Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Xiao Ran’s heart nearly jumped out when he saw how close the elderly man was to him. Luckily, he was able to calm down quickly thanks to the Art of Resonance.
The reason the elderly man was so close to him was purely because… he was near-sighted.
Then, the elderly man asked Xiao Ran out of the blue, “Who are you?”
Xiao Ran thought that he should be the one asking that. Who else could he be other than the Sword-Wielding Elder’s new disciple when a new young face like him had appeared in this room for the Elder meeting?
Chunwa and Qiuchan were frightened by the old man as well. As they were too close, they could only raise their little necks and look up exaggeratedly to focus on the man.
“Hi—Hi, Junior Uncle Moxia…”
Both girls were curious.
Weapon-casting Elder Moxia Zhenren stayed secluded in the Sword-Tempering Mountain all year round, spending ten years casting a sword. He rarely left his place, popping in perfunctorily when an Elder meeting was called, but he had not expressed any opinion during the meeting for decades.
Why was he suddenly coming up to Xiao Ran and asking who he was?
Chunwa did not think much about it and introduced the old man to Xiao Ran at once. “This is our sect’s Sword-Tempering Elder, Moxia Zhenren.”
Xiao Ran, who had heard the girls introducing Moxia Zhenren earlier, mused that he must have become near-sighted from spending 10 years casting a sword.
Qiuchan then introduced Xiao Ran to the elderly man. “This is Junior Uncle Lingzhou’s new Direct Disciple…”
Before his name was mentioned, the old man curtly cut the introduction short.
“I’m not asking who you are now. I’m asking who you were before.”
‘I was a great socialist successor!’
“Why do you ask, Senior Uncle?” asked Xiao Ran.
The old man had his hands behind him as his deep, dim eyes stared straight at Xiao Ran.
“Because you seem to have an opinion on the sword fence…”
‘He can tell?’
‘Could the wall be his work?’
Xiao Ran was not quite proficient in spiritual patterns, but the construction level was incredibly high! He had not expected the sword-tempering master to be a construction expert too.
Xiao Ran explained, perusing what he had learned, “I’m like a bao seller who knows nothing about art and can only say if it’s nice or not when facing a perfect piece of art. Senior Uncle needs not be concerned with this disciple’s ill opinion.”
A perfect piece of art?
The old man stroked his beard. This four-walled sword fence was indeed the pinnacle of his work. However, this new disciple seemed to have a different opinion regarding the details.
“I don’t see perfection from your eyes. I see flaws.”
Xiao Ran was puzzled.
This old man had noticed that he had an opinion about certain details of the sword fence, but he was not like the others, who observed him with their divine sense out of curiosity when they saw a mortal Direct Disciple.
All this while, he had never looked at Xiao Ran with his divine sense.
It was as if his cultivation base was insignificant to him, as the Sword-Wielding Elder must have her reasons for selecting him.
The elderly man’s tone sounded interrogative, but there was a vague repressed gleam in his deep dark eyes.
Xiao Ran cupped a palm over his fist and said respectfully, “This disciple has been brusque.”
The old man shook his head with a smile.
“No one can be brusque in front of the Sky-Guarding Sword Fence and not be hurt by its Sky-Guarding intention.”
Xiao Ran had nothing to say to that.
Then, Bo Yunzi’s airy androgynous voice drifted from outside the door. “Everyone’s here. Let’s begin.”
The elderly man looked a little regretful as he said, “Perhaps… Junior Nephew Xiao can visit the Sword-Tempering Mountain sometime after the Elder meeting. I’ll definitely welcome you with good tea.”
He went to his seat upon saying that, leaving a slightly confused Xiao Ran behind.
Welcome him with good tea? Were Elders in this sect so friendly?
Not far from where he was, Lingzhou Yue was waving to signal for Xiao Ran to take his place.
Just as the meeting was about to start, she had witnessed the earlier scene. She had not expected boring old Moxia Zhenren to strike up a conversation…
Something must be wrong for an anomaly like that to occur!
Lingzhou Yue’s sword-like brows narrowed, as she felt that things were not as simple as they seemed.
‘Did this old man take a liking to my precious disciple too?’
‘Does he not know that it’s first come, first served? He’s taken!’
When she met Xiao Ran, Lingzhou Yue asked in alert, “What did that old man say to you?”
Xiao Ran answered honestly, “Senior Uncle Moxia asked me to visit the Sword-Tempering Mountain when I’m free and said that he’d welcome me with good tea.”
Welcome him with good tea?
Lingzhou Yue coughed and whispered next to Xiao Ran’s ear, “The old man has spent 10 years on a sword. He doesn’t have the time to have tea. It must be a trap. Don’t go.”
Xiao Ran did not plan to go anyway but he pretended to listen to his master.
“I shall follow Master’s instructions.”
Xiao Ran’s respect and devotion made Lingzhou Yue feel an inexplicable sense of distance, as though she could lose him at any time, so she pulled Xiao Ran closer and wrapped her arm around his shoulder before saying with a chuckle, “Don’t be so polite. I’m very easygoing. Besides, we’re all young people. There’s no need to be pedantic or act like we’re aged seniors. There’d be a communication gap otherwise.”
Yinyue Zhenren, who was behind him, was left speechless.
Communication gap?
Xiao Ran felt something soft around his elbow, as though he had bumped into something, and lowered his head to sneak a peek.
