“Your Highness, you must redress my grievance! Kill that fellow to avenge me!”
In a sealed room, a woman whose entire face was swollen kneeled on the floor as she screeched.
It was Princess Consort Lin Long, who had been subjected to a violent beating several days ago.
She had applied some medicine, and her pain had alleviated. However, the swelling had yet to calm down, and her appearance was still hideous.
Seated in front of her was a young man of around thirty-four-year-old. His face was distinctly shaped and, from the occasional authoritative disposition which leaked out of him, one could tell that he was a person of high standing.
He was the crown prince of Xuanyuan Kingdom, Ding Mu!
“Avenge?”
Pah!
Ding Mu’s face turned scarlet as he kicked the body of the other party. His body trembled lightly in rage as he bellowed, “Do you know who you offended? How dare you ask me to avenge you?”
When Lin Long left the Eastern Palace, Ding Mu happened to be out. After receiving the news, he immediately rushed back to the Palace to see what was going on. However, he was still too late.
After learning that his wife had been beaten to a tragic state, he immediately sent his men to look into it, and he was nearly scared out of his wits.
A genius who broke innumerable records, and on top of that, he had an unfathomable teacher…
Of all the people your Lin Clan could offend, why in the world did you have to offend such a powerful figure!
Avenge? How in the world do I avenge you?
Not many people knew about Su shi and Ling shi’s arrival at Tianwu Kingdom, and even official master teachers weren’t able to dig out the matter easily. But even so, the fact that Liang Qingming wasn’t a match for the other party was an issue.
Given how the other party was capable of rendering a Zhizun realm advanced stage expert and the Gold-scaled Lightning Beast helpless with just a harrumph, even if the entire Xuanyuan Kingdom were to come together, it wouldn’t be a match for him!
If I were to try to avenge you, won’t the entire kingdom be doomed?
You must be joking!
“Of course I know who he is, a 2-star master teacher from the Master Teacher Pavilion who has a master who seems to be a 4-star master teacher!” Kicked by Ding Mu, Lin Long didn’t panic. Instead, she sneered coldly.
Naturally, she also ordered her men to look into the matter.
“Since you know, then what are you spouting nonsense for? To become a 4-star master teacher, one has to be at minimum Transcendent Mortal realm. That kind of expert is a powerful figure even within the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, needless to say Xuanyuan Kingdom. He isn’t someone that you or I can offend!”
Waving grandly, Ding Mu had finally decided. “Alright, let’s forget about this matter. Don’t ever bring it up again!”
“Don’t make up your mind so quickly!”
Lin Long stood up. “Your Highness, do you know the reason behind the grudge between my Lin Clan and Zhang Xuan?”
“Isn’t it because you slaughtered the other party’s clan?” Ding Mu frowned.
“That’s right, but do you know why I did that?” A bizarre smile crept on Lin Long’s face.
Ding Mu frowned.
Regarding this matter, he had no idea at all.
Rumor had it that it was because of the conflict between Qu Chong’s elder sister and Lin Lang. However, from the looks of it now, the matter wasn’t that simple.
Lin Long was a person who was extremely protective of her family, but she wasn’t someone who couldn’t see the bigger picture. Otherwise, no matter how infatuated he was in her, Ding Mu would have never allowed her to become his wife.
She was usually a composed person, and it was indeed bizarre for her to slaughter an entire clan outright despite knowing the various implications it could bring.
Could there be some hidden secret about the matter?
Ding Mu’s curiosity was piqued, and he turned toward Lin Long with a gaze inviting her to continue on.
“Your Highness, I know that you wish to enter the Fleeting Cloud Sect, and I’ve been keeping that in mind… Actually, the key to doing so lies with Qu Chong!” Lin Long harrumphed.
“Oh?” Ding Mu glanced at Lin Long.
Even though Xuanyuan Kingdom was a vassal to the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, the strongest influence in the surroundings was, without a doubt, this Fleeting Cloud Sect!
In the past 77 Master Teacher Tournament, it had won the championship thirty-six times. From this, it could be seen how powerful it was.
On the other hand, the best result the Myriad Kingdom Alliance had produced was only in the 23rd place, fifth from the bottom.
