The Qingxiao Sect had been attacked by the Seven Peaks Alliance, leaving Jiang Zhaoxia and Li Sifeng severely injured!
The news spread like wildfire through the sect, striking the disciples like a thunderclap. In shock and fear, everyone gathered in the courtyard, whispering about the battle that had taken place at the foot of the mountain. Their voices were hushed, too afraid to disturb those inside.
Inside the room, Li Sifeng lay unconscious on the bed. Beside the bed, Jiang Zhaoxia sat cross-legged, silently meditating to recover. At the bedside stood Li Qingqiu, performing the Rejuvenating Ghost Immortal Needle.
He had borrowed a set of silver needles from the tailor—not true medical needles, but good enough for his use.
Li Sifeng's condition was grim. Several ribs were broken, his face disfigured, and a few teeth knocked out. He was still unconscious, but at least alive.
Fortunately, there was no crippling injury—Li Qingqiu's Rejuvenating Ghost Immortal Needle couldn't heal that.
Behind them stood Zhang Yuchun, Li Dongyue, Wu Man'er, Li Sijin, and Yang Jueding, all tense and worried as they watched Li Qingqiu treat Li Sifeng.
In the corner, Xu Ning sat on a stool, quietly regulating her qi and blood through cultivation.
The room was silent; no one dared interrupt. The weight of fear pressed on every heart.
After some time, Li Qingqiu withdrew his hand, leaving three needles embedded in Li Sifeng's chest. "It's done," he said softly. "Sifeng's out of danger. He just needs time to wake up."
Everyone exhaled in relief at once.
Yang Jueding finally turned toward Jiang Zhaoxia and asked, "How many people did the Seven Peaks Alliance send? Who led them?"
Jiang Zhaoxia opened his eyes, voice hoarse but calm. "There were several hundred of them. All skilled. The one leading them was extremely powerful—he gave me a hard time and escaped at the end. Before leaving, he said this wasn't over. I don't know his name."
He paused, then added, "If not for Xu Ning arriving in time, I might not be here now."
"Xu Ning?"
Everyone turned in surprise toward the ten-year-old girl sitting in meditation.
Xu Ning didn't open her eyes; she continued focusing inward.
'Could she really be a natural prodigy?'
Yang Jueding's expression shifted subtly. He had underestimated her again. But he quickly refocused, his tone grave. "The Seven Peaks Alliance is a major power in Guzhou's martial world. If they attack with full force, it'll be hard for us to resist. They have more than 3,000 disciples and countless experts. This time, we're in serious trouble."
"3,000…"
The number made everyone's blood run cold.
Just a few hundred had almost killed Jiang Zhaoxia—how could they possibly stand against three thousand?
Li Qingqiu broke the tension with a steady voice. "Let's rest for now. They'll need time to return to the Seven Peaks Alliance. We should be safe for at least half a month."
His expression was calm, almost indifferent. But inside, waves of emotion crashed violently. His mind refused to settle.
After a moment, he turned and headed for the door. The others followed him out.
Outside, Zhang Yuchun began dispersing the disciples, urging them to return to their duties, while Yang Jueding walked beside Li Qingqiu.
"What do you plan to do about this?" Yang Jueding asked quietly.
Li Qingqiu answered, "I haven't decided yet. But this matter won't end here."
Yang Jueding sighed. "That's the martial world for you. Even if you don't provoke others, they'll still come for you. You're still young. If things get too dangerous, you could always retreat somewhere safe and return a few years later to reclaim what's yours."
Li Qingqiu stopped walking and turned to look at him. His gaze was so sharp that it made Yang Jueding's chest tighten.
"Precisely because I'm young," Li Qingqiu said flatly, "I refuse to run."
Without another word, he strode toward the mountain gate, leaving Yang Jueding standing there with a complex expression.
Once outside the gate, Li Qingqiu moved swiftly toward the Underground Spiritual Lake. The sun had nearly set, but he didn't stop. His pace quickened until he disappeared into the darkening forest.
