Finally, it was time for Hua Qian Gu to return to Mount Chang Liu. Yun Yin and a group of disciples accompanied her to ensure her safety. As soon as Hua Qian Gu saw Chang Liu, an indescribable feeling swelled in her heart. Luo Shi Yi was waiting for them outside the protection barrier. Tang Bao hopped on his shoulder and happily told him what happened on the trip to Mount Mao.
Luo Shi Yi escorted everyone to the Main Hall. Bai Zi Hua was cold and indifferent like always, only asking a few simple questions about what happened at Mount Mao. Yun Yin carefully told him everything, including Yun Yi looking like him and the failed attempt to capture Hua Qian Gu.
Yun Yin needed to return as quickly as possible because someone in charge would need to be present at Mount Mao if there were trouble. Luo Shi Yi led them out.
The Main Hall was suddenly empty, only her and Bai Zi Hua remained, Hua Qian Gu’s heart pounded, she promptly bowed to take her leave.
Bai Zi Hua slowly walked down from his seating, looked at the two buns on Hua Qian Gu’s head, his lips slightly curved up.
“It seems you have improved on this trip to Mount Mao, were you able to use the Emotionless sword? If it does not obey you, I will order another sword made for you.”
“Thank you Zun Shang, I like Emotionless, I’m slowly learning to handle it.”
“Like?…… Liking something is not a good thing, the sword is spiritual, it is not dead, but it is still a possession, if you have emotions for it, you cannot maximize its full potential, more importantly it can become an impediment when fighting against your enemies.”
“But without emotions, how can I connect with the sword? Would that not prevent me from maximizing its full potential?”
“Xiao Gu, you need to understand, the most dangerous obstacle to cultivation is having emotions, many people have been trapped by emotions, they could not reach a higher level in cultivation. Although problems in the past led the Jade Emperor to pardon and allow immortals to marry, disciples who have not reached immortality should not have emotions. The reason Mount Chang Liu has three halls, this is to remind all the disciples to not feel greed, desire or love. If you cannot understand this, you can never cultivate successfully. Your life line is unique, continuously attracting bad luck, your love line is cut off, you will bring misfortune to everyone close to you. Having emotions will be a burden to you, or anyone in general. You have to reach a state where you cannot feel anything. With possessions or with other people, you cannot have obsessions. I gave you the Emotionless sword, first because it can help you, secondly is to remind you it is important to be emotionless. You must understand, it does not matter what weapon you use, whether it is the Emotionless sword or an ordinary sword, it can be a weapon or a blade of grass, the most important thing is you, the decisions you make and your ability. Xiao Gu, when you can look at everything in this world without emotions, without obsession, without attachment, without love or hate, that is when you have escaped from your destiny, you have cultivated successfully. Do you understand?”
Hua Qian Gu nodded in ignorance, Bai Zi Hua’s eyes were elusive as if the future can be seen, her heart wavered.
Bai Zi Hua sighed, turned his back to her and said: “Xiao Gu, gods cannot die, each god determines his or her own destiny, that is the world of the gods…… But the gods, they only did the things they needed to do, not the things they wanted to do.”
So what good can come from being a god? Hua Qian Gu wanted to ask, but she did not dare to speak. This was the first time she heard Zun Shang talk so much, but she could not understand a lot, she could only remember everything he said.
“All right, you can leave, go rest.”
“Yes, I’ll say good-bye.”
Hua Qian Gu only walked a few steps, Bai Zi Hua called her back: “Wait.”
She turned her head, Bai Zi Hua suddenly stood in front of her and raised his hand, his middle finger tapped her forehead. Hua Qian Gu was surprised, quickly taking a few steps backward.
“You are a new student at Mount Chang Liu, it is best to hide the mark of sect leader. The Xian Jian Games are three months away, you need to prepare properly, if you do not know something, ask Shi Yi or Qing Liu.”
“I understand, thank you Zun Shang."
Hua Qian Gu walked back to the Hai quarters. Sitting in her room, she felt cold all over. She had been so happy when Bai Zi Hua gave her the Emotionless sword, but it appeared he did not feel anything for it even if it belonged to him for a long time. He never felt any emotions for anyone or anything. He easily gave the Emotionless sword away, did that mean she was not different from the other students? Hua Qian Gu made up her mind to try harder. She would be satisfied even if Bai Zi Hua saw her in a slightly different light than everyone else.
Hua Qian Gu began to train to the point of desperation. Slowly, she began to connect with the Emotionless sword. She could now use it to defend herself. The problem was using it to fight while flying because she was still not good at flying. Hua Qian Gu did not want to attract unnecessary attention so she never took the Emotionless sword anywhere, only using it at night when training in the forest.
One day in Luo Shi Yi’s class, the students separated into groups and practiced fighting each other. They were gradually eliminated until only eight were left. Among the ones still standing, Hua Qian Gu and Ni Man Tian would fight each other. Hua Qian Gu knew Ni Man Tian was better in all aspects, from her background to her ability, and that Ni Man Tian would be the biggest threat at the Xian Jian Games.
Ni Man Tian was good at the water element so she froze water into darts and shot them toward Hua Qian Gu, who could only fly around to try and escape. It was only a practice, but Ni Man Tian used a lot of fatal moves. This lasted for a long time, Ni Man Tian continuously attacking while Hua Qian Gu continuously avoiding the sharp darts. Ni Man Tian was the better fighter, but her endurance was not as strong as Hua Qian Gu.
Gradually, Ni Man Tian became tired. Hua Qian Gu seized on this opportunity to attack. She knocked Ni Man Tian off her sword and moved a big tree trunk to trap her. They were classmates so Hua Qian Gu did not want to cause conflicts and quickly released Ni Man Tian.
Ni Man Tian was furious. She wanted to win at the Xian Jian Games and become Bai Zi Hua’s disciple. It appeared Hua Qian Gu was now her biggest threat.
The Xian Jian Games were two days away. At night, Hua Qian Gu could not sleep and asked Qing Shui about the Xian Jian Games, but Qing Shui had never participated so she did not know. It fell onto Tang Bao to explain to the two girls.
Tang Bao said all the sects would compete at the Xian Jian Games, although most of the participants had always been from Chang Liu. The participants would fight in the air, falling down first meant elimination. Hua Qian Gu listened carefully to who had won and worried. She was not sure she could win, what chance did she have to become Bai Zi Hua’s disciple?
Hua Qian Gu, Qing Shui and Tang Bao wondered why Bai Zi Hua had not accepted a disciple of his own. Hua Qian Gu said it would be wonderful if she could defeat everyone so she could pick her teacher. Tang Bao said that would not be possible. The teacher would choose the disciple but never the other way around, which would be the disciple choosing the teacher.
Tang Bao said there were instances where teachers chose students who lost because they were impressed with the effort of the students. The importance of the teachers determined the standing of their disciples. For example, an eminent teacher meant the disciple would also be regarded highly. Thus, having a good teacher was a serious matter.
Hua Qian Gu slept a little before waking up and going into the forest to train like always. However, she was not alone tonight because Ni Man Tian was there waiting for her. Ni Man Tian said she had heard Hua Qian Gu often practiced here so she wanted to see if the rumor was true. Then she pulled out her sword and laughed cruelly.