Startled by Xu Ning, Yang Jueding and Cheng Canghai began shouting at each other. The frightened Cheng Canghai grew bolder mid-argument and tried to stand, but one glare from Xu Ning made him drop back to his knees immediately.
"Enough. Killing him won't solve anything," Li Qingqiu said calmly. "Let's think of a way for him to make amends instead."
Though stealing was vile, what Cheng Canghai had taken wasn't valuable enough to warrant death.
Yang Jueding glared at Cheng Canghai, then turned to explain. "His name is Cheng Canghai. He's famous for his unmatched lightness skill—known across the martial world as the King of Thieves. Once, he broke into the Prefect's mansion, stole a priceless treasure, sold it to a noble, and used the money to help famine victims. He's a thief, yes, but one with honor. His word is gold—if he promises something, he never fails to deliver. Not once has he broken a vow."
There was a note of admiration in his tone. In a world where honor had long faded, a man who still held to a code of chivalry was rare.
Li Qingqiu studied Cheng Canghai quietly. "Why did you come to Qingxiao Sect?"
Cheng Canghai sighed. "The authorities are hunting me. The new magistrate of Blackstone County is a capable martial artist, fair and righteous—but he's obsessed with catching me. He chased me all the way to the Taikun Mountain Range. I was starving… so I did what I had to."
"That's not convincing," Li Qingqiu said, eyes narrowing. "The world is vast. Why come here of all places?"
Cheng Canghai's face stiffened. He hesitated, then gritted his teeth. "To tell the truth… next spring, the Crown Prince will come to the Taikun Mountains for a royal hunt. I came early—to steal the Taiping Sword from his waist."
Yang Jueding's eyes bulged. "Are you insane?! If you do that, the imperial court will flood the Taikun Range with soldiers! Qingxiao Sect will be caught in the storm!"
The gathered disciples exchanged shocked looks. No one expected him to be that bold—or that foolish.
Zhang Yu couldn't help stepping forward. "The Taiping Sword? That sword was gifted to the late emperor by a great immortal after he unified the realm. It ranks second among the Ten Famous Swords Under Heaven! If you steal it, the entire empire will plunge into chaos!"
Cheng Canghai grinned with pride. "Exactly! If I succeed, my name as the King of Thieves will reach new heights! And more than that—I want to slap the royal family's smug face. They boast of a peaceful, prosperous age, but have they ever looked down to see how the common people live? As for Qingxiao Sect getting dragged in, I honestly thought your sect disbanded after Lin Xunfeng retired. I only came up here to rest—and the smell of your roasted chicken was too tempting!"
He sighed and wiped his mouth dramatically. "It just smelled too good. I couldn't resist!"
After taking a beating earlier, his hunger had only worsened.
Li Qingqiu turned to Yang Jueding. "You said his lightness skill is unmatched?"
Yang Jueding calmed himself and nodded. "Yes. In all of Guzhou's martial world, he's among the top two."
Then it struck him—how had Xu Ning caught him?
He turned to her, puzzled.
Catching his glance, Cheng Canghai quickly said, "I was starving, that's all! If not, she'd never have caught me. Though I admit—her lightness skill is quite impressive…"
At the second layer of the Nurturing Essence realm, Xu Ning had already begun cultivating the Gale Technique, allowing her to move swiftly through the forests like a shadow.
Li Qingqiu thought for a moment before speaking. "Then here's your punishment. You'll stay at Qingxiao Sect for one year, teaching my disciples the art of lightness. Earn merit to atone for your crime. You'll be fed and treated fairly. If you refuse, I'll hand you over to Blackstone County."
Cheng Canghai's face changed. "A year? Couldn't it be shorter? I have… big plans coming up."
Li Qingqiu snorted. "With everyone here having heard your 'big plans,' do you still think they'll succeed? Don't waste your breath. Agree—or don't."
He was getting impatient; it was dinner time.
Cheng Canghai looked conflicted, but under everyone's gaze, he finally nodded. "Fine. I'll stay."
"Good. Let's eat!" Li Qingqiu clapped his hands and strode toward the long table. The disciples immediately dispersed to prepare the meal, leaving Cheng Canghai kneeling alone in the courtyard.
He blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected Qingxiao Sect to accept him so easily—or for Li Qingqiu to trust him at all.
Getting up, he hurried over to Yang Jueding. His curiosity about this sect only grew—the Qingxiao Sect was nothing like the stories he'd heard.
When dinner was served, Cheng Canghai shamelessly squeezed in beside Yang Jueding to share a meal.
Zhang Yu noticed the awkward silence and smiled. "Since we're all together, why don't you, King of Thieves, tell us a story or two? Let everyone get to know you better."
Everyone turned their eyes to Cheng Canghai.
He glanced at Li Qingqiu, who made no objection. Taking that as permission, he downed his cup of wine in one gulp and began.
"Where to start…? I guess from when I first learned martial arts. I was born in the first year of the Kai Dynasty. The realm was in chaos then. My family was executed by imperial decree—our entire clan wiped out. My father managed to sneak me away, but soldiers found us. They chased me to the edge of a cliff. I was desperate… so I jumped."
His voice rose and fell with natural rhythm, drawing everyone in. Even Li Qingqiu found himself intrigued.
Dinner lasted for over an hour. To Qingxiao Sect's young disciples, his tale was thrilling and tragic—a rare glimpse into a larger, harsher world. When he finished, many sat in silence, lost in thought, eager to hear more another day.
