Chapter 45 - Elder Martial Brother

Chapter 45: Chapter 43: Elder Martial BrotherThis selection of disciples at Little Qing Mountain Town was the last stop for Sword Pavilion, and in addition to Ye Qiu, five other children under ten from different towns also possessed Spirit Roots. Although their numbers were somewhat fewer than previous years, the emergence of Ye Qiu with a Mutated Thunder Spiritual Root was enough to pleasantly surprise Shun Hua and the others.

Everyone rode the Spirit Boat heading north, and even though they had yet to introduce energy into their bodies, they could distinctly feel their bodies becoming increasingly comfortable.

As a leader of the Righteous Sects, Sword Pavilion is naturally situated in a top area of the continent for the convergence of Spiritual Energy. Legend has it that at the founding of the sect, the founding Master brought over several Spirit Veins and Spiritual Springs on top of the existing ones and invited an Array Master of that era to set up a defensive formation and a Spirit Gathering Array. He transplanted countless treasures from both heaven and earth, finally turning the place into a Charming spot that stirred the entire continent.

However, because Sword Pavilion housed the largest group of Sword Cultivators, which the entire Cultivation World feared, people could only admire from afar without daring to make any moves.

The Spirit Boat docked alongside the mountain peak next to the Main Peak. When they arrived, there were no less than ten flying artifacts, either Spirit Boats or Flying Cars, indicating that these were disciples who had just returned from testing for Spirit Roots in various places.

Generally, disciples with Triple Spirit Roots or lower start as Outer Disciples, unless a Manager of the Inner Sect or an elder exceptionally takes them as disciples. Otherwise, they must wait until Foundation Establishment to enter the Inner Sect. For someone like Ye Qiu with a once-in-a-millennium Mutated Spirit Root, they go directly to the Main Peak to meet the Sect Leader and the Great Elders.

"You are Ye Qiu?" In the great hall of the Main Peak, the Great Elder, tall and with a stern face, spoke, and the air itself seemed to cool by three degrees.

"Yes." Ye Qiu straightened his little body, not intimidated by the Great Elder’s severity.

The Sect Leader and several fellow brothers and sisters exchanged glances, thinking to themselves how extraordinary this child must be to withstand the pressure of their senior elder!

They reminisced about their own past; which one among them wasn’t scared to tears or beaten to tears by the elder?

The kids nowadays! Truly remarkable!

Impressive indeed!

"From now on, you are my disciple. Follow me."

It was said ’follow him,’ but in reality, the elder flew with Ye Qiu in tow by the collar, carried by sword. Ye Qiu didn’t struggle; it was the same in his previous life.

Seeing how calm and steady Ye Qiu was at such a young age, the Sect Leader secretly thought that the elder had finally taken a satisfactory disciple. Perhaps he wouldn’t keep scaring him with that zombie face anymore?

The Great Elder did not reside on the Spirit Energy-rich Main Peak but on a perennially icy mountain behind the sect, directly adjacent to the forbidden area of the sect. It was said to contain demon beasts and Demons from the past millennium.

Decades later, the Array in the forbidden area would be broken by Qingling, releasing all the imprisoned demon beasts and Demons, bringing a nearly total disaster to Sword Pavilion.

The Great Elder was deeply engrossed in cultivation all year round and had no high demands for his living environment. The summit of Snow Mountain had only a small cabin. Fortunately, Ye Qiu wasn’t someone who couldn’t endure hardship. His primary goal was cultivation, and he didn’t care much about food and shelter; thus began the days of rigorous training between master and disciple.

The Great Elder was very satisfied with Ye Qiu’s perseverance, stamina, and comprehension, not considering that he was just six years old. He gave him an introductory spell and required him to swing his sword a thousand times a day, then went into seclusion again.

Ye Qiu was someone who had been through life once before, unnoticed by others, which made him more at ease.

"It’s been two years, and Ye Qiu has never once descended the mountain. With the Great Elder’s indifferent attitude, could it be that the child has starved to death?" Shun Hua was anxious in his heart, yet he neither had the courage nor the ability to go up the mountain to look for him.