Mm, there was no communication gap, but there was a crack deeper than a gap…
…
In the Ruling Hall, five dark long wooden tables etched with red patterns had been put together, forming a pentagon with corners where the guests would be sitting opposite each other. These were the seats of the Sect Leader and the four Elders.
Their Direct Disciples stood behind the table of their respective master to listen in on the meeting.
Other than the Sect Leader’s seat, which was fixed in the north, the other four places were free seating.
As the person with the best ability among the four Elders, Lingzhou Yue sat in the southeast direction, which was slightly lower, giving the higher northeast spot to Yinyue Zhenren.
Standing diagonally behind her, all Xiao Ran could think of was the gap. He reproached himself, but what could he do? He was only a mortal. He could not suppress his filthy thoughts, which were roused by hormones, with a cultivation base. He could only divert his attention.
Thus, he looked around.
Sword-Tempering Elder Moxia Zhenren, who had struck up a conversation with him just now, was seated northwest.
Theoretically, this was a more honorable position compared to the other three Elders’ seats and it matched his status.
According to Chunwa and Qiuchan’s introduction, Zongzhi Mountain was located at the end of a fire vein, and water was abundant in the ground too, so they had become the best at forging weapons, especially tempering swords.
The accompanying swords and flying swords produced by Zongzhi Mountain were popular in the Zhenling Continent. It was the main reason Zongzhi Mountain could stand strong in the Dao-Ending Period.
Sword-Tempering Elder Moxia Zhenren’s contribution could not be overlooked. He was a considerable pillar of Zongzhi Mountain, so his seat prompted no dispute.
Standing behind Moxia Zhenren was his Direct Disciple, a tall and skinny young man whose eyes and ears were sealed with iron rings. He looked kind of like an ancient sci-fi character.
A great teacher could produce a brilliant disciple, but this person was named Gao Shi. It was said that he might surpass his master in the time to come and was the future of Zongzhi Mountain.
It was also said that he was an incredibly gifted sword-forger but he was not focused, had too many wild thoughts, and was easily distracted, so Moxia Zhenren had forcefully put on the eye-sealing rings on him. Since then, he had disregarded anything that happened in the outside world and devoted his hands to forging precious swords.
While Xiao Ran was looking at him, he was also looking at Xiao Ran. The iron rings gleamed, giving one chills.
Xiao Ran retracted his gaze promptly.
Southwest sat Chunwa and Qiuchan’s villain, the Commandment Elder, Huangfu Qun.
He was a middle-aged man who looked serious with a hidden hint of belligerence. His features looked like they had been sculpted, but there was no sense of charisma about him, only eerie menace.
His Direct Disciple behind him was a fatty who looked stoic, Luo Sheng. The girls said that his original name was Huangfu Luosheng and he was the son of Huangfu Qun. He was mediocre and had only reached a Direct Disciple standard with resources and laborious cultivation.
This was almost an open secret on Zongzhi Mountain.
The father-and-son pair kept their eyes closed all this while, not sparing anyone a glance.
Finally, Xiao Ran looked toward the north.
The long table was empty, and the Sect Leader was absent.
On the side, an androgynous white-robed cultivator stood alone. It was Bo Yunzi, who had informed them earlier of the Elder meeting.
Unlike the gentleness he had felt when they’d first met, Xiao Ran felt a powerful aura coming from Bo Yunzi this time.
Chunwa and Qiuchan had said that Bo Yunzi was the best cultivator in the sect after the Sect Leader and Lingzhou Yue and that he was better than the other three Elders.
Xiao Ran guessed that perhaps something was going to happen when a junior suddenly started exuding a dominant aura in front of his seniors.
Not seeing the Sect Leader, Commandment Elder Huangfu Qun asked sternly, “Where’s Sect Leader Senior Brother? Why isn’t he here yet?”
Bo Yunzi explained, “A Wraith infiltrated the mountain guarding array and caused the Master to relapse. It was decided just now that his disciple will hold the meeting on his behalf.”
“You?”
Huangfu Qun looked skeptical, and his expression was angry.
Xiao Ran could understand why the Commandment Elder was so arrogant that he did not even care for the Sect Leader.
Due to the arrival of the Dao-Ending Period, the cultivation world had suffered a terrible loss. To work together and fight the Wraiths, all the sects in the Zhenling Continent had collaborated and established the Cultivation Alliance.
The Cultivation Alliance operated on rules and would post a Commandment Elder in every sect. The duties of the Commandment Elder were to supervise and judge every law-defying affair in the sect. Not even the Sect Elders could do whatever they wanted.
Nevertheless, the influence of the Cultivation Alliance could barely seep into an independent and established sect like Zongzhi Mountain. Its Commandment Elder was decided by the sect itself and only had to report to the alliance timely.
This indirectly elevated the status of the Commandment Elder.
Feeling stood up, Huangfu Qun was unhappy with Bo Yunzi’s explanation.
“Can’t Senior Brother transmit his voice if he can’t make it?”
Bo Yunzi folded his palm over his fist and said, “Master’s viewed the night sky and predicted that the concentration of spiritual energy in the cultivation world may take a plunge in three years. Therefore, he’d like to try tribulations and cultivate to ascend a stage within three years.”
“What?”
Huangfu Qun stood up with a slap on the table, and his eyes widened.
Everyone else was speechless from shock as well.