Chapter 48
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Chapter 48: The Framework of the World
“Awake?” Ming He heard a clear and pleasant voice, slowly opening her eyes to see the white spiritual light flowing across the hall’s ceiling. This was… the side hall of Qingyun Peak?
As she looked around, she saw her Master standing by the window in loose robes, his back facing her as he gazed out at the scenery.
Had her Master saved her?
Ming He moved her fingers in surprise and discovered her injuries had mostly healed, but pain still lingered, prompting her to frown and let out a low groan.
“Did Master bring me back?” Ming He weakly asked, leaning against the wooden frame as she slowly sat up from the bed.
“Not I,” the Sect Master replied, still facing away from her, preventing Ming He from seeing his expression. “It was your Shishu.”
Shishu?
Confused, Ming He turned her head to find another person in the hall—a man between youth and middle age, lightly waving a fan in his hand. He wore a headscarf, and his demeanor was relaxed, with a wine jug in the other hand. He sat lazily in a nearby chair, casting a casual glance her way.
“It was I who saved you and brought you back here,” the scholar-influenced man in blue said with a playful smile and a lively tone. “No need for thanks, little martial niece.”
Ming He replied, “… Thank you for saving my life, Shishu.”
She bowed lightly in the direction of the man in blue, too preoccupied with her own worries to inquire about his identity and what had happened. Instead, she turned to the Sect Master, her tone urgent. “Master, what about my junior brothers?”
Including Zhao, the inner sect disciple who had encountered her on his way to Liu Yun Sect for help, there were a total of eight people who had faced those monsters. When she arrived, only five had been alive, and by the time she left, two had perished in battle, leaving just three remaining.
Zhao was the fourth survivor.
“Only four have survived; the other four sacrificed in battle,” the Sect Master said, his tone somber. “Xiao He, do not blame yourself; you did very well.”
If other cultivators at the Spirit Guiding stage nine levels had been present, it was uncertain if they would have even had the courage to draw their swords. Even if they did, they wouldn’t have survived.
Their swords were not sharp enough to cut through those monsters’ defenses.
“I should have done better,” Ming He said, lowering her head, feeling a slight heaviness in her heart. She had only just begun to accept Liu Yun Sect, and had only recently resolved to protect its disciples and fulfill her duty as an inherited disciple.
If she had been stronger, if she had reached the Xuan Wei realm, would things have been different?
Ming He did not know the answer, nor was it necessary to know now. She understood the principle of not dwelling on the past; still, her heart felt restless with unfulfilled anger.
“Does Master know where those monsters came from?” Ming He asked, her voice low as she described the appearance of the monsters. She looked up at her Master, awaiting his response, only to see him lower his head, a look of despondency on his face.
“I do,” the Sect Master replied. “Xiao He, I previously asked if you wished to go to Floating Cloud Sect; you said you wanted to go. Do you still wish to go now?” He glanced at the scholar seated in the chair, sipping tea, and asked Ming He in a low voice.
“Master,” Ming He frowned. “That’s not what I’m asking about.” She only wanted to know the origins of these monsters; what did that have to do with going to Floating Cloud Sect?
“It is related,” the Sect Master said, perceiving her thoughts. “It is very much related. If you wish to go to Floating Cloud Sect, then I will tell you everything. If not, knowing some things right now may only be a burden.”
The Sect Master turned his back to her again, adding, “But if you choose to go to Floating Cloud Sect, you will face certain difficulties that you would not have had to otherwise. It may be very hard for you.”
Floating Cloud Sect, endure.
Choices may be difficult.
Ming He’s eyes flickered, her heart in turmoil. “I heard that Master dealt with Hehuan Sect on my behalf. Did you win?” she suddenly changed the subject.
The Sect Master was taken aback by her abrupt shift in topic and fell silent for a moment. “I won.”
After a long pause, he spoke lightly, “From now on, people from Hehuan Sect won’t dare to act against you; I made sure of that.” He smiled proudly, clearly satisfied to have avenged his disciple.
Ming He also smiled. “So, does Master hope that I will go to Floating Cloud Sect?” She gazed at her Master’s straight back, as upright as a pine tree, and spoke softly.
“Hope,” the Sect Master said, turning to meet her gaze with a hint of relief, “but you do not need to answer me so quickly.”
He interrupted Ming He as she was about to exclaim, "I want to go," saying, “Your injuries are not fully healed yet. First, go to the Ling Pool to recover. In three days, once you are well, if you still wish to go to Floating Cloud Sect, I will tell you the origins of those monsters.”
