Chapter Eighteen: Examination and Verification

  After absorbing the dark shadows, Ling Jing felt that his sword-drawing technique had increased in power by another notch. Feeling satisfied, he couldn't help but start thinking about how to continue acquiring some talent points next. After all, this intermediate sword-drawing technique had only added a few talent points, and there were still many subtle aspects of the system that had not been imparted.

  In the following days, he was learning the martial arts on the stone wall while comprehending the various martial arts that had been lit up on the innate tree. However, he was ultimately limited in his energy and made slow progress in comprehending so many different martial arts. In the end, he could only temporarily put aside other martial arts and focus on breaking through "Hui Feng Luo Yan Jian Fa" and "Ba Jian Shu - Intermediate".

  That evening, Ling Jing and Lin Hu Dung came to the cliff as usual to wait for Lu Youxiao to bring food. However, they saw two people walking up the cliff with exceptionally swift movements. The person in front was a woman with fluttering clothes. He saw that these two had excellent lightness skills, walking on the steep cliffs as if on flat ground. As he looked closely, it turned out to be Yue Buqun and his wife.

  Linghu Chong, who was standing beside him, couldn't help but feel overjoyed and loudly exclaimed: "Master! Mistress!"

  Ling Jing furrowed her brow slightly, thinking to herself that during the period when she and Linghu Chong were being punished by facing the wall, it was forbidden for anyone to come up and visit them except for delivering meals, not even their seniors in the sect. So why had Yue Buqun and his wife both come?

  He knows that Yue Buqun is a man who appears refined and dignified on the surface, but he definitely won't go against his own rules.

  Now he and Ning Zhong have come together, they must have something important.

  After a moment, Yue Buqun and his wife arrived at the cliff, with Ning Zhong still holding a lunch basket. She had not seen her two disciples for several months and was naturally worried about them. Seeing Linghu Cong's pale face and haggard complexion, she couldn't help but feel sympathetic and asked softly: "Linghu Cong, is there something wrong with your body? Why does your face look so bad?"

  Linghu Chong forced a smile and said: "No, my disciple's body is very good."

  Ning Zhong then glanced at him with a suspicious look, but didn't think much of it. He thought that living on this precipice was too harsh and conflicted with the carefree and active personality of his eldest disciple, so he had a gloomy expression.

  At this moment, she pulled Ling Jing over and took a closer look, making Ling Jing's face show an awkward expression. Only then did she smile with relief: "Jing'er, you seem to have grown taller again."

  She was most worried about this little brother at the foot of the mountain. This child has been pampered by everyone on Mount Hua since he was a child, and has never suffered any hardships growing up. Moreover, he is naturally proud and talented. Now that his husband has been punished to face the wall for a year, she often worries that this child will not be able to bear this grievance and harbor resentment. She also worries that at such a young age, he does not know how to take care of himself, and it is really worrying about him all the time.

  But at this moment, seeing the young apprentice standing beside him with a calm expression and an upright posture, where was there any sign of discontent or depression? His heart couldn't help but feel a little comforted and affectionate.

  Ling Jing was being sized up by Ning Zhong, whose face also looked a bit unnatural, and he simply said: "It's nothing, maybe Master's wife hasn't seen me for a long time, so she thinks I've grown taller."

  Ning Zhong then laughed twice, at this time, Yue Buqun also walked over, he looked at Linghu Chong, his face somewhat unhappy, he had originally placed high hopes on this big disciple, only wishing that after going up the cliff, he would diligently practice martial arts, and in the future take over the leadership of Huashan Sect.

  Just seeing him now, his spirit and energy are all damaged, and he feels uncomfortable in his heart. He stretched out his finger and grasped his pulse, only to feel the string slipping away quickly. Compared with his previous inner strength, he has actually taken a big step back. His heart felt even more uncomfortable, and he said lightly: "Your body is fine!"

  After a moment, he furrowed his brow and said: "Chong'er, what have you been doing on the Reflection Cliff for these past few months? How is it that your internal strength not only hasn't improved, but has actually regressed?"

  Linghu Chong bowed his head and said: "Yes, Master and Mistress, forgive me."

