Volume 1, Chapter 29: Trending Topic
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“Master, how is my swordsmanship now?”
After demonstrating her sword technique once in the open ground, Gu Mingxi looked at Yuchen expectantly, hoping he would offer his appraisal.
After spending three years with Gu Mingxi, Yuchen knew perfectly well that the purpose behind her question was simply to have him praise her.
Naturally, he obliged.
“Not bad. You’ve improved tremendously. You’re even better than I was at your age!”
Gu Mingxi asked eagerly, “Really?”
But as soon as she said it, she laughed. “All right, all right. I know you’re sincerely praising me. I still have a fairly accurate sense of my own abilities.”
Yuchen merely smiled and shook his head. “This time, I truly am not exaggerating. Your skill is indeed far beyond what mine was back then. When I first became my master’s disciple, I was actually very playful and never worked as hard as you do. It was only after an unexpected incident that I began cultivating in earnest and eventually made it this far…”
An unexpected incident?
Seeing how despondent her master looked, Gu Mingxi guessed that it could not have been anything pleasant. She decided not to ask and make herself unwelcome.
Yuchen’s dejected expression did not last long. He soon returned to normal. After all, those events had happened a very long time ago, and he had personally avenged himself for what had been done. The past was dark and beyond pursuit; the road ahead was bright and splendid.
Let the past remain in the past. If he had not inadvertently brought it up today, he might not have thought of it in a very long time. The pain of those days had passed as well. Time truly moved swiftly—so swiftly that the people in his memories had already grown indistinct.
Since their conversation had unexpectedly touched upon the past, Yuchen no longer felt inclined to test Gu Mingxi.
“Mingxi, you are ready to leave seclusion. That will be enough for today. The sect competition is about to begin, so you should go register.”
Gu Mingxi carefully studied Yuchen’s expression. Although her master looked somewhat distracted, he seemed perfectly normal and did not appear particularly grieved. She therefore believed him.
“Yes, Master. This disciple will descend the mountain at once!”
With that, Gu Mingxi went down the mountain. Yuchen stood where he was, watching her figure disappear little by little until he was left alone.
He sighed, returned to his room for a jug of wine, and flew to Starfall Peak to find Qingmu.
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Yuchen and Qingmu had belonged to the same sect, and Qingmu also knew about Yuchen’s past. Even so, he had never expected Yuchen to bring it up so suddenly after all these years.
Thus, in a rare gesture, Qingmu set aside the sect’s affairs and accompanied Yuchen in drinking to his heart’s content.
After descending the mountain, Gu Mingxi went straight to Pill Peak to find Gu Mingyue. During the three years Gu Mingxi had spent in seclusion, she had barely seen Gu Mingyue, much less gone out to have fun with her. Now that she had finally emerged, she naturally had to find her friend and go out together.
This was also Gu Mingxi’s first time setting foot on Pill Peak. The peak certainly lived up to its name. The moment she entered, she caught the rich, fragrant scent of medicinal pills.
Gu Mingxi did not go any farther. Every disciple of Pill Peak was an alchemist, and if a disciple from another peak entered for no reason and disturbed them, that would be terribly rude.
Therefore, the moment she descended the mountain, Gu Mingxi sent Gu Mingyue a message talisman. Gu Mingyue did not reply, perhaps because she was refining pills at that moment. So Gu Mingxi simply wandered idly beneath the foot of Pill Peak, waiting for Gu Mingyue to come out.
As Gu Mingxi aimlessly paced around the foot of the mountain, she noticed that the passing disciples kept turning back to look at her. Whenever she turned to look at them, however, they hurried away. This left her utterly bewildered, with no idea what was going on.
When Gu Mingxi came out this time, she was wearing a purple ritual robe. Purple was already a color that accentuated one’s bearing, and Gu Mingxi possessed a bright, striking beauty to begin with. Dressed in purple, she appeared even more radiant and imposing.
Moreover, Gu Mingxi had been born into the Gu family, one of the four foremost clans. Having been raised within such a family, she had unconsciously acquired an air that allowed her to stand out among the crowd. Gu Mingxi herself, however, had never noticed it.
On top of that, she had spent the past three years cultivating in seclusion on Xiaoyao Peak and had never interacted with the other disciples of the sect. When those disciples suddenly encountered a beautiful girl who looked like a celestial maiden, how could they not take a second look?
What Gu Mingxi did not know was that after the disciples had walked some distance away, they began discussing her among themselves. If Tianyan Sect had possessed a trending-search ranking like the modern world, Gu Mingxi would certainly have been number one at that moment.
Passing Disciple One: “Which Venerable’s disciple is that senior sister? Why have I never seen her before?”
Passing Female Disciple Two, who loved beautiful young ladies: “That senior sister is so beautiful, and she has such an incredible bearing! Just standing there, she makes me think of the Moon Goddess. She’s truly gorgeous! Does anyone know which Venerable’s disciple she is? I’m definitely going to take a few detours in the future just to see her!”
Passing Female Disciple Three, who also loved beautiful young ladies: “Exactly, exactly! That senior sister is so beautiful. Her features are radiant and dignified—she’s exactly my type!”
Passing Disciple Four: “I want to know too…”
And so, Gu Mingxi’s beauty became the subject of heated discussion, while her identity also aroused everyone’s curiosity. They began speculating which Venerable she could possibly be the disciple of.
As for why they were guessing which Venerable’s disciple she was—
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Everyone had eyes, and those eyes were not blind. They could tell from Gu Mingxi’s cultivation level, the superior ritual robe she wore, and the superior magical artifact adorning her head.
Furthermore, the identifying embroidery of a direct disciple was sewn into her clothing.
In this world, plenty of people knew how to read the situation. Someone as brainless and tactless as the sort often found in novels would never live long.
Thus, brainless and tactless people were called cannon fodder, while those with discernment were called passerby characters.
Only after the news had spread more widely did someone say, half-believing and half-doubting, “I heard that the disciple of Venerable Yuchen of Xiaoyao Peak went straight into seclusion for three years after becoming his disciple and never interacted with anyone else. Do you think this senior sister could be Venerable Yuchen’s disciple?”
The moment those words were spoken, they sparked a fresh wave of discussion.
Disciple One: “Yes, yes! She really could be Venerable Yuchen’s disciple!”
Disciple Two: “The sect competition is about to begin, so Venerable Yuchen’s disciple should have finished her seclusion by now. Perhaps she really is his disciple!”
Disciple Three, deeply regretful: “Ah, why didn’t I go to Pill Peak today? Why didn’t I get to see Senior Aunt Gu?”
Disciple Four consoled him: “It’s all right. Since Senior Aunt Gu has emerged from seclusion, she must be here to take part in the sect competition. We’ll definitely see her there.”
Disciples who were the direct disciples of peak masters such as Yuchen had to be addressed as Senior Uncle or Grandmaster Uncle by both outer-sect and inner-sect disciples.
Whether one called them Senior Uncle or Grandmaster Uncle depended on their cultivation level.
If a direct disciple was at the Qi Refinement stage, they were addressed as Senior Uncle. If a direct disciple had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, they had to be addressed as Grandmaster Uncle.
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