Chapter 11: Kindred Spirit
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The young attendant glanced at the crowd, hesitating. “Um, then, shall I…”
Meng Xueli smiled understandingly. “I’m fine here now. Thank you for your hard work today.”
The attendant repeatedly expressed his deference. “If you don’t remember the way, I can guide you again tomorrow.”
Meng Xueli declined the offer.
The attendant wondered, how could this Dao companion of the Sword Sovereign be so gentle when he had a reputation for being domineering and arrogant in the past?
Outside the window, the noise of the crowd surged, while Meng Xueli sat alone in the empty study hall, flipping through his copy of “Introduction to Dao,” which Ji Xiao had casually given him three years ago.
The morning mist in the mountains gradually dissipated, and the gentle rays of the morning sun spilled onto the pages of the book.
In the period before the opening of the Hanhai Secret Realm, following the plan of the Sect Leader, Meng Xueli spent the first two months teaching at the Hall of Legal Principles during the day and studying in the library at night. On the rest days of the Hall of Law, he went to the Sword Training Platform to watch the inner disciples practice swordsmanship. In the following two months, he focused on practicing the manipulation of artifacts and improving his agility to facilitate escape in times of danger.
The Sect Leader, seeing Meng Xueli’s contemplation, knew that Meng Xueli’s cultivation, which had barely reached the Qi Refinement stage, was mostly achieved through the use of Ji Xiao’s spiritual pills and elixirs.
It wasn’t surprising that Ji Xiao did such a thing. His senior brother, the Master of the vast realm of Tianhu, was the best alchemist in the cultivation world.
This year, most of the disciples participating in the Hanhai Secret Realm had already reached the stage of Foundation Establishment, surpassing Meng Xueli by two entire realms. Under these circumstances, what else could Meng Xueli learn if not methods of escape?
The Sect Leader’s arrangements were exactly what Meng Xueli wanted. He found studying the scriptures very interesting.
During his time in the demon realm, he had never read such books. Demonkind’s innate talents and bloodline gifts made cultivation and combat instinctual. Human cultivators were more adept at learning and drawing upon the wisdom of their predecessors.
When Meng Xueli first reincarnated as a human, he struggled to adapt to losing his formidable demon body. The thought of learning human cultivation techniques gave him a headache. Thanks to this introductory scripture he held in his hand, which lacked complex and obscure wording, reading it was full of interest and sparked his enthusiasm for cultivation.
“If only I had known earlier, I should have read it when I was still a demon,” thought Meng Xueli.
He was not completely ignorant of the human world; otherwise, he wouldn’t have recognized Ji Xiao in the borderlands. He also recognized “Introduction to the Dao,” a basic book commonly seen everywhere.
However, Meng Xueli was unaware that the book in his hand was unique. It was personally compiled by Ji Xiao Zhenren according to his situation. Otherwise, which scripture would contain illustrations of birds, beasts, exotic plants, and colorful drawings?
“Are you new here? The elders in the study hall don’t allow reading frivolous books. They’ll scold you.”
Meng Xueli looked up at the sound and saw a strange young man sitting at the neighboring table. It was evident that he had missed the morning reading session and had just entered. He was staring straight at the book in Meng Xueli’s hand.
The young man had delicate features and wore a robe similar to other disciples’, but it was embroidered with silver patterns, shimmering in the morning sunlight, exuding a magnificent aura reminiscent of luxurious attire.
Meng Xueli closed the book.
Seeing the words “Introduction to the Dao,” the young man curled his lip disdainfully. “These tricks are too cliché. I used to write ‘The Chapter on Divine Response of the Highest Clarity’ on the cover. It didn’t work.”
Meng Xueli was about to speak when a commotion erupted outside the door.
After the crowd had finished bustling, they swarmed back into the study hall, chatting animatedly while tidying up their desks and laying out their writing materials.
“He walked too fast, I didn’t even see clearly, was he really good-looking?”
“I saw him, the ‘innate sword spirit’, isn’t it just two eyes and a nose? I didn’t see him sprouting an extra mouth.”
“Haha, as the Daoist scripture says, ‘envy is not virtuous’, are you jealous?”
Although the Hall of Legal Principles was within Han Shan, it was situated between the secular world and the realm of cultivation.
These teenagers, aged between ten and twenty, hailed from various parts of the mortal world. Most of them had yet to embark on the path of cultivation, or had only recently begun to cultivate their qi, at a time when they harbored boundless aspirations and fantasies about cultivation.
Suddenly, someone exclaimed, “Is this talented junior brother going to participate in this year’s year-end examination?”
For a moment, the noise in the study hall grew even louder, as if it could overturn the roof.
