Han Yuan's own cultivation was mediocre, but he had great confidence in his senior brothers. He heard that even Zhang Dasen and his ilk were popular, so he was sure that his senior brother would be the champion. He was afraid that the world would not be in chaos, so he thought, "Why don't I go and find out what the inner sect disciples are like first, so that my senior brothers can have a better idea when the time comes."

The inner disciples who followed the island master were also dressed in white robes, but unlike the elders and guardians, the disciples' clothes were very plain white. When such a group of people gathered together, they looked like a group of people in mourning from a distance, which was very eye-catching. Han Yuan easily followed the traces of the inner disciples.

The disciples surrounding the master of Qinglong Island walked silently, perhaps because of the strict rules of the inner sect or something else, but no one of them was talking to each other. Each of them had a cold face as if they had seen through the world, without even a hint of joy. They quietly left the crowd, turning their backs on the noise, revealing a kind of loneliness that was almost solitude.

Han Yuan knew that the island owner was a powerful person, so he didn't dare to get too close. He just climbed up a big tree from a distance, put his hands on the pergola and looked at those people.

When the inner sect disciples reached the middle of the hillside, they all stopped. Several disciples brought a small sedan chair and respectfully invited the island master to sit on it.

This scene looked so familiar that Han Yuan immediately remembered the senior brother on Fuyao Mountain who "would rather sit than stand, and lie down than sit". He always needed to be carried to the preaching hall. He felt both familiar and amused at the same time, thinking, "How come this island master is so old, but he has the same character as my head brother when he was a child?"

At this moment, the Qinglong Island Lord seemed to sense something. He suddenly turned around and glanced at Han Yuan's hiding place. He met his furtive and prying eyes. Han Yuan almost fell from the tree and felt guilty.

The island owner seemed to know who he was, and a smile appeared on his sad face. Even if he smiled, the wrinkles between his brows refused to smooth out, and it looked like a forced smile. The island owner waved at Han Yuan from a distance, as if to signal him not to follow and to go back quickly.

Several inner disciples stood indifferently on both sides. After the island master sat on the sedan chair, they all lifted it up. The group of people instantly turned into a white shadow and disappeared from Han Yuan's sight in a blink of an eye.

Han Yuan stared at the tree for a while, stunned by this move. He suddenly felt a sense of awe in his heart, and murmured with self-awareness: "God, I'm afraid I will never be able to practice like this in my lifetime. How many years of seclusion will it take?"

Before Han Yuan finished speaking, he heard someone chuckle beside him. He was startled, grabbed a few pine nuts in his hand, raised his head and asked, "Who is laughing at your grandfather?"

There was a slight "crackling" sound of the leaves behind him. Han Yuan turned around abruptly, and the pine nuts in his hand immediately sank into the dense bushes without a sound.

Han Yuan carefully leaned forward to take a look, but the next moment, everything went dark before his eyes and he fell straight down from the tree.

When Han Yuan woke up, the lively crowd on Qinglong Island had dispersed. He felt his temples tighten and looked around blankly for a moment, but he couldn't remember how he fell asleep under a big tree.

Han Yuan stretched and yawned with all his might. Half of his head was almost torn apart by his open mouth, but he was still dizzy. He had no choice but to get up and walk back with a heavy head. He always felt like he had forgotten something.

When Han Yuan returned to the courtyard where his family lived, he saw Shuikeng sitting on the wall and his second brother Li Yun leaning against the door. The two were watching the fight between Li Chengqian and Yan Zhengming in the courtyard with great interest.

"What were you doing?" Li Yun waved at Han Yuan, "Come on, you almost missed something good."

It was impossible for the same disciples to risk their lives when practicing swordplay. Cheng Qian and Yan Zhengming each took an old wooden sword with a blunt edge. The wooden sword was full of holes, and no one knew whether it was caused by insects or teeth growing in puddles. It looked like each of them was holding a shabby fire stick. However, the sword moves they made were not shabby at all. The speed of the swords was so fast that it was almost impossible to see clearly.

