The following day.
Rumors quickly spread through the sect that the Primordial Saintess had personally visited her Junior Brother and even gifted him a rare cultivation manual.
Along the way, the disciples grit their teeth in jealousy, feeling a deep sense of imbalance and bitterness.
“Isn’t this just ridiculous?”
“Elder Xueyin giving that little scholar a back door is one thing, but why does the most beautiful woman in our sect, our Senior Sister Saintess, like him so much? What does she even see in him?”
“Who knows? These days, women don’t care about a man’s cultivation or talent. Instead, they only care about looks and that delicate, scholarly temperament… What kind of twisted trend is this?”
“Exactly! Can being handsome put food on the table? If they run into danger, can he protect his wife?”
“Well, she is the Primordial Saintess. Does she even need a man’s protection?”
“Uh, good point.”
The more they thought about it, the angrier they became.
Several disciples sighed and groaned as they walked.
As they reached the training field, a faint, silver-white sword qi swept past from the side, catching their attention.
Looking closely, it was a case of speak of the devil and he shall appear.
The Junior Brother He Qiu they had just been discussing had actually arrived at the training field early this morning to practice his swordplay, an ancient book held in his arms.
‘Is this kid really planning to practice the manual the Saintess gave him right away?’
The disciples looked on in surprise, finding the situation absurd.
Even if the sword manual was intended for a practitioner to learn, it required deep mental comprehension.
Who would dive straight into practice without first reading it several times, memorizing it, and understanding its essence?
“What an amateur. What a waste of the Saintess’s manual!”
Shaking their heads in frustration, the disciples decided to find another place to practice.
Out of sight, out of mind.
They had no intention of correcting the newcomer on the proper way to cultivate.
“Hmph, let the fool practice blindly by himself.”
“Don’t any of you give him pointers. Let’s go!”
***
In truth, He Qiu knew exactly how to use the sword manual and had not messed up the pace of his cultivation.
He had been a quick learner since childhood.
He had spent the entire night memorizing the *Fine Snow Sword Manual*, etching every character and punctuation mark into his mind.
Although he couldn’t read the characters at first, after he stared at the book and studied it for 2 hours, he slowly began to understand their meaning.
It was quite strange.
He couldn’t recognize the ancient script, yet he could grasp the underlying intent the characters conveyed.
‘Fine Snow Sword Manual. The practitioner transforms the sword heart into spiritual energy, then attaches it to the sword blade. Ultimately, the sword intent becomes thousands of fine snowflakes…’
‘At the pinnacle of mastery, one swing of the sword brings snow for 10,000 miles!’
Listen to that description…
‘As expected of a sword manual from Senior Sister. Truly incredible.’
Mimicking the forms he had envisioned, He Qiu practiced his swordplay tirelessly.
Even though the sword qi he produced was currently just a faint breeze that couldn’t even stir a leaf in the forest, let alone bring snow for 10,000 miles.
However, He Qiu wasn’t disappointed.
Instead, he became even more excited because he could faintly sense a “progress bar” in his heart.
Every time he swung his sword, the progress bar would fill by a few millimeters.
Although the growth was slow, the existence of the bar meant that mastery was not impossible.
*Fwoosh!*
With another swing, the silver-white sword qi finally managed to lightly lift a single fallen leaf.
The corners of He Qiu’s mouth curled upward.
He could clearly feel his Spirit Vein absorbing the sword intent from the manual.
It wouldn’t take too long to master!
As for the 3 months An Lingran had given him, He Qiu felt the time limit was far too generous.
‘It seems Senior Sister was worried I wouldn’t be able to produce results in a short time, so she intentionally extended the limit. She didn’t want a talentless trash like me to lose heart…’
‘Sigh, Senior Sister is a kind person who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside.’
Though he didn’t understand why she was so good to him, He Qiu was a rational and sensible man.
Even if she had an ulterior motive or eventually asked for a favor, he should repay her kindness within reason.
After all, she had given him such a manual as a meeting gift…
With that thought, He Qiu nodded slightly, cleared his mind, and focused entirely on his practice.
*Fwoosh!*
With a large stride and another swing, the silver-white sword qi became a fraction sharper once more.
***
On a verdant peak, a woman with flowing silver-white hair stood with her hands behind her back, holding an azure chilling sword that radiated ice-cold sword qi.
*Shring!*
The woman suddenly swung her sword.
Instantly, the sound of the blade tore through the air, and the world itself seemed to shift.
The silver-white sword qi transformed into thousands of fine snowflakes, shooting toward a neighboring mountain range 100 miles away, sweeping through countless forests and spirit beasts.
