Chapter 17

As the first light of dawn illuminated the northern peaks, Amu stood atop Tongtian Peak, gazing at the majestic and picturesque mountain range stretching out before him. After practicing all night, Amu felt no fatigue; instead, he felt refreshed and invigorated. He stretched his limbs and used the mountain spring water prepared by Lishui to wash up.

Just as he finished washing, Amu saw the slender Lishui, carrying a bundle on his back and holding a basket, walking toward him from a distance. It seemed the weight was too much for Lishui, causing him to walk unsteadily, sometimes swaying.

As Lishui drew closer, he saw Amu and smiled, entering the courtyard. "Little Brother Amu, did you sleep well last night?"

"Um! Very well," Amu replied, then took the basket from Lishui's hand and opened it. Inside were four exquisite dishes, both meat and vegetables, beautifully colored and fragrant, along with two large bowls of white rice.

"Senior Brother Lishui, did you make these?" Amu was surprised.

Hearing Amu's question, Lishui felt a bit embarrassed. "Since I can't cultivate a spiritual root, I can only do some miscellaneous tasks. The dishes are passable!"

"Ha ha!" Amu laughed, not being formal, and placed the food on the stone table in the courtyard, inviting Lishui to eat.

Lishui seemed taken aback, not expecting Amu to invite him to eat together. "I... have already eaten. These are all for you!" Lishui stammered.

Amu could see that Lishui was uncomfortable. These exquisite dishes were likely specially arranged for him by the sect, and Lishui, who could not cultivate a spiritual root, probably never got to eat such food.

"Share the good fortune!" Amu smiled, then pulled Lishui to sit down and pushed a bowl of white rice toward him. To prevent Lishui from refusing, Amu also picked up a piece of beef and placed it in Lishui's bowl, smiling. "Senior Brother Lishui, we must share both good and bad times! We are brothers."

After saying this, Amu didn't say more, sat down, and started eating the beef, even giving Lishui a thumbs-up.

"Share the good fortune and the bad times! We are brothers." These words deeply touched Lishui, making his eyes well up with tears, and his hands holding the bowl trembled.

Having been in the Northern Cold Sect for ten years, Lishui had some friends when he first arrived, but as he couldn't cultivate a spiritual root, they gradually distanced themselves. In recent years, some of his peers had made progress in cultivation, while others had returned home. Lishui was left alone, doing miscellaneous tasks, and no one looked up to him, often bullying him for fun.

However, Lishui was timid and could endure, so he endured the bullying without complaint, maintaining a peaceful coexistence.

Although he had only known Amu for a day, Lishui felt that Amu was sincere. Despite being highly regarded by the sect, Amu was not arrogant and treated him as a fellow disciple.

"Eat!" Amu noticed that Lishui was still holding the bowl without eating, while he had already eaten half a bowl.

"Um!" Lishui composed himself, nodded, and started eating.

Lishui's cooking was indeed excellent, and both of them were in high spirits. They quickly finished the meal, enjoying it thoroughly.

After cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks, Lishui opened the bundle he had brought and took out a white robe, the uniform of the Northern Cold Sect's disciples.

Since Amu had become a disciple of the Northern Cold Sect, he naturally had to wear a white robe. The white robe fit him well, and with his handsome face, he looked even more graceful.

After a night of cultivation, Amu looked radiant, truly embodying the demeanor of a disciple from a prestigious cultivation sect. In contrast, Lishui, though also wearing a white robe, looked much weaker, like a scholar.

"Amu, you have a touch of immortality even on your first day in the Northern Cold Sect! You will surely achieve great success in cultivation," Lishui smiled.

Amu smiled, knowing that if anyone else said this, it would be flattery, but from Lishui, it was genuine.

Just as Amu was about to joke with Lishui, he noticed a bloodstain on Lishui's knee.

"Hmm? Senior Brother Lishui, what happened to your leg?" Amu frowned.

"Uh?" Lishui had been trying to hide it, but with his guard down, Amu noticed the bloodstain.

"I... accidentally fell this morning, but it's nothing serious!" Lishui's face turned slightly red, and he looked very uncomfortable.

Such a poor lie was easily seen through by Amu, who noticed Lishui's awkward gait earlier.

Considering Lishui's cultivation, even though he couldn't grow a spiritual root, he should have some basic cultivation techniques, making his body not so fragile. After walking the mountain paths for over ten years, how could he accidentally fall?

"Senior Brother Lishui, did someone bully you?" Amu immediately guessed the reason.

"No, no..." Lishui, being honest, couldn't lie and avoided looking at Amu.

But feeling Amu's gaze, Lishui fell silent after a few gestures.

"They were just joking with me... sparring, and I got thrown... a few times. It happens often, oh, no... it doesn't..." After a while, Lishui stammered.

Seeing Amu's expression change, Lishui wanted to retract his words.

Amu's face tightened. He saw that Lishui's white robe was torn, and when he lifted it, he found that both of Lishui's legs were injured, though only superficially, they were bleeding. The bandages were already soaked through.

"Who did this?" Amu asked, his face darkening. He couldn't stand seeing the strong bully the weak.

"A few senior brothers!" Lishui smiled bitterly. "Amu, I'm used to it! Who can blame me for not being able to cultivate a spiritual root?"

But after saying this, Lishui's eyes welled up with tears. Only he knew how much he had suffered and been bullied over the past ten years.

