Chapter Fifty-One: Atop Flying Cloud Peak

“Who goes there?”
At the foot of Flying Cloud Peak, Shen Qingyun took his first step onto the stairway leading to the summit, and a voice echoed directly into his ear.
He glanced sideways toward the nearby pavilion, catching the unmistakable hostility in the speaker’s tone.
“A mountain guardian, perhaps,” Shen Qingyun murmured, continuing up the steps.
“How dare you!”
Seeing Shen Qingyun ignore him, the voice from the pavilion grew more irate, shouting loudly. Shen Qingyun paid no heed, taking his third step.
At that moment, a fierce wind swept by, and a young man in brocade robes and white attire suddenly appeared before Shen Qingyun, his brow furrowed with anger—a clear sign of his identity.
Shen Qingyun clasped his hands in salute. “Shen Qingyun, disciple of Azure Cloud, here to pay respects to the Grand Elder.”
The figure standing on the mountain path showed no reduction in his anger upon hearing this, replying coldly, “The Grand Elder is not someone you may see at your whim. For the sake of your restraint, turn back now before you take the fourth step, and I shall let this go. Otherwise, you will find no place for yourself in Azure Cloud Sect!”
Shen Qingyun’s brows raised slightly. The pavilion at the path’s entrance must hold some significance; this man was likely the mountain guardian. Yet the Grand Elder had summoned him here, only to be blocked by the guardian—what could this mean?
He had intended to proceed with courtesy, but seeing the disdain in the guardian’s cold eyes, Shen Qingyun realized it was directed either at himself or at his cultivation.
Regardless, Shen Qingyun resolved to abandon politeness and proceed directly.
“Well, since senior brother has said so…” Shen Qingyun lifted his right foot slowly.
Noticing this, the man’s disdain deepened, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. Shen Qingyun placed his right foot on the fourth step. “Then I truly wish to see how you intend to make me unwelcome in Azure Cloud Sect!”
The young man’s expression stiffened, then he erupted in fury. “Insolent! If I let you pass today, I’ll no longer be called Chen Weijie!”
Shen Qingyun ignored him, sensing the surge of spiritual energy accompanying his anger. Narrowing his eyes, he gauged the man’s strength.
Early Spirit Aspect realm.

“If I pass, what will you call yourself then?”
Shen Qingyun took a fifth step, disregarding Chen Weijie’s intimidation.
“You’re courting death!”
Seeing Shen Qingyun dare another step, Chen Weijie’s gaze darkened. His spiritual energy coalesced behind him, forming a sheep-shaped phantom radiating the aura of the early Spirit Aspect realm.
Feeling the denser spiritual energy, Shen Qingyun grew slightly more serious. With his spirit aspect summoned, Chen Weijie’s aura reached an unprecedented height—Shen Qingyun deemed him not to be underestimated.
“Yet, with such strength, you’re still undervaluing me!”
Shen Qingyun advanced, sword shadows gathering in his palm, concealed but ready.
Chen Weijie no longer hesitated, launching his attack. With a thought, the sheep spirit behind him let out a cry and charged at Shen Qingyun.
It seemed a straightforward rush, carrying an unstoppable momentum, but to Shen Qingyun’s eyes, it was full of flaws. “Though swift, the sheep’s strike lacks the agility it ought to possess,” he remarked idly while preparing to counter.
With a whoosh, the sheep spirit lunged at Shen Qingyun, about to collide—yet at the very moment of impact, it vanished!
Having failed to halt its momentum, the sheep spirit shot down the steps, crashing with a loud bang into a centuries-old tree, its horns deeply embedded in the trunk.
Shen Qingyun’s figure reappeared where he’d stood, glancing at the struggling sheep spirit and shaking his head in mock sympathy.
It looked painful.
Turning to Chen Weijie, he saw the latter still staring at his spirit aspect. Early Spirit Aspect realm—this was its limit.
Sensing a sharp aura, Chen Weijie refocused on Shen Qingyun, who held a miniature sword spinning leisurely in his palm, prompting Chen Weijie to tense in alarm.
“Better start thinking of a new name!”
Shen Qingyun’s teasing words left Chen Weijie momentarily stunned. Then he watched as the tiny sword shot out with a flash, arriving before him almost instantaneously.
Feeling the terrifying force of that strike, Chen Weijie’s hair stood on end and he squeezed his eyes shut in terror.

“Baa…”
The anticipated sword did not pierce him; instead, a pitiful sheep’s cry echoed in his mind. Peeking through a slit in his eyes, Chen Weijie saw his sheep spirit shielding him, the miniature sword lodged deep in its neck, leaving only the hilt visible.
A surge of anguish and frustration welled up; he spread his arms to embrace his spirit aspect, which exploded into countless points of light and vanished.
Before he could grieve, Shen Qingyun’s airy voice drifted to him from behind. “Senior Brother Chen, rest assured. This won’t harm your spirit aspect—you can simply summon it again.”
After a brief pause, Shen Qingyun continued, “By the way, if you haven’t settled on a new name, I can offer a suggestion—my surname is Shen.”
Ignoring Shen Qingyun’s last remark, Chen Weijie hastily summoned his spirit aspect again. Seeing it intact, he breathed a sigh of relief. He’d heard that injuries during spirit aspect battles could require lengthy recovery, and in severe cases, backlash against the summoner.
After a fleeting moment of joy, Chen Weijie remembered his task. He forced himself to suppress the pain, gritted his teeth, and took out a messaging talisman, sending a warning: “I failed. He’s coming up. Be careful—he’s extremely fast! Even my spirit aspect was slower than him…”
With that, the talisman transformed into a streak of light, soaring up the peak.
Watching it vanish from sight, Chen Weijie heaved a long sigh, withdrew his spirit aspect, and turned to descend the steps.

Beneath a long stone bridge, three disciples in white robes leaned against the rock wall, yawning out of boredom.
Suddenly, a streak of light flew to them, igniting as they recognized it. The ashes formed the words Chen Weijie had just spoken.
“That guy failed!”
The speaker hugged a longsword and smiled.
The one beside him, with a wild air, snorted derisively. “That fellow was so confident before, claiming a mere Qi Refinement stage couldn’t possibly pass. Well, now he’s been proven wrong—and failed the task!”
The third only spoke after carefully reading the message. “Alright, let’s get ready. Watch out for his speed. We all know how fast Chen Weijie’s spirit sheep is. If he’s even quicker, he could bypass us outright!”
The sword-hugging disciple smiled. “He can’t bypass us. Up here, the steps end. To pass, he must use the path behind us, and we’re guarding it. Unless he can fly!”
“True enough…”