Chapter 26: Bad Habits—Sword Cultivators Are Too Damn Violent

Lian Mu stepped out of the Transmission Mirror and found No. 57 to report the situation.

“Sorry, your sword is ruined. Should I compensate you with another one?”

No. 57 turned around and was nearly knocked out by the stench. “…No need, it’s already great that you made it out alive.”

He hadn’t expected her to return safely. Looking at her, aside from smelling terrible, she seemed completely unharmed.

Just earlier, he had received a notification that the beast in the No. 700 bounty had suddenly evolved into a sixth-rank creature. That bounty should have been moved up to the second floor, but someone had already taken it.

When he saw that the person who accepted the bounty was Cultivation Is Just a Money Grab, he had mentally prepared himself for her never coming back.

No. 57 dared not tell her the truth and could only pretend he knew nothing.

“That beast was strange,” Lian Mu said. “You all should be more careful when screening bounties.”

No. 57 responded, “That beast did have some issues, but you were lucky. You encountered it when it was exhausted and weak. The bounty mix-up was Star-Plucking Tower’s mistake. No need to compensate for the sword.”

Since she didn’t have to pay, Lian Mu felt relieved. The lingering stench of the Green-Clawed Toad on her prompted her to buy a few bottles of deodorizing balm.

The reason she had jumped into the toad’s mouth was to retrieve its beast core.

Lian Mu could tell that this beast was different from the others. A stronger beast meant a better core, and she didn’t want to miss the opportunity.

Last time, she had only managed to refine one pill, and she would need more Qi-replenishing pills in the future, so she had to collect as many materials as possible.

While she still had the magic crystal knife, she took a break and then enthusiastically accepted dozens more bounties.

She had no idea how valuable the knife was, so she used it without hesitation, completely wiping out a den of eighth-rank beasts, carefully selecting the parts she wanted and stripping them bit by bit.

No. 57 was on night watch, so he could only watch as Lian Mu moved back and forth. She spent the entire night in a frenzy, entering empty-handed and returning with her Spatial Pouch stuffed full.

She specifically targeted low-rank beasts that were easy to deal with. Occasionally, she encountered a seventh-rank beast, but after some maneuvering, she managed to take them down as well. She slaughtered beasts like she was chopping vegetables.

Because she had accepted so many bounties at once, some people started to notice her. However, seeing that she didn’t seem to be carrying anything, they glanced at her a few times before looking away.

By the time Lian Mu returned, she happily collected 300,000 spirit stones.

No. 57 was utterly stunned: Are Artifact Refiners this powerful nowadays?

—

Lian Mu went to Xu Xianxing’s residence to return the Demon crystal knife.

When she arrived, Bai Li Que was also there.

“You two seem pretty close,” she remarked. Every time she came by, Bai Li Que was there.

Bai Li Que responded, “…It’s a requirement from our superiors. The five chief cultivators need to bond.”

Lian Mu asked, “What are the five chief cultivators?”

Bai Li Que patiently explained, “The five chief cultivators from the Grand Immortal Sect Tournament—sword cultivator, alchemy cultivator, talisman cultivator, body cultivator, and artifact refiner. One for each.”

“They’ve all been decided?” Lian Mu asked.

“Yes.”

“You’re one of them? Impressive,” she remarked.

At that moment, Xu Xianxing finally finished his work and looked up from a pile of miscellaneous items. His eyes had dark circles beneath them. “Lian Mu, when did you get here?”

Bai Li Que: “…”

Seeing Xu Xianxing in this state, Bai Li Que had complicated feelings. Ever since Xu Xianxing had openly admitted he was just a rough, unrefined man, he had stopped pretending altogether. His room was a mess, his belongings were scattered everywhere, and he had been staying up so much that his eyes were sunken. He no longer cared about his image at all.

Bai Li Que had been momentarily stunned when he first arrived, needing a moment to process what he was seeing.

Lian Mu, however, was used to it. She lived the same way—perhaps even busier than Xu Xianxing.

“I came to return your knife.” Lian Mu placed the magic crystal knife on his desk.

Xu Xianxing brushed off some spiritual tool components hanging from his sleeve and patted his clothes. “Weird, why is there a strange smell?”

Lian Mu: “…”

He can smell it even now?

“What foul beast did you cut up?” Xu Xianxing picked up the knife by the hilt and tossed it into a cabinet. “Wait, no, you stay up in the mountains every day—you don’t even have access to beasts… Did you use it to gut fish?”

Lian Mu: “…That’s right. It worked great.”

Xu Xianxing grinned. “I thought so too. It’s great for chopping firewood as well. I wonder how it’ll fare against trees—you should try it sometime.”

Bai Li Que: “…”

A demon crystal knife… for gutting fish?

And as for Xu Xianxing… Bai Li Que couldn’t even begin to imagine why he’d need to chop firewood.

These two… Their minds don’t work the same way as everyone else’s.

Lian Mu asked, “What is this knife made of?”

She wanted to add similar enhancements to her own sword. If she could get it to the same level as the magic crystal knife, that would be ideal.

Xu Xianxing replied, “It’s complicated—too much to explain all at once. Besides, an ordinary artifact refiner would struggle to craft something like this. It requires too many high-rank beast materials.”

Lian Mu responded with a simple, “I see.”

That meant she wouldn’t be able to obtain one anytime soon.

“Alright, I’m heading out,” she said.

Bai Li Que watched her leave. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of her wrist.

Xu Xianxing noticed his distraction and nudged him. “What are you looking at?”

