Once Upon A Time, There Was A Spirit Sword Mountain

“Senior Brother, you… are not joking right?”

Wang Lu smiled. “This is a merely specialized course; it’s not worth to make a joke out of it.”

Yue Yun’s jaw nearly dropped to the ground; he inwardly exclaimed, “Damn! You look down on the specialized course?! Is the galaxy your goal!?”

Wang Lu modestly responded once again. “You flatter me. For the moment, I just want to acquire the title of erudite, that’s all.”

Yue Yun was surprised once again. “Erudite? That’s the title for someone who scored A in six or more specialized courses! The rewarded the sect credits for that is equivalent to the reward for leading a group to this kind of trip for twenty times!”

Wang Lu said, “Now, I just need to get an A in the specialized foreign language course. When we get back from this trip, I plan on applying for its examination; I can’t wait for it.”

“Sh*t! There’s only one specialized course left between you and the title Erudite? You mean you’ve got the five specialized courses with grade A in your bag already? Did you really enter the sect two years ago?”

Yue Yun and the nearby Huo Ying couldn’t help but look at him in awe; with a somewhat pale face, Hue Ying asked, “Don’t tell me Senior Brother Wang Lu is that Successor Disciple who was famous two years ago for being a genius prodigy!?”

Wang Lu insisted on being modest. “You flatter me, Martial Sister. How could I call myself a genius? I just used my free time to study.”

Wang Lu wasn’t exactly lying. The average disciples would usually be preoccupied with cultivation and the daily task assigned by the sect. But, as a Successor Disciple, Wang Lu didn’t have the burden of doing this compulsory daily task. His daily routine consisted of long distance running and medicated bath. As such, he had as much time as he could to learn from his class and earn his credits. Furthermore, he was indeed talented and particularly good at studying and taking exams—being a top student was a logical conclusion to that.

However, Wang Lu’s record as a top student was not well known in the Spirit Sword Sect. The reasons for that were because, on one hand, Wang Lu himself wanted to maintain a low profile. Whenever he attended a class, he rarely bothered to participate in small talks with the other disciples. On the other hand, the disciples of the Spirit Sword Sect had always been busy with their cultivation; who had the spare time to care about the two years cultural education scores of a newcomer? If he had reached the Foundation Establishment in two years, however, it would’ve been a news worthy of attention.

Ultimately, while the comprehensive education was highly valued by the sect, its value was far lower in the eyes of the disciples. However, this underappreciated comprehensive education actually played a major role in this trip.

For Zhu Qin and the other newcomers, they couldn’t recognize seven or eight out of ten plant species in their immediate vicinity. Even Yue Yun could only recognize six or seven out of ten plant species. However, in the eyes of someone with grade A in specialized herbology course, all the species in this small Clear Sky was not unknown at all.

While the others were busily trying to distinguish the real red berry from the red chaste berry, doubting whether they should put it in their mouth to taste it, Wang Lu had been walking around collecting some edible fruit. When he returned a while later, he brought with him a pile of wild fruits.

“Everyone, feel free to eat this, no need to be polite.”

The scene immediately turned into silence; no one took the offer. For both Wen Yin and Yue Xinyao, because of their status as disciples of the Carefree Peak, which was far below the position of a Successor Disciple, and also because they were not quite close with Wang Lu, neither of them dared to reach for the fruit. As for Zhu Qin, needless to say, he also did not reach out for the fruit. After spending most of the two years in heated quarrels with him, how could he possibly be willing to accept Wang Lu’s favor?

Thus, in the end, it was the mindless Wen Bao who broke the deadlock. This fatty reached out and picked out one of the biggest fruit he could find and immediately gnawed it with gusto.

Since Wen Bao had broken the deadlock, the hesitation the two girls felt lessened. However, they didn’t dare to pick a fruit in a hurry. The two senior disciples Yue Yun and Huo Ying could provide food for themselves, so they didn’t need to take from Wang Lu. Only Zhu Qin, who could only sit there uncomfortably, looked incredibly pitiful.

He was indeed famished. With his current cultivation level, he still didn’t have the ability to hold his hunger. Especially seeing the other people merrily eating, his feeling of hunger multiplied…

Thus, in order to break this impasse, he glowered at the fatty as the latter tried to have his fill for the umpteenth time.

Wen Bao was startled and the berries nearly slipped from his hand. “Ma-martial Brother Zhu Qin, what’s wrong?”

“That’s other people’s food, how could you eat so much, don’t you have any shame!”

Wen Bao was at a loss, but the two young Martial Sisters suddenly choked with their food, unable to swallow them. The two of them looked at Zhu Qin in the eye with hostility. Although the status of the Inner Court and Outer Court disciples was different, that didn’t stop these two young girls to show their displeasure to him.