At the beginning, neither of them used any strength, nor did they use any other sword techniques. All the sword moves they made were using the Fuyao wooden sword. In the blink of an eye, they had already fought for more than ten rounds.

The deeper you get into the way of the sword, the more you can feel that this set of wooden swords is truly a unique skill.

The simple parts can be passed on to disciples, but no one dares to say that he has fully understood the profound parts throughout his lifetime.

Shuikeng asked enviously, "Second Brother, when can I learn sword?"

Li Yun watched the fight intently and said perfunctorily, "When you are better at sword fighting, let your senior brother teach you."

Shuikeng jumped up from the top of the wall, raised his hands, and stretched himself hard, wishing he could grow as tall as a room. At the same time, he asked, "Why do you want to learn from the eldest brother? Why not learn from the third brother?"

Li Yun smiled and said, "Your eldest brother is a serious sword cultivator who entered the Dao with the sword. Your third brother's sword was honed through fighting. It's not righteous enough and has too much violence. If you learn from him, you will become a rampaging female demon when you grow up."

Before he finished speaking, a cold sword energy shot out from the field and slashed towards his face. Li Yun quickly jumped up and jumped onto the wall. He said with a "tsk" sound, "Don't let me say anything - see there is no junior sister. His sword moves are my Fuyao wooden sword, but the sword intent is in the style of the Haichao sword. It's not good for you girls to learn such a cold skill. You will easily get a stomachache in the future."

Shuikeng was confused and didn't understand for a moment that there was any inevitable connection between "practicing sword" and "stomachache".

This senior brother was so despicable that even the reserved and coquettish Sect Master Yan could hardly stand it anymore and warned him, "Li Yun!"

Li Yun smiled slyly on the wall and patted the puddle's head.

As usual, Cheng Qian didn't understand anything about the exchange between Li Yun and Yan Zhengming. He was even more confused than Shuikeng. But when he heard Li Yun mention the Sea Tide Sword, he perked up and said on impulse: "Junior Sister, let me show you what the Sea Tide Sword is - Senior Brother, be careful!"

As he spoke, Cheng Qian suddenly changed his moves. The previous move "A Long and Long Journey" and the next move "The Great Waves Wash Away the Sand" were connected perfectly. The coolness brought by the sword wind immediately came, and the courtyard seemed to be swept by raging waves. Leaves fell to the ground, and where the sword intent was surging, even the walls were condensed into fine water droplets. Li Yun had to pinch his hand seals and barely formed a transparent barrier in mid-air to block the few onlookers to prevent them from being affected.

Yan Zhengming's hairpin was blown away by the waves in the sword, but he did not panic. The peaceful and upright energy emanated from the wooden sword, but it did not disperse aggressively like Cheng Qian's. Instead, it was firmly wrapped around his body and the sword, standing still like a sword splitting the sea.

Cheng Qian's eyes lit up: "Big Brother, have you reached the state of 'concentration'?"

The so-called "concentrating the mind" means to scatter the true energy outside the body and attach it to the sword with spiritual consciousness. Only when the true energy can be freely controlled and released to the point of being able to "concentrate the mind" can one further achieve the unity of man and sword and even control the sword.

Judging from this level, Yan Zhengming might have really reached the point where he could wield a sword.

The next moment, the two wooden swords collided in the air. The broken wooden swords could not withstand such force and broke at once. Cheng Qian's cold sword intent immediately dissipated. He took the half wooden sword in his hand, drew an arc casually, and said with a smile: "It seems that I have to practice sword for one more hour every day, otherwise I will be one step behind you."

Cheng Qian seldom laughed out loud, and as he grew older, the signs of crying and laughing gradually disappeared from his face, and he developed the air of a gentleman who knew when to show his emotions. At this moment, his brows suddenly curved without any gloom, and he suddenly revealed a rare youthfulness.

Cheng Qian had a handsome face since childhood, and he had grown up even more in his teenage years. If he had not already embarked on the cold and icy path of cultivation, he would have been a mortal who would be ridiculed and murdered on the streets.

