Cultivation Is Money-Grabbing C37

Chapter 37: Good Relations—Elder, I Can’t Bear to Leave You

Cold Arrival Peak (Hanlai Peak)

After the final trial, the illusion realm transported disciples to different locations in batches.

The top ten, who earned a place in the apprenticeship ceremony, were personally received by the five elders of Cold Arrival Peak. Murong Yi didn’t take in personal disciples—he was in charge of the Grand Formation team, overseeing the rest of the disciples outside the top ten.

As time passed, more and more disciples were teleported to him.

Murong Yi stood in the open field, waiting for everyone to arrive. He could recognize each one at a glance.

“Are they all here?” Xin Wanbai’s voice came through a Fish-and-Goose Stone.

Murong Yi held the stone in one hand while gesturing for the new disciples to register. “Almost. I was assigned thirty disciples this time. Twenty-six have arrived.”

Xin Wanbai chuckled. “They’ll be following you for quite a while… That mischievous one should have made it into the apprenticeship ceremony, right?”

She was referring to Lian Mu. There was no one else she could possibly mean.

Murong Yi said, “If she wanted to enter, it wouldn’t have been difficult. The kid may be a bit unruly, but she’s strong. She should follow a master better than me.”

“You…” Xin Wanbai paused for a moment. “Forget it. You carry on. I’ll be heading to the Shifang Nether Soil soon.”

“Hm.”

The Fish-and-Goose Stone connection cut off. Murong Yi turned back—most of the disciples had arrived. He counted. Twenty-nine.

Checking the time, there was still a quarter-hour left, so he stood aside to wait.

The teleportation mirror lit up. Just as the final moment arrived, a figure stumbled out, nearly falling.

Murong Yi didn’t see who it was at first and frowned. Struggling this much against a single magical beast?

The person braced their hands against the ground, pushed themselves up, and lifted their head—it was Lian Mu.

Murong Yi thought he was seeing things. “?”

Lian Mu patted the dust off her clothes and grinned. “Elder, I wasn’t late this time, was I?”

She pointed at the timing instrument.

Murong Yi: “…You didn’t enter the apprenticeship ceremony?”

Lian Mu immediately responded, “Elder, I can’t bear to leave you.”

Murong Yi: “???”

“Cut the flattery.” Murong Yi frowned even more. “Why didn’t you join the ceremony?”

It didn’t make sense.

With her usual performance against him, she should have easily made the top ten. And yet, she looked utterly exhausted.

Lian Mu answered honestly, “Elder, I’ve never fought magical beasts before. I couldn’t handle them.”

In truth, she had spent an entire hour playing around with the magical beast inside the illusion. She didn’t even fight it—just sat on it. The beast was too weak to hit her, and since she was already sleepy, she simply took a nap.

When she woke up, the trial’s time limit was almost up. So she hurriedly killed the beast and rushed over.

If not for her innocent-looking face, Murong Yi might have actually believed her.

“…You have no idea what you just missed out on.”

Lian Mu blinked. “What?”

Murong Yi felt a headache coming. But this was her own choice—he couldn’t interfere.

Looking at her, he had a feeling that his future days would be far from peaceful.

Lian Mu, unaware of his thoughts, assumed he simply didn’t want to see her.

Well, not much she could do—she’d been assigned to Murong Yi’s team again.

She accepted it calmly. “Elder, don’t worry. I won’t embarrass you.”

Murong Yi: “…I’d be happy if you just stayed out of trouble.”

“When have I ever caused trouble?” Lian Mu asked, genuinely puzzled.

She hadn’t stolen, robbed, or committed arson—just an honest sword cultivator.

Murong Yi gave her a look. “Giving Guan Shize bad ideas, skipping lessons repeatedly, provoking Luo Qianxue… none of that was you?”

Lian Mu: “…Fine.”

Apparently, their definitions of “causing trouble” were different.

“Enough. Since you’re here, go register.” Murong Yi sighed, rubbing his forehead.

Lian Mu obediently went to register her name. Standing among the crowd, her posture was straight, and she actually looked a bit like a decent person.

Murong Yi’s expression was complicated. He stood in front of the new disciples in silence for a long time before finally waving his hand and dismissing them.

He turned and left in a hurry. The disciples were confused for a moment, but soon they also dispersed.

