Chen Zhi was recuperating from his injuries in his cave abode.
Elder Xuanqing had struck him with three palm blows. He had not dared to evade them, nor had he dared to bring out a magical artifact to defend himself.
As a result, the three strikes had shattered his tendons and broken his bones. It would take several years for him to fully recover.
Yet he bore no resentment. He had chosen to take those three blows himself.
He had chosen to speak up for a mortal girl who was neither entirely innocent nor undeserving of pity. Those three blows were what he had to bear for that choice.
“Yes, Martial Granduncle.” Upon receiving Xu Wanzhong's summons, Chen Zhi endured the pain and flew out of his cave abode.
When he arrived at the place Xu Wanzhong had specified, Chen Zhi was about to pay his respects when he suddenly saw the girl standing beside him. He froze in shock.
“I hear you owe her two hundred contribution points?” Xu Wanzhong had no patience for formalities and got straight to the point.
Chen Zhi hesitated, then lowered his head. “Yes, Martial Granduncle.”
“Give them to her.” Xu Wanzhong tossed him an identity token.
Chen Zhi caught it and carefully transferred two hundred contribution points. After a moment's hesitation, he tossed the token back.
“This is Master's newly accepted disciple, and therefore your junior martial granduncle as well,” Xu Wanzhong introduced. “You both come from Luoxia City. You remember her, don't you?”
Chen Zhi hesitated. “Yes. Chen Zhi pays his respects to Junior Martial Granduncle.”
Nangong Yu had just tied the token to her waist. She waved sweetly at him. “Hello, Chen Zhi.”
“What happened to you?” Xu Wanzhong frowned. “You're injured?”
Chen Zhi had been speaking haltingly, so Xu Wanzhong gave him a closer look. The moment he did, his expression darkened. “What happened?!”
They had merely gone to Luoxia City to recruit a disciple. For a Golden Core cultivator to be severely injured, something extraordinary must have occurred.
Yet he had heard nothing about any trouble on the journey. That meant Chen Zhi had not been injured outside the sect.
“This...” Chen Zhi hesitated, unsure how to explain.
Xu Wanzhong was displeased. “Why are you hemming and hawing?”
Chen Zhi had no choice but to say, “Yesterday, during the disciple trials, Elder Xuanqing believed that I had failed in recruiting disciples, so... so he taught me a lesson with three palm strikes.”
He kept his head lowered, avoiding Nangong Yu's gaze.
He had only spoken up for what he believed was right. It had not been for her sake.
“Outrageous!” Xu Wanzhong flew into a rage. “What right does he have to discipline a disciple of Hengxu Peak?!”
Senior Sister Jiang Yingxue had already established her own branch. Strictly speaking, the disciples of her disciples could no longer be considered members of Hengxu Peak.
But at the root of it all, Elder Ling Heng was still alive. They were all his disciples and granddisciples, so Xu Wanzhong was not wrong.
“Because...” Hearing the anger in Xu Wanzhong's voice, Chen Zhi grew uneasy, his back tensing tightly. “The disciple who cursed people on the Azure Cloud Stairway yesterday was one I recruited.”
Xu Wanzhong was left speechless.
“That troublemaker!” He could not help frowning. “But her insulting people was her own affair. Why should it be blamed on you?”
Chen Zhi could not help stealing a glance at Nangong Yu.
Noticing his gaze, Nangong Yu smiled faintly at him, sending a chill down his scalp.
He could not understand why Martial Granduncle Xu was cursing someone when the very person in question was standing right beside him. Could it be... Martial Granduncle Xu did not know?
Or had this uncanny mortal girl bewitched him? The thought made Chen Zhi even more wary.
“Take this.” Xu Wanzhong only felt that his senior sister's granddisciple was far too spineless. He tossed Chen Zhi a bottle of medicinal pills. “Take good care of your junior martial granduncle.”
Before the words had even faded, he had already flown away.
He was going to settle the score with Elder Xuanqing.
“Little Grand-Aunt.” Chen Zhi approached Nangong Yu with a stiff expression. He did not dare stand too close to her, yet neither did he dare keep too far away.
