Chapter 167 - 160: First Meeting Gu Qingwu

Chapter 167: Chapter 160: First Meeting Gu Qingwu

The message was from Gu Qingwu.

They were also carved with a sharp instrument, but compared to the words he had carved earlier, Gu Qingwu’s were far more graceful.

Seeing this, Li Heng knew that in the last four days, no one besides Gu Qingwu had entered.

The courtyard gate was locked, but the wooden dummy had a new line of text on it. Li Heng didn’t think much of this; after all, the courtyard fence wasn’t very high. For a Soul Master, clearing such a height was a simple leap.

After a brief pause, Li Heng moved the wooden dummy to a corner of the courtyard and then set out to find Gu Qingwu. He had, after all, been out of sight for four days.

Li Heng didn’t know when Gu Qingwu had left the message, nor what she wanted to see him for.

He stepped out of his personal courtyard and into the Xisha Area.

’Compared to the Scholars’ Association Hall, this Xisha Area seems a bit dilapidated.’

Li Heng remembered feeling quite impressed when he first arrived in the Xisha Area, but that was before he had been to Li Liang City.

Besides the Xisha Area, Li Heng looked up and around, noticing two very tall, ancient-style buildings. Their architecture was somewhat similar to the three major towers.

The Scholars’ Association Hall was similar to the Xisha Area.

The three major towers shared a similar architectural style.

And then there was the entrance point to the Dungeon.

Therefore, Li Heng concluded that Li Liang City within the Dungeon and the grounds of Meteor University were one and the same place.

Although they were the same city, Meteor University paled in comparison to Li Liang City, both in its degree of luxury and the lively atmosphere of its streets and alleys.

Li Heng understood why.

After all, Li Liang City was a "living" city. Its cultural atmosphere was richer and its historical roots ran deeper than Meteor University’s.

However, Meteor University had something Li Liang City lacked: a sense of belonging.

Watching the senior students pass by, all dressed in white robes and gowns, Li Heng felt as if he had come home.

So he walked on, filled with emotion but not speaking a word.

"Senior Sister Gu! Your junior, Li Heng, is here to see you!"

Arriving once more before Gu Qingwu’s standalone wooden cabin, Li Heng knocked gently on the door.

CREAK~

"Please, come in!"

The courtyard gate swung open instantly, and as it did, Li Heng saw Gu Qingwu in person for the very first time.

After all, the first time he had come looking for her, they had only communicated from a distance, and he hadn’t seen her appearance.

She wore a veil and a long white gown. Though he couldn’t see her whole face, Li Heng felt that with her elegant bearing, her looks couldn’t possibly be poor.

Gu Qingwu stood in the middle of her courtyard, which was still filled with wooden dummies bristling with sharp daggers. She moved effortlessly between them.

"Greetings, Senior Sister Gu!"

"The military training has been scheduled. We assemble tomorrow at eight in the morning where the Flying Boats are docked."

Li Heng stopped about three meters from Gu Qingwu and took the initiative to greet her.

Gu Qingwu, who had been watching Li Heng since he entered the courtyard, replied the moment he spoke.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Gu! I’m sorry to have troubled you these past few days!" Li Heng had suspected it might be about the training schedule, so he immediately expressed his gratitude.

In response to his thanks, Gu Qingwu gave a slight nod before speaking.

"Junior Brother Li Heng, did you have a breakthrough during your secluded cultivation?"

"Yes, I was pretty lucky."

"Do you have any other plans today?"

...

"Not at the moment. Senior Sister Gu, are you suggesting...?"

Li Heng hadn’t expected Gu Qingwu to suddenly ask about his plans, so he was a bit surprised, but he replied nonetheless.

Gu Qingwu said, "Xisha has a tradition. You were supposed to learn it as soon as you arrived, but you came to me, and you were on the verge of a breakthrough in your Cultivation, so I didn’t tell you."

"What tradition?"

He genuinely hadn’t known about any tradition in the Xisha Area, so hearing about it now, he was naturally curious.

"If a new junior brother spars with a senior and loses, he is responsible for washing and drying the clothes for all the male students in the Xisha Area for one year. If a junior sister spars with a senior and loses, she just has to buy the winner a meal."

’If a guy loses, he washes clothes for a year.’

’But if a girl loses, she just has to buy a meal?’

Li Heng understood the "sparring" part of this tradition. After all, the students in the Xisha Area were all Soul Masters, so it was only natural for them to get the itch to test their skills and gauge the caliber of the new students.

But as for the punishments, Li Heng felt they were a bit unbalanced.

"So, Senior Sister Gu, does this mean I also have to spar with a senior?" Li Heng grumbled internally, then asked aloud.

Hearing this, Gu Qingwu pondered for a moment before nodding lightly. "You have military training tomorrow. If you wish, you can wait until it’s over."

"Senior Sister Gu! May I ask, is the senior I’m supposed to spar with a Soul Warrior?"

Li Heng had no desire to do anyone else’s laundry; he was sometimes too lazy to even wash his own. Understanding Xisha’s tradition was an instant wake-up call.

If there was ever a sparring match he couldn’t afford to lose, it was one with a year’s worth of laundry on the line.

So, after a moment’s thought, he asked about the senior’s realm so he would know what he was up against.

"The two of them aren’t Soul Warriors yet, but I hear they’re close. They just lack comprehension of an elemental Cultivation Technique," Gu Qingwu replied.

"Oh, I see! Thank you, Senior Sister Gu! Since I have free time today, I think I’ll go pay those two seniors a visit!"

Even though there were two of them, the moment he heard they hadn’t reached the Soul Warrior realm, Li Heng let out a huge sigh of relief. His whole posture relaxed considerably.

Hm?

Gu Qingwu took in Li Heng’s change in Spirit. The look in his eyes had transformed the moment he heard his opponents weren’t Soul Warriors.

"Junior Brother Li Heng, are you a Soul Warrior?" Gu Qingwu asked, a note of uncertainty in her voice.

Li Heng answered humbly, "Yes, but I only just entered the Soul Warrior realm. I still have much to work on."

"How old are you, Junior Brother?"

"Eighteen! My age, I mean!" Li Heng replied.

A flicker of confusion crossed Gu Qingwu’s face. "I was asking about your age, Junior Brother. Did you... answer something else as well?"

"It’s nothing. So, Senior Sister, you were saying?" Li Heng mentally kicked himself for some reason, quickly reigning the conversation back in.

Hearing that Li Heng was a Soul Warrior under the age of twenty, the way Gu Qingwu looked at him changed, and her tone shifted along with it.

"I remember... you use a Longsword, don’t you, Junior Brother Li Heng? Any interest in a match with your Senior Sister? Don’t worry, it’ll just be a friendly spar."