The curtain was flung open by a snap of the fingers.

Xie Lian smiled. "It's a good day today."

Indeed, like he said, it was a good day. The trees and plants appeared exquisitely fresh while bathing in the rays of the sun. A thrifting smell of a sweet fragrance had coaxed many disciples into waking up from their sleep to the beautiful morning. It was a good day. It seemed perfect-

Hua Cheng frowned. He extended out a hand to touch the dark circles underneath Xie Lian's eyes. His slender and pale hand gently caressed his lover's smooth skin. "Did you sleep well?"

Xie Lian's small smile stiffened. He guiltily looked to the opposing wall. Beyond that wall was a room belonging to a pair of cultivating lovers (ahem; Lan Zhan, Wei Ying). Last night, they were tossing each other on the bed mercilessly. Xie Lian couldn't help but wish for a more insulated wall. Just thinking about it makes the white-clothed scrap picker red in the face.

Moving his finger over his lover's face, Hua Cheng's eyes were full of gentleness. He sighed, patting Xie Lian softly on his head. "I'll get you a better room for tonight, okay?"

Xie Lian nodded. He succumbed to his lover's caress.

His curtain of eyelashes fell over his golden eyes, faltering for a second. Then, they brightened. "Alright! San Lang," he softly brushed Hua Cheng's hand off his own head, holding them with care, "Let's get to the lesson with Peak Master Shen."

The first thing in the morning that caught Shen Qingqiu's eyes were the scrap picker and ghost king. They were running to Shen Qingqiu's side, waving good morning. Likewise, the Peak Master did the same.

"I'm glad that you've arrived early for this morning's lesson." Shen Qingqiu sat elegantly on chair while holding a cup of porcelain tea, sipping it to his own content. By his side was Luo Binghe, who was also prepared for the morning's lesson. As time passed by, more disciples had arrived to the patch of grass-less ground; surrounded by a forest of trees and bamboos.

The disciples were slightly confused to see more older cultivators than expected. Was today a special lesson? They had such a thought in their minds.

At the last second, Wei Ying and Lan Zhan had finally arrived.

Their robes of red and black, and white and blue had flown in the breeze senselessly. "Yo, Shen-xiong." Wei Ying waved to Shen Qingqiu, who frowned in response. "Wei Ying," he declared, "Please call me Peak Master Shen Qingqiu from now on."

Luo Binghe sneered, "Yeah. Listen to Shizun's words."

A glum expression plastered on Wei Ying face. Suddenly, a bright idea popped in his mind. His gloomy face was replaced by one of excitement. "Hey, if I'm learning underneath Shen Qingqiu, then does that mean I'm inclined to call him 'Shizun' too?"

"Hey!" Luo Binghe snapped. His face was dark and scary. "You're not his official disciple. You have no right to call him as your master."

Wei Ying smirked. "What? Are you jealous?"

Luo Binghe mumbled something unknown underneath his breath as he was tormented with irritation. Shen Qingqiu watched him pitifully and smacked him lightly on the head with his closed fan. "Enough enough. We'll begin this morning's lesson peacefully. Let's start with some meditation."

As he said that, the disciples began sitting on the paved ground, resting their hands on their laps.

Shen Qingqiu began monologue-ing. "Circulate your Qi from the tip of your head all the way to the soles of your feet. Make sure to breathe in from the bottom of your lungs... then breathe out through your mouth."

The cultivators did what they were told, circulating their spiritual energy in their body.

Wei Ying slowly opened one eye, peeking at Luo Binghe. The latter was focusing on his given task by his Shizun, with his red demonic mark on his forehead glowing brightly. Wei Ying lightly snickered. He poured some spiritual energy into a fluttering leaf, and it suddenly came to life! Or rather, the leaf was moving under Wei Wuxian's control!

He controlled the spiritual leaf, moving it to flutter by Luo Binghe's cheeks. It kept brushing past the latter's face, making continuous contacts.

A vein popped on Luo Binghe's forehead.

It didn't take long for him to get irritated. "Shizun!" He blurted, his eyes opening full of annoyance and misfortune. Frightened by his disciple's sudden outrage, Shen Qingqiu choked on the tea he was drinking. The mouthful of water in his mouth had been swallowed with unease.

He looked warily at Luo Binghe, "W-What is it, Binghe?"

"I am reporting Wei Wuxian! He is messing around and not taking this lesson seriously!" Luo Binghe seethed with venom coating his words.

Shen Qingqiu shot a questioning look at Wei Wuxian, who whistled without a trace of a guilty conscience. "Wei Wuxian, what do you have to say to that?"

Wei Wuxian shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Luo Binghe is accusing me without evidence."

Looking back at his disciple, Shen Qingqiu frowned with dismay. "Binghe, are you telling the truth?"

"Of course I am!" Luo Binghe snapped.