From the day he became Sect Master of Qingxiao Sect, Li Qingqiu had known that trouble would eventually come. That was why he wanted the sect to grow quietly, to delay conflict as long as possible.
But fate had other plans.
He could avoid trouble—but if trouble came, he wouldn't back down.
After two attacks, the Seven Peaks Alliance was no longer just an enemy. They were mortal foes—beyond reconciliation.
'Prepare for their next assault?'
'No.'
'I won't wait.'
That night, Li Qingqiu decided to draw his second Fate. He intended to test a long-held theory—whether he could forcefully advance his cultivation to the third layer of the Nurturing Essence Realm.
Half an hour later, he reached the Underground Spiritual Lake. After ensuring there were no beasts or intruders nearby, he summoned the Dao Lineage Interface and selected Xu Ning's fate for extraction.
Among all disciples, Xu Ning's fate was the strongest. Who knew how long it would take to find someone even stronger?
Besides, her cultivation speed slightly surpassed Jiang Zhaoxia's, though his talent in swordsmanship made him deadlier in real combat.
The moment he drew her fate, Li Qingqiu's consciousness was pulled into a mysterious, dreamlike state.
The spiritual energy in the underground chamber stirred, rushing toward him like a rising tide. Gradually, it formed swirling currents that wrapped tightly around his body.
If the Born Sword Maniac fate refined one's comprehension, then the Heavenly Thunder Spiritual Root tempered the very body itself.
Even before cultivating, Xu Ning's physique had always been extraordinary. Before she was even ten years old, she could endure hunger and walk over a hundred li (≈50 kilometers) without rest—a feat almost unbelievable for a child.
If nothing unexpected happened, she would soon surpass the others and become the third person in Qingxiao Sect—after Jiang Zhaoxia and Li Qingqiu—to step into the second layer of the Nurturing Essence Realm.
At that moment, Li Qingqiu's consciousness drifted in a boundless haze, as if suspended among the clouds. In the endless expanse above, bolts of thunder roared—not to destroy him, but to guide him forward.
Rumble…
Thunder rolled across the night sky over the Taikun Mountain Range, echoing like the heavens themselves were condemning mortal bloodshed.
Inside a quiet room, Jiang Zhaoxia opened his eyes and glanced toward the window. The night was pitch-black. Li Dongyue and Xu Ning had already returned to the female disciples' quarters.
"Third Martial Uncle, is there anything we can do?"
Huang Shan, lying on a bed across from him, spoke up anxiously. The other second-generation disciples also turned toward Jiang Zhaoxia, their faces tense.
Li Sifeng was gravely injured and unconscious. Jiang Zhaoxia himself was still recovering. The sect was shrouded in a heavy, oppressive silence. Even the Seven Sons of Qingxiao, though afraid, refused to sit idly by—they wanted to help, to protect their home.
Sitting beside Li Sifeng's bed, Wu Man'er growled, "Third Senior Brother, I want revenge for Sixth Brother."
Though Wu Man'er had yet to fight in earnest, everyone could sense the terrifying strength brewing inside him. Even while seated, he exuded the raw power of a beast. His robe strained against his bulging muscles, as if ready to tear apart at any moment.
Zhang Yuchun lay on his bed, turned away from the others, his brows tightly furrowed in thought.
Jiang Zhaoxia looked around at his disciples and snapped impatiently, "What are you thinking? You're still too young. Focus on your training. We can't rely on you yet. Besides, I already beat those bastards so badly they'll think twice before coming again."
His arrogance and sharp tongue made the group relax a little. Even in such dire times, his confident bluster brought them a sense of relief.
Encouraged, the disciples began asking questions about the battle down the mountain. Having regained his composure, Jiang Zhaoxia recounted the fight in calm detail.
When he spoke of Xu Ning, a subtle feeling of unease rose in his chest.
He realized he'd misjudged her completely—the girl's talent was no weaker than his own. Perhaps even greater.
