Chapter 59

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 59

The Tianheng Sect, as the host of this grand event, became busy with preparations.

Even though they were very proud of their sect, they had been reminded that, according to the Genius List, while Tianheng Sect was ranked as the number one, they were not strong enough to overshadow all the other talented individuals.

In fact, on the Genius List, the one with the natural sword talent from Tianyuan Sect was ranked first. Fortunately, Tianheng Sect held twenty of the top fifty ranks, and their beloved younger martial sister Song Mingzhu was just one rank below Ye Xuanye.

Since no one had really fought to compare their skills, who could say who the true number one disciple was? To gain the recognition and respect of the spiritual world cultivators, they still had to rely on the grand competition.

In previous years, some disciples who were not well-known managed to stand out in the grand competition and became surprising dark horses. After winning, those from small sects had a chance to be accepted by larger ones and could change their fate.

Therefore, even for large sects like Tianheng, the competing young disciples took the grand competition very seriously. If they did not perform well on their own territory, they would inevitably face punishment from their sect master or peak leader.

It is often said that preparation is key, and many disciples invested a lot of money in themselves, making sure to prepare ample pills, magical tools, and robes.

Those talented individuals who were usually well-known had plenty of resources, but before the competition, they still felt that their usual tools were not enough. Especially their familiar strategies could easily be anticipated by others, so to achieve better results, they needed to think of more backup plans before the event.

The inner disciples of the Tianheng Sect, who specialize in crafting weapons and alchemy, were already fully booked. Fortunately, many cultivators from outside set up their stalls, and as long as their skills were decent, they had no trouble finding business.

After all, even those disciples who are not competing still need pills and magic tools, and seeing the affordable prices outside, they unknowingly spent their spirit stones as if they were flowing away.

However, for the few exceptionally talented direct disciples of the Tianheng Sect, they do not need to worry about finding new magic tools like the other disciples do.

In a quiet little courtyard belonging to Wan Jian Peak, a bright and charming young girl said cheerfully, "Senior Sister Song, have you heard? Recently, many disciples in the sect have been praising that group of cultivators from outside. I think these younger martial brothers and sisters really lack experience; how can those outside sects compare to the treasures of our sect? They are all worthless."

Although the female lead Song Mingzhu may not compare to Ye Xuanye right now, she was indeed the top disciple in the Tianheng Sect at that time. Another powerful elder, who was at the Soul Changing Stage and much stronger than her, was her master. Their ages are different, and they are not in the same league, so they should not be compared.

In the sect, the titles of senior martial brother and senior martial sister are not based on age or simply the time of joining the sect, but are determined by cultivation level and the disciple’s status.

Even if Song Mingzhu is young, the servants and outer disciples of the Tianheng Sect, and even the inner disciples, must respectfully call her "Martial Uncle Song."

That’s right, it’s "Martial Uncle" and not "senior martial sister," because Song Mingzhu’s master holds a prestigious position, which gives her a high rank as well.

The disciple who calls her "Martial Sister Song Mingzhu" is the direct daughter of a certain elder in the sect, who is under the care of Song Mingzhu’s master. However, her status cannot be compared to the female lead; she is not a direct disciple but only a named disciple.

Even though she is an acknowledged disciple, she never lacks good things to use because of her elder father.

Unlike the female protagonist from the Mortal World, this female cultivator has a bright appearance and a proud nature, often looking down on cultivators outside the Tianheng Sect.

Song Mingzhu disagreed, saying, "Martial Sister Linglan Linglan, even though the Tianheng Sect is the best, there are always people stronger than us. Just because we are strong does not mean others are weak. Please don’t say that again."

The Tianheng Sect is the strongest sect, but that doesn’t mean every individual is stronger than those from other sects. If the major sects unite, even the Tianheng Sect would find it very difficult to handle.

Among the top fifty talented individuals, Tianheng Sect has twenty, but there are still thirty from other sects, and they are only in second place, not first.

