Chapter 217: Immortal Protection Guard
Night fell.
Zhang Yuchun came to Li Qingqiu’s cave dwelling and reported some of the sect’s recent developments.
“This Lord Jing is indeed formidable. He truly deserves to be someone who once controlled the imperial court. He has re-divided the specific authorities within each hall. Many previously vague powers have now become clear. In the future, those aristocratic families won’t be able to exploit loopholes so easily.”
Zhang Yuchun said with a cheerful smile. Toward Lord Jing, he had initially felt worried. After all, when Chu Jing had served as Xuan Gong, he had plunged the court into utter chaos. Yet as Lord Jing continued to take action, Zhang Yuchun discovered that the burden on his shoulders had lightened considerably.
In the past, various halls would come to him to arbitrate internal disputes. Now that no longer happened, and he even felt he could spare some time for cultivation.
Li Qingqiu smiled and said, “Anyway, he’s a ghost now. There’s no such thing as exhaustion for him. Let him toss things around. But if he makes a mistake, tell me anytime. I’ll deal with him.”
During this period, more and more disciples learned that the sect’s upper echelon had gained an additional Lord Jing. This Lord Jing held the Sect Master Token and wielded immense authority.
Lord Jing’s domineering methods naturally stirred dissatisfaction among many people, yet for the time being, no one dared to complain to Li Qingqiu. Perhaps those people felt guilty themselves.
Chu Jing, who had once dominated the courts of two dynasties, knew all too well where aristocratic families liked to extract their profits.
Zhang Yuchun nodded and continued, “I’ve already promoted Qiao Dingbei, as well as his junior brother and junior sister. Their actions really surprised me. Unknowingly, more and more disciples have begun to make a difference, becoming forces that cannot be ignored.”
If not for Qiao Dingbei releasing Piercing Cloud Thunder, Zhao Zhen would very likely have died.
This matter filled Zhang Yuchun with both pride and emotion.
Li Qingqiu smiled and said, “Indeed. Never underestimate the power of any disciple. They are living people. Every single one represents a variable, represents infinite possibilities.”
This was also the benefit of sending disciples out to temper themselves. Even if Clear Sky Sect did not control the world, it could still grasp the world’s movements at any time and provide mutual support.
Disciples like Qiao Dingbei were inconspicuous within the sect, yet in their own lives, they were the protagonists, each playing out their own splendid stories.
“In July, Xunxian Town will hold an auction. The main purpose is to win over powerful figures from various regions and make Xunxian Town famous. Will you go?” Zhang Yuchun asked.
Toward the Xunxian Town he had personally built, he was full of anticipation.
He wanted to turn Xunxian Town into the number one town under heaven, the number one city under heaven, and even the symbol of Clear Sky Sect.
“I won’t go. Just do your job well. In the future, focus your attention on Xunxian Town. You can do even better there, and you’ll also have more time to cultivate,” Li Qingqiu shook his head.
Zhang Yuchun nodded. He thought the same. He had already tried his best not to interfere with the affairs of other blessed lands and halls. He discovered that the sect had not fallen into chaos, which showed that Clear Sky Sect’s order had already been established.
Afterward, he asked whether some disciples should be dispatched to the Northern Barbarians’ lands to investigate traces of demons and devils.
Li Qingqiu rejected the idea. He did not want to alert the enemy. Clear Sky Sect was developing quite well now, and it could not afford to provoke the Land of Demons and Devils in advance.
After hearing this, Zhang Yuchun felt it made sense. If demons and devils moved south, it would certainly be with great momentum. They would not engage in secret schemes.
The senior brothers continued discussing many matters. Only when night grew deep did Zhang Yuchun take his leave.
……
After Zhao Zhen returned, this incident finally came to a complete close, and the Clear Sky Sect disciples began paying attention to affairs under heaven.