Yan Zhengming was stunned, and suddenly something seemed to move his heart. He followed his instinct and drew a half arc in the air with the half-broken wooden sword, letting the wooden sword guide the pure energy in his body. Then, a sword energy overflowed, so warm and almost silent.

The puddle on the wall screamed in surprise, only to see the sword energy brushing past the edge of her skirt without damaging the soft satin skirt at all. The sword energy fell on a half-dead weed on the wall. In full view of everyone, the yellowed edges of the weed's leaves actually turned green again, and it trembled and straightened its waist, and a delicate little yellow flower bloomed.

Han Yuan and Shuikeng looked at the small yellow flower in shock. Han Yuan asked, "Brother, what move is this? This is the first time I've seen a sword move that can bloom!"

Although Yan Zhengming has become much more stable, he still can't change his nature of showing off when facing his family behind closed doors. When he heard the question, his eyes turned and he stretched out his hand like a show-off. A cluster of fresh wild roses grew among the dead grass and rotten branches on the wall at a speed visible to the naked eye. They climbed up into a frame, which was covered with large and small flowers, all pink and white, hanging down from the wall, like a bunch of red apricots that had lingered and never returned.

Yan Zhengming rolled up his sleeves contentedly and said with an unfathomable smile: "This is a move from the fifth style 'Return to Nature', called 'Dead Tree Revived in Spring'."

Seeing that he was about to spread his wings again, Li Yun had no choice but to hold his forehead with his hand. The two younger ones, Shuikeng and Han Yuan, were very good at understanding their master's intention. They quickly held up his stinky feet and applauded in amazement.

Only Cheng Qian didn't give the headmaster face. After taking a glance, he commented bluntly: "Oh, so it's this move. No wonder you can't attack or defend. I've been wondering what this useless thing can do. After all this time, it's just for fun after the fight!"

"Stop talking so much nonsense," Yan Zhengming was still immersed in his previous realization, his tone was much gentler than usual, and he pointed at Cheng Qian and said, "Comb my hair for me."

Li Yun grabbed Shuikeng by the back of her vest and brought her down from the top of the wall. He said to her, "If you can recite the Pure and Tranquil Sutra ten times before sunset today, I will show you the opening moves of our sword technique."

Shuikeng was so excited when he heard that the first move was also swordsmanship! He immediately ran all the way to get her chanting booklet.

Her fellow senior brothers all knew what the so-called "opening move" was, and they were all trying hard to hold back their laughter. I wonder if the little junior sister would be so angry that she would cry when she knew that the opening move she had been looking forward to for a long time was a "Live Like a God" scene.

Han Yuan sat at the gate of the courtyard and began to do his daily homework of thirty wooden sticks. Li Yun picked up a book and wrote and drew. Cheng Qian was pulling... no, combing the hair of the head brother. The head brother himself was paying the price for his wrong decision - he felt that his scalp was numbed by this clumsy boy.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the mountains of Qinglong Island. Yan Zhengming half-closed his eyes and thought to himself, "If I can be so lively every day on Fuyao Mountain in the future, living forever day after day will really be 'better than a living god.'"

Yan Zhengming suddenly couldn't help missing Fuyao Mountain. According to his idea, he didn't want his sect to be too prominent. There was no need for the hustle and bustle of Qinglong Island every day. He just wanted to pass on the hard work of his ancestors smoothly and not be bullied when he went out.

By then, his fellow apprentices will have grown up and may accept disciples one after another. He can transform the master's unknown hall into a special ancestral hall for the apprentices to receive precepts and punishments. If any apprentice is naughty, he will send the most unreasonable copper coin to deal with them.

Yan Zhengming thought of it and said it out loud: "When we return to Fuyao Mountain in the future, we will also accept disciples. We can also hold a sect competition every year. Whoever's disciple loses will take his disciples to wash dishes together...hiss, copper coins! Do you want to pull me bald?"

