Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Famous Across the Three Sects
When Jiang Li Sheng said she was slow, she meant truly, painfully slow.
An Ru Xu had the strong impression he could have walked and only been a little behind. Only a little.
But he was the one who’d taken five moves from He Zhen Tang and lived to suffer about it. He didn’t have the right to complain, and he definitely didn’t have the face. So he endured the snail’s pace in silence, growing more miserable with every minute. The throbbing in his head worsened until it felt like it had its own heartbeat.
From the Discipline Hall to the Medical Hall, they had to cross three mountains.
Jiang Li Sheng wiped sweat from her brow and thought, This is too far. It’s absurdly far. Who built the Medical Hall here?
Shouldn’t the Medical Hall be next to the Discipline Hall?
Any disciple punished at the Discipline Hall would end up injured. Who wouldn’t?
Was it deliberate?
Someone like Senior Brother An, beaten half to death and unable to fly—was he supposed to drag himself over three mountains just to get treated?
Or give up and endure it?
The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became: Kun Lun Sect kept its disciples on guard in every possible way.
No wonder it was the head of the immortal sects. The schemes ran deep.
An Ru Xu noticed her wiping sweat again and again. After a moment, he spoke carefully. “Junior Sister Jiang… should we rest a bit before we continue?”
Truthfully, if they hadn’t already come this far, he might have suggested turning back.
Forget it. I won’t get treated.
Jiang Li Sheng shook her head. “No need. I’m not tired.”
“You look tired.”
“I’m not. I just sweat easily.”
An Ru Xu stared at her for a second, then sighed. “All right.”
They continued at their tragic speed.
Ahead, someone approached on foot—crimson robes, a face so clean and calm it looked carved out of snow. He didn’t fly a sword. He simply walked, unhurried. His black hair drifted with the mountain wind, his expression light and distant, like he belonged above the clouds rather than among dust.
Jiang Li Sheng’s sword wobbled.
Then it slid straight down to the ground.
An Ru Xu yelped as he lost balance too. Jiang Li Sheng snapped back to herself and grabbed him. The two of them stumbled several steps before they managed to steady themselves.
She released him immediately. “Sorry, Senior Brother An.”
“It’s fine,” An Ru Xu said quickly, then blinked. “Wait… Junior Brother Wei?”
The man glanced over, his gaze pausing on Jiang Li Sheng for a fraction of a heartbeat before he turned to An Ru Xu and gave a small nod. His voice was clear and gentle. “Senior Brother An.”
An Ru Xu stared. “Junior Brother Wei, you… you advanced two levels again?”
Wei Qing Lan nodded.
An Ru Xu couldn’t hide his envy. “You’re incredible.”
Wei Qing Lan didn’t react to the praise. His eyes shifted over An Ru Xu’s pallor. “Senior Brother An is seriously injured?”
“Yes,” An Ru Xu said, forcing a grimace. “I’m going to the Medical Hall.”
He couldn’t help complaining in a rush, as if saying it out loud made it lighter. “I got greedy. I roasted a yuan hu that escaped from Spirit Beast Peak and ate it. I was punished to go back to the Discipline Hall and relearn the rules. Instructor He is brutal—half a ke late and he made us take ten moves under him. I only survived five. Now my insides feel like they’re burning, I can’t raise any spiritual power, and my head hurts like hell. I took two origin-restoring pills and they didn’t do anything. So I can only go to the Medical Hall. Sigh.”
Wei Qing Lan extended a hand. “Let me check.”
An Ru Xu looked like he’d been granted an audience with a legend. “Thank you, Junior Brother Wei.”
He stepped forward—missing, completely, the way Jiang Li Sheng quietly took two steps back and tucked herself behind him.
Wei Qing Lan’s eyes flicked to the side. His expression didn’t change, but he paused for a breath before placing two fingers on An Ru Xu’s pulse.
After a moment, he withdrew his hand. “If Senior Brother An trusts me, there’s no need to go to the Medical Hall. I can sort your qi. Then you only need one heavenly fragrance pill.”
An Ru Xu brightened, then grimaced again. “I trust you, of course. But I don’t have a heavenly fragrance pill. I need to buy one.”
“I have one,” Wei Qing Lan said.