Three days.
“Alright.” Ming He agreed and stood up, bowing again as she walked towards the hall’s exit. She needed to go to the Ling Pool for healing; it was one of Liu Yun Sect’s secret places, useful only for injured disciples.
Three days was just the right amount of time for her to recover from her injuries.
“Do you really want to hand her over to me to teach?” After Ming He left, the Scholar in Blue stood and walked over to the Sect Master, placing his palm against his back to channel energy. His demeanor remained carefree and relaxed, but a hint of worry shadowed his face.
“Yes,” the Sect Master replied, spitting out a mouthful of dark red blood, his complexion instantly pale. “She is like a beautiful jade, and I cannot teach her.”
“Cannot teach?” The Scholar in Blue chuckled lightly, though he couldn’t hide his bitterness. “You are Qu Lingyun; there is no disciple that you cannot teach in this world.”
“But Qu Lingyun is not the same as she once was,” the Sect Master replied, his expression unchanged, remaining calm and untroubled. “My cultivation has stagnated, and my swordsmanship is nearly wasted. I cannot teach her. Moreover, Liu Yun Sect is truly very small.”
“But small also represents safety,” the Scholar in Blue countered. “At least in Liu Yun Sect, being your disciple is something special; outside, it’s a different story.” It would become a source of shame.
“True talents never fear difficulties. I know my disciples well. Xiao He has great aspirations; compared to great families and their dragons and phoenixes, she only falls behind in background and vision, but those can change,” the Sect Master said, wiping the blood from his lips as he sat down, taking a low breath.
“As for what she will face at Floating Cloud Sect, isn’t that up to you? Oh, and there’s Qin Chu Yi; she is truly a strong backing,” he added, a smile appearing on his face as if remembering something.
“Qin Chu Yi? Chu Yi Qing,” the Scholar in Blue replied, a touch of surprise in his tone. “So the little martial niece is also connected to her!”
“It’s no wonder you are so confident,” he retracted his spiritual energy while observing the Sect Master’s pale face, feeling a mix of disappointment and frustration. “I’ve always told you not to go out and fight randomly, yet you never listen.”
“That was to find a chance for my little disciple!” The Sect Master weakly retorted, puffing up with a hint of pride, “And besides, didn’t we win?”
“Yes, yes, yes, Qu Lingyun is the strongest!” The Scholar in Blue laughed, reminiscing about their youthful adventures together, his expression tinged with a hint of sorrow. If they had not met people they shouldn’t have in their youth, perhaps they could still have leisurely and carefree lives.
“Shidi, how is Yan Ran?” The Sect Master asked, watching the momentary silence on his face. Did he ever regret it? He didn’t know.
“Very well.” The Scholar in Blue smiled, concealing the emotions that shouldn’t have been shown. “This year, Nineteen is already at the fifth level of Xuan Wei realm. She practices swordsmanship, and before I left, she had just grasped her first stage sword intent. While she may not be as dazzling as Ming He in swordsmanship, she surpasses others by far.”
The Sect Master smiled, “That’s good.” Nineteen years old! He wondered how tall she had grown. Would she be taller than Ming He? What would she look like? Would she still remember him?
“Brother, you only ask about Yan Ran and not about Senior Sister?”
Three days later, Ming He pushed open the door to the side hall of Qingyun Peak but did not see her Master. Instead, she found her Shishu, the Scholar in Blue, leaning casually against the window but maintaining a sense of elegance and composure.
“Little martial niece,” the Scholar in Blue turned and called to Ming He. “I have come to tell you what you want to know.”
“First, let me introduce myself!” He placed his hands over his chest, adopting a serious expression. “I am Xie Dan Chen, inner sect elder of Floating Cloud Sect in the First Continent of the Eastern Region, and also your direct Shishu.”
“Disciple Ming He, under the tutelage of Liu Yun Sect in the Ninth Continent of the Eastern Region, pays her respects to Shishu.” Ming He frowned and seriously bowed; this was a disciple’s salute, quite different from her initial casual greeting three days prior.
“Truly interesting,” Xie Dan Chen remarked, smiling again as he returned to his carefree persona. “Do you want to know the origins and identities of those monsters?”
“Yes,” Ming He replied, her voice firm.
“They are the Tian Yan Tribe,” Xie Dan Chen stated, standing at the window and looking down at Qingyun Peak, where a flock of birds flew and circled gracefully. His eyes were sharp. “The Tian Yan Tribe is also a type of foreign race.”
