13. The Impostor Sword Cultivator

A look of realization appeared in Xiao Qingpei’s eyes. After a few more questions, he was certain that he had been ostracized by the cultivators of Cloudsky Palace.

Though he couldn’t quite figure out the reason. After all, he had been sent here by an old Nascent Soul eccentric as a favor—hardly an ordinary background.

“Uncle-Master, has no one taken you in either?” At this moment, perhaps emboldened by their growing familiarity and seeing Xiao Qingpei’s approachable manner, the young girl began to show her true personality.

“So, you’re in the same situation?” Xiao Qingpei narrowed his eyes, neither confirming nor denying.

“That’s right!”

To his surprise, the girl admitted it without hesitation.

Xiao Qingpei couldn’t help but feel intrigued and decided to ask more.

“Uncle-Master, you might not know this, but after joining Cloudsky Palace, no matter what you study, you have to pay an extra fee in Supreme Jade Hooks. If you can’t pay, the teaching uncles naturally won’t like you. Usually, you can only stand outside the door to listen to lectures, so you never truly become their disciple or gain their protection,” the girl explained earnestly.

“So you’ve been wandering around here, hoping to make a good impression on a newly arrived teaching uncle?” Xiao Qingpei now understood why the girl had asked him those questions earlier.

“Heh heh.”

The girl grinned sheepishly, for that had indeed been her plan—she had no money, after all.

“Well, since neither of us are wanted, if you need anything in the future, come find me. I can’t help with big matters, but for the little things…” Xiao Qingpei paused mid-sentence.

“You’ll help with the little things if you can?” the girl asked hopefully.

“I can cheer you on!” Xiao Qingpei declared with utmost seriousness and sincerity.

The girl was speechless.

“Go for it!” Xiao Qingpei added nonchalantly, then turned and left.

From this conversation, he now knew he needed to head outside the county town, and saw no reason to linger any longer.

A mass of dusky clouds coalesced beneath his feet, lifting him into the sky.

After leaving the bustling yet sparsely populated county town, he followed a clean, wide road and soon beheld a sprawling complex of palaces.

Perched atop a lofty mountain, shrouded by swirling clouds and mist, the name Cloudsky Palace was more than apt.

Before he could approach, he was stopped at the foot of the mountain.

The man barring his way was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, well-mannered and handsome. He smiled politely before speaking. “You seem unfamiliar, friend, but since you’ve come from Yunmud City, I suppose you must be a newly initiated disciple. May I ask your name, fellow brother?”

Xiao Qingpei was not one to seek trouble for no reason, but this time, his tone was noticeably cold. “Must I draw my sword orb before you’ll speak honestly?”

The moment this Foundation cultivator appeared, Xiao Qingpei’s sword orb had given him an immediate sense of warning.

Despite the man’s smiling face, his intentions were anything but benign.

“Why are you so guarded, junior brother? I’ve done nothing to wrong you,” the Foundation cultivator protested, maintaining his gentle demeanor, even a hint of wounded innocence in his voice.

Xiao Qingpei said nothing—he simply wasn’t capable of such pretense.

He reached behind him and grasped his sword orb, which trembled in his palm, emitting a low hum.

“Well, so you really have attained sword-heart clarity!” The cultivator’s smile vanished in an instant, replaced by a sneer as he regarded Xiao Qingpei with a trace of disdain.

He promptly adopted a condescending stance, his tone arrogant: “So be it—since you can sense it, I won’t bother with pretenses. Though you joined Cloudsky Palace as a sword cultivator, you must never claim that title, not to outsiders, nor to your fellow disciples. As long as you obey, we’ll leave you be. Otherwise, you’ll learn what it means to offend the wrong people.”

“My earlier inexplicable treatment—was that your doing?” Xiao Qingpei asked calmly, his expression unchanged, betraying no anger or emotion.

“You think you’re worth my personal attention?” The Foundation cultivator scoffed as if he’d heard a joke.

Then he was struck by a gourd.

With a thud, as the Foundation cultivator tumbled from the clouds, eyes spinning, Xiao simply fled on his cloud without a word.

A trail of dusky clouds sped away—Xiao Qingpei was employing the Overcast Cloud Escape Technique. Though he lacked the celestial phenomena for a speed boost, it was still a true escape art, fast as lightning.

In the time it took to brew a cup of tea, Xiao Qingpei had arrived before the cloud-wreathed palace complex.

Two cultivators emerged to greet him.

Compared to those in the county town, these two were much warmer in their reception.

“You must be the new junior brother Xiao?”

“I am indeed Xiao. Greetings, senior brothers!” Xiao Qingpei was far more polite now, as his sword orb sensed no hostility.

Of course, there wasn’t much goodwill either.

For all their radiant smiles, both men were clearly feigning warmth.

“Junior brother Xiao, you arrived quickly! Come, this way please.”

Though their smiles were false, their efficiency was impressive. Immediately, they led Xiao Qingpei to choose his lodgings.

While Cloudsky Palace mostly consisted of grand palaces, not every building was the same. There were also bamboo cottages by the water, vine nests perched in the forests amidst birds and beasts—accommodations to suit every taste.

Since Xiao Qingpei harbored many secrets, he chose a dwelling in a remote corner.

It was perched on a small outcrop extending from the mountainside, with a cave residence built atop it. The approach was steep and, in places, so narrow it seemed one might step into thin air. Any mortal, however brave, would feel weak at the knees here.

But for Foundation Establishment cultivators, each had their own cloud.

Soaring through the air, they cared little for the treacherous paths.

No sooner had Xiao Qingpei entered his new abode than he overheard people nearby discussing him.

Perhaps due to his transmigration, his divine sense was far keener than others at his level.

Though not versed in spiritual sense techniques, he could easily eavesdrop on nearby conversations.

The ones speaking of Xiao Qingpei were the same two who had led him here and now departed.

“I thought junior brother Xiao would be stuck at the foot of the mountain! If that had happened, he’d have become a laughingstock of Cloudsky Palace—a Foundation Establishment cultivator lingering in Yunmud City with the Qi Refining disciples.”

“Indeed! But now that he’s made it up here, his sword-heart clarity must be genuine. Pity, though—if he hadn’t come from the loose cultivator ranks, and if he hadn’t chosen the path of the Lunar Yin, he might have had a shot at Nascent Soul. As it is, he may not even break through to the Golden Core stage.”

“The inferiority and short-sightedness of itinerant cultivators.”