When it comes to putting on airs, Shu Fu wouldn't even acknowledge a wall, she only admired Jiang Xuesheng.
Putting on airs isn't difficult; the hard part is making every single act of bravado be solid gold, each word as good as a nail, ensuring every piece of tough talk is fulfilled, never slapping one's own face in the end.
And Jiang Xuesheng was precisely such a remarkable man—one who only slapped others' faces, never his own.
Not long after Shu Fu entered the sect, she heard countless incredible tales from her fellow disciples, enough to fill a three-hundred-episode documentary.
It was said that Master Qiu hadn't been in his position as sect leader for long. Although he was appointed by the previous leader, his seniority was less than Master Huaigu's, and his personality wasn't as forceful as Master Jinghai's, so he inevitably faced constraints.
In dealing with these two, the sect leader, mindful of the bigger picture, consistently avoided direct confrontation, showing them great respect and striving to maintain harmony among the various peaks.
To talk about Masters Huaigu and Jinghai—neither was exactly a great villain, but one was vain and status-obsessed, the other stubborn and self-assured. Their disciples followed their example, and most had rather unadmirable temperaments. Even if surface harmony was maintained, during lectures or martial contests, many disciples from other peaks still suffered grievances.
Master Jinghai's Tianji Peak specialized in the path of sword cultivation. Although slightly inferior to Tianxuan Peak, it boasted strength in numbers, with quite a few outstanding disciples whose combat prowess was extraordinary.
Master Huaigu's Tianquan Peak was a production hub for "life-skill players," excelling at refining elixirs and magical artifacts, which were indispensable for cultivation, making everyone somewhat dependent on their goodwill.
Thus, on one hand, they held the advantage in martial power; on the other, they controlled the lifeline of resources, firmly occupying the upper echelons of the pyramid and becoming the tacitly acknowledged "first-class citizens" within the Jiuhua Sect.
Before the large-scale appearance of the original story's malicious supporting characters, the Jiuhua Sect had no explicit hierarchy, no obvious discrimination or bullying, but this invisible sense of superiority was everywhere. Many newly entered, low-ranking disciples had to swallow their pride before Tianji and Tianquan Peaks.
Over eighty percent of the original story's main characters and bizarre plotlines also originated from these two peaks.
Master Qiu had the intention to balance their influence, but firstly, his own position wasn't secure, and secondly, he couldn't afford to confront his martial uncle and fellow disciple head-on. He could only proceed step by step, making progress with great difficulty.
And then...
With a sky-shattering bang, "your daddy" made a dazzling entrance.
It was in this style that Jiang Xuesheng suddenly appeared in the Jiuhua Sect.
He came from the Eastern Sea, bearing a letter of introduction from one of the four great sects, the Profound Jade Palace, and it was personally written by the legendary "Fairy Lingbo."
His cultivation was unfathomably deep, his temperament proud, unruly, and aloof. He never knew how to give others face, but was exceptionally skilled at tearing people's faces off, and after tearing them, he'd lay them on the road and run a steamroller back and forth over them.
He accepted disciples widely, teaching without discrimination, treating human and demon race disciples alike as his own. His three personal disciples weren't human: one was a descendant of a swan goose, one was a Jade Rabbit princess, and another was a merman from the deep sea—truly covering land, sea, and air.
He could advance to confront challenges head-on, and retreat to refine pills, forge artifacts, and draw talismans—a veritable all-rounder in cultivation. He single-handedly broke Tianji Peak's monopoly on martial power and Tianquan Peak's monopoly on resources.
He, with his own strength, changed the Jiuhua Sect.
He, was like a predestined male lead from a certain X Literature website.
"Alright, I can't keep making this up."
Shu Fu took a shallow sip of tea and waved a hand at Fangfei, who was buzzing with excitement beside her. "That's all for today."
"Ah—"
Fangfei's face fell with disappointment, stretching long. "Miss, are you going back already?"
Shu Fu set down the plain white porcelain teacup in her hand and patted Fangfei's shoulder reassuringly. "No choice, I still have to go back and cultivate."
Since their parting that day, Shu Fu had taken up residence on Yaoguang Peak, while Fangfei had followed Master Danlin back to Dongming Peak, living among the many outer sect disciples, studying medicine and pharmacology daily. When Shu Fu had some free time, she would also use the teleportation array to come visit her.
During this period, the cultivation life in the Jiuhua Sect was exceptionally peaceful and uneventful, so much so that Shu Fu nearly forgot the original story's tragic romance setting.
On Yaoguang Peak, there were no third-rate villains, no school bullying, only a bunch of birds and beasts playing music in all sorts of ways from morning till night—harmonious yet never lacking excitement, like a large wildlife park. Shu Fu loved nature and animals; mammals, birds, even reptiles were all fine by her. She was having a blast, though the constant crowing and calls all day were a bit tiring.
