From martial arts sects to immortality sects

Chapter 26 King of Thieves
Li Qingqiu agreed to Zhang Yu's last-minute price increase. He planned to assess Zhang Yu's skill level first, and if he couldn't teach well, he would then dismiss him.

That evening at dinner, Li Qingqiu announced that all disciples would begin studying from the next day, attending Zhang Yu's classes on the newly reclaimed open ground below the mountain gate, and that no one was allowed to skip class.

So, after the morning practice session the next day, everyone except Li Qingqiu went to listen to the lecture. Even Yang Jueding was curious about whether the teacher was competent.

In his opinion, Zhang Yu's asking price was too high!

Since becoming a traditional martial arts elder, Yang Jueding has begun to consider issues from the perspective of the Qingxiao Sect.

At noon, Li Qingqiu returned to the courtyard and listened to the opinions of his junior brothers and sisters. They had a very high opinion of Zhang Yu, finding his teaching very interesting. Even Yang Jueding said that Zhang Yu was quite knowledgeable.

Hearing this result, Li Qingqiu was relieved.

Unfortunately, even the best teaching methods can become tiresome for students.

A month later.

Li Qingqiu took Xu Ning up the mountain. They went to the underground spiritual lake today. Xu Ning successfully reached the second level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm. Her little face was full of radiance, and her smile could not be hidden.

Upon arriving at the open space below the mountain gate, Li Qingqiu saw Zhang Yu instructing five disciples.

"I am very pleased with your eagerness to learn. But you must not follow the example of that kid Li Sifeng. He will suffer because of his temper sooner or later."

Zhang Yu spoke of Li Sifeng with indignation.

Upon hearing this from afar, Li Qingqiu knew that Li Sifeng had once again played a prank on Zhang Yu.

Since they became familiar with each other, Li Sifeng has enjoyed joking with Zhang Yu and teasing him for not knowing martial arts.

That's right, Zhang Yu doesn't practice martial arts. He said it was a rule set for him by his master, the Nine Veins Elder: once you learn the art of stealing the heavens, you can't practice martial arts. He has always kept this in mind.

Li Qingqiu gave Xu Ning a look, and Xu Ning understood. The two of them lowered their footsteps and quietly walked past Zhang Yu from behind.

Zhang Yu caught sight of them out of the corner of his eye, and his eyes widened immediately. He quickly waved and called out, "Sect Leader! I have something to discuss with you!"

Li Qingqiu pretended not to hear and quickly walked up the steps, with Xu Ning following closely behind. The master and disciple entered the mountain gate one after the other.

Zhang Yu reluctantly stopped, but in front of his disciples, he had to maintain the demeanor of a teacher and refrain from using vulgar language.

the other side.

Li Qingqiu arrived in the courtyard and saw Li Dongyue sitting under a tree, holding Yuan Li in her arms, while Yuan Qi stood aside, teasing Yuan Li.

In another corner of the courtyard, two female disciples were weaving clothes. When they saw Li Qingqiu enter the courtyard, they quickly stood up and raised their hands to greet him. This etiquette was taught to them by Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu felt that the rules of Qingxiao Sect were not clear enough. The act of bowing seemed cliché, but it was a way to consolidate one's status. If juniors did not bow to their elders, they would become lazy and even disrespectful over time.

Although Li Qingqiu could not agree, he could only let Zhang Yu teach etiquette since Zhang Yuchun, Jiang Zhaoxia, and Yang Jueding all approved.

After Li Qingqiu nodded to his two female disciples, he was about to walk towards Li Dongyue when Zhang Yuchun came out of the room next door and quickly came to him.

"Senior brother, I want to borrow someone from you!" Zhang Yuchun grabbed Li Qingqiu and said with a serious expression.

Li Qingqiu asked, "Borrow from whom?"

“Third Brother, I went down the mountain to recruit people but failed. I finally met a martial arts master who claimed that as long as someone can defeat him, he will grant that person one request, even if it means serving them like a slave for the rest of his life. So I wanted to ask Third Brother for help, but Third Brother is worried about the Seven Mountains Alliance and the Green Sect attacking and is unwilling to go down the mountain.”

Zhang Yuchun said somewhat helplessly that he felt Qingxiao Sect would not encounter any trouble for the next six months, and even if there was trouble, it could be resolved without Jiang Zhaoxia.

Li Qingqiu continued, "Are you sure you're a master?"

"Yes, that expert is in a forest on the edge of Taikun Mountain. It is said that he has been there for several years and acts strangely. I went to see him a few days ago. He is indeed quite capable. I couldn't defeat him, so I rushed back to ask my third junior brother for help. I was afraid that he would escape or that someone would get there first."

Zhang Yuchun replied, a look of anxiety appearing on his face.

He was genuinely anxious about Qingxiao Sect recruiting disciples. Apart from the villages at the foot of the mountain, he couldn't recruit any disciples anywhere else. People thought Qingxiao Sect had no future as soon as they heard it was Qingxiao Sect. Also, he was too young and seemed unreliable.

The Qingxiao Sect has many things to do right now, but the disciples are too young and there is a shortage of labor. He has to find a way to recruit experts to join the sect.

Li Qingqiu thought for a moment. Zhang Yuchun was able to return after failing to challenge that person, which meant that the other party was not a bloodthirsty person. It would be fine to send Jiang Zhaoxia there. Zhang Yuchun has been very busy these days, so he should be allowed to have his way this time.

“Go ahead and tell Third Junior Brother that I agree,” Li Qingqiu said.

Zhang Yuchun was overjoyed and quickly thanked Li Qingqiu before turning to leave.

