It was 6 AM, and the sun had just peeked over the horizon.
For the great cause of mastering the Crossing River Formation, Xu Xing was certainly full of motivation.
He stood in his backyard, his body completely drenched in sweat, his chest heaving heavily.
Beside him, an elegant white sword box floated quietly in the air.
"Let's try again!" Xu Xing shouted to the empty yard. "Open!"
With his command, seven swords shot out of the box, soaring straight into the morning sky.
As the swords reached their peak in the clouds, they suddenly stopped, rotating downwards to aim straight at the earth.
Xu Xing snapped his eyes open and yelled, "Now!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
One by one, the swords started falling at a terrifying speed. Sharp sonic booms rang out through the yard.
It looked exactly like a shower of meteors.
Xu Xing's temples throbbed, covered in sweat, as he pushed his mental focus to the absolute limit to control the flying blades.
Boom!
The first sword thrust itself violently into the ground, forming a small crater.
Then the second sword fell.
"Third sword, fourth sword, strike!"
The rest of the swords slammed into the dirt at distances from each other, connecting via spiritual qi to form a pattern that resembled a rushing, flowing river.
But just as the seventh sword plummeted—
"Ugh!"
Sudden pain spiked through Xu Xing's skull. He couldn't help but let out a painful groan. His spiritual sense reached its breaking point, and his concentration completely shattered.
The seventh sword struck a random stone.
"Damn it, this sword formation really is too hard! Six swords seem to be my absolute limit."
Xu Xing wiped the sweat from his face, panting.
He wasn't wrong to think it was hard. The truth was, the River Crossing Formation wasn't even meant for Golden Core practitioners!
It was already unbelievably impressive that Xu Xing could stabilize the formation with six swords. Even ordinary Nascent Soul stage cultivators would sweat bullets trying to control seven.
But Xu Xing didn't care about that. He just wanted to get stronger.
In this brutal cultivation world, only strength guarantees safety. Raising his strength was his only way to save his own skin, especially with the system having his back.
The sound of footsteps reached Xu Xing's ears.
He perked up and looked toward the courtyard entrance.
Meng Yao was walking toward him, her bright eyes examining his flushed, sweaty face.
"Junior Brother, you really do work hard, and you're quite handsome! If you were just a bit more humble, every girl in the sect would be falling for you!"
Beside Meng Yao was another girl.
She wore a luxurious silk dress and an elegant jade hairpin. Her face was absolutely stunning—the kind of beauty that could mesmerize anyone with a single glance.
With golden hair and piercing golden eyes, she gave off an incredibly calm, mature feeling. A complete contrast to Meng Yao's mischievous and energetic vibe.
Who else could it be but Yu Yan, the current Saintess of the Xuantian Sect and Meng Yao's good friend?
Xu Xing looked at the girl beside Meng Yao with genuine surprise.
Even if he wasn't the most informed guy in the sect, he at least knew who the Saintess was and what she looked like. Even he couldn't help but admit that in terms of sheer beauty, she was a full step above Meng Yao.
He quickly put his hands together in greeting.
"Good morning, Senior Sister, Saintness."
Meng Yao looked around curiously, sensing the aura coming out of the swords...
Her eyes went wide.
"Junior Brother... are you practicing the Crossing River Formation? You actually learned it?!"
Meng Yao instantly recognized the aura. She was deeply shocked that Xu Xing could actually execute it. One had to know, this was a notoriously difficult technique that even she had struggled to grasp back in the day!
Even Yu Yan, who always maintained a calm facade, couldn't completely hide the flash of surprise in her golden eyes.
"I still haven't learned it completely, actually. Let's go inside," Xu Xing replied modestly, not wanting to show off.
Meng Yao nodded, still a bit dazed, and followed Xu Xing's lead. Her impression of Xu Xing had increased by a full step!
As they walked, Yu Yan quietly observed Xu Xing's expression and reactions. Even when Meng Yao praised him directly, his attitude remained perfectly polite and grounded.
