Li Xun woke from a deep sleep. Before he even opened his eyes, a clean, floral scent filled his nose and mouth. It was the kind of fragrance that only exists high up in the mountains, far from the dust and noise of the world; it was a pure, natural smell of wildflowers and herbs in unspoiled air.
He took a long, deep breath, then opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling.
A strange sense of déjà vu washed over him. He sat up. The first thing he saw was a glass mirror sitting on the nightstand. The clarity of the reflection was far beyond anything a bronze mirror in the mortal world could offer.
Without thinking, he reached up and touched his face, staring at the image in the mirror—at once familiar and unfamiliar. A powerful wave of regret surged in his chest.
Before coming to the mountain, he had turned the idea over in his mind again and again and couldn't think of a single reason not to go through with it.
But now that he was really here, all the things he had pushed to the back of his mind; all the questions he had once considered but never wanted to think too deeply about came rushing in one after another
What would Qingming and the others think, when faced with a disciple involved in such a critical event, who had disappeared for two years and then suddenly showed up again?
What would Qi Bi think, still alive and remembering the disgrace he had shown in front of Heavenly Phoenix Demon?
And Zhong Yin, the unfathomable Sword God who could see through the will of heaven... what would he make of it all?
Admittedly, a lot can change in someone at seventeen or eighteen. Over the past two years, a new environment shaped his temperament, and new habits reshaped his body. His face and expression had changed so much that even someone who knew him might not recognize him right away.
But no matter how much his face had changed, his identity hadn't.
There were people in Songjing who had already seen him: his relatives, the witty and unpredictable Lin Wuyou, the mentally unstable Gu Piner who knew most of his secrets...
And there were also the thousands of cultivators from the Shadow-Devouring Soul Sect who knew exactly who he was.
All the dangers that had already appeared, along with the ones still looming ahead, seemed to close in around him. Just as he was about to reach a turning point in his life, they chipped away at his confidence, little by little.
Li Xun had the sudden urge to call out to Nether One and Nether Two and escape immediately.
Just then, he heard footsteps. He turned his head and saw a figure walking through the doorway.
Because his eyes were still adjusting to the change in light, he couldn't make out the person's face right away. He squinted to get a better look. And the next moment, his eyes nearly burst with shock.
"Sixth… Sixth Senior Uncle!"
On this mountain, there was only one person he would ever address that way: the one and only unparalleled Divine Sword of the Tongxuan Realm, Master Zhong Yin.
To prepare for this moment, Li Xun had rehearsed countless scenarios in his mind, trying to anticipate every possible outcome. But not once had he imagined, maybe he hadn't dared imagine, that the very first person he would see upon waking would be Zhong Yin.
He stared, speechless, as Zhong Yin approached and came to a stop beside the bed.
There wasn't the slightest shift in expression on the man's refined, handsome face; nothing Li Xun could read or react to. Just a quiet, peaceful smile.
And that smile, gentle as it was, wiped away every ounce of calculation in Li Xun's heart. It erased all the lines he had so carefully prepared.
Zhong Yin's pale fingers brushed lightly against Li Xun's wrist, then pulled back. The smile on his face deepened just a bit.
"Not bad. You took a direct hit from the Bi Ling Palm and still recovered this quickly. In just two years, not only has your appearance changed completely, your cultivation has made serious progress as well."
Even if there's progress, it sure wasn't in the Lingxi Art.
The thought flickered through Li Xun's mind. And from that moment on, he felt a little more at ease. His emotions shifted with his mood, so much so that he couldn't even tell if what he felt was genuine or just part of the act. Either way, he murmured, "Am I dreaming?"
"Who's to say? And really, why bother trying to tell?" Zhong Yin gently adjusted his robe and sat down at the edge of the bed, smiling as he said, "If you feel better in the dream, then just live in it. A life drunk on dreams is the best kind of life."
Something stirred in Li Xun's chest. He looked up at Zhong Yin, only to see the same gentle smile on his face. Calm and unreadable. And it was only then that Li Xun suddenly remembered he should've bowed in greeting.
This meeting with Zhong Yin felt different somehow.
The last time they'd met, in the bamboo grove, Zhong Yin hadn't been overbearing, but the aura around him was unmistakable. It set him apart from the ordinary. The longer you were in his presence, the more clearly you felt it, like standing at the foot of a mountain so high you couldn't see the top; it made you instinctively avert your gaze.
