chapter 1
1. A Million Spirit Stones to Leave the Young Lady
“Here’s one million low-grade spirit stones. Leave the young lady.” The middle-aged cultivator in blue robes placed a mid-tier storage ring in front of Lin Dongming.
Lin Dongming’s expression remained unruffled, though he was already complaining internally:
—When did soap opera plots start happening to me?
The cause wasn’t complicated: The Tianji Sword Sect’s young lady needed a sparring partner and bodyguard to shield her from trouble, so Lin Dongming, who was at the Golden Core stage with decent sword skills, accepted the job and became the young lady’s faithful servant.
But a few days ago, while protecting the young lady, he injured a direct disciple from Thunder Peak, and now the disciple’s master was pressuring the sect leader.
“It’s about the Thunder Peak incident, right? Surely the sect leader knows that the conflict only happened because that person was harassing the young lady?” Lin Dongming asked probingly.
“Of course.” The middle-aged cultivator said, “Sorry about this. You’ll have to take the fall.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Lin Dongming keenly noticed a hint of guilt from the middle-aged cultivator. “But the other person wasn’t the only one injured. I was hurt too.”
—So, we need to add more money.
If the other party played dumb or genuinely didn’t understand social etiquette, Lin Dongming wouldn’t mind saying this line out loud.
“…I understand.” The middle-aged cultivator’s brows furrowed, and that tiny trace of guilt vanished instantly. His storage ring flashed with light, and several jade boxes emerged:
“This is Nurturing Essence Pill. It can accelerate your healing. Though it’s not comparable to the Nine Cycles Revival Pill, it’s still quite valuable and sufficient for physical injuries below the Nascent Soul realm.”
“Five Elements Convergence Pill, which will help you form your Nascent Soul. You’ll definitely need it in the future.”
“Three Flowers Summit Pill, which can enhance the quality of your Nascent Soul.”
“Dao Essence Pill, which will help you comprehend the sword dao and improve your cultivation.”
The middle-aged cultivator couldn’t be bothered to introduce them one by one: “You can check the rest yourself. These are worth more than one million low-grade spirit stones.”
Lin Dongming certainly knew that. Just the Five Elements Convergence Pill and Three Flowers Summit Pill were extremely hard to obtain. Basically only those with wealth and power could get their hands on them.
“I’m deeply grateful.” Lin Dongming bowed, making no effort to hide the smile at the corners of his mouth. “Please thank the elder for me.”
The middle-aged cultivator sighed: “I see you have a clear sword heart and decent cultivation. Why are you so fixated on money? If you focused on cultivation, your sword dao attainment would surely be higher than it is now.”
Lin Dongming was used to such questions: “My aptitude isn’t particularly high, and I have no elders or peak masters supporting me. I only have a somewhat clear sword heart, which makes me learn sword techniques a bit faster than others. If I hadn’t taken these jobs, I’d probably still be an unremarkable outer disciple, struggling even with Foundation Establishment.”
The middle-aged cultivator fell silent.
Most inner disciples and direct disciples had family support. For disciples with ordinary aptitude like Lin Dongming, it was indeed extremely difficult to rise in the Tianji Sword Sect. The cultivator’s words seemed hollow, spoken from a position of privilege.
The middle-aged cultivator sighed again and released a jade box from his sleeve: “This is Sword Essence Pill. It will help you break through in your sword dao. Cultivate well.”
“Just to be sure, let me ask one thing,” the middle-aged cultivator seemed to suddenly remember something. “You’re not interested in the young lady, are you?”
“Rest assured.” Lin Dongming accepted the Sword Essence Pill and turned to leave. “I like every client equally and have no interest in anything else. As long as they can pay spirit stones, I like them all.”
Lin Dongming mounted his sword and quickly returned to his cave dwelling.
Among the younger generation of disciples at Tianji Sword Sect, Lin Dongming’s early Golden Core stage cultivation was decent, allowing him to possess his own small cave dwelling.
Shortly after returning, a visitor triggered the perception formation outside his door, so Lin Dongming quickly snapped out of his cultivation.
He controlled the formation disc to open the stone door, and a familiar woman stood there with a flowery smile: “Long time no see, Junior Brother Lin. It’s rare to find you in your dwelling.”
Lin Dongming smiled wryly: “Senior Sister Song is teasing me. The Heavenly Mirror Peak is quite strict with its disciples. With my meager cultivation, if I don’t work hard, I’m afraid I won’t even be able to keep this small cave dwelling.”
“Oh? You used to call me ‘Senior Sister Yumian’ so intimately, but now that we’re apart, you’re being so formal?” Song Yumian leaned forward, drawing closer to look at Lin Dongming, her bright eyes seeming to observe his reaction.
“It all depends on Senior Sister Yumian,” Lin Dongming was long accustomed to her tactics. “As long as the contract is in place, I’ll call you whatever you wish.”
Song Yumian pouted, looking slightly bored: “Contract in place? More like spirit stones in place, right? Everyone says the senior brother from Heavenly Mirror Peak is generous, but I know the truth—you’re a money-grubber.”
“Since Senior Sister Song knows this, why tease me?” Lin Dongming knew Song Yumian wouldn’t specifically come over just to banter with him; she must have something to discuss, so he simply broadened the topic: “Senior Sister Song, you wouldn’t want others to know you spent money on me, would you?”
The relationship between Song Yumian and Lin Dongming was less like former lovers and more like a previous employer and helper. Previously, a disciple had been pestering Song Yumian and wouldn’t give up despite multiple rejections. In her desperation, Song Yumian paid Lin Dongming to pretend to be close to her, and through Lin Dongming’s efforts, defeated the pursuer, finally putting the matter to rest.
