Xiang Yu sat comfortably in the makeshift dical hut that his martial aunt had constructed for him at the base of the mountain. Originally, he had planned to use this space to practice his dicine skills by treating the sect's disciples, but the ongoing battle had forced him to abandon that idea. Now that the fighting was over, he could finally return to his original plan. The good thing was that there were now hundreds of patients requiring his attention.
He moved carefully from one wounded cultivator to the next, checking injuries, applying healing salves, and dispensing recovery pills. Although he didn't like that there were so many injured people, his dicine exp sure wasn't complaining.
The battle had dragged on for much longer than expected and it was already lunchti. Xiang Yu had already instructed his junior sister to take so disciples and hunt for spirit beasts in the nearby forest. Tonight would be a victory feast to celebrate their triumph over the Wuming Cult, and he wanted to prepare sothing truly spectacular. This was also the perfect opportunity to showcase the Azure Cloud Sect's capabilities to their visiting allies, ensuring they wouldn't underestimate his sect in future dealings.
He had already made quite an impression by distributing fifth-grade healing pills to the Soul Formation masters. Their shocked expressions when they realized the quality of his pills had been deeply satisfying. They had also inquired about the soul shock talisman that Li Yao had used against the cult leader, but Xiang Yu had explained that it was a secret product of the Azure Cloud Sect. Although he said this, he'd also hinted at it being in the "open" market soon.
Internally, he couldn't help but chuckle at their grateful expressions. "Hmph, by the ti I trade with you, I'll already have fourth-grade versions," he thought smugly. While he genuinely wanted to maintain these alliances, he understood that today's friends could beco tomorrow's enemies. The cultivation world was filled with ambitious individuals pursuing their own agendas.
With this in mind, he had resolved to only sell resources that were one or two grades below his current capabilities. This strategy would leave both him and his sect a way out should relationships sour.
Honestly, he would have preferred not to expose his skills to this extent at all, but the sect needed growth, and growth required resources. The intelligence he'd gathered from the sect masters confird that Li Yao was now among the strongest cultivators in the entire eastern region. With such powerful backing, they could afford to reveal a fraction of their true capabilities.
Still, he wouldn't let his guard down.
He finished bandaging the current patient's arm and looked up. "Next," he called out simply.
The injured disciple bowed respectfully before departing. A mont later, another figure entered the hut. This ti, it was a female disciple who appeared fairly beautiful—not quite reaching Li Yao's stunning level, but attractive nonetheless. She stood hesitantly near the entrance, fidgeting with the hem of her robes.
"Umm... Grand Elder..." she began, her voice uncertain.
Xiang Yu studied her carefully, noting the absence of any visible injuries or signs of distress. He inwardly sighed as he recognized her as one of "them". Over the past few hours, several young won had visited his hut with fabricated ailnts, clearly hoping to curry favor with the Grand Elder.
"Grand Elder..." she spoke again, still hovering near the entrance.
"What is it? You don't seem injured," he said directly, hoping to discourage whatever sche she had in mind.
"Grand Elder, my na is Liu Qing," she announced, suddenly moving closer with determined steps. Sothing about her deanor struck Xiang Yu as different from the previous attention-seekers. She didn't have that calculating look in her eyes that suggested she was after status or resources. Still, she was approaching real dangerous territory.
Before he could react, she boldly grasped his hands in both of hers, her cheeks flushing a deep red. In one fluid motion, she bowed deeply while maintaining her grip on his hands.
"I want to learn from the Grand Elder," she declared earnestly.
At that mont, the hut's door swung open. The temperature of the room seed to drop several degrees as a familiar figure stepped in.
"Is she bothering you?" Li Yao asked, her voice carrying a deceptively calm tone as she placed her hand on Liu Qing's shoulder.
...
Li Yao silently congratulated herself on her sharp senses. She had detected a woman attempting to take advantage of her senior brother and arrived just in ti to stop it.
[Again, how do you keep doing that?]