Song Mingzhu was no longer an immature girl. Although she still looked quite young, her face had lost some of its childishness, and her eyes were much more determined.

The lovely girl named Linglan stamped her foot and said, "Senior sister, I’m not speaking nonsense. The recent sect that has been making noise, called Qingxu Sect, claims to have the level of a Grand Pill Master with only a few members. They are just a small sect, nothing compared to sects like Tianyuan Sect, which is why I said they are just trying to show off."

Linglan’s father is from a refining sect, and her mother is an elder in the sect’s Pill Peak, known for her skills in alchemy, so Linglan looks down on the cultivators from Qingxu Sect.

Outside, they boast that the other side has a genius who can cultivate both pills and weapons, but how could a disciple from a small sect compare to her, a true dual genius? She has the bloodline of a Master Weapon Refiner and a Pill Cultivator.

The other disciples in the sect secretly dared to say that the young female cultivator was more amazing than their own parents. Although they couldn’t meet her, they already disliked all the disciples of Qingxu Sect in their hearts.

They said that the female cultivator had contracted a fox demon as her spirit pet. She guessed it was that shameless fox demon who had enchanted this clueless group. When the time came for actual use, these cultivators would realize that the fox was not impressive at all; just a trickster looking for attention.

Suppressing her dissatisfaction and talking about Tianyuan Sect, Linglan’s cheeks turned slightly red. "Senior Sister Song, have you seen Ye Xuanye? I saw him visit the sect leader a few days ago. He is really handsome and very powerful!"

Linglan was at the age of budding love. Although she had feelings for the Elder Martial Brother in the sect, he treated all the female cultivators well. He was the kind of gentleman who was warm and gentle, so she just thought of him as an older brother.

Ye Xuanye was different. He was one of the top geniuses in the spiritual world, extremely handsome, and had a natural talent for sword techniques. The key was that he was cold and distant with other female cultivators.

What female cultivator hadn’t fantasized about such a frost-like cultivator who was rude to everyone else but showed affection only to her?

Song Mingzhu noticed Linglan’s gaze and instinctively said, "Master is even more powerful."

Linglan replied, "Of course, Master is powerful. Master is a Soul Changing Stage expert. But when Master was Ye Xuanye’s age, he probably wasn’t as strong as him. I heard that Ye Xuanye got recognition from the Sword God himself in the Sword God Secret Realm and received the true legacy of swordsmanship!"

The Sword God Secret Realm was indeed something she had obtained, but that was her secret opportunity. When Song Mingzhu came out of the secret realm, she only told her master, who warned her never to tell anyone else.

So at this moment, she opened her mouth but didn’t tell Linglan a word.

Song Mingzhu said with a serious face, "He only relies on his natural talent for swordsmanship, but having natural talent doesn’t mean he can grow to the level of Master. It is exactly because Master does not have natural talent that he is so powerful in the way of the sword."

Right now, she didn’t have any feelings of young love for Ye Xuanye. People often admire strength, and in the original story, among several male leads, Song Mingzhu initially had a bit of a crush on her own Master rather than just the boy she briefly interacted with.

After all, Ye Xuanye is too young and can struggle in dangerous situations, while her Master is incredibly strong.

What she just said to her younger martial sister was her true thoughts: as a swordsmanship genius, her Master does not have natural talent but is genuinely the best in the spiritual world in swordsmanship.

Ye Xuanye is still very young; it is because he has natural talent that he is always compared to Song Mingzhu’s Master by the spiritual world, just because he has that talent.

At this stage, in Song Mingzhu’s heart, a little Ye Xuanye cannot compare to her Master at all.

Therefore, in this great competition among the hundred sects, she is determined to win against Ye Xuanye, not only for herself but also for her Master’s honor.

She has the Sword God Secret Realm and the guidance of the swordsmanship legacy of the former Sword God Li Baiyi, so she can definitely win against Ye Xuanye, who has natural talent!

