54: Chapter 54: Brother, you must be aware of Master’s true strength, right?

Fang Hanyu looked at Xiao Ruobai, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

He thought to himself, 'Master's cultivation is so unfathomable, yet Senior Brother only lost to Master by one move.'

'Could Senior Brother also be an peerless expert?' As he thought this, his heartbeat quickened, and he took two steps forward, his voice filled with disbelief.

"Senior Brother, you only lost to Master by one move? How powerful must you be to last that long against Master?"

"What kind of move was it?"

In his opinion, to be only one move away from the Master who could effortlessly annihilate a Holy Land, Senior Brother was truly impressive.

After all, even the Saint Elders of the Great Yan Holy Land couldn't withstand a single finger from Master.

Xiao Ruobai hadn't expected his Junior Brother to react so strongly, and he was a little embarrassed by the reaction.

His face flushed, and he stammered, "Master only made one move at the time. He was too fast; I didn't see it clearly."

He remembered clearly that when he had just broken through to the Core Formation Realm, he had excitedly wanted to spar with Master.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even touch Master's clothes.

Finally, Master made one move, and he ended up with a bruised and swollen face.

Fang Hanyu's expression of admiration froze for a moment, and he blinked, "...Just one hit?"

He had imagined countless rounds of earth-shattering battles, with Sword Qi crisscrossing and Battle Intent soaring, and Senior Brother finally losing by a single move. He hadn't expected it to be just a "single hit"?

"Otherwise?"

Seeing him stunned, Xiao Ruobai's face flushed even redder in exasperation.

"Master said sparring should stop at the appropriate point. Did you expect us to fight for three days and three nights? Just tell me, did I lose by one move or not? Not one move more!"

He had secretly regretted it for several days, feeling utterly useless.

Now, being stared at by his Junior Brother with such a "you're actually so amazing" look, his toes were practically digging a bamboo house into the ground.

Looking at Senior Brother's reaction, Fang Hanyu thought, 'Senior Brother doesn't know Master's true strength, does he? No way?'

'Should I tell Senior Brother? No, forget it. What if Senior Brother can't handle it even more?'

Thinking this, he quickly scratched his cheek to change the subject.

"Senior Brother, I've just arrived here and don't know where this is. Could Senior Brother explain a bit?"

Xiao Ruobai was startled by the question, then remembered his own confusion when he first arrived at Zizhu Peak. The slight embarrassment in his heart immediately dissipated, and he cleared his throat.

"This is the Xuan Province territory. The Sect we are currently in is the Azure Profound Sect, and the peak we are on is called Zizhu Peak."

He pointed towards the main peak, shrouded in mist, in the distance.

"The Sect Master and the other Peak Masters are over there, but our Zizhu Peak is quite special. Besides Master and us, very few people usually come here."

As he spoke, a hint of complexity flashed in his eyes — when Master first took him as a Disciple, the entire Sect had questioned it.

Master had stood firm against the pressure of all the Elders, and his words, "I choose my Disciples based only on whether they are pleasing to the eye," had resonated forcefully. A slight smile couldn't help but curve his lips.

Now with a Junior Brother, accompanying Master, Zizhu Peak would be a bit livelier.

He hoped Master's "condition" would improve.

Fang Hanyu nodded, memorizing the names Xuan Province, Azure Profound Sect, and Zizhu Peak, then asked, "So, our Zizhu Peak... only has us three, Master and Disciples?"

"And a bird."

Xiao Ruobai raised a hand and pointed. Little Black Bird was perched on Gu Changge's shoulder, preening its feathers.

"Master says its name is 'Xiao Hei' and it's Master's pet."

Fang Hanyu followed his gaze, only seeing an ordinary spiritual bird, and asked no more questions.

Meanwhile, Gu Changge, on the bamboo couch, was casually listening to their conversation when a System prompt suddenly sounded in his mind:

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the [Adding New Shoots to Purple Bamboo] mission, recruiting Fang Hanyu, the possessor of the Chaos Sword Body. Mission evaluation: Perfect."

"Ding! Reward issued: Invincible Domain expanded to a million miles!"

"Ding! Received additional reward: A complete Dao of Space!"

Gu Changge's fingertip paused, and the sweet juice of the white spirit fruit almost dripped onto his clothes.

He looked up into the distance, his Divine Sense spreading out like a tide. The mountains and rivers, towns and villages of Xuan Province instantly appeared clearly in his mind, and several nearby provinces were also within his sensory range.

"A million miles, huh..."

And there was even a Dao of Space; he had profited.

Gu Changge looked at the deepening twilight. He had intended to instruct Xiao Ruobai to take Fang Hanyu to the front mountain tomorrow to handle his identity token, but the thought had barely arisen before he suppressed it.