Who could enter the Great Elder’s mountain peak aside from the Sect Leader and a few elders in the sect? It’d be lucky to not be killed by the Sword Array.

But it had been two years with no sign of life on the mountain. The disciples who entered the sect in the same year as Ye Qiu went to the dining hall every day, and at six years old, no matter how talented, Ye Qiu couldn’t be fasting so quickly. The Great Elder didn’t seem like someone who would cook either. Could it be that they eat Fasting Pills every day?

How could this be acceptable? Leaving the poison from the pills aside, how can one deprive a mere six-year-old child of his childhood joys and sense of taste—especially when he’s at an age that’s naturally lively and active?

"Can you please stop pacing back and forth?" Shun Ying’s pretty face showed an expression of disgust, her tone impatient: "The Great Elder has finally taken on a direct disciple, do you think we can let anything happen to him? You’re being a busybody like a dog trying to catch mice."

"We discovered the kid ourselves, can’t you be a bit nicer? With your temper, I see trouble ahead." Shun Hua’s natural tendency to worry couldn’t be changed, as he earnestly advised his sister.

"Alright, alright, a big man shouldn’t be fussing around like a mother-in-law all the time," Shun Ying mumbled under her breath, no longer showing a temper on her face, but she didn’t take it to heart.

Seeing this, Shun Hua sighed lightly, knowing his sister didn’t take his words in, but what else could he do? As a brother, he just had to look after her even more in the future.

"What’s that? Tribulation clouds?" Shun Hua was serious.

"It looks like the kid isn’t dead yet. It’s only been two years, and he’s about to reach Foundation Establishment. Heh, just a month ago, the Array Sect came bragging to father about a ten-year-old cultivation genius in their sect, Ye Qiu is only eight years old this year, right! This is getting interesting!" Shun Ying chuckled, ready to throw it right back in their faces, allowing father to let off some steam and show those who looked down on others.

Atop Snow Mountain Peak, Ye Qiu, holding a heavy sword, had a stern little face mirroring that of the Great Elder’s next to him, resolutely looking up at the Tribulation Clouds above.

"Heavenly Thunder is beneficial for tempering the body. When you can endure, don’t use your sword or spells to resist," said the Great Elder, his voice was cold and low, without a hint of fluctuation, but Ye Qiu knew that he wasn’t emotionless—only too accustomed to solitude.

"Yes, Master!"

For the past two years, he had been swinging his sword amid the snowflakes and blizzards, tempering his body, and today, he would finally see the results.

Bring it on, all forty-nine Heavenly Thunders!

"Zzzt..." Purple Heavenly Thunders as thick as thumbs went straight into Ye Qiu’s body as he sat cross-legged, unmoving.

Not enough, this level of severity is still insufficient for him to admit defeat.

"Is Ye Qiu using his own body to resist the thunder?" Shun Hua fell silent, and the Sect Leader, who had hurried over, twitched at the corner of his mouth, inwardly mocking that the elder was not satisfied with just being a freak himself, he had to push his disciple to be one as well—truly twisted!

"Boom..." By the tenth Heavenly Thunder, Ye Qiu was already charred all over, his skin open and flesh split.

His disdainful stance seemed to have provoked the heavens as the sky turned completely dark, and the time to gestate the Heavenly Thunders grew longer.

"Crack... crack..." Blood trickled from the corners of Ye Qiu’s mouth, but his eyes looking towards the heavens became even more resolute.

Alongside him, the Great Elder was filled with pride but also greatly moved, as if only now remembering that his disciple was just eight years old this year. Yet, he had achieved what most in this world could not.

"Boom..." After the forty-ninth Heavenly Thunder had passed, Ye Qiu’s body was in tatters, and his heavy sword that had accompanied him for two years was shattered.

Once the Heavenly Thunder dissipated, the Tribulation Clouds scattered, and Five-Colored Auspicious Clouds gathered, raining down Spiritual Rain upon Snow Mountain.

This was a scene unique to the aftermath of overcoming tribulation, and the Spiritual Rain had incomparable benefits for recovering the body.