Don't Cause Trouble Chapter 31: Dual Sect Disciples

Across the street stood a young man, dressed in the same dark Daoist robe as Ye Su. His long hair was tied up tightly with a thick blue cord, secured with a plain wooden hairpin. Even so, his striking appearance couldn’t be hidden.

You Fushi had been following behind Ye Su, lazily stepping on her shadow out of boredom.

When he heard Ming Liu Sha call out "Yi Xuan," he looked up—and saw the person standing across from them.

So this is Yi Xuan?

Looks… passable, I guess.

You Fushi glanced at Ye Su ahead of him, as if remembering something. He tilted his head slightly and said to Yi Xuan: "Ye Su said you’re ugly."

Ye Su: "...What?"

Yi Xuan frowned and looked at Ye Su, clearly confused and waiting for her to explain.

Ye Su turned back to look at You Fushi, helpless.

"Don’t make things up."

Usually silent, but when he does talk, he drops a bomb.

"You said I look better than him,"You Fushi replied casually, eyes flicking toward Ming Liu Sha and the others. "They all heard you."

Ye Su: "..."

For someone who can’t read, he sure knows how to twist words like a Confucian scholar.

Next to them, Lu Jiu looked from You Fushi to Yi Xuan and finally realized what felt off: Their faces and temperaments didn’t match at all.

One had looks so sharp and unnaturally attractive that they bordered on demonic, yet his demeanor was upright and restrained.

The other had a face of refined elegance, clean and noble—but his actions were chaotic and unruly.

Yi Xuan slowly turned to glance at You Fushi and said: "I thought you’d be something impressive."

Subtlety was clearly not his strong suit—he might as well have just said it outright.

Ye Su sighed and looked toward You Fushi, ready to intervene.

But her illiterate junior brother wasn’t even listening. He was already busy fiddling with the Mistflower Fang bracelet on his wrist again.

Still, that didn’t stop the tension. On this day in Tushou City, the old and new junior disciples met for the first time—and took an instant dislike to each other.

"Junior Brother, what are you doing here?" Xia Er asked, curious.

Yi Xuan’s expression smoothed out slightly.

"An elder from the Sword Sect wants to take me as a personal disciple."

As he said this, his eyes stayed locked on Ye Su, watching for even the slightest reaction.

Ye Su only looked a little surprised.

"You didn’t accept?"

"Why would I?" Yi Xuan replied coldly. "I already have a master."

She didn’t seem bothered by the edge in his tone. Instead, she smiled lightly.

"We’re heading to the Sword Sect. Want to come along?"

Yi Xuan went quiet. He clearly wanted to say no—but what came out instead was: "…Alright."

And so, one more person joined their group, and together they headed toward the Sword Sect.

……

The Sword Sect, one of the two major sects in the cultivation world, had an imposing mountain gate and strict security. The moment Ye Su’s group approached, a team of sword cultivators appeared to block their path.

"Who goes there?"

Ye Su stepped forward and replied calmly, "Disciples of the Qianji Sect. We’ve come to propose a trade with your sect."

One of the sword cultivators at the edge scoffed mockingly, but the sect master raised a hand to stop him. Glancing briefly at Yi Xuan—who had just left not long ago—he asked Ye Su, "What kind of trade?"

"A top-grade Wuji Pill," Ye Su said with a slight bow. "It contains a strand of pill will."

The lead cultivator was momentarily stunned. He didn’t know exactly what the pill could do, but the words "top-grade" and "pill will" were enough to make its value clear.

"Please wait here, fellow cultivators. I’ll go inform the sect."

He turned and left, passing the message up the chain.

Ye Su and her group of seven waited quietly at the mountain gate, still watched closely by the sword cultivators across from them.

Unlike the city of Tushou, the mountain of the Sword Sect was full of cultivators flying on swords. Sword intent flowed freely in the air. If you stood still long enough, you could even faintly hear the clash of blades.

Powerful sword intent, surging spiritual energy, and an overwhelming aura of suppression—

Anyone standing here would feel a deep mix of awe and fear toward the Sword Sect.

Well, anyone except their youngest junior brother, who looked ready to fall asleep.

Ye Su’s gaze skipped over the lazy You Fushi and landed on Yi Xuan, standing straight as a rod.

