Chapter 1257: What Doesn’t Belong to Her Should Be Returned to Its Rightful Owner!

Lu Ding had never forgotten how unfairly the adorable Fatty had been treated.

Just because she had guided him and spent money buying him snacks she couldn’t even bear to buy for herself, Lu Ding had already made up his mind: he was going to see this through, no matter what!!!

What belonged to someone should be returned to them!

No one was going to take advantage of Fatty, not even a little!!!

The Hall Master of Gouchen Hall’s expression changed when he heard this. Shen Yingxia was currently his disciple, and she possessed the Seven-Apertures Exquisite Heart. Her future accomplishments were limitless. She was a genius among geniuses.

He wanted him to hand Shen Yingxia over.

This...

The Hall Master of Gouchen Hall asked, “May I ask what Yingxia has done to offend you, young friend, that she must suffer the sin of having her heart cut out?”

Lu Ding looked at him. “I hope you’re someone who understands right from wrong. Shen Yingxia’s Seven-Apertures Exquisite Heart isn’t hers. It belongs to her half-sister. Her mother, that venomous, wretched woman, cut the heart out of that girl and put it in her.”

“So now, it should go back the way it came.”

“What doesn’t belong to her should be returned to its rightful owner!”

“What, from the way you’re talking, she isn’t just any ordinary disciple?”

The Hall Master of Gouchen Hall had only just learned that there was more to this story!

He had never imagined that Shen Yingxia’s heart wasn’t the one she was born with!?

Only now did he belatedly understand why Shen Yingxia couldn’t bring out the Seven-Apertures Exquisite Heart’s full potential.

Although Shen Yingxia had performed well ever since joining Gouchen Hall, and her talent was terrifying,

she still differed from the Seven-Apertures Exquisite Heart described in the records.

At least by two or three tenths.

The Hall Master of Gouchen Hall had thought the difference was due to changes in heaven and earth and the different people who possessed the Seven-Apertures Exquisite Heart.

He hadn’t expected that something that wasn’t the original would naturally be rejected!

For a moment, the Hall Master of Gouchen Hall didn’t know what to say. “This... this...”

Though he now knew that the Seven-Apertures Exquisite Heart in his disciple Shen Yingxia wasn’t the original, she was still his disciple.

Besides, cutting it out and putting it back would always carry risks.

Whether it could even be put back was another question.

Most importantly, Gouchen Hall had finally gained a disciple like her.

If she were ruined just like that...

But if he refused, Gouchen Hall was, after all, a renowned righteous sect. Though it ranked below Lü Mountain, it wasn’t some crooked and wicked sect.

Seeing him hesitate, Lu Ding decided to give him a push. He stepped forward and jabbed a finger against the man’s chest, not caring about his status, and said bluntly, “Your position determines your perspective. You need to understand what position you’re in!”

“If this matter isn’t resolved properly today, never mind whether I take action or not. Once word gets out, you can forget about Gouchen Hall’s reputation and its principles.”

“I’ve heard that Gouchen Hall is decent, so whether you want to keep it that way depends on your choice today. Will you give up one disciple and restore justice, or cover this up and fight me? It’s your call.”

“But let me make this clear in advance. I can hold back a little when fighting them, because I can handle them with ease.”

“But I can’t hold back when fighting you, because you’re strong. So I don’t know how many people or how much land will get caught up in it. Think it over. I’ll warm up, and you can give me your answer before I’m done.”

With that,

Lu Ding stepped back.

He formed the Treasure-Throne Mudra, bringing the little fingers of both hands together before slowly spreading them outward. He bent both thumbs inward, shaping his hands as if to cradle something. A cold moon took shape in Lu Ding’s palms.

He raised it, gradually lifting it above his head.

Waves of chill, accompanied by gravity, tugged at heaven and earth. From the mountains below to the skies above, everything trembled.

The ground shook incessantly. The stones shattered by the earlier battle bounced across the earth until they gradually rose into the air.

Among the surrounding mountains, streams and mountain brooks rippled into waves. Far away, a placid river flowed backward.

As the cold moon rose high into the sky,

the heavens changed, and an Anomalous Phenomenon transformed.

The cold moon shone from behind Lu Ding, its pure light spilling across heaven and earth, frosting everything beneath it.

As the stars stopped glittering, as the Milky Way’s radiance faded beside the cold moon’s brilliance,

a full moon that should have hung far away in the sky appeared right before them, blocking the entire heavens.

Lu Ding stood above everyone, alone beneath the cold moon, bathed in its radiance. His aura had reached its peak. Even amid the calm and beauty, he exuded absolute danger.

He had already made his position clear.

If the Hall Master of Gouchen Hall dared say no today,

the full moon would shatter, gravity would run wild, and this entire region would ultimately be torn apart.

Was Lu Ding at this moment any different from a god?

If not for the black smoke blocking the light of heaven and earth, casting a dark veil over the full moon, then he would have been the purest, most sacred thing of all.

There were only two words to describe his face beneath the moon.

“Handsome” was too casual.

“Beautiful” was too vague.

“Dashing” wasn’t specific enough.

Only one word would do.

Authoritative!

With the force of one man, he held everyone present in check.

Lei Xiao watched that figure. Only someone like him was worthy of her following!

The Hall Master of Gouchen Hall looked at Lu Ding.

He had already made up his mind.

Gouchen Hall had never been a faction with a skewed sense of purpose.

His hesitation had come only from his personal inclinations.

“Alas...”

“Young friend... could you wait for me a moment?”

Lu Ding stood beneath the moon. “Sure.”

After all, a monk could run away, but his temple couldn’t. If the Hall Master of Gouchen Hall was willing to abandon Gouchen Hall for Shen Yingxia, then Lu Ding had nothing more to say.

The Hall Master of Gouchen Hall turned and left.

He went deep into Gouchen Hall.

He knocked on the door of a certain secluded cultivation chamber.

“Yingxia, it’s your master.”

The door opened.

The Hall Master of Gouchen Hall stepped inside.

The girl stood up to greet him. “Master, what brings you here?”

As she spoke, she smiled so sweetly that the Hall Master of Gouchen Hall felt a pang of pain in his heart.

For a moment, he didn’t know how to begin.

How could he not feel attached? She was the final disciple in whom he had placed such high hopes.

She was someone he had resolved to train with care.

Shen Yingxia wasn’t foolish, either. Seeing her master hesitate like this, she gradually began to feel that something was wrong.

She was clever. Though she didn’t know what had happened, she knew she needed to make some preparations.

She called out sweetly, “Master, I’m sorry. I’m so clumsy, and I haven’t mastered the World-Transcending Scripture. But I’ve been working very hard. I’ll definitely keep practicing and won’t let you down.”

Hearing this, the Hall Master of Gouchen Hall felt even more bitter.

Unfortunately,

there was no other choice.

He forced a smile. “Good child, Yingxia, now that you’ve been in Gouchen Hall for so long, is there anything you haven’t been able to get used to?”

Shen Yingxia shook her head. “No. The senior and junior disciples in the sect and all the elders have treated me very well. Everyone has been so kind to me. This place is my second home.”