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Chapter 186 - Ning Sihua
The grand elder!
Everyone’s hearts shook when they recognized the owner of that booming, resonant voice.
Clang!
Li Fengxing’s wrists shifted, and the fine, misty sword rain permeating the air instantly dispersed.
His mist-shrouded figure suddenly froze in mid-air. Then, he pressed off the ground and flew back, like a swallow returning to its nest.
The ease with which he changed course was beautiful.
Su Yi couldn’t help but nod to himself. This person’s attainments in the Dao of the Sword have already reached the threshold, albeit just barely. He’s not much inferior to Chang Guoke, a disciple of the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect.
Of course, had he finished swinging his sword, Li Fengxing would have died beyond a doubt.
Three figures appeared further down the mountain path.
Their leader was a woman in a deep purple, cloud-patterned skirt. Her long hair was tied up in a bun.
She was petite, and her features were extremely clear and youthful; she looked about twelve. However, as her eyes took in her surroundings, her gaze contained traces of the vicissitudes of life. This gave her a highly distinctive quality; her delicate appearance brimmed with imposing majesty.
Hm? When he saw her, Su Yi’s eyes narrowed, revealing a rare hint of surprise.
This woman’s features spoke of “rejuvenation”, but it was all-natural, with no artifice. She couldn’t possibly be using a technique to retain a youthful appearance, either.
This is quite interesting. Either she’s an old yao, or she has a highly distinctive bloodline talent!
In this mundane world, not even those they call ‘Earthly Immortals’ can master the profundities of rejuvenation and fully reclaim their youths.
In addition to the grand elder, Ning Sihua was also accompanied by a decrepit elder with his hands hidden in his sleeves and a man with an ax-shaped mustache and a scar across his brow.
“Uncle Su, that’s the palace master, as well as the great, second, and third elders!” Zheng Muyao seized the opportunity and explained at top speeds, her pretty little face filled with awe and dread.
Only now did Su Yi realize who these people were.
The Heaven’s Origin Academy palace master, Ning Sihua. She was practically a legend amongst Martial Dao Grandmasters!
Her background was mysterious. It had been twenty years since she first took up her position in Heaven’s Origin Academy, but she was always either in secluded cultivation or out wandering the uninhabited wilderness, like a leisurely cloud or solitary crane. She almost never paid worldly affairs any heed.
Despite being its palace master, it was extremely rare for her to inquire about the academy’s affairs, to the point that the vast majority of their disciples had never once seen her face. She was mysterious to the extreme.
But almost without exception, whenever anyone brought up the mysterious, highest authority of Heaven’s Origin Academy, their awe and reverence came straight from the heart!
While chatting last night, Zhou Zhili mentioned something that the current imperial preceptor, Hong Shenshang, once said: “Throughout the empire’s Ten Great Academies, Palace Master Ning Sihua of Heaven’s Origin Academy is the most mysterious. She’s like a yao, and you cannot appraise her recklessly.”
Looking at her now, based simply on her “youthful rejuvenation”, it seemed Hong Shenshang wasn’t exaggerating. She really was “like a yao.”
The decrepit old man beside Ning Sihua was Grand Elder Shang Zhen, a fifth-level Grandmaster.
The gaunt middle-aged man with the ax-like mustache and scarred forehead was the second elder, Han Chong, a mighty fourth-level Grandmaster.
It had been years since anyone saw any trace of Palace Master Ning Sihua, yet all of a sudden, here she was, with the sect’s greatest elders alongside her. The crowd’s hearts shook, and their expressions were instantly solemn.
“Greetings, Palace Master!” Wang Jianchong, Li Fengxing, Xiang Ming, and the other disciples all bowed. The atmosphere was instantly solemn.
Only Su Yi just stood there, perfectly leisurely and at ease, not moving in the slightest. The sight was rather jarring.
When Ning Sihua arrived, she walked right up to Chu Kongchao’s corpse and scrutinized it carefully.
When he saw this, Wang Jianchong hurried toward her and explained, “Palace Master, just now…”
“I already know.” Ning Sihua didn’t so much as glance at him. Her voice was clear, crisp, and pleasant to the ear, like heavenly music. But at the same time, it contained a natural, imposing majesty.
Wang Jianchong’s words stuck in his throat, and he sank into silence.
After a while, Ning Sihua looked away, then turned around. “Second Elder, attend to Chu Kongchao’s remains.”
The man with the ax-like mustache, Han Chong, nodded firmly, picked up the corpse, then strode off.
