Chapter 27: Making Things Hard On Purpose
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Elders were divided into Ordinary Elders, Silver-robed Elders, and Gold-robed Elders in the Mystical Sword Sect.
Silver-robed Elders were the upper management of the Mystical Sword Sect. They were the strong backbone that held the school together.
Gold-robed Elders were the Mystical Sword Sect’s doyens. They existed as the anchors against the other sects. There were only a few of them, and since they were so powerful, they would make an appearance if something important caught their attention. Otherwise, they would be in closed-door meditation and practice of the martial arts.
Standing right in front of everyone’s eyes was a Gold-robed Elder.
Everyone at the plaza had their eyes on the two people on the white crane. Who were they here for?
On the white crane, Qiu Yue searched the crowd with her eyes, and her gaze finally found Lu Ming.
“Young Lord!” She beamed in delight as the white crane descended near Lu Ming. Then, she leaped off it excitedly and ran to his side.
All eyes were on Lu Ming at that instant.
Not too far away, Lu Yao clearly recognized Qiu Yue and her face darkened.
‘Why would that filthy maidservant be with a Gold-robed Elder?’ Lu Yao’s eyes flashed with annoyance and confusion.
“Qiu Yue!” A smile appeared on Lu Ming’s face as he asked, “Qiu Yue, did you pass the assessment test?”
“I did! This senior here wants me to join her in Qilin Hall, but I don’t wanna be at Qilin Hall. I wanna be with you in the Vermillion Bird Hall, Young Lord!” Qiu Yue chirped.
‘Qiu Yue’s actually been invited to join Qilin Hall?!’
Lu Ming’s heart leaped with joy, but he hardened his features on purpose and said, “Silly girl, some people can’t even join Qilin Hall even if they wanted to, and you’re just gonna turn it down? Listen to your Young Lord and go to Qilin Hall.”
“But Young Lord, I hate to part with you.” Qiu Yue sniffed while her eyes grew teary.
“Silly girl, we’re both at the Mystical Sword Sect. It’s not like we won’t be able to see each other ever again. Besides, if you train hard enough in Qilin Hall, there’ll be chances for us to meet! Also, Qiu Yue, what’s up with your blood meridians? Did they manage to test it?” Lu Ming asked as he comforted her.
“They did, but this senior said that I might have unique blood meridians and told me not to tell anyone else. But, Young Lord, you aren’t just anybody else,” Qiu Yue whispered into Lu Ming’s ears as she leaned toward him.
‘Unique blood meridians!’ Her revelation shocked Lu Ming to the core, but he felt intense joy for Qiu Yue right after the initial shock.
Human blood meridians were divided into several kinds although most of the blood meridians took the form of a living being, be it beasts or plants.
Humans had been in cohabitation with all the other beings since the beginning of time, so it was only natural for the blood meridians humans awakened to carry these other beings’ forms since human blood was influenced by genetic traits of these other beings.
However, some people would awaken blood meridians with peculiar forms such as a sword-shaped blood meridian, a knife-shaped blood meridian, and many more blood meridians shaped like weapons.
There were also some others with element-influenced blood meridians like wind, fire, thunder, water, and many more. These were known as the unique blood meridians. Unique blood meridians were extremely rare, and also very, marvelously, unimaginably powerful.
For example, those with sword-shaped blood meridians had an innate affinity towards sword-related martial arts and were able to grasp sword related martial arts teachings a few times faster than ordinary people. Some even inherited an extremely powerful sword art technique through their sword-shaped blood meridians and were unbeatable.
All in all, those with unique blood meridians were usually phenomenal geniuses.
It all made sense now. No wonder Qiu Yue’s blood meridians were so difficult to awaken. She possessed unique blood meridians!
“Qiu Yue, don’t tell anyone else about it from now onwards. Train hard and study well in Qilin Hall, okay?” Lu Ming advised as he gently patted her head.
“Young Lord!” Qiu Yue’s eyes watered.
“Go on, train well. I’m gonna spot check you in the future.” Lu Ming chuckled.
“Got it, Young Lord, don’t worry. I’ll work hard!” Qiu Yue answered, nodding firmly.
“Let’s go, Qiu Yue!”
