Chapter 489 - 237: Explosive Increase in Cultivation

Chapter 489: Chapter 237: Explosive Increase in Cultivation

He spoke with bravado, but all he did was tell them to come find him at the Qian family’s main residence. On second thought, it was rather laughable.

After he finished speaking, Qian Weiyi’s expression darkened. With a flick of his sleeve, he departed from the Sword Sect’s villa.

He hadn’t wanted to clash with these juniors, but the Sword Sect disciples showed no respect for their elders. Grieving the loss of his family’s younger generation and burning with rage, Qian Weiyi couldn’t help but strike out.

’But what’s done is done. As a Grandmaster of the Qian family, so what if I taught a few juniors a lesson?’

He led the men from the Qian family away, surrounded by his entourage. Yao Yunwu glanced around a few times, but seeing that Xie Yuan was not present, he didn’t linger either and hurried back to the Yao family.

Qin Zhenyang watched them all leave, a mess left in their wake. He simply instructed the attendants to clean up before heading back to treat his wounds.

Inside the room.

Ning Zi, Lin Zhen, and Huang Zifeng gathered around Qin Zhenyang. Seeing that his injuries weren’t serious and only required quiet recuperation, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Senior Brother Qin, where is Junior Brother Zhang? What happened in the ruins? How did things turn out this way?"

Ning Zi asked with a frown.

Qin Zhenyang shook his head.

"Junior Brother Zhang stumbled upon the Qian and Yao families’ vile deeds at the Wu River, making enemies of them. This time, the two families targeted him directly inside the ruins, but he skillfully thwarted their plans. He anticipated this, however, and had already left beforehand."

The others exchanged glances, unaware of all that had transpired.

’Two major families tried to deal with our Junior Brother Zhang? But he managed to thwart them? And then he predicted their moves and left ahead of time?’

’Putting it all together, something felt off. Was this still the same simple-hearted, training-obsessed genius of a junior brother they knew?’

But Qin Zhenyang didn’t elaborate, merely thinking to himself, ’With this misdirection and delay, Xie Yuan should have made a clean getaway. This is as much as I, his senior brother, can do to help.’

Xie Yuan had thought his departure would prevent the two families from troubling the Sword Sect disciples. He never imagined Qin Zhenyang would still shoulder some of the burden for him, to the point of being injured.

Fortunately, Qin Zhenyang’s cultivation was profound and his power formidable. He had taken a Grandmaster’s furious blow head-on and escaped with only minor injuries. His own cultivation level, it seemed, was not far from the Heaven and Earth Bridge Realm.

「Several days later.」

Beside a small Daoist temple outside Jinling Prefecture.

A main road passed by, so a tea stall had been set up next to the temple.

The small temple received few worshippers, so several of its Daoists moonlighted as Tea Masters to earn extra money and cover the temple’s daily expenses.

The temple wasn’t built on a famous mountain or in a major city, so it was clearly no renowned monastery. But thanks to its excellent location by the main road, the tea stall, at least, did good business.

At this moment, the stall was filled with people carrying travel packs and wearing swords at their waists—clearly wandering Martial Artists passing through.

As they rested their feet and drank tea, they chattered away, their words flowing like a river. Their talk was filled with "a friend of mine" who held a high position or "my neighbor," a disciple of some famous sect. They discussed grand martial arts events and major cultivation matters as if they were the masterminds or had been eyewitnesses on the scene.

However, being at the heart of the Great Li’s Martial Dao, the Martial Artists of the Jiangnan region were indeed more knowledgeable than most. Not only could they recite the three great ranking lists from memory, but they could also offer an analysis or two about ruins and secret realms.

"...speaking of the Little Hidden Dragon Assembly held by the Yao family, the winner and a few disciples from the great clans were allowed to enter the Jianzhen Lake ruins to cultivate."

"Jianzhen Lake? You mean the one near Jinling? I heard that’s a resort where the Yao family’s patriarch goes to recuperate. You’re saying there’s a secret realm there too?"

"That shows what you know. Rumor has it there’s a ’lake within the lake’ at Jianzhen Lake, and disciples from the Major Sects have always gone there to cultivate. It was the same this time, but... something unexpected happened..."

"What? Spit it out, don’t leave us hanging."

"I hear that ten or twenty people went in total, all of them prodigies from the various sects and families, hoping to break through to the Grandmaster realm. But they ended up trapped inside for over a month, and nearly half of them died—"

"What?"

"Is that true?"

"Who all died?"

"It’s the absolute truth. I have a friend who’s a guard for the Yao family. Grandmasters from many families went to Jianzhen Lake when it happened. As for who died... I know the Cold Mountain Elder’s Closed-door Disciple was one of them."

"The Cold Mountain Elder’s Closed-door Disciple? You mean the one who was hailed as having the best chance to become a Grandmaster?"

"Wouldn’t the Cold Mountain Elder go after the Yao family with everything he’s got?"

Someone added in a somber tone:

"He did. The Cold Mountain Elder died yesterday."

"What?"

"That happened too?"

"Who killed him?"

Gasps of shock came from the others.

The man jutted his chin in the direction of the city.

"The masters, of course. I was coming out of the city this morning and saw the Yao family posting notices. They said the Cold Mountain Elder was a wicked man who had committed countless murders, and a Yao family Grandmaster eliminated him yesterday. What’s more, I heard that several of the Cold Mountain Elder’s former disciples—the ones who had already completed their training and opened their own martial arts schools—were all slaughtered, their schools wiped out in a bloodbath..."

The men exchanged glances and fell silent. After a moment, the Daoist serving their tea let out a cold sneer.

"Why the silence?"

"Er, it must be that the Cold Mountain Elder was a wicked man who committed countless murders... The Yao family was upholding justice and ridding the people of a menace."

"Hah. The Cold Mountain Elder has been in Jiangnan for decades. The Yao family is only just now remembering to ’rid the people of a menace’?"

The traveler’s expression soured, and he said noncommittally:

"Perhaps they only just found evidence of his crimes."

"Found evidence right after they killed his disciple? The Cold Mountain Elder was famous for decades. He did some good and some bad, but never anything truly heinous. He was a man who followed his heart. As for the crimes they pinned on him, I’d bet the Yao family committed them and are just trying to pin the blame on a dead man! A poor Elder Grandmaster... his disciple is killed, his entire legacy is wiped out, and even in death, he’s forced to be the scapegoat for a great family!"

The other customers exchanged a look, then suddenly rose as one, paid their bills, and hurried away.

"Holy shit, someone’s got a death wish!"

"Let’s get out of here! Before we get blood spattered on our robes."

The crowd scattered with a RUSH, as if fleeing a flood or a savage beast. In an instant, they had all vanished.

In a flash, the tea stall was empty save for the two temple Daoists working as Tea Masters and the one customer who had spoken so recklessly.

The young Daoist, who had sharp brows and bright eyes, looked at the customer. His eyes lit up as he came over, sat down, and cupped his hands in a salute.

"You must be a fellow righteous hero, one who fights for the wronged. Allow this humble Daoist to treat you to a cup of tea. What would you like to drink?"

"Heh, Daoist Zhang, do you happen to have any tea brewed with a Water-Stabilizing Pearl?" the guest asked with a grin.

Zhang Junyi froze. Then he watched as the man’s features shifted, revealing a handsome face—it was Xie Yuan.

"Daoist, I’m here as promised!"