She just couldn't connect this handsome, humble face with the arrogant, delusional jerk Meng Yao had complained about yesterday.
After they sat down inside, Meng Yao immediately noticed there was a brand new door fitted into the frame.
She suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment. She was the reason his door had smashed to splinters yesterday.
"Forget it, I'll definitely make it up to him later," Meng Yao thought to herself.
Meanwhile, Xu Xing took the initiative to speak. After all the mess he caused yesterday, he had to fix it if he wanted a peaceful life.
He looked at Meng Yao seriously and said with a very sincere tone.
"Senior Sister, I am truly sorry for what I said yesterday. After you left, I reflected a lot on your words."
"I was indeed far too arrogant before. I finally realized the true greatness of figures like Saint Chendao, and I respect them immensely now! I hope you can forgive my ignorance."
Hearing this, Meng Yao was initially surprised but then looked at him with an incredibly satisfied expression!
It seemed her scolding had single-handedly brought her Junior Brother back to the right path. As expected of her! She no longer needed Yu Yan's help.
"It's alright, Junior Brother. As long as you realize your mistake."
She waved her hand magnanimously, then pointed at the golden-haired girl next to her. "This is Yu Yan, the current Saintess of our sect and my good friend!"
Xu Xing politely looked at her and nodded. "I have heard a lot about the Saintess."
Yu Yan smiled gently and gave a small nod in return, remaining completely silent.
Meng Yao quickly noticed a problem. These two were basically blocks of wood! Neither of them talked much, unlike her. One preferred to stay silent, and the other only used to talk when he was being an arrogant brat.
"Why don't we visit the Sect's Market? You've never been there, right, Junior Brother?"
Xu Xing internally sighed. He was super reluctant and just wanted to reject the idea.
But watching both the Saintess and Meng Yao staring at him expectantly, what could he really do?
He could only nod his head in defeat After all hadn't the system activated only recently, it shouldn't cause trouble for a while.
...
A short while later, they arrived at the Sect's Market.
The place was packed. Various disciples had set up stalls along the wide stone paths. The sect deliberately allowed disciples to run their own stalls and sell goods, even though half the stuff was fake or heavily exaggerated.
They allowed it specifically to train the disciples' eyes. If you got scammed, it was your own fault for lacking vision!
Xu Xing, who hadn't taken a single step out of his courtyard since joining the sect, was actually quite curious. He looked left and right.
There were many disciples selling various stuff.
"Buy my talisman and save your skin! Buy 10 and I will throw in an extra!"
"Rare spiritual metals found here! It will soon attain awareness! Purchase it quickly before my conscience awakens!!"
Xu Xing could clearly tell most of these items were either fake or broken, and many of those making claims about the quality were outright lying.
A skinny stall owner looked at Xu Xing and yelled,
"Junior Brother, come buy this pill! It was created from a phoenix's blood! I barely managed to find it with great difficulty. I will even give you a discount!"
Xu Xing gave back a dark look. Phoenix blood? Then why don't you eat it yourself! He ignored him and continued walking.
Meng Yao watched him looking around and nodded with satisfaction, thinking her shut-in Junior Brother was finally broadening his horizons.
As for Yu Yan, she had draped a light gauze veil over her face to avoid causing a riot, quietly following right behind them.
Suddenly, Meng Yao spotted a wooden stall selling candied haws.
Even though high-level cultivators didn't need mortal food to survive, many still ate just to satisfy their old cravings.
"Let's go eat! Those look so tasty!"
She grabbed Xu Xing's sleeve and dragged him and Yu Yan straight to the shop.
The Saintess politely shook her head and didn't take one, so only Xu Xing and Meng Yao bought sticks of the sugar-coated fruit.
Meng Yao didn't care about her image at all, devouring the candy greedily, while Xu Xing ate slowly, crunching on the hard sugar.
"So tasty!" Meng Yao mumbled, her cheeks completely stuffed.
Passing male disciples couldn't help but stare at the beautiful but messy girl, only to immediately get smacked on the back of the head by their female partners.
