Don't Cause Trouble Chapter 29: The Sword Sect

The Baqing Rankings not only assess a forgemaster’s skill, but also serve as a bridge between cultivators and forgemasters, delivering invitation slips and providing a channel for mutual collaboration.

But if no invitation slips are received, then for Ye Su and the others, the Baqing Rankings have become meaningless.

Ye Su wasn’t surprised. In fact, ever since they sent their artifacts in for evaluation, she had already expected this outcome—she just didn’t know how deep this silent "consensus" ran.

"Brother Quan," she asked Quan Jiaying, "besides the Baqing Rankings, are there any other ways for forgemasters to take commissions? Something that includes materials and spirit stones?"

"Some sects will recruit forgemasters," Quan Jiaying replied, glancing at her group. "They provide both materials and spirit stones—but if you want in, you’d have to... leave the Qianji Sect first."

"Out of the question," Xiyu immediately refused.

"There are also large material shops," Quan Jiaying added hesitantly. "They sometimes invite sect forgemasters to refine or repair artifacts. The biggest of them is Quan Dian Trading House—they deal in pills, talismans, artifacts, you name it. Our Poyuan Sect is one of their regular trade partners, and the Golden Blade Sect works with them year-round too."

Quan Dian?

Ye Su remembered visiting their shop a few times in Dinghai City—grand, extravagant, and fully stocked with everything a cultivator might need.

"Then we could—"

"You mustn’t go to Quan Dian."

A voice interrupted. Xia Er, standing nearest the courtyard gate, turned around in surprise. "Master?"

Zhang Fengfeng walked in from outside, his expression dark. "Ye Su, you’re not to get involved with the Baqing Rankings anymore."

Quan Jiaying looked around, sensed the mood, and tactfully got up to leave, heading down the mountain toward his own quarters.

The courtyard quieted. Only the master and his disciples remained, and none of them spoke.

"Where’s Fushi?" Zhang Fengfeng finally asked. "He’s a Thousand Mechanisms disciple too. He should hear this."

So he’s finally going to explain it?

"Still asleep," Ye Su replied, standing up. "I’ll go get him."

Zhang Fengfeng nodded and sat down on a stone bench. Ming Liu Sha and the others exchanged looks but stayed silent and unmoving.

A while later, Ye Su emerged from the house with their junior brother in tow.

You Fushi had no sense of social cues. He didn’t notice the heavy atmosphere at all. He walked over and sat right down on the stone bench. He placed his hand on the table, but finding the stone surface too cold, casually tugged on Ye Su’s robe and used the hem as a cushion before resting his elbow on it.

The entire motion was fluid, natural—Ye Su was even starting to get used to it. Zhang Fengfeng, on the other hand, glanced over at them with a frown.

"I never imagined you’d end up at Poyuan Sect," Zhang Fengfeng began, rubbing his forehead. Before Ye Su left the mountain, he had suggested a few small sects for them to "visit"—but she had gone straight to Dinghai City instead. Now two of his disciples had even made it onto the Baqing Rankings.

"From now on, don’t submit your artifacts for ranking," Zhang Fengfeng said solemnly. "As long as you remain Thousand Mechanisms disciples, no one will hire you to forge anything."

Just as expected.

Ye Su lowered her gaze, her eyes unconsciously landing on her junior brother’s long, elegant fingers. Her mind drifted elsewhere.

Ever since the spiritual vein of the Qianji Sect dried up completely five hundred years ago—and the last renowned forgemaster disappeared—the sect collapsed almost overnight. Now, five centuries later, it's on the verge of being disbanded.

Back then, Ye Su had been confined to the sect, and guided by the original storyline, she never questioned anything. It wasn’t until she left the mountain that she realized things weren’t so simple.

The decline of the Qianji Sect had been far too rapid. That old saying, "A starved camel is still bigger than a horse," clearly didn’t apply to this ancient sect that had once stood for nearly ten thousand years.

"Master, why?" Xia Er was the first to break the silence.

"As long as the Qianji Sect exists, the Golden Blade Sect will never be number one," Zhang Fengfeng replied with only that one sentence.