For Lian Mu, this was a great opportunity. She immediately ran back to Qingzhu Courtyard, ready to get some proper rest.

Who knew that just as she was about to step through the door, someone suddenly rushed out from a distance and ran straight toward her.

“Lian Mu! Lian Mu!” It was Guan Shize. “I made it into the apprenticeship seats!”

He grabbed her shoulders excitedly. “I used the move you taught me—barely made it to tenth place! Xuanji Venerable noticed me!”

Lian Mu stomped on his foot. “You’re shaking my head off!”

Only then did Guan Shize let go of her, but his brows and eyes were still full of joy. “In a few days, I’ll be going to Xuanji Venerable. He’ll be personally teaching me!”

Lian Mu pinched his face and tilted it slightly, noticing a small red mole that had appeared under his right eye.

“This was marked by Xuanji Venerable. Every disciple he accepts must have a vermilion mole at the corner of their eye.”

Lian Mu said, “Looks pretty good.”

Guan Shize didn’t care about that. He was just happy to have a master guiding him. He thought for a moment and said, “…Xuanji Venerable is great, but the top ten have to stay by their master’s side. From now on, since I’m under him, I might not get to see you much anymore.”

“Which Venerable are you following?” he asked curiously.

Lian Mu replied, “Still Murong Venerable.”

Guan Shize was momentarily stunned. He remembered that Murong Venerable didn’t take disciples personally. “You… are still in the formation team?”

He had assumed that Lian Mu was only saying she wanted to join the formation team. After all, she had the strength to—

“Yeah,” Lian Mu said. “I told you before, I don’t like being taught one-on-one by a Venerable.”

Guan Shize was silent for a while before saying, “I see.”

Lian Mu must have her own reasons, and he couldn’t ask more.

“We’ll still see each other,” Lian Mu said. “Don’t you want to join the Immortal Sect Grand Tournament? I’m going too, so we’ll meet again.”

That made sense. Since entering the sect, Lian Mu had never been particularly attentive in class, yet she could still defeat opponents like Shi Qingxiong and Di Xing. She must have been hiding her real strength.

She had always liked to move at her own pace, so it was natural that she didn’t want to be strictly supervised.

Guan Shize felt relieved and smiled. “Alright, see you at the Immortal Sect Grand Tournament.”

—

—

Main Peak, Yunhe Hall.

On the high platform, a white-haired man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, quietly gazing at a landscape painting on the wall. Below him stood two young men, yet his own appearance was just as youthful as theirs.

“Venerable Qin, these are the new disciples who passed the entrance retest this year—100 in total. Seventy-five are sword cultivators, fifteen are alchemy cultivators, eight are artifact refiners, and there is one talisman cultivator and one body cultivator.”

A disciple wearing the sword cultivator’s uniform handed him a register.

Qin Yuan took the booklet and casually flipped through it, surprised. “Only one talisman cultivator and one body cultivator this year?”

His gaze swept over the two young men below. One of them was Baili Que, the sole talisman cultivator among this year’s new recruits in Gui Xian Sect. The other was Xu Xianxing.

“I inquired about the other sects,” Xu Xianxing said. “Most of this year’s talisman cultivators went to Wu Nian Sect, and the body cultivators mostly joined Chixiao Sect.”

Baili Que wasn’t sure where he got this information but remained silent.

Qin Yuan mused, “Wu Nian Sect is famous for talisman cultivation, and Chixiao Sect is renowned for body cultivation. That is to be expected. I wonder how Qingxuan Sect is doing.”

Qin Yuan was originally one of the Venerables of Cold Arrival Peak, but he had spent years leading expeditions in Shifang Nether Soil. Only recently had Xin Wanbai taken over his position, giving him the opportunity to return to the sect for a while.

The first thing he did upon returning was inquire about this year’s new disciples.

Xu Xianxing replied, “Qingxuan Sect remains the same as ever. They recruit the most talented new disciples among the four great sects. Plus, with the aid of the Pearl-Seeking Instrument, they’ve brought in many highly gifted newcomers. This year alone, they have three sword cultivators with Heavenly Spiritual Roots.”

“I heard that the exceptionally talented sword cultivator under Qingxuan Sect’s Second Elder will also be participating in the next Immortal Sect Grand Tournament,” Xu Xianxing added.

