Chapter 106: Ordinary Man, Defying the Heavens to Change Fate
Zhang Yuchun hadn’t expected Cai Liang to be so direct the moment he arrived.
Without waiting for Li Qingqiu to speak, he hurriedly said, “Brother Cai, it’s our first meeting—how can you utter such reckless words? These are things that must not be said. Let’s pretend we never heard them.”
Cai Liang, however, remained unmoved.
He fixed his gaze on Li Qingqiu and said, “The Emperor is muddle-headed and cruel. The heroes and noble families of the world will no longer tolerate him. Even if your Sect Master refuses, this matter is already set in stone. I merely wish to give Clear Sky Sect a chance.”
Zhang Yuchun couldn’t help but glance toward Li Qingqiu.
Li Qingqiu’s expression regained its calm.
Looking at Cai Liang, he asked, “May I ask what the Cai Family’s goal is? Why seek out Clear Sky Sect?”
“The nine great families will unite to place a descendant of the Zhao Family upon the throne. In this new order, the Cai Family requires a greater voice. Clear Sky Sect defeated the Demonic Cult and saved the Guzhou State Capital. Near the Ancient Great Mountain Range, you’ve long been known for your chivalry. In the eyes of the world, you are a righteous and reputable sect. Your martial prowess has already gained recognition from the martial world. I need your aid. The Cai Family’s goal is Second Rank.”
Cai Liang spoke earnestly, meeting Li Qingqiu’s eyes squarely.
Before Li Qingqiu or Zhang Yuchun could ask further, he continued, “If we succeed, the Cai Family will assist Clear Sky Sect in replacing the Three Founding Sects of the Great Dynasty, becoming the supreme authority of the martial world.”
Li Qingqiu fell into contemplation.
Zhang Yuchun gave a bitter smile.
“Brother Cai, this matter concerns the fate of nations—how can we respond so lightly?”
Cai Liang replied, “I will stay in Clear Sky Sect for one night. Give me your answer tomorrow. Even if you refuse, the Cai Family will not make things difficult for you.”
Li Qingqiu nodded.
“Then arrange quarters for Brother Cai. Yuchun, see to his hospitality.”
“Understood.”
Zhang Yuchun nodded in response and gestured for Cai Liang to follow him.
Cai Liang said no more and turned to leave.
Li Qingqiu sat down at the wooden table, deep in thought.
He suddenly felt that the Crown Prince’s death was never about a struggle for imperial power—the Prince was merely a sacrifice.
The true contest lay between the Emperor and those great noble houses.
But Li Qingqiu had already lost interest in the mundane struggles of the mortal world.
So long as Clear Sky Sect became strong enough, it could stand above the dynasties.
Whoever sat upon the throne was of no concern to him—so long as it didn’t hinder the sect’s growth.
Indeed, by now, Li Qingqiu already viewed the Nine Provinces and Fourteen Regions as his future domain.
One day, he would travel across the land, excavating Spirit Mines, Spiritual Veins, and Spiritual Lakes—and treasures like the Thousand Spirit Tree.
As long as he had a hundred True Transmission Disciples at the Fifth Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm, he would fear neither the noble families nor imperial authority.
Though that goal was still distant, he had already glimpsed hope.
He continued examining the panels of the new disciples.
The number of registered disciples had surpassed two thousand, yet not a single one possessed a special Fate Trait.
The most talented among them was only at the level of Xue Jin.
Suddenly—
Li Qingqiu raised his brows; he finally found a disciple with special Fate Traits.
【Name: Zhang Ping】
【Gender: Male】
【Age: 16】
【Loyalty (to Sect Master / Sect): 81 / 89 (Full Value: 100)】
【Cultivation Aptitude: Average】
【Comprehension: Average】
【Fate Traits: Ordinary Man, Foresight of Fortune and Calamity, Defying the Heavens to Change Fate】
【Ordinary Man: Born ordinary, looks ordinary, temperament ordinary—easily overlooked by others.】
【Foresight of Fortune and Calamity: When encountering trouble or danger, he will instinctively avoid it; possesses a measure of good luck and never acts without certainty.】
【Defying the Heavens to Change Fate: Will encounter three chances in life to alter his fate.】
……
Two special Fate Traits!
Strictly speaking—three.
“Ordinary Man” might seem a flaw, yet on the path of cultivation, it could become a virtue.
Easily overlooked—without a defined limit of strength.
Could it be that even cultivators of higher realms might fail to notice him?
If so, then this was a divine gift!
However, Li Qingqiu also saw a problem in “Foresight of Fortune and Calamity.” This boy only acted when certain—meaning he would not take risks.
If burdened too heavily, he might even betray the sect.
If that were the case, his assignments must be fewer, while his cultivation should be given extra attention and support.
Without “Defying the Heavens to Change Fate,” Li Qingqiu might have thought Zhang Ping’s value to the sect minimal—but with it, things were entirely different.
A Zhang Ping at the Seventh Layer of Nourishing Vital Energy could take on missions meant for the Fifth Layer; once at the Spirit Perception Realm, he could handle tasks of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm.
As long as he grew quickly, the number of things he was confident in would increase.
A while later, Zhang Yuchun hurried into the courtyard, sat beside Li Qingqiu, and whispered, “Senior Brother, how should we decide? Don’t be fooled by Cai Liang’s pleasant tone—if we refuse, they’ll surely bear a grudge. Even if they don’t retaliate now, once their great endeavor succeeds, they’ll settle accounts with Clear Sky Sect.”
Li Qingqiu replied, “Indeed. What arrogance—coming alone, straight to the point, utterly disdainful of subterfuge. The Cai Family of Linchuan truly breathes heroism.”
Zhang Yuchun frowned.
“Then how shall we respond?”