The three words "I can do this," she was already tired of saying.
As for cultivation, Jiang Xuesheng wasn't in a hurry to teach her any cultivation method. He just had her meditate and regulate her breathing daily on the painted boat in the center of the lake to solidify her foundation, and also found a Tianxuan Peak disciple to teach her swordsmanship.
This disciple was none other than Zhong Lan, who had returned from her travels. She often took on the role of instructing new disciples at Tianxuan Peak, being experienced and skilled at explaining complex concepts simply. Sometimes she would even bring along her junior martial brothers and sisters to spar with Shu Fu, providing a complete package of theory and practical combat, truly covering all aspects.
Under Zhong Lan's careful guidance, Shu Fu rose early and rested late each day, cultivating both internally and externally. Her lifestyle habits were countless times healthier than back in the modern day—no more backaches or leg pains, and she even walked with more vigor. Occasionally going out for a stroll, she could climb three mountain ridges in one go.
Shu Fu: I love cultivation, cultivation makes me happy.
According to fellow disciples, among the current younger generation of the Jiuhua Sect, Liu Ruyi and Qi Yexin were the most outstanding. Next came her Jade Rabbit senior sister, her merman senior brother, the pretty sister from Tianxuan Peak, and several of Master Jinghai's prized disciples.
The fact that his prized disciples were losing to demonic cultivators clearly put Master Jinghai in a foul mood, making him desperately need a "Dragon Proud Sky" male lead to salvage his standing.
Shu Fu understood this perfectly and was more than happy to add fuel to the fire, making his mood even worse.
Male lead? Doesn't exist. [jg]
"For this entrance trial, I'm determined to take first place," she told Fangfei with certainty. "A lot of people are waiting to see. Sir has been good to us; this time, I need to really make him proud."
"Mhm! I believe in you, Miss!" Fangfei nodded repeatedly, then said thoughtfully, "I heard from my senior brothers and sisters that other loose cultivators and outer sect disciples preparing for the trial are currently staying temporarily at the Lecture Hall. Miss, do you want to go take a look? Actually, I really want to participate too, but I started too late. I can only wait for the next one in sixty years."
Shu Fu smiled with confidence. "I was just thinking the same thing."
As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated." She didn't plan to be overconfident; pre-battle reconnaissance was quite necessary.
Calculating the time, Bai Tian should be arriving at the mountain soon.
She didn't have the flair and grandeur of Jiang Xuesheng, but since he was an acquaintance after all, she still needed to prepare a little something as a gift to welcome him.
Thinking this, Shu Fu decided to return to Yaoguang Peak first to dig up some novel trinkets for Bai Tian, and by the way inform Jiang Xuesheng of her plans.
Jiang Xuesheng's residence on Yaoguang Peak wasn't particularly luxurious or ostentatious—just a small quadrangle courtyard by the Yaoguang Pond, less impressive than some dwellings individually crafted by disciples.
In the center of the courtyard grew a jacaranda tree, its branches nearly covering half of the skywell. From a distance, it resembled a haze of blue and purple, ethereal and dreamlike. Jiang Xuesheng seemed to have a unique obsession with colors. Besides the jacaranda, the courtyard was tastefully dotted with irises, hydrangeas, and larkspurs. The ground was carpeted with a small blue flower called "glazed arabesque," its vivid hues seeming to blend into the azure clear sky.
Shu Fu called out "Sir" at the entrance. Upon receiving a response, she entered and immediately saw Jiang Xuesheng reclining on a low daybed—no matter how one looked at it, it was the "beauty couch" from her memory—with one hand supporting his temple. Before him floated an unfurled scroll that appeared to be a map.
Several differently colored light dots floated on the map. Shu Fu spotted at once that there were two white light dots at the location of the Jiuhua Sect, already circled.
White indicated the White Phoenix, the Swan Goose.
To the west, at the location of Lingxiao City, there was a whole cluster of golden, shimmering light dots swirling together. The largest among them was especially eye-catching, almost like a ball of light, inscribed with the three flowing, tiny golden characters: "Ling Shanhai."
Ling Shanhai.
Shu Fu remembered that was the name of the current number one figure in the cultivation world, the only Great Ascension stage cultivator, and the present City Lord of Lingxiao City.
Everyone said that aside from the so-called "Celestial Immortal from Beyond" Purple Tenuity Immortal Lord, no one in the world today could match him. As long as Purple Tenuity Immortal Lord did not descend into the mortal world for a day, no one in the cultivation world could surpass Ling Shanhai.