At last, Baili Que had something to contribute. “My family has some connections with other noble families. If nothing unexpected happens, Chixiao Sect’s next chief sword cultivator will be Lu Feishuang, the eldest daughter of the Lu family. She also has a Heavenly Spiritual Root.”

Qin Yuan pressed his lips together and fell silent for a moment.

Gui Xian Sect had not recruited a single sword cultivator with a Heavenly Spiritual Root in the past two hundred years.

A brief silence filled the room, until someone pushed open the door.

“Apologies, we’re late.”

Xu Xianxing turned his head and immediately saw a familiar, annoying face. He quietly looked away and said to the person beside him, “Junior Sister Ji, was your journey smooth?”

Ji Mingyue was the last to enter, following two others. She casually closed the door behind her.

“It wasn’t too difficult,” she replied with a faint smile.

Now, all five chief cultivators were present.

Qin Yuan’s gaze swept over Ji Mingyue, and he nodded in acknowledgment. They had known each other for a long time, so there was no need for formal greetings.

He then turned to one of the newcomers beside her. “Huai Lin, you’ve been training outside for two years. How was the experience?”

Guan Huailin had just returned, still carrying a trace of cold air. He replied firmly, “Very fruitful.”

Qin Yuan looked at the other young man. “Wen Yun, I remember your family is in White Tiger West. Have you adjusted to being here in Black Tortoise North?”

The young man called Wen Yun raised his head, his voice crisp. “Thank you for your concern, Venerable. I’ve long since adapted.”

He stepped forward just enough to stand beside Xu Xianxing. Xu Xianxing frowned slightly and discreetly moved closer to Baili Que—only to accidentally step on his foot.

Baili Que’s expression remained unchanged, but his gaze slowly shifted sideways: What are you doing?

He withdrew his foot, then stepped down on Xu Xianxing’s in return.

Xu Xianxing closed his eyes and endured the pain, secretly pointing at Wen Yun behind his back: I don’t want to stand next to him.

Baili Que: “…”

Baili Que took the initiative to switch places, inserting himself between Wen Yun and Xu Xianxing.

Wen Yun clearly noticed their movements. He sneered lightly but smiled. “Master Xu, it’s been a while. You look even more haggard.”

He reached past Baili Que and firmly grasped Xu Xianxing’s hand, as if greeting an old friend.

Wen Yun was a body cultivator and had a strong grip. Xu Xianxing felt like his hand was being crushed. He gritted his teeth, leaned in slightly, and stomped on Wen Yun’s shoe.

As an artifact refiner, Xu Xianxing liked to embed defensive mechanisms into inconspicuous places. He activated the hidden needle in his shoe, stabbing it directly into Wen Yun’s foot.

“Junior Brother Wen, you’re overthinking. This master has been doing quite well lately.”

The two of them exchanged seemingly polite words while secretly competing, leaving Baili Que speechless.

Qin Yuan, after finishing his conversation with Ji Mingyue, turned to check on the others—only to find Xu Xianxing and Wen Yun standing unusually close together.

Qin Yuan: “…”

So, their relationship was this good?

Looks like he didn’t need to worry about the chief cultivators’ camaraderie.

“Come, have a seat. Let’s discuss the upcoming Immortal Sect Grand Tournament.” He gestured to the seats nearby.

The moment he finished speaking, Xu Xianxing and Wen Yun let go of each other and sat as far apart as possible.

Baili Que: “…”

Ji Mingyue: “?”

Guan Huailin, who had seen through everything: “Uh…”

In the end, he said nothing, sat down obediently, and listened as the respected elder spoke about the key points of the upcoming Immortal Sect Grand Competition.

Baili Que was only familiar with Xu Xianxing, so he sat to Xu Xianxing’s right, while on his own right was Ji Mingyue.

As soon as Ji Mingyue sat down, she suddenly frowned and touched her wrist.

In the spirit of fostering camaraderie among the Five Chief Disciples, Baili Que asked, “What’s wrong?”

Ji Mingyue lowered her eyes, her expression unreadable. “It’s nothing. I was in a hurry on the way here and lost a bracelet.”

“You can post a notice in the lost items section. Maybe another disciple in the sect picked it up,” Baili Que suggested seriously.

Ji Mingyue hesitated for a moment. “…I’ll look for it again later.”