Xiao Qingxuan naturally didn’t want Ye Luqing to be alone with anyone else.
Even if the technique taught by Ruyi Pei was precious and couldn’t be shared freely, she wouldn’t mind paying to learn it.
“No, no way!”
Ruyi Pei quickly refused, her words tinged with an unhidden panic and agitation.
She obviously knew why Ye Luqing had called her over—there was no way this was about teaching a technique.
Just the thought of the shameless, humiliated posture she had been trained into being seen by Senior Sister Xiao made her want to die.
Xiao Qingxuan frowned, surprised by Ruyi Pei’s strong reaction.
“Why?”
“If it’s a precious technique, I can offer treasures in exchange.”
Her thoughts stirred, and several Spirit Swords circled around her, each at least of Xuan-Tier superior quality.
Normally, Ruyi Pei would have been tempted by this, but now she just wanted to refuse.
She looked to Ye Luqing as if begging for help, only to see a playful smile tug at the corner of Ye Luqing’s lips.
Without saying a word, Ye Luqing’s expression made her meaning clear.
‘Tell a little lie, and trick Xiao Qingxuan.’
Ruyi Pei lowered her head, her earlobes flushed as if they could bleed.
“Sorry, Senior Sister Xiao, this is my Pei Clan Secret Technique, and I can’t pass it on to too many people…”
Her voice trembled, and her words were full of holes.
This was the first time she lied to Xiao Qingxuan, to the one who had once been her beloved, actively lying.
Her sword cultivation was based on the path of sincerity—better to strike true than twist the truth.
Even such a small lie was enough to damage her Sword Heart.
But she paid such a heavy price just to enjoy the pleasure that came from obeying Ye Luqing’s [command].
Xiao Qingxuan keenly noticed the change in Ruyi Pei before her; her Sword Heart was weakening bit by bit.
“You…”
She reached out, wanting to find out what was really happening to Ruyi Pei.
But before she could touch her, a small hand stopped her.
“Alright, Sister, don’t bully Senior Sister Pei anymore.”
Ye Luqing grasped Xiao Qingxuan’s hand in her palm, and with her other hand held Ruyi Pei’s.
She lightly tapped Ruyi Pei’s palm, and the latter instantly understood her meaning.
‘Well done. I’ll reward you properly this afternoon~’
‘As for the rest, leave it to me.’
A warm current flowed in Ruyi Pei’s heart, and she even felt a sense of security hiding behind Ye Luqing’s back.
Seeing this, Xiao Qingxuan patiently explained:
“Ah Qing, I’m not bullying Senior Sister Pei. She’s showing some unusual signs, and if left unchecked, her cultivation might go wrong later.”
“But Senior Sister Pei is trembling with fear…”
Ye Luqing lifted Ruyi Pei’s hand, her gaze filled with a hint of pity.
Looking at Ye Luqing’s compassionate eyes, Xiao Qingxuan seemed to see the pre-amnesia Ah Qing, and her attitude softened.
Ah Qing was still too kind, unable to bear seeing others suffer even a little.
“Alright then…”
She withdrew her hand, abandoning the idea of thoroughly examining Ruyi Pei’s condition, but gave her a long, meaningful look.
“If your Sword Heart feels blocked, you can come to me anytime.”
“Mm…”
Ruyi Pei nodded, saluted them with a sword gesture, and quickly left.
“Ah Qing, let’s go too.”
“Okay.”
Watching Ruyi Pei’s departing figure, Ye Luqing, trailing behind Xiao Qingxuan, rubbed her fingertips as if recalling the feel of Ruyi Pei’s jade-like hands.
Xiao Qingxuan and Ruyi Pei shared some resemblance in appearance and temperament; holding their hands just now felt like holding two sisters with completely different personalities.
Not bad at all.
Now that the “younger sister” was already on the edge of corruption, could the “elder sister” be far behind?
Ye Luqing followed Xiao Qingxuan into the courtyard.
As the Sect Master’s only personal disciple at Heavenly Sword Peak, her courtyard was much larger than that of a Biluo Peak personal disciple’s, even containing a separate Sword Training Ground.