Next, Ning Sihua ordered, “Grand Elder, lead the disciples away.”
“Yes.” The wizened old man, Shang Zhen, clasped his fist, then swept his gaze across Xiang Ming and the other disciples. “Let’s go.”
He put his hands behind his back, then was the first to leave.
Although the disciples longed to stay behind and watch the spectacle, the circumstances left them no choice but to suppress their emotions and obediently follow the grand elder away.
Zheng Muyao couldn’t help but glance at Su Yi, who nodded, tacitly agreeing for her to leave. However, when he saw Wen Lingzhao turn to leave with the others, he furrowed his brow. “Wait until we’ve finished our business. It won’t be too late to leave then.”
It was just one sentence, but it made the already solemn atmosphere noticeably heavier. The crowd’s hearts shook, and their expressions changed.
Who would have thought that Su Yi would be so brazen even after the palace master made a personal appearance? It was like he didn’t even realize that his life hung by a thread!
Zheng Muyao’s heart was on tenterhooks. She almost couldn’t resist the urge to speak up. Uncle Su, at a time like this, you really can’t go on acting so tough!
Meanwhile, Xiang Ming, Tian Dong, and the others were secretly mad with delight. This guy sure seems intent on getting himself killed! Hasn’t he realized that not even the vice palace master dares speak out of turn now that the palace master is here?
Wen Lingzhao was caught off guard too. She froze, and the expression on her beautiful face changed erratically. She felt an indescribable sense of absurdity. He… Is he seriously still hung up on that paper contract…? Don’t tell me he’s not at all worried about the danger?
Wang Jianchong couldn’t help but laugh coldly. I’ve seen recklessness before, but never anyone so suicidal. Does he really think that his ability to slay a Grandmaster in a single punch means he needn’t fear the palace master?
Everyone instinctively glanced at Ning Sihua, but to their surprise, her clear, youthful features didn’t so much as ripple. She thought for a moment, then said, “Then have Wen Lingzhao stay behind.”
“......”
Su Yi’s earlier objections were already hard to swallow, but Ning Sihua’s response left them rather dumbstruck. What’s going on? Since when was our palace master such a pushover?
Xiang Ming and the other disciples’ delight vanished without a trace, replaced with a sense of despondency. They felt so stifled that they almost coughed up blood.
But no one dared utter a single word of complaint.
It was under this strange, stifled atmosphere that Grand Elder Shang Zhen led Xiang Ming and the others away. Before long, they disappeared beyond the foot of Divine Firmament Peak.
Now, in addition to Su Yi and Wen Lingzhao, only three of Heaven’s Origin Academy’s higher-ups remained before Birdsong Pavilion: Ning Sihua, Wang Jianchong, and Li Fengxing.
Wen Lingzhao pursed her lips and said nothing, but her heart was in turmoil. She felt deeply conflicted.
Even she had no choice but to admit that everything that had happened today had repeatedly overturned her perception of reality, to the point that now, none of this felt quite real. She almost felt as if she were dreaming.
Wang Jianchong and Li Fengxing felt rather confused too. The palace master had come in person; this alone was no small matter. She was surely here to deal with Su Yi, but why had she sent all the others away?
Su Yi just stood there as if none of this had anything to do with him. He just walked over to the boulder where he’d placed his writing implements and started readying the ink.
He really didn’t want to waste any more time.
When they saw what he was up to, Wang Jianchong and Li Fengxing were dumbstruck; they almost didn’t believe their eyes. This guy really doesn’t take the palace master seriously at all!
But it was then that Ning Sihua walked over, her steps light and airy. She stopped beside Su Yi, seemingly curious. “Fellow Daoist, why is it that someone of your caliber is so concerned about a mere paper contract?”
Fellow Daoist? Su Yi was still grinding ink when he heard this, and for a moment, his hands froze.
He hadn’t heard that title for a long time. For a moment, he looked dazed. Memories of his past life, one scene after another, flashed through his mental sigh.
Fellow Daoist….
That title sure is nostalgic!
Su Yi glanced up at the famously mysterious woman, the palace master of Heaven’s Origin Academy, the person Imperial Preceptor Hong Shenshan once described as “like a yao.”
“Since you already know what I’m doing, why ask? Are you planning to stop me?” he said. His tone was casual, but it contained no respect, much less dread. It even sounded a bit like an interrogation.
Wen Lingzhao’s eyes widened, and she found it increasingly impossible to stay calm.
Meanwhile, Wang Jianchong’s brow furrowed in displeasure. Just as he was about to