"Senior Sister Song, our dear senior martial sister, let’s not talk about this anymore." Linglan was not foolish; she noticed that Song Mingzhu was unhappy, so she changed the subject.

It would be better if Senior Sister Mingzhu didn’t like Ye Xuanye, as she really shouldn’t praise him too much in front of Song Mingzhu to avoid creating more romantic rivals for herself.

"Senior Sister Song, what is your current level of cultivation? Are you close to reaching the Nascent Soul stage?"

Song Mingzhu shook her head, "Not yet."

Over the years, Song Mingzhu worked exceptionally hard; she was very close, just a little more to reach the Nascent Soul Stage.

As a highly valued direct disciple, Song Mingzhu had enough Nascent Soul Pills in her possession, but she planned to wait and save the chance to reach the Nascent Soul during the final battle of the competition.

Although the competition was divided into three cultivation stages, in the later stages, a Golden Core Stage cultivator could still fight against a Nascent Soul cultivator. Some cultivators who were in the later stages of Golden Core but had a solid foundation could still challenge a Nascent Soul cultivator even if they were only at the Golden Core Stage.

Like Ye Xuanye and Song Mingzhu, these top-ranking cultivators might find it very difficult to challenge a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, but they could easily deal with those in the early stages of Nascent Soul.

Song Mingzhu believed she could easily defeat her peers who were also at the Golden Core level, but she was uncertain about the senior martial sisters and brothers at the Nascent Soul Stage.

There are many competitions that I want to join, and it is normal to feel a bit tired during the process. I will also see many of my skills and methods noticed by others during the contests.

To truly deserve to be the first in the big competition, she feels she is not prepared enough. Since she cannot improve her skills in the next few days, Song Mingzhu wants to add some safety measures.

She does not plan to share her thoughts with her younger martial sister much, "Younger martial sister, the competition will start in a few days. You need to work hard and not let the reputation of Wan Jian Peak fall. I plan to meditate and cultivate, so I won’t be seeing guests in the next few days."

Song Mingzhu is a person who is very sensitive to emotions. Although Martial Sister Linglan always acts sweet and charming in front of her, she does not really like this younger martial sister.

Politely asking the other person to leave, Song Mingzhu set up a formation, changed into the robe of a direct disciple, and wore a mask that can only be seen at the Soul Changing Stage. She quietly left Wan Jian Peak and went to the stalls set up by other sects outside the main gate.

The place she headed to was a very splendid spiritual boat. Although Tianheng Sect is somewhat far away, it stands out among many spiritual boats in the sky.

Yes, this is the spiritual boat released by Yun Chuyou for Qingxu Sect.

While others set up stalls, Qingxu Sect naturally has to set up one too. On the first day of their arrival, they are selling spiritual pills and magic tools at half price.

Of course, it’s not all of Yun Chuyou’s stock, but limited editions. Because the quality of the pills is very high, the price is actually quite expensive.

However, Yun Chuyou supports inspection, promising that if fake goods are found, she will offer a refund and three times the amount. Of course, this kind of practice requires a contract, and the inspection must be done on the spot, with a certified cultivator from the alchemy or weapon refining association present.

Yun Chuyou is not afraid of dealing with her deceitful opponents; she also took time on her journey to get the necessary qualifications in weapon refining and alchemy.

Of course, while refining pills, Yun Chuyou deliberately controlled the success rate so that she wouldn’t seem too extraordinary.

Although at her age, no matter the success rate, reaching this level is already impressive.

According to Yun Chuyou’s original plan, she wanted to catch them in the act and then publicly expose them, as it would create a bigger impact.

After all, for the audience, a story with unexpected twists is more exciting and helps spread the word, which would benefit the Qingxu Sect’s business.

However, she was quite successful, or rather, Yun Chuyou underestimated the status of Pill Masters and Alchemy Masters in the spiritual world; no one came to cause trouble, and many were willing to pay high prices just to build good relationships with these masters.