“Of course we refuse. Clear Sky Sect disciples are busy cultivating—how could we spare time to compete for kingdoms?”
“What about afterward?” Zhang Yuchun asked worriedly.
They had already offended the Pei Clan; would they now provoke the Cai Family as well?
Li Qingqiu stood, and Zhang Yuchun instinctively looked up at him.
The sunlight fell upon Li Qingqiu’s head, obscuring his face from Zhang Yuchun’s view.
“Second Junior Brother, no matter the choice, someone will always seek to trouble us,” Li Qingqiu said in a tone so calm it was frightening.
“Only if we are the ones in control will these troubles cease to exist.”
Zhang Yuchun looked puzzled.
“How do we become the ones in control?”
Clear Sky Sect was but a martial sect—no matter how much it grew, it couldn’t shake imperial dominance.
Even the grandest sect couldn’t surpass a dynasty of millions.
Then, he heard his senior brother utter four words he would never forget for the rest of his life—
“Monarch’s Power, Immortal Bestowed.”
……
The matter of Clear Sky Sect’s refusal to join the Cai Family’s rebellion did not spread.
When Cai Liang departed, his face was cold as ice.
Yet for once, Zhang Yuchun felt no unease; he instead devoted himself more fervently to strengthening the sect.
Li Qingqiu also didn’t give the Cai Family another thought.
That same month, Jiang Zhaoxia successfully broke through to the Seventh Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm and immediately informed Li Qingqiu, greatly delighting him.
With two cultivators at the Seventh Layer of Nourishing Vital Energy, Li Qingqiu feared no power under the heavens of Great Li.
This was the confidence with which he had refused the Cai Family!
That day, Li Qingqiu gathered all Hall Masters, even summoning Sword God Shen Yue, Zhang Yu, and Cheng Canghai, to announce Jiang Zhaoxia’s breakthrough—astonishing everyone present.
“The Seventh Layer of Nourishing Vital Energy—truly terrifying,” Zhu Yan exclaimed.
She had already begun cultivating the Primordial Unity Scripture and now understood why Clear Sky Sect was so formidable.
Possessing such a supreme technique was something no other sect could compare to.
But having studied it herself, she also knew what the Seventh Layer represented.
Number One Under Heaven!
With two at the Seventh Layer, plus the unfathomable Li Qingqiu—even Zhu Yan, now Hall Master of the Heavenly Works Hall, felt secretly awed.
No matter their background, whoever provoked Clear Sky Sect was courting death.
Li Qingqiu had revealed Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning’s cultivation not only to boost morale but also to warn Zhu Yan.
Since the noble families were preparing rebellion, the Zhu Family would likely be involved.
He wanted Zhu Yan to see clearly the strength of Clear Sky Sect—and not make a fatal choice.
Shen Yue’s expression remained calm as he stroked his beard, though his heart was anything but calm.
Though old, he refused to be surpassed by Jiang Zhaoxia.
He had reached the Second Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm and was progressing quickly, yet the Seventh Layer was still far away.
Cheng Canghai and Zhang Yu were equally shocked—the former was only at the Third Layer, the latter at the First.
“I plan to implement a cultivation ranking system. From now on, among the True Transmission Disciples, the first ten to reach the Fifth Layer of Nourishing Vital Energy will receive differing amounts of Spirit Stones as rewards. This will be known only to the True Transmission Disciples.”
Li Qingqiu’s words brought everyone’s attention back to the long table.
Yang Jueding gasped.
“Did I miss something? Are there really that many geniuses in our sect? I’m only at the Third Layer!”
He had reached the Third Layer thanks to his Hall Master privileges—otherwise, like ordinary disciples, he might barely have reached the Second.
Everyone else was startled—half of them couldn’t even glimpse the Fifth Layer.
“This is a fine strategy. It will motivate the True Transmission Disciples to cultivate harder. After all, their chief duty is training—the other chores are handled by the Registered and Servant Disciples.”
Zhang Yuchun praised.
As Hall Master of Free Spirit Hall, he oversaw the disciple registry and knew their realms well.
Realm determined monthly stipends.
Most disciples never hid their progress; upon breaking through, they would register at Free Spirit Hall and receive the next layer’s mental cultivation method.
“Tell me the current state of the disciples’ cultivation,” Li Qingqiu instructed.
Zhang Yuchun nodded.
“At present, there are two hundred True Transmission Disciples. Over thirty have reached the Third Layer, and three have reached the Fourth.”
This report excluded the senior members themselves.
“So many? The Second Layer already rivals the top martial experts of the jianghu. That means we have over two hundred such experts—and our disciples are still young,” Yang Jueding exclaimed.
Aside from cultivation, he spent his time in the Hall of Vast Fate and knew the sect was growing fast—but hadn’t expected this much.
Li Sifeng widened his eyes.
“Over thirty disciples at the Third Layer? How come my Tempering Hall doesn’t even have one? You’re hiding geniuses—give me a few!”
Li Dongyue smiled sweetly.
“Sixth Junior Brother, my Spirit Finance Hall has three disciples at the Third Layer.”
Li Sifeng cried out in mock misery, drawing laughter from everyone.
As the others marveled at the sect’s growth, Li Qingqiu gave them time to digest the shock.
After a while, he stood.
Seeing this, everyone followed suit, their eyes on him.
Li Qingqiu swept his gaze across them.
“An age of chaos is coming. Clear Sky Sect shall continue focusing on its own growth. From this day forth, all of the Ancient Great Mountain Range belongs to us. The surrounding townsfolk—we shall protect them. Understood?”
These words ignited the blood of everyone present.
Zhu Yan silently sighed—she had long known this Sect Master harbored grand ambition.
Shen Yue, however, was filled with curiosity.
With such ambition—what did this Sect Master truly seek?
To unify the martial world?
Or… something even greater?