Chapter 23

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Chapter 23: Nebula Sword Art

On the third floor of the Liu Yun Sect’s library,

Ming He gazed at the thin booklet before her, a wave of self-doubt washing over her. Could this truly be the "Nebula Sword Art" that Master Sect Master had spoken of, the one that would help her grasp true sword intent?

By its appearance, it seemed no more than ten pages thick. How could such a slim volume demand one thousand contribution points?

But where could she possibly gather one thousand contribution points now?

After exchanging for Flickering Light, she was left with only two contribution points. Senior Brother Qing Feng had mentioned that inherited disciples received one hundred contribution points each month. Having been a disciple for just four months, she hadn’t even accumulated half of what she needed.

Ming He glanced around at the shimmering array of martial skills and techniques, resigning herself to the fact that she was still impoverished. So, where could she obtain such a large number of contribution points?

Waiting another six months was out of the question; on the path of cultivation, every moment was precious, let alone half a year!

With a flicker of thought, Ming He arrived at a solution. “The Task Hall!”

That was the place to accept tasks. She had taken on tasks before when she was still an outer sect disciple. Although she had toiled for three months to earn just a few contribution points back then, it was due to her low status and limited privileges. Now, as an inherited disciple, the tasks available to her would surely be of a different caliber.

“Exactly, the Task Hall,” a clear voice chimed in from behind her. “Accepting tasks is not only a means to earn contribution points but also a form of training for inherited disciples.”

“Second Senior Sister?” Ming He turned to see the elegant woman in purple. “What a coincidence, you’re here at the library too?”

“Not a coincidence,” Lou Qing Shang replied with a bright smile. “I came specifically to find you.”

“How did you know I would be here?” Ming He wondered, realizing that such coincidences were rare.

“The Nebula Sword Art is a must for every inherited disciple who practices the sword. Whether one comprehends true sword intent or not, it must be exchanged for,” Lou Qing Shang explained, picking up the thin booklet and waving it gently, her expression momentarily darkening.

“Exchanging for this sword art requires one thousand contribution points—that’s the minimum requirement. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll need specific Nebula Stones to deepen your understanding. Each Nebula Stone is quite costly and can only be obtained with contribution points.

So, to cultivate this sword art, you must head to the Task Hall and choose the most challenging tasks. The harder the task, the greater the reward.”

“Is that so?” Ming He mused. “Is this a test for inherited disciples?”

“Precisely. Otherwise, inherited disciples would receive one hundred contribution points every month without lifting a finger, never needing to take on tasks.

But the path of cultivation is a struggle against all things. A sword cultivator who never stains their blade can hardly be called a true sword cultivator,” Lou Qing Shang said, her smile lingering but her gaze growing colder.

“Why are you telling me all this, Second Senior Sister?” Ming He asked, recalling how Yun Zhao Feng had looked at her with disdain. Lou Qing Shang’s smile seemed warm, but could someone she barely knew truly be so open-hearted just because of a little Junior Sister?

Ming He felt a pang of skepticism, sensing there must be more to it.

She trusted only in tangible benefits and doubted the existence of genuine feelings in the cultivation world, especially when it came to her.

So, what did Lou Qing Shang want?

“What do you call me?” Lou Qing Shang asked with a smile, leaning closer. While Ming He was distracted, she deftly ran her fingers through Ming He’s dark hair, pleased with the soft texture, her eyes curving with delight. “Since you call me Second Senior Sister, then act like a little Junior Sister. Isn’t it exhausting to overthink everything?”

“As for why I’m telling you this, it’s not without reason,” she continued, turning her back to Ming He, her tone carrying a complexity Ming He couldn’t quite grasp. “Master must have told you that to comprehend true sword intent, you must practice the Nebula Sword Art. He wasn’t wrong. If anyone in Liu Yun Sect can comprehend true sword intent, it must be through the Nebula Sword Art.”

“I’ve practiced the Nebula Sword Art as well, but I hit a wall after reaching the introductory level,” Lou Qing Shang admitted with a soft, self-deprecating laugh. “Because my heart isn’t pure enough. A mind cluttered with distractions can’t truly commit to the sword. For me, the sword is merely an external tool, but you’re different.”

Lou Qing Shang turned to face Ming He, her gaze earnest as she looked at the girl in blue. “That day at the outer sect grand competition, during your battle with Liu Rui, I saw the moment you grasped sword intent!”

