From the fake emperor to the concubine

Just then, there was a knock on the door outside the cave. Lin Qing opened the door and found Zheng Haoran, Zheng Qingyue, and Zheng Yunfei.

"Junior Brother Lin, we've come to see you," Zheng Haoran said with a smile. "We heard you sparred with the family head today?"

Lin Qing was a little embarrassed: "Yes, but I lost terribly."

“That’s normal,” Zheng Yunfei said. “The patriarch is a Nascent Soul Realm expert. How could any of us juniors possibly fare well against him? Don’t even mention that you’ve only been learning swordsmanship for half a month; even I probably wouldn’t last more than a few moves.”

Zheng Qingyue said gently, "Junior Brother Lin, don't be discouraged. To receive personal guidance from the Clan Head is an immense opportunity. Cherish this chance; your future is bound to be bright."

"Thank you very much, senior brothers and sisters," Lin Qing said gratefully.

Zheng Haoran added, "By the way, we've discussed it and decided to form a small group to learn from each other and improve together. Junior Brother Lin, would you like to join?"

Lin Qing's eyes lit up: "Of course I'm willing!"

"Then it's settled," Zheng Yunfei said. "Starting tomorrow, we'll meet every three days to exchange cultivation insights and spar. With a master like the patriarch, and with the help of each other, Junior Brother Lin's progress will definitely be faster."

A warm feeling welled up in Lin Qing's heart. In such a short time since arriving at the Zheng family, he had not only met a good master, but also made so many good senior brothers and sisters. This kind of warmth was something he had never experienced at home.

"Thank you all!" Lin Qing bowed respectfully.

"We're all in this together, no need to be so polite." Zheng Haoran patted him on the shoulder. "Get some rest, and keep up the good work tomorrow."

After the three left, Lin Qing returned to bed and lay down to rest.

Three days later, early morning.

Lin Qing was practicing his sword outside his cave when he suddenly heard Zheng Qingyue's voice: "Junior Brother Lin, the family has a mission that requires you to come with me."

Lin Qing stopped what she was doing, sheathed her sword, and turned around: "Senior Sister Zheng, what's the mission?"

Zheng Qingyue walked over and explained, "It's an escort mission. The Zhang family in Qingyun Town are affiliated merchants of our Zheng family. They recently purchased a batch of precious spiritual materials and need to escort them back to the Zheng family. The family sent me to meet them, and considering that you've only recently joined the sect and need practical experience, we're having you come with me."

"An escort mission?" Lin Qing's eyes lit up. He had been practicing his sword these past few days, and although he had improved rapidly, he had only been swinging his sword at the air and had never actually fought anyone. Now he finally had a chance for real combat.

“Not bad,” Zheng Qingyue nodded. “This mission isn’t difficult. At most, you’ll encounter some bandits in the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment stages. They pose no threat to me, but they’re perfect for you. It’s a good opportunity to test your cultivation progress these past few days.”

Lin Qing bowed respectfully: "Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Senior Sister."

"No need to be so polite, we're from the same sect," Zheng Qingyue said with a gentle smile. "Go and prepare; we'll meet at the mountain gate in a quarter of an hour."

"Yes!"

Lin Qing returned to his cave, packed his belongings, and hung the longsword his master had given him at his waist. Although he hadn't yet begun cultivating the "Golden Thunder Technique" and was just an ordinary person, his diligent sword practice over the past few days had at least given him some ability to protect himself.

Fifteen minutes later, at the mountain gate.

Zheng Qingyue was already waiting there, accompanied by three outer disciples. These three were all at the Foundation Establishment stage and were among the better-performing newly recruited disciples of the Zheng family.

“Everyone’s here, let’s go,” Zheng Qingyue said.

The five of them rode the wind, flying towards Qingyun Town. Lin Qing couldn't fly yet, and Zheng Qingyue was carrying him with her spiritual power. This made him quite embarrassed, but it also strengthened his resolve to start cultivating as soon as possible.

Qingyun Town is about 300 li away from Taixu Peak. At their speed, they can arrive in about two hours.

Along the way, Zheng Qingyue explained the details of the mission to Lin Qing: "The Zhang family deals in spiritual materials and is quite famous within a thousand miles. The spiritual materials they've purchased this time are quite valuable, including several thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum mushrooms, more than a dozen pieces of black iron ore, and some rare demon beast materials. If they're robbed by bandits, the losses will be enormous."

"There's been a lot of bandit activity in the Qingyun Town area lately," an outer disciple added. "I've heard there's a bandit gang called 'Black Wind Stronghold' that specializes in robbing merchant caravans. Their leader, Black Wind Old Demon, is said to be at the late Foundation Establishment stage, and he has dozens of henchmen under his command."

