Chapter 53 : You Cheated, Didn’t You
Chapter 53: You Cheated, Didn’t You?
A lone man and a lone woman.
The two did not continue talking at the doorway.
They walked along the corridor and stopped at the terrace on the third floor of the Ascension Inn.
The terrace was fairly clean and tidy, with some flowers and small aromatic herbs planted around.
Beside it was an old rattan chair, facing toward the distant Canglan Mountain.
Just from the arrangement, it was not hard to see the innkeeper’s yearning for the immortal mountain.
Fang Chang was the type who would never stand if he could sit.
He ignored Cheng Hua, plopped himself onto the rattan chair, swaying lazily, utterly at ease.
Seeing him sit, Cheng Hua subconsciously followed suit.
But there was no matching chair on the terrace, so she pulled over a small square stool from beside the flower beds.
If disciples of Canglan Mountain saw this, they would surely be shocked.
At this moment, her white skirt spread across the ground, her well-proportioned, slender jade-like legs lifting the fabric slightly.
Cheng Hua—normally pure-hearted, indifferent, and never showing anyone a pleasant face—was now sitting low beside Fang Chang like a little maidservant.
The Ascension Inn was close to spirit-rich mountains.
A gust of mountain wind swept in.
It was indescribably fresh and pleasant.
Fang Chang narrowed his eyes, lazily indulging in it.
“How long have you been here?”
Cheng Hua suddenly asked.
“Just arrived this morning~”
“If you had come earlier, during the Ascension Ceremony, my master could have used some methods to bring you into the sect. Even if people in the sect saw it, they wouldn’t make trouble.”
It was like a university teacher pulling a student through the final exam.
You might not know anything, but if you scribbled something down, they could turn a blind eye and give you points.
But if you left it blank or didn’t show up, there was no way to pull you through.
“It’s not like the Ascension Ceremony is the only way in. The innkeeper told me there’s another method called the ‘Waiting for the Heavenly Steps.’”
Fang Chang felt his mouth a bit empty.
Noticing a few sweet potato seedlings in the small garden nearby, he reached over, plucked them, picked out the tender stems and leaves, ran Spiritual Essence through them, and popped them into his mouth to chew.
Cheng Hua shook her head. “Your aptitude is unheard-of poor. I don’t even know how you got in before… you won’t pass the Waiting for the Heavenly Steps.”
That stung a bit, Fellow Daoist Cheng.
“I’m not set on becoming a disciple of Canglan Mountain anyway. Among the Twelve Orthodox Paths, there are plenty of sects.”
Hearing this,
Cheng Hua paused.
The wind brushed past, slightly disheveling her hair, yet her cold expression did not change in the slightest.
After a while, she said:
“If I say I will bring you into the sect, then I will. It can be done—you just need to stay here at the Ascension Inn for a few more days.”
“Wait for the next Ascension Ceremony? That’s three years later, Fellow Daoist Cheng… by then I’ll already belong to some other sect.”
She shook her head. “With the Direct Disciple Trial approaching, the entire sect is tense, and many rules are strictly enforced. Once this period passes, I will have my master personally bring you into the sect.”
“Forcefully pulling me in? Won’t that cause gossip?”
“My master’s reputation in the sect is already poor. Let them talk.”
Well then.
Just like that, letting her own master handle the dirty work.
Fang Chang rolled the words “Direct Disciple Trial” around in his mouth, casting a meaningful glance toward the peaks of Canglan Mountain.
“If you hadn’t fallen in cultivation, how confident would you be in taking first place?”
“There is no ‘if’ in this world.”
“You’re really no fun.”
“......”
Cheng Hua glanced at him. “By then, I will have broken through to the Fourth Realm. I don’t dare say I’ll take first place, but among the four direct disciple positions, I will certainly secure one.”
Fang Chang was somewhat surprised. “Four? The Sect Master is choosing four direct disciples at once?”
After all, he had never joined Canglan Mountain and didn’t understand their rules.
But he had interacted with other sects.
Direct disciples of the Sect Master essentially represented future candidates for the sect leader.
They were usually selected with extreme care—slow and meticulous. How could there be a case of choosing four at once?
Cheng Hua understood what he meant.
“The current sect master, Cui Xuan, has been in position for fifty-five years and has never initiated this before… this Direct Disciple Trial is the first in fifty-five years.”
So that was it.
No wonder Perfected Yue Su had resorted to such shameless methods.
Fang Chang smiled.
If he guessed correctly, among these four direct disciples, at least one would not bear the Cui surname.
And that person would appear highly talented, yet actually have a major flaw.