The lords of all regions jointly marched to the Northern Border to drive out the Northern Barbarians. Yet the Northern Barbarians erupted with terrifying military strength and actually withstood the assaults of all the lords.
At the same time, news that the Tempering Hall was hunting down Jianji Sect spread throughout the sect. Many new disciples were curious as to why the Tempering Hall was pursuing Jianji Sect, and past events were once again brought up among the disciples.
Late June.
Xue Jin came to visit Li Qingqiu and reported on the pursuit of Jianji Sect.
“Jianji Sect has already been destroyed by my hall’s disciples. During the process, we encountered experts from Xuanji Sect. Many disciples were injured, but fortunately none died. In addition, Xuanji Sect is a hidden danger. They will very likely cause us trouble again in the future. My suggestion is to take the initiative. The fact that Xuanji Sect dared to support Jianji Sect’s return already shows that they harbor hostility toward us.”
Xue Jin spoke solemnly. For this operation, he had not personally gone down the mountain. Instead, the other members of the Thirteen Sword Fiends had led the team, and the matter had been handled steadily.
Li Qingqiu nodded and said, “Xuanji Sect comes from the Northern Barbarians. Even without personal grudges, destroying them is only right and proper. This is the stance of the Nine Provinces.”
“Sect Master, please leave the matter of dealing with Xuanji Sect to our Tempering Hall. I’m confident, and I also want to temper the disciples along the way,” Xue Jin proposed.
The performance of the Tempering Hall disciples had satisfied him greatly, and his whole demeanor appeared spirited and high-spirited.
Li Qingqiu asked, “Do you need assistance from other halls?”
“No. Only with difficulty can there be tempering. If there are casualties, I will take responsibility.”
“Alright. As for the rewards for this operation, I’ll have Lord Jing go to the Tempering Hall later to announce them publicly.”
“Thank you, Sect Master.”
“Mm.”
Xue Jin saluted and withdrew.
Li Qingqiu watched his retreating figure and considered whether to let the Sword Sect help, but quickly rejected the idea.
Chu Jing was right. The authorities of each hall had to be clearly divided and could not be mixed together.
The establishment of the Sword Sect was meant to purge sect traitors. If it also undertook external warfare, it would inevitably expand its number of disciples. Once such matters were handled too often, things would become complicated.
“Forget it. Let the Tempering Hall develop on its own. The Tempering Hall observes the world. Even if its number of disciples doubles, that would be normal.”
Li Qingqiu thought this way. In his view, the Tempering Hall held strategic significance and could help Clear Sky Sect prepare for expansion.
He did not get up to leave, because he sensed Cheng Canghai’s aura.
Very soon, Cheng Canghai entered the courtyard to visit him.
After saluting, Cheng Canghai spoke, “Sect Master, I want to organize a group of disciples to travel to deep mountains across the world to search for traces of demonic beasts, expand the variety of demonic beasts in the Demon Subjugation Hall, and at the same time establish the Record of Ten Thousand Demons.”
Li Qingqiu looked at him and asked with a half-smile, “If that’s the case, is the current manpower sufficient?”
Cheng Canghai felt awkward and gave a fake cough. “So… could you allow the Demon Subjugation Hall to expand its disciples?”
Although he was a hall master with great authority, matters concerning the number of disciples had to be approved by the sect master. He did not dare expand privately. After all, hall disciples enjoyed benefits far superior to those of ordinary disciples. He personally did not have enough wealth or spirit stones to support more disciples.
“Tomorrow, I’ll have Lord Jing go to the Demon Subjugation Hall to conduct an inspection. Explain your plan to him in detail, and let him decide the numbers.”
“Thank you, Sect Master!”
Cheng Canghai was overjoyed and hurriedly expressed his gratitude.
Li Qingqiu waved his sleeve, signaling that he could withdraw.
After he left, Li Qingqiu finally stood up, preparing to find a place to cultivate Moving Mountains to Suppress Gods.
He arrived at the back mountain. Just as he was about to leap up, Yun Cai flew over from below the mountain.
