Chapter 31: CH-31: Gotta attend lectures! (2)

After being freed from her daily torture sessions, Ning Rongrong and Dong Mulan found themselves with an abundance of free time.

The Sword Sect, with its beauty starking that of the Cloud Piercing Sect, held a certain fascination for Ning Rongrong, who now dragged a reluctant Dong Mulan to explore their surroundings further.

"Come on, Sister Mulan! There must be more to this place than just training grounds and cold stone rooms. Maybe there’s a library? Or a garden?"

Dong Mulan grumbled, rubbing her sore muscles.

"I’d rather find a soft bed and sleep for a week, or at least somewhere they serve decent food. Did you see the gruel at the mess last night? Even the pigsties back home get better scraps."

Their wandering led them down a less-traveled corridor, branching off from the main path towards the residential quarters.

The glow crystals lining the walls cast long, dancing shadows that made the narrow passage feel like a maw.

"Rongrong, I don’t think we’re supposed to be here."

Dong Mulan whispered softly, her earlier cheerfulness evaporating.

"Nonsense!!"

Replied Ning Rongrong, though her own voice had dropped to a hush.

While the two roamed the sect, the others weren’t so lucky. Pardoned from physical stress, the mental stress came along.

From morning to evening, Elder Jian Yulan lectured them on swordsmanship, flooding their minds like high schoolers.

Gu Changsheng and Ye Che were like headless chickens, possessing knowledge but no direction, meanwhile An Jian just listened silently, opting for a stone sage act.

Mind you, he was the closest to succeeding in cultivating Sword Intent. Being a sword fanatic and the Child of Fortune, it would be weird if he couldn’t.

Seeing her lectures have almost no effect on them, she felt irritated, but slowly let it go.

"Alright! Go get some rest! And for heaven’s sake, try to think for yourselves tomorrow!"

She finally let them go, seeing their minds were about to be fried.

She said, and left, not forgetting to glare at Gu Changsheng and Ye Che for a second.

While Gu Changsheng had a face full of confusion, Ye Che looked depressed. He thought being Elder Ye’s son gave him some face, but it seemed it didn’t matter much. It only made Jian Yulan expect more from him, and thus, more disappointed.

"Let’s go and find those two, shall we?"

Suggested Ye Che, looking for a way to lighten his mood.

"Hmm."

Gu Changsheng nodded, and left with Ye Che, An Jian following behind them. Su Mingyue didn’t go with them, opting to meditate instead.

They navigated through most of the place but couldn’t find the duo, only for them to be discovered in Ning Rongrong and Su Mingyue’s allotted residence.

In the kitchen, Ning Rongrong and Dong Mulan were trying to make some delicacies, with Dong Mulan doing all the work as Ning Rongrong didn’t know how to cook.

"We made fish! Wanna eat?"

Almost finished cooking, they just noticed the boys, inviting them to dine with them.

...

"Elder Jian, little An... he... something happened to him!"

Said Gu Changsheng, who saw an unusual phenomenon happening just beside him.

An Jian was seen cross-legged on the floor, his face calm, but the weird part was that a unique hum was resonating with him as the centre, his own sword vibrating slightly in his lap.

"He’s creating his own Sword Intent!"

Answered Elder Jian, her tone very much satisfied. Though she appeared strict, she seemed to care a lot about An Jian.

Gu Changsheng had a thoughtful expression on his face after seeing this, a bit surprised. All because An Jian wasn’t meant to gain Sword Intent like this.

Even his Fortuitous Encounters description had been changed, making the bestowment of Elder Jian useless.

Should he try to...

As he was thinking that, An Jian completed his enlightenment, successfully cultivating his own Sword Intent.

"Congratulations on cultivating your Sword Intent, little An! But what do you think is your Sword Intent?"

Ye Che asked, curious about the power An Jian had gained just now. An Jian picked up the sword in his lap, holding it in front of him, and answered.

"I think I’ll call it... Simple Sword Intent?"

"You really are a resemblance to her..."

Elder Jian mumbled to herself, but her voice was so small that it wasn’t heard by anyone else.

But what surprised her more was when An Jian’s cultivation started rising, breaking through from the second stage of the Qi Refinement Realm to the fifth stage, directly breaking through three stages.

"Elder Jian, is this normal?"

Asked Su Mingyue. This was the third time she had been surprised today.

"Sword Intent at its infancy can help you break through..."

She answered, her voice clear. But she was also trying to hide the fact that An Jian was special. Though she didn’t know what kind of physique he had, it was definitely similar to her own.

She did try to find some clues... Nevertheless, she failed to do so.

Because the war sixty years ago had taken a toll on them, ending with many of their ancestral records and their own scriptures about special physiques and spiritualities being lost.

Though An Jian had awakened Sword Intent, he still needed much time to master it.

Having gained an unexpected surprise, Elder Jian decided to let them off. They, too, saluted her and left for their own business respectively.

Su Mingyue was going together with Ye Che, seemingly becoming quite close to him. Though Gu Changsheng always wondered how she could ignore ’that’ nightmare of an incident and have the will to befriend Senior Brother.

It seems there’s some protagonist-type sh*t at play, not like he cares. In fact, what was happening was well within his interest, completing his stupid promise to Elder Ye.

Giving out a satisfied sigh, Gu Changsheng began to ponder another matter.

Now that An Jian’s opportunity was useless to him, he should try to acquire it, saving him from the guilt too.

But how exactly...

The staff was definitely in Elder Jian’s place, so how...

A sudden realization hit him as an evil idea began to form in his mind, a scammy smile adorning his face.