To be honest, Ling Shanhai himself had few evil deeds. However, perhaps due to difficulties in having children earlier in life, he doted excessively on his few offspring, even more so than Yaoguang Peak, which fostered the eldest young master Ling Fengqing's attitude of "those who submit prosper, those who resist perish." Calling him the root of all evil in Lingxiao City wasn't far off.
To take Ling Fengqing's wretched head from under his very eyes was truly a difficult task, requiring careful planning.
Shu Fu was momentarily stunned. "Sir, this is...?"
"Just some trivial matters."
Seeing her enter, Jiang Xuesheng waved his hand and retracted the scroll, raising his brows gently with a mild expression. "What brings you here today with free time? I see you spending all your time with Zhong Lan and the others, almost as if you don't recognize me anymore."
"I wanted to go to the Lecture Hall to see that young master from the Bai family and bring him a greeting gift."
Shu Fu didn't stand on ceremony with him either, stating frankly and half-jokingly, "If one wants to refine pills or artifacts within the Jiuhua Sect, aside from Tianquan Peak, one can only turn to you, venerable Sir. How about I write you an IOU?"
Jiang Xuesheng nodded lazily. "Don't mention 'old,' and everything is negotiable. Perfect timing, I have some things for you. You can consider them for gifting."
What Jiang Xuesheng gave Shu Fu weren't particularly rare or precious magical artifacts either. Most were little trinkets he had casually made, perhaps considering Shu Fu's wish to "rely on herself to get through." If it were only these items, even Master Huaigu would find them too shabby to pay special attention to.
In addition, there was a neat set of brand-new clothing in red and white, complete from inner to outer garments, even including a long cloak similar in style to Master Qiu's, with proud red plum blossoms adorning a pure white background; a simple yet elegant necklace, its pendant inlaid with two scales, one large and one small. The larger one was pure white, the smaller silvery-gray, both looking like jade and ingeniously polished into petal shapes.
"These two items are somewhat more valuable than the others, consider them greeting gifts from me and your two senior brothers. As for Zhao Yun's portion, we'll make it up when she returns."
Jiang Xuesheng pointed them out with a leisurely demeanor, as if merely handing out a few flowers and some inexpensive jewelry. "The material of that clothing is mermaid silk, light, thin, soft, warm in winter and cool in summer, and it doesn't sink in water. The scales are mermaid scales, containing spiritual energy inside, helpful for regulating your meridians. That cloak was originally winter clothing Liu Ruyi made for himself. I wanted him to make a new one, but he was oddly reluctant, so he ended up bringing his own over."
"Reluctant?"
Shu Fu was puzzled. For some reason, she couldn't imagine this word applying to the generous and forthright Liu Ruyi.
"Could it be the cloak's material is extremely precious?"
Jiang Xuesheng: "If we're talking precious, it certainly is precious. After all, it's swan goose down."
Shu Fu: "..."
"No, wait a moment."
Her hand had already touched the cloak's soft, silky fabric. Hearing this, she felt dizzy and quickly withdrew her hand to support her forehead. "You mean, Senior Brother plucked his own feathers, made them into clothes, and wore them himself? What's the point of that?"
Jiang Xuesheng explained: "The Five Phoenixes each have their own distinct colors and pride. The Swan Goose holds white in highest esteem. No matter how much Ruyi loves those bright colors, he cannot dye his own feathers, lest he become a laughingstock among the other four clans."
"He thought it over and could only find a compromise: first collect his own feathers, then ask the Tianyan Sect to dye them colors and make them into clothing. That whole wardrobe of his, full of colorful dresses—in terms of material, it's all the feathers he's molted over the past hundred years."
Shu Fu: "..."
"Ah, swan goose feathers truly are good stuff, useful everywhere. It's just a shame Ruyi treasures them as dearly as life itself. Even when I ask, they aren't easily obtained."
Jiang Xuesheng reached out to gently stroke the cloak, his tone casual as if merely discussing a hard-to-find clothing brand. "If refining pills or artifacts requires them, one can only quietly pluck one or two while Ruyi is sound asleep. Now that we have Big Yellow, everything is much more convenient..."
Shu Fu: "What?"
No.
What did you just say?
Didn't you just say something utterly outrageous, not just as a master but as a living being? Could it be your painstaking effort to retrieve these two swan geese wasn't to protect endangered species, but just because you coveted their feathers?
Shameless! You are truly shameless!
"Sir."
Shu Fu couldn't help but voice a soul-searching question. "To you, is Senior Brother just a feather-plucking tool without feelings?"
Jiang Xuesheng flatly denied it: "Of course not."
Just as Shu Fu breathed a sigh of relief, she saw him state with a clear conscience:
"Every part of a swan goose is a treasure, each with its own wonderful use. What I care about is hardly just their feathers."
"Is this something a human should do?"
"I'm not one, am I?"
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