Chapter 23: The Judgment — This Time, Can You Save Only Me… part 1
Two spiritual lights landed simultaneously, revealing figures.
One had the air of an immortal sage, with white hair and a white beard, stroking his beard with a cheerful expression—this was the Sect Master of Xuanji. The other wore brocade blue Daoist robes with fluttering sleeves, looking like a handsome man in his thirties, with a cold and severe expression. With a wave of his hand, he released the Immortal-Binding Rope from Xiao Jianming. It was the Sword Venerable.
The Sword Venerable gave Su Huan a faint glance. Su Huan instantly felt as if ten thousand catties were pressing down on him, like the sea overturning. His face paled rapidly, and his body trembled slightly. Feng Jiangyue turned pale with shock and blocked him, her voice urgent: “I beg the Sword Venerable to show mercy. My Junior Brother’s body is inherently weak; he cannot withstand such torment!”
“Hmph, he has some backbone.” The Sword Venerable ignored her. He deliberately released doubled pressure, but seeing Su Huan’s body swaying yet remaining silent, his expression softened slightly. He withdrew the pressure with a wave of his sleeve but said, “Since it was caused by accidental loss of control due to demonic energy, it is not my disciple’s fault. This punishment, I do not accept!”
Xiao Jianming lifted his eyes to look at his cheap master, somewhat surprised that he would speak up for him. He had thought this man was another hypocrite.
He glanced imperceptibly at Master Chongjiang, suspecting in his heart whether this person was the mastermind behind Su Huan, needing to be tested.
The disciples present held their breath. Thinking of the Sword Venerable’s usually extremely protective behavior, they felt Senior Brother Su would probably just have to accept his bad luck and swallow this bitter pill. It caused an uproar for a moment.
Feng Jiangyue was unconvinced. She opened her mouth to refute, only to find she couldn’t make a sound. Then she saw the old Sect Master secretly wagging a finger at her. She immediately understood that the Sect Master was secretly protecting her. She was just an ordinary disciple; if she rashly confronted the Sword Venerable, she might fail and endanger her life instead.
Feng Jiangyue still felt indignant. Su Huan sensed her emotions, tugged at her sleeve, and transmitted comfortingly: Senior Sister, don’t worry. I have already transmitted the whole sequence of events to Shifu; he will be here soon.
They couldn’t afford to offend the old ones, but calling another old one to face the old one should work, right?
He didn’t want to offend the protagonist, but he had to get some interest back, right?
Otherwise, who could he complain to about his shattered-to-dregs Golden Core?
Here, the old Sect Master stroked his beard and pondered, “Junior Brother, this matter concerns the relationship between Lingshuang and Lichen, two spiritual mountains. It is a matter of great importance. Why don’t we go to my Huide Hall for a cup of tea and discuss it further? The way you are acting, I cannot give an explanation to Chongjiang.”
The surroundings boiled over again. Master Chongjiang of Lichen Mountain was also known for an extremely protective nature and a bad temper. It seemed Senior Brother Su’s case still had room to turn around.
The Sword Venerable said nothing, flicked his sleeve, and left, flying toward the main peak, Yuxiao. The old Sect Master stroked his beard and chuckled, “Disperse, everyone.”
He then sighed at the two disciples, Su Huan and his sister. “You two follow me up as well. Truly a fateful entanglement.”
Su Huan’s lips trembled, and he covered his face.
So, that ridiculous rumor had already spread to the point where everyone in the sect knew?
Help, he was about to die from overwork digging a hole in the ground with his toes…
Although he was an actor, having such melodramatic gossip about himself seen by elders was still very awkward…
As soon as Su Huan rode his Senior Sister’s sword up to Huide Hall, he saw that besides the Sect Master and the Sword Venerable, there was also a clear and beautiful woman and Master Chongjiang inside the hall.
Master Chongjiang was dressed in gorgeous, noble attire. On a face that looked like the gentle breeze and bright moon, there grew a pair of upward-slanting, sharp phoenix eyes. A few fine lines appeared at the corners of his eyes, his gaze full of calculation and meanness—a typical villain’s appearance, yet he was a good master who truly loved his disciple and had tried to avenge the original host several times.
Seeing her master, joy burst from Feng Jiangyue’s almond eyes. Before she even stood firm, she shouted loudly, “Shifu!”
