Chapter 67: Sword Hall's First Lesson

"What do you want to say?" Ning Changjiu asked.

Ning Xiaoling stared at him intently. "Senior Brother, are you feeling a bit nervous right now?" she asked.

Ning Changjiu's heart stirred slightly, then quickly settled. He smiled faintly and said, "Why would I be? Little Sister, don't keep me in suspense."

Ning Xiaoling pursed her lips and hesitated for a moment before stammering, "Senior Brother... I've suddenly felt recently that I can sense your emotions."

Ning Changjiu was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood. Ever since that day, when he took the four characters "Yong Jie Tong Xin" (eternal unity of hearts) from the marriage pact as their mutual anchor, their spirits and emotions had become subtly intertwined, creating a delicate influence between them.

Yet, for some reason, even though his own emotions were usually calm, Ning Xiaoling could sense them. Conversely, despite Ning Xiaoling being more expressive, her emotions were blurrier to Ning Changjiu than trying to see flowers through a thick fog.

Of course, he would never admit to this. If he did, he would feel as if he were naked in front of his junior sister from then on. Moreover, that marriage pact belonged to Zhao Xiang'er, and he had taken words from it without her knowledge...

Ning Changjiu seized the opportunity and asked, "Sense emotions? What do you mean?"

Ning Xiaoling thought for a moment. "For example, after waking up that day, when you asked me where my master's money was hidden, I genuinely felt your happiness after I told you... You also seemed quite happy when you were bickering with Sister Xiang'er, and quite happy when you parted ways. When you went up Tianku Peak, you seemed a bit sad watching the clouds and fog, but then you seemed happy again when you told Sister Lu where the sect rules were wrong..."

The more Ning Changjiu listened, the more alarmed he became. But realizing she could sense his emotions, he quickly calmed his mind with a spell, making his heart still. He smiled and said earnestly, "That's certainly impossible. Zhao Xiang'er and I are opponents bound by a three-year agreement. When arguing with her, I was extremely annoyed, so how could I be happy? Little Sister, have you been influenced by that foxy creature? Is your mind still a bit muddled?"

Ning Xiaoling gripped the back of the chair, her brow furrowed, and her body shrinking slightly. After a moment's thought, she said, "But I really did feel it! Didn't Senior Brother feel anything?"

Ning Changjiu smiled and asked, "Then tell Senior Brother, what is my emotion right now?"

Ning Xiaoling stared at him steadily, pondering for a moment, then finally shook her head. "I don't know."

Ning Changjiu sneered inwardly, *After cultivating my mind for over twenty years, why would I be afraid of a little girl like you?*

"See? It might just be an illusion. Don't think too much about it from now on. Just focus on your cultivation."

Once his junior sister officially began her cultivation, his time interacting with her would definitely decrease, and the influence of those four characters, "Yong Jie Tong Xin," should also slowly diminish with time!

Ning Xiaoling's eyes suddenly lit up, and her neck darted like a little sparrow. "Senior Brother, are you very happy right now?"

Ning Changjiu's body tensed slightly, and his expression almost faltered. He immediately calmed his mind again, and without changing his expression, said, "What would I be happy about? Little Sister, hurry back to your room and rest. Cultivate diligently from now on and don't delay. If you encounter any difficulties in your cultivation, you can also ask me. Just don't let Senior Brother worry."

Ning Xiaoling puffed out her cheeks, looking at him skeptically, her soft hair brushing her temples swaying gently in the night wind. Still unwilling to give up, she asked, "Senior Brother! Do you really not feel anything?"

Ning Changjiu calmly replied, "Go back quickly. If other disciples discover you, it will cause trouble for Miss Lu."

Ning Xiaoling looked at him suspiciously and asked, "Senior Brother, are you feeling a bit scared, a bit angry, and a bit helpless right now?"

Ning Changjiu, unable to bear it any longer, raised his hand and frowned. "Are you asking for a beating?"

Ning Xiaoling immediately fell silent and sulkily slipped out of the room.

Ning Changjiu's hand slowly dropped, his wide sleeves swaying gently.

"This cold wind is giving me a headache. I told her not to choose a room facing southeast, that silly junior sister," he complained, a rare occurrence for him. He reached out and snapped the window shut with a thud, then swayed to the side of the couch and lay down, sighing.

In the early morning, when Ning Changjiu opened the window again, the landscape outside was already covered with a thin layer of white snow.

The night's snow had fallen silently.

He sat quietly by the window, adjusting his breathing for a moment, sensing the spiritual energy flowing through his body. If each person's spiritual meridians were countless streams, then his were extremely narrow. And his Violet Palace, the Sea of Qi, was like a giant heart pumping spiritual power through the meridians to all parts of the body. The number and width of the spiritual meridians directly determined the efficiency of spiritual energy transmission.

While such innate aptitude issues could be somewhat improved through diligent cultivation later in life, the improvement was ultimately limited.

Ning Changjiu's current physical problems were even more severe. Many of his original spiritual meridians were no longer merely narrow, but tangled and blocked like a chaotic mess. Several days of travel to the imperial city and various injuries had exacerbated his physical condition.

If an ordinary person possessed such a body, they would initially be joyful at the prospect of cultivation, but would soon become saddened by the hopelessness of achieving the Great Dao.

But Ning Changjiu did not think this way.

Because he was now certain that this body was the same one he had used in his previous life.

He was certain that beneath the weathered stone lay exceptional jade, but he had yet to find the blade to cleave through that hard layer of rock.

And in his previous life, in the Unobservable Realm, how had he managed it?

He couldn't recall the crucial point.

Ning Changjiu meditated for a moment, his thoughts slightly unsettled. Then a knock sounded at the door. Ning Changjiu turned to look and saw Ning Xiaoling, dressed in a brand new sword robe, waving at him.

