13: Chapter 13 Entering the Inner Court

Yu Xiu also knew what they were thinking.

It was nothing more than the fact that he was hated by Fang Jiming, and Senior Brother Liu Qingchuan and the others were afraid of being implicated by Yu Xiu.

After all, Fang Jiming was already at the Fourth Stage and about to enter the Inner Courtyard, with his Life Spring at Perfection, only one step away from entering the Great Four Passes.

Nowadays, no one could say for sure whether Fang Jiming was at the Ascending Dragon Fourth Stage or the Great Four Passes.

If it were just the Ascending Dragon Fourth Stage, it would still be manageable; the five of them, having entered the Qi Sea Realm in three years, at least had some weight.

But if he had already entered the Great Four Passes, once Fang Jiming decided to kill Yu Xiu, and they happened to be training with Yu Xiu, then all five of them would die!

Without any reason, who would be willing to face life and death with Yu Xiu?

Senior Brother Zhao Hong did not seem surprised and smiled, "It is not excessive for Brother Yu to be cautious."

He thought Yu Xiu was guarding against Fang Jiming.

He also secretly rejoiced at Yu Xiu's choice.

Just then, the grey-haired Teaching Elder arrived leisurely.

His gentle gaze swept over the Disciples in the area, and he sighed, "Those who have not entered the Qi Circulation Realm for three years, it is time for you to go out and train."

Instantly, the Disciples who had not yet entered the Qi Circulation Realm felt dejected, but they dared not refute.

This was the Sect rule, which no one could change.

The Teaching Elder then looked at the Disciples who had already entered the Qi Circulation Realm: "You must cultivate diligently."

He instructed the Disciples beside him, "Those who have entered Qi Circulation, reward them with five qi-supplementing pills."

Finally, he looked at Shan Yu, Senior Brother Liu Qingchuan, and Senior Brother Zhao Hong, nodding with satisfaction: "You few are not bad."

He continued to instruct the Disciples beside him: "Those who have entered the third stage, the Qi Sea, reward them with ten drops of Hundred Herb Jade Liquid."

A single drop of Hundred Herb Jade Liquid was enough for eight days of cultivation for someone who had just entered the Qi Sea Realm and cost thirty taels of silver.

Ten drops were three hundred taels; this level of reward was actually quite good.

Seeing the Teaching Elder's gaze shift, it landed on Yu Xiu: "Come forward."

"When breaking through, a Yin Demon appeared, trying to seize your Physical Body and disturb your mind. How did you overcome it?" the Teaching Elder asked.

Yu Xiu replied, "I overcame it myself."

"That was a bit risky. Entering the Qi Sea in three years, your Aptitude is good. In the future, remember not to take such risks," the Teaching Elder admonished.

'That won't do. These are spiritual items that can be exchanged for contribution points.'

He would still need to break through on his own in the future.

Yu Xiu agreed verbally, but in reality, he remained unmoved.

"Those who have not entered Qi Circulation, prepare well. In a few days, you will go down the mountain with the deacons to train!" the Teaching Elder spoke: "Do not be so resistant or afraid. Over the years, many Disciples of our Sect have soared to great heights during their training down the mountain, making rapid progress and achieving amazing results."

He looked at the Disciples who had already entered the Qi Circulation Realm: "Although you have entered Qi Circulation, you must still cultivate diligently and strive to enter the Inner Courtyard as soon as possible."

"You five, follow me to the Inner Courtyard!" The Teaching Elder led the way, heading towards the hillside.

Not far from Mianzhu Mountain was another mountain, 'Cuilin Mountain', where the Inner Courtyard was located. Halfway up the mountain, there was a cable bridge connecting the two mountains.

As the Teaching Elder walked, he instructed the five: "The Outer Courtyard focuses on the first two stages of the Ascending Dragon Realm, which are just the basics. But the Inner Courtyard focuses on the latter two stages, the Qi Sea and Life Spring. The difficulty will rise sharply, and more resources will be required."

"None of you come from wealthy families, nor do you have any background. After going to the Inner Courtyard, you will inevitably have to take on Sect missions to exchange for resources. Remember to be cautious, and then more cautious."

"The Yin Demons and evil spirits down the mountain are ferocious and hard to guard against. Even in some inconspicuous small missions, you might encounter powerful evil spirits or Devil Heads at the Great Four Passes level."

"Although resources are important, you must also understand the principle that if a craftsman wants to do his work well, he must first sharpen his tools."

The few of them obediently agreed and thanked the Teaching Elder for his guidance.