“It’s impossible. No matter how talented he is, there are only two months left. Can he cultivate his qi?”
“You haven’t even seen the innate sword spirit, how do you know he can’t?”
“I’m done for. I’ve been preparing for two years, planning to take the exam this year…” What if I’m surpassed by this new junior brother who just entered? It would be quite embarrassing.
Every year, the Han Shan Hall of Legal Principles examines its disciples, and the elders who wish to accept disciples will attend the assessment.
Seeking a master is ultimately a matter of fate. If one desires to be accepted as a disciple by the sect leader but happens to coincide with a period when the sect leader is not accepting disciples, then one can only sigh in frustration at their lack of luck.
The atmosphere in the lecture hall was lively, and Meng Xueli couldn’t help but sigh inwardly at the joys of youth. But at the table next to him, that young man who had skipped morning reading stood out from the crowd.
“Don’t listen to them,” the young man in embroidered robes said softly, turning slightly to Meng Xueli. “With this talented junior brother here, the peak masters of the Five Peaks of Han Shan will definitely come to observe this year’s exam. It’s much better than previous years when only one or two idle elders would come. This will only benefit us, not harm us.”
Meng Xueli’s expression was complicated—of the Six Peaks of Han Shan, our Changchun Peak is still included.
The young man in embroidered robes observed Meng Xueli’s luxurious attire and outstanding temperament, realizing they were kindred spirits, hence striking up a conversation.
“I’ve seen that junior brother, he’s just a sickly weakling. What if his talent is comparable? How can he compare to Ji Xiao Zhenren?” The young man said with pride, “A hundred years ago, my great-grandfather discussed Dao with the Sword Sovereign. The Sword Sovereign stood among the clouds, unparalleled in elegance…”
Meng Xueli thought to himself, “You weren’t even born a hundred years ago, how do you speak as if you’ve seen it with your own eyes?”
But hearing praise for Ji Xiao was indeed pleasant to his ears, so he couldn’t help but nod repeatedly.
“Mm-hmm.”
Receiving this affirmation from the well-dressed young man, he felt a sense of camaraderie, feeling that they were like-minded individuals, which further fueled his enthusiasm.
“At my ancestral home, we still have the Sword Sovereign’s calligraphy to guard the premises. The Sword Sovereign didn’t write many inscriptions in his lifetime, but even in Han Shan, only the main hall of the Chongbi Peak houses one.”
“Right, right,” Meng Xueli thought, indeed, Changchun Peak doesn’t have one.
The young man, finding a kindred spirit, gracefully bowed, “To be frank, I am Yu Qishu, the great-grandson of Daoist Lingxu, the grandson of Daoist Chongyuan, the son of the Lord of White Egret City, the future heir of White Egret City, Yu Qishu. May I ask for the name of my esteemed friend?”
Meng Xueli was puzzled, “Your name is White, White what?”
“…Yu Qishu.”
“Ah, Daoist Yu, nice to meet you. I’m Meng Xueli.”
“Ah, so you’re Meng…” The young man was momentarily speechless, his expression peculiar.
At that moment, the noisy study hall suddenly fell silent.
A brown-robed old man appeared at the door, hands behind his back.
The disciples’ faces turned pale as they hurriedly lowered their heads to their books. The old man was tall and thin, with eyes like lightning, sweeping sternly around the room before striding directly towards Meng Xueli.
Meng Xueli thought to himself that this must be the teaching elder.
The elder cast a disdainful glance down at him, getting straight to the point without courtesy:
“Elder Meng, I am aware of your esteemed status. However, since you have entered this study hall, you should abide by the rules of the Hall of Legal Principles like the other disciples. Arrive on time, not a moment late, submit your assignments in full. If you cannot comply, it would be better for you to return to Changchun Peak and ask the Sect Leader Zhenren to find another senior to teach you.”
The students dared not lift their heads, only pricking up their ears to listen.
Meng Xueli ignored the latter part, nodding, “Yes, sir.”
The elder was momentarily taken aback, appearing somewhat surprised, and his expression softened considerably:
“As for trivial matters like sweeping the study hall, your peak’s disciples can take care of it. You don’t need to do it yourself.”
Meng Xueli continued nodding.
The elder was satisfied, striding back with a flourish, flipping his robe and settling into a wicker chair against the wall.
He casually pointed to a disciple, “Recite the scripture we discussed yesterday.”
On the snow-white wall hung a large calligraphy piece with the words “Respect the Master and Honor the Way.”
The youth in the embroidered robe, named Yu Qishu, still appeared dazed, murmuring softly, “You really are Ji Xiao Zhenren’s…”
“Dao companion,” Meng Xueli finished for him.
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
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