Ding Mu was the crown prince of Xuanyuan Kingdom, and he would eventually inherit the throne. However, his ambitions didn’t just stop here. He had only thought of Xuanyuan Kingdom as his stepping stone, and his eyes were set on the wider world outside. His current aim was to be a disciple of the Fleeting Cloud Sect, but he had been unable to find a suitable opportunity to become one!
Once he succeeds and receives the best grooming resources, his cultivation would surely soar, and becoming a Transcendent Mortal, or even reaching greater heights, wouldn’t just be a dream.
Just that, the Fleeting Cloud Sect was a powerful organization with high bars, and joining it was no easy feat. On top of that, Ding Mu was the crown prince of a neighboring influence. Thus, without the recommendation of an insider, it was practically impossible.
“That Qu Clan may seem like an unimpressive and shabby clan now, but several ten thousand years ago, it was an extremely formidable clan! Their ancestors even unintentionally saved the life of Sage Min!” Lin Long said.
“Sage Min? You mean… one of the 72 Sages under Kong shi… Min shi?” Narrowing his eyes, Ding Mu’s breathing hastened.
Kong shi had three thousand known disciples, and of them, the most formidable ones were known as the 72 Sages. They had participated in the creation of the Master Teacher Pavilion, and they were each considered as one of its founders.
Unintentionally saved his life?
Wasn’t this Qu Clan impressive then?
“Indeed! Precisely due to this, they received a letter with Kong shi’s handwritten reply on it. They took it as their family heirloom, and they passed it down from generation to generation.”
Glancing at Ding Mu, Lin Long continued, “Even if it’s just a single word, the value of handwritten words from Kong shi is unimaginable. I believe Your Highness should understand it even if I don’t say too much about it! If you can obtain this and hand it over to the master of Fleeting Cloud Sect, becoming an inner disciple wouldn’t be a problem. In fact, it shouldn’t be a problem for you to become a direct disciple, or even take on the role of an elder!”
“This…”
Ding Mu’s body trembled in agitation.
Kong shi, the world’s teacher.
The number one expert in history.
Contained within his handwritten words were the laws of the world, and his students had already taken all of them for themselves. Such treasures would never reach the outside world.
Even a 6-star master teacher would happily accept a person as his student if the other party were to present Kong shi’s personal handwriting to him…
It was simply too valuable!
Putting aside the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, even the twenty-six other influences in the region might not even have one of such treasure… Yet, to think that the Qu Clan would possess it!
This…
Ding Mu’s breathing hastened, and he felt his tongue go dry.
“Since you made a move on the Qu Clan two years ago, you should have eradicated all traces of them. Why did you intentionally leave a remnant running about?”
Lin Long harrumphed coldly, “That fellow thought that just because he changed his name to Lu Chong and hid in the Tianwu Academy, we wouldn’t be able to find him. What a joke! Our Lin Clan has the Seeking Mouse; even if he were to don on a full disguise, we’d still be able to find him easily!”
Lu Chong had been holing himself up in Tianwu Academy, rarely heading to the streets to avoid any attention. He thought that by doing so, the Lin Clan wouldn’t notice him. Yet, it turned out that the Lin Clan had already grasped his whereabouts, just that they chose not to make a move.
After all, even if the Lin Clan were to lose track of Lu Chong, the Seeking Mouse was more than capable of tracking him down.
The Lin Clan would have dominated the Tianwu Royal City in vain if it couldn’t even track down a Pigu realm teenager.
“The members of the Qu Clan are obstinate, and no matter how we questioned them, we were unable to locate the whereabouts of that object. Thus, we intentionally left one alive to bring us to it.”
A savage glint flashed across Lin Long’s eyes as she said, “Yet, that fellow sure was patient. For the past two years, he didn’t do anything at all. Initially, we were planning on capturing him for interrogation, but before we could make a move, that fellow managed to find himself a good teacher who was willing to stand up for him…”
At this point, Lin Long clenched her fists tightly, and resentment scrunched her face.
Even though she had married into the Xuanyuan Kingdom, and she rarely returned back to her maternal family, she had been keeping an eye on the matter there.
It was due to the importance of the letter that Lin Long even went to the extent of building the expensive Communication Wall in the Lin Clan to make it convenient for them to exchange messages. Who would have that this wall wouldn’t send her news of the handwritten letter, but of the destruction of the Lin Clan.