He hadn’t intended to reveal the truth to his disciples so soon—at the very least, he had wanted to wait a little longer.

But Ye Su and the others had progressed too quickly over the past half year—even making it into Poyuan Sect.

"So it’s the Golden Blade Sect sabotaging us behind the scenes?" Xiyu’s anger flared. "Forging is supposed to be based on skill. What do they think they’re doing?"

"Master," Ye Su asked calmly, "if the Qianji Sect is being completely blocked from receiving commissions, the Golden Blade Sect alone isn’t enough to make that happen. Who else is involved? Is it Quan Dian Trading House?"

"...Yes." Zhang Fengfeng’s voice was heavy. "The number one forgemaster sect and the number one trading company working together—no cultivator dares to cross them."

Anyone who sent a commission to the Qianji Sect risked being blacklisted by all Golden Blade forgemasters—and worse, Quan Dian would cut off all business with them.

In other words, whether they wanted to buy or sell, Quan Dian would refuse to deal with them at all.

Large sects might have the power to defy the Golden Blade Sect or Quan Dian individually, but the Qianji Sect had no spiritual vein, no powerful artifacts being produced—no major sect would stick their necks out for them.

With this level of coordinated suppression, it was only a matter of time before the Qianji Sect fell into complete ruin.

By the time Zhang Fengfeng took over as sect leader, the Qianji Sect had already been all but crushed. But he refused to let it die. So did Elder Hu.

The former sect leader—Zhang Fengfeng’s own master—had passed away, and by then, there were barely any true members of the sect left. Yang Tan had wanted to take over as sect leader just to formally dissolve the sect and sever ties with its name. He outranked Zhang Fengfeng by seniority, but in the end, it was Zhang Fengfeng who secured the deciding vote from Yu Fenghai and became sect master.

He began taking in disciples from all over—not out of ambition, but simply because he couldn’t let the Qianji Sect vanish.

Even if it became just a minor sect, that was better than being erased. At the very least, under his leadership, the name of the Qianji Sect would live on.

That had always been Zhang Fengfeng’s goal.

But now, in these disciples, he saw a spark of something more—a real chance for the sect to rise again.

And he couldn’t let Ye Su, not yet fully grown, be exposed to the enemies watching from the shadows. Fortunately, the artifacts submitted to the Baqing Rankings by Ming Liu Sha and Xia Er this time weren’t strong enough to draw attention.

"Why would Quan Dian Trading House join forces with the Golden Blade Sect?" Ming Liu Sha asked.

"Quan Dian has spread all across the cultivation world," Zhang Fengfeng explained. "They’re thriving in trade—pills, talismans, artifacts, everything. But back when the Qianji Sect was at its peak, we refused to work with Quan Dian. Instead, we partnered with a rival materials firm. Because of that, Quan Dian never gained much ground in materials and artifacts."

Ye Su looked thoughtful. "And what’s the state of that rival materials house now?"

"It’s done for," Zhang Fengfeng said with a sigh. "Back in the day, Wendong Materials far outshone Quan Dian in terms of components and artifacts. They had shops in every major city. Now, only one remains—in Dinghai City."

Wendong Materials… Ye Su remembered. She’d been there before. One of the rare materials used in the Mistflower Fang, winged sand, could only be found at that shop.

"It’s my failure as a master," Zhang Fengfeng said quietly, "I couldn’t lift the sect out of its downfall—and now I’ve dragged you all into it." "When you go out, don’t say you’re from the Qianji Sect. Focus on building your strength first. Once you’re stronger… once…"

He couldn’t finish. He stood and walked a few steps away, his back to them. "Elder Hu has never stopped searching for Grandmaster Fu, who vanished all those years ago. Maybe… maybe he’ll return soon."

"Master," Ye Su suddenly called out.

Zhang Fengfeng steadied himself and turned around to look at his senior disciple.

"We don’t need others to supply materials. We don’t need spirit stones to cultivate either," Ye Su said with a smile. "The secret realm has everything we need."

Zhang Fengfeng froze, then frowned. "Nonsense. You’re not sword cultivators, and you have no protective artifacts. The secret realm is too dangerous. It was sheer luck you came out unscathed last time."