Looking back and forth at Wei Wuxian and his lover, Shen Qingqiu couldn't decide whose words were truth, whose were false. After all, there truly was no evidence. And Shen Qingqiu's system had long left him since the coming together of the three worlds.

"Um..." Shen Qingqiu began thinking. The best way to directly avoid a problem is to run away from it!

"Alright!" He clapped his hands together. "Let's stop meditating and begin sword training!"

Luo Binghe shot a pitiful look at his Shizun, unwilling to accept it. But against Shen Qingqiu's metaphorically cold and frosty eyes, he couldn't stand a chance. Slowly, Luo Binghe let go of his grudges and sighed. He bit his bottom lip, fearing of his Shizun hitting him again.

"Alright." Shen Qingqiu moved towards a stand, which contained many wooden swords. He took two, and handed it to his two disciples, Ming Fan and Ning Yingying.

"Disciples, why don't you demonstrate some moves?" He asked.

Ming Fan and Ning Yingying took upon their given wooden swords, and nodded appreciatively. Simultaneously, they held the handle in one hand and flicked the tip of the sword. After flicking it, they had pushed it downwards while lowering their back in a straight line. Their entire movements seemed as smooth as a tidal wave, and then they bowed to their junior brothers' applause.

"Do all of you see that?" Shen Qingqiu asked. He held his head high and proud, revealing his sharp chin and smooth clavicles.

Luo Binghe's eyes thinned greedily. "Oh yes... I do see..."

Wei Wuxian snorted. "Shizun! Luo Binghe is lusting over your body!"

Immediately, Shen Qingqiu's proud and high prowess face turned red. It was like he had been boiled in a volcano, with heat reddening the tip of his ears to the bottom of his neck. "B-Binghe..."

"Shizun!" Luo Binghe blurted. He shot a disapproving look to Wei Wuxian before returning back to convincing his Shizun. "Wei Wuxian is lying! I am not lusting for your body!"

Wei Wuxian wiggled his eyebrows. "Hmm? Are you saying that you don't like your Shizun's body?"

Panic enveloped Luo Binghe's senses. "No!" He blatantly spoke. "I always love my Shizun's body! His feminine but yet still masculine body is completely fit to my liking! During every other lesson, I would always take small peeks at Shizun's neck whenever he drinks tea! When he's not paying attention, I would fantasize about leaving red marks on his beautiful white neck..."

His words died down as his eyes widened. He finally realized that he exposed himself. And he also noticed the scary aura that engulfed Shen Qingqiu's entire body. It told everyone that he mustn't be reckoned with.

Luo Binghe gulped nervously.

Shen Qingqiu moved closer to him, tapping his closed fan against the palms of his own hand. "Luo Binghe, I never knew you held such disdainful thoughts towards me during every lesson."

Wei Wuxian's shoulders began trembling from laughter.

"Luo Binghe," Shen Qingqiu raised his fan. "My lessons are taught for improving your cultivation, not to fantasize about... lustful ideas." Then, he smacked his fan down on Luo Binghe's head. It left a irritable sting on the latter's senses.

"Shizun..." Luo Binghe whined. "I was wrong..."

If all came to worst, Luo Binghe would even hug his Shizun's thigh to gain his recognition!

Shen Qingqiu didn't pay him any attention. "Fifty laps around Qing Jing Peak."

Lan Zhan shook his head disappointedly. Wei Wuxian noticed his actions, and snickered. "Lan Zhan, are you feeling pitiful for him?"

Lan Zhan nodded. "Mn."

On a regular basis, Shen Qingqiu would've felt too pitiful to even punish his disciple. However, this time was an exception. Shen Qingqiu was frustrated and embarrassed to his core. "Luo Binghe, fifty laps. Now."

"Shizun... I was wrong!" Luo Binghe reached out to hug his Shizun's ankle, and cried.

Lan Zhan slapped a hand over his head.

Hua Cheng gently placed a hand over Xie Lian's eyes, covering his sight.

"Fine..." Shen Qingqiu reached out a hand to massage his temples. He had a headache just from thinking about how to deal with his shameless disciple. "I'll only forgive you if you manage to beat all the disciples in sword fighting."

Luo Binghe's eyes brightened. "That will be a piece of cake-"

"However." Shen Qingqiu began to shatter his dreams and hopes. "You must also fight against our newest disciples." He looked onwards to Wei Wuxian, Lan Zhan, Xie Lian, and Hua Cheng. "Don't worry. You won't get hurt badly. They'll only be using wooden swords, just like you."

Luo Binghe gulped nervously. Before him was all the disciples of Qing Jing Peak, and they all held a wooden sword in their hands. Rubbing against the hilt of the wooden sword, Luo Binghe tried to calm himself down. On the sidelines was Shen Qingqiu, who watched behind his fan.

They had decided to hold the fight in the middle of all the Peaks, just right beside the newly built rainbow bridge. Their large group of cultivators had attracted the disciples from all the other Peaks. More disciples inched and circled around the battlefield, all wanting to capture a good look.

