Apprenticeship

Into the Clouds Peak, located far from the other peaks, is a relatively remote place, but it lacks none of the necessary resources.

If one can make it here, they are already halfway to success. The other peaks are crowded with people—perhaps an exaggeration, but there are certainly many, and the competition is naturally fierce.

However, at Into the Clouds Peak, there is currently only Nangong Xiyun, whose strength has reached a bottleneck and requires a catalyst to break through.

Therefore, she doesn’t need to use the resources for now, so who will the remaining resources go to?

Just thinking about it makes Into the Clouds Peak seem incredibly appealing. Unfortunately, Nangong Xiyun has only accepted Lin Xuan and Li Siyi as disciples.

Nangong Xiyun was staring at an interface in her residence and noticed that the progress bar had reached 90%.

Of course, she didn’t know what the progress bar meant; it was just there on the loading screen.

She grew increasingly curious about what would happen once the progress bar was complete.

At that moment, Lin Xuan and Li Siyi arrived, summoned by Nangong Xiyun.

Today was the day of the apprenticeship ceremony.

In truth, there wasn’t much of a ceremony. Nangong Xiyun’s master might have cared about such formalities, but she didn’t, and since her master wasn’t here, she called the shots.

Seeing her two disciples arrive, Nangong Xiyun put away the interface. Although others couldn’t see it, having it flicker in front of her wasn’t ideal.

“You’re here.”

“Master,” Lin Xuan and Li Siyi said simultaneously.

Nangong Xiyun spoke casually.

“Alright, it’s just the three of us at Into the Clouds Peak, so there aren’t many rules.

“For the next few days, you’ll practice as usual. I’ll see what level you’re at, and then I’ll teach you accordingly.

“As for matters within the sect, you can read about them in the books over there. I won’t explain them. If you encounter trouble in the sect that you can’t resolve, just mention my name.

“If that doesn’t work, call for me.”

Truthfully, Nangong Xiyun wasn’t particularly keen on taking disciples, but the sect required it, so she had no choice.

Thus, she planned to finish her instructions quickly and then go lie down somewhere to relax.

“I didn’t prepare much, but here are a few items. Pick one each as a gift from your master.”

“Thank you, Master.”

Lin Xuan and Li Siyi saw no need to be overly polite with their master.

Nangong Xiyun snapped her fingers, and a pile of items appeared before them.

They glittered with golden light, exuding a dense spiritual aura, with effects that were nothing short of spectacular.

Lin Xuan and Li Siyi could barely keep their eyes open.

Then, Nangong Xiyun selected five items and presented them to the two, putting the rest away.

The Sword of Radiance: a sword with no special features other than its unparalleled sharpness.

The Rain Dew Sword: a sword with a unique shape, formed by seven connected droplet-like structures.

Dragon’s Water: a top-tier recovery potion that can quickly restore spiritual energy and heal injuries.

Serpent Armor: a highly defensive item capable of withstanding a full-power strike from a Golden Core expert.

Maze of Shadows Formation Disk: a one-click activation tool that quickly sets up a formation, creating a 100-meter-radius maze that is difficult to destroy.

“Each of you, choose one. Your cultivation levels are still low, so you shouldn’t rely too much on external items.

“These aren’t particularly great items, but they’ll suffice until you reach the Golden Core stage. When your cultivation improves, I’ll give you better ones.”

“Just enough until Golden Core?” Was this even something a person would say?

Most people might not even see such items by the time they reach Golden Core.

Li Siyi shed tears of poverty. She had thought her cultivation resources were decent, but now she realized how limited her perspective had been.

Lin Xuan, on the other hand, remained relatively unfazed, as Elder Yan had always broadened his horizons, so he wasn’t overly impressed.

“You choose first,” Lin Xuan said chivalrously, letting Li Siyi go ahead.

“Alright, thank you.”

Li Siyi immediately chose the Rain Dew Sword.

“Are you sure about this sword? Among these items, it’s the lowest in quality, not even as good as the one next to it,” Nangong Xiyun reminded her.

“Yes, I want this one.”

Li Siyi didn’t hesitate.

“As you wish. What about you?”

Lin Xuan chose the Serpent Armor. To him, survival was paramount.

While offense might be the best defense, given that he often encountered enemies stronger than himself, attacking could leave him more vulnerable. Most of the time, he relied on defensive counterattacks, so choosing the Serpent Armor felt like the safer option.

Seeing that they had both made their choices, Nangong Xiyun had nothing more to say.

“Alright, go and cultivate now.”

But Li Siyi spoke up, “Master, wait a moment. Could you please open this sword for me?”

“Open it?”

“Yes, split it in half. There’s something good inside.”

“What is it?”

“Frost of White Dew.”

“Frost of White Dew? What’s that?”

Nangong Xiyun wasn’t familiar with everything. The world of cultivation was vast, and even though she had once looked into remedies for disfigurement, she had never heard of this.

“It has special effects on the skin. It can repair skin damage and make the skin look even better.”

As she spoke, Nangong Xiyun had already split the sword in half. For someone of her strength, it was no challenge.

Besides, it was just a sword. If it was destroyed, so be it.

On the droplet-like structures, there were thin layers of medicine—this was the Frost of White Dew.

It really existed?

“How did you know about this?”

Though surprised, Nangong Xiyun had long since mastered controlling her expressions. Moreover, even if it was a skin-repairing medicine, it might not necessarily work for her.

“Master, I read about it in an ancient book.”

“Your skin is already so good. Do you need this?”

In Nangong Xiyun’s eyes, the Rain Dew Sword would have been far more useful to Li Siyi than this Frost of White Dew.

“No, I want to give it to you, Master.”

“Why?”

“Because you gave us gifts, but we have nothing to give you in return. When I saw this sword, I made up my mind.”

Li Siyi took Nangong Xiyun’s hand. It was so fair and smooth.

To be honest, Li Siyi was a little envious. Could such delicate hands truly wield a peerless sword?

Though she marveled at her master’s flawless skin, she still had to say it.

“It might seem a bit cheeky to give you something that was originally yours, but I figured you probably don’t need another fine sword. This skin-enhancing item might be more useful to you.

“Your skin is already perfect, but it could be even better. According to the book, this Frost of White Dew is incredibly effective—perhaps even the best skincare medicine in the world.”

Li Siyi was exaggerating, but she believed that if it could cure the disfigurement that even her master hadn’t been able to fix, it might truly deserve such a title.

Hearing this, Nangong Xiyun’s resolve wavered. After all, who wouldn’t want to heal a disfigured face if they could?

But outwardly, she remained composed. “Alright, I’ll accept it.”

“Good. Then we’ll take our leave now.”

“Very well.”

Lin Xuan and Li Siyi left.

Nangong Xiyun returned to her original appearance, her face covered in venomous scars, almost unrecognizable.

If anyone looked at her for too long, they might even feel nauseated.

Nangong Xiyun looked at the thin layers of Frost of White Dew and touched her face, sighing softly. She still cared deeply about it.

She had thought she didn’t care, but now her emotions were stirred.

But would it really work?

Nangong Xiyun calmed herself again. She had long understood that the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

Just as Nangong Xiyun was about to try it…

[Ding, the diary has finished loading.]