After Li Sifeng returned, Li Qingqiu, while cultivating, turned his gaze toward the world at large and began paying attention to Liu Jing's progress in conquering the realm.
Liu Jing did not disappoint Li Qingqiu. He swiftly seized control of political power and simultaneously expanded into the various provinces. He did not rely entirely on the prestige of the Qingxiao Sect; he also offered favorable terms to win over other regional lords.
By October, Liu Jing had already dominated 3 provinces, his momentum blazing like the sun at its zenith.
Within Lingxiao Pavilion, Chu Jing came to report the affairs of the world to Li Qingqiu.
As Li Qingqiu listened, he glanced toward an old tree in the corner of the courtyard. Its leaves had already begun to turn yellow.
"The Li clan of Linchuan has already sent people to support Liu Jing. Li Yuzhong, who shook the world with his fame in earlier years, has now received an official appointment from Liu Jing."
When Chu Jing spoke of this matter, his tone carried a trace of emotion.
Even before chaos engulfed the world, he had dealt with the Li clan. The Li clan valued martial strength, yet in the imperial court they were even more seasoned than the civil officials.
The Li clan had just schemed Zhu Xian to death. Faced with Li Qingqiu's support of Liu Jing, they had chosen to bow their heads. That was no simple decision.
It was difficult for a great clan's policies to be decided entirely by a single person—especially when they were comfortably enjoying the benefits of Cangzhou. Yet the Li clan was still able to adjust its strategy and head south to aid Liu Jing. This made Chu Jing see them in a new light.
It was as though the Li clan bore no resentment or regret. So long as the Qingxiao Sect faced east, they would face east as well. No matter what they had already gained, they could cast it aside at any moment.
"Sect Master, this Li Yuzhong is no simple figure. Aside from Li Sifeng, he is the fiercest general in the world, with brilliant military achievements. If he were to cultivate immortality, he might display even greater talent," Chu Jing added.
Li Yuzhong's son, Li Huaizhen, had already entered the Qingxiao Sect. When Li Huaizhen played together with Li Shouzheng and Li Shoumin, and no one stopped them, Chu Jing had already formed a suspicion in his heart.
Li Qingqiu replied casually, "So what? In the end, he does not belong to the Qingxiao Sect."
Chu Jing hesitated for a moment before saying, "Strangely enough, the Li clan has sent many of their younger generation to enter the Qingxiao Sect, yet they have not sent Li Yuzhong himself. Though his military merits are illustrious, he holds no great authority. The troops under his command have never exceeded 10,000. Perhaps Li Yuzhong is not fully trusted within the Li clan."
"Who can say?" Li Qingqiu responded in an indifferent tone.
But Chu Jing had already decided to investigate the matter further.
Afterward, Chu Jing inquired about the Fighting Technique Assembly. There were only 2 years left before the next assembly, and the entire sect was preparing for battle.
"The second Fighting Technique Assembly can be made even more grand. Strive to ensure that the rewards for the top 100 match the rewards for the previous top 10."
Li Qingqiu set the overall direction, leaving the specific arrangements to those below to handle.
Chu Jing took note. After asking a few more questions, he took his leave.
Once he departed, Xiao Wuqing arrived.
His expression was filled with excitement.
"Sect Master, He Jinshu has discovered that the blood of a certain demonic beast can help disabled disciples regrow flesh. Though it has not yet fully taken shape, this is absolutely a kind of hope."
He Jinshu was a disciple personally unearthed by him. He had mentioned him to Li Qingqiu many times. He Jinshu was fond of researching flesh and blood, attempting to forge the strongest physique through acquired methods.
Li Qingqiu had instructed Xiao Wuqing to begin with disabled disciples. If they could help disabled disciples restore their limbs, then they could speak of the strongest physique afterward. Xiao Wuqing conveyed this meaning to He Jinshu, who then began to focus his research in that direction.
Upon hearing this, Li Qingqiu was surprised and asked, "Are you certain the flesh is continuing to grow?"