"Fortune favors the bold," Ye Su replied, pulling something from her Qiankun pouch. "Master, does Quan Dian Trading House sell Wuji Pills?"

Zhang Fengfeng stared for a moment before bursting out: "Of course not!"

Where would Quan Dian Trading House even get a Wuji Pill?

Not to mention how rare the ingredients are—even if you managed to gather them all, there are only a handful of pill cultivators who could actually refine it.

The real surprise came when Zhang Fengfeng saw it up close.

At first, judging by the recording, he thought it was at most a mid-grade Wuji Pill. But now, holding it in his hand, it looked like a flawless gem—smooth, luminous, and translucent, with even a trace of pill intent floating within it.

This wasn’t just any Wuji Pill—it was at least a top-grade one.

Across the entire cultivation world, barely anyone could refine pills of that level. And a pill containing pill intent? That was even rarer.

Ye Su didn’t miss the flicker of emotion in her master’s eyes.

"Master, do you think this pill could be enough to hire a sword cultivator from the Sword Sect to escort us?"

Zhang Fengfeng blinked, and instead of answering, asked a completely unrelated question: "…Why not Kunlun?"

"We don’t know anyone from Kunlun," Ye Su replied simply. "But we still owe a favor to someone from the Sword Sect."

Besides, by her calculations, Yi Xuan should have already run into one of their elders and been taken in as a disciple by now.

Zhang Fengfeng still hesitated. Secret realms were dangerous—artifact cultivators rarely ventured into them.

"Cultivation is full of near-death experiences," Ye Su said firmly. "We have to go into that secret realm."

Zhang Fengfeng was frustrated. He’d planned to explain things slowly and carefully, taking a cautious approach with his disciples. But his senior disciple was going all-in right from the start.

"Master," Ye Su said with quiet resolve, "I want everyone to know we are disciples of the Qianji Sect."

"You…" Zhang Fengfeng met her gaze—and in the end, he couldn’t argue. He sighed in resignation, though deep inside, a flicker of hope stirred.

"Master, it’s settled then!" Xia Er chimed in, picking up on Ye Su’s cue and pushing Zhang Fengfeng toward the door. "Wait here in the sect—we’ll bring back good news."

As soon as he left—

"Big. Sis. Where. Did. You. Get. That. Wuji. Pill?" Ming Liu Sha asked, slowly and deliberately, as she sat down.

"No idea. It was in my Qiankun pouch when I came out of the secret realm," Ye Su replied.

She had briefly suspected Ning Qian Yao, but by that time, Ning had already left the realm.

You Fushi glanced at the pill in Ye Su’s hand but said nothing. He nestled into the edge of her robe and dozed off on the table.

"We’ll head down the mountain soon to visit the Sword Sect," Ye Su continued. "But before that, let’s get someone to update our robes."

"What about Quan Jiaying?" Xiyu asked.

"We’ll talk to him tomorrow and tell him to return to Poyuan Sect," Ye Su said as she put the Wuji Pill away. The group continued discussing a few other matters.

You Fushi propped his face on one hand, idly watching Ye Su’s Qiankun pouch sway. Without thinking, he reached out a finger and hooked it.

Ye Su felt him touch the pouch and, assuming her junior brother wanted a better look at the Wuji Pill, didn’t mind. She even took it off and handed it to him.

You Fushi glanced inside, quickly losing interest—this mortal kept all kinds of useless junk. Bored, he fumbled around inside… and noticed that the ugly box was gone.

Just as he was about to look away, he caught sight of a black bracelet—and for some reason, it looked familiar.

He took it out and stared at it for a long moment.

Then he realized why it seemed familiar.

It looked exactly like him.

"Contact Lu Jiu," Ye Su told Xiyu. "Ask if she wants to join us."

"Got it."

While they continued chatting, You Fushi finally spoke up: "Ye Su."

"Call me Senior Sister," Ye Su corrected him again, clearly used to it.

You Fushi, as always, ignored her correction. Holding up the Mistflower Fang, he declared: "I’m taking this."