Zhu Qin wished he could open his mouth and talk back to them. However, he stopped himself before he offended the two Junior Sisters for no reason. He thought, “Why the f*ck do I need to bother with them! … Damn, this is all because of that retard Wang Lu! I already don’t like him since two years ago; he is really a scourge! Look! Look at the faint smile on his face! That smile is insidious! Incredibly insidious!”

Although he kept on cursing inwardly, on the outside, the situation was all against him, so he had no choice but to treat the hunger as a form of cultivation.

However, after a while, the fatty thoughtlessly spoke again.

“Ai, eating fruit is not going to fill the stomach, if only we could eat meat.”

Zhu Qin inwardly cursed, “Damn you! Your Martial Brother here is famished, yet you’re still thinking about meat!? Why don’t you take a knife and cut your own belly, you can find a high-quality sirloin there!”

Upon listening to Wen Bao’s shameless words, Yue Yun and Huo Ying burst out laughing; Yue Yun said, “Even if this is just the Small Clear Sky Peak, we come here to gain experience, not for vacation. Moreover, not everyone is allowed to come. This time, fortunately, we have Senior Brother Wang Lu who provided us with delicious food. Otherwise, just like when we came here in the past, we would usually just fill our belly with whatever food we could find.”

However, at this time, Wang Lu, as the stop student, was also unsatisfied with this fruit-only menu; he stood up and said, “Why don’t I go hunting?”

“Hunting?”

“Yes. This Small Clear Sky Peak is positively teeming with animals. I want to hunt several hares, wild boars or something for everyone so you guys can have a sumptuous meal.”

Wang Lu was about to leave, but Yue Yun and Huo Ying hurriedly pulled him to the side. “Martial Brother, please think again!” Yue Yun tried to put sense into him.

“This small Clear Sky is indeed teeming with animals, but… they’re not for us to eat!”

Upon hearing his explanation, Wang Lu was surprised. “Not for us to eat? Are we supposed to love them then? Is our sect a member of an animal protection agency?”

Yue Yun wryly smiled. “Senior Martial Brother, you misunderstood. What I mean is, the beasts and monsters in this small Clear Sky have extraordinary strength and are easily provoked. Particularly, since we entered the Full Moon Valley, the restriction spells had been automatically loosened slightly. Some category two monsters have already been wandering in our vicinity.”

“Category two monsters? So what?”

Yue Yun didn’t know how to reply to that; he thought, “Senior Brother, you almost get the title Erudite, how can you ask such a stupid question?”

The strength of a category two monsters generally ranged from the peak Body Refining Stage to the first or second level of the Qi Cultivating Stage. Of course, for the disciples of the Spirit Sword Sect, with a solid foundation in each level, they could still fight this category two monster even if they were one or two levels lower.

This meant that the organizers of this team, Yue Yun and Huo Ying, who had reached the sixth level of the Qi Cultivating Stage, would barely be able to defend themselves in case they met a high-rank category two monster. Thus, one could conclude that this experiential learning was intentionally designed so that the team members wouldn’t be able to rely on their overwhelming strength to overcome their obstacles.

In other words, this experiential learning was basically a survival trip! In this Full Moon Valley, the level of the monsters was between low to middle-rank category two monster, but when they reached the Azure Dragon Gorge, they could even encounter a high-rank category two monster! Thus, Wang Lu’s intention to hunt was viewed as absurd in Yue Yun and Huo Ying’s mind.

After listening to this explanation, Wang Lu said in amazement, “Oh, it turns out to be like that, I have no idea. As an optional course, the sect credit for the Monsters in the Nine Continent class is too small. Because of that, I was too lazy to take it. It seems like when I get back, I need to apply for this course.”

Yue Yun was speechless, thinking, “Nonsense! Monsters in the Nine Regions is a compulsory course for Inner and Outer Court Disciples. Only a Successor Disciple like you has the option to change it into an optional course. That’s why the sect credit for this course is small for you… However, this is actually a crucial course!”

While they were talking, Wang Lu’s ears suddenly caught a sound. “Something is approaching us!?”

The next moment, before Yue Yun and the others could say something, Wang Lu had already unsheathed the Purple Soft Sword from his waist. At this moment, he became unusually fierce.

When Wang Lu had reached the combative state, Huo Ying’s eyebrows finally moved. “Martial Brother, something is indeed approaching us; it just ran into my alarm spell barrier, but it’s not a big one.”

“We still need to be cautious. This experiential learning is not a vacation trip.”

Upon hearing this, the other people who were still eating fruits were alarmed. They stood in a circle and immediately released their protection spells they recently learned but had yet to practice.