She rarely visited the Heavenly Gang Platforms, and today was only to fulfill her elder duties.
But teaching Ah Qing a technique was something to be done at home.
After hearing Ye Luqing’s doubts about the Qi Sword Technique, Xiao Qingxuan fell into deep thought.
The inability to fully unleash the power of this Xuan-Tier superior sword technique mainly came down to two problems.
First, Ye Luqing indeed had strong Sword Intent, but it caused her to lag behind in Sword Qi.
Although Ye Luqing mastered a Formation Cultivator’s array to recover Sword Qi, she was not a sword cultivator, and her efficiency in absorbing array Sword Qi was very low.
Second, the Sword Qi condensed by Ye Luqing’s Sword Intent was powerful but required long periods of charging.
If these two issues couldn’t be resolved, even mastering the Qi Sword Technique would make it difficult to use effectively in competitions.
After pondering, Xiao Qingxuan took out a Spirit Sword from her storage artifact.
“Ah Qing, this Spirit Sword has the ability to absorb and store Sword Qi. You can store Sword Qi in advance in this sword and directly use it when performing the Qi Sword Technique.”
Ye Luqing’s Qi Sea and Meridians weren’t suited to Sword Qi, but this Spirit Sword was.
“The grade of this sword is only Xuan-Tier superior, but that’s due to its extraordinary Sword Qi storage capacity.”
It was this storage ability that caught Xiao Qingxuan’s eye.
When fully charged, it could rival the Sword Qi storage of a Peak Nascent Soul Realm sword cultivator.
“Without this special ability, its quality would only be Xuan-Tier mid-level.”
“But Xuan-Tier mid-level swords are just right for you to wield now.”
If Ye Luqing had a Di-Rank sword, as a Gold Core Peak array cultivator, she wouldn’t be able to bring out its power.
“Thank you, Sister.”
Ye Luqing smiled softly and took the bluish Spirit Sword.
[Bi Ling Sword, Xuan-Tier Superior, Recycling Price: 300 points]
This Spirit Sword was quite valuable, and Ye Luqing felt a little embarrassed to accept it.
Feeling the lively spirit within, she suddenly had a clever idea and asked,
“Senior Sister Xiao, can this Spirit Sword be engraved with array patterns?”
Spirit swords were carriers of true energy; there was no rule saying they could only contain Sword Qi.
If she could inscribe array patterns on it, Ye Luqing could use this Spirit Sword as an array artifact and carve the Yin-Yang Meridian Formation inside.
Hearing this, Xiao Qingxuan was slightly taken aback, instinctively replying,
“In theory, yes…”
Although the Spirit Sword’s material wasn’t the best conductor for array patterns, it was sufficient to transmit true energy and spiritual power.
No one had ever done this before. For sword cultivators, engraving array patterns would inevitably weaken the sword veins; for array cultivators, a Spirit Sword was not the best array artifact and would even slow down the casting speed.
But these two downsides didn’t affect Ye Luqing.
Her Qi Sword Technique only required Sword Qi, so she didn’t need to consider the sword veins, and her extremely fast array casting could fully offset the material’s negative effects.
“It’s definitely feasible, but Heavenly Sword Peak’s swordsmiths aren’t skilled at engraving array patterns; you’ll have to find an elder from Biluo Peak.”
“Got it.”
Ye Luqing nodded with satisfaction, secretly admiring her own brilliant idea.
In both solo and duo competitions, only one weapon was allowed.
This way, when she performed the Qi Sword Technique, she could simultaneously activate the array.
Xiao Qingxuan took the Spirit Sword.
“Ah Qing, I’ll first infuse Sword Qi into it. You can practice freely with it these next few days.”
“As for the long charging time, you’ll have to rely on condensing Sword Intent and improving the technique to a higher level.”
Ah Qing had only just begun learning this technique; once it reached a minor success, the casting speed could double.
She infused Sword Qi into the Spirit Sword until it was full, stopping only when the Sword Qi inside her body was somewhat depleted.
Seeing Xiao Qingxuan’s slightly pale face, Ye Luqing’s eyes brightened.
She suddenly remembered—maybe there was something she could give as a return gift.
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