An Ru Xu immediately fumbled in his storage ring. “Then I’ll trade you a spirit-communion pill.”
A spirit-communion pill was even more precious than a heavenly fragrance pill. Only someone at the Golden Core Stage could use it. An Ru Xu wasn’t there yet, so he’d never dared touch it.
Wei Qing Lan shook his head. “No need.”
But An Ru Xu had already pulled the pill out and pressed it into his hand. “Junior Brother Wei, you’re saving me a trip to the Medical Hall and a medical cultivator. You’re saving me spirit stones and effort. If you don’t take this, I won’t let you help me.”
Wei Qing Lan paused, then nodded and accepted it.
He lifted his hand. A thin wash of golden light covered An Ru Xu, slipping into him like warm water through cracked earth. In an instant, the burning in An Ru Xu’s chest eased. The pounding in his skull loosened.
Wei Qing Lan withdrew his hand and offered a pill. “Heavenly fragrance.”
An Ru Xu swallowed it without hesitation, awe rising in him. “Junior Brother Wei, you even know medicine?”
“No,” Wei Qing Lan said. “I don’t know medicine. Your injury happens to be from Martial Uncle He’s sword. I was injured by him before. I just happen to know how to treat his sword wounds.”
An Ru Xu blinked. “You… were punished too?”
The words slipped out before he could stop them. He immediately realized how wrong that sounded and hurriedly corrected himself. “I mean—did you spar with him?”
Wei Qing Lan nodded. “Yes.”
“When?”
“Ten years ago.”
An Ru Xu went quiet.
Ten years ago, Wei Qing Lan would have been eight.
Eight—and he could spar with He Zhen Tang.
An Ru Xu was twenty-two and had only taken five moves before being beaten into this state.
He felt a sudden, sharp urge to lie down and weep.
Then he remembered Jiang Li Sheng and twisted back around. She was standing behind him, quiet as a shadow.
An Ru Xu shifted aside and introduced her. “Junior Brother Wei, this is Junior Sister Jiang—Jiang Li Sheng.”
Then, as if determined to set fire to her dignity personally, he added, “Qing Xu Sect’s Jiang Li Sheng. She’s famous across the three sects too—just like you.”
Jiang Li Sheng’s smile froze at the corners.
He was famous across the three sects as a peerless prodigy.
She was famous as Qing Xu Sect’s disaster.
An Ru Xu seemed to realize it a beat too late. He coughed and tried to patch it up. “Junior Sister Jiang is… very well-behaved.”
Wei Qing Lan simply nodded, voice light and calm. “Junior Sister Jiang.”
Jiang Li Sheng kept her gaze down. “Senior Brother Wei.”
She didn’t mention that they’d already met yesterday.
Wei Qing Lan said nothing else and continued on his way, crimson robes disappearing along the mountain path.
When he was far enough away, An Ru Xu turned to Jiang Li Sheng and apologized softly. “Junior Sister Jiang, I said the wrong thing. I’m sorry.”
Jiang Li Sheng shook her head and gave him a small smile. “You don’t need to apologize. I’m not angry.”
She scuffed her toe against the ground, then sighed. “I just… don’t dare get close to Senior Brother Wei. If I affect him, even a little, it’ll be bad. He’s Kun Lun Sect’s treasure. I have to stay away, or if I cause trouble, Kun Lun Sect might not take me in anymore.”
An Ru Xu nodded slowly. “So that’s why.”
“Yes.”
He let out a breath and smiled, sincerity returning to his eyes. “Come on. I’ll fly you to the Sword Hall.”
Then, as if bracing himself, he added, “And I’ll be honest too—your sword flight needs practice. You’re slow. You’re really, really slow.”
Jiang Li Sheng handed him the sword back. “Mm.”
An Ru Xu stepped onto it and deliberately lowered the blade to a safer height. Once Jiang Li Sheng climbed on behind him, he said, “Otherwise, in a month, when we go to the secret realm… will you be chasing Demons, or will Demons be chasing you?”
Jiang Li Sheng hesitated. “We’re going too?”
“Of course. Every peak has to send people. The Discipline Hall has to send people too. Right now, only the two of us are at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Everyone else is a new disciple. So yes—definitely us.”