Dual Cultivation God Returns

“If it isn’t the Southern Sea Island Sect…”, the Martial Alliance Representative spoke, his tone not shifting, but the look in his eyes becoming one of annoyance which he didn’t hide this time, “… what brings you to our Headquarters at this time?”

“Well, it is our Sect which discovered the treasure you are discussing”, the Sect Master of the Southern Sea Island Sect spoke entering the hall with a few representatives of his Sect behind him.

Despite being a small Sect, the fact it was not a Grand Elder but a Sect Master who came in person, made it hard for any of the Grand Elders of the Dual Cultivation Sects to interject.

“Hahaha, of course, and as we already discussed…”, the Martial Alliance representative spoke with a laugh that did not seem very heartfelt, but the Sect Master of the Southern Sea Island Sect was not done.

“And unlike before, when the Martial Alliance was going to sell it to the Pill Tower, the proceeds from that deal partially going to our Sect as the original holders, this time it seems the fate of the treasure is going to be decided by a contest of Martial Arts. And as the original owners of the treasure there does not seem to be a way for us to gain any benefit from it”

Murmurs went through the hall, as now that the decision has been reached in favor of a contest, it changed the official status of the natural treasure. Putting the Martial Alliance in the gray zone in regards to the Southern Sea Island Sect.

“Do you wish to receive a compensation from all who wish to compete for the treasure then?”, the Martial Alliance representative suddenly had a sly look in his eyes, seemingly finding a new angle.

But as the Grand Elder of the Serene Harmony Sect was going to speak up, keeping up this momentum of compensation for the Southern Sea Island Sect, the Sect Master of that Sect spoke again, “No, we wish to retrieve the treasure back as is our right”

“…!!!”, this sent a shockwave through the hall.

“B-But you are not even a Dua-…!!”, Elder Guan of the Twilight Bond Sect spoke up, but was silenced by his Grand Elder as it was not proper for him to speak to a Sect Master.

All the gazes turned to the Martial Alliance representative though, as it was imperative he dealt with this sudden obstacle.

“Khm, while Elder Guan of the Twilight Bond Sect spoke out of turn, his point does seem valid, as your Sect does not seem to possess a proper use for a treasure of this kind…”, the Martial Alliance representative felt the pressure and spoke up.

He then added, in a tone of a teacher lecturing an unruly student, “I shall remind the esteemed Sect Master of the Southern Sea Island Sect that it is a great taboo for Daoists of the Righteous Path to hold on to treasures which could benefit others, that do not benefit them, and refuse a fair trade without good reason. And I hope you do remember it is a sin in front of Heavenly Daos to use a great natural treasure in wasteful ways that do not suit their proper purpose”

Finally, his tone slightly shifted to a light cautioning one, but the underlying meaning was very clearly a serious warning, “I am afraid, if the Southern Sea Island Sect holds on to that natural treasure without any will to trade it with someone who has a use for it, they would not be just, and thus the Martial Alliance would support a contest of the treasure from any of the Dual Cultivation Sects or Sects practicing Pure Yang cultivation. Of course, that contest would also have to adhere to rules and polite norms of Righteous Path”

“But we do intend to trade it with Dual Cultivators”, the Sect Master of the Southern Sea Island Sect nonchalantly noted.

“You do?”, the Martial Alliance representative raised his eyebrows in surprise, “Then, there is no need to do it in an unsafe way without proper support and guarantees that my Martial Alliance provide. You can just request for compensation”

However, the Southern Sea Island Sect’s Sect Master calmly, and slightly smugly shook his head, “We do not plan to trade it with any of the Sects who arrived here to compete for our treasure without our participation. We will trade with the Dual Cultivator who came to us first, respecting our right as the original owners of this treasure”

A flurry of gazes full of suspicion followed, as all the Sects gathered were suspecting another Sect in colluding with the Southern Sea Island Sect to pull this stunt.

“And who is that Dual Cultivator?”, the Martial Alliance representative spoke, raising his eyebrow.

“Would Daoist Wu please come forward?”, the Sect Master of the Southern Sea Island Sect spoke up, and Wu Long calmly came out of the crowd of rogue Dual Cultivators.

He already stuck out like a sore thumb as he was just about the only one who was alone instead of coming here with one or more Dual Cultivation partners. Though because of his outstanding looks which caused a great many of the female Dual Cultivation partners to quite blatantly stare at him, he earned scorn from the male population in the room on top of that.

But now that his identity as a ‘secret buyer’ of the natural treasure was revealed, all eyes without exception were on him.

“Puha…! Ehahahaha! You can’t be serious! Hahaha!”, Elder Guan of the Twilight Bond Sect burst into laughter.

Soon, more and more laughter came from around the room, as a rogue cultivator, in Mortal Transcendence Realm, was not someone they expected at all. And not someone they took seriously.

“It seems your joke is a bit far fetched, isn’t it, Esteemed Sect Master?”, even the Martial Alliance representative couldn’t help but give out a chuckle, speaking in a slightly mocking tone.

“It is not a joke”, the Sect Master of the Southern Sea Island Sect spoke after a short panic in his eyes, having met such a strong reaction, “Daoist Wu has offered us a fair deal, the exact contents of which we do not have to disclose, but which value, for the sake of providing competing interests value, we estimate equal to twice the compensation we were promised by the Martial Alliance from the proposed deal between the Martial Alliance and the Wei Dynasty Pill Tower, 200,000 Wei Dynasty gold”

The laughter subsided, as the gazes on Wu Long grew a bit darker.

The place was a bit too official to make any remarks, but Wu Long did not have to hear them to know what these people had on their minds. How dare a rogue cultivator mess with all the powerful Dual Cultivation Sects of the region.