Bai Li Que withdrew his gaze. “Nothing, just remembering something.”

“You were staring at Lian Mu…” Xu Xianxing squinted at him, suddenly having a suspicion. “Do you want to fight her?”

Bai Li Que wasn’t really paying attention to the conversation and absentmindedly responded, “Mm.”

Xu Xianxing clicked his tongue. “Don’t pick up bad habits from body cultivators and sword cultivators—seeing someone and wanting to fight them. All this fighting and killing hurts relationships. She’s my friend, which makes her your friend too.”

Bai Li Que didn’t argue with him, but speaking of body cultivators and sword cultivators, he remembered something.

“…Are they back yet?” he asked. “The elders are urging them to return.”

Xu Xianxing’s expression darkened with impatience. “No idea. I heard they left the mountain, but they should be back before the Grand Immortal Sect Tournament.”

—

Back at Qingzhu Courtyard, Lian Mu reviewed her plans and pulled out the books she had borrowed from the library. She sketched a blueprint for forging a sword and jotted down notes in the margins for additional details.

She had purchased seventh-grade Flame Gold, which should be sufficient when combined with the Green-Clawed Toad’s spiritual armor. Adding the beast materials she had gathered overnight, she planned to make full use of everything she had.

She wasn’t a Heaven-Spirit-Root artifact refiner, and her own spiritual energy constantly leaked away, so she couldn’t directly channel the world’s spiritual energy. Instead, she had to rely on spirit stones for infusion.

After calculating her expenses, she had only 100,000 spirit stones left—just barely enough.

The artifact refining rooms at Star-Picking Tower had all the necessary tools, but everything required a rental fee. Artifact refining tools were outrageously expensive, often starting at hundreds of thousands of spirit stones, and Star-Picking Tower wouldn’t lend them out for free.

As for Xu Xianxing… Lian Mu considered it for a moment and ultimately decided against it.

Xu Xianxing was a Heaven-Spirit-Root artifact refiner, and just his spiritual roots alone made a huge difference. She had read that even refining tools had different grades, and most of his tools were probably unusable for her.

After finishing her notes, she stored the books in her Spatial Pouch. She now had three pouches—one for spirit stones and two for beast materials she had harvested.

Honestly, this method of collecting resources for free was incredibly satisfying. Just in beast materials alone, she had saved tens of thousands of spirit stones.

After tidying her desk, she stepped outside for some fresh air to clear her mind. She had already gone two days without sleep, but she wasn’t tired at all—her mind was completely focused on forging her sword.

She was about to have her very first sword.

Lian Mu was too excited to sleep—she wished she could skip straight to tomorrow night.

As she wandered around outside, she noticed a figure approaching from the bamboo forest.

Lian Mu took a closer look—it was Guan Shize.

Guan Shize was leaning on his sword, limping toward her with excitement and gratitude written all over his face. “Lian Mu! I tried your method—it actually works!”

Lian Mu: “?”

Guan Shize stumbled and almost fell, but he was too thrilled to care as he recounted his experience. “I skipped Elder Xin’s class yesterday, just like you suggested. I went to Yinxiang Peak, lay on the ground, and took a nap. Elder Xin caught me on the spot.”

Lian Mu: “…You actually did it?”

“Elder Xin kicked me as soon as she saw me. That move was incredible—I still can’t forget it!” Guan Shize said excitedly. “After that, she dragged me to the sparring ground for a practice match and even praised my reflexes! She finally sees me in a different light!”

Of course, he had also taken quite a beating. He had never been beaten so badly in his life, but getting the chance to spar with an elder alone was absolutely worth it.

Lian Mu looked at his bruised and battered body, his limp leg, and his broken hand. Anyone who didn’t know the situation would have thought he had been ganged up on.

Guan Shize was so overjoyed that he hadn’t slept all night. “Last night, I thought about it—if I had reacted a little faster, I might have been able to block a few more of Elder Xin’s moves… Next time, I’ll try this method in Elder Murong’s class! Sparring with Elder Murong will definitely be a different experience!”

Lian Mu never expected that someone would actually enjoy getting beaten up. “I suggest you don’t try that with Elder Murong. The entrance exam retest is coming up—you don’t want to show up missing limbs.”

Although Elder Xin Wanbai was stricter than Murong Yi on the surface, when it came to actual fights, Xin Wanbai would at most give someone a brutal beating and then move on. Murong Yi, on the other hand, was pure torment—one wave of punishment followed another without end.

But Guan Shize wouldn’t listen. “But you tried it.”

Now, he finally understood why Lian Mu’s progress was so fast—because she kept pushing the elders’ limits, got singled out, and took countless beatings, accumulating valuable experience in the process.

Everyone said that great sword cultivators were forged through beatings. It turned out to be true.

He also wanted to become a great sword cultivator.

Lian Mu had no idea that the person in front of her had already made up his mind. She fell silent for a moment. “…”

How could she be the same as Guan Shize? He sought out beatings on purpose, while she triggered them unintentionally.

If life hadn’t been so difficult, forcing her to run around constantly, who would willingly take such risks?

Lian Mu looked at Guan Shize with deep sympathy. At this moment, she completely understood Xu Xianxing’s thoughts: Sword cultivators were too damn violent.

Suddenly, Lian Mu remembered something.

Wait a minute—was there a class with Elder Xin yesterday?

She pulled out her schedule book and flipped through it. Instantly, her vision went dark.

“…”

She had forgotten again.

—