From martial arts sects to immortality sects

Chapter 160 I Still Want to Become the Number One in the World
Jiangzhou, Xujun, Baima City.

This is a bustling city traversed by a great river, with many merchant ships coming and going. Numerous rivers, large and small, meander beneath the streets, creating many stone bridges that attract scholars and talented women from all over the world. Some paint on the bridges, some compose poems on the willow banks, and some beauties wave their arms from their windowsills, their every smile and gesture drawing the attention of passersby on the streets and bridges. All these scenes are like a magnificent painting.

Even though the world was in chaos, White Horse City remained bustling and unaffected by the war.

The arrival of dusk added a touch of desolation to the once bustling scene of White Horse City.

In the northern part of the city, there stands a grand mansion with three large characters engraved on the plaque above the main gate.

Lingtian Mansion!
Lingtian Prefecture is vast, occupying nearly a quarter of Baima City. Within the prefecture are numerous martial arts training grounds of varying sizes, where many martial artists are practicing, sweating profusely, resembling a private army.

In one of the martial arts training grounds, a man in black stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the young men and women practicing martial arts in front of him. He nodded slightly, his eyes full of satisfaction and anticipation.

"Protector Xiao's body tempering technique is indeed remarkable. By tempering the body with the energy of heaven and earth, these little guys will have the ability to roam the martial world in less than twenty years, no, less than ten years."

The man in black thought to himself, his name was Tian Jiang, the head instructor of Lingtian Sect, who had a hundred instructors under his command who were in charge of teaching young disciples martial arts.

At this moment, a man with a knife at his waist walked over quickly. He came to Tian Jiang's side and said, "It is expected that more than a dozen disciples will come tomorrow. They are from the He Yue Gang."

Tian Jiang frowned and said, "What kind of sect is the Heyue Gang? I've never heard of it. How come the Prefect is accepting even Tom, Dick, and Harry?"

The man with the sword chuckled, “We’ve only recently taken over the Jiangzhou martial arts world, and we’re short-handed. We’ll take in as many as we can. Besides, the Heyue Gang is no pushover. Although they only have two or three hundred members, their leader was once a formidable figure in the martial arts world and is a genuine top-tier expert.”

Tian Jiang scoffed, "What first-class master? Only those who enter the realm can be considered first-class masters."

"Entering the country is extremely difficult. Even our Lingtian Sect doesn't have many. So stop complaining. Once we unify the martial arts world, the sect leader will take care of the personnel. Don't forget, we're going to deal with the Qingxiao Sect. I don't need to tell you how powerful the Qingxiao Sect is."

The man with the knife suddenly lowered his voice and said, "People have to die. It's better for outsiders to die than for our own people to die."

Tian Jiang frowned. He felt that such behavior was too despicable and would damage the prestige of the number one sect in the world. However, considering that Qingxiao Sect was still there, Lingtian Sect was not the number one sect in the world, so he could only endure it.

Although he is the head instructor, his power is limited to Lingtian Prefecture; he has no decision-making authority over major matters.

Seeing that his expression was still unpleasant, the man with the sword smiled and said, "By the way, the news of our destruction of the Jiang family has spread. The martial arts world is in an uproar and everyone is waiting to see how the Qingxiao Sect will react. Given Li Qingqiu's domineering personality, he may have already sent people down the mountain. Although there are protectors in the mansion, you still have to be careful and not get killed by the Qingxiao Sect disciples who have infiltrated."

Tian Jiang scoffed, saying, "People in the martial arts world praise Li Qingqiu to the skies, saying he can fight against thousands of troops. I just don't believe it. In my opinion, it's because Zhao Zhi is incompetent and has committed heinous crimes that the soldiers deliberately let Li Qingqiu kill him."

The man with the knife shrugged and didn't refute him, because there was no point in saying anything.

After exchanging a few more words, the man with the knife turned and left.

Lingtian Sect is expanding rapidly, and everyone is very busy with too many things to do.

In their eyes, Lingtianmen was not the invaders; they were doing something unprecedented, unifying the order, and striving for peace for the world. This ideal fueled their fighting spirit.

As darkness approached, Tian Jiang clapped his hands, drawing the attention of all the young disciples in front of him.

That's enough for today's training. Be on time for Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow!

Tian Jiang spoke loudly, his voice booming, his attitude somewhat harsh due to his agitated mood.

However, he noticed that the young disciples did not cheer and disperse as usual, but all stared at him intently.

No, it's not about looking at him!
Tian Jiang subconsciously turned around to look, his pupils dilating as he did so.

Following his gaze, they saw figures standing on the high walls at the edge of the mansion, looking at them. And the number of figures was increasing, all of them wearing uniform blue robes.

Tian Jiang realized something was wrong and was about to speak when a whooshing sound came from the air, startling him so much that he instinctively moved to the side.

Poof——

A flying sword swept in, slicing open Tian Jiang's throat. The blade then embedded itself in the stone slab of the ground, splattering blood around it.

After a brief moment of shock, the young disciples of Lingtian Sect screamed and scattered in all directions as the sound of Tian Jiang falling rang out.

At this moment, the flying sword stuck in the ground trembled violently and flew back, eventually landing in Jiang Zhaoxia's hand.

The figures standing on the high wall were none other than Qingxiao Sect disciples led by Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning.

More and more Lingtian Sect warriors spotted them, and soon the drumbeats began, growing louder and louder, quickly plunging the entire Lingtian Prefecture into a tense and deadly atmosphere.

Xu Ning glanced at Jiang Zhaoxia and asked, "How do we kill him?"