Nangong Yu smiled. “You’re injured? Don’t you hate me?”
“It was this disciple’s own negligence. It had nothing to do with Little Grand-Aunt.” At that, Chen Zhi’s timid manner vanished, replaced by the familiar image of a bright and upright young man.
Nangong Yu rummaged around in her spatial storage and pulled out a cloth bag. “Take it.”
Chen Zhi did not even look at it. “This disciple wouldn’t dare accept it.”
Only last night had he learned that Hengxu Peak had taken in a disciple. He had been curious about who it was, never imagining that the truth would turn out to be such a remarkable coincidence.
“There are fifty thousand spirit stones inside,” Nangong Yu reminded him. “Take them to treat your injuries. You’re not allowed to hold a grudge against me from now on.”
Chen Zhi froze, then hurriedly lowered his head. “This disciple wouldn’t dare.”
Seeing that he still made no move to take the bag, Nangong Yu pouted. “They’re yours if you want them. I was going to compensate you, but you refused. If you hold a grudge against me over this later, then you’ll be a huge bastard, and your cultivation will never advance.”
What a vicious curse.
What an utterly vicious curse.
But she even dared insult Elder Xuanqing. Compared to that, being cursed by her was hardly worth taking seriously. Chen Zhi merely said, “Yes. This disciple will remember that.”
They had been apart for only a day, yet their identities had undergone a dramatic change. Before, he had been her lofty senior brother. Today, he was her grand-disciple.
“Take me to have a look.” Nangong Yu had nothing to say to him, but she was curious about Xu Wanzhong and Elder Xuanqing.
She gave a little snort. “That old bastard hit me yesterday.”
And used up one of her defensive talismans.
Chen Zhi’s heart tightened at the words, but he did not dare say anything. He summoned a spirit crane and flew toward Elder Xuanqing’s cave dwelling.
They arrived too late.
Xu Wanzhong and Elder Xuanqing were already fighting. One move after another, they exchanged blows in the sky, each attack crashing against the other.
Nangong Yu called over a disciple who had been watching the spectacle and asked, “What happened?”
The disciple did not recognize her and answered casually, “I don’t know either. It seems Perfected Xu struck the entrance to Elder Xuanqing’s cave dwelling three times.”
Both Xu Wanzhong and Elder Xuanqing were Nascent Soul cultivators.
However, Elder Xuanqing had established his own peak and was therefore addressed as an elder. Perfected Xu still lived on his master’s peak, so he was called a Perfected.
“Did Perfected Xu say why?” Nangong Yu continued.
The question made Chen Zhi glance at her twice. Why else? Didn’t she know?
But Nangong Yu ignored him, keeping her eyes fixed on the cultivator who had just spoken.
Seeing that she was wearing a brand-new disciple’s robe yet had no cultivation whatsoever, the cultivator looked down on her as a new disciple and promptly flew away.
But several others immediately took his place.
“Why did Perfected Xu and Elder Xuanqing start fighting?”
“Good heavens, they’re really going at it.”
“I heard Perfected Xu came to Elder Xuanqing’s cave dwelling first thing this morning and struck it three times without saying a word.”
“I know why. It’s because Elder Xuanqing injured Perfected Xu’s grand-disciple.”
The clear, sweet voice of a young girl drew every gaze toward her.
“How did Junior Sister find that out?” one of them asked.
Although she was a new disciple, she had a Golden Core cultivator standing beside her. She might well be an inner disciple, so there was no harm in being polite.
“The senior brother who just flew away told me,” Nangong Yu replied in a crisp voice.
She was young, with a tender, delicate appearance and clear, limpid eyes. Nothing about her expression or tone gave anyone the slightest reason to doubt her.
Someone asked, “What happened next? Why did Elder Xuanqing attack?”
Nangong Yu shook her head. “I don’t know that part. That senior brother didn’t say.”
“Which grand-disciple?”
“Could it have been a grand-disciple of Perfected Mingxiao?”
“Perfected Mingxiao is in seclusion. If one of his grand-disciples was bullied, he’d have no choice but to ask his junior brother to step in.”
