Location: Verdant Peak Courtyard - After the Deluge of Gold
The final rays of sunset painted the courtyard in molten gold, a stark contrast to the glacial frost that had moments before laced the stones. Gu Qingxi stood amidst the dazzling aftermath, the sheer volume of her newfound wealth pressing against her spirit sense like the vibrant hum of a newly awakened spirit vein. The Woven Shadow Serpent Armor flowed over her robes like captured moonlight, adjusting seamlessly to her slight frame. A surge of primal energy radiated from the Phoenix Ashes' Wrath scroll tucked away, resonating faintly with the latent fire Qi within her core. Yet, her focus was scattered, fragmented by the overwhelming reality: I hold more treasure than some minor sects. Master Mo's voice cut through the dazed silence.
"Refinement demands its price," Mo Tianchen stated, his gaze serene as he watched the last glimmers fade from the Heaven's Tear Stones she clutched. "The Azure Heaven Nine Swords were our foundation, taught to the youngest novice grasping their first spirit-steel blunted edge. What you gifted us transcends it." His gesture encompassed the courtyard, implying the form now etched in her muscles. "Henceforth, it becomes the Thirteen Celestial Sword Gates – the new bedrock of our sect. Remember the name." He paused, letting the magnitude of this honor sink in. "Its worth," his eyes met hers, filled with paternal certainty, "is precisely matched by these recompense tokens." He gestured towards the pouch bulging at her side. "No more debt of gratitude clouds the gift."
Gu Qingxi bowed her head, the profound significance washing over her. Her inheritance, born from the soul-deep resonance of her family legacy, was now the cornerstone of an entire sect's martial future. "Understood, Master."
Mo Tianchen turned to leave, then paused, a sudden thought striking him. "Prepare yourself, Qingxi. Next moon's zenith, we journey to the Peerless Summit Sect. An elder friend there holds knowledge beneficial to your path." His voice softened slightly, a rare undercurrent of personal concern. "The intervening weeks demand unyielding diligence. Master the armor's subtleties. Temper your core with the Sky-Dew Pills. And your Bone-Forging Foundation Technique," his gaze sharpened, landing on her with renewed weight, "cannot stagnate. Understand?"
"Of course, Master!" Gu Qingxi affirmed, the dual promise and warning settling on her shoulders.
As Mo Tianchen's silhouette merged with the twilight falling through the gate, a low rumble of surprise emanated beside her.
"You temper the flesh, Shimei?" Long Qianli asked, his voice laced with genuine disbelief. He regarded her with an intensity bordering on clinical scrutiny, like a swordmaster examining an unusually forged blade. His own near-ethereal frame, honed by pure glacial Qi and ascetic discipline, bore none of the thickened muscle common among dedicated physical cultivators. "Such dedication… is rare as mountain phoenix feathers in a woman's path. Especially now, when inner Qi refinement dominates."
Before Gu Qingxi could respond, Lu Tianyu practically vibrated with excitement. "Rare? Shixiong, she embodies it!" He stepped forward, eyes gleaming with the fervor of a disciple recounting ancient scripture. "You weren't there for the Great Hall! The Grandmaster himself almost descended from his jade dais when he saw her results! Every peak master leaned forward! Why?" He leaned closer to Long Qianli, his voice dropping dramatically. "Because our Shimei didn't just pass the Cauldron Heart Trial... she devoured it! Completed it? Hah! She stormed the Seven Sacred Platforms, emerged unscathed, and then stood before the Masters stating her creed: 'Forge the strongest vessel conceivable to withstand the deepest conceivable abyss'! Pure Verdant Peak resilience etched in spirit!" He thumped his chest proudly. "That's why we won her, not the Spiritbloom Battle-Maidens, not the Alabaster Peaks...!"
Lu Tianyu's recounting unfolded like a bard's epic – embellished, grandiose, but striking true at its core. Gu Qingxi felt a faint heat rise in her cheeks at the hero's mantle he draped upon her. As he crescendoed, Lu Tianyu gestured towards her: "She's perfect."
Long Qianli listened, his initial clinical detachment melting like the last of the courtyard frost under a rising sun. As Lu Tianyu described the unwavering intensity of her foundation technique acceptance, Long Qianli's gaze transformed. The obsidian pools of his eyes shone with a fierce, almost radiant light. His hand, previously resting on his sword hilt, lifted and settled with impossibly gentle firmness on Gu Qingxi's head.
"A jewel," he breathed, the word resonating with purest conviction. "A sword spirit born whole into this flawed world. To join our Verdant Peak… the Dao's silent alignment." His fingers pressed down, a blessing or an anchor, radiating intense paternal pride and a terrifying depth of pedagogical ambition. "Shimei. My path intersects yours. I will guide you. Every secret held, every blade-bone truth etched within me… becomes yours. This," he vowed, the air chilling perceptibly around them despite the warmth in his gaze, "I pledge." The commitment hung heavy, promising equal parts enlightenment and… exertion.