He really didn’t join the Sword Sect?

That was... unexpected.

The junior brother—or rather, fifth junior brother—wasn't exactly easy to get along with. Sensitive by nature, proud and aloof. In the original story, he even turned against his previous sect and became the second male lead.

As Ye Su looked at him, Yi Xuan sensed it and turned to meet her eyes. His amber gaze was cold on the surface, but there was something deeper and more turbulent beneath.

Forget it.

He was still a disciple of the Qianji Sect—her junior brother.

Ye Su gave him a brief smile and looked away.

Yi Xuan shifted uncomfortably, glancing aside, emotions swirling inside him.

When he had received his second senior brother’s message, he’d just escaped a monster beast, his back drenched in blood.

That’s when he heard Ming Liu Sha say, "The Qianji Sect has a new junior disciple."

A new junior brother?

Wasn’t he the junior brother?

How could there suddenly be another one?

He remembered what Ye Su had once said outside their master's courtyard—that she was sure he would leave the sect and join another. Yet before he even had the chance to leave, the master had already taken in someone new.

Leaning against the cave wall, Yi Xuan couldn’t suppress the resentment that rose in his heart.

Later, by coincidence, he ran into an elder from the Sword Sect. For some reason, the elder insisted on taking him as a disciple.

They already had a new junior brother. They didn’t need him anymore.

Yi Xuan nearly agreed—

But at the very last moment, he refused.

"I have a master. I am a disciple of the Qianji Sect."

When he said those words, he felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

Ye Su had expected him to leave.

So he stayed—just to spite that assumption.

The elder, upon learning Yi Xuan came from a declining artifact-crafting sect, only became more determined, urging him to come to the Sword Sect and reconsider.

Yi Xuan refused again. But just as he left the sect’s gate—still in Tushou City—he ran into Ye Su and… the new junior disciple.

"Fellow cultivator, our sect sect master invites you in."

The sword cultivator returned and spoke to Ye Su.

"Please follow me."

As they stepped through the gate, Ye Su subtly sensed that the protective formation was targeting them. At the slightest misstep, it could strike.

We’ll need to upgrade the Qianji Sect's formation someday, she thought.

At this rate, anyone can just walk in.

Beyond the gate, a series of peaks stood in a straight line, towering over the mountain and exuding a chilling majesty.

"I heard these peaks used to be a single mountain," Lu Jiu whispered.

"The first sect master of the Sword Sect supposedly split it with sword intent."

"No wonder they look a bit unnatural," Xia Er said, suddenly enlightened. Then, eyeing the peaks greedily, he added, "That sword must be amazing."

Deeper in was the sword training ground. Countless disciples in sky-blue robes were practicing, their movements synchronized, creating a thunderous and awe-inspiring scene.

"Disciple! You came back? Regretting it already?"

A loud, raspy voice shouted from the sky. Before they could react, a flash of blue streaked down like lightning.

Ye Su stepped back to block You Fushi and instinctively pulled out her Mirror Armor.

The bronze mirror flew into the air, expanded instantly, and cast a glowing white shield over the group of seven.

A man in a sky-blue robe, hair an unkempt mess, landed abruptly in front of the Mirror Armor. He raised an eyebrow in surprise, then held out his hand—his turquoise sword flew back into his grasp.

He gave Ye Su a longer look, then flicked his fingers—and the Mirror Armor’s shield shattered instantly.

"Good reflexes, nice artifact. Too bad I’m in the mid-stage of the Body Fusion Realm."

Ye Su calmly caught the falling mirror.

"Senior, your strength is impressive."

The man turned to Yi Xuan.

"Disciple, how about it? Join the Sword Sect and forget that broken-down Qianji Sect."

"I already have a master," Yi Xuan frowned. "Mind your words, Senior."

The messy-haired man looked heartbroken.

"The Qianji Sect is on the verge of collapse. One swing of my sword and I could level the whole place!"

Ye Su suddenly chuckled.

Xin Shenzi, elder of the Sword Sect—also the original second male lead’s master.

The air went awkwardly silent. Lu Jiu didn’t dare speak. You Fushi was still out of the loop. Yi Xuan and the others stared at Ye Su.