He remembered the last time Xiao Ruobai went down the mountain; he had somehow detoured to the back of Dan Ding Peak, and it was Xiao Hei Niao who had to fly to find him and bring him back. His temples throbbed at the memory.

"Never mind."

Gu Changge tapped his fingertip on the armrest of the bamboo couch and pulled out a communication Jade Slip from his Storage Ring, infusing it with Spiritual Qi.

"Xuan Feng, Zizhu Peak has a new Disciple. Tomorrow, take the new Disciple to get his identity token. Come to Zizhu Peak to pick him up."

As the Jade Slip transformed into a streak of light and sped towards Qingyun Peak, Gu Changge couldn't help but mutter, "Having that kid run an errand is more reliable than relying on Xiao Ruobai to find his way."

At this moment, in Qingyun Hall, Xuan Yangzi was guiding Li Xuanfeng in his Cultivation.

Li Xuanfeng was about to respond when the communication Jade Slip at his waist suddenly grew hot. He took out the Jade Slip, read its contents, and his eyes instantly lit up.

"Master! It's Martial Uncle Gu's message! He said he's taken another Junior Brother, and he wants me to go to Zizhu Peak tomorrow to take the new Junior Brother to get his identity token!"

"He's taken another Disciple?"

Xuan Yangzi suddenly straightened up, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"He refused to take Disciples before, and now he's taken another one!"

He rubbed his hands, a glint of happiness in his eyes.

"No, I must go and see tomorrow, to check if anything else needs to be added."

Li Xuanfeng nodded in response, "Then Disciple will wait for you at Zizhu Peak early tomorrow morning."

Just as dawn was breaking, and the mist on Zizhu Peak hadn't fully dispersed, two light footsteps were heard.

Xiao Ruobai had already gone to the back mountain to continue honing his Battle Intent.

When Xuan Yangzi arrived, he saw Gu Changge sitting by a stone table, with a slender young man in plain white Daoist robes standing beside him, his brows concealing a sharp Sword Intent.

"This is the new Disciple?"

Xuan Yangzi's eyes lit up, his gaze lingering on Fang Hanyu. The more he looked, the more extraordinary he found him —

Although the young man did not display his cultivation, the Sword Qi swirling around him made even Xuan Yangzi feel a slight tingling in his heart.

Li Xuanfeng also bowed respectfully, "Martial Uncle Gu, Disciple has come as you instructed."

Gu Changge nodded, pointing to Fang Hanyu, "This is Fang Hanyu. Get to know each other."

Fang Hanyu bowed as instructed, his voice clear and cool, "Greetings, Sect Master. Greetings, Senior Brother Li."

Xuan Yangzi quickly waved his hand, "Hey, just call me Senior Martial Uncle, just call me Senior Martial Uncle!"

He rubbed his hands and pulled out a spirit-testing jade from his sleeve. "Hanyu, come, let Senior Martial Uncle see your Aptitude —"

"No need." Gu Changge raised his hand to stop the spirit-testing jade, his tone calm.

"When I take Disciples, I never consider Aptitude; I only look at fate."

'I'm afraid if you test it, it'll scare you to death,' Gu Changge thought to himself.

Xuan Yangzi's hand paused, then he chuckled heartily.

"I was being presumptuous. Junior Brother Changge's judgment is naturally impeccable!"

He tucked the spirit-testing jade back into his sleeve and took out a gleaming longsword from his Storage Ring. The scabbard was carved with flowing cloud patterns, and Sword Qi subtly circulated around it.

"This is a Heaven-Grade longsword, 'Flowing Frost.' I obtained it years ago from a Secret Realm. The sword body can draw in Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, making it most suitable for Sword Cultivators."

Xuan Yangzi presented the sword as a meeting gift.

"Hanyu, take it and play with it. Come to Qingyun Peak more often in the future. That girl Jinghong also practices the sword. You young people should communicate more and spar with your sword techniques."

Fang Hanyu looked at Gu Changge. Seeing his Master nod, he took the longsword with both hands. As his fingertips touched the hilt, the sword body hummed softly, as if resonating with the Sword Qi within him.

"Thank you for your kindness, Senior Martial Uncle."

Gu Changge watched this scene and casually tossed a grape to Xuan Yangzi, "Let Xuan Feng take him to handle the token. If you have nothing else, stay and have a cup of tea."

Xuan Yangzi caught the grape, his eyes narrowed into slits with a smile, "Drink! I must drink!"

Li Xuanfeng suppressed a smile and said to Fang Hanyu, "Junior Brother, let's go. I'll take you to the front mountain to register."

As the two turned to leave, they heard Xuan Yangzi's exclamation from the bamboo house, "Ho! The Spiritual Qi in this tea is even richer than last time!"

Fang Hanyu's footsteps paused, and he turned his head to look at the mist-shrouded Zizhu Peak, then touched the "Flowing Frost" sword at his waist.

This place is truly wonderful!