  Yue Buqun let out a sigh, turned his head and looked at Ling Jing again. He saw that this young disciple's vital energy was introverted, obviously his skills had improved. Standing aside, he already had some of the style of a top-notch master. His heart suddenly felt relieved, and even the disappointment brought by Lin Pingzhi dissipated a lot. So he asked with relief: "Jing'er, have you been practicing your martial arts diligently on this cliff?"

  "Yes, your disciple will strictly follow the teachings of Master and Mistress, and dare not be even slightly negligent."

  Ning Zhong then saw that her husband was obviously dissatisfied with the eldest disciple, and smiled: "Elder brother, Chong Er's temperament is naturally impatient. If we keep him confined to this mountain, he will naturally be unable to bear the loneliness. Even if he practices martial arts, it would be a waste of effort."

  Yue Buqun shook his head and said, "Chong'er is impulsive and reckless, not good at restraining himself. That's the biggest taboo in practicing our school's superior internal energy cultivation method. I had planned to let him reflect on his actions by sending him up the cliff, but now it seems that I have been greatly disappointed."

  He looked at Linghu Chong and said, "Chong'er, I punish you to face the wall on the cliff of reflection. In fact, it's not a real punishment, but I hope you won't be disturbed by external affairs. Within this year, both your internal energy and swordsmanship will make rapid progress. Who would have thought... who would have thought... alas..."

  Linghu Cong anxiously said: "Disciple knows wrong, from today on will definitely work hard."

  Yue Buqun no longer looked at him, and measured Ling Jing again. Linghu Cong had already disappointed him extremely, but this little brother actually gave him a surprise. The reason he punished this little brother to reflect on the cliff that day was actually more because this kid didn't learn the sect's martial arts, but instead secretly learned the swordsmanship of Mount Heng's Mo Da. It really made him feel ashamed.

  Although the Five Mountains Sword Sects are said to be of the same breath and branches, they are mutually allied friends, but the five sects have different sources of martial arts after all. Even if they form an alliance, with Zuo Lengchan as the alliance leader, it is inevitable that they will secretly compete with each other in private.

  After all, the position of the alliance leader is not fixed and immobile. If the Huashan School had not gone through that great chaos twenty-five years ago, how could Zuo Lengchan have become the Five Peaks Alliance Leader?

  Yue Buqun, though having the air of a humble gentleman, was inwardly very proud. He thought to himself that his Hua Shan sect had once been at its peak and suppressed the other four major sword schools, so naturally their martial arts were far superior to theirs.

  But this young apprentice actually put aside the superior martial arts of our school and went to learn the Hengshan swordsmanship, that's why he was so angry in his heart.

  Yue Buqun buried this matter deep in his heart and naturally wouldn't mention it now. He just smiled and said, "Jing Er, the reason your master and I came up the mountain this time was actually to test your martial arts skills. You two have been staying on Si Xing Peak for quite some time now. If you've really been practicing diligently, your swordplay and martial arts should have improved."

  Ling Jing responded with a "yes", and then, he heard Yue Buqun say: "There's another thing. That Tian Boguang has now arrived at the foot of our Hua Mountain and has committed several major crimes in Chang'an City. Your master and I are preparing to go down the mountain this time, but before we leave, we still need to remind you all."

  Ling Jingqi said: "Master, Tian Boguang has actually come to our territory, isn't this a deliberate attempt to embarrass the Huashan School?"

  Yue Buqun snorted coldly and said, "How can we allow such a despicable person to run amok at the foot of Mount Hua?"

  Ling Jing sighed and said: "It's just that now the disciple is a guilty person, can't follow Master and Mistress down the mountain to punish evil."

  Yue Buqun smiled and said: "It's good that you have this heart, but for now, you only need to diligently practice the sect's martial arts."

  He intentionally put emphasis on the two words "this door", Ling Jing felt a little speechless in her heart, and naturally heard the deep meaning in his words. She thought to herself, I'm just learning one style of Hengshan swordsmanship, why bother for so long? If you knew now that I not only learned Hengshan swordsmanship but also Songshan, Taishan, and Hengshan's martial arts, how would you punish me then?

  At this point, he was even more skeptical of Yue Buqun's words in his heart, but on the surface, he respectfully said: "Disciple obeys."

  P.S: Although it's a bit late, fortunately the second update is still out, forgive me.