Across the entire sect, only Yun Cai dared to directly fly her sword from the foot of the mountain to Li Qingqiu’s cave dwelling. No one else, including hall masters, dared to offend him in such a manner.
“What is it? What happened again?” Li Qingqiu asked first.
Yun Cai’s smile froze, and she said resentfully, “Sect Master, do you hate me coming to look for you?”
Li Qingqiu shook his head and said, “No. I’m just used to it, so I asked like that.”
This girl really didn’t know the rules. She called him “you” instead of “sir.” Her nerve had really grown.
Yun Cai giggled and continued, “Through the Heart-Devouring Bee Refinement Method, I came up with an insect-controlling method. I want to discuss it with you and see if it’s feasible. If it is, I’ll write it down and take it to the Scripture Repository.”
When Li Qingqiu heard this, his eyes lit up. “Quick, tell me about it.”
Ancestor Su Xing’s gu insects had successfully caught Zhao Zhen off guard. Otherwise, Zhao Zhen alone would have made Ancestor Su Xing suffer greatly. This matter had made Li Qingqiu quite interested in gu insects.
He hoped Clear Sky Sect would possess cultivation methods for all kinds of spells. If some spells were too dangerous, they could be designated as forbidden techniques later.
Even demonic methods, Li Qingqiu wanted them. They might not be used, but they could not be absent!
Seeing his excitement, Yun Cai’s smile grew even brighter, and she began to explain the method she had created.
……
Inside the Free Spirit Hall.
Today it was once again Zhang Ping’s turn to stand duty. Although this task was tedious, he did not want to lose it, because it was his most relaxed and stable source of income.
Previously, when he had followed Bai Ning’er to Tianxuan Mountain, he had been utterly terrified. Now he deliberately avoided Bai Ning’er, afraid of running into him.
Zhang Ping held the Disciple Register and was organizing the residential arrangements of the new disciples.
The sound of footsteps approached and stopped in front of his desk. Without raising his head, he asked, “Advancement, or applying for benefits and residence?”
“Your cultivation isn’t simple. Nourishing Vital Energy Realm, fourth layer. Placing someone like you here is rather wasteful. Or is the hall master suppressing you?”
Hearing this, Zhang Ping looked up. His expression changed slightly, and he immediately stood up and saluted.
The visitor was none other than Chu Jing.
Chu Jing wore black robes, and his face was covered by his iconic opera mask, mysterious and imposing.
Zhang Ping had seen this great figure before. The sect’s newly risen upper-level authority, with tremendous momentum, daring to intervene in all halls. Most importantly, his identity was extremely mysterious. No one knew his true background.
“No. Hall Master Zhang treats me very well. I just need this income,” Zhang Ping replied hurriedly.
He was secretly shocked. Strange. He had clearly cultivated a qi-concealing technique. How had his cultivation still been seen through?
Chu Jing looked at him, feeling rather emotional.
Back then, he had thought Zhang Ping was very average. He never imagined that Zhang Ping would reach the fourth layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm. Such cultivation, placed in the martial world, was stronger than entry-level experts.
It seemed this kid had also encountered some fortuitous opportunity.
Chu Jing continued, “I’m preparing to establish the Immortal Protection Guard, specifically to supervise those in power within each hall. Are you willing to join?”
Immortal Protection Guard?
Good heavens, such immense authority?
What exactly was this person’s relationship with the sect master?
Zhang Ping cautiously asked, “Why me?”
Supervising those in power within the sect sounded troublesome. He did not want to join.
Chu Jing said, “I find you pleasing to the eye. You don’t need to worry about trouble. The sect master is backing us. The establishment of the Immortal Protection Guard is not aimed at the hall masters themselves, but at the chaos beneath them. It is to prevent people from buying positions of power and to prevent negligence among those who hold authority.”
Zhang Ping swallowed and asked, “Can I refuse?”