“Ming He, I believe you can comprehend true sword intent. That’s why I’m here.” It was a longing she had once held dear, a passion for the sword path that had driven her to the brink of sacrificing her cultivation, only to ultimately yield to reality.

Lou Qing Shang lowered her head, masking the desolation within, but when she looked up again, her eyes were calm, revealing nothing. “Before becoming a disciple, I too spent time in the outer sect of Liu Yun Sect.” Her status had been even lower than Ming He’s, and her circumstances far more precarious.

“Qing Feng told me that during my absence, Master took in a little Junior Sister and said she resembled me. But after meeting you today, I see we’re not alike at all.”

Lou Qing Shang set the thin booklet down and walked toward the stairwell. “Going to the Task Hall to accept tasks isn’t just about contribution points and training.”

She opened her mouth and tossed out another question without any intention of answering it. “Catch!”

The woman softly called out and pulled something from her bosom, throwing it towards Ming He.

Ming He instinctively reached out and caught a purple storage pouch shimmering with mysterious light, her eyes filled with surprise as she looked at the woman.

Lou Qing Shang was descending the steps with her robe lifted, turning her head with a bright smile that lit up her eyes. The purple hairpin atop her head swayed, creating a beautiful arc in her hair. “A gift for our first meeting!”

“Little Junior Sister, no need to thank me too much!” Lou Qing Shang raised an eyebrow playfully, her tone laced with expectation. After she said that, she turned and disappeared from Ming He’s sight.

What did it mean? She had said so much, yet Ming He struggled to grasp the full meaning. The earlier parts were just explanations and basic knowledge about the Nebula Sword Art, but the latter part was clearly infused with ulterior motives.

Ming He tucked the storage pouch away and chose not to comment. After storing the thin booklet, she stepped out of the library and stood at the fork in the road, contemplating her next move.

With six hundred contribution points, taking on tasks would take at least several months, especially the kind of difficult tasks that Lou Qing Shang mentioned.

Earlier, Su Cheng Feng had mentioned that in five months, the annual Su Clan gathering would take place. Subtracting the three months of her cultivation and one month since returning from the ancient cave dwelling, that left just one month.

One month. Should she go back?

That was the Su Clan, which did not really concern her.

However, she was using Su Ming He’s body, and although Su Ming He had little affection for her family, they were still connected by blood; being too indifferent wouldn’t be good.

Ming He clearly understood the power of harmful gossip. Though the world of cultivation doesn’t care about such things, if she could avoid it, why not?

She was naturally someone who considered benefits in everything, and she didn’t see anything wrong with that.

Ming He glanced at the task hall, deciding to return to Chang Ming courtyard first, though she wasn’t sure why.

Why go back if she just felt like it? She thought this as her steps felt lighter.

As she walked from a distance to the Chang Ming courtyard, she unconsciously looked at the closed and silent gate of the nearby Yun Xiao courtyard, still not seeing Qin Chu Yi.

She pondered for a moment, then pushed open the gate to Chang Ming courtyard with a heavy shove, only to see—Qin Chu Yi!

Qin Chu Yi was sitting on a stone chair around the stone table in the courtyard. Hearing the noise, she lifted her gaze with the same cold calm in her eyes as ever.

“Sister Qin?” Ming He was somewhat surprised, and her tone reflected that astonishment. “What are you doing here?”

“I saw you weren’t around, and I didn’t want to go back directly, so I climbed over the wall,” Qin Chu Yi explained lightly, her face unfriendly, gesturing for Ming He to sit and talk, showing a calm demeanor as if she were the owner of the courtyard.

Ming He obediently sat down across from her, her expression serious. “Sister Qin, that day in the darkness…” I had already obtained that star-shaped spiritual artifact.

“I know.” Qin Chu Yi interrupted her with a slight flutter of her eyelashes, her hands tucked in her white sleeves tightening in agitation, though her expression showed nothing. “Elder Lin has already told me about the details that day in the cave dwelling.”

Elder Lin was a formation master, and the sudden emergence of the cave dwelling was his doing. Naturally, everything that happened there was under his awareness; although he couldn’t intervene, he knew everything that transpired.

Su Ming He.

Qin Chu Yi looked at the girl in blue across from her with a serene but youthful face, feeling for the first time that she had underestimated her.