Everyone from the Jiuxuan Peak knew: Ye Su was not pleased.

"The Qianji Sect is here to trade with your sect," Ye Su said with a soft smile. "If you’re planning to destroy us, perhaps wait until after the transaction."

She turned to follow the sword cultivator leading the way.

Xin Shenzi frowned.

"When did I say I was going to—Hey, disciple, wait!"

He rushed after them and walked beside Yi Xuan.

"Disciple, those are your fellow sectmates, right? Great! Tell them to ask your master—let me take you as a disciple instead!"

Yi Xuan ignored him and quickly caught up to Ye Su.

"So noisy."

You Fushi, lagging behind, glanced at Xin Shenzi and muttered: "Ugly thing."

Xin Shenzi: "???"

He had always been obsessed with the sword, never caring much about appearances. Some said he was wild and unruly, but he didn’t mind.

But this was the first time someone had called him— "Ugly thing?" To his face?

……

When Ye Su stepped into the main hall and looked up, she noticed more than one person waiting inside. She had barely gotten her footing when the sect sect master at the head of the room asked, "Do you have a top-grade Wuji Pill?"

"Yes. This pill contains a trace of pill intent," Ye Su replied. She took out the Wuji Pill, walked a few steps forward, and handed it to a young attendant, who then presented it to the sect sect master.

The sect master of the Sword Sect held the pill in his hand, examined it carefully, and concealed the ripple of emotion in his eyes before passing it along to the senior elders.

The hall remained silent, but Ye Su knew they were communicating telepathically.

The Wuji Pill could break through cultivation bottlenecks. Once it reached top-grade quality, it became useful even for cultivators at the Grand Ascension stage. And with pill intent infused, it could prevent mental deviations for a thousand years—a dream come true for cultivators vulnerable to inner demons.

After a moment of silence, the sect sect master spoke directly: "It is indeed a top-grade Wuji Pill. What do you want in return?"

"Please hold on a moment." Ye Su turned to Yi Xuan and asked, "Am I your senior sister?"

"...Yes," Yi Xuan replied, somewhat awkwardly as he met her gaze.

"Then remember this—junior disciples should listen to their senior sister." With that, Ye Su stepped forward.

Sect sect master Zhou Qi asked, "Have the terms been discussed?"

Ye Su clasped her hands and said, "This time, Qianji Sect would like to trade the Wuji Pill for two things. First, we request that your sect protect us for ten years and assign a team of sword cultivators to assist us in exploring a secret realm. I will personally select the members of this team. Second..."

She caught sight of Xin Shenzi entering the hall and paused before continuing, "Qianji Sect has a sword cultivator disciple with excellent potential, but unfortunately, no one in our sect can properly guide him. I hope he can become a dual-sect disciple of Sword Sect, and I will also choose his master."

Yi Xuan immediately turned to look at her, stunned.

A dual-sect disciple meant being officially accepted into both sects.

One of the senior elders laughed and said, "Such bold words from someone so young. Just one Wuji Pill, and you want to tie down the entire Sword Sect?"

As he spoke, a powerful spiritual pressure filled the hall—enough to make any Foundation Establishment cultivator tremble in fear.

But Ye Su took another step forward and responded respectfully, "You seniors understand the value of the Wuji Pill far better than we juniors. If the Sword Sect were to gain a cultivator capable of undergoing tribulation, then our terms are hardly unreasonable. If your sect truly isn’t interested, we’ll have to take our offer elsewhere. I'm sure other sects would be more than willing to accept."

With that, she made a show of retrieving the pill.

"Hold on, young friend," Zhou Qi raised his hand to stop her. "We accept your terms. But no need for veiled threats—once you brought out the Wuji Pill, there was never a chance you'd leave here without trading it to us."

Ye Su knew that well. With a pill this valuable, if she tried to leave Sword Sect, countless eyes would be watching her. Best-case scenario, she’d survive—but the pill would still be stolen.

Still, her goal was achieved.

"Thank you, Sect Master." Ye Su gave a slight bow of gratitude.

As she left the hall, she turned and gave Xin Shenzi—who was still staring hopefully at Yi Xuan—a smile.

—If she didn’t mess with him at least once this time, she might as well change her surname.