When they arrived at the Internal Affairs Hall of the Inner Courtyard, they exchanged their Inner Courtyard identity tokens and were assigned their living quarters.

The Teaching Elder received quite a few contribution points in the Internal Affairs Hall.

The five of them—Senior Brother Liu Qingchuan, Shan Yu, Senior Brother Zhao Hong, Senior Sister Xu Rou, and Yu Xiu—could all be considered potential Disciples cultivated by the Teaching Elder, so he naturally received the corresponding contribution points.

Afterwards, the Teaching Elder returned to the Outer Courtyard, leaving only one sentence: "Cultivate diligently in the future. If you have any matters, you can seek the Teaching Elder of the Inner Courtyard. This Elder comes from the same lineage as me and has some relationship with me."

The few bowed to thank him and watched the Teaching Elder leave.

It was unclear whether it was because Yu Xiu and the others had cultivated to the Qi Sea in three years and thus had good potential, or if this was just how it was when Outer Courtyard Disciples entered the Inner Courtyard.

There was a young male Disciple named 'Hao Yuan' in the Internal Affairs Hall who led the way for them. First, they went to their respective residences, and then they went to a cliff.

This cliff was dozens of zhang high, but it looked strange. The cross-section was extremely flat and smooth like a mirror. Countless years had passed, yet not a single weed or sapling had grown on it.

What was even stranger was that there were many Inner Courtyard Disciples gathered in front of the cliff, either quietly sensing, touching it with their swords, or standing nearby.

Hao Yuan smiled and said, "This place is one of the wonders of the Inner Courtyard, called 'Sword Severing Cliff'."

"Do you know why so many fellow Disciples are gathered here?"

Senior Brother Zhao Hong asked cooperatively, "Why?"

Hao Yuan said, "This cliff was slashed out by a single sword strike from the Main Sect's true Disciple 'Qi Wendao' three hundred years ago."

"Although three hundred years have passed, the Sword Intent on it has never dissipated, so not a blade of grass grows."

"I heard that there was once a highly talented senior who, in front of this cliff, sensed the Sword Intent of Junior Martial Uncle 'Qi Wendao' and thus developed a Sword Heart."

"Therefore, junior Disciples all want to borrow this to comprehend Sword Intent."

Upon hearing this, Shan Yu and Senior Brother Liu Qingchuan's eyes lit up.

"A single sword strike splitting a mountain, and the Sword Intent hasn't dissipated for three hundred years?!" Senior Brother Zhao Hong and Senior Sister Xu Rou yearned for it.

Only Yu Xiu silently closed his eyes and quickly opened them again.

'Three hundred years have passed, and the Sword Intent here has long since faded. It is no longer possible to comprehend a Sword Heart from this.'

Moreover, he already had a Sword Heart himself and likewise possessed Sword Intent.

The Sword Intent of Qi Wendao from three hundred years ago had no effect on him, so he was the most indifferent.

Hao Yuan smiled and said, "There are no restrictions here. In the future, you Junior Brothers can come here to comprehend the sword at any time."

He then took Yu Xiu and the others to the Inner Courtyard dining hall and other places, finally saying, "Since you Junior Brothers have just entered the Inner Courtyard, the top priority is to study the Qi Sea Realm Cultivation Technique and sword formula. Let's go, I will take you Junior Brothers to the Scripture Pavilion."

Senior Brother Zhao Hong's heart stirred, and he asked, "Senior Brother Hao, is there a significant difference between this Qi Sea Realm Cultivation Technique and the Leakless or Qi Circulation Realm techniques?"

"Significant difference?" Hao Yuan smiled, "Our Sword in the Hand lineage still integrates Cultivation Techniques into sword techniques; it is still sword practice, but the difficulty is much higher."

"A Qi Sea Realm sword formula has twenty chapters of sword techniques, corresponding to the nine levels of the Qi Sea Realm, so it is the most time-consuming to cultivate."

"Even the three highly talented Senior Brothers, Zhu Wenjiu, Feng Zhiyuan, and Zhang Yundu, who cultivated through the Leakless and Qi Circulation stages in one year, spent a full year just to barely complete the Qi Sea Realm."

"Normally, it is not surprising to stay at the Qi Sea stage for ten, twenty years, or even a lifetime."

'A Qi Sea Realm sword formula has twenty chapters.' Yu Xiu's eyes lit up.

If all of them were cultivated to Perfection, how much Comprehension Ability and Lifespan would that add!

This is a good thing!

As for staying at the Qi Sea stage for ten or even twenty years, Yu Xiu didn't hear a single word of it.

Tell that to my Comprehension Ability, which has broken two hundred!