"Senior Brother, these are new clothes! They're much more comfortable than our old daoist robes."

Ning Changjiu smiled and said, "Little Sister is becoming more and more charming. I imagine in a few years, Tianku Peak will have another young sword immortal."

"Senior Brother, you're spouting nonsense again," Ning Xiaoling said, her pretty face slightly flushed. She then waved her hand and added, "Senior Brother, I'm off to class then!"

Ning Changjiu waved back at her.

As Ning Xiaoling closed the door, she saw several other doors open along the corridor. A few inner disciples emerged, simultaneously looking towards Ning Xiaoling, then glancing at the room in front of her, their expressions subtly different.

Ning Xiaoling was still unaccustomed to being stared at by so many strangers. She almost opened her door to hide inside, but her hand, reaching out, withdrew. She pretended not to notice their gazes, turned, and walked away.

Within this mountain peak, gravel and rock formations were almost unseen. Most structures were wooden rooms and partitions. Often, those inside would feel as if they were in a common wing of a large household, never imagining that this was, in fact, the interior of a towering, majestic mountain.

Ning Xiaoling nervously ascended a flight of stairs. Without anyone accompanying her, she felt a pervasive sense of something missing.

At the top of the staircase, sunlight fell upon her face. She clenched her fists and stepped into the morning sun of Tianku Peak.

Winter winds blew cold, snow reflected the morning light, and the immortal peak seemed covered in countless dazzling golden rays.

Outside the Sword Hall, the old man who managed the disciples' nameplates was sweeping snow with a broom. Inside the Sword Hall, Lu Jiajia's hairpin was neatly placed, her beautiful hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her brand new sword robe outlined her graceful figure. The morning light, filtered through the wooden lattice windows, broke into countless rays that fell upon her attire. Ning Xiaoling arrived early outside the door and happened to witness this scene. That fleeting glimpse of her beauty seemed to surpass the new winter snow on Tianku Peak.

*What a pity Senior Brother didn't see it,* she thought with a touch of regret.

Today, Ning Xiaoling was the first to arrive. At Lu Jiajia's signal, she found a seat closer to the side. The desks were all made of fine wood with exquisite grain, smooth and elegant, and on them lay several books of varying thickness.

Each of these books was a rare treasure, unseen in the mortal world.

Gradually, others entered the Sword Hall. They uniformly bowed to Lu Jiajia, then took their seats. Lu Jiajia merely nodded, cold and distant, possessing the aloof demeanor of a sect leader.

Ning Xiaoling carefully observed the Sword Hall.

Although she had never attended a private school, she felt that, apart from being more spacious, it didn't seem much different from common folk schools.

In front of Lu Jiajia was a jet-black desk, and on it, a straight wooden ruler was neatly placed.

Behind Lu Jiajia stood three massive screens. They were draped with a layer of dark gauze, and behind the gauze were three demon-slaying paintings: the first depicted a barbarian riding an elephant and slaying a snake demon; the second showed a multitude of immortals hunting a human-faced, dragon-bodied monster in the sea; and the third portrayed ten thousand swords rising into the sky to slay a great demon with nine heads that spewed ice and fire.

All three screens were grand in their dark ink tones, yet the figures depicted within them were exquisitely detailed, making them unforgettable at first glance. The sword energy, rendered with golden sand, conveyed a palpable sharpness, appearing both real and illusory.

Ning Xiaoling vaguely felt that the figures in the three screens seemed to contain certain sword techniques, though at the moment, she could only sense them indistinctly.

She couldn't clearly see what was behind the screens, but she could vaguely make out a circular bookshelf laden with countless bamboo slips and ancient scrolls.

She observed silently, trying to distract herself by taking in everything around her, yet she still felt uneasy—an uncontrollable sense of alarm that came with being in a strange new environment.

Suddenly, a sword hummed.

Ning Xiaoling's expression stiffened.

Lu Jiajia had flicked the wooden ruler with her finger, producing a clear sound like the ringing of a sword.

At the same time, the copper bells hanging in the four corners of the Sword Hall also began to sway, their crisp tinkling sounds echoing throughout the summit of Tianku Peak.

*So this wooden ruler is for transmitting sound...* Ning Xiaoling thought. As Ning Xiaoling thought this, she saw a little girl rush in, breathless, from the main entrance to her side. The girl's face was pale, having heard the bell.

Ning Xiaoling recalled that this junior sister's name seemed to be... Lerou?

Lu Jiajia gave her a cold glance. The little girl named Lerou reluctantly walked to the desk and held out her hand.

Lu Jiajia picked up the wooden ruler and smacked it five times in quick succession. The little girl's soft, pink palm immediately turned bright red.

"If you're late again, it will be double," Lu Jiajia said sternly.

Lerou rubbed her small hand, nodded obediently, and returned to her desk to sit down.

Ning Xiaoling immediately averted her gaze from the ruler.

*So Sister Jiajia is that fierce...* she thought.

After a period of calm, Lu Jiajia's cool voice rang out: "Open your books and read the Sword Scripture."

Ning Xiaoling saw the disciples around her sit up straight, their expressions solemn. They took the first book from their desks, opened it, and began to read.

Ning Xiaoling's heart sank. She imitated them, taking the Sword Scripture and placing it open before her.

The nearby disciples saw her troubled expression and merely thought that since she had arrived midway through, she must have missed a lot. However, since their master had accepted her as an inner disciple, she must possess excellent talent and would surely catch up quickly.

Lu Jiajia also noticed her distressed look and offered a comforting smile. "Don't be afraid. Later, I will personally explain the sword scriptures to you, so you can catch up with your senior brothers and sisters quickly."

Ning Xiaoling looked up, a long face, and said, "Master, I... I can't read."