Chapter 6: The standard of the strong？

The obsidian greatsword cleaved downward with the weight of a mountain!

Qi transformed into tangible blades of glacial wind, shearing the very air asunder with a sound like tearing silk!

Light flashed—brilliant, cold.

The remnant weapon in the fiend's hand shattered like rotten ice! The momentum of the blade-force, unimpeded, plowed mercilessly into the mangled torso!

​​*THUD-CHOP!​​*

The crippled butcher collapsed without even a final gasp of agony, hitting the earth like a sack of grain. Utterly still. Efficient. Mercilessly final.

A flicker of surprise stirred in Gu Qingxi's dark eyes.

Strong.

The essence in his sword-force was unnervingly pure, his spiritual power a deep, resonant wellspring. Utterly incomparable to the posturing "cultivators" from the Gu family etched in her memories—the entire Gu clan unleashed might not possess a tenth of the tangible power resonating from this single man.

"Miss Gu, your aid was most valiant!" The figure in azure and white slid the enormous sword back into the wide scabbard on his back, movements economical and sure. He stepped closer, clasped his fists in a gesture that was both respectful and radiating honest vigor. "This humble one is Lu Tianyu, disciple of the Purple Bamboo Peak under the Tian Qing Sect. May I inquire as to the name of my benefactor?"

"Gu Qingxi." She mimicked his gesture, clasping her own fists in return.

"Miss Gu, your intervention was pivotal!" Lu Tianyu's handsome face was etched with unfeigned sincerity. "I've hunted this serpent for moons! Today's success hinges on your masterful restraint. By the unwritten codes of the hunt, half the bounty is yours!"

He spoke as if stating an immutable natural law.

A faint smile touched Gu Qingxi's lips. She shook her head gently. "Disciple Lu speaks too generously. It was self-defense, nothing more. Hardly worthy of merit."

"No, no!" Lu Tianyu's voice held the firmness of granite. "Without your stunning intervention locking him down, that viper would surely have seized hostages! You prevented calamity! A great deed demands recognition! Please, accept this!" His hand moved towards the worn, dust-grey pouch at his waist. "I shall give you my half now from personal funds. Once I redeem his head for the full bounty, I shall bring you your rightful share!"

Then came the exquisite awkwardness.

Lu Tianyu's fingers dipped into the pouch… rummaged… probed… scrabbled along the stitching at the very bottom… His complexion, moments ago alight with earnest vigor, rapidly suffused with a brilliant flush of mortification that crept to the very tips of his ears. The pouch hung limp, looking decidedly… starved. Not the faintest glint of spirit stone emerged after protracted groping.

Gu Qingxi understood. Internally, she sighed: A sword cultivator, poor and proud.

"Disciple Lu, truly, there is no need…" she demurred again.

Thus was etched the first indelible impression of her future senior martial brother, Lu Tianyu: the imposing figure wielding a mountain of steel, juxtaposed with a pouch deflated by crushing poverty.

"Ai…" Wuling Laozu's voice oozed from the bracelet like ancient honey. "How many millennia must pass before sword cultivators cure their congenital 'spirit stone allergy'?! Still peddling heads for coppers like desperate mercenaries! Pitifully bitter! Girl, take this old ghost's counsel—steer clear of sword cultivators! One word: Poverty! Another: Stubborn!..."

Gu Qingxi mentally slammed the lid shut on the Laozu's tirade.

"Fret not, Miss Gu!" Lu Tianyu straightened, attempting to salvage dignity. "Once the bounty is redeemed, I shall deliver your share personally! Where might your esteemed family reside?"

"I have no family." Her answer was concise.

Lu Tianyu paused, a fleeting flicker of surprise crossing his clear eyes. Yet, he asked no probing questions, seamlessly shifting course. "Whither your path leads then, Miss Gu? I shall bring the bounty to you there."

"Tianshan Peak."

"Tianshan…?" Lu Tianyu's eyes suddenly blazed with comprehension. He clapped his hands together, delight radiating from him like sunlight. "Of course! Marvelous! Truly marvelous! Fate weaves its threads! It explains our fortuitous meeting!"

Gu Qingxi: "?" (She was going to loot an ancient cache; how had he deciphered that? And why was he delighted?)

"One family! Truly one family!" Lu Tianyu's smile broadened, warm and familiar. "I shall escort you! My path lies the same way!" (He declared it with impossible conviction.)

Gu Qingxi: "..." (This swordsman… had escalated them from 'fated meeting' to 'one family' in five sentences?)

"A Talisman Master?" Lu Tianyu continued, recalling the intricate glyphs she'd spun with admiration. "Your talismanic arts were breathtaking in their precision and might."

"I dabble," Gu Qingxi answered vaguely.

