“Junior Wu greets Palace Master Qin.”

“Junior Zhu greets Palace Master Qin.”

The two girls cup their fists and bow to the woman entering the hall of the palace.

Elder Qin’s official title is “Seventh Palace Master”, and the number seven represents, coincidentally, also the strength ranking of this palace — dead last.

The other name of this Palace is “Thousand Calamities Palace” due to the two skills that Elder Qin is famous for: [Sun Calamity Sword] and [Myriad Oblivion Arts]. It is said that to meet Elder Qin in battle is to encounter “ten thousand calamities in one lifetime”.

These two peerless skills are the desire of virtually anyone in the Galaxy Sword sect, so when the news spreads that Lan Xiaohui and Wu Yulan join the Seventh Palace, it is all the disciples can talk about.

According to the information I gather, [Sun Calamity Sword] is a peerless sword method that requires extreme attainment in the sword, and quite possibly high affinity with fire energy — though the latter is a conjecture I make based on the name.

[Myriad Oblivion Arts] is a strange method, with varying opinions on its exact nature, but the common point in the various theories is that it is a method that relies on extremely pure sword energy to infiltrate and damage the soul. Its hallmark footwork technique — Shadowless Oblivion — is said to be a technique that can freeze the opponent in time, and allow the user to approach effectively undetected — though I have my doubts about the nature of “freezing time”.

With such interest in learning from Elder Qin, I find it quite suspicious that the Seventh Palace is also ranked last; according to the rumors, these two methods should capture the imagination of most cultivators. However, when I spy on some of the official records of this sixty-year cycle, it turns out that Elder Qin has not had a disciple in the last forty years.

What does extreme attainment in the sword mean? Apparently, all these geniuses don’t even have the qualifications to enter the Palace and try to learn from Elder Qin. They are turned away at the door.

When I remember the first meeting Wu Yulan and Lan Xiaohui had with the Elders of the sect, I suddenly find it quite strange that not only did they agree to allow my owner to join, but it was Elder Hao — not Elder Qin — who decided that they would be disciples of this Palace — as if it was arranged beforehand, with Elder Qin’s consent. How else could two unknowns enter a Palace that has had a history of turning away unworthy disciples for the last forty years — and possibly longer?

The only variable that comes to mind is that Lady Yue had something to do with it — she did promise, after all, that she would make sure that Lan Xiaohui gets an opportunity.

When Elder Qin sees her two new disciples, there is a brief moment of surprise on her features. It is so short that I doubt even Wu Yulan or Lan Xiaohui can notice it. Though I cannot sense Elder Qin’s spiritual senses, I am certain that in that moment she scanned the two and realized that they had broken through to the Core Formation realm, and perhaps even detected the abnormalities of their cores.

Detecting someone’s cultivation level is one thing, but gaining precise insight into their core has several requirements which mostly boil down to either having monstrous soul perception or that the person is willing or unable to resist.

For me, sensing Lan Xiaohui’s internal state, and seeing her core, is as easy as simply looking at her — because we share such a connection — but the same is true for Wu Yulan. In fact, Wu Yulan yields to my perception the moment she senses my soul force, which she was unable to do before, and this trait that she has developed is, for the most part, the result of our cultivation together, but began as far back as the first time I used [Telepathy] on her.

Even though I am still unclear if others can detect it, it seems as though my concern with using [Telepathy] in the presence of others was a prudent decision.

To me, Elder Qin seems like an unfathomable existence. It is difficult to measure the cultivation of someone who vastly exceeds my cultivation depth, but I can still make some observations based on the pressure from their aura. Although this pressure is not exactly a force, rather it is more like an impression. And the impression I have of Elder Qin is that she is at the very least at the very pinnacle of Nascent Soul Ascension — if not beyond.

Despite her youthful looks, she has lived for at least 40 years, according to the records, and that is assuming that she was born with a sword in hand and perfect mastery of her two most famous methods.

“I heard that you got into more trouble since the last time I saw you,” Elder Qin says, her icy blue eyes not even once grazing the two girls after that first look she gives them.

“It was Yu Shun’s doing,” Lan Xiaohui says.

“Oh?” Elder Qin asks, her eyebrows rising. “Do you have evidence?”

“No.” This time Lan Xiaohui’s volume is lower, and her tone is more uncertain.

“Then how do you know he did it?” Elder Qin coldly asks.

“I was there!” Lan Xiaohui says. “Sister Yulan also!”

“Then you saw him kill half a dozen disciples, from his own former sect who he is the heir of, and then you saw him attack Yun Fei?” Elder Qin asks.

“No, but—“

“Enough!” Elder Qin suddenly shouts.

Lan Xiaohui’s eyes open wide, and her eyebrows knit together.

“Disciple Zhu Xuelian,” Elder Qin begins, her tone cold. “You have already dragged our sect’s reputation through the mud and even forced me to acknowledge your discipleship and entrance into the sect, despite your result, even before the main event was complete. Now you also want to drag the Galaxy Sword sect into an all-out war? Based on what? Your word?”

This time, Lan Xiaohui’s eyes narrow to thin slits, while Wu Yulan’s expression reflects her growing concern for my owner’s actions in the immediate future.

“My discipleship?” Lan Xiaohui asks, tone suddenly chilly. “Elder Qin, if what you have to teach me is how to swallow my grievances and choke on them, I don’t think I will need your instructions.”

“Sister Xuelian,” Wu Yulan whispers, eyes wide now.

“That is exactly what you have to learn right now,” Elder Qin says, slowly turning toward Lan Xiaohui, and looking at her. “I know that your words are true, but with no evidence, and with no witness, they are meaningless words. Yu Shun is an animal that deserves to die, but you are forgetting one thing, Zhu Xuelian: Yun Fei is still alive and you have two years to sharpen your sword.”

Lan Xiaohui’s brows furrow together as Elder Qin slowly approaches. Casually, Elder Qin extends her pale hand and coils her fingers around Lan Xiaohui’s throat.

My owner’s reaction is rather strange. It is as if she doesn’t notice Elder Qin approach, and finds it quite surprising that her airways are suddenly being constricted.

“So swallow your grievances. Choke on them until even your guts turn blue,” Elder Qin enunciates each word as she puts more and more pressure on my owner’s delicate neck. “I know you have a death wish, but no disciple of mine is so stupid and foolish to die without even putting a scratch on their opponent.”

Elder Qin releases my owner — throws her to the ground to be precise — and prompts the fallen Lan Xiaohui to reach for her throat with her hands and cough violently.

Wu Yulan trembles with barely subdued anger.

Elder Qin turns away from Lan Xiaohui as she throws two things before her. One is a blue jade tablet — likely something that contains information — and the other is a blue jade ring.

“The tablet has information on where Yu Shun is right now, and the ring marks your status as a disciple of the Seventh Palace,” Elder Qin says. “Now choose: Do you want to run off and die for nothing, or do you want to learn how to kill a man?”

Lan Xiaohui’s eyes become misty, and I am not certain if it’s because of the asphyxiation or the anger, but she, surprisingly, reaches for the ring with her trembling fingers.

“Good decision,” Elder Qin says. “I was hoping you were not a fool and you did not disappoint me.”