On the day of the Outer Sect Grand Competition, it began to rain heavily.
When it was actually time for the competition and sword discussion, Fang Qingmu realized that his arrogant thoughts seemed a bit ridiculous.
He had practiced swordplay with Xia Wanyu for a whole month, but his talent in the Sword Dao was ultimately mediocre. The Outer Sect Disciples who wished to enter the Inner Sect, like him, cultivated day and night. They had been striving for much longer than him and had accumulated enough Spirit Stones over the years to buy a good sword.
But he only had an ordinary iron sword.
Relying on the sword techniques he had learned in the past month, he defeated several Outer Sect Disciples, and was just one step away from a spot in the Inner Sect. As long as he won two more matches, he could enter the Inner Sect.
In the first match, he looked out at the crowd but did not see Xia Wanyu’s figure in the rain.
He won that match, but it was a rather messy victory, leaving him covered in sword wounds by the end. He rested briefly below the stage, still with most of the Healing Pill Xia Wanyu had given him left.
After taking the pill, he faced the final match. His opponent was two minor realms higher than him and held a Profound Tier Spirit Sword, radiating a powerful sword aura.
This was a match with no suspense.
His opponent eventually stopped using his sword, as Fang Qingmu’s body was covered in countless sword marks, bleeding profusely. Fang Qingmu could barely see anything before him. In past Inner Sect Grand Competitions, he had always just wanted to go through the motions and get it over with, but he didn’t know where his courage came from today.
Whenever he looked out at the crowd, he would lightly bite his tongue, trying to clear his vision for a moment. However, he still did not see Xia Wanyu’s figure. He lost in the end and, due to excessive blood loss, fainted on the Sword Discussion Platform. A cultivator from his courtyard took him back.
When he woke up, he sat alone in the dim room for a very long time before suddenly waking up from that dream. At this point, he clearly realized that he was never a chosen one, and to Xia Wanyu, he was never someone worth paying attention to. In her eyes, he was just an ordinary Outer Sect Disciple. It was only because he thought too much, yearned too much, and because of his greed, that his current disappointment was entirely self-inflicted.
Later, Xia Wanyu came to visit him and brought him Healing Pills. Even though he wanted to refuse, Xia Wanyu’s tone was so assertive that he didn’t know how to refuse. He didn’t blame Xia Wanyu at all. Instead, he felt fortunate in his heart that she hadn’t come that day, otherwise, his embarrassing state would have been seen.
Later, late at night, he stopped going to the mountain top and practiced swordplay alone in the courtyard.
He began to cultivate very seriously, and started to go down the mountain with Outer Sect Senior Brothers to take on somewhat dangerous missions. While dangerous, these missions also yielded equivalent rewards. He began to seriously study Sword Manuals, contemplating the Sword Dao that suited him, while also not forgetting to find ways to earn cultivation resources.
Many nights, he would have that strange thought and go to the mountain top again, perhaps she was there alone, gazing at the moon.
But she wasn’t waiting for you, nor did she need your company.
Another summer cicada, another winter snow.
He barely saw Xia Wanyu again that year. Even if he did, it was just a distant glance at a sect gathering, and Xia Wanyu didn’t even notice him.
This time, he stood on the stage of the Outer Sect Grand Competition again. However, this time, he was no longer as disheveled as he was last year. He successfully squeezed into the Inner Sect, and under the envious gazes of countless Outer Sect Disciples, he became an Inner Sect Disciple.
He began to have his own courtyard and finally had access to more dangerous Sect missions. He slacked off for no month, and never missed an opportunity to learn from Senior Brothers and Sisters who were willing to discuss swords. People around him would occasionally joke, saying his cultivation looked like madness. Why pursue the Realm so eagerly?
But he asked himself this question and couldn’t answer why. He just didn’t dare to let himself be still. Once he calmed down, his heart felt empty. Mission after mission boosted his cultivation level, and he gradually gained prestige among the disciples. Exploring Secret Realms time and again allowed him to obtain better cultivation resources and also improved his mediocre root bone to some extent.
Spring turned to autumn, and another year passed.
He emerged in the Inner Sect Grand Competition a year later, finally able to look directly at Xia Wanyu, who sat quietly. He entered the Inner Sect core disciple sequence and could apply to be accepted by a Master, becoming his personal disciple. Several Elders were particularly fond of him, but his eyes were drawn to Xia Wanyu, who was sitting in the distance.
“I want to cultivate under Elder Wanyu,” he said softly.
Xia Wanyu seemed to be slightly taken aback. After thinking for a long time, she softly said, “My lifespan is nearing its end. You may not cultivate with me for many years before you have to see me off. Even so, would you still like to learn the sword from me?”
He nodded slightly.
Xia Wanyu hesitated for a long time and finally took him as her final disciple. He became Xia Wanyu’s only disciple in many years.
