We mustn't miss the trials!"
"Trials?"
"Hold tight!" Zhuo hauled her onto the blade. "Channel qi! The winds bite!"
She learned why.
Takeoff felt like:
A rollercoaster shot from a cannon
Through a typhoon
While strapped to a meteor
WHOOSH-BANG-RATTLE!
Buildings blurred into streaks. Her stomach somersaulted. So this is "swordflight"? More like sword-terror.
(Later, she'd discover: Zhuo Jingfeng didn't fly. He brawled with the atmosphere. Regular swordflight? A gentle canoe ride. His? Freefall skydiving.)
Half an hour later, they crash-landed at a mountain's base.
Gu Qingxi stumbled off, green-tinged. "I... hate... flying..."
Before her loomed Celestial Sword Peak—
—and a monolithic stone tablet carved with three glowing characters:
天清宗
AZURE SKY SECT
Gu Qingxi: ...
Patriarch: ...
"My cave-heaven... is now a SECT?!" The ancient ghost wailed.
Zhuo mistook her stunned silence for awe. "I knew it! You've come for the disciple trials!" He gestured grandly at the snaking line of hopefuls and heartbreaks. "With your talent? They'll beg you to join Violet Bamboo Peak!"
Privately, he rejoiced: She didn't vomit on my sword! Such fortitude! Such strength!
(Had Gu Qingxi heard his thoughts, she'd have facepalmed: Since when is "not puking" a cultivator's benchmark?!)