From martial arts sects to immortality sects

Chapter 10 Heavenly Thunder Spiritual Root
Why did you bring people back with you?

Li Qingqiu was surprised, but her expression remained unchanged.

Having previously taken in seven disciples, none of whom have yet cultivated any vital energy, Li Qingqiu's desire to expand his group has diminished considerably.

The path of cultivating immortality is not one that everyone can pursue.

If they cannot cultivate immortality, they may become a burden to the Qingxiao Sect, so they must be cautious in recruiting disciples in the future.

After unloading his carrying pole, Zhang Yuchun quickly approached Li Qingqiu, panting, and said, "Senior brother, a mutiny broke out in Guzhou. We encountered many refugees on the road, and that child followed us for a hundred miles. We couldn't bear to leave him, so we had no choice but to take him in. In the words of our third junior brother, the perseverance he showed in following us this far is enough to make him a talent in martial arts."

A hundred miles away?
It's really not easy. Let alone such a small child, even an adult would be exhausted walking this far, and then there's still a long way to go up the mountain.

Li Qingqiu looked at the little beggar and saw that he was still able to stand, which was quite remarkable.

He then asked, "How did a mutiny happen? Did you encounter any trouble on the way?"

Zhang Yuchun replied, "We didn't encounter any trouble because the army was rampant and we rarely saw any bandits. After entering the city, we learned that the country had not been peaceful in recent years, the government was inactive, and famine was rampant in various places."

Li Qingqiu felt sympathy for such a momentous event, but was powerless to do anything about it.

He asked curiously, "Given the situation, where did you get the money to buy so many weapons? You didn't resort to robbery, did you?"

Zhang Yuchun raised his hand, pointed his thumb at Jiang Zhaoxia behind him, and said with a smile, "Thanks to my third junior brother, his swordsmanship has attracted the attention of a family in the city. The young master of that family wanted to recruit him into their household, but he refused. So they rewarded him with a large bag of money and said they would come to Qingxiao Sect to see him in the future."

"You're taking it for free?"

"Of course not. We promised that if their family encounters any trouble, they can send someone to Qingxiao Sect to deliver a message, and we will do our best to help them."

"That's more like it. That's how human relationships work. They deepen through give and take. The other party is generous, so it's worth trying to win them over for us right now."

Li Qingqiu nodded, agreeing with Zhang Yuchun and the other man's promise. He believed that one should not owe others something for no reason, and this was also a good opportunity for Qingxiao Sect to make a name for itself.

If the Qingxiao Sect left behind by Lin Xunfeng were a major sect with a solid foundation, they wouldn't need to come down the mountain.

On this mountain, resources are limited, and recruiting disciples is difficult, so entering the world becomes an unavoidable matter.

Li Qingqiu also needs to rely on the development of Qingxiao Sect to make himself stronger. During this time, he realized that his cultivation talent was no match for Jiang Zhaoxia's. He went to the underground spiritual lake every two days, but he still hadn't broken through to the second level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm.

However, since he was able to replicate fate before, he will be able to do so in the future, so he is still full of hope and has not been discouraged.

The disciples helped Zhang Yuchun and Jiang Zhaoxia carry their luggage. In addition to a pile of weapons, they also brought a lot of seeds, and they made a great harvest.

Zhang Yuchun brought the little beggar to Li Qingqiu and said, "If you want to join the Qingxiao Sect, you need the sect leader's permission. Our word doesn't count."

The little beggar looked to be only eight or nine years old, and was not even as tall as Li Qingqiu's shoulder. She looked up at Li Qingqiu with clear eyes and said, "Please, Sect Leader, take me in."

After saying that, she knelt down and kowtowed to Li Qingqiu.

The other disciples all cast curious glances at him. Li Qingqiu glared at them, and they immediately took their luggage and returned to the sect.

When only Li Qingqiu, Zhang Yuchun, and the little beggar remained in front of the mountain gate, the setting sun shone on them, stretching their shadows long.

Li Qingqiu looked down at the little beggar, but didn't tell her to get up. Instead, she asked, "What's your name? How are your family members?"

Once the little beggar joins the Qingxiao Sect, he can check the information to determine if she is lying.

Defenses can not do without.

Li Qingqiu was mainly afraid that she would be implicated in a huge feud, forcing Qingxiao Sect into the vortex.

The little beggar's forehead was pressed tightly against the ground, and she answered in a hoarse voice, "My name is Xu Ning. I have lived with my father since I was a child. A year ago, my father passed away, and I had to make a living on my own, barely surviving until now."

"Do you have any distant relatives?" Li Qingqiu pressed.

"No."

Hearing this, Li Qingqiu was completely relieved.

“Now, make three vows, and you can begin your training,” Li Qingqiu continued.

Zhang Yuchun immediately responded, instructing Xu Ning to repeat after him.

After she finished reading, Li Qingqiu personally helped her up and said, "Qingxiao Sect does not support idlers, but once you enter Qingxiao Sect, you are one of our own. We will not let you go hungry again, and we will let you live with dignity."

Xu Ning looked up at him, her eyes blank, clearly unmoved by his words. He didn't care; it was just a formality.

"Take her inside, let her take a bath and change her clothes first," Li Qingqiu said to Zhang Yuchun.

Zhang Yuchun nodded, then led Xu Ning inside. He wanted to take her hand, but she dodged him. He didn't think much of it, assuming she was just shy.

Li Qingqiu walked slowly behind, brought up the Daoist lineage panel, and found Xu Ning's portrait in the disciple details.

Xu Ning's profile picture was surprisingly pretty and fair-skinned. If he hadn't never seen this profile picture before, he would have had a hard time associating her with Xu Ning.

It was a girl?

Li Qingqiu thought in surprise, then clicked on Xu Ning's profile picture to check.