Lu Tianyu froze mid-breath, his triumphant grin morphing into a rictus of horrified understanding. Oh no. What have I done? His enthusiastic recounting hadn't praised Gu Qingxi; it had thrown chum into the waters where swam a dedicated apex predator of martial pedagogy.
Gu Qingxi, basking momentarily in the fierce warmth of his approval, missed the predatory glint beneath the paternal affection. Long Qianli wasn't just offering guidance; he was preparing the sacrificial altar for his newfound prodigy.
"Hence," Long Qianli continued, his voice shifting seamlessly into the crisp, clipped tone of a drillmaster surveying fresh recruits before winter maneuvers, "daily discipline reshaped." His patting hand shifted to a firm squeeze. "Ten thousand foundational sword repetitions. Imperative." He saw her eyes widen slightly – a reaction misinterpreted as surprise, not terror. He offered his devastating smile, arctic flowers blooming in winter. "Then, flesh-forging. I shall accompany you. I mastered the Thousand-Bloodfall Peaks technique on the Crimson Mist Wall." His gaze drifted towards the distant shadow of the fearsome cliff face Lu Tianyu had earlier mentioned with visceral dread. "Fifty ascents daily perfected my core pathways. You?" He assessed her small frame with the pragmatism of a geologist measuring rock density. "Commence with ten daily vertical traverses." It was an order, wrapped in the silk of his beautiful smile.
Gu Qingxi's smile evaporated. Her blood ran cold. Ten thousand? Cliff climbing? After surviving Master's training?! The arithmetic was impossible. "Third Brother," she ventured, forcing her voice into the meekest register she could manage, "Such discipline… steals all hours of night. Where rests sleep…? Without rest…?"
"Sleep?" Long Qianli uttered the word with the faint disdain usually reserved for describing mold found on spoiled spirit rice. He tilted his head, moonlight tracing the sharp angle of his jaw, perplexity warring with absolute certainty. "Night's vast emptiness… squandered unconsciousness? Waste! Pour that void into core refinement! Spirit-Return Mantra Meditation Cycle Five. Efficient!"
Despair washed over Gu Qingxi. She shot a panicked look towards Lu Tianyu, the silent scream in her eyes unmistakable: Save me!
Lu Tianyu squared his shoulders, stepping into the line of spiritual fire. "Shixiong! Compassion! Our Shimei blooms fresh after Foundation Establishment! A tender vine, needing sunlight and dew… not… glacial avalanche drills!" He gestured wildly. "Endless forms? Stunt her growth? Verdant Peak's singular delicate blossom demands delicate nurturing!"
Long Qianli stared, processing. "Growth limitation? Mitigated upon Core Formation restructuring." He dismissed the biological concern with the ease of someone discarding a broken whetstone. "Efficiency demands sacrifice."
"Ah, but beauty!" Lu Tianyu pressed, desperate. "Our Shimei embodies grace! The only delicate treasure upon our martial peak! Should youthful vibrancy dim? Sacrificed to relentless Qi-tempest drills?" His plea was passionate. "Grand Transformation lies leagues ahead! Let the sapling grow sturdy before applying the storm-winds!"
A flicker of… indecision crossed Long Qianli's flawless features. He looked at Gu Qingxi – small, possessing an understated elegance beneath the disciple robes – then back at Lu Tianyu. The concept of nurturing aesthetic grace wrestled against his intrinsic drive for ultimate kinetic efficiency. Slowly, reluctantly, the pragmatist yielded a fraction. "Tolerance granted," he decreed, his voice carrying the weight of immense concession. "Five thousand foundational repetitions daily. Non-negotiable. The vertical ascents… adjusted by physiological indicators." It was a stay of execution, not a pardon.
Relief washed over Gu Qingxi so intensely her knees felt weak. She looked at Lu Tianyu with eyes shimmering with unshed tears of profound gratitude. Savior!
"You," Long Qianli's voice snapped towards Lu Tianyu, "demonstrate equivalent commitment. Your own foundation requires auditing. Deficiencies demand immediate correction." His eyes narrowed fractionally. "Expect… scrutiny."
Lu Tianyu swallowed hard but straightened. "Stand ready for inspection, Third Brother!" His voice held weary acceptance. Teaching by pain was Long Qianli's sacred pedagogy.
Long Qianli nodded, seemingly satisfied. "First duty calls. Sect Duty Hall awaits the Crimson Enchantress's soul-brand confirmation. Sunrise: Verdant Peak courtyard. Drills commence."
With that final pronouncement, he dissolved into the twilight, riding an invisible river of cold Qi, leaving behind a heavy silence broken only by Gu Qingxi's shaky exhale.
"Holy ancestor's polished toenails," Lu Tianyu breathed, slumping against the stone bench Long Qianli had nearly shattered an hour before. "That was… intense even for Third Brother. You alright, Shimei?"
Gu Qingxi managed a weak nod. "Practically radiating gratitude for your intervention, Shixiong. But… is he always this…?"