The middle-aged lady on the white crane waved. A gush of formless energy flowed out, suspending Qiu Yue’s body mid-air, then gently landing her on the white crane.
The white crane let out a shriek as it ascended, disappearing in the skyline.
‘I should head to Vermillion Bird Hall now.’ Lu Ming smiled as he made his way to Vermillion Bird Hall.
His good mood was apparent after learning that Qiu Yue had been enrolled in Qilin Hall.
“Welcome to Vermillion Bird Hall, junior. Please register your details right here.”
Upon seeing Lu Ming, the young men at Vermillion Bird Hall exclaimed in delight.
Lu Ming nodded and wrote down his name, age, and place of origin. Then, he walked down the pathway that led in.
After climbing several hills, a majestic mountain came into his sight. It was the Vermillion Bird Peak.
At the foot of the Vermillion Bird Peak, there was a spacious training field, and all the new Vermillion Bird Hall apprentices had gathered there to wait for instructions.
“Stop where you are! No illegal entry permitted!” a young man obstructed Lu Ming just as he was about to enter the training field.
This haughty young man was about twenty years old. He wore a blue robe and was clearly an older apprentice.
“Senior, I’m one of the new apprentices,” Lu Ming cupped his hands respectfully as he answered.
The blue-robed young man scoffed as he barked, “How dare you lie to me? The impersonation of a Mystical Sword Apprentice is a grave sin!”
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Lu Ming frowned. This man is behaving weirdly. Why would he assume that Lu Ming was an impersonator without any prior encounters?
If Lu Ming really was an impersonator, how could he have made it thus far? This blue-robed young man was making things difficult on purpose, but this was the first time Lu Ming was meeting him, so what did he have against Lu Ming?
“I’m really a Vermillion Bird Hall apprentice. Here’s my jade credential!” Lu Ming said as he revealed his jade piece.
Without taking a look at the jade piece, the blue-robed apprentice sneered, “So what if you have a jade credential? Does that prove that you’re not an impersonator? One of the prerequisites to be a Mystical Sword Sect apprentice is to be a Blood Meridian Martial Artist. Are you even one? Do you even have blood meridians? If you don’t have blood meridians, I don’t care who recommended you. Piss off!”
After he was done explaining, the blue-robed apprentice jeered at Lu Ming.
“The Duanmu Family sent you, didn’t they?” Lu Ming asked out of the blue as something flashed in his eyes.
With a slight change in his expression, the blue-robed apprentice snarled. “What are you talking about? F*ck off immediately!”
Lu Ming sneered. This blue-robed apprentice had some relationship with the Duammu family. He was sure of it.
Only Lu Yao, Lu Yunxiong, and the likes of them knew that Lu Ming’s blood meridians had been stripped away from him.
This blue-robed apprentice must have known about Lu Ming since he was so sure that he did not have blood meridians and stopped him in his tracks upon the mere sight of him.
The new apprentices on the training field were roused as they gathered around Lu Ming curiously.
“You want me to piss off? You’re the one that should piss off!” Lu Ming smiled coldly.
“How dare you speak to me like that?! I think you’re tired of living, aren’t you?” The blue-robed apprentice spat venomously.
Lu Ming said with a faint smile, “Don’t you think so? Is this how you, as an older apprentice, should be treating the new apprentices? You accuse them without proof and shoo them away? Who gave you such authority? If everyone in the Vermillion Bird Hall is like you, I’d rather not stay then!”
Every word Lu Ming said rang out clearly.
In response, the new apprentices on the training field started to gesture and look pointedly at the blue-robed apprentice.
The blue-robed apprentice’s face darkened further with a tinge of anxiety. He certainly had not been authorized as such. If the elders were to know that he chased new apprentices away, he would not be able to bear the consequences.
“Lu Ming, I’ve asked you to piss off because you’re the one without blood meridians. Don’t spew your bullshi*t all around to accuse me!” the blue-robed apprentice yelled defiantly.
“Spewing bullsh*t to accuse you? Look carefully with your beady eyes, dog!”
Lu Ming let out a cry, and immediately, red lights flashed from behind his back as he made his blood meridians explode. A glimpse of a worm-like silhouette flashed before the red light disappeared.