Name: Xu Ning

【Gender: Female】

[Age: 9 years old]

Loyalty (Leader/Sect Leader): 70/90 (Maximum 100)

[Cultivation Aptitude: Exceptional]

[Comprehension: Excellent]

[Destiny Chart: Rooted in Heavenly Thunder, Obsessive, Competitive]

[Heavenly Thunder Spiritual Root: A rare single-attribute spiritual root with an exceptionally outstanding talent for thunder-attribute Daoist arts. Thunder tribulations are actually an aid to those with Heavenly Thunder Spiritual Roots.]

[Obsessiveness: Once a decision is made, it will not change, even until death.] [Competitiveness: Born with a strong will and unwilling to be inferior to others.]

……

Li Qingqiu's breathing suddenly became rapid.

His talent for cultivation is exceptional!
Excellent comprehension!

Those who do the opposite of Jiang Zhaoxia are at least no less capable than Jiang Zhaoxia.

According to Li Qingqiu's understanding, the levels of cultivation aptitude and comprehension, from low to high, are extremely low, mediocre, average, good, excellent, and outstanding. He has not yet encountered any higher level terms.

Moreover, the destiny of having a Heavenly Thunder Spirit Root seems quite extraordinary.

What is most commendable is that Xu Ning's loyalty to Qingxiao Sect reached 90 points, while her loyalty to him was relatively low.

Is it because of her obsessive destiny that she has already decided that Qingxiao Sect is her home?

Li Qingqiu secretly looked forward to Xu Ning's future.

In the future, Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning can be appointed as the left and right protectors of Qingxiao Sect, specifically for fighting.

As he arrived in the courtyard, he saw Zhang Yuchun trying to pull Xu Ning into the house, but Xu Ning refused to go in and remained silent.

"Dongyue, you take care of Xu Ning and take her to take a bath and change her clothes."

Li Qingqiu spoke to Li Dongyue, who was watching the commotion not far away. As soon as he said this, Zhang Yuchun and Xu Ning both turned to look at him.

"Senior brother, this..." Zhang Yuchun asked, puzzled.

Li Qingqiu glared at him and said irritably, "She's a girl, what are you doing?"

girl?

Zhang Yuchun was so frightened that he quickly stepped back and looked at Xu Ning in astonishment.

Xu Ning turned and left, walking towards Li Dongyue who was approaching her.

Zhang Yuchun approached Li Qingqiu and asked in a low voice, "Senior brother, how are you sure she's a girl?"

"Your senior brother's eyesight is far superior to yours."

"Why didn't you say so before?"

"I thought you knew."

After hearing this, Zhang Yuchun looked at Li Dongyue and hesitated, "Should I go and take a look? What if I'm mistaken?"

"Fourth Junior Sister isn't without a mouth."

After saying these words, Li Qingqiu walked towards the gathered disciples. Yang Jueding also came out of the room and introduced the various weapons to the disciples.

Surprisingly, Zhang Yuchun and his companion brought back quite a variety of weapons, and none of them were defective.

Li Qingqiu picked up a long sword, examined it, and praised Jiang Zhaoxia beside him, "Well done."

"That's right. From now on, you can rest assured about what I do. Just focus on being your sect leader, and I'll handle everything," Jiang Zhaoxia said proudly.

"Oh, you're trying to sideline me?"

"What are you talking about? Do you think I'm that kind of person? Besides, you haven't done anything all day. At least I teach Fifth Junior Brother. You really haven't done anything."

"That's why I was able to become the sect leader. I have to think about a lot of things. You don't understand how tired I am."

The two disciples started bickering, and the other disciples were already used to it; no one dared to interfere in their daily drama.

Li Qingqiu pondered to himself, wondering if these swords could be used to cultivate the Supreme Sword Control Technique.
……

With the arrival of the New Year, Zhang Yuchun and Jiang Zhaoxia returned, which greatly excited Li Qingqiu. From dawn onwards, the entire Qingxiao Sect was bustling with activity.

The older disciples helped with the decorations, killing chickens and washing vegetables, while the younger disciples gathered around Yang Jueding, listening to him tell stories of the martial arts world.

Li Qingqiu also sat to the side listening, his gaze glancing at Xu Ning.

Xu Ning had changed into clean clothes, and compared to her appearance when she went up the mountain yesterday, she was completely different.

However, because of his heavy eye bags and thin frame, he doesn't look as good as in the Daotong panel, but you can tell that it's the same person.

Xu Ning sat at the back, listening to Yang Jueding tell stories, and did not yet integrate with the other disciples.

Li Qingqiu reached for the plate on the steps beside him, picked up a roasted corn on the plate, and said, "Xu Ning, come here."

Xu Ning turned to look at him, her gaze immediately drawn to the roasted corn in his hand. After hesitating for a moment, she stood up and timidly walked towards him.

When she came to him, Li Qingqiu didn't say much and simply handed her the roasted corn.

"Thank you."

Xu Ning said something in a low voice, then took the roasted corn. Just as she was about to turn around, she heard Li Qingqiu say, "Sit next to me, it'll be closer and you can hear me better."

Xu Ning glanced at him and saw that he was listening attentively to the story, so she sat down next to him and nibbled on the roasted corn in her hand.

"Wow wow-"

Before long, Li Qingqiu was drawn by a series of cries. He saw Li Sifeng running into the courtyard crying and shouting to Li Qingqiu, "Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother hit me! He almost beat me to death!"

He cried so hard that everyone turned to look at him.

Helpless, Li Qingqiu got up and walked towards him.

Xu Ning's gaze followed Li Qingqiu, her eyes wide open, and compared to yesterday, her eyes had a more spirited look.

　Thank you so much, Mouse, for the 100 Qidian coins!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)