Mi Rang and Ju Daiyu were making their way up to their master’s cultivation cave. Ju Daiyu was playing with the talisman the sect master gave her. In her eyes, it was not as good as the gifts her Senior Brother would leave but it was still acceptable. Mi Rang was carrying a heavy two-handed sword on his back. The handle was pure black and the blade was extremely thick. It didn’t have a sharp edge.

As he had only been Master Fei’s disciple for two years, he was still considered new to the sect. There were disciples who had been here for decades and still only at the Foundation Establishment realm. They remained outer disciples. He had reached Core Formation incredibly quickly. Much faster than when he was hunting Demonic Beasts in the Beast Lands. It was truly fate that had let him meet Master Fei and Senior Brother Lu. Now he didn’t have to survive in the wild, worry about food and shelter, and he could just focus on cultivation.

The heavy blade he was carrying was one of Senior Brother’s cultivation training methods and Mi Rang never doubted anything Senior Brother Lu recommended as he had just witnessed his Senior Sister reach Nascent Soul. He had reached Core Formation faster than many in the Empire, but he knew he had a worse foundation because of his time in the Beast Lands. Master Fei had said Senior Brother Lu could easily solve that and two years later, his foundation was much better. His body cultivation was also advancing rapidly. He was truly a fish going through the dragon’s gate since he arrived at the sect.

Mi Rang and Ju Daiyu were outside their master’s cave. A big man with long wild hair, a scar on his face, and overwhelming qi stepped out. It was Zhao Fei. He looked at the two in front of him. He didn’t spend much time with his disciples, giving them guidance and instructions every once in a while. Zhao Fei had actually left much of their cultivation to his senior disciple to handle. But his most senior disciple didn’t like to leave his cave so he had to be the one to give his other disciples the information. Tian Lu did not want them to know it was him so he had asked Zhao Fei to keep his involvement a secret but the sword master didn’t care.

No, he didn’t care for much. If the sect master hadn’t forced him to get a disciple 10 years ago, he would have never even considered it. And if this disciple wasn’t so strange, he wouldn’t have had to get two more disciples. However, Zhao Fei realized it wasn’t all bad as he felt himself getting stronger or recovering back to his original strength. He could still feel the heat of the scar, the memory.

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His disciples were truly talented, it was not a waste to train them, he thought. He looked at the sword on his youngest disciple’s back. A strange forged weapon from his senior disciple. It seemed to get heavier every time Mi Rang couldn’t keep his qi constant. His senior disciple had too many strange inventions, strange thoughts. Not suited for his swordsmanship and yet extremely adept at it. It was strange. Well, he didn’t have to think too much about it. They would all be gone for a few months and maybe even years in the secret realm. He just had to give them some words of encouragement.

“Congratulations little Daiyu, you have achieved something great. Your cultivation looks solid and you have a great mastery of my swordsmanship. Keep developing your sword intent and you will be undefeatable under the heavens.”

Ju Daiyu bowed and thanked her master for the kind encouragement.

“Mi Rang, you have witnessed your senior sister break through to Nascent Soul. Consolidate what you learned from her experience but do not ask anyone of the exact process. It must be yours and yours alone. And I have a gift for you. This is an enchanted bracelet. Put your qi into and find out how to make it work. Think of it as training and a gift, the “two-for-one special” your Senior Brother so enjoys.” Zhao Fei said with a smirk. His senior disciple did have some fun inventions.

Mi Rang accepted the gift and bowed. He was excited to try out another training gift from his senior brother. However, he realized his excitement disrupted the flow of his chi and the sword became heavier.

Zhao Fei noticed the boy’s struggle but didn’t say anything about it. He looked through his spatial ring and pulled out his gift for his talented female disciple.

“As a gift from me, this is one of my swords I trained with when I was at your realm. An enchanted earth-grade sword. I call it Niehan, the Water Lotus. Bind it and it should serve you well through the Nascent Soul.”

Ju Daiyu was known for not expressing too many emotions as she knew it could have unwanted effects on men. But she always felt safe with her master and fellow disciples. And her face had a sense of bewilderment as she stared longingly at this sword. An earth-grade weapon was rare, much less one enchanted for her affinity. She had Stellar-grade water affinity roots and she could feel a connection with this sword. She couldn’t wait to bind it but she knew she had to. Her master still hadn’t gone back to his cave to cultivate.

“Finally, some last minute advice. A secret realm is always dangerous. Anyway, listen to your Senior Brother and you should be fine.” Then, he left to his cave leaving the two disciples looking at each other with their head turned to the side.