"A zealot sculpted from divine ice? Practically radiating pedagogical fervor like a sun made of frozen resolve?" Lu Tianyu offered wearily. "Essentially. Don't mistake it for cruelty, Shimei. Beneath the glacial demand… beats a core of absolute devotion." He pushed himself up. "But enough ice saints and terror quotas! Our final window of freedom beckons! To Skyclear City! Body Tempering supplies await! My bladespan or your elegance?"
Gu Qingxi merely smiled and summoned Chillspring. Its silver song answered her, hanging ready beside her.
Lu Tianyu sighed. "Point made. Elegance it is."
As Chillspring lifted them gently above Verdant Peak's verdant canopy, Gu Qingxi watched the lanterns of Skyclear City begin to glitter in the valley below. "Shixiong… Skyclear's Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion? I hear their Five Phases Harmony Soup fortifies foundation channels like nothing else. Made from Sky-Reaching Roc marrow broth and infused with Jade-Scale Carp essence?" She patted her incredibly heavy storage pouch. "Your penniless Shimei has… unexpectedly acquired means. Dinner? My tribute? Perhaps… include Third Brother?" The generosity flowed, partly from genuine gratitude, partly from a superstitious desire to appease the glacier saint before sunrise drills commenced.
Lu Tianyu blinked, then grinned. A frantic message-flare encoded with the invite was instantly sent winging towards the Duty Hall before she could reconsider.
Long Qianli's response returned near-instantly, sharp and to the point: Negatory. Duty Hall protocols complete. Material acquisition primary. Culinary deviations inefficient. Return before moon zenith. Sunrise: Execution of Discipline.
Gu Qingxi shivered as they descended towards the city's bustling gateway. The words hung in the cooling air like a judge's gavel striking wood. Execution. A final supper indeed.
(The Flight's Commentary):
Skyclear City unfolded below, a testament to the inevitable tide of mundane life against the mountain's sacred solitude. What began millennia ago as a humble cluster of dwellings sheltering the mundane kin of Azure Essence's earliest disciples had swollen, fed by the ceaseless flow of ambition and need. Descendants lacking the celestial spark mingled with opportunistic merchants, roving artisans, and minor cultivator clans seeking sect-adjacent opportunities. Mud-brick gave way to stone, lanes widened into arteries, until finally, walls encompassing ambition arose. Skyclear: a bustling nexus where sect grace met mercantile hunger. Azure Essence shaped its laws; the All Under Heaven Commerce Guild fueled its pulse.
Gu Qingxi absorbed the panorama – the vast, multi-tiered market districts sprawling like a metallic dragon's scales towards the distant glow of the Eternal Grand Bazaar. "The Pavilion… is a Guild enterprise?" she asked, recalling rumors.
"Joint venture, technically," Lu Tianyu confirmed, guiding her towards a relatively quiet landing zone near the Northern Gate reserved for sect disciples. "Sect provides the land beneath it. Takes twenty percent of gross spirit-stone flow as a… territorial acknowledgement fee. The Guild builds, manages, flavors the soup, greases the palms. Sect sends Elders to ensure the 'acknowledgement fee' never dips." His tone held practiced familiarity with the arrangement. "The Guild's name is literal – All Under Heaven. Threads stretch across every named kingdom, mortal or immortal. Alchemists need rare roots from the Serpent's Spine Isles? Guild caravan passed through three moons ago. Frost-Dawn Realm Ice-Silk? Their auction houses monopolize supply. Need a custom Soul-Resonance blade forged? Their Myriad Treasure Halls catalogue boasts sixteen ancestral master smiths on retainer. Their pockets?" He whistled softly. "Deeper than the Skyclear Depths."
Gu Qingxi nodded, memories of her world surfacing briefly. "Monopolistic tendency via quality and pervasive presence. Understood." Seeing the slight confusion on Lu Tianyu's face, she clarified. "Old knowledge."
They entered the bustling, lantern-lit expanse surrounding the Myriad Treasure Hall. Unlike the quaint artisan stalls dotting the outer avenues, this structure loomed – obsidian granite, vaulted ceilings shimmering with embedded starlight crystals, doors banded with Cold-Iron the color of midnight. Discreet wards hummed at its thresholds, potent enough to give even Long Qianli momentary pause.
"Inside," Lu Tianyu declared, rubbing his hands together with practical enthusiasm, "Everything finds valuation." He patted his own considerably lighter storage pouch. "I've surplus Ghost-Howl Spider venom sacs from a contract last month. Need conversion." He nodded towards her own, now impossibly weighted pouch. "And your talismans? Skyclear prices often eclipse internal sect valuation by ten to fifteen percent. Worth inquiry?" He gestured towards a discreet counter near the entrance marked Assessments & Appraisals - Minor Artifacts & Artisanry.
Gu Qingxi looked at the imposing counter, then back at Lu Tianyu. The prospect of negotiating her "doodles" suddenly felt like diving into shark-filled waters lit by Heaven's Tears. "Lead the way, Shixiong," she murmured, steeling herself. Wealth brought strange new currents to navigate.