Seeing this scene, Yue Yun sighed; he mused, “Too weak. They’re still at the early stage of the Qi Cultivating Stage, so their magical power [1] is still limited. If they cast any magical spell, they need to be careful so as to avoid wasting their magical power. As of this moment, they could only cast the illumination spell thrice and five seconds of alarm spell. Do they have any brains! Haven’t they heard that Martial Sister Huo Ying had already cast an alarm spell?”

While he was thinking, Huo Ying said, “Over there, in front!”

In the direction where Huo Ying pointed her finger, there was a meter long golden furred small beast.

That small beast bore many resemblances with a fox, having a sharp face and long tail. However, the fox’s eyes were crimson like blood, making it look like a peculiar mad dog.

The next moment, that small beast suddenly darted towards them! Its speed was strangely fast! Even Yue Yun and Huo Ying had no time to react!

However, someone had enough time to respond! Wang Lu sneered as he wielded the purple soft sword forward. With a loud sound, that small fox was smacked on the head and forced to go back!

“Martial Brothers and Sisters, do not panic. Watch how I protect you all!”

Then, Wang Lu no longer talked as he focused his attention back to that small fox. According to Martial Brother Yue Yun, this Small Clear Sky Peak was teeming with monsters. However, one could not judge the strength of a monster just by looking at its size. This little fox maybe small, but it dared to attack a group of seven cultivators. Thus, in Wang Lu’s view, it must have sufficient strength!

“But, that doesn’t matter; I am going to try it! Even if I can’t beat it, there are still many Martial Brothers and Sisters behind me! So, let me be a tanker for a while!”

Having made a decision, Wang Lu immediately launched the Winding Step while his hand wielded the Soft Cloud Sword; he was determined to kill that small beast!

As they began their fight, Wang Lu couldn’t help but admire this little beast. He mused, “A monster is indeed a monster; it doesn’t give up as easily as that retarded black bear. Although it’s small, its speed is incredibly fast! Even though its first charge was canceled by me, it immediately dashed again with increased speed!”

Wang Lu didn’t dare to be negligent—a monster with low speed usually had high attack power to compensate for it and vice versa. Thus, for this little monster… it must have compensated its low attack power with venom. Once he got bitten, even if it were just a minor wound, the consequence would be difficult to predict!

However, that was not going to deter Wang Lu. He flicked his hand and wielded that purple soft sword through the dazzling movement of the Soft Cloud Sword! Although Wang Lu’s footsteps were far slower and clumsier than the speed and agility of the fox, but whenever it took two steps forward, Wang Lu was always able to block its charge!

The little fox was shocked. It was obviously faster than the opponent, but that wonderful footwork, as well as that soft sword, were ingeniously coordinated. Wang Lu could always block the little fox’s attack at the crucial moment. Even if it tried to change direction midway, it could not break the sword’s encirclement.

After several fruitless attempts, the fox bared its teeth at Wang Lu, and the color of its eyes became even more intense. It seemed like it was angrily staring at Wang Lu out of hatred.

Wang Lu sniggered inwardly. “You hate me? That’s good! A good tanker must have the ability to draw hate from the opponent! Come at me, little guy!”

The little fox indeed had all its attention on Wang Lu. After issuing a high-pitched scream, it bared its teeth. Then, it charged at Wang Lu with lightning speed as if it was trying to bite off pieces of meat. However, Wang Lu’s defense, which stemmed from the combination of his Winding Step and the Soft Cloud Sword, was truly tight. People only heard a muffled collision sound whenever that purple soft sword collided with that little fox. This continued to happen for a hundred times!

However, nothing was perfect. Although the combined defense of Wang Lu seemed to be watertight and the fox could never break it, but the Soft Cloud Sword did not have any attacking moves. In other words, he would always be on the defensive. Thus, the only way for Wang Lu to win this was to test the little fox’s endurance, just like what he did to the black bear.

Wang Lu laughed inwardly. “I’m going to wait for you to die of exhaustion! Hahaha!”

In the blink of an eye, his fierce confrontation with the little fox had been going on for more than a hundred rounds, and the result was still a draw! “Haha, although you’re a category two monster, so what!?”

“Martial Brothers and Sisters, don’t make a move, just leave it to me!

At the same time, Yue Yun and his little friends were shocked!

Wen Yin tremblingly fished out the record of monsters in the Nine Regions book from her sleeve and looked at the description of that monster.

“Full Moon Fox, a category one fourth rank monster; flexible and agile; friendly and non-aggressive. When happy, its eyes would turn red, and it would expose its fangs; its primary purpose: pet…”

[1] In The Qi Cultivating Stage, the disciple would learn how to draw the surrounding spiritual energy into the body and convert it into magical power or mana, which act as a ‘fuel’ to cast a magical spell.