The brothers had a deep bond, and Jiang Zhaoxia would believe Zhang Yuchun if he said that Li Qingqiu had agreed. Of course, Zhang Yuchun would not lie, and he would not issue any orders in Li Qingqiu's name before Li Qingqiu agreed.

Li Qingqiu approached Li Dongyue and said with a smile, "Dongyue, this little guy needs to be taken good care of. I feel he can become the future pride of Qingxiao Sect."

Li Dongyue smiled and said gently, "No matter how outstanding he is, I will take good care of him."

"Sect Master, if you really think so, then can you accept my younger brother as your disciple?" Yuan Qi asked expectantly. After arriving at Qingxiao Sect, his relationship with Li Qingqiu had become quite distant. He also knew that gaining Li Qingqiu's approval would not be easy, since he had not shown any extraordinary talent in martial arts. On some nights, he would feel sad and disheartened.

Li Qingqiu laughed and said, "Alright, when he grows up and can read, I'll take him as my apprentice."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Qi was overjoyed and immediately knelt down to thank Li Qingqiu.

Li Dongyue was secretly surprised to find that Li Qingqiu did not stop him. Could it be that Xiao Yuanli's talent was really extraordinary?
Xu Ning's cultivation achievements have already proven Li Qingqiu's judgment. With so many disciples in the Qingxiao Sect, Li Qingqiu did not easily accept any disciples, which shows how strict he is in accepting disciples.

"Get up, Yuanqi. Don't always put your younger brother first. You also need to work hard to learn martial arts. Talent is one thing, but hard work is also very important."

Li Qingqiu spoke earnestly, and upon hearing this, Yuan Qi stood up and nodded solemnly to him.

Afterwards, Li Qingqiu chatted briefly with Li Dongyue before returning to his room. He felt somewhat tired today, probably due to excessive energy expenditure from cultivating the Rejuvenating Ghost Immortal Needle.

Cultivators can go without sleep, but that's only if they don't expend their vital energy. For Li Qingqiu, having dreams occasionally is not bad.

He slept very soundly and didn't wake up until he heard a commotion.

He opened his eyes and saw that it was already dark outside the window.

He was secretly puzzled: why hadn't anyone invited him to dinner?

He rolled over and got up. Immediately afterwards, he heard someone begging for mercy outside the courtyard, and other disciples shouting angrily.

"Hmm? There are outsiders here?"

Li Qingqiu stood up and walked towards the door.

Meanwhile, near the main gate of the courtyard, a dozen or so disciples gathered. Among them was a young man dressed in black kneeling on the ground, his face bruised and swollen, tears streaming down his face. He was begging for mercy with his hands clasped together, looking utterly pathetic.

Xu Ning stood in front of him, her small face very serious.

Zhang Yuchun and Jiang Zhaoxia had already brought some dry rations down the mountain. No one dispersed the group of disciples, and the large number of people made it noisy.

Yang Jueding climbed over the courtyard wall and landed on the ground. He stood behind his disciples, looked closely, and exclaimed in surprise.

"Cheng Canghai, what are you doing here?" Yang Jueding asked.

The man in black kneeling on the ground looked at him, but instead of being surprised, he lowered his head in shame and indignation, wishing he could disappear into the ground.

When Li Qingqiu came out of the house, Li Dongyue came over carrying Xiao Yuanli. The two looked at each other, and Li Dongyue shook her head, indicating that she did not know either.

"What's the fuss about?"

Li Qingqiu strode over and asked.

Upon hearing his voice, the disciples quickly dispersed and bowed to him.

This scene made Zhang Yu, who was standing on the edge, nod in approval, feeling very satisfied.

Qin Ye spoke first: "Master, this person sneaked into our sect to steal things, but was captured by Senior Sister."

The senior sister he mentioned was naturally Xu Ning. Although Xu Ning was younger than him, she had become Li Qingqiu's disciple first, and her martial arts skills were so high that he was completely convinced of her abilities.

Steal something?
Li Qingqiu had no doubts, after all, the Qingxiao Sect was not what it used to be, and there were things that could be stolen.

He walked up to Cheng Canghai and looked him up and down.

Cheng Canghai quickly said, "I'm just hungry, I want to get something to eat..."

Xu Ning scolded, "Did you just take a few things? You stole a whole roast chicken, and you also took two jars of wine, which you smashed on the ground. This is not over!"

Upon hearing this, Li Qingqiu's face also darkened.

Although Qingxiao Sect has become wealthy, with so many mouths to feed, everything must be carefully planned. A whole roasted chicken is a rare luxury, and this guy actually dared to steal it!

"I will make it up to you! Give me a chance, at most five days, and I will definitely come back with the money to compensate you!"

Cheng Canghai hurriedly said, not caring about anything else, he turned to look at Yang Jueding and said, "Great Hero Jianglong, you know the weight of my promise, please speak up for me."

When Yang Jueding heard that two jars of wine were gone, he was so angry that he blew his nose and glared. Now that Cheng Canghai asked him to plead for him, he said irritably, "Speak up for you? I'm ashamed to even know you. The king of thieves, instead of stealing the people's hard-earned money from the powerful and wealthy, you come to our mountain to steal chickens and wine? Stealing is one thing, but you even got caught by a kid. Aren't you ashamed of yourself!"

His words only made things worse, and Cheng Canghai immediately broke down in tears, sobbing, "Yang Jueding, is this a child? She's practically a demon! You could never be her match!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Jueding was furious. How could he possibly be no match for Xu Ning?
He watched Xu Ning go up the mountain, and in such a short time, Xu Ning has surpassed his twenty years of hard-earned cultivation.

But when his gaze inadvertently swept across Xu Ning's profile, he felt a strange tremor in his heart.

　Thank you Shui Xiu for the 2388 Qidian coins!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)