"That's correct. I observed it for 3 days before daring to report this matter to you," Xiao Wuqing replied. He understood well the importance of this matter to the sect. Of course, what excited him most was that he had placed his bet correctly.
In order to allow He Jinshu to research freely, he had invested no small amount of resources.
No wonder the Sect Master wished to uncover overlooked talents—this feeling of having one's judgment proven right was truly exhilarating.
"Excellent. Tell him to continue his efforts," Li Qingqiu praised.
The current Qingxiao Sect possessed all kinds of talents, but among disciples researching the fleshly body, there was only He Jinshu. However, his ideas were not necessarily acceptable to everyone, so Li Qingqiu had not promoted him openly.
Xiao Wuqing acknowledged the order and then brought up his elder brother, Xiao Wudi.
Over the past 2 years, the three Xiao brothers had occasionally been active within the territory of Guzhou. First, to ensure Guzhou's peace—disciples would from time to time sweep away bandits and mountain brigands. Second, the sect needed a complete understanding of Guzhou, to see whether there were hidden lands of opportunity.
Last month, Xiao Wudi had descended the mountain alone. While resolving a grievance, he offended a certain great clan. That clan had quite a number of disciples cultivating immortality within the Qingxiao Sect.
Although the conflict had not escalated, Xiao Wuqing felt it necessary to inform the Sect Master in advance.
He knew that the other party refrained from pursuing the matter not because of Xiao Wudi's strength, but because they feared the Sect Master behind him.
"The sect has its rules. Whoever crosses the line will be dealt with according to the sect regulations. You were right to remind me. While no deep enmity has formed yet, it is best to resolve this matter. I will have Hall Master Chai handle it," Li Qingqiu said calmly.
Matters like this were no longer rare. Wherever there were people, there was the martial world. Relying on the Qingxiao Sect, many families of talented disciples had risen to prominence. Not every family could treat others kindly and remain true to their original intentions.
Of course, Xiao Wudi's temper was not exactly good. Although he upheld chivalry and could not tolerate even a grain of sand in his eyes, he was simply too rigid in his principles and easily offended others.
The impoverished commoners he rescued would be deeply grateful to him. However, fellow disciples and martial world figures who did not require his help would find his words overly blunt.
For this reason, Xiao Wuqing was always cleaning up after Xiao Wudi. But this time was different—Xiao Wudi had offended the family of a top 10 disciple.
Gu Changping's Cultivation Aptitude was Excellent. Relying on the resources of the Law Enforcement Hall, he had broken through to the 7th layer of the Nurturing Essence realm 2 months ago, and his reputation had been unrivaled for a time.
Unlike other talented disciples, Gu Changping also possessed fame in the secular world, for he had once beheaded the Prefect of Yuzhou on behalf of the Qingxiao Sect. Like Xue Jin, perhaps his innate talent was not at the absolute peak, but his methods and achievements were solid and undeniable. Even the three Xiao brothers were quite wary of Gu Changping.
The cause of this incident was that Gu Changping's cousin had gone to marry his childhood betrothed, but the other party had reneged. The engagement had been arranged by the young woman's father, who had died before she reached the age of understanding. Now that she had someone she loved, Gu Changping's cousin was dissatisfied and intended to force the marriage. Xiao Wudi happened to pass by and forcibly intervened to stop the matter.
Fortunately, no one was killed or injured. Li Qingqiu had a good impression of Gu Changping and believed he would also take the initiative to resolve the matter.
"Many thanks, Sect Master!"
Upon hearing that Li Qingqiu intended to speak with Chai Yunshang, Xiao Wuqing immediately bowed in gratitude.
Li Qingqiu waved his hand, signaling that he could withdraw.
After he left, Li Qingqiu could not help but sigh inwardly.
"The Qingxiao Sect has truly grown. Even Gu Changping now commands such influence…"
He felt this was both a good thing and a bad thing. Yet he did not find it troublesome—he would simply resolve each issue one by one.
Within the Qingxiao Sect, the person with the greatest authority was him.