Lin Qing memorized this information, a slight nervousness creeping into his heart. Although his master said he was progressing rapidly, he had only been learning swordsmanship for half a month and was still just an ordinary person. If he really encountered bandits, he didn't know if he could handle them.

Two hours later, the group arrived at Qingyun Town.

It's a small town, but as a major commercial center, it's quite prosperous. The streets are bustling with people, and various shops stand side by side.

The Zhang family's residence was located in the center of town; it was a large three-courtyard house. As soon as Zheng Qingyue and her party arrived at the gate, a steward came out to greet them.

"So it's the immortal masters from the Zheng family! Master has been waiting for a long time, please come in!" the steward said respectfully.

The group entered the courtyard and arrived at the main hall. A well-off middle-aged man in his fifties greeted them; it was Zhang Yuanshan, the head of the Zhang family.

"Fairy Zheng, we've been waiting for you!" Zhang Yuanshan said, bowing. "I've been on tenterhooks for days about this shipment, afraid something might go wrong."

"Don't worry, Patriarch Zhang, with me here, the goods are absolutely safe," Zheng Qingyue said confidently.

Zhang Yuanshan nodded repeatedly: "With Zheng Xianzi's words, I'm relieved. The goods are ready, loaded onto three large carts. When do we depart?"

Zheng Qingyue glanced at the sky: "It's already noon. Why don't we have lunch before setting off and try to get back to the Zheng family before dark?"

"Okay, okay, I'll have the kitchen prepare it right away," Zhang Yuanshan said happily.

Lunch was sumptuous, consisting of delicious dishes from the mortal realm. Lin Qing ate to his heart's content. Although he had enjoyed spiritual fruits and delicacies at the Zheng family's residence these past few days, he still preferred the simple, everyday atmosphere of the mortal world.

After the meal, Zhang Yuanshan personally led everyone to the courtyard to inspect the goods. Three large carts were already loaded and covered with thick cloth curtains. Zhang Yuanshan lifted a corner, revealing the boxes inside.

“This contains all spiritual materials, and every single one has been registered.” Zhang Yuanshan handed Zheng Qingyue a booklet. “Please take a look, Fairy Zheng.”

Zheng Qingyue took the booklet, carefully checked it, and nodded, saying, "No problem, we can set off now."

So, the convoy slowly drove out of Qingyun Town.

Zheng Qingyue led four disciples to guard the caravan. She flew at the front to scout ahead, while three outer disciples guarded the sides and rear of the caravan, and Lin Qing was positioned next to the large cart in the middle.

"Junior Brother Lin, you'll be in charge of this vehicle," Zheng Qingyue instructed. "Although you haven't started cultivating yet, Master has taught you swordsmanship, so dealing with ordinary petty thieves shouldn't be a problem. If you encounter an enemy at the cultivator level, just shout for help, and I'll come immediately."

“Yes, Senior Sister!” Lin Qing nodded solemnly.

The convoy traveled along the mountain road. After leaving Qingyun Town, the road narrowed, flanked by dense forests. This type of terrain was exactly where mountain bandits liked to ambush.

Everyone became more vigilant. After walking for about an hour, Zheng Qingyue's voice suddenly came from ahead: "Be careful, someone's lying in ambush!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a dozen masked men suddenly sprang out of the woods and surrounded the convoy. These men were armed with knives and swords, and their eyes were fierce; they were clearly not good people.

"If you want to live, leave your stuff behind!" shouted the burly man at the head of the group. He was shirtless, revealing his muscles and scars, and held a large knife in his hand, which emitted a faint spiritual energy fluctuation—it was a low-grade magic weapon.

"People from Black Wind Stronghold?" Zheng Qingyue said coldly, "How dare you rob the Zheng family's goods?"

The burly man was taken aback: "The Zheng family? Which Zheng family?"

"The Zheng family of Taixu Peak," Zheng Qingyue said calmly.

The burly man's expression changed slightly. The Zheng family's name had been making waves in the area lately. But with the die cast, he had no choice but to proceed. He gritted his teeth and said, "I don't care about the Zheng or Li families, we're taking this shipment today! Brothers, charge!"

A dozen or so bandits swarmed forward. Most of them were at the Qi Refining stage, except for the burly man who had reached the early Foundation Establishment stage.

Zheng Qingyue sneered, and the Xuanbing Sword was drawn, flashing with cold light. Before the three Qi Refining stage bandits could react, they were frozen into ice sculptures, and then shattered into dust.

"What?!" the burly man exclaimed in shock. "A Golden Core cultivator?"

He could sense the powerful aura emanating from Zheng Qingyue, an aura far beyond what a Foundation Establishment cultivator could possess. A sense of foreboding washed over him, and he turned to flee.