As everyone speculated, the clear, lilting voice of a young girl rang out again. “I know this one. It was…”
She glanced behind her and saw Chen Zhi standing there in a daze. She nudged him with her elbow. “Which peak was it again? I didn’t remember.”
Chen Zhi opened his mouth, and the answer slipped out before he could stop himself. “Luowu Peak.”
“Right, Luowu Peak.” Nangong Yu turned her gaze back toward the scene in the distance. “It wasn’t Perfected Mingxiao’s grand-disciple. It was the grand-disciple of the Dao Lord of Luowu Peak.”
Nangong Yu remembered that her senior sister, Jiang Yingxue, had already reached the Deity Transformation Realm. Cultivators at that level were addressed as Dao Lords.
“Oh!”
“The Dao Lord of Luowu Peak… wouldn’t find it easy to intervene.”
“Would a Dao Lord really be reluctant to attack a Perfected Being? Elder Xuanqing bullied a junior disciple despite his seniority!”
“That’s not what I mean. The one from Luowu Peak has a bad temper. If she were to make a move…”
As everyone continued discussing the matter, Nangong Yu’s curiosity got the better of her. She asked Chen Zhi, “What would happen if Senior Sister made a move?”
Chen Zhi shook his head. He didn’t dare gossip about his grandmaster.
Nangong Yu had no choice but to keep listening. This time, someone supplied the answer.
“The last person who offended Dao Lord Jiang was frozen into an ice sculpture and hung in the sect’s main square for forty-nine days.”
The physical harm was minor, but the humiliation was devastating.
After suffering such a tremendous loss of face, the cultivator left the sect as soon as he was freed. So many years had passed, and he had never returned.
“Wow.” Nangong Yu’s eyes lit up, and a vivid scene had already formed in her mind.
In the middle of the square stood an ice sculpture. Under cover of night, she would sneak over and give it a whack with a stick. The sculpture would instantly shatter into pieces.
“Grandmaster hasn’t made a move in many years.” Chen Zhi had no idea what she was thinking, but his instincts told him it could be nothing good. His words were half reminder, half warning.
He hadn’t misjudged her. This mortal girl was far too crafty. She had lied without even blinking just now, spouting nonsense right in front of him.
“You know very well that Senior Sister doesn’t like fighting.” Nangong Yu suddenly looked furious. Pointing at him, she said, “And yet you let someone else beat you up, making Senior Sister lose face. You did it on purpose! You’ve already been bought off by someone, haven’t you?”
Chen Zhi was rendered speechless.
At that moment, high above them—
Elder Xuanqing was utterly baffled. He shouted angrily, “Xu Wanzhong, are you sick?”
“You’re the one who’s sick!”
“If I’m not sick, then why would I come looking for trouble first thing in the morning?”
“If you weren’t sick, why would you pick a fight with my senior sister’s grand-disciple and injure him so badly?”
Elder Xuanqing finally remembered. The previous day, he had injured True Person Qinghong’s disciple.
True Person Qinghong was Jiang Yingxue’s disciple. Jiang Yingxue was not someone to provoke, but most of her disciples were mild-tempered.
Elder Xuanqing had never expected True Person Qinghong to report the matter. After beating Chen Zhi to vent his anger, he had promptly forgotten all about it.
Who could have guessed that Xu Wanzhong would come knocking today?
“I was teaching him a lesson. Was I wrong to do so?”
Speaking of this, one could not help but think of that new disciple who had made such a brazen remark during the Heart-Seeking Trial.
“Sent to recruit new disciples, and what sort of people did he bring back?!”
Xu Wanzhong, too, had found the new disciple from yesterday utterly outrageous.
But then again, “What does Chen Zhi have to do with what other people say?”
One after another, they took advantage of his senior sister’s inability to act personally and bullied her disciples and grand-disciples!
Did they think Hengxu Peak was beneath their notice?!
Xu Wanzhong showed no mercy in his attacks, and Elder Xuanqing struggled to defend himself.