Li Yao completely ignored the question, focusing instead on the situation at hand. She wrapped her arm around Liu Qing's shoulder in what appeared to be a friendly gesture, though her smile betrayed her true intentions.
"Sect... Sect Master," Liu Qing stamred as recognition dawned on her face, her voice trembling slightly.
Li Yao maintained her deceptively sweet smile, though internally she was seething. If her senior brother wasn't present, she would have already dragged this girl outside for a proper lesson. Her gaze dropped to notice that Liu Qing was still boldly holding Xiang Yu's hands, and her eye twitched involuntarily.
"This girl is clearly targeting ," she thought.
"Can we go outside for a mont?" Li Yao asked, though her tone made it clear this wasn't really a request.
"Umm... sure," Liu Qing replied.
Xiang Yu sighed deeply, wondering how this girl had survived in the cultivation world with such a complete lack of self-preservation instincts.
"Wait!" Xiang Yu called out before they could take a step toward the door.
"What is it, Senior Brother?" Li Yao asked.
Instead of answering, Xiang Yu addressed the disciple. "You said your na was Liu Qing?"
"That's right," she confird.
"What did you an when you said you wanted to learn from ?" he asked.
"Umm... well... it's said that the Grand Elder knows many different things," she began, her words coming out in a rush. "Even though the Grand Elder isn't the strongest fighter, you were the one who contributed the most during the battle. Many people want to learn from the Grand Elder."
She placed her hand over her heart, her expression growing more earnest. "Back then, I was taken in by the sect when I had nowhere else to go. But when the sect was in danger, I couldn't help at all because I'm not strong enough." Her voice grew quieter, filled with genuine emotion. "I... I... just like the Grand Elder... I want to be able to contribute to the sect."
She took a deep breath and bowed formally. "Please take as your disciple."
Even Li Yao, who had been prepared to drag the girl away for interrogation, found herself surprised by the sincerity in her words. She let out a small sigh of relief, realizing that Liu Qing wasn't actually pursuing her senior brother after all. Still, she couldn't afford to let her guard down completely. Won in the cultivation world could be quite cunning.
Xiang Yu stroked his chin thoughtfully, considering her request. He had actually entertained similar ideas before but hadn't given them serious consideration, assuming that mbers of a traditional sword sect like theirs wouldn't be interested in learning secondary professions. However, it seed his recent actions had inspired a new generation of disciples to think beyond conventional cultivation paths.
A smile spread across his face. "Alright," he said.
"Really?" Liu Qing's face lit up with joy and excitent.
"But don't get too happy just yet," Xiang Yu spoke, raising his hand. "I haven't taken you as a disciple yet."
Her expression faltered slightly.
"Actually, I won't be taking in any personal disciples," he continued, watching as her face fell. "Instead, I'll establish a new Secondary Professions Pavilion."
Interest sparked in her eyes as she listened intently to his explanation.
"The pavilion will be divided into different schools, each representing a specific profession," he elaborated, his voice gaining enthusiasm as he spoke. "There will be the School of dicine, the School of Farming, the School of Alchemy, and so on. Each school will have its own curriculum and advancent system."
He turned toward Li Yao. "Did you catch enough at for tonight's feast?"
"Yes," she replied.
"Great, then we can start recruitnt right away," Xiang Yu declared, his business instincts taking over. "Go inform anyone interested in joining the School of Cooking to co here. I'll be testing them personally."
Liu Qing nodded eagerly, clearly thrilled by this opportunity. She bowed respectfully to Li Yao before hurrying toward the door.
"Yao Yao? Hello? You there?" Xiang Yu's voice finally penetrated Li Yao's distracted thoughts.
"What are you doing? Let's move," he said, already heading toward the exit.
"Oh, okay," she replied, shaking herself from her reverie.
As she followed him out of the dical hut, Li Yao thought to herself that her senior brother looked so cool when he was being serious like this. It really made her want to...
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