Master Chongjiang scolded lightly, “The Sect Master is here. Look at you, no proper form since childhood. Hurry up and bring Huan-er down!”
His eyes, however, showed pride at seeing his disciple’s cultivation improve again. When his gaze fell on Su Huan, it overflowed with heartache. Seeing Su Huan jump down from the sword, he hurried over to catch him, nearly choking with sobs. “My good disciple has suffered. Master will definitely seek justice for you!”
After speaking, he turned his head and glared furiously at the Sword Venerable.
The Sword Venerable didn’t want to lower himself to his level. He turned to look at the clear and beautiful woman in fine clothes in the hall, frowning as he asked, “Why are you here?”
The woman covered her lips with a smile. She had a clear and dignified appearance, yet she leaned lazily against the conference table as if she had the soft bones of a succubus, saying languidly, “Senior Brother knows my temperament. Naturally, I came to watch the fun.”
The old Sect Master coughed lightly. “Zihuan, there are juniors present. Restrain your charm aura quickly.”
Su Huan understood. So this was the legendary Master Zihuan (Zihuan Zhenren), with a hibiscus face and a scorpion’s heart, possessing charm bones.
However, her scorpion heart was directed at those outside the Xuanji Sect; she was quite good to her own disciples. If the Black Lotus hadn’t faked his death and escaped the Xuanji Sect in the later stages, he wouldn’t have been set up by her in the Secret Realm, and the Black Lotus wouldn’t have attacked her.
Master Zihuan pouted and straightened up as told. Her aura withdrew slightly, making her beauty, like a lotus rising from clear water, appear even more holy and inviolable.
She leisurely appraised the youth in the hall. Others couldn’t see it, but she saw it clearly: one of the two didn’t know how to restrain their aura, and the aura emitting from him faintly hooked out a few strands of weak aura from the other person, entangling tightly. This was clearly a phenomenon of having engaged in spiritual cultivation recently. Yet at this moment, they stood at opposite ends of the hall, as if avoiding each other like the plague.
Truly interesting.
After all, it was extremely rare for fellow disciples to become partners and then turn into enemies.
Disciples who chose fellow disciples as partners mostly developed feelings over time. After becoming Dao Companions, they supported each other outside. They had a tacit understanding greater than ordinary Dao Companions, and their feelings were naturally deeper and harder to break. Therefore, turning into enemies was truly a minority.
Su Huan felt awkward under her burning gaze and couldn’t help hiding to the side. However, he accidentally met the eyes of an acquaintance. He froze for a moment before realizing that as the Sect Master’s personal disciple, the Eldest Senior Brother naturally served by his side.
The Eldest Senior Brother winked at him and served hot tea to the various Masters.
The Sword Venerable didn’t drink tea. He slammed the teacup onto the table and grunted, “I’ve already made my words very clear. What exactly do you want?”
Master Chongjiang glared. “What do you mean what do we want? It’s clearly you favoring your disciple and refusing to let him accept punishment! You relied on your great sword accomplishment a hundred years ago to cause trouble everywhere, making me follow behind to wipe your ass. Now my disciple has been harmed by your disciple and lost his Golden Core. Our master and disciple pair must have had eight lifetimes of bad luck to meet you two…”
The Sword Venerable’s face grew increasingly foul. The old Sect Master hurried out to smooth things over. “Alright, alright, it’s all old history. Why bring that up?”
In his heart, he sighed with emotion. It’s still Chongjiang who can suppress this brat.
He stroked his beard and said, “After all, this is a matter between two children. Why don’t we ask what they think?”
Three gazes shot over like torches. Su Huan froze instantly. The gazes of cultivation world experts were truly somewhat daunting.
The Sect Master looked at him with clear old eyes, stroking his beard and smiling. “Don’t be afraid. Just say what’s in your heart.”
Master Chongjiang took only a sip of tea before spitting out tea leaves. He also slammed the teacup onto the table, raising his chin. “Huan-er, don’t be afraid. He, the Sword Venerable, is the Number One Sword under Heaven, but I am still his Senior Brother. Even if you say you want to stab that brat ten or a hundred times, he wouldn’t dare say anything.”
The Sword Venerable’s face turned completely foul. “He dares!”
~
Translator’s note: Happy Holidays!
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