Chapter 83

Regarding the ranking tournament of the top hundred, at first, Xiuying thought it was superfluous. They were already ordinary disciples, so why have a ranking tournament? Now she understood that the ranking tournament determined the future destinations of these disciples. During the tournament, the peak masters would come to evaluate and take in talented disciples under their own tutelage.

Generally speaking, the ranking itself wasn't very important; what mattered was the talent displayed. Various talents would attract various masters. Even if one's ranking was low, or even if one lost, they could still be discovered.

Of course, those at the top would naturally be fought over, which was a matter of face.

Xiuying's ranking was neither high nor low, and she was taken in by a peak with balanced strength. This peak was called the Green Spirit Peak, and it had a very special characteristic: all the people on the Green Spirit Peak were women.

After a few busy days of entry procedures, she went to the Alchemy Peak to see if Buzheng had returned and to practice there.

She had tried the ordinary disciples' practice area on the Green Spirit Peak, which seemed to be slightly inferior to Buzheng's Spirit Gathering Array. The techniques were also mainly focused on practicing the Green Cloud Sword Technique, so there was no need for her to learn them again. She only needed to attend the peak master's teaching sessions once a month.

Teaching was a method of imparting martial arts knowledge. The master would explain martial arts verbally while emitting the corresponding realm of power, which was the mental realm. How much one could understand depended on their own comprehension. Generally, the more one could understand, the more energy it would consume. Therefore, being able to understand was a standard, and how long one could persist was also a standard, both of which were better the more one had.

Because of this, it wasn't necessarily true that the more powerful the martial arts master, the better the teaching. If they were too strong, one might not be able to understand or withstand that mental power.

Moreover, those who taught didn't just teach. The mental energy consumed in a single teaching session was very large, and it took a long time to recover. The more powerful the teaching, the longer the preparation time required, and the longer the intervals between sessions.

Therefore, teaching was also a condition for the speed of martial arts development. A good teaching master could bring about excellent growth!

Returning to Xiuying, when she entered the Alchemy Peak, she noticed that there was no smoke from the alchemy furnaces, and the dining area seemed quiet. She didn't know if Buzheng had returned.

"Bu Zheng, Bu Zheng..."

Xiuying, with a tentative mindset, called out Buzheng's name as she walked toward the central open area.

"Girl, are you looking for Ah Fu?"

Just as Xiuying was calling out, she suddenly heard a voice. Then a figure flashed and appeared in front of her.

Li Laifu? No!

Xiuying's first reaction was whether the person was the legendary Li Laifu that Buzheng often mentioned, but she quickly dismissed this. If the person were Li Laifu, Buzheng would call him "Grandpa Laifu" instead of "Brother Laifu."

The person had white hair and a youthful face, looking about seventy or eighty years old. How could Buzheng call him "Brother"?

Right, it must be him. There were only three people here, and the only one who fit this description was the peak master, Xu Fu.

"Are you Senior Xu Fu?" Xiuying asked.

"Oh, you know my name. I didn't expect I still have some fame." Xu Fu stroked his beard, smiling and proud. Clearly, he had misunderstood. Xiuying knew who he was not because of his fame but because Buzheng had told her.

"Um..." Xiuying didn't say anything.

"You're looking for Ah Fu, right? He's not here. He must have gone out to gather herbs." Xu Fu said.

"I know. I just came to see if he had returned." Xiuying replied, not noticing Xu Fu's way of addressing Buzheng.

"Oh, so you two are quite close?" Xu Fu looked at Xiuying with a different meaning.

Xiuying didn't care how Xu Fu looked at her, nodding and replying, "We are quite close. We're from the same village and have known each other since childhood."

"Ah, so you're childhood sweethearts, innocent and pure." Xu Fu nodded, as if he understood.

"We're not like that. We're just good friends, more like brothers." Xiuying said, without any hesitation, because it was a fact. Neither of them had ever had romantic feelings for each other.

Xu Fu looked at Xiuying, trying to see through her, but he was disappointed. Because of this, he believed Xiuying. There was nothing between Xiuying and Buzheng, at least not on Xiuying's side.

"I see. Are you also a disciple of our Green Cloud Sword Sect?" Xu Fu changed the topic.

"Yes, disciple Li Xiuying, I just entered the Green Spirit Peak." Xiuying replied respectfully.

"Green Spirit Peak? So you're already an ordinary disciple. I didn't realize that. Not bad." Xu Fu was a bit surprised. Xiuying didn't look very old, and he didn't expect her to already be an ordinary disciple. But it was only a bit of surprise, as there were many people like her.

"Just lucky, that's all." Xiuying smiled and replied.

"Humble child. By the way, where's that boy Ah Fu?" Xu Fu praised Xiuying and then asked.

"Haven't seen him. I've been here for a few months and haven't seen anyone else..." Xiuying shook her head and replied casually.

"You've been here for a few months?" Xu Fu realized that the girl in front of him wasn't a new guest but a regular resident.

"Hehe, it's very quiet here, with no one else. It's good for cultivation." Xiuying said a bit embarrassedly, "I came without your permission, which was impolite."

"It's fine, it's fine. There's no one here anyway, and you're Ah Fu's friend. As long as Ah Fu agrees, it's fine." Xu Fu waved his hand and smiled.

"Ah Fu? Why do you call Buzheng 'Ah Fu'?" Xiuying was very confused about where this nickname came from.

"Do you not know our names?" Xu Fu asked with a smile.

"I know. Buzheng said you are named Xu Fu, and Brother Laifu is surnamed Li... So, is it because your names all have 'Fu' in them?" Xiuying realized the issue.

"Exactly, exactly. So Buzheng is called 'Ah Fu,' and it's perfect. Isn't that a great idea, little girl?" Xu Fu said proudly.

"..."

Xiuying was speechless. From this, it seemed that 'Ah Fu' was a name he had given, not from Brother Laifu. He was just an old rascal!

Buzheng said he hadn't appeared for a long time. Could it be that he came to see because it had been so long?