Chapter 1: Master! Someone Is Bullying a Disciple!
“Sect Leader! Master came with his newly accepted young disciple, forcibly took my celestial iron, and even caused me to lose a layer of cultivation! Please, Sect Leader, stand up for me!”
At the Sword Sect, Green Mountain Ridge.
Inside the magnificent hall, there was only a single exquisite bed made of icy jade. Even in the scorching summer heat, the icy jade bed emanated a refreshing chill, and one could tell at a glance how incredibly comfortable it must be to lie upon it.
On the huge bed lay two figures, one large and one small, nestled closely together in intimate companionship.
The smaller one was merely a plump little child of three or four years old, holding a rabbit-shaped teapot about her size with white, delicate hands, munching on lotus seeds peeled by the elder figure. Her bright apricot-shaped eyes blinked as she looked at the second-ranking disciple kneeling before her.
Then, she slowly got up and waved at Chu Shiyue.
Mumbling, “What’s the matter? Come here and tell me.”
“Tell me all the details.”
The maid beside them, quite perceptive, rose and knelt demurely by the icy jade bed, pretending to be deaf.
If not for her quick fingers deftly peeling the lotus seeds that took ten years to bear fruit from the crystalline lotus seedpod, her act would be all the more convincing.
Gossiping was truly entertaining.
Chu Shiyue’s expression tightened slightly but she couldn’t hold back her indignation, raising her voice to shout, “That ungrateful old man, for the sake of his beloved, stole his disciple’s belongings!”
“Pfft!”
Those words were entirely unlike the usual calm demeanor of Chu Shiyue.
Her personal grudge was evident enough to make Xia Huanjiao, who was eating the lotus seeds, spit one out, the seed falling on the green bricks and jade stones with a crisp sound.
Seeing this, Chu Shiyue, still kneeling on the floor, couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth.
Nearby, the tall maid carefully wiped the corners of the little sect leader’s mouth with a silk cloth made of shark silk, a slight frown crossing her androgynous face.
Her tone was equally cold and sharp.
“Sect Leader, please be cautious.”
But that cold warning was aimed at the disciple kneeling on the floor.
Chu Shiyue braved the murderous gaze upon her and reluctantly pulled a fragrant, oily braised pork knuckle from her tattered Sumeru bag.
She blinked incessantly, her eyes cold and sharp, as if they might twitch from blinking too much.
Xia Huanjiao’s eyes lit up instantly.
She clapped her hands excitedly and muttered to the maid beside her, “Yingying, bring it here.”
The maid called Yingying stood up and walked to Chu Shiyue’s side, her knobby fingers slightly disdainful as she picked up the braised pork knuckle, then returned to Xia Huanjiao.
Slowly and deliberately, she tore off a strip of meat and fed it to the young sect leader.
The little chubby child bit into it eagerly.
Only heaven knew how much Xia Huanjiao had been longing for this bite; cultivators rarely kept track of time.
She often spoke of bringing delicious treats from the mortal world, but before she knew it, they would disappear again!
The last time she had such delicious braised pork knuckle was just the last time!
Since she had accepted the disciple’s bribe, she naturally had to make some effort.
Thus, Xia Huanjiao raised her chin at the still-kneeling Chu Shiyue.
Her chubby voice carried serious intent, which finally eased Chu Shiyue’s worries.
“I am already aware of the matter. Wait calmly for half a day and I shall seek justice for you.”
With that, she was about to get down from the icy jade bed.
However…
The little sect leader’s legs were too short to reach the ground, and her tiny feet wobbled for a long time without touching solid ground.
Chu Shiyue suddenly lowered her head, afraid she might burst into laughter.
Only to hear the little sect leader’s slightly annoyed voice from above.
“Xu Yingying, what are you waiting for? Hurry and pick me up!”
The tall maid, suppressing a smile, came to the child’s side, lifted her up, and said, “Yes, Sect Leader.”
The little child sat securely in her arms.
Then she patted the maid’s arm and pointed toward the door.
“Let’s go!”
Her babyish voice carried an unexpectedly grand momentum.
Staying at Green Mountain Ridge was dull anyway, better to go out and see what the disciples on other peaks were doing.
Checking if anyone was slacking off was also a duty of a sect leader.
Since Xia Huanjiao had yet to master sword-flight, she had to be carried by Xu Yingying.
But Xu Yingying flew too fast, and Chu Shiyue had to exert great effort just to barely keep up behind them.
When they landed at Cloud Peak, Xia Huanjiao glanced at the panting Chu Shiyue and shook her head, mischievously teasing, “Shiyue, your cultivation is really lacking.”
“How can you not even have solid sword-flight skills?”
Chu Shiyue was out of breath, wanting to retort, but upon seeing Yingying’s slightly threatening glare next to her, she swallowed her words hard.
She nearly choked herself.
Her voice squeezed out hoarsely, “Disciple shall diligently train from now on.”
No sooner had Xia Huanjiao landed than the outer disciples of Cloud Peak came inside to report.
But when their eyes fell on Chu Shiyue, their expressions turned complicated.
Before they could think further, the master of Cloud Peak appeared.
He wore plain sword cultivator robes, with a jade pendant marking him as an elder of the Sword Sect hanging at his waist. His demeanor was ethereal and aloof, distant from mortal affairs.
He bowed to Xia Huanjiao without sparing a glance at this second disciple, his frosty face even more severe than usual.
His mood seemed particularly foul.
If other disciples of the Sword Sect saw this, they would no doubt be extremely nervous.
But…
Xia Huanjiao was not one of them.
She was not only not a disciple but held the highest official status in the entire Sword Sect.
Excluding the reclusive founding elders.
Therefore, even if some elders from other peaks refused to acknowledge Xia Huanjiao as the young sect master and small sect leader, they had to comply under the threat of the previous sect leader’s sword intent.
Xia Huanjiao was the child the former sect leader had found in the mortal world before ascending.
He had calculated that Xia Huanjiao was no ordinary person but a celestial fairy descending to the mortal realm for a tribulation.
Which fairy exactly, he did not know.
But any one of the celestial beings could wreak havoc upon their cultivation world.
As long as everyone treated this fairy well during her mortal tribulation, when she eventually ascended, the benefits would be immense.
After saying this, the former sect leader ascended right there, reinforcing everyone’s belief.
Thus, on that day, only three months after her birth, Xia Huanjiao became the youngest sect leader in Sword Sect history.
Of course, the path of cultivation is to defy the heavens, and the cultivation world is never short of rebellious souls.
The current master of Cloud Peak, who also served as the elder overseeing the academy, was one of them.
He never showed a friendly face to the little child.
At best, he maintained superficial politeness but showed no respect.
However, Xia Huanjiao didn’t care.
After all…
The other elders liked her quite a bit!
She was perfectly content with those elders who liked her!
Xia Huanjiao didn’t get down from Xu Yingying’s arms.
As the saying goes, better to lose in appearance than in spirit. She was naturally short and stubby, with tiny hands and legs. If she were on the ground, she’d have to look up to see this elder overseeing the academy.
How unmajestic that would be!
So she stayed on Xu Yingying’s arms, lifted her chin, radiating a formidable aura, and said in her babyish voice, “I heard from my obedient disciple that you stole her Tianshan celestial iron!”
“As a teacher, how could you behave so absurdly?”
“You’re an adult, yet you steal from a little child.”
Chu Shiyue, two hundred and three years and ten months old, blinked wide-eyed and pointed at herself.
A little child?
Who?
Me?