The border pass...
There were actually quite a few border passes, but "the border pass" specifically referred to the one in the north.
Of all the grueling duties on the continent, guarding the Northern Border pass easily ranked first.
Although half of the east had fallen, the Central Continent Alliance had long since given up on it. They merely put on a show of resistance every day, dragging things out for as long as they could.
The Northern Border was different. It had to be defended in earnest. As long as the Great Wall stood, they could not allow the Ice Spirits to flood in from the north.
As for the west and south, they each had their own defensive measures. Only the Northern Border was stuck guarding that dilapidated Great Wall of Formations, leaving them constantly on edge.
In the northernmost outpost of the Northern Border, a young disciple was squatting by a fire, listening intently to two senior brothers chatting nearby.
His daily life at the academy had basically been a non-stop cycle of cultivation, classes, exams, and make-up lessons. He had never had the chance to learn about anything outside the Northern Border, let alone the dirty laundry of the major sects.
Right now, his ears were perked up and his eyes were wide, as if he were terrified of missing a single word.
Seeing the curious, snooping expression on the new junior disciple's face, the two chatting disciples smiled playfully.
One of them waved him over. “Come here, come here. Don't squat so far away. Can you even hear us from there?”
The young disciple's heart clenched. Am I not supposed to be listening? Are they going to warn me not to say anything? Will they make me pay if I do?
Nervously, he stood up, patted the dust off his rear, walked over to the two disciples, and bowed politely. “Greetings, Senior Brothers.”
The disciple on the left sized him up. “Are you new here, Junior Brother?”
“Y-Yes...” The young disciple nodded nervously, his mind racing. I hope I don't get bullied on my very first day...
Seeing his jittery behavior, the two senior brothers exchanged a smile. Having gone through this stage themselves, they knew exactly what was going through the kid's head.
The one on the right patted his shoulder. “Don't be nervous. How did you end up assigned to our northernmost squad?” He paused, giving a mischievous grin. “Did you get a D on your graduation exam? Hahaha—”
The young disciple's face flushed. “No! My grades are actually really good... I got an A-minus on my graduation exam.”
“Then how did you end up in this dump? The two of us only came to this miserable place because we got C-minuses. Not only is there no extra money to be made here, but the environment is absolutely terrible.”
The one on the left shook his head. “Don't tell me you offended the elder in charge of assignments? No, that can't be. Old Man Li has a great temper, and he's extremely upright. He won't even accept bribes...”
The young disciple's eyes began to wander. He stammered for a while before finally speaking up bashfully, “It's just... a junior sister in my class didn't do well on the exam... She only got a C-plus.”
The two senior brothers let out a long, drawn-out “Oh—” and exchanged a knowing look. “Oh~ You're quite the romantic, aren't you?”
He grinned. “But you shouldn't be doing that. Taking someone else's place is dangerous. If she doesn't actually have the ability to handle her assigned post, wouldn't that just put people in danger?”
His tone suddenly grew serious. While one could pull strings and offer gifts in other parts of the Artifact Sect, this place was the most strict. If something went wrong here, people would actually die.
The young disciple's face grew even redder. “No... we're just friends...” He waved his hands frantically. “Besides, her grades are usually excellent. She just had an off day... Her cultivation has already reached half-step Golden Core, but her mortal relative passed away that day, so she missed the exam. The examiner thought she lacked the proper mental fortitude and didn't give her a chance to retake it...”
Hearing this, the two senior brothers exchanged a look. One of them nodded. “I see. That's fine then.” Only then did they remember what they had been talking about at the beginning. Right, they remembered now.
“Guarding the northern border pass is easily the most miserable job,” the one on the left sighed.
“The east is a total mess, and they don't even defend it seriously. As for the Dust Spirits and Fire Spirits in the west and south, they have specialized equipment to guard them. The west has our Artifact Sect headquarters' Thousand-Mechanism Wall, and the south has the Beast Taming Sect's Nirvana Flame Pool.”
“They all have defensive equipment, but what about us?” He spread his hands. “All we have is this crappy Great Wall of Formations that we aren't even used to. And it doesn't even stop the Ice Spirits, so we have to play guerrilla warfare with the ones that break through every single day.”
His tone carried a mixture of complaint and resignation. He was clearly very bitter about the Great Wall of Formations, pouring out his grievances without restraint.
The young disciple listened in silence. He could have gone to work at the western headquarters. He simply listened quietly to his senior brothers' complaints, watching the dancing flames of the campfire.
He asked cautiously, “Senior Brothers, what do we usually have to do here?”
“It's nothing more than taking care of a few blind Ice Spirits that manage to slip past the Great Wall of Formations,” the disciple on the right said, stretching. “As long as there are no Ice Spirits around, we just drink tea, chat, cultivate, and sleep.”
The young disciple's eyes twitched. “Are there usually many Ice Spirits?”
“Usually, there aren't that many,” one of them said, pointing to himself. “I'm in the mid Nascent Soul stage, and he's half-step Nascent Soul. We can easily handle a few Vanguards or a stray Apostle. As for the higher-ranking ones—”
He raised his hand and pointed to a dusty watchtower in the distance. “See that watchtower over there? If there's a higher-ranking one, or something we can't handle, we go there and fire a signal.”
“One firework means multiple Apostles have appeared. Two means a Heavenly General has arrived. Three means several Heavenly Generals. Usually, once there are two, we have to let the elders handle it. There's no point in us going to support them; we wouldn't be of any help anyway.”
He paused, then added, “It's good that a newcomer arrived. I don't know what's going on lately, but ever since that recent earthquake, the Ice Spirits have become incredibly numerous and extremely aggressive. It's annoying as hell.” He yawned, a clear look of exhaustion in his eyes.
The young disciple nodded thoughtfully, then asked further, “What if a Calamity Sovereign appears?”
The disciple quickly reached out and covered his mouth. “Pah, pah, pah! What nonsense are you spouting? We haven't seen a Calamity Sovereign in years. If one really shows up, the Sect Master will naturally come to deal with it. Don't jinx us.”
He let go and patted the young disciple's head, as if trying to pat the topic away.
In the distance, a blue firework rose and exploded in the gray-white sky, looking like a frozen flower.
The two senior brothers sighed in unison. “They really won't give us a single moment of peace. We're heading out. Keep a good watch here and don't run off.”
The young disciple's face flushed, wanting to say, “I'm not a child anymore,” but before he could speak, the two had already turned, lifted the door curtain, and stepped out into the blizzard.
It was snowing heavily outside. This was the northernmost edge of the Northern Border, right at the foot of the Thousand White Mountains. It snowed year-round, and there was never any other season. Even the weather only had two modes: snowing and overcast, as if Heaven had welded the weather switch shut.
Standing at the doorway, the young disciple watched the two figures gradually vanish into the wind and snow. His lips trembled slightly, and in the end, he only managed to whisper, “Come back safe.”
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