The next day, the newcomers' training at the Seven Stars Sword Sect began.
The first thing they needed to do was choose their path of cultivation, and then, based on their chosen path, find the appropriate place to study.
The Seven Stars Sword Sect was led by the Sect Master, followed by the Council of Elders and the eight Peak Masters.
Next were the stewards, and finally, the disciples. There was no distinction between inner and outer disciples, except for the special case of personal disciples.
Under normal circumstances, newcomers would spend some time adapting to life in the sect, choose their cultivation path, and then begin their self-directed training.
This involved going to the library to find resources or listening to lectures from senior disciples, Peak Masters, Elders, or stewards.
However, Peak Masters and Elders were very busy and rarely gave lectures—maybe two or three times a year at most.
Most of the time, it was the stewards who helped the disciples with their questions.
If a disciple performed exceptionally well and was taken in as a personal disciple by a Peak Master or Elder, they would receive significantly more resources and guidance.
Thus, becoming a personal disciple was highly competitive among the sect's disciples. Otherwise, one would have to settle for group guidance, though even that was much better than what was available outside the sect.
Group guidance was useful, but it wasn't tailored to the individual. Progress depended heavily on one's own comprehension. If one had high comprehension, their cultivation would advance rapidly; if not, they would progress at a snail's pace.
This was completely different from personal disciples, who could avoid decades of detours.
This was roughly how cultivation worked in the Seven Stars Sword Sect.
As for Su Luo, his reputation for cheating had already spread throughout the sect.
So, becoming a personal disciple was out of the question.
However, Elder Yan Xi spoke kindly to Su Luo, saying, "If you need anything, you can come to me."
His words were full of goodwill.
But Su Luo, knowing the plot, understood that Elder Yan Xi's kindness was only superficial. He had ulterior motives, though that was a matter for later.
After thanking the Elder, Su Luo returned to his residence.
At this time, the other newcomers were deciding on their cultivation paths. Some had already made up their minds and were inquiring about which peak was best for alchemy, which had the most impressive sword techniques, and which had the most female disciples...
Su Luo felt he didn't need to bother with such things. Cultivation? Impossible. He would never cultivate in this lifetime. He could only write diaries to sustain his life, and so he returned to his residence.
The Seven Stars Sword Sect provided each disciple with a small house.
The sect was quite large, so there was plenty of space for everyone to have their own small house.
Lying on his chair, Su Luo remembered that he still had some plot points to write about. If he missed writing his diary, he wouldn't receive any rewards, so he quickly got up to write.
【The entrance exam is over, and now I can relax for a while.】
【Although I'm the antagonist, I still need time to improve. Clearly, my current strength isn't enough to be a stepping stone for Lin Xuan, so I'll be getting a boost soon.】
【However, this boost won't be in cultivation but in equipment.】
【My next appearance will be at the newcomer competition a month from now.】
【So, for now, there's not much for me to do.】
【As for Lin Xuan, with Nangong Xiyun as his master, his progress will skyrocket.】
【First, there's the meeting gift. Nangong Xiyun offered several high-level treasures for Lin Xuan to choose from.】
【This starting point is already the endpoint for others.】
【This isn't just about Lin Xuan obtaining treasures; more importantly, it's about making a good impression on Nangong Xiyun.】
【Taking on a disciple doesn't mean one has to go all out, so a good impression means the master will be more generous. Makes sense.】
【So, how does one win Nangong Xiyun's favor? This brings us to her weakness. She's incredibly strong, but she does have a flaw—not in her cultivation, but in other areas.】
【Nangong Xiyun is lucky, but only to a certain extent. To put it simply, she's already wealthy, but she could be even wealthier.】
【Many of her treasures, she doesn't fully understand. She only knows their surface-level uses and considers them trash, giving them away to others.】
【For example, among the treasures she offered to Lin Xuan was the Rain Dew Sword, a sword shaped like connected water droplets. It looked strange, but its material and craftsmanship were excellent, making it a fine sword.】
【However, its true purpose wasn't for combat but for skincare.】
【Yes, the person who forged this sword did so because his wife loved skincare. He hid a precious skincare ingredient, White Dew Frost, inside the sword as a surprise for her.】
【But an accident occurred, and he passed away before he could give it to her. The sword eventually made its way into the cultivation world and ended up in Nangong Xiyun's hands.】
【Nangong Xiyun treated it as an ordinary sword. While it was a good sword, it was nothing special for someone of her level.】
【When Lin Xuan was choosing a treasure, Elder Yan, who was well-versed in such matters, explained each one to him to ensure he didn't make a mistake.】
【Elder Yan knew about the Rain Dew Sword because he had read the notes left by its creator.】
【However, to Elder Yan's surprise, Lin Xuan chose the Rain Dew Sword and gave it to Nangong Xiyun.】
【Lin Xuan's reasoning was simple: since his master had included the sword among the treasures, she clearly didn't know its true purpose.】
【Rather than letting it collect dust, it was better to use it. Lin Xuan knew that women loved skincare, so he figured his master would appreciate it. As for not getting a treasure for himself, it didn't matter—he just needed to focus on becoming stronger.】
【So, did Nangong Xiyun like skincare? Not exactly, but she needed it.】
【Because at this time, Nangong Xiyun wasn't showing her true face. Why?】
【Because she had been disfigured long ago. She had been injured by an enemy, leaving her face covered in toxic scars, crisscrossed and repulsive to look at.】
【Even as her strength grew, she couldn't heal the scars. She had sought help from others, but nothing worked.】
【Eventually, she gave up and learned to disguise herself.】
【This time, Lin Xuan's skincare gift came in handy, completely healing Nangong Xiyun's face.】
【Afterward, Nangong Xiyun was in a great mood and rewarded Lin Xuan with several more treasures.】
【Elder Yan was puzzled. He thought Lin Xuan was foolish for not choosing a treasure for himself, but a few days later, he ended up with even more. He couldn't understand why someone of Nangong Xiyun's level would need skincare.】
【Because of this incident, Nangong Xiyun skipped the usual formalities and immediately took a liking to Lin Xuan, putting more effort into guiding his cultivation.】
【In short, the protagonist gained his master's trust in less than a day, stumbled upon a solution to her problem, and used her own treasure to heal her.】
【Now, back to me. With Lin Xuan having such a powerful master, should I be afraid? Not really. I don't have any direct interaction with her, since I can't even get past Lin Xuan, let alone face Nangong Xiyun.】
【But because of this, I can survive until the end. If Nangong Xiyun were to act against me, I'd be instantly defeated, without even the chance to say, "I'll be back," like a certain cartoon character.】
Though I'd like to stretch this out a bit more, there's really nothing else to write about lately.
After finishing his diary, Su Luo didn't know what to do next. He decided to find a good spot to watch the sunset. Strengthening his soul a little every day was still important.
【Diary completed. Reward: Speed +5, Strength +4, cultivation level increased by one. Current cultivation: Late Foundation Establishment.】
【Special ability upgraded: My Pain Is Greater Than Yours.】
【When attacked, 40% of the damage can be transferred to a designated target.】
Su Luo was thrilled with this upgrade. A 40% damage reduction? Amazing! If it ever reaches 100%, who could possibly defeat him?
Cheerfully, Su Luo headed out to find a high, scenic spot to watch the sunset.
Even though it was still morning, as the saying goes, "The moment I start work, I'm already thinking about quitting time."
So, Su Luo's early preparations were perfectly reasonable.