Cheng Qian was holding a wooden comb in his mouth and said vaguely, "You should have been bald a long time ago."

Han Yuan poked the talisman that he had carved out of distraction with a carving knife and asked briskly, "Little Senior Brother, you will be in the first round tomorrow. How do you feel? How long will it take you to win?"

Before Cheng Qian could answer, Yan Zhengming asked in surprise, "What? The first match is tomorrow? Why didn't you tell me earlier about the copper coins? Go to my place and pick out a sword that you can use. The competition is different from the usual ones. You can't just go in with a wooden sword. Do you hear me?"

Cheng Qian responded, holding a handful of hair in his hand, and asked nonchalantly, "What do you think? Do you need me to win?"

Yan Zhengming raised one of his long eyebrows, feeling that his junior brother was getting more and more arrogant. With these words, it seemed that he didn't care about any of the talented people in the world. He couldn't help but poke him and said, "Do you think that if I say something, you can sweep the lecture hall and step on Qinglong Mountain?"

Cheng Qian smiled and said, "I may not win, but if you think it's necessary, I will definitely do my best."

Cheng Qian seldom said words like "do the best I can", but these four words he said carried much more weight than those of others, because he would never be perfunctory. When he said "do the best I can", he would really fight to the last breath.

Yan Zhengming couldn't describe the feeling in his heart for a moment. He sighed secretly and felt that no matter how much pain he suffered, it was never too much. He even forgave Cheng Qian for pulling out four or five strands of his hair.

Yan Zhengming said softly: "Xiao Qian..."

Cheng Qian: "Yes, it's done."

Li Yun looked up and almost fainted, choking on his saliva and coughing violently. Han Yuan had already covered his eyes, unable to bear the sight.

Shuikeng, who had just retrieved the scriptures, ran over with a "clattering sound" and encountered the new image of the head senior brother face to face. She was instantly stunned with her mouth wide open, looking up at him with admiration - Cheng Qian had inserted a flower on both sides of the head of the head senior brother, and they were inserted very symmetrically, as if he had grown a pair of colorful ears. If he changed into a purple skirt, the head senior brother could go out to matchmake and pull boats for people!

A moment later, an angry shout broke out in the courtyard: "Cheng! Qian!"

Why should I feel sorry for this little evil creature? What's the point of keeping him?

Cheng Qian walked through the yard and went straight into his room, intending to close the door and kick out his senior brother who came to collect the debt, but at that moment, a burst of rapid bell and drum sounds suddenly came from the twilight of Qinglong Island.

The big bell rang one after another, and the drum beats were so dense that they seemed to hit people's hearts directly.

Cheng Qian paused with a smile on his face, and the half-closed door was stuck in the middle: "What happened?"

Li Yun stood up, his expression serious, and frowned, "If I remember correctly, the bell sound seemed to be a warning, and the drum sound was to mobilize the inner disciples to resist the enemy - what, could it be that someone dared to invade Qinglong Island?"

“Shuikeng, come here and stop running around,” Yan Zhengming shouted at Shuikeng who had run to the door and was about to look out, “I’ll ask someone to go out and ask—Zheshi…”

Before he finished speaking, the courtyard door was pushed open by someone from the outside. Zhe Shi followed behind him, panting: "Wait! Master, you..."

Several people in the yard looked towards the door together, only to see Tang Wanqiu standing there expressionlessly.

Tang Wanqiu said without beginning or signing, "Follow me."

Yan Zhengming stepped forward and asked, "Senior, what happened on the island? Where do you want us to go?"

Tang Wanqiu had absolutely no patience to explain. She turned around and silently grabbed Shuikeng's vest. As the little girl screamed, she carried her away as if she were carrying a small package, leaving only one sentence: "Don't dawdle!"

As a result, all the people from the Fuyao faction had to chase after him. Just as Cheng Qian was about to leave, he suddenly thought of something. He turned around and waved his hand, and the lock on a box in the corner fell off. The Frost Blade Sword inside flew straight out and fell into his hand.