The Martial Alliance representative furrowed his eyebrows, as now he was in a bit of a bind.

Not only the deal he was trying to make almost entirely personally with the Wei Dynasty Pill Tower blew up in his face when it was revealed in the open, then was completely and utterly defeated at this meeting, but this development, if he could not sort it out, would cost him a backlash from all these Dual Cultivation Sects, who collectively held considerable power, and who could vote him out of his position in the Martial Alliance for the next term as the Alliance Representative in the Wei Dynasty and its surrounding areas.

“Hmm, if it is about an equal sum of money, our Twilight Bond Sect would be willing to bid for the treasure as well”

“Hah! If it is that measly amount even we could do that as well!”

The meeting then devolved into a shouting match as all Sects began throwing out bids for the treasure.

“The motion for the contest of strength was already taken, and officially adopted by the declaration of the Alliance Representative”, Wu Long’s calm voice resounded, strangely seeming to cover all the noise, “It thus changes the original deal the Martial Alliance has with the Southern Sea Island Sect, and therefore, is grounds for the latter to withdraw from the deal unilaterally, retrieving their right to possess the treasure”

“Hah! How dare a random brat butt into-…”, as some Elder from a smaller Sect raised his voice, he suddenly stopped, as he felt a shiver go up his spine from an unprecedented feeling of danger.

Wu Long’s gaze didn’t shift, and there were no signs of his attention moving to someone in particular, but all those who wanted to raise their voices found it hard to speak up while he calmly continued.

“My deal with the Southern Sea Island Sect also negates the grounds for the Martial Alliance to support a contest for the treasure, as I am a Dual Cultivator who intends to use the natural treasure for its proper purpose as it was determined by the Heavenly Daos, which means the Southern Sea Island Sect does not violate the natural laws by wasting the treasure, and does not violate the Martial Alliance code by withholding the treasure from those who could use it”, as his words fell, a heavy atmosphere was spreading in the hall.

In simple terms, there was barely any justification that any of the Dual Cultivation Sects, and the Martial Alliance, could offer, to prevent this from happening. And ‘just cause’ was a must for a Righteous Path Sect or the Martial Alliance to make any move.

“Hahaha, this Junior seems to have thought this through. But it is not proper that a deal was made in secret without real challenge from any competing interests… this way we did not even have a chance to offer a better deal which is not just under the Seven Heavens…”, the Grand Elder of the Flowing Petal Hall spoke, narrowing his eyes with a sly look, “How about this? We acknowledge your right to purchase the treasure, but you have to accept a challenge from the Disciple who wins the contest among our Sects. You seem to be in Mortal Transcendence Realm, so it does seem fair”

The idea instantly gained traction, as all the Sects enthusiastically started supporting it.

The Sect Master of the Southern Sea Island Sect had a slightly panicked expression, as the precious Water Spear technique that Wu Long offered them in exchange for the treasure was seemingly hanging in the balance.

However, Wu Long smiled, giving the Sect Master a reassuring look, as well as sending a covert sound transmission no one here could even tell was sent, saying to go with the flow and that their deal stayed in force even with this development.

“I do accept, but I don’t wish to wait for a whole contest to take place, so I will accept a challenge from the two strongest contestants who will win that contest anyway, from the Flowing Petal Hall, as well as…”, Wu Long turned with a smile to a certain direction, “the Profound Union Pavilion”

“Wha-?”

“How can you decide so arbitrarily?”

“This is outrageous!”

The hall exploded in exclamations, as well as shock at Wu Long’s seemingly arbitrary choice.

They could understand the Flowing Petal Hall, which was the favorite for the win, especially since it seemed that Wu Long did not plan to have a cultivation partner fight alongside him, but the Profound Union Pavilion choice came out of nowhere.

The Grand Elder of the latter Sect also looked at Wu Long with surprise, but not an outrage. Eventually, the Grand Elder’s mouth curved in a smirk, “Haha! It seems this Junior is not so simple!”

“Well, when you so blatantly were assured of your win at the time when the Flowing Petal Hall made their concession, as if waiting for that exact timing to make your move to support the contest of strength, I assumed you had some kind of hidden wild card”, Wu Long nonchalantly shrugged, causing a new wave of shock to go through the hall.

“Hahahaha! Impressive! To have such a discerning eye at such a young age!”, the Grand Elder of the Profound Union Pavilion loudly laughed, seeing no real meaning in concealing it at this point, “Our Sect indeed has just recently accepted a Disciple who in just a year reached Mortal Transcendence Realm from Body Transformation Realm. We were a little worried since she doesn’t have a cultivation partner, but as long as the Flowing Petal Hall’s Heaven’s Chosen also competed alone we were assured of her win”

This statement caused gasps to go through the room, as it seemed that the Disciple in question was most likely another Heaven’s Chosen.

“Of course, I don’t mind waiting a few days if any of the Sects here really believe they have a chance”, Wu Long shrugged, implying that he would wait for a much shortened version of the contest, but not for the extended version they were planning before.

But it did not seem like the three other Sects really possessed any means to counter the two Sects with Heaven’s Chosen, as none of them raised their voices.

“It is decided then”, the Martial Alliance representative sighed, accepting.

The only thing he feared was a unified backlash from all Dual Cultivation Sects combined. Now that he would not receive blame from at least two of the biggest ones with all of their smaller Sects, he did not care how this got resolved, since it wasn’t in his favor anyway.

After receiving official confirmation from all the Sects present that this arrangement would not be later contested, they agreed to reconvene for the two matches later that day.