He turned back to glance at Ming He, “Next, are you going to ask me what a foreign race is?”
“Ming He, do you know about the battlefield of the heavens?” The Scholar in Blue asked lightly, presenting a question that Ming He felt was familiar.
The battlefield of the heavens.
Ming He lowered her gaze, concealing the emotions swirling within her. She did, in fact, know a thing or two about this.
Qin Chu Yi had once posed the same question to her.
Later, Ming He had painstakingly scoured the original narrative to uncover those four words: the battlefield of the heavens. It was a realm suspended high above the nine heavens, a battleground where the human race clashed with the Myriad Races to safeguard the peace of the Tianwu Continent.
Qin Chu Yi had called it both a source of pride and a mark of shame for the human race.
The pride stemmed from the human race’s unwavering defense of the Tianwu Continent on the battlefield of the heavens. For thousands of years, they had held the line, preventing the Myriad Races from advancing even an inch—a feat achieved through the sacrifices of countless powerful allies.
The shame lay in the fact that, for millennia, the human race had only defended, never attacked. It wasn’t that they lacked the desire to strike back, but rather the strength to do so.
Holding their ground without retreating was already their greatest achievement.
The battlefield of the heavens had been forged by the life of the Sword Master, the mightiest of the human race. He had erected it to bar the foreign races beyond the Martial Gate. Generations of human cultivators had fought and bled on that battlefield, their legacy passed down through the ages, enduring and thriving.
Qin Chu Yi’s dream was to ascend to the battlefield of the heavens and confront the foreign races. That was why she had journeyed far and wide to the remote Liu Yun Sect in search of the Star Lock.
In the original tale, she was portrayed as a noblewoman who had forsaken everything for love.
As Ming He pondered this, she conjured an image of the Woman in White she had once seen. The two figures seemed impossible to reconcile.
Qin Chu Yi didn’t fit that description; she wasn’t that kind of person.
Xie Dan Chen, receiving no answer, assumed she had never heard of it. This was hardly surprising. The battlefield of the heavens, though of immense importance to the human race, had been established by the Sword Master. Without sufficient cultivation, one wouldn’t even be privy to its existence.
Ming He hailed from Qing Shi Town in Luoyin City, part of the ninth prefecture of the Eastern Region. The most formidable power she had encountered was the Hehuan Sect. The confines of her upbringing had limited her horizons, so it was only natural she hadn’t heard of such things.
“Ming He, why do you wish to join the Floating Cloud Sect?” Xie Dan Chen asked, bypassing his earlier question.
“Because the Floating Cloud Sect is small,” Ming He replied without hesitation, meeting his probing gaze. “Because I yearn for the world beyond. I want to rise, to stand atop the world’s highest peak.” She wanted to gaze down upon the vast expanse of the universe from its summit.
The ambition that had ignited within her upon learning the true nature of this world still burned brightly. She remembered the moment in that modest courtyard, fists clenched, vowing to herself.
With a three-foot azure blade, treading the path through the clouds, and ascending the Dragon and Tiger Rankings, she would make the name Ming He synonymous with greatness above the heavens.
Her words, spoken with unflinching resolve, mirrored the ambition and determination gleaming in her peach blossom eyes.
Moreover, she had promised Qin Chu Yi they would meet again at the Floating Cloud Sect, to explore the world together.
Ming He never broke her promises.
Xie Dan Chen stared at her, momentarily stunned. For a fleeting moment, he saw the shadow of his own master in his youth, back when they had just broken through their cultivation realms and been tasked with their first mission. They had encountered foreign races after slaying beasts.
The situation bore a striking resemblance to that of the inner sect disciples from Liu Yun Sect, but with one crucial difference: they had emerged victorious. They had returned to their sect with the heads of the foreign beings, and from their Master, they had learned of the battlefield of the heavens.
He still vividly recalled that day—his master, clad in white, now stained and disheveled with the blood of foreign races. Yet, the brilliance in the young man’s eyes had outshone even the bright moon. He had spoken of striving to reach the pinnacle, of wielding his sword to protect the human race from alien threats. That image mirrored the one before him now: Ming He, declaring her desire to rise.
The same fiery passion, the same unshakable confidence, and a swordsmanship talent that rivaled, if not surpassed, his own.
“No wonder you’re master and disciple!” Xie Dan Chen chuckled, his expression distant. “But Ming He, do you truly grasp the vastness of the world beyond?”
His smile faded, replaced by a grave seriousness. “The world out there is vast, but it is also perilous.”
Dangers far beyond what you can currently imagine.