She couldn't possibly understand the rage in Jiang Zhaoxia's heart after her entire family was wiped out, so she handed over the reins to Jiang Zhaoxia.

Jiang Zhaoxia said, "We will only kill the people from Lingtian Sect. Those who were absorbed into the sect can be spared. It depends on who speaks first. If someone speaks too slowly, they deserve to die."

"From this point on, let no martial artist in the world dare to enter the Lingtian Sect again!"

Having said that, he leaped into the air and flew towards the mansion like a wild goose. Xu Ning was surprised; faced with such a deep-seated hatred, why was Jiang Zhaoxia's murderous intent less intense than before?

In the past, even without a blood feud, Jiang Zhaoxia would never show mercy when carrying out missions.

Without thinking twice, she followed closely behind.

After destroying this Lingtian Prefecture, they will go to other Lingtian Prefectures. Their mission is to eradicate all the Lingtian Prefectures throughout the Nine Provinces.

……

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling the forest floor. A young man was practicing his boxing against a large tree, his fists striking the trunk relentlessly, even as they left it bloody and mangled.

He is Jiang Zhaoxia's younger brother, Jiang Nian. Now 23 years old, he looks somewhat similar to Jiang Zhaoxia, only his figure is thinner.

With each punch he threw, the faces of his enemies flashed through his mind—those arrogant, laughing faces from the Lingtian Sect that made his heart feel like it was about to explode.

Most importantly, when he thought of Jiang Zhaoxia's previous mockery of him, he hated the whole world.

An unprecedented hatred fueled his burning desire to become stronger.

Before his family was massacred, he hated martial arts and thought that studying and becoming an official was the right path. But when his family was massacred, where was the government?
He now only trusts his own fists.

"You won't become stronger this way; you're just demeaning yourself."

A voice came from the side, and Jiang Nian turned his head to look. He saw a boy who looked to be about ten years old walking over.

Although the boy was young, he exuded a composure beyond his years.

Jiang Nian glared at Yuan Li and asked, "Who are you? What do you know?"

“My name is Yuan Li. Like you, my family was wiped out, and only my brother and I survived,” Yuan Li said as he walked over. He stopped ten steps away and looked calmly at Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian was stunned upon hearing this.

He frowned and said, "So what? Do you want to persuade me to let go of my hatred? To be like you? You're still young. How much do you remember about hatred? I'm different. I just went through it. Do you know what it feels like to watch your mother have a sword pierce through her chest, to watch your father have his arm cut off and scream on the ground?"

He became increasingly angry as he spoke, and his voice even trembled with tears.

Yuan Li looked at him and said, "I really don't know what that feels like, but I know your brother has already gone down the mountain and is probably fighting your enemies. And you, here, are giving up on yourself. Do you really think that punching a tree ten thousand times will bring you revenge?"

Jiang Nian choked, took a deep breath, and asked through gritted teeth, "Then what should I do? I'm new here, how could I possibly learn advanced martial arts?"

“You should first fulfill your duties as a disciple and calm your mind through labor. Once you are calm, you will naturally be able to learn martial arts. However, the most powerful thing about Qingxiao Sect is not martial arts, but the method of cultivating immortality,” Yuan Li said earnestly.

"The method of cultivating immortality?"

Jiang Nian's eyes widened. He had heard before that Qingxiao Sect was a place for cultivating immortality, but he had always thought it was nonsense.

Yuan Li continued, “Given your relationship with Uncle-Master Jiang, you will surely be able to learn the methods of cultivation in the future. But if you maintain your current mindset, what use will it be if you learn the methods of cultivation? If you go to seek revenge, what is the point of Qingxiao Sect nurturing you? If you die outside, wouldn’t the cultivation resources you enjoy be wasted? Do you know that you are not only wasting your own resources, but also the resources of other disciples?”

Wasting resources?

This was the first time Jiang Nian had ever heard such a statement in his life. He wasn't angry; instead, he was curious about Yuan Li's words.

"On Qingxiao Mountain, there are many orphans and many disciples who are burdened with deep-seated hatred. My master once said that revenge is a matter of course, but it should not be the only thing for the living to do."

Yuan Li's words touched Jiang Nian.

He had heard that the Qingxiao Sect often went down the mountain to adopt orphans, and that during Zhao Zhi's reign, those orphans might not have been any less miserable than him.

Yuan Li continued, “Trust your brother. He is very capable and will definitely avenge you. You don’t need to fill your heart with hatred. What you need to do is to emulate him and rebuild the Jiang clan. I think your parents and your clansmen will be very pleased when the Jiang clan prospers again.”

Rebuild the Jiang clan!
Jiang Nian opened his eyes wide as a gentle breeze blew towards him, giving him a feeling of sudden enlightenment.

Yuan Li turned and left. He had just happened to be passing by, so he offered some advice to Jiang Nian. He couldn't help but pay attention to this person whose background and experience were similar to his own.

Jiang Nian looked at Yuan Li and asked, "And you, at such a young age, you've grasped such profound truths. What are your goals for the future?"

Yuan Li stopped in his tracks, but did not turn around. He answered in a firm tone, "I want to cultivate immortality, I want to protect Qingxiao Sect, and I want to become my master's greatest pride."

"I want to become the best in the world."

After saying this, Yuan Li once again took a step away.

As Jiang Nian watched his retreating figure, she couldn't help but sense a strong sense of resentment and determination in his tone.

　First update this morning! A brief map is attached to give you an idea; just click a couple more times to see it. It's also posted in the book review section~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)