The first development milestone for the Daoist Legacy triggered a reward?
Li Qingqiu stared at the prompt before him, lost in thought. He filed this away for future reference—a potential avenue for promoting the Azure Firmament Sect's growth.
He turned and walked back into the sect, eager to see what inheritance reward he would unlock this time.
Meanwhile, Qin Jue, now deep in the mountain forest, turned to Yang Jueding with a sigh. "Your Sect Master may be young, but he's quite shrewd. That boy Li Sifeng's vicious strike—he must have arranged it."
Yang Jueding chuckled. "I wouldn't know about that. But you weren't hurt, were you? This way, you got a firsthand demonstration of the Azure Firmament Sect's strength. It saves time."
Qin Jue nodded. He had grand ambitions and wouldn't quibble over Li Qingqiu's methods. In fact, before coming, he had worried the Azure Firmament Sect might not last, that the Qin family's investment would be for nothing.
That was precisely why his father hadn't come in person.
The Azure Firmament Sect had some prestige in the martial world. Both previous Sect Masters had been renowned experts in their day. After Lin Xunfeng announced his retirement, the sect would inevitably face covetous eyes from other factions.
Now, he had no such worries. In fact, he was starting to look forward to the stories the Azure Firmament Sect would carve into the martial world's history.
"Master Qin, let me tell you—the Azure Firmament Sect's strongest member wasn't even here today. That one's even more fearsome. To be honest, I'm afraid of crossing him. The reason I recommended your family is purely out of friendship with your father. With the talent these young geniuses possess, once word spreads, countless prominent families and officials will come courting their favor. By then, your Qin family won't even get a foot in the door."
Yang Jueding spoke seriously. He wasn't playing favorites; in his view, this was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Qin Jue nodded. He understood this logic perfectly. After a moment's thought, he spoke again. "Besides what we've already discussed, I'd like to personally contribute additional funds and supplies. I want my son to be that personal disciple."
Yang Jueding grinned. "Planning an escape route, are we?"
"With many brothers come many troubles." Qin Jue's tone was calm.
At these words, Yang Jueding seemed to recall something from his past and fell silent.
The two figures soon vanished into the depths of the forest.
...
Having just seen off Qin Jue and Yang Jueding, Li Qingqiu hurried back to the courtyard and went straight to his room, closing the door behind him.
The other disciples were already busy with their own tasks and didn't notice anything unusual.
Li Qingqiu sat cross-legged on his bed and immediately activated the inheritance reward.
[Claim Inheritance Reward.]
[Initiating Daoist Legacy Inheritance.]
[You have obtained a secret art: Resurrection Ghost Immortal Needle.]
[Accept Inheritance?]
A secret art?
Curiosity flickered in Li Qingqiu's eyes. He immediately chose to accept.
A flood of memories poured into his mind. This familiar sensation was almost addictive. He closed his eyes and immersed himself in it.
When he finally opened them again, dusk had fallen outside his window.
He recalled the intricacies of the Resurrection Ghost Immortal Needle, and a delighted smile spread across his face.
The Resurrection Ghost Immortal Needle could stop bleeding, expel poison, stimulate the internal organs—its applications in medicine were vast and versatile. It was practically an all-purpose tool. But not only that—it could also kill. The needles flew like lightning, as unpredictable as a ghost-immortal.
This needle art relied on spiritual energy. The amount consumed for healing depended on the specific situation, but using it offensively required very little.
This was far more practical than the Supreme Sword Control Art.
His current spiritual energy wasn't suited for grand, sweeping techniques like the Supreme Sword Control Art. But flicking needles with a snap of his fingers? That suited him perfectly. Low spiritual energy consumption, yet lethality that was hard to gauge.
The more Li Qingqiu thought about it, the more he liked it.
Though the Daoist Legacy inheritance didn't allow him to master a technique instantly, it did imprint it perfectly on his memory—every word, unforgettable. This would make practicing the inherited arts much easier.
He stood up, straightened his clothes, and went out to eat.
At the second layer of the Nourishing Origin stage, he could reduce his sleep, but he still couldn't abstain from food entirely. He had to eat.
When he reached the courtyard, the disciples were preparing the meal. He walked to his usual seat and sat down. Li Sijin, Xu Ning, and the other disciples were chattering about the Qin family.
Boldest of all, Li Sijin directly asked Li Qingqiu, "Senior Brother, are we getting another batch of disciples soon?"
The other disciples also looked curious and expectant. For children, making new friends was always exciting.
"Yes. The man who visited today will send six of his family's members. And not only that—over the next six months, the Azure Firmament Sect will recruit even more disciples. My plan is to have the disciple count reach fifty by year's end."
Li Qingqiu nodded. This announcement made the disciples even more excited, and they launched into animated discussion.
Yang Jueding sat at the far end of the long table, a smile on his face, saying nothing—content in his role, a master of silent contribution.
He felt today's work was definitely a major achievement!
Now he looked forward to Li Qingqiu teaching him the Azure Firmament Sect's unique internal art. He was dying to see what kind of technique could make these youngsters so formidable.
Night gradually fell. Oil lamps were lit in the courtyard. Even after the meal was cleared away, some disciples lingered, playing and laughing.
Li Qingqiu and Li Dongyue sat together, using small knives to whittle a large pile of wooden sticks. Though the Azure Firmament Sect now had a batch of weapons, they had no silver needles. He would have to make do for now.
