Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Chief He Zhen Tang
The next morning, An Ru Xu called for Jiang Li Sheng right on time and dragged her off to morning lessons.
Jiang Li Sheng yawned as she stepped out of her room to meet him. She wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. “Good morning, Senior Brother An.”
An Ru Xu yawned right back. “Good morning, Junior Sister Jiang.”
They looked equally half-awake, like mirror images.
In theory, a cultivator slept little—sometimes not at all. But these two were clearly the kind who still needed proper rest.
An Ru Xu drew his sword and rose into the air, reminding her, “Junior Sister Jiang, I’ll lead. Stay behind me.”
Jiang Li Sheng took out the sword she’d been temporarily issued yesterday and nodded.
With a sharp whine of steel and wind, An Ru Xu shot off.
Jiang Li Sheng had only just stepped onto her sword when she looked up and found he’d already vanished. She paused, expression blank, then followed the lingering trail of sword qi and chased after him.
Two figures, stretched far apart.
An Ru Xu reached the Lecture Hall entrance and waited a long while before Jiang Li Sheng finally arrived. He stared at her, confused. “Junior Sister Jiang… your sword flight…”
Jiang Li Sheng’s cheeks reddened. “I used to fool around. I didn’t learn properly.”
An Ru Xu looked genuinely shaken. “Then your Foundation Establishment Stage…”
“My master pushed me up,” Jiang Li Sheng admitted.
An Ru Xu went silent.
No wonder the Feng Yun Rankings only took three thousand names—she couldn’t even scrape into the tail end.
Even Qi Refining Stage disciples flew more smoothly than she did. She must have played around to an impressive degree. If she ever ran into a Demon, she probably wouldn’t even be able to run faster than it.
With a complicated sigh, An Ru Xu led Jiang Li Sheng into the Lecture Hall.
More than a hundred people were already seated inside, and the instructor had already arrived. Seeing them show up half a ke late, he sank his face.
“You’re late,” he said coldly. “Each of you will take ten moves under my hand.”
An Ru Xu’s face changed. He had timed it perfectly—he just hadn’t expected Jiang Li Sheng to fly like a drifting leaf.
He leaned closer and whispered, urgent and low. “That’s Chief Visiting Instructor He Zhen Tang from Heaven Sword Peak. Mid Nascent Soul Stage. Cold, ruthless, fair as iron. We’re finished. Ten moves and he’ll cripple us.”
Jiang Li Sheng’s face went pale.
He Zhen Tang didn’t waste a breath. His sword flashed out. A streak of golden light slammed toward them like a falling star, sword qi rolling over their heads and locking them in place.
Jiang Li Sheng swung up to block.
Her sword cracked the instant it met the pressure—one sharp snap, and the blade shattered. The next wave of sword qi tossed her aside like she weighed nothing. She hit the wall with a heavy bang, stars exploding behind her eyes. Pain surged so hard her vision swam, and she nearly blacked out on the spot.
An Ru Xu, also early Foundation Establishment, held up far better. He met five of He Zhen Tang’s strikes in a row before his guard collapsed. He was flung backward just the same, slammed into the wall, and spat a mouthful of blood.
He Zhen Tang withdrew his sword and let out a frosty snort. “Two wastes.”
He didn’t even look at them. “Get up. Sit down. If you’re late again tomorrow, it’s the same punishment.”
Jiang Li Sheng forced herself up. An Ru Xu looked like he might not be able to stand at all, so she reached out and hauled him upright, half-dragging him to two empty seats side by side.
Partners in misery. Just like he’d promised.
An Ru Xu’s qi and blood churned. After a long moment, he shakily pulled out a bottle of pills, swallowed two, and wiped at the blood on his lip. He glanced over and found Jiang Li Sheng sitting rigidly straight, hands folded, as if nothing had happened.
He blurted, “Junior Sister Jiang, you’re not taking medicine? Or did Instructor He go easy on you?”
Jiang Li Sheng lowered her voice. “I’m used to being hit. Senior Brother An, listen to the lesson. If you draw attention again, you’ll get punished again.”
An Ru Xu immediately shut his mouth and forced himself upright. His organs and skull still buzzed from the sword qi, and every breath felt wrong.
At the front, He Zhen Tang began lecturing on Kun Lun Sect’s rules.
There were more than a thousand.
Jiang Li Sheng’s eyes spun just looking at them, and her stomach sank as she listened.
She was finished. Truly finished. Even if she wasn’t late tomorrow, what if he tested them on memorizing rules?
How was she supposed to remember all of this?
Halfway through the lesson, He Zhen Tang pointed at someone without warning. “Stand. Explain why Kun Lun Sect’s Ten-Thousand-Year Hopeless Cliff is our highest punishment.”