Li Qingqiu didn't bother to question how much of it was true. The disciples enjoyed it—and that was enough.
That night, he arranged for Cheng Canghai to share a room with Yang Jueding. Later, as Li Qingqiu lay in bed, he faintly heard sounds of scuffling and shouting from their room… before everything went quiet again.
The next morning, everyone noticed that the bruises on Cheng Canghai's face had worsened. When asked, he just brushed it off, saying he was fine.
Though stealing the sect's chicken had been shameful, his bold stories of righteous thievery quickly won over the disciples' hearts. Before long, he was getting along with everyone in Qingxiao Sect—except Xu Ning. Whenever she appeared, he would instinctively turn and walk the other way.
As days passed, Cheng Canghai, like Zhang Yu and Yang Jueding, grew increasingly curious about Qingxiao Sect.
Wu Man'er's monstrous strength left him dumbfounded.
And what shocked him most was that Li Sifeng—barely thirteen years old—could almost match his lightness skill. Though Cheng Canghai still won, the gap was surprisingly small.
'So many freakish talents in one sect?' he thought. 'No… there must be some extraordinary inheritance hidden here!'
After seven days, Zhang Yuchun and Jiang Zhaoxia finally returned.
Li Qingqiu, upon hearing the news, headed to the courtyard to meet them. As soon as Jiang Zhaoxia saw him, he raised three fingers with a smug grin before heading inside to change his robe.
'Third layer of the Nurturing Essence realm!'
Li Qingqiu couldn't help but sigh inwardly. 'This kid caught up already. The advantage I gained from my system is gone again.'
But rather than frustration, he felt pleased. The stronger his disciples became, the stronger Qingxiao Sect grew.
Zhang Yuchun stepped forward and gestured toward an old beggar standing not far away. "Senior Brother, that's the expert I mentioned. His name is Wu Baoyu. Third Junior Brother didn't want me to tell you this, but he failed the first time he challenged Senior Wu. He then secluded himself for two days before trying again—and only then did he win."
Li Qingqiu raised an eyebrow. "Jiang Zhaoxia lost? At the second layer of the Nurturing Essence realm?"
This Wu Baoyu was no ordinary man.
Sensing his inner energy, Li Qingqiu could tell immediately—it was vast and refined. The man reminded him of Lü Taidou, the late First Alliance Master of the Seven Peaks Alliance.
"You handle his placement," Li Qingqiu said with a faint smile. "You brought him here, after all."
Zhang Yuchun's face brightened. He bowed gratefully. Having such a powerhouse by his side when traveling down the mountain would be a great relief.
Li Qingqiu patted his shoulder, then accompanied him to meet Wu Baoyu.
Unfortunately, the old man was distant and cold, showing little interest in speaking with the sect master. Li Qingqiu didn't push it. After exchanging a few polite words, he left, slightly embarrassed, to continue his cultivation of the Rejuvenation Ghost-Immortal Needles.
Summer faded, and autumn swept over the Taikun Mountains. The peaks surrounding Qingxiao Sect were dyed in golden and crimson hues. Below the mountain gate, a newly built courtyard had appeared at the end of a ten-zhang-long stone staircase. It held five rooms and a simple training field in the center, where disciples often sparred.
It had been a full month since Wu Baoyu joined the sect. In that time, Qingxiao Sect had gained four new disciples—recruited by Zhang Yuchun from the nearby villages.
That afternoon, Li Qingqiu sat before the mountain gate, idly playing with the small knife Jiang Kuatian had gifted him the year before.
Yang Jueding came to sit beside him, his gaze drifting toward the courtyard below, where Wu Baoyu stood watching disciples spar.
Wearing the Qingxiao Sect's uniform, Wu Baoyu had the dignified bearing of a martial grandmaster. Though his frame was thin and his back slightly hunched, the way he clasped his hands behind him and stood so still radiated quiet power. Even without speaking, he exuded an aura that commanded respect.
He was fifty years old, his hair streaked with white, yet his sharp eyes gleamed with the pressure of a seasoned warrior.
"This Senior Wu Baoyu isn't simple," Yang Jueding murmured. "I think he might be a top-tier expert. Even after cultivating the Supreme Purity and Primordial Harmony Sutra to the first layer of the Nurturing Essence realm, I'm not confident I could defeat him."
He spoke in a low voice, uneasily watching the old man below. Every time their eyes met, Yang Jueding felt an inexplicable chill and avoided him whenever possible.
Wu Baoyu rarely spoke, but when he did, his guidance left the young disciples enlightened. Because of this, they held him in very high regard.
Li Qingqiu smiled. "He's indeed extraordinary. But that's a good thing, isn't it? Tell me—how many people in the Qing Sect do you think could match him?"
Yang Jueding frowned. "For the Qing Sect to have gained such influence, they must have apex masters among them. Most likely, their sect master himself. Still, I think you should be cautious around Wu Baoyu. There's something suspicious about him. A man waiting years in the forest of the Taikun Mountains for challengers? It sounds absurd. I suspect he came here with a purpose—perhaps not for your master, but for your grandmaster."
His voice was grave. The thought clearly unsettled him.
Li Qingqiu nodded slightly. "You're not wrong. His loyalty isn't very high—just above sixty—but it's enough for now."
It was worth noting that Wu Baoyu possessed no special Fate. Though he was a peak martial artist, his cultivation aptitude in immortal arts was only mediocre.