The two were both Nascent Soul cultivators. In terms of cultivation, Xuanqing was one minor realm higher. But that advantage could not be brought to bear in such a short time—especially with Xu Wanzhong pressing him relentlessly.
Furious, he demanded, “What exactly do you want?!”
Xu Wanzhong snorted. “You will apologize to my child.”
Although Chen Zhi was a Core Formation cultivator, he was still young. He was more than two hundred years younger than Xu Wanzhong, and in Xu Wanzhong’s eyes, he was a child regardless of age or seniority.
“I’ll have someone deliver two bottles of Rejuvenation Pills later,” Elder Xuanqing said.
Xu Wanzhong immediately looked down on the offer. “Rejuvenation Pills? Are you really that poor? Did you spend all your spirit stones on a coffin?”
Rejuvenation Pills were common medicines used to treat injuries. But as an apology gift, they were nowhere near sufficient.
“What more do you want?” Elder Xuanqing demanded angrily. “I’ll add a bottle of Soul-Nourishing Pills. That’s all I’m giving you.”
After hearing this, Xu Wanzhong drew up a list for him. Elder Xuanqing instantly refused.
“Absolutely impossible!”
It was only a junior he had struck. He had already agreed to send medicinal pills over. Was that still not enough to show respect?
“You’ve come to my doorstep to make outrageous demands!” Elder Xuanqing sneered.
Seeing that he refused, Xu Wanzhong sneered as well. “If you won’t give them to me, I’ll take them myself!”
Any stray cat or dog thought it could bully its way onto Hengxu Peak now!
Xu Wanzhong was not targeting Elder Xuanqing specifically, but Elder Xuanqing had clearly stepped on his bottom line.
The two fought fiercely, leaving the disciples below staring in stunned silence.
“Why are they still fighting?”
“What kind of grudge do they have against each other?”
“I heard Elder Xuanqing laid hands on Dao Lord Jiang’s grand-disciple.”
“No wonder. Perfected Xu and Dao Lord Jiang are extremely close. How could he tolerate that?”
“Perfected Xu cares more about face than anyone. If that had been his own grand-disciple, forget Elder Xuanqing—he would have gone back and purged his own sect.”
A master who could not protect their disciple was an incompetent master. Xu Wanzhong could never tolerate that.
As the battle grew increasingly intense and more and more spectators gathered, Chen Zhi grew restless. He sent a message to his master, True Person Qinghong.
“I’m heading back to the sect right now.” A gentle woman’s voice came through his disciple token. “But I won’t be able to make it back for a while. Your grandmaster is in secluded cultivation, so don’t disturb her. Your second grand-uncle is also in seclusion and cannot be bothered. In that case, send a message to the great-grandmaster.”
Chen Zhi answered, “Yes,” then ended the communication and contacted Elder Ling Heng.
“No need.” Nangong Yu pressed down on his hand.
Her eyes darted about as she looked toward the sky. “Watch this.”
Chen Zhi immediately tried to stop her. “Don’t—”
But he was a step too late.
Or rather, Nangong Yu had moved too quickly. The moment she finished speaking, the battle in the sky suddenly changed.
“Pff—”
A very distinct sound came from behind Elder Xuanqing.
The unexpected turn of events stunned the elder, who had “achieved immortality” centuries ago.
He had been on the path of cultivation for hundreds of years. In all that time, he had never again experienced the sensations of an ordinary mortal.
A sudden fart left Elder Xuanqing stunned for a moment. And in that brief lapse, Xu Wanzhong seized his chance.
“Blergh—”
As Elder Xuanqing focused all his attention on defending himself, a sudden, intense wave of nausea hit him. His stomach cramped, his throat constricted, and his vision went black.
“Are you sick or something?!” Xu Wanzhong was startled by his strange reaction and pulled back, frowning.
They had their differences, but something was clearly wrong with Elder Xuanqing.
As a cultivator, he could dispel any strange symptoms with spiritual power. So why was he farting and retching? It was bizarre!
Downright eerie, in fact. “What trick are you trying to pull?!”
Elder Xuanqing was dizzy and disoriented. He wanted to explain, but something was wrong—he couldn’t even stay upright in the air. He dropped straight down!