"Is it right to bully someone just because they can't cultivate a spiritual root?" Amu clenched his fists. Although they had only known each other for a day, Amu truly considered Lishui a friend and a brother.

"Without a spiritual root, one is useless! It's only natural," Lishui said dejectedly.

"Senior Brother Lishui!" Amu was surprised that even Lishui thought this way.

"Heh heh! That's right! Without a spiritual root, you're just a waste in the Northern Cold Sect!" A sharp, harsh voice came from behind.

Amu turned around sharply. Three blue-robed youths stood outside the courtyard.

Wearing blue robes meant they were initial cultivators, true cultivators.

The leader of the three was not yet twenty, with a sharp face and thin lips, clearly a cold and unfeeling person. The other two were also young but looked arrogant and disdainful, clearly not good people. One of them, with a sharp face, seemed particularly smug, likely the one who had spoken.

Amu glanced at them and focused on the leader, who looked at Amu with a cold smile.

"Senior Brother Deng!" Lishui hurriedly greeted the leader.

"Senior Brother Deng? Lishui, didn't you see me and Junior Brother Li?" The sharp-faced youth said.

"Ah! Senior Brother Zhao, Lishui has been in the Northern Cold Sect for over ten years, while we've only been here for three. Although we are at the first stage of initial cultivation, we can't compare to Lishui! Shouldn't we call him senior brother?" Another youth said sarcastically.

Lishui's face turned pale, but he bowed and said, "Senior Brother Li, you're joking! ... Lishui greets the two senior brothers!"

"Ha ha ha!"

The three laughed wildly at Lishui's embarrassment. They often bullied Lishui for fun.

"Senior Brother Lishui, were they the ones who hit you?" Amu asked coldly.

"No... not hit, just sparring..." Lishui said softly. The Northern Cold Sect's rules prohibited private fights, but normal sparring was allowed, so they used this as a pretext to bully Lishui, who dared not speak up.

"Sparring?" Amu raised an eyebrow. Three initial cultivators sparring with a cultivator without a spiritual root?

"Senior Brother Lishui? Ha ha! So Lishui is a senior brother now, no wonder he ran so fast this morning! He must have taken a few more falls," the Zhao youth said.

Lishui's face turned red and white, but he didn't say a word.

"Enough!" Amu shouted, looking at the three youths.

"What? Lishui's junior brother, are you going to stand up for your senior brother?" The Zhao youth looked at Amu with disdain.

"A cultivator without a spiritual root, just wearing the Northern Cold Sect's white robe, must be overconfident!" The Deng youth, who had been silent, spoke.

These three youths were clearly used to bullying Lishui and didn't take Amu or Lishui seriously.

Amu coldly snorted and took a step forward but was held back by Lishui.

"Amu, Senior Brother Deng is at the third stage of initial cultivation, and the other two are at the first stage. No ordinary person can match them! Just endure it! We've only known each other for a day, don't make enemies with them because of me!" Lishui said anxiously.

Amu looked at Lishui and sighed. "Senior Brother Lishui, you've endured for so many years, and the bullies have only increased. We've known each other for a day, but I said we are brothers!"

Lishui was stunned, his eyes welling up with tears.

Amu smiled, stepped out of the courtyard, and stood in front of the three youths, unafraid. He then said coldly to the Deng youth, "I just put on the Northern Cold Sect's white robe, but if the Northern Cold Sect is full of scoundrels like you, I'd rather not wear it."

Everyone, including Lishui, was shocked. These words were almost disrespectful to the Northern Cold Sect. Amu was the only one who dared to say such things.

The Deng youth, named Deng Yan, sneered. To him, a third-stage initial cultivator, Amu was just an ordinary person.

Although he hadn't seen Amu before, from Amu's aura, he could tell that Amu had only practiced for one or two months, and had no sign of a spiritual root.

Moreover, he had never seen Amu, so he assumed Amu was a new cultivator who didn't know their strength.

Deng Yan had been on the mountain for only five years but was already at the third stage of initial cultivation, making him one of the best in the Northern Cold Sect.

He was ruthless, and no one at his level dared to provoke him. Those above him looked down on him, and his master was a fully accomplished cultivator, currently in seclusion, about to enter the Spirit Realm. No one wanted to offend a future Spirit Realm expert, so he had become arrogant.

If he knew that Amu had only practiced for one night and was a candidate for the sect leader's direct disciple, and what Amu had done in the Ancestor Hall, he would be shocked.

"Boy, you have a big mouth. Newcomers should respect their senior brothers!" Deng Yan signaled to the Zhao youth.

The Zhao youth, named Zhao Xian, was the most malicious. He had easily cultivated a spiritual root and usually hung out with Deng Yan and Li Tong. His master was a mid-stage accomplished cultivator who doted on him, so he rarely got into trouble, and no one paid much attention to him.

Seeing Deng Yan's signal, Zhao Xian, who enjoyed bullying the weak, walked toward Amu with a smug look.

Regardless of Zhao Xian's character, his cultivation was commendable. He had cultivated a spiritual root in two years, a fifth-grade spiritual root, and stabilized at the first stage of initial cultivation in one year, a remarkable speed.

A first-stage initial cultivator was not something an ordinary person could handle. Even a dozen elite soldiers from the Northern Kingdom would not be a match without special weapons like the Spirit-Breaking Bow.

Cultivators and ordinary people were worlds apart.

However, Zhao Xian's encounter with Amu today was destined to be tragic.