Those who could afford high-end pills and magical items are not poor cultivators; young disciples with spirit stones are usually from prominent families in the spiritual world and have good judgment.

Even inner disciples of major sects, without wealthy family support, would not be very affluent at their age.

Like the main character Song Mingzhu, even though her parents are the richest in their city, that city is just the Mortal World, and selling everything at home wouldn’t get them many spirit stones.

The first huge fortune Song Mingzhu received was a gift from her master, grandmaster, Martial Uncle, and senior martial sister. Then, at a grand and magnificent apprenticeship ceremony, she also received a sum from the heads and elders of various sects who came to visit.

Otherwise, why would everyone want to be a disciple of a big sect and have a powerful master?

The same goes for Qingxu Sect; if it weren’t for the special gifts and masters like Xie Fuzhi, Yun Chuyou would find it very hard to become wealthy in such a short time on her own.

Later on, she will definitely be able to, but in the beginning, she would be poor for a long time, just like the first ten years when she came to Qingxu Sect. At first, she would try to divide one spirit stone into eight pieces.

Luckily, Yun Chuyou’s values are still more influenced by her past life, and even though she was poor for a while, she didn’t become greedy; she was just careful in some areas, and when it was time to spend, she was always generous.

Yun Chuyou had stocked up on many things beforehand, and she didn’t take out anything that didn’t exist in the spiritual world; the pills she could share were all items sold in the spiritual world—hard to make, rare in number, but definitely not non-existent.

The prices of good items are high, and she didn’t plan to sell them at a low price; those things were only half off on the first day, and the next day returned to their original price.

She didn’t allow reselling, so all items were limited in purchase; for those who really wanted them and spent more money to buy them at a high price, that business was none of her concern.

At the beginning, when she sold things, she did not plan to deal directly with the outside world; the person in charge of receiving customers was the clever Yu Jiu.

If we compare Qingxu Sect to a company, the final financial power is firmly in Yun Chuyou’s hands. If she is the general manager, finance director, and cashier, then Yu Jiu is a multifunctional talent who works part-time as an accountant and a salesperson.

Honest Zhong Wei does the front desk work, Hu Xiao Bai is the mascot, and Meng He is the head of security.

As for Xie Fuzhi, the master, he is the founder, angel investor, and chairman of the company, providing unquestioning support for Yun Chuyou, the helmsman.

If someone wants to meet Yun Chuyou using special means, they will first be screened by the front desk. Those who try to force their way in will be stopped by the head of security, Meng He, and those who cannot be stopped will be intimidated by Xie Fuzhi, the strong backing.

In short, there are many knowledgeable and wealthy people near the Hundred Sects Conference. Yun Chuyou sold a large amount of breakthrough pills she had stored before and also sold quite a few blood-replenishing pills without purchase limits.

The mascot Hu Xiao Bai also played a promotional role, advertising their Qingxu Sect while selling items, welcoming some knowledgeable individuals to join Qingxu Sect.

"Friend Yu, this is my Token. I am here to collect the magic tool I ordered earlier."

"Your magic tool is ready. We allow you to inspect it on the spot; first check it, then pay the final amount. No after-sales service is provided."

The spiritual world is different from the Mortal World because there are often fights, and magical items can be easily damaged. They are like consumable goods. If there were a seven-day no-reason return policy, those selling magical items and potions would go bankrupt, so it’s best to check the goods on the spot.

After all, it is something one has spent a lot of money to customize, and even a wealthy person like Song Mingzhu would not say things like not needing to check the goods.

She tried out the power in a small room. Her round eyes turned into crescent shapes with satisfaction. Song Mingzhu took out a storage bag filled with many materials and spirit stones, "Very good, this is the remaining payment. Inside are the materials and spirit stones we agreed on before."

Yu Jiu checked the quantity and was very nice to the big clients. He smiled as he verified the receipt, "With payment settled, the transaction is complete."