The two became like any ordinary master and disciple pair in the world. Xia Wanyu imparted her cultivation experience to him. Knowing her time was short, she found many cultivation resources for Fang Qingmu to improve his mediocre root bone. He served Xia Wanyu daily, taking care of her daily life. He gradually began to truly understand Xia Wanyu and learned how to make her happy when she was unhappy. The two became a master and disciple with an intimate relationship, but never crossed any boundaries.
He hid everything extremely well, so well that Xia Wanyu never guessed his thoughts.
One year, two years, ten years. Thirty years.
Xia Wanyu lived longer than she had imagined. As a person with the Eternal Calamity Physique, she would face Lightning Tribulation with every minor realm breakthrough. She had long accepted her fate peacefully, but when she suddenly had a disciple, it seemed she had an extra attachment. She suddenly understood the meaning of master and disciple, passing on everything she had learned, as if leaving her imprint on this world.
So she worked hard to live for a long time, treating Fang Qingmu as her own child, and watched his cultivation break through bit by bit. The relationship between master and disciple remained neither too close nor too distant, with no hint of ambiguity.
One hundred years, two hundred years.
Even Xia Wanyu was surprised when she recalled how long she had lived.
Until she realized her time was drawing near, and because she hated farewells, she simply left a letter for him, leaving her Spirit Sword and her lifelong savings to Fang Qingmu, and then disappeared from the Cloud Sea Sect, preparing to face her tribulation.
But as the thunderous heavenly lightning descended, she had done her best and finally gave up, closing her eyes to accept what fate had brought. Fang Qingmu, however, appeared before her. His sword gleamed with a faint, cold light. He turned to look at her.
Lightning flashed across the dark sky. In that instant, it illuminated Fang Qingmu’s face, making it deathly pale. Xia Wanyu suddenly recalled seeing Fang Qingmu for the first time many, many years ago. She vaguely remembered that the young boy’s eyes held a lazy yet shy look, but now he was so calm, yet inexplicably reassuring.
He said something very strange.
“Master, this is not just your tribulation,” he said after a moment’s hesitation, “it is mine too.”
Xia Wanyu always said that her fate was sealed from the moment she embarked on the path of cultivation, but Fang Qingmu felt that when he first saw Xia Wanyu that night, the threads of destiny had already quietly intertwined the two of them.
Two hundred years, a full two hundred years. He had quietly hidden everything in his heart, so much so that he even asked himself countless times if he had fallen in love with Xia Wanyu. If it was because he coveted her beauty, then in these two hundred years, there was no shortage of outstanding female cultivators who had thrown him olive branches, but his heart had never stirred even a ripple. Yet, standing before Xia Wanyu now, he let out a long sigh, as if finally fulfilling some mission.
He felt incredibly light, and his sword-wielding hand became even steadier. He blocked the rolling heavenly thunder by himself, standing in front of Xia Wanyu. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, looked up at her, and asked, “Why did you leave without saying goodbye?”
“Why did you come?” Xia Wanyu’s eyes widened. She reached out and grabbed his shoulder. She had never been so hysterical in these two hundred years, but now she was like a furious lion wanting to tear him apart.
“I don’t want Master to leave me,” he said softly.
“I am only your Master.”
“I know.”
“You have already graduated.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you come…” Her voice trailed off, her shoulders drooping, as if all her strength had been drained. She could no longer distinguish between joy and anger, her mind was a complete blank.
“If I hadn’t met Master on the mountain top that night, there would be no Fang Qingmu of today. Perhaps Fang Qingmu would have already died of exhaustion from his lifespan, and lived his mediocre and simple life.” Fang Qingmu’s voice was very soft. “But I met you that day, and from then on, Fang Qingmu was no longer Fang Qingmu. I have spent so many, many years with Master. If Master is not by my side one day, all my efforts will have lost their meaning.”
“Master, when you took me in that year, you asked me for the second time why I cultivate. I answered Master that I wanted to achieve immortality, but actually, I lied that time. That was also the only time I lied in all the years I have known Master.”
“I have never cultivated for the sake of elusive immortality. It was only for the day I could stand before you and block the tribulation for you, so that you could look me in the eye, and so that I would be qualified to say, I want to with Master…”
Fang Qingmu’s voice abruptly stopped.
Xia Wanyu stared at him blankly, “Want to with Master what?”
He was silent for a long time and then mumbled, “I’ve hidden it for two hundred years, and now when I want to say it, I don’t know how to say it.”
Her eyelashes couldn’t help but tremble. She suddenly understood, but the Fang Qingmu before her had hidden this thought for a full two hundred years, not only deceiving her but perhaps even deceiving himself.
An indescribable sense of dread and joy filled her heart. After a long, long time, a downpour began. She stood in the rain, looking at his face, “Say it, I’m listening.”
“I want to become Dao Companions with Master, but if Master is unwilling, it’s fine. Just pretend I never said it.” Fang Qingmu’s voice was very, very soft. He didn’t even dare to look at Xia Wanyu’s eyes.
“What do you want? Anything you want, I can give you, as long as you promise next time there’s a heavenly tribulation, you won’t…”
“I don’t agree,” Fang Qingmu said, gazing seriously into her eyes. “This is the only thing I cannot promise you.”