Xu Wanzhong jumped and hurriedly backed away.
—A Nascent Soul cultivator falling out of the sky was no big deal. The only thing that would get smashed was the ground.
—Unfortunately, the ground below was the sect’s main square. If he smashed it, someone would have to pay for the repairs!
The watching disciples scattered as well.
A figure plummeted at terrifying speed and slammed into the sect’s main square. With a thunderous crash, a wide swath of jade paving shattered to dust, and clouds of dust billowed into the air.
“Elder?”
“Elder Xuanqing?!”
The disciples gathered around the enormous crater, staring down in disbelief.
The dignified Nascent Soul elder lay at the bottom with his eyes shut and his face yellow as paper. Clutching his stomach, he curled up like a shrimp and rolled around nonstop.
“Xuanqing? Xuanqing?” Xu Wanzhong landed too. He took in the scene, brow furrowed, and sent a thread of spiritual power toward the elder.
A Nascent Soul cultivator’s body was already impervious to all things. Elder Xuanqing’s condition looked like poisoning—and by some rare, potent toxin.
“Take him to Pillfire Peak,” he ordered gravely, sweeping his gaze over the crowd.
Pillfire Peak was home to the healing cultivators. A disciple immediately took the order and flew off.
“Xuanqing! Wake up!” Xu Wanzhong gently probed Elder Xuanqing’s spiritual core with his power. “Say something. What’s wrong with you?”
Elder Xuanqing was still rolling around when he suddenly farted again. The “pfft” sent his robes fluttering.
Xu Wanzhong: “...”
The sight was both pitiful and funny. None of the disciples knew what expression to wear, so they all ended up looking as solemn as could be.
Only Chen Zhi shot the person beside him a deeply wary look. “What exactly did you do?!”
Don’t ask why he suspected Nangong Yu.
Every time something strange happened, she was behind it!
“Ugh!” Nangong Yu sighed in disappointment. She hadn’t gotten the effect she wanted.
“Stupid system,” she cursed inwardly.
The system’s titles were all ridiculous. The effects of titles like “Bad Medicine” were mostly ordinary symptoms: stomachaches, diarrhea, dizziness, nausea, incoherent rambling, and the like.
She wished there were one with an outright lethal effect, but there wasn’t.
Putting it on and taking it off over and over again, and she still hadn't even managed to give him diarrhea. The old thing certainly had some luck.
“What does that have to do with me?” She turned her head and frowned at the person beside her. “Which one of your eyes saw me causing trouble?”
Chen Zhi choked. “You just said, ‘Watch this.’ Wasn't that you?”
Even if she denied it, he still wouldn't believe her now!
Nangong Yu looked him up and down twice, then suddenly narrowed her eyes with a smile. “Hmm... What did you call me?”
Chen Zhi paused, his chest filling with frustration. “Little Grand-Uncle-Master.”
Nangong Yu smiled sweetly. “What did I do just now?”
Chen Zhi grew even more frustrated and lowered his head. “Little Grand-Uncle-Master didn't do anything.”
She was now one of the people from Hengxu Peak.
If they wanted to complain, they could close the door and deal with it internally at Hengxu Peak.
“You really are something.” Nangong Yu clicked her tongue and shook her head. “So hypocritical. Bad boy, refusing to tell the truth.”
Chen Zhi's heart ached again and again, as though invisible little swords were stabbing into it.
He was not a hypocritical person. Yet for the sake of his sect's reputation, he had still done such a thing.
The resentment in Chen Zhi's heart refused to settle. A poisonous fire began to spread, scorching him until he could hardly find peace.
“Master of Danhua Peak is here,” someone said.
Nangong Yu immediately looked up and saw several figures descending gracefully to the ground.
At the front was a female cultivator. She extended her slender, jade-green fingers, and strands of green spiritual power, fine as silk threads, spiraled out and wrapped around Elder Xuanqing.
“Oh?” the female cultivator murmured in surprise. She then took out a Rejuvenation Pill and flicked it lightly with her fingertip.