"I see…" Lu Tianyu's expression instantly shifted to one of profound sympathy and respect. "Indeed arduous." (In his mind, 'dabble' meant 'untutored genius, struggling alone against immense odds' — a tale of poignant perseverance.)

Gu Qingxi: "...?" (What precisely did he think he understood now? Was his imagination this… fertile?)

"But you are truly exceptional!" Lu Tianyu pressed on, his admiration genuine. "To wield such power from Qi Refining Layer One? Unprecedented!"

"You honor me," Gu Qingxi deflected, her tone even.

"Time waits for no one!" Lu Tianyu declared, businesslike. He unceremoniously stuffed the grisly remains into a coarse grey sack—not a spatial pouch, just a mundane bag of burlap! A snap of his fingers, and the hulking greatsword thrummed free of its scabbard, hovering obediently knee-high.

"Come!" He stepped onto the blade as casually as mounting a well-trained horse and gestured for her to join. His demeanor suggested a courtesy carriage ride.

Gu Qingxi stepped onto the broad metal surface, finding it steadier than expected. Prudence dictated she lightly grasp a fold of his azure outer robe at the waist.

"Guard your Qi when we ascend," Lu Tianyu cautioned, turning his head slightly, his expression solemn. "The void currents are… intense."

Gu Qingxi nodded.

The next moment, she grasped the full gravity of his warning.

Lu Tianyu confirmed her protective Qi was in place, grinned, and shouted, "Hold tight!"

The greatsword transformed into a crackling bolt of viridian lightning, tearing into the sky!

​​*WOOOOOSH—CRAAACCK!​​*

Violent turbulence slammed against her! Vision blurred. An immense, crushing pressure pinned her back!

Her stomach lurched violently into her throat.

Vertigo threatened to overwhelm her senses.

Is this… how all swordflight feels? she wondered dimly, heart pounding against her ribs, a tempestuous, chaotic plummet?

Later, she would learn the bitter, nauseating truth: ​Not! At! All!​​

Lu Tianyu's particular brand of sword mastery, which might charitably be termed ​**'jet-swooping'**, was a unique abomination in the Cultivation world! Others rode graceful shafts of light; Lu Tianyu weaponized his blade as a battering ram against the fabric of space! The difference? A leisurely horse-drawn cart versus a runaway meteor hell-bent on self-annihilation!

Gu Qingxi finally grasped the term ​Cultivation World's Velocity & Vertigo: Swooping Edition.

Her inaugural flight experience was thus irrevocably etched in disorienting discomfort.

Mercifully, only half an hour later.

The viridian thunderbolt plummeted like a stone beside the towering stone monument at the foot of the towering Tianshan Range.

Gu Qingxi stumbled off the metal anvil that served as Lu Tianyu's conveyance. Her steps were unsteady, her complexion slightly wan. She clutched her stomach. Once, she thought motion sickness was humanity's primary speed-related grievance. Today, she discovered the exquisite torture of ​**'Sword-lurch'**.

After several deep breaths to settle the roiling within, Gu Qingxi lifted her gaze.

Cloud-wreathed peaks soared above, hinting at the grandeur of soaring temple eaves.

Before them stood an immense stone stele, broader than an ox is long. Three mighty characters, carved deep with fierce momentum, proclaimed:

​TIAN QING SECT.​​

A serpentine line of hopeful youths and maidens wound its way from the stele back towards the town—faces tight with anxiety or shining with hope, some already etched with dejection.

"Here?" Gu Qingxi queried internally, a crease forming between her brows.

Within the bracelet, Wuling Laozu maintained a distinct, slightly guilty silence.

"Miss Gu! Our destination!" Lu Tianyu's voice brimmed with uncomplicated pride. "I told you fate guided us! See? I am a disciple of the Purple Bamboo Peak! And I knew it! You have come for our Sect's Grand Opening Trials, haven't you? With your talents and insight, you'll blaze through the challenges like a shooting star!"

Gu Qingxi: "..." (So that was the origin of his 'fated kinship'? He thought she was a prospective disciple coming for initiation trials?)

She turned her gaze towards the bustling throng, momentarily speechless.

She remained utterly unaware of the triumphant logic unspooling in Lu Tianyu's mind: Look at her! Mastered talismans alone, a diamond formed under pressure! And the most compelling evidence of her unparalleled foundation? She endured the Titan's Flight of Legendary Lu Tianyu without casting up her accounts! (He conveniently overlooked her disembarkation pallor). Such resilience and constitution? A paragon amongst nascent cultivators! Passing the Sect Trials? As inevitable as the tide!

Gu Qingxi was thankfully spared this internal monologue. Had she heard it, her incredulity would have resonated through the mountains:

Simply not vomiting equals a paragon of the Dao?! The standards for 'strength' in this Cultivation world… are utterly, nonsensically grand!