But today, from the moment they met until now, apart from the quiet wisdom that came from centuries of cultivation, Li Xun couldn't feel anything else.
The Zhong Yin in front of him now felt more like a well-read scholar than a legendary cultivator. His elegance carried a kind of effortless ease. That ease blurred the vast gap between them, so much so that Li Xun had completely forgotten about the formalities.
Realizing this, Li Xun spaced out for a moment and didn't reply. Zhong Yin didn't seem to mind. His gaze shifted elsewhere, and the room fell into silence again until new footsteps approached.
This time, there were many of them. As the sound brought Li Xun back to his senses, seven or eight people had already entered the room. The space, which had felt bright and airy just a moment ago, suddenly seemed crowded.
As soon as the group stepped into the room, they all gasped in surprise.
"Sixth Junior Brother, what are you doing here?"
"Had a feeling," Zhong Yin replied lightly. "So I came to take a look."
His tone was calm and casual, but no one dared treat it lightly.
From Qingming on down, including Elder Qingxu and the other two elders, along with Luo Nanchuan, Ming Song, Ming Ji, and Ming De. Though they had all been harboring their own thoughts, one glance at Zhong Yin's expression, and they quietly let go of any doubts they'd been holding.
Qingming gave Zhong Yin a small nod, then turned his gaze toward Li Xun.
As the master of the sect, Qingming's thoughts were hard to read and his authority was naturally imposing. Years ago, just one look from him had made Li Xun's legs go weak.
But now, after spending two and a half years around people like the Two Wanderers, Underworld Flame Yama, and Luo Qichang, figures every bit as formidable, Li Xun had gotten used to dealing with these kinds of presences.
He drew in a breath to steady the broken bones in his chest and greeted, "Sect Master," preparing to get out of bed and bow.
Qingming gave the sleeve of his robe a slight wave. "You're still injured. There's no need for formalities."
Li Xun wisely took the out. He had only risen halfway before sinking back onto the bed. His eyes were already turning red, and he pressed his lips together, saying nothing.
Seeing him like that, Qingming let out a quiet sigh.
"To survive such danger and return to the sect is something to celebrate. What are the tears for? If your master were here to see this, he'd surely be disappointed in you."
As Lin Ge's own master, Qingming was Li Xun's grandmaster in the strictest sense. He was the only one who could say such a thing.
But those words struck something deep in Li Xun's heart. He lifted his eyes, lips trembling, and looked around at all the familiar yet strangely distant faces. Suddenly, the tears burst out of him, and he choked out through sobs, "Master… he died so horribly!"
The story Li Xun had spent two years crafting with painstaking care—meant to justify all his suffering and tie everything up neatly—finally proved useful now that Zhong Yin had forced him to swallow his real history.
He'd even brought in "Hundred Ghosts" as a character in the tale, and the lingering mark of the Bi Ling Palm on his chest served as perfect evidence.
After finishing the account of his two years in hiding, Li Xun was clearly still shaken. He stayed behind in the room to rest. Qingming dismissed the others, keeping only Luo Nanchuan and Zhong Yin.
Once the three of them stepped outside, Qingming cast a glance at Luo Nanchuan and said in a slow, thoughtful tone, "Daoist Hundred Ghosts… I remember someone by that name from the Shadow-Devouring Soul Sect two years ago."
Luo Nanchuan nodded. "I've heard of him too. They say that back on Mount Chicheng, even Sect Master Luo had to yield him some ground. He's known for his cunning and poise. An exceptional figure in his own right."
"For Xun'er to survive an encounter with him is a stroke of luck," Qingming said. "But if Hundred Ghosts is now attacking people near Lianxia Mountain, he's up to something. Have the disciples on patrol stay alert these next few days."
"Yes, Sect Master," Luo Nanchuan replied. He opened his mouth as if to say more, but before he could, Zhong Yin with hands folded behind his back sighed. "He clearly hasn't been cultivating with proper focus these past two years. His cultivation has grown, but it's messy and unrefined. Otherwise, someone like Hundred Ghosts wouldn't have been able to injure him. His foundation… may need to be rebuilt from the ground up."
Qingming and Luo Nanchuan exchanged a glance, slightly puzzled, then turned to look at Zhong Yin.