On the sidelines, the Peak Master of An Ding Peak; Shang Qinghua had been examining the look of the battlefield. "This isn't much of a challenge for Luo Binghe. He had defeated Liu Qingge before in sword fighting. The Qing Jing disciples are all going to be defeated. What is Cucumber Bro thinking?"

By his side was the Sect Master of Cang Qiong Mountain; Yue Qingyuan. He laughed, "Take a closer look, Shang Qinghua. Look at those four people on the side."

As Shang Qinghua followed his pointed hand, he noticed that Yue Qingyuan meant the four new disciples! Those four new cultivators appeared older and much taller than the junior disciples. In fact, they appeared much more experienced as well!

Slowly, Shang Qinghua began to feel worry for Luo Binghe.

"Ahem," Shen Qingqiu coughed. "May the battle begin."

Luo Binghe thrusted his sword in front of him, saying, "Let's go. One at a time."

The junior disciples of Qing Jing Peak pushed out a wimpy little boy, and the first fight began. It didn't even take Luo Binghe five seconds for him to place the blade of his wooden sword against the boy's neck.

"One is down! Next!" A disciple hollered.

Little did he know, the other junior disciples came together to force him next onto the battlefield. That hollering disciple was defeated in an instant as well. More and more junior disciples stepped out onto the battlefield, as were defeated faster than they came.

"Is that all you've got!?" Luo Binghe provoked with an arrogant smile.

"Step aside! Step aside!" Ming Fan's loud voice blared in the battlefield. A path was made through, and low-hushed whispers wavered all throughout the stage. A beautiful female cultivator walked throughout the made path, with her blue-green robes brushing against her pale milky legs.

Ning Yingying held her wooden sword with grace and elegance, stepping forwards to Luo Binghe. Her face was stern and yet comforting.

"." She said.

阿

"I never knew you had hidden such a lustful side of yourself from me." Ning Yingying frowned. "And to even dirty Shizun's reputation... I'll use this fight to teach you a lesson!"

She bent her legs backwards, and held her sword in a stance. Alerted, Luo Binghe tightened his grip on his sword. Ning Yingying was his , and she'd learned more from Shen Qingqiu than him. Obviously, he would be more alerted of Ning Yingying.

師姐

Both their eyebrows furrowed in silence, then, they raced at each other. Their wooden swords clanked at one another, producing a wave of wind around their fight. Their hair flung around in the air, with their hair tie as the only thing to keep it under control.

Darting across the battlefield, Luo Binghe and Ning Yingying threw a few exchanges with their swords until Luo Binghe finally went serious. He inserted a bit more strength, which made Ning Yingying tumble onto the ground. She winced, but then, her eyes widened as she felt the cold touch of the wooden sword against her neck.

Gritting her teeth, Ning Yingying sighed. "I admit defeat."

"I'll beat you until you've realized your wrongs!" Another disciple ran up. Ming Fan was flexing his chubby cheeks and invisible muscles while mumbling vexing threats. "I'll show you what a real cultivator is-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence.

In a flash, Ming Fan was beaten to a pulp by Luo Binghe.

"Next." Luo Binghe sneered.

"Guess it's my turn." A cultivator in black and red robes stepped forwards. Wei Wuxian was subconsciously rubbing a finger against his wooden sword, trying to get a jest of the swordsmanship that he lost for so long. "It's been a long time since I've touched a sword- even a wooden one. Must've been at least thirteen years or such." Wei Wuxian smiled.

He swung the wooden sword against the air as an exercise, while stretching his arm.

Behind him, Lan Zhan patted him on a shoulder. "Don't force yourself if it's too hard."

"Hah!" Wei Wuxian laughed. "Can you believe it? Me losing to him? Never!"

Beside him while shrinking back, Xie Lian flashed him a small smile. "Good luck, Wei-xiong."

Then, Wei Wuxian had set off. His gaze met Luo Binghe's, and the two were caught in an unprecedented deadlock. Silence cooed in the crowd. Every disciple was eager to witness the fight of an unknown cultivator; Wei Wuxian, and an unbeatable champion; Luo Binghe.

"Do you think you can beat me?" Luo Binghe casually asked.

Wei Wuxian shrugged. "You've been battered by the junior disciple's strength. And just because I haven't touched a sword since over ten years doesn't mean I'll lose. In my youth, I've been known to have great swordsmanship skills. Not even my Senior Brother (he means Jiang Cheng) can beat me."

Luo Binghe's eyes flashed coolly.

The two black and red figures stared at each other. Then, they moved.

CoolCool-Aid: For some reason, the Wei Wuxian & Luo Binghe pair reminds me of the Wei Wuxian & Jiang Cheng pair. They're both destructive and unruly... rolls eyes at each other... just like sworn brothers!

Jiang Cheng: QAQ Can you shut up