The Rejuvenation Pill shot into Elder Xuanqing's mouth. Before long, he stood up, drenched in sweat.
After brushing the dust from his clothes, he flew out of the pit.
“Thank you, Junior Sister.” Elder Xuanqing's expression was ugly as he cupped his hands and forced himself to thank the woman.
The female cultivator nodded and asked, “What did you eat?”
Curiosity was plain on her beautiful, refined face.
There was no unusual poison in Elder Xuanqing's body, nor did his spiritual energy appear disordered. Instead, he looked as though he had eaten something strange.
“I didn't eat anything.” His expression grew even darker. He suddenly turned toward Xu Wanzhong. “What did you do to me?!”
He had been perfectly fine. Then, while fighting Xu Wanzhong, something had suddenly gone wrong!
“What does this have to do with my senior brother?” A clear, ringing girl's voice rang out and reached the ears of all the cultivators present. “I think you've done too many wicked things and offended Heaven. That's why you've made such a fool of yourself.”
Xu Wanzhong had been about to curse back, but when his gaze swept across the area nearby, he could not help smiling. With a flash of his figure, he landed beside Nangong Yu.
“Well said, Little Junior Sister.” He stood with his hands behind his back and looked toward the distance. “Who knows what wicked things you've done? Don't try to pin this on someone else.”
Elder Xuanqing saw Nangong Yu at that moment, and his face darkened. He raised a hand and pointed at her. “You—”
With a single glance, he recognized her as the new disciple who had verbally torn him apart from head to toe during the Heart-Questioning Trial.
“Ah!” Before he could finish, Nangong Yu jumped backward and hid behind Chen Zhi. “How scary!”
Chen Zhi: “...”
The corner of his mouth twitched, but he still stepped forward, shielding her completely.
Seeing this, Xu Wanzhong's expression darkened. “Are you courting death?”
He moved, preparing to step forward and exchange blows, when another change suddenly occurred.
“Pffft—”
That same familiar, thunderous noise rang out from behind Elder Xuanqing once again.
The disciples standing behind him quickly scattered to either side. A cultivator’s fart might not stink, but no one was eager to find out.
“Hmm?” Master of Danhua Peak, who had been about to leave, stopped at the sound. His eyes lit up as he stared over. “Senior Brother Xuanqing, what did you just do?”
Elder Xuanqing’s face darkened. He suddenly let out an indignant snort, then shot into the air and sped away.
“Leave the compensation behind!” Nangong Yu shouted at his back. “You injured Master of Luowu Peak’s grand-disciple. Do you really think you can just walk away?”
Xu Wanzhong immediately moved to stop him.
Elder Xuanqing’s face had turned an ashen green as he struggled to control the gas churning wildly inside him. With no time to speak, he hurriedly tossed down a storage pouch.
His figure rapidly dwindled in the distance, soon becoming nothing more than a tiny, vanishing speck.
“So, having a higher cultivation really means you can hit people without apologizing,” the girl said in her clear, ringing voice, her tone filled with wonder. “I’m definitely going to cultivate hard!”
She clenched her fist, her eyes shining brightly with the first glimmer of a little demon.
The next moment, Xu Wanzhong rapped her on the head. “Nonsense! Is cultivation for bullying people?”
He looked toward the direction Elder Xuanqing had disappeared in, his expression somewhat displeased.
“What an old man with no sense of propriety. He nearly led Junior Sister astray.”
Nangong Yu rubbed her head. “I know, Senior Brother.”
Seeing this, the surrounding disciples relaxed, at least somewhat.
Many of them cast a subtle glance toward the direction Elder Xuanqing had vanished, all harboring a measure of resentment.
“He certainly ran fast,” Master of Danhua Peak said with a yawn, glancing at the disciple beside him. “Go collect the consultation fee.”
The disciple at his side answered, “Yes, Master.”
The people around them gradually dispersed.
One disciple from one of the main peaks, however, looked at the enormous crater smashed into the square. He took out his communication token and sent a message:
“…Yes, it was Elder Xuanqing…”
No matter who was responsible, anyone who damaged the sect’s square had to pay for it.