At most, the process was somewhat complicated, or the methods slightly excessive, but if Lin Dongming dared to speak about it casually, Song Yumian wouldn’t let him off easily.
Of course, Song Yumian enjoyed playing games. After the matter was settled, she continued to play with Lin Dongming for a short while, viewing flowers and walking under the moonlight, but kept things superficial. Once she grew bored, she terminated the employment relationship.
“Fine, fine. Yesterday you called me ‘sweetie,’ today I’m ‘Senior Sister Song.’” Song Yumian feigned melancholy. “The Forging Elder is looking for you. Go as soon as you can today.”
“Elder Tuoba? I don’t have any dealings with her, though?” Lin Dongming was puzzled.
Forging Elder Tuoba Wanyu rarely showed herself in the sect. Most of the time, she was either in seclusion to cultivate or forging spiritual weapons. Not many people knew her well.
But it was said her cultivation had reached late-stage Unity Realm, placing her in the upper-middle ranks among the elders, not to be underestimated. Lin Dongming had also heard that years ago, when Elder Tuoba was still at early-stage Unity Realm, she could fight evenly against those in late-stage Unity Realm. She was outstanding even among the many prodigies.
As for challenging those above one’s level?
That sort of thing happened perhaps once in ten thousand times. Lin Dongming had only heard of it in story books. From the Golden Core stage onward, the gap between each major realm was extremely difficult to overcome.
Moreover, having Song Yumian deliver the message was intriguing in itself.
Because Song Yumian wasn’t a core disciple of the Forging Peak—just a registered disciple, something all inner disciples could become. Song Yumian’s foundation was in the Phantom Sword Peak, known for her gorgeous and dazzling illusion sword techniques.
If Lin Dongming wanted, he could also be a registered disciple of Forging Peak or even Pill Refining Peak, as there was virtually no cost. In fact, that’s exactly what Song Yumian had done, which is why she had so many identities.
“Who knows?” Song Yumian teased. “Maybe Elder Tuoba just likes your type?”
“You’re the only young disciple who dares joke about Elder Tuoba like that,” Lin Dongming shook his head. “Senior Sister Song, you’re the one who told Elder Tuoba about me, right?”
This was one of the few reasons Lin Dongming could think of. Probably Elder Tuoba heard the news and simply asked Song Yumian to handle it—after all, it wasn’t appropriate to make a big deal of it, and she had a decent relationship with Song Yumian, who was also fairly reliable.
“Junior Brother Lin is so clever.” Song Yumian chuckled. “Unfortunately, Senior Sister has other matters and can’t accompany you for long. Junior Brother should hurry to Forging Peak. Don’t keep the elder waiting.”
“Of course.” Lin Dongming cupped his hands. “Then I’ll take my leave.”
He turned to go, treading on scattered flower petals.
“Junior Brother Lin,” Song Yumian’s voice came from behind.
“Hmm?”
“It’s been a while. Did you miss me?”
Lin Dongming paused slightly, surprised—this kind of direct question didn’t seem like Song Yumian’s usual style.
But he still smiled and said, “Of course I did. I often think about your spirit stones. If you need anything, feel free to come back.”
Song Yumian laughed and cursed, “You, Lin Dongming! Just wait until I teach you a lesson!”
As she spoke, she formed a sword seal with her hands, and several sword qi quickly took shape behind her.
“Until we meet again.” Lin Dongming transformed into a streak of light and swiftly flew toward Forging Peak.
“Originally, Senior Sister Feng Yanhan from Duyuan Peak was scheduled for evening, and Junior Sister Han Xiangjun for afternoon… about once every seven days. But I turned down a lot of work for Golden Core breakthrough, so my schedule is pretty open now.” Lin Dongming calculated the clients he had and planned to take on more jobs in the coming days. After all, making money was his top priority.
Forging Peak was some distance from Heavenly Mirror Peak, and even flying by sword took some time. After all, each gate in the Tianji Sword Sect maintained appropriate distance from the others, giving each sufficient development space. There were even some sparsely populated areas in between.
As he approached Forging Peak, signs of human activity gradually increased.
Lin Dongming landed at the mountain foot, greeted the guard disciples, and stepped lightly onto Forging Peak.
Most cultivators needed spiritual weapons and swords, so disciples came and went in an endless stream. Occasionally seeing familiar faces, Lin Dongming would nod or smile slightly in greeting.
As for others pointing and whispering, Lin Dongming didn’t care at all.
Because he had accepted spirit stones from several clients and spent more time with certain ones who were often aloof toward him, Lin Dongming appeared very much like a bootlicker, and some people talked about him that way behind his back. But he never paid attention to these comments.
After all, it was only natural to serve the rich immortal ladies after taking their money. In terms from his previous life, this wasn’t being a bootlicker—it was providing attentive service.
“Hmm?” Lin Dongming’s gaze lingered briefly: A beauty like a painting.
“Senior Brother Lin?” The figure’s owner was somewhat petite, with slender limbs and a touch of fullness, her cheeks still retaining a hint of baby fat.
“Junior Sister Bai, long time no see.” Lin Dongming greeted Bai Zhiqing, their relationship as bland as water. Although Bai Zhiqing was indeed the type Lin Dongming would like, he was busy earning spirit stones and cultivating, with no time for other pursuits.
And Bai Zhiqing could never become his client: She was an orphan, depending entirely on the sponsorship of an elder in the sect to concentrate on cultivation. Otherwise, she would have to spend time earning spirit stones like Lin Dongming or other disciples.
—Come to think of it, wasn’t there a rumor that the elder supporting her was Elder Tuoba?