This was Li Qingqiu's current life: most of his time was spent cultivating, occasionally instructing disciples, and the remainder devoted to deciding sect affairs and resolving conflicts among powerful disciples.
Fortunately, Li Qingqiu had not made any mistakes thus far. As long as he spoke, no one dared to refute him. However, he also understood that even if he strove to be impartial, it might not necessarily be fair in the eyes of some.
…
Autumn passed and winter arrived, and snow began to fall.
The temperature between heaven and earth grew colder and colder, yet the spirits of the Qingxiao Sect disciples burned ever more fervently. News of the next Fighting Technique Assembly had begun to spread, and many disciples were already eager for action.
At noon one day, Li Sifeng stepped out of his cave abode. Facing the swirling snow, he stretched lazily.
"It truly is better cultivating within the sect. It's far faster than down the mountain."
Li Sifeng felt quite pleased. As a Hall Master, he also had a cave abode of his own. He had once again fallen in love with the feeling of cultivation, for with the spiritual energy of the cave abode, he could sense his own progress every single day.
He turned his head and looked toward another cave abode several dozen meters away.
The owner of that cave abode was Xue Jin.
Thinking of Xue Jin, Li Sifeng felt a wave of emotion. Back in their childhood, he would never have imagined that Xue Jin could grow to his present height. At the beginning of this month, Xue Jin had broken through to the 7th layer of the Nurturing Essence realm. Even separated by the mountain wall, Li Sifeng could sense the unusual spiritual energy fluctuations from Xue Jin's cave abode.
Returning to the Training Hall, Li Sifeng was no longer as complacent as he had been years ago. He even felt awkward. Within the Training Hall, many voices believed he should yield the position of Hall Master to Xue Jin.
He could clearly sense the dissatisfaction of the Training Hall disciples toward him. This was also related to the deaths of Zheng Yunqiao and other disciples. Although the matter of the Desolate Nether Ghost King had been suppressed, the deaths of those disciples could not be concealed. Everyone knew they had fallen while following him, Li Sifeng, to the northern border.
Since the Qingxiao Sect's development to this day, this was the first time such heavy casualties had occurred. Li Sifeng felt guilt in his heart and therefore could not bring himself to argue over the disciples' attitudes.
Now, aside from spending time with his wife and children, he devoted the rest of his time to cultivating in his cave abode and no longer involved himself in the affairs of the Training Hall.
At this moment, the gate of Xue Jin's cave abode opened, and he stepped out. The moment he emerged, he sensed Li Sifeng's gaze.
Li Sifeng immediately shifted his eyes away and looked ahead.
Xue Jin looked at Li Sifeng, his mood equally complex.
Zheng Yunqiao had been the disciple closest to him. Zheng Yunqiao's death had caused a rift in his heart toward Li Sifeng. Even though he knew Li Sifeng was not to blame, it was still difficult for him to interact with Li Sifeng as he had in the past.
He also knew of Li Sifeng's current predicament. He felt that if things continued this way, it would not be good for him, for Li Sifeng, or even for the Training Hall.
After hesitating for a moment, he walked toward Li Sifeng.
From the corner of his eye, Li Sifeng saw Xue Jin approaching and did not panic. In truth, he had also been waiting for an appropriate opportunity to apologize to Xue Jin.
"Hall Master, there have been incidents of demonic disturbances in Southern Chu Prefecture. I plan to go there personally. As for the matters of the hall, you must attend to them, lest everything fall into disorder," Xue Jin said seriously as he looked at Li Sifeng.
Ever since Zheng Yunqiao's death, he had been extremely sensitive to missions involving evil disturbances and always handled them personally.
Li Sifeng looked at him and said, "I'm sorry. I failed to protect him."
Xue Jin's expression remained calm. "Why are you apologizing? His strength was insufficient. It is no one's fault. What you and I must do is take this as a warning and prevent more disciples from encountering such calamity."
His tone shifted as he added, "If in the future you are still unable to fulfill the responsibilities of a Hall Master, I will compete for your position."