The lucky mascot, Hu Xiao Bai, wagged his tail happily, "We hope you come back next time!"

Zhong Wei also showed a big smile and politely saw the guests off.

Although the manufacturer is Yun Chuyou, others involved in the sales process can also receive a share according to their contribution.

Yun Chuyou, the Elder Martial Sister, is very generous. Every time someone has a birthday or makes progress, she always gives gifts.

However, if they want to practice better and buy more things, everyone still has to rely on their own efforts. No matter who it is, no one would complain about having too many spirit stones.

Even Yu Jiu, whose method of cultivation is different from ordinary cultivators, needs a lot of spirit stones to do things in the spiritual world.

To customize a magic tool, you must first pay a deposit, and for higher-end customizations, the Alchemy Master often does not include materials. If the ordering cultivator does not pay the final payment and pick up the goods by the agreed time, the deposit and the magic tool will belong to the Alchemy Master.

After all, the process of crafting tools itself takes a lot of time and spiritual power, so it is unreasonable to expect someone to work for you for free.

Fortunately, since Yun Chuyou started her customization business, no one has been foolish enough to take advantage of her.

After all, the Hundred Sects Conference is about to begin. Some people are out training, but they will not go to overly dangerous places.

If she were to encounter someone with bad intentions and ended up in trouble, Yun Chuyou could just keep the items and wouldn’t suffer any loss. She is always very careful, preferring to earn a little less rather than making a losing deal.

Song Mingzhu happily left with her customized magic tool. Today, the last order was completed, and the formation of the spirit ship was activated, putting up a sign that said "Out of Service."

Every day, the items sold on the spirit ship are limited in quantity, and sales end when they are sold out. Therefore, apart from the very first day, the people of Qingxu Sect did not spend much time selling pills and magic tools.

In addition to the fixed pills and common spirit tools, Yun Chuyou puts out ten numbers every day for accepting custom orders.

If the difficulty is high, then the schedule must be pushed back. The magic tool that Song Mingzhu wants is one she needs at this stage; it is very easy for Yun Chuyou. Moreover, she has many prototypes saved up from before, and some orders can simply be modified from those basics.

Although Song Mingzhu disguised herself, Yun Chuyou still recognized the main character right away.

There are some differences between Alchemy Masters and Pill Masters; the pills will not have any mark left by the Pill Master, but Alchemy Masters can leave their personal seal. Another important point is that the magic tools made by an Alchemy Master cannot harm the Alchemy Master themselves.

This is also why Yun Chuyou is willing to take orders from the main character or the male lead. On one hand, it’s because they are wealthy and generous, so there’s no worry about getting cheated. On the other hand, it’s because of the competition.

Yun Chuyou does not feel she is inferior to the main character or the male lead. Perhaps she cannot become the champion of the tournament, but she definitely has a chance to place in the top few and compete with them.

The magic tools created by her are not useful to her; this is her advantage.

After putting up the sign, Yu Jiu asked, "Elder Martial Sister, will you take any more orders in the next few days?"

Yun Chuyou shook her head, "No, the competition officially starts in two days, so I won’t take any orders during this time. We should just calculate how many spirit stones we’ve earned lately and decide how to share and spend them."

Hu Xiao Bai wagged his tail happily, "Yay!"

He saw many nice things at the busy market, but sadly he didn’t have enough spirit stones to buy anything.

As Yun Chuyou’s spirit pet, he didn’t have to worry about food or drink, and he had enough resources for training, but that was only for training; when it came to other expenses, Hu Xiao Bai felt quite embarrassed.

However, during this time, he worked hard as a mascot. His master said that the spirit stones he earned from his job would be for him to use as he wished, so he could buy whatever he wanted.

Hu Xiao Bai was really craving the roasted chicken from the Five Palates Sect’s Food Cultivators; he wanted to use spirit stones to buy one hundred roasted chickens—no, one thousand roasted chickens!