On one hand, it would be convenient when things went wrong.
On the other, it would silence criticism from outsiders.
Quite a nice plan, the Cui Family.
But calculating the timing—
that old man Cui Xuan was probably not far from the grave. Only now thinking about cultivating successors… it was rather late.
“So, you’re just giving up like this?”
“I am currently at the Second Realm, Spirit Preservation. While I am confident I can defeat those at the Third Realm, Guarding the One, this trial includes quite a number of Fourth Realm, Sitting in Forgetfulness disciples.”
“Just the Fourth Realm. How about I teach you a sword move? You might still win.”
“I know you have feelings for me, but there’s no need to boast or put on an act in front of me.”
“......”
That was a bit of a mood-killer, Fellow Daoist Cheng.
Cheng Hua continued, “Besides, I focus solely on cultivation and have no interest in becoming a direct disciple. You should be the same. Do not grow lazy or lose ambition just because you obtained Zhao Yuntong’s corpse.”
“I haven’t even entered the sect yet, and you’re already putting on the airs of a senior sister.”
Upon hearing the words “senior sister,”
a faint tingling sensation unexpectedly arose in Cheng Hua’s chest.
She was about to speak when she saw Fang Chang suddenly stand up, loosely holding a longsword in his hand that resembled warm jade.
Cheng Hua froze for a moment.
She did not recognize the sword. She did not pay attention to most people’s swords.
But the sword tassel—it was woven like something a woman would use.
Why did he have a woman’s sword?
Why?
“......”
“Although Canglan Mountain excels in the Grand Void Path, its swordsmanship inheritance is not weak either. The Five Elements Techniques integrated into swordplay create a unique flavor—just a bit too ordinary.”
Fang Chang casually flicked his wrist, forming a sword flourish.
Standing under the sunlight.
The chirping of insects suddenly ceased.
Cheng Hua froze, then felt a chill rise from the soles of her feet.
The Red Lotus Sword suddenly lifted, its warm, sun-like blade covered with a thin layer of frost. It then slowly traced an arc through the air—extremely slow, extremely light, as if parting an invisible thread.
The droplets on the plants in the small garden froze into ice crystals.
A cold wind suddenly swept through. The wind and dust, sunlight and airflow between heaven and earth all seemed to freeze at that moment, hidden within this single strike.
“Crack—”
The frost shattered abruptly.
The sword wind suddenly turned violent, as if delayed, slashing a white mark through the air.
Cheng Hua’s eyes widened in shock as she asked in disbelief, “This is…”
This strike used little Spiritual Essence, yet perfectly fused the Five Elements Techniques with swordsmanship.
She had never seen such a move.
If she could master it, just as Fang Chang said, cutting down a Fourth Realm cultivator would not be difficult!
“This sword is called Ice Dissolution… the movement of Kan Water and Dui Metal. It can slay the Three Corpses and Nine Worms, split the heavens and cleave clouds. With your clear Dao Heart, it suits you best.”
Fang Chang sheathed the sword and yawned.
Then he plopped back into the rattan chair.
Cheng Hua fell into thought. “Use it again. I don’t understand.”
“I won’t. Just a showy move.”
“......”
The move was etched into Cheng Hua’s mind. She did not understand it, but that did not mean she could not imitate it—whether she could imitate it correctly was another matter.
Seeing her immersed in it, Fang Chang was worried she would stubbornly focus on sword cultivation.
He could not help but remind her, “For you of the Grand Void Path, swordsmanship is ultimately just a technique. Don’t mix up priorities.”
As he spoke,
He opened the Corpse Refinement Path Class System and checked the accumulated feedback cultivation.
【Bound Target: Cheng Hua (Second Realm · Spirit Preservation)】
【Soul-Link Corpse Puppet: Zhao Yuntong】
【Current Harvestable Feedback Cultivation: 57↑】
As expected of you, Cheng Hua.
At this speed, she had already piled it up again in just half a month.
Fang Chang opened another panel, checking Lü Muxue and Zhang Su’s information.
It hadn’t been long—he had no expectation that Lü Muxue would advance by leaps and bounds like in the later plot. If she could just break free from the entanglement of Imperial Dragon Fortune, that would already be good.
As expected.
No progress at all. Bonus pool: 0…
Hm?
Fang Chang widened his eyes, even pulling his eyelids open:
【Bound Target: Lü Muxue (First Realm · Qi Absorption)】
【Soul-Link Corpse Puppet: Zhang Su】
【Current Harvestable Feedback Cultivation: 62↑】
Wait, Xuezi.
You cheated, didn’t you?