He smiled bitterly. 'As expected, Senior Brother was right again.'
…
Deep beneath the mountain, beside the Underground Spiritual Lake, a dim blue glow lit the cavern walls. Li Qingqiu slowly opened his eyes. Faint arcs of lightning flickered within them, giving his calm face an ethereal, almost divine aura.
As soon as he regained awareness, he sensed control returning to his limbs—and then he froze, stunned.
"Huh?"
A spark of joy crossed his face.
He had directly broken through to the third layer of the Nurturing Essence Realm!
Not only that, but his strength had multiplied several times over. His body felt lighter, tougher—renewed from the inside out.
He had originally planned to use the spirit stones embedded in the cave wall to attempt a breakthrough. When he'd trained here before, he'd noticed that those crystals contained a rich spiritual energy that could be absorbed into the body. But the amount was too great—recklessly absorbing it could damage one's meridians. For that reason, he had forbidden his disciples from touching them.
Yet now, he realized their true potential. If these spirit stones could aid cultivation, they would be invaluable—especially to a newly rising sect like Qingxiao.
He focused inward. His inner energy wasn't just denser—it had changed in essence.
Lightning attribute!
Cultivation methods were often aligned with elemental attributes. The Supreme Purity and Primordial Harmony Sutra he practiced was all-encompassing—it combined all five elemental properties, adaptable to cultivators with any spiritual root, allowing them to develop their own unique path.
And now, his energy had evolved into pure lightning—crackling with power and destructive force.
From now on, every strike he unleashed would carry the might of thunder.
His qi felt sharper, more violent—capable of tearing through flesh and bone. No wonder he had felt something unusual in Xu Ning's energy before—she too carried the same thunder essence.
The lingering spiritual energy around him hadn't dispersed yet, and that gave him a sudden thought.
"Could body-related fates directly push my realm forward?"
That possibility excited him. Such fate types might hold far more value than he'd imagined.
He rose, approached the rocky wall, and pried loose a glowing spirit stone, slipping it into his robe before leaving the cave.
Originally, he'd planned to use these stones to force his way into the third layer. But now that he'd succeeded naturally, there was no need to take that risk.
His inner energy was surging, his body brimming with power. He didn't even need time to stabilize his cultivation.
He was ready to act—tonight.
He would strike back first and catch the Seven Peaks Alliance completely off guard.
Half an hour later, Li Qingqiu returned to Qingxiao Sect and went straight to wake Yang Jueding.
Outside, rain poured in sheets. Thunder rumbled across the mountains.
Yang Jueding opened the door, startled to see Li Qingqiu drenched from head to toe. "What were you doing out there?" he asked.
Li Qingqiu met his eyes. "Do you know how to get to the Seven Peaks Alliance?"
"Of course," Yang Jueding replied cautiously. "I visited them once as a guest. Why?"
"Pack your things. You're coming down the mountain with me."
Without waiting for a response, Li Qingqiu turned and walked off, leaving Yang Jueding standing in stunned silence.
He then went to his own courtyard and knocked on his juniors' door. Zhang Yuchun answered, eyes heavy with fatigue.
"Yuchun," Li Qingqiu said with a faint smile, "I'm taking Yang Jueding down the mountain to patrol the Taikun Mountain Range, just in case any Seven Peaks members are still nearby. For the next few days, keep the disciples close to the sect. Don't let anyone wander too far until we return."
Zhang Yuchun frowned. "Senior Brother, it's pouring outside. Why not wait until morning?"
Li Qingqiu waved a hand dismissively. "Rainy nights are perfect for moving unseen."
Without another word, he turned and left. Zhang Yuchun hesitated, then sighed and closed the door, choosing to trust his Senior Brother.
A short while later, Yang Jueding stood by the mountain gate, wearing a straw raincoat. Li Qingqiu joined him, also clad in one, the Tianhong Sword hanging at his waist—its hilt gleaming faintly beneath the storm's relentless rain.