"Trying to escape?" Zheng Qingyue changed her hand gestures, and countless ice arrows appeared out of thin air, shooting towards the burly man.

The burly man fought desperately, but the gap between the Golden Core stage and the Foundation Establishment stage was too great. Within moments, he was riddled with ice arrows and fell to the ground dead.

Seeing the situation was turning against them, the other bandits scattered and fled. Three outer sect disciples gave chase and quickly dealt with several of them. However, a few bandits still escaped in the direction of Lin Qing.

Lin Qing's heart tightened. Three bandits were charging towards him, each wielding a sword and a knife, their eyes gleaming with ferocity. Although these men were only at the Qi Refining stage, they still posed a threat to Lin Qing, who hadn't even begun cultivating.

"Kid, die!" The leader of the bandits slashed at Lin Qing with his knife.

Lin Qing instinctively drew his sword and blocked the attack with the first move his master had taught him: "Chop".

when--

The swords clashed, producing a crisp metallic clang. Lin Qing felt a jolt in his arm, but it wasn't as strong as he had expected.

Moreover, he clearly saw the other person's movements.

The speed of that slash seemed somewhat slow to Lin Qing. He could clearly see the trajectory of the blade, even the contraction of the opponent's arm muscles, and could predict the angle from which the next slash would come.

What... what's going on?

Lin Qing was a little confused, but his hands didn't stop moving. Following the sword technique his master had taught him, he flicked his wrist back, the tip of his sword going straight up to stab the bandit's wrist.

The bandit tried to sheathe his sword to defend himself, but it was too late. Lin Qing's sword was too fast, and the angle was tricky, perfectly exploiting his blind spot.

puff--

The sword tip pierced the bandit's wrist, and the bandit screamed as the knife fell to the ground.

Lin Qing pressed his advantage, sweeping his sword across the bandit's throat once more. Blood gushed out, and the bandit, clutching his neck, collapsed in disbelief, his eyes wide.

The other two bandits, shocked and enraged by the death of their companion, attacked Lin Qing together.

But in Lin Qing's eyes, the two men's movements were still slow. He could clearly see the man on the left slashing at him from the right, while the man on the right thrust at him from the front. The timing of their attacks was inconsistent, leaving openings in between.

Lin Qing moved his feet, sidestepping the knife on the left, while simultaneously thrusting his longsword forward, striking the blade of the man on the right. The man's sword was deflected, revealing an opening in his chest.

Without hesitation, Lin Qing thrust out his sword.

The bandit tried to retreat, but it was too late. The sword tip pierced his heart; his eyes widened, and he collapsed to the ground.

The last bandit panicked completely. He looked at Lin Qing, his eyes filled with fear. This person, who looked like just an ordinary teenager, had actually killed two Qi Refining stage cultivators, and his movements were fluid and clean—he was definitely not a novice!

"Spare me," he stammered.

But Lin Qing showed no mercy. His master had taught him that mercy to the enemy was cruelty to oneself. These bandits had robbed and killed countless innocent people; their deaths were not a pity.

With a single slash of his sword, the bandit's head flew off, and his body fell to the ground.

The entire process took only a dozen or so breaths. Lin Qing killed three Qi Refining stage cultivators in succession, and he didn't even break a sweat.

He looked down at the sword in his hand and the three corpses on the ground, somewhat incredulous. Could he really have done this?

"Junior Brother Lin, well done!" Zheng Qingyue flew over, her face showing admiration. "You've only been learning swordsmanship for half a month, yet you've already killed a Qi Refining stage cultivator. Your progress is even faster than I expected."

The other three outer disciples also gathered around, their eyes filled with surprise and admiration as they looked at Lin Qing. Although they were also Foundation Establishment cultivators, they didn't have such achievements when they first entered the sect.

"I...I don't know either," Lin Qing said, somewhat bewildered. "Their attacks seemed very slow to me, and their weaknesses were easy to spot. I was just responding according to the sword techniques my master taught me..."

Zheng Qingyue was taken aback, then understood and smiled, "I see. Junior Brother Lin, do you know why this is?"

Lin Qing shook his head.

"Because you've been sparring with the patriarch these past few days," Zheng Qingyue explained. "The patriarch is a Nascent Soul Realm expert; his speed and reaction time far surpass ordinary people. While sparring with him, your eyes have become accustomed to that speed. So when you face these Qi Refining Realm cultivators, their movements appear very slow to you."

She paused, then continued, "It's like someone who's used to walking in a storm; when they return to calm, they feel incredibly relaxed. The training the patriarch gave you was so intense that dealing with these small fry is now a piece of cake for you."

Lin Qing suddenly realized.

That's it!

No wonder he always felt so weak when sparring with his master, unable to even touch the hem of his master's robe. It wasn't that he was too weak, but that his master was too strong! (End of Chapter)