Yun Chuyou patted Little Bai’s fluffy, soft tail and said, "You’ve worked hard these days."

Xie Fuzhi said sourly, "What has he been through? Every day, he just sits at the counter, eating and waiting to die, turning over to show off his pretty looks."

Fox demons are all like this; no wonder the Blue Mountain Fox tribe has fallen so much.

"Master, please don’t say that. Little Bai has been trying hard too," said not Yun Chuyou, but Zhong Wei.

During this time, the front desk Zhong Wei and the mascot Hu Xiao Bai had worked together very well, and after all, she still had fox demon blood in her.

"Little Bai works very hard every day. Xie Fuzhi, you must not say silly things." Yun Chuyou saw her master looking wronged, so she cleared her throat and added a few more words.

"I just did some calculations. Our profit during this time is equal to the total income of Qingxu Sect over the last ten years. This is a very impressive number."

"During this time, everyone in our sect has worked very hard, and everyone has done very well. Of course, the smooth progress of our business is largely thanks to our master’s protection and support."

Yu Jiu clapped enthusiastically, "Thank you, Master."

The other disciples started clapping too, "Thanks to our master."

Hu Xiao Bai had just been scolded and felt a bit unwilling, but thinking that this was his family master’s teacher, whose true form was a fire-breathing phoenix, he decided to play along, clapping his fluffy fox paws together, "Amazing, amazing."

Although Yun Chuyou praised herself so highly, Xie Fuzhi did not feel very happy. The phoenix snorted coldly; after having a poor attitude towards him before, and lowering herself for a twisted five-tailed fox spirit, it was too late for her to say these things now. He was not so easily appeased.

Yun Chuyou continued, "The things I promised you before, I will give to you now."

She took out a few storage bags and gave prepared items to each disciple. To avoid making a mistake with experience, each storage bag had a different design.

For example, Hu Xiao Bai has a cute little fox stitched on his storage bag, Meng He has a crane, Zhong Wei is a little girl in a red dress, and Yu Jiu has a bunch of green bamboo.

These special storage bags are made by a merperson from the Western Sea. That’s right, the male merperson that Xie Fuzhi caught from the sea was also brought here by Yun Chuyou.

After Xie Fuzhi’s training (or rather, tough training), this male merperson learned advanced weaving skills. The storage bags were mass-produced by Yun Chuyou, but all the designs and patterns on them were made by the merperson.

Thanks to this merperson, Yun Chuyou added clothing crafting to her business.

This merperson is the second demon beast under Yun Chuyou’s contract, and it is not a life-binding contract, but a master-servant contract. However, before the contract was made, Yun Chuyou agreed with him that once he earned enough spirit stones, she would end the contract and send him back to the Western Sea.

During this time, the number of custom orders has increased a lot. If everything goes well after the Hundred Sects Conference, Yun Chuyou plans to release the merperson back to the Western Sea.

Xie Fuzhi does not plan to stop her; after all, the merperson is very beautiful, and it’s better to let him go soon.

He also has a trade to prepare with the merperson’s clan, as he needs to prepare a splendid wedding dress for his future marriage.

After giving out the spirit stones, Yun Chuyou stretched and said, "Alright, let’s take a break and stroll around the market."

She pinched Xie Fuzhi’s hand with the wide sleeve, then handed him a storage bag embroidered with a phoenix design.

It was clear that the embroidery of the phoenix was not as good as the storage bags made by the merperson.

Xie Fuzhi felt wronged; everyone else had such beautiful bags, while his was a defective one. This phoenix was not at all glamorous, far less beautiful than he truly was.

Yun Chuyou blinked and quietly sent a secret message, "Others’ storage bags are made by Blue Smoke; only this one is made by me."

Xie Fuzhi looked at the phoenix again, and the more he looked, the more he liked it. This phoenix truly looked lifelike, just like him!

He knew that he was also the most important person in Chuyou’s heart; she cared for him.

The filter of love truly makes no sense.