Chapter Thirty-Nine: Reunion
Is this still not over? That single sheet of paper had taken away all of Kunlun Sect’s most treasured medicines accumulated over many years, some of which were even beyond the Foundation Establishment level—medicines that could break through to higher realms!
What more did he want?
Why was there yet another piece of paper pulled out?
People said they were greedy, but wasn’t this the height of greed? Wasn’t he the real glutton here? Was he some sort of insatiable beast?
The scholar, with a serious expression and the same gentle tone, said, “I wasn’t planning on presenting this paper, but since you refuse to listen to reason, break the rules, and won’t admit your faults—even going so far as to call forth a living fossil and injure me—I need to heal my wounds.”
The Kunlun Sect Master was speechless.
He felt his blood sugar drop.
His vision darkened, stars danced before his eyes, and cold sweat drenched his brow.
He almost wished he could just die right now.
That weightless piece of paper floated before him; just one glance at it triggered his internal injuries, and he spat a mouthful of fresh blood.
He looked at the scholar and said, “Senior, isn’t this going too far?”
The scholar replied warmly, “And when you bullied that young child, did you ever consider how he felt inside?”
Damn it all…
Where’s my sword!
The Kunlun Sect Master was about to explode with rage!
He almost regretted not gritting his teeth and summoning all the living fossils at once. Better to destroy everything outright!
If he really had to hand over all the medicines listed on that paper, the Kunlun Sect’s secret treasury would be utterly depleted!
The very foundation of Kunlun Sect would be emptied out in one fell swoop!
How ruthless!
The scholar asked, “How about… I fetch them myself?”
Silence fell on everyone present.
Had this man just used the Confucian Daoist’s power where words become law?
Was he a Confucian scholar?
How could someone so shameless, so thick-skinned, so utterly brazen possibly hail from the tradition famed for producing gentlemen of impeccable virtue?
“You’re unwilling?” the scholar inquired politely.
“I’m willing,” the Sect Master replied, tears brimming in his eyes, desperate only to get this living plague out of his sight. He shoved the paper toward the treasury elder, as if even glancing at it again might be fatal.
The treasury elder accepted the paper, his body swaying, nearly collapsing to the ground.
He seemed to glimpse a future of utter misery for himself.
The Sect Master would undoubtedly pin the blame on him, and his own ruin was now assured.
He wanted to refuse, to fight back, to end it all!
But then he thought of his thirty-eight wives and concubines, and could only look up to the sky and sigh—being the provider for a family was no easy task!
Half an hour later, the scholar finally left.
Before departing, he addressed the despairing members of the Kunlun Sect: “If you’re going to cultivate, then cultivate properly. Don’t go around bullying people anymore.”
A blow not just to the body but to the spirit!
Watching the scholar drift away, the Kunlun Sect Master turned slowly, fixing a hostile glare on the treasury elder.
The elder dropped to his knees with a thud and wailed, “Sect Master, I was wrong!”
...
At the site of the Jade Void Celestial Stele.
A group of Kunlun disciples, led by the vice sect master, guarded the area with icy expressions.
Since the Sect Master had ordered them to stand watch here, that meant the intruder might really have hidden inside the stele!
All the better! If he had any backbone, he’d starve to death in there and never come out!
At that moment, the vice sect master’s communication talisman quivered softly, and then the anxious voice of a sect elder came through—
“Come back! Bring everyone, don’t delay even a moment—return to the sect immediately, something terrible has happened!”
The vice sect master was bewildered, his face full of confusion. Before he could even ask what was going on, the connection was cut off.
When he tried to reply, there was no answer.
What could possibly have happened within the sect?
Throughout the entire Kunlun Secret Realm, including those sects even older than Kunlun itself, who would dare to start a war with them?
He was filled with reluctance, casting a deep, lingering glance at the immovable ancient stele. Gritting his teeth, he said, “I’ll take some people back, leave a few here…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, for at that moment, a scholarly middle-aged man dressed in athletic wear came flying toward them from the distance, riding on the back of a giant paper crane.
The Kunlun disciples were dumbstruck!
Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage could only glide briefly; to truly defy gravity and fly, one’s level would have to be far higher.
So this middle-aged man, clearly from the mortal world, must be a mighty figure who had surpassed the Foundation Establishment realm!
A sudden, wild thought flashed through the vice sect master’s mind: Could the upheaval in the sect be connected to this person?
People have instincts—cultivators even more so, their intuition sharper than most.
He regarded the approaching man with suspicion and respect, cupping his hands in salute. “May I ask, senior, who might you be?”
The scholar ignored him.
He walked straight up to the stele, glanced at the inscriptions, and a flicker of surprise crossed his face.
“The Jade Void Celestial Stele?”
So it bore the words Jade Void as well!
He calmly patted the stele, connecting with it through his spiritual sense, causing resonance between this Jade Void Celestial Stele and the one he carried. Then he said, “Come out now, it’s all right.”
Inside, the three who had only dared communicate in writing now broke into delighted smiles.
Song Yue let out a long sigh of relief.
He took Qian Qianxue and Miao Qiang by the hand, and the three of them stepped out of the stele.
The vice sect master and the others, witnessing the entire scene, were filled with intense hatred when they saw Song Yue and his companions.
So they really had hidden inside the stele!
Those damned murderers!
But in the presence of this mysterious powerhouse, none of them dared utter a sound.
Once outside, Miao Qiang recognized the scholar, his face lighting up with understanding. He bowed and said, “Scholar, it’s been a long time!”
The scholar turned to Miao Qiang with no hesitation, and smiled warmly: “So it’s Brother Miao. It’s been many years. I should thank you for protecting Song Yue.”
Miao Qiang gave a wry smile. “Ashamed to say, in the end it was the boy who protected me.”
Qian Qianxue, meanwhile, examined the scholar curiously from up close, then politely greeted him. “Hello, Scholar!”
“You’re a child of the Qian family, aren’t you? When you leave, let your family know you’re safe as soon as possible, so they don’t worry.” The scholar nodded kindly to her.
Finally, he looked at Song Yue.
Song Yue grinned. “You’ve come!”
He had a thousand words in his heart, but none he could say in front of everyone.
The scholar looked at him. “You did well.”
Not hidebound, not timid, not soft-handed—responsible, passionate, and capable.
Of course he did well!
Only now did the scholar turn his gaze to the assembled members of Kunlun Sect. “You may go,” he said blandly.
From top to bottom, none of them had the courage to challenge him. Their enemy stood before them, the killer of their own, yet they were powerless.
The vice sect master hesitated for a long while, but in the end, said nothing. Gritting his teeth, he turned and walked away.
The rest followed, defeated and deflated, slinking off without a shred of spirit.
The scholar looked at Song Yue. “What do you think?”
A brilliant smile lit Song Yue’s face. “It’s fine, I haven’t lost out!”
Though he was battered and still bore grudges against those people, since the scholar let them go, he must have his reasons.
It seemed the scholar could enter the Kunlun Secret Realm at will. He would have to ask how that was done. When he himself became truly powerful, it would never be too late to return to Kunlun for what he was owed!
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