"Thanks for your help. Get some rest."
Li Qingqiu gathered the wooden sticks and tossed out this remark as he headed for his room. It was too dark to practice the Resurrection Ghost Immortal Needle. He planned to start after his morning energy absorption.
Li Dongyue sat on the bench, watching her senior brother's retreating figure with a puzzled expression.
Later that evening, Zhang Yuchun came to Li Qingqiu's room. He was worried about accepting the Qin family members—six of them at once could easily form a clique, especially since one would become Li Qingqiu's personal disciple.
Li Qingqiu spent a good while reassuring him before sending him off.
He already had plans for the Qin family children. They wouldn't receive the same treatment as the original disciples right away.
Within the Azure Firmament Sect, the distinction between senior and junior must be firmly established.
Not only that—the distinction between immortality cultivation and martial arts should also be codified.
Unless they showed exceptional talent, disciples would first train in martial arts and only earn the true immortal teachings through merit.
He'd have to work out the details later. Right now, his mind was on the Resurrection Ghost Immortal Needle.
Though he couldn't practice it tonight, he could continually reinforce the key points in his mind, preparing for when he could.
Over the next two days, Li Qingqiu devoted most of his time to practicing the Resurrection Ghost Immortal Needle.
Progress was slow. It made him miss the feeling of learning sword techniques. He wondered when he would be able to copy a second Destiny.
On the third day after Qin Jue's departure, Jiang Zhaoxia and his group finally returned with a tailor. The rugged mountain path had left the tailor drenched in sweat. The moment he entered the courtyard, he collapsed onto the ground.
Zhang Yuchun quickly fetched him some water.
Li Qingqiu wasn't in a rush to discuss sect robes. He pulled Jiang Zhaoxia aside to talk, with Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue following.
In the courtyard, the disciples clustered around the tailor. As for Yang Jueding, he was utterly absorbed in the Chaos Genesis Scripture.
Once inside the room, Jiang Zhaoxia recounted their journey in detail. Besides finding a tailor and purchasing cloth, he had scouted around and finally found ways to make money.
"The city has plenty of wanted posters posted—some for solving cold cases and finding the real culprit, some for eliminating bandits. The rewards aren't low. We can take those. We could even escort goods through the Taikun Mountain area, protecting merchant caravans."
Jiang Zhaoxia sat on a stool, grinning. He was confident about these matters and felt they could help the Azure Firmament Sect accumulate wealth quickly.
Zhang Yuchun asked about the specific reward amounts. After comparing them, he fell silent for a moment, then said, "Too little. Not worth it. You'd exhaust yourself for less than the Qin family will give us every year."
"The Qin family?" Jiang Zhaoxia frowned, puzzled.
Zhang Yuchun then explained Li Qingqiu's negotiations with Qin Jue.
After hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxia wasn't pleased. He stared at Li Qingqiu. "Senior Brother, we don't need to debase ourselves like this, begging for favors. We have skills. Making money isn't hard."
Li Qingqiu rolled his eyes. "If you spend all your time making money, how will you cultivate? Remember, you're all core members of the Azure Firmament Sect. Your role isn't to handle trivial matters. Especially you. You should devote most of your time to cultivation. Once you become the number one martial artist in the land, people will line up to throw money at us."
Li Dongyue nodded. "Senior Brother is right. Third Senior Brother, don't forget—the Seven Peaks Alliance and the Azure Cult could strike at any time. We don't know how many experts they'll bring next time."
Jiang Zhaoxia's brow smoothed.
Right.
There was still a guaranteed fierce battle coming. How could he waste time on making money?
"As long as you're strong enough, no one can threaten our position." Li Qingqiu spoke with sincerity.
Jiang Zhaoxia nodded. "From now on, besides cultivation, I'll focus my time on the Supreme Sword Control Art."
Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue both showed signs of envy. Li Qingqiu had shown them the Supreme Sword Control Art too. Forget practicing it—just looking at it gave them a headache. It seemed impossibly difficult.
Li Qingqiu and Jiang Zhaoxia's comprehension was on a level they couldn't hope to reach.
"From now on, Third Junior Brother will focus on cultivation. Second Junior Brother, you'll handle the sect's affairs. I'm going to spend some time teaching Dongyue properly, developing her skills as well."
Li Qingqiu continued. This made Li Dongyue nervous; she was afraid of disappointing her senior brother. But that was her nature—faced with his arrangements, no matter how many concerns she had, she wouldn't refuse.
Zhang Yuchun didn't find it burdensome; in fact, he was excited. The more disciples, the more room he had to put his abilities to use. And Li Qingqiu had asked him to continue recruiting.
Jiang Zhaoxia added, "When those six Qin family youngsters arrive, I'll assess them personally."
Li Qingqiu grinned and nodded.
The four talked a while longer, then went out together. Today, they'd let the tailor rest. Tomorrow, they'd start on the sect robes.
The next morning, Li Qingqiu handed the tailor a stack of prepared drawings—his own designs. Since he only had black ink, he had to explain which colors went where.
After clarifying everything, he took Li Dongyue down the mountain to begin teaching her the Resurrection Ghost Immortal Needle.
He hadn't mastered it himself yet. Bringing Li Dongyue along to practice together would allow them to exchange insights.
In his vision, each of his six junior siblings would master different magical arts, specializing in their own techniques to complement each other.