Zhong Yin gave a soft smile. "I'm quite fond of the boy. Why not let me take him in for a while and train him myself? It would be good for the sect to have another rising star."
He paused. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, but the warmth in his expression faded. A faint chill crept into his voice.
"Lady Qixia will regret ever letting him live."
That last line, like a prophecy, sent a jolt through both Qingming and Luo Nanchuan.
Zhong Yin, who could have ascended to the heavens long ago, was widely regarded as the cultivator in the Tongxuan Realm most in tune with the will of Heaven. In that regard, even the Water Mirror Sect might fall short. So when he said something like that.... did he mean...
Qingming and Luo Nanchuan exchanged another glance, then suddenly chuckled at themselves. They realized they were overthinking it. If Zhong Yin was already planning out the boy's next stage of cultivation, what did that say?
No one ever questioned Zhong Yin's judgment. Not even someone with Qingming's status as Sect Master, or Luo Nanchuan, with all his inner resolve. The moment Zhong Yin spoke, most of the doubts forming in their minds were swept away.
Still...
Luo Nanchuan ventured cautiously, "Sixth Martial Uncle, are you saying you want the boy to cultivate under you?"
"Just for a few months." Zhong Yin didn't deny. "His foundation was top-notch and very solid, but after wasting these two years, it has become somewhat unstable. Having him train with me up on the mountain will do him more good than staying here."
Qingming clapped his hands and laughed. "You haven't personally taken on a disciple in centuries. The last one was Ming Ji, wasn't it?
"This really is rare. And this boy; he'll be the first among the third-generation disciples to be taught by you directly."
As he said it, his smile faded slightly, and he let out a quiet sigh. "If Ge'er could see this, he'd be overjoyed."
Zhong Yin acted as if he hadn't heard the comment. Luo Nanchuan let out a quiet sigh along with Qingming.
But a thought soon occurred to him.
"Sixth Martial Uncle," he said, "Li Xun may have had his reasons, being frightened by the Heavenly Demon Phoenix, for one, but the fact remains he left the sect without permission and wandered for two years. Now, the moment he returns, he's being granted the rare honor of your personal instruction. That's bound to cause some resentment among the other disciples… It's hard to say where the balance between merit and fault truly lies."
Zhong Yin gave a faint smile. "And what of it? What's so special about Zhong Yin that my personal guidance should be such a big deal?"
Then his eyes sharpened slightly. "Nanchuan, for over a century, your cultivation has steadily advanced, but you've yet to break into the higher realm. Do you really still not understand why?"
Luo Nanchuan flushed with embarrassment, but this was where his resolve showed: just because his view might not align with Zhong Yin's didn't mean he'd back down. Right or wrong was one thing. Whether a course of action was appropriate.... that was another.
He held firm to his point.
"My thinking may be a bit too practical," Luo Nanchuan said, "but I'm not the only one on the mountain who sees it this way. A lot of the younger disciples feel the same. You may choose to overlook it, Martial Uncle, but if Li Xun wants to truly establish himself in the sect, there are some things he'll have to face."
He drew a breath and continued, "What I mean is, you can assign him a custom training regimen; that's no different from guiding him personally. But as a disciple of our sect, he let himself be frightened by a demon and allowed his will to waver, disappearing for two years without permission. Even if he was young and inexperienced, there has to be some kind of disciplinary action.
"That way, Li Xun and all the other disciples will understand: disciples of the Mingxin Sword Sect must know how to face adversity when they walk the path of the Dao."
His voice wasn't loud or impassioned, but steady and resolute. Each word came with calm deliberation, and that calmness only made his unshakable principles all the more clear.
Zhong Yin glanced at him and finally gave a faint smile, nodding. "You're in charge of sect affairs. Naturally, this is your call. Still, I do have a suggestion for how he might be disciplined; just for your consideration. What do you think?"
Luo Nanchuan blinked, caught slightly off guard, but quickly responded, "Please, Martial Uncle, go ahead."
....
TN: the story is divided into three parts. We're currently three small Arcs away from the end of Part One, which also marks the completion of Lu Xun's character development arc. The next part will kick off with a big time skip. And as much as I love Part One, and there are definitely some memorable scenes in it, the real story begins in Part Two. The plot goes deeper, the tension rises, and things really start to unfold. All the characters introduced in Part One will return, secrets will be revealed, and twists will keep you on the edge of your seat.