Though the sword qi was as slender as snowflakes, it was terrifyingly sharp.
If this strike were unleashed on a battlefield, countless cultivators would perish under the storm of fine snow.
To swing a sword and bring snow for 10,000 miles — this was the essence of such power.
“Phew…”
Sheathed her sword, An Lingran calmed the restlessness in her Spirit Vein and let out a long breath.
“I wonder how Junior Brother is doing with his solo practice…”
Suddenly, her beautiful eyes blinked in realization, and she let out a self-deprecating laugh.
‘Honestly, I’m being silly. Why am I even considering his progress?’
A disciple who had just entered the sect hadn’t even touched a Grade 1 manual.
If he could understand a single character while staring blankly at a top-tier Grade 7 manual, he would already be considered exceptionally gifted, let alone making actual progress.
In 3 months, if he could achieve even 1/10,000th of the power of her strike just now, he would be considered qualified as a fiancé.
Of course, that was fundamentally impossible.
“What if he actually succeeds?”
A white-robed girl with pale gold hair stepped softly from behind An Lingran.
The girl had a pair of long deer horns atop her head, and two thin silk ribbons danced around her waist.
Her chubby, doll-like face looked like a celestial spirit from a myth, constantly radiating a natural aura.
The Saintess was familiar with her and spoke without turning around.
“Yun Qing, you know the chances of that are nearly zero.”
An Lingran shook her head again and found a clean spot to sit.
She looked down at the countless disciples practicing diligently at the base of the mountain and lamented: “Back then, I had dual-attribute Spirit Veins and innate full spiritual power. I used to think I was a favored daughter of heaven. I had a very arrogant period during my childhood, until…”
She paused as if remembering something, then continued, “My father couldn’t stand my conceit. On my 7th birthday, he gave me that *Fine Snow Sword Manual* as a gift and laughed as he made a bet with me. He bet that I wouldn’t be able to master it within 5 years.”
“At the time, I didn’t believe him. I thought I was a genius and that there wasn’t a manual in this world I couldn’t learn. So, I practiced day and night, forgetting to eat or sleep just to prove myself…”
“In the end, I spent 7 years and still didn’t grasp it.”
An Lingran’s voice was small and held a hint of bashfulness, lacking her usual cold arrogance.
Seeing this, the Celestial Spirit tilted her head, her deer horns swaying.
“Didn’t you say you mastered it when you were 14 years old?”
“No, that was just self-deception. I understood seventy-six pages of the manual, but to this day, I still haven’t understood that single line of characters on the last page — the seventy-seventh page. Strictly speaking, I still haven’t fully mastered that Grade 7 manual even now.”
“I see~”
The Celestial Spirit gave a playful, ethereal giggle.
“It sounds like Ranran is quite frustrated.”
Unbeknownst to her, the Celestial Spirit had used the Saintess’s childhood nickname, but the latter seemed used to it and didn’t mind.
“If I said I wasn’t frustrated, I’d be lying…”
An Lingran’s voice trailed off as she turned her face away with a displeased huff.
“I’ve practiced for 13 years and still haven’t grasped the sword intent of the final page. Anyone would be frustrated, wouldn’t they?”
“Hmm, that’s true…”
The Celestial Spirit mumbled to herself, staring at the sky with her head in her hands, lost in thought.
An Lingran also lowered her gaze, silently watching the direction where her Junior Brother was practicing at the bottom of the mountain.
The two watched the mountain scenery in silence for several minutes.
It was getting late.
An Lingran stood up and brushed off her dress, preparing to return to the Saint Pavilion to rest.
At that moment, the daydreaming Yun Qing spoke again.
“Ranran, tell me, what if Junior Brother manages to master the manual in 3 months?”
“Absolutely impossible. Unless he is a once-in-a-century genius.”
An Lingran didn’t look back as she continued down the mountain.
“What if it’s 2 months?”
“Then he is a peerless talent.”
“What about 1 month?”
“A reincarnated Immortal Venerable.”
“And 7 days?”
“…”
Faced with Yun Qing’s incessant questioning, An Lingran grew a bit impatient.
For a moment, she was about to say it was impossible, but the words her Junior Brother had said that day — ‘I am but a youth, yet I would forsake my splendor’ — suddenly echoed in her mind, causing a flicker of doubt in her heart.
“Yun Qing, stop asking such meaningless questions.”
Leaving those cold words behind, An Lingran walked away quickly.
‘If he really masters it in 7 days — then I, An Lingran, will take the initiative to confess and ask to marry him!’