But right at that moment—
A glowing jade stone suddenly popped out of Meng Yao's spatial ring, floating right in front of her face.
She casually glanced at the message glowing on the stone, and in an instant, her face turned completely dark.
Seeing this—
Xu Xing easily recognized the stone was a high-grade communication tool. Judging by that ugly expression on her face, someone she absolutely detested had just contacted her.
"Senior Sister, is something wrong?" Xu Xing asked.
Meng Yao quickly shoved the stone back into her ring and waved her hand forcefully. "Nothing, nothing at all! Let's continue."
They soon reached a massive, luxurious building with multiple floors. It was the official Treasure pavilion run by the sect itself.
As long as a disciple had enough sect contribution points, they could buy absolutely anything here.
Stepping inside, Xu Xing was secretly in awe. The place was incredibly lavishly decorated and looked extremely beautiful.
A servant in neat robes immediately walked up to them, bowing.
"What do the esteemed guests wish to buy today? I will get everything ready immediately."
Meng Yao turned her head to Xu Xing. "Junior Brother, aren't you studying the Crossing River Formation right now? Why don't you buy high-quality swords?"
She had a point.
The Crossing River Formation required an incredibly strong sword just to handle the abundant spiritual energy and sheer physical pressure. If you used a trash-tier sword, it would literally shatter into dust the moment you activated the formation.
Xu Xing had the exact same thought earlier, but there was one massive problem.
He had exactly zero contribution points.
He stood there, a little embarrassed, not saying a word.
Meng Yao caught his awkward expression and instantly remembered the door incident from the morning.
"Junior Brother, I broke your door yesterday, so it's only natural for me to compensate you properly! Don't overthink it. It's my treat."
Xu Xing genuinely wanted to reject her. After all, it was just an ordinary wooden door! It wasn't worth a spirit weapon.
But under Meng Yao's relentless persuasion, he had no choice but to agree.
They followed the servant straight up to the third floor, the dedicated weapons market.
Countless swords ranging from lower-grade to peak-grade were showcased behind crystal displays. Just one look told you every single sword here was a master smith's pride.
"Can the guests tell me which rank of sword you desire?" the servant asked respectfully.
Xu Xing didn't want to burn through Meng Yao's wealth, so he kept it modest. "Profound grade is fine. Just give me a sharp and strong sword that absolutely won't break easily."
Before the servant could nod, Meng Yao interrupted loudly.
"Don't listen to him! Bring out the best Profound grade swords you have in stock!"
The servant nodded vigorously, his eyes gleaming brightly. He knew he was going to get a massive commission today, while Xu Xing thought his Senior Sister was too rich!
A few minutes later, he brought out five distinct broadswords, placing them carefully on a velvet table.
Each one looked extremely beautiful and emitted a sharp, chilling aura. They all had different runic patterns carved into their handles, indicating the specific grandmaster who forged them.
The servant enthusiastically introduced the properties of the first four swords, but Xu Xing wasn't moved.
It wasn't until the final sword that Xu Xing's eyes locked on.
"This is the absolute latest and best sword on the entire market right now," the servant said proudly, pointing to an icy blue broadsword.
"This one is called the Skyfall Azure Sword. It is forged entirely from rare Skyfall Steel Essence. The sword's speed and weight completely double when it's falling from a height!"
Hearing this—
Xu Xing's heart skipped a beat.
He really liked this sword! It was basically perfectly matched for the River Crossing Formation's downward plunging style! With this, his attack power would multiply instantly.
"Alright, I will take this one," Xu Xing said decisively.
The shopkeeper was thrilled to have sold such an expensive, top-tier item so easily. He naturally calculated his fat commission in his head while wrapping it up.
Meng Yao crossed her arms, clearly pleased. "Good eye, Junior Brother."
But just as Xu Xing took the wrapped sword and they turned to leave—
A loud, arrogant voice boomed from the staircase right behind them.
"Meng Yao, did you not see my message?!"