“A good teacher? I doubt so! Most probably, that Zhang Xuan knew about Kong shi’s handwritten reply in advance. Otherwise, there is no reason for a Zongshi realm pinnacle 2-star master teacher to go all out for a student, offending the powerful Lin Clan and Xuanyuan Kingdom,” Liang Qingming interjected by the side.
He was a confidant of the crown prince, and as such, the crown prince didn’t bother hiding such secrets from him.
“That’s right, that must be the reason. Otherwise, even with Yang shi as his backing, there’s no reason for him to offend the Lin Clan for no reason and disregard the authority of Xuanyuan Kingdom!” Lin Long screeched.
If not for this, she truly couldn’t understand why a 2-star master teacher, who had such a bright future ahead of him, would go through all of this trouble for a student he had just met a few days ago, going to the extent of waging war with the Lin Clan, and beating her up, the princess consort of Xuanyuan Kingdom.
“Alright, the important matter at hand isn’t Zhang Xuan’s motive!”
Ding Mu raised his hand to halt the vehement discussion of the two. His eyes reddened slightly in greed as he said, “It would be worth offending even the entire Myriad Kingdom Alliance for Kong shi’s handwritten reply, needless to say a 2-star master teacher. If your words are true, then this risk would be worthwhile to take!”
The Myriad Kingdom Alliance was powerful, but compared to the twenty-six other powers in the surroundings, it was ranked at the very last.
As long as he laid his hands on the handwritten reply, he would be able to win the Fleeting Cloud Sect over to his side. Even if he had to offend the Myriad Kingdom Alliance in the midst of doing so, it would still be a huge gain.
“That’s right, Your Highness. You must make your decision quickly. I’ve already sent someone to look into the matter, and Zhang Xuan seems to be leaving Tianwu Royal City. He has already bid the personnel of the Master Teacher Pavilion farewell, and just this morning, he was seen heading for Tianwu Mountain Range. The Myriad Kingdom Alliance is in the south, yet he headed for the southwest. If I’m not wrong, he must be looking for this letter. It’ll be hard for us to lay our hands on the letter once they obtain it and bring it to the alliance!” Lin Long hurriedly said.
Previously, she only acted rashly due to the rage from seeing the tragic state her father and younger brother were in. After being pummeled by Lu Chong, she woke up, and she made many preparations in advance.
“It’s indeed impossible to lay our hands on it once it’s delivered to the alliance, but…” Ding Mu frowned, “He has his teacher and the two elders beside him…”
Ding Mu wasn’t worried about Zhang Xuan, but his teacher and the ‘Little Su’, who wounded Liang Qingming, were huge problems.
With Transcendent Mortal experts accompanying him, he would be dead before he could close in on Zhang Xuan.
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. Little Su and the other elder have already left yesterday and, when Zhang Xuan left this morning, Yang shi didn’t tag along with him. He only brought his students and some retainers along with him!” Lin Long replied.
Su shi and Ling shi didn’t intentionally hide their departure, so it wasn’t hard to look into the matter.
This morning, Zhang Xuan and his group left on the Steelfang Howling Firmament Beast, and Pavilion Master Jiang sent him off personally. Lin Long’s spies were among the crowd who saw him off, and none of them saw Yang shi.
“He didn’t tag along? Great… There are many savage beasts in Tianwu Mountain Range, and there are many experts under Zhizun realm who have died there. As long as we settle this matter properly… No one will be able to trace the matter back to me!”
Ding Mu stood up, and a callous glint flashed across his eyes.
“It’s decided then. Kill him!”
—
This is how sects usually operate in most Chinese novels.
Outer (Normal) disciples: They are in charge of menial labor, but the sect provides them with some, although limited, resources for cultivation.
Inner disciples: This is where the more talented disciples are placed. They have a higher standing than outer disciples, and they don’t have to do menial labor. The resources they are granted are significantly higher than that of outer disciples.
Direct disciple: As long as a disciple catches the eye of an elder or sect leader, they could be accepted as their direct disciple. Direct disciples usually have higher standing than inner disciples due to the backing of their master, and their master would also impart their secret arts to them.
After that, disciples can be promoted to take on various roles of the sect.