The young disciple stood and answered briskly, “Reporting to the instructor: once the Ten-Thousand-Year Hopeless Cliff is opened, any rule-breaking disciple locked inside can’t leave for ten thousand years. Even a sect master would be the same—before the ten thousand years are up, only entry is allowed, not exit. It’s said the cliff connects to the Sword Tomb. Hundreds of thousands of blades and sword qi grind through the body. The cold is like steel. No one has ever walked out alive.”
He Zhen Tang nodded. “Good. Sit.”
His gaze swept the hall, sharp as a blade. “So listen carefully. Learn Kun Lun Sect’s rules. Don’t commit a disaster and end up in the Ten-Thousand-Year Hopeless Cliff. And don’t imitate Qing Xu Sect’s Jiang Li Sheng. With the mistakes she’s made, in Kun Lun Sect she would’ve been locked away long ago.”
Jiang Li Sheng sat there in silence, face blank.
He had just beaten her, and now he was using her as a warning example—right in front of her.
An Ru Xu leaned closer and whispered, indignant, “Junior Sister, isn’t Instructor He terrifying? He knows you’re sitting here. He just beat you. And he still says that.”
Jiang Li Sheng whispered back, deadpan, “Senior Brother An, you’re wrong. He doesn’t know it’s me.”
She tugged lightly at her sleeve. “I’m wearing Kun Lun Sect disciple robes.”
An Ru Xu blinked, then smacked his forehead. “Right!”
Then—like lightning struck his brain clean out—he shot his hand up and called out loudly, “Instructor! The Jiang Li Sheng you mentioned—Junior Sister Jiang is right here!”
Jiang Li Sheng froze.
In the next heartbeat, it wasn’t just He Zhen Tang who looked over. More than a hundred Kun Lun Sect disciples turned their heads at once.
Heat rushed into Jiang Li Sheng’s face. She stood, wishing the floor would swallow her whole. “I’m Jiang Li Sheng of Qing Xu Sect. G-greetings, Instructor He. And… hello, everyone.”
He Zhen Tang studied her. “Qing Xu Sect’s Jiang Li Sheng? Why are you at Kun Lun Sect?”
Jiang Li Sheng lowered her head. “By my master’s order. I’m here to be… reformed.”
A flicker of approval crossed his expression. “Good. Sect Master Yu rarely has that kind of awareness.” His voice hardened again. “But you were late today. Don’t let it happen again. Reform properly. Don’t behave as you did in Qing Xu Sect—doing whatever you please. Kun Lun Sect isn’t a place for you to run wild. Understood?”
“Understood,” Jiang Li Sheng said quickly.
He Zhen Tang nodded once. “Sit.”
Jiang Li Sheng sat.
Then He Zhen Tang turned toward the seat beside her, and his face went colder. “An Ru Xu. The trouble you caused isn’t small either. A yuan hu escaped from Spirit Beast Peak—do you think you can catch it, roast it, and eat it? You’re here to learn alongside the new disciples, not to make up for being late. Do you hear me? You’re unruly. You also need to be taught properly.”
An Ru Xu sprang up. “Understood, Instructor!”
“Don’t let it happen again. Sit.”
An Ru Xu sat, spine stiff as if fear alone could keep him upright.
He Zhen Tang continued lecturing. The rest of the disciples slowly turned their attention away, though the air around the two of them still felt faintly charged.
When class finally ended and the instructor left, Jiang Li Sheng turned to An Ru Xu at once. “I’m sorry, Senior Brother An. I fly too slowly. I made you late and got you punished.”
An Ru Xu waved it off. “It’s on me too. I only accounted for my own speed. I didn’t think about yours, so I misjudged the time.”
Jiang Li Sheng eyed his pallor and asked cautiously, “Are we done for the day? Can we go back? And… Senior Brother An, can you still fly?”
An Ru Xu shook his head, looking faint. “Instructor He is vicious. I don’t think I can.” He swallowed, voice strained. “Junior Sister Jiang, you look fine. Can you fly with someone riding along? I need to go to the Medical Hall. My injury’s heavy.”
“I can,” Jiang Li Sheng said. “It’ll just be very slow.”
An Ru Xu exhaled like he’d been holding his breath since the wall. “Then I’ll trouble you.”
Jiang Li Sheng glanced down at the shards on the floor and grimaced. “But I don’t have a sword anymore.”
An Ru Xu followed her gaze and stared at the broken pieces, then at her, baffled. “How did it shatter in one move?”
“It was a sword issued to new disciples,” Jiang Li Sheng said helplessly. “Not very sturdy.”
An Ru Xu unfastened his own sword and handed it to her. “Use mine for now. We’ll go to the Medical Hall first, then I’ll take you to the Sword Hall and buy you a proper sword.”
Jiang Li Sheng nodded and accepted it. She hopped onto the blade first, then motioned behind her.
An Ru Xu looked at how low the sword hovered, went silent for a beat, and climbed on anyway.