Despite her lowly cultivation, she could shine like a sword pointing at the black cat; clearly escaping death, yet willing to turn back; weak as she seemed, she possessed a powerful heart.

“So why did you come here today, Sister Qin?” Ming He’s heart skipped as she met Qin Chu Yi’s multi-faceted gaze, instinctively interrupting her stare.

“Actually, it’s nothing much.” Qin Chu Yi redirected her gaze to the ground. “I just have something for you.”

She lowered her head and took out a storage ring from her bosom, handing it over with a flat expression that revealed no emotion. After a pause, when Ming He didn’t reach out to take it, Qin Chu Yi looked up with confusion. That’s when she saw the girl in blue, whom she believed had a strong heart, with a dazed expression, clearly at a loss.

Qin Chu Yi asked in confusion, “Hmm?”

Ming He was taken aback. Thinking about it, she had received several rings today, luck was on her side!

She stared at the storage ring for a moment, and as their eyes met, she suddenly cleared her mind, accepted the storage ring, and tucked it away in her bosom. “Then thank you very much, Sister Qin.”

Qin Chu Yi clearly didn’t expect her to be so crisp and straightforward. Her heart felt a lingering reaction, momentarily unable to process it. “Don’t you want to ask why I gave you this ring?”

“Isn’t it a meeting gift?” Ming He blurted out instinctively, the next moment realizing that aside from holding the title of chief disciple, there wasn’t much relation between them.

Um… a bit awkward.

But it made sense after all; she was going to be a future sister-in-law!

Ming He thought this, justifying herself, “As the chief disciple of the sect, isn’t it proper to give a meeting gift to a Junior Sister?”

“Indeed, it is proper.” Qin Chu Yi looked at her assertive expression and felt an impulse to smile. The heaviness lingering in her heart since waking from her daze in the cave had slightly lightened. Instead of refuting, she agreed, her smile holding a hint of indulgence.

The storage ring was actually a token of gratitude—thanking her for helping to obtain the spiritual artifact in a dangerous place, for returning bravely to save her life, and for drawing the sword defiantly in the darkness.

But saying it was a meeting gift wasn’t wrong either. They were indeed meeting for the first time.

“How is your injury, Sister Qin?” Ming He noticed that Qin Chu Yi showed no signs of leaving and thoughtfully inquired.

“It’s nothing.” Qin Chu Yi responded softly, but her mind couldn’t help but wander to the moment when the spiritual artifact had been snatched away at a critical moment. Remembering the feeling of being controlled and constricted, even her blood seemed to freeze. The obsession she carried for so many years remained unsolved, filling her heart with extreme desolation and despair. The next moment, she spat out a mouthful of bright red blood.

The brilliant red stained the pristine white stone table, creating a shocking sight that pierced Qin Chu Yi’s eyes and startled Ming He’s heart.

“Sister Qin!” Ming He exclaimed, rising with the intention of infusing her with spiritual energy.

Qin Chu Yi waved her hand to refuse Ming He’s approach, slowly getting up and turning away, a self-deprecating look on her face. Her father and brother often warned that cultivators should always maintain peace of mind, avoiding pride and impatience, especially her.

But in the end, she couldn’t achieve that either.

The anger from being unable to move before her fainting, and the despair of knowing the spiritual artifact had changed hands; she spent almost a month calming her emotions, believing she could face gains and losses with equanimity, yet a small inquiry caused her to crumble.

But she just couldn’t see it that way!

Qin Chu Yi turned away to hide her emotions, proud and unwilling for anyone to see.

Ming He watched her back, someone who used to be so proud, cold, distant and indifferent now gave way to a display that felt particularly heartbreaking.

Standing under the sprawling branches of the pine trees, the white and green intermixed created a scene that appeared pale and lonely in Ming He’s eyes.

The clouds in the sky rolled and the sunlight cast warmth over the courtyard, yet it only made her seem more desolate and cold, as if she were isolated from the warmth, enveloped instead in the bitter chill of drifting snow, white as snow.

Ming He glanced once more at the red stain on the stone table, her mind conjuring again the glimmering sword light.

An impulsive feeling surged within her, and at that moment, she felt a sense of injustice, perhaps empathy too…

Ming He straightened her posture, knowing she could not be seen by Qin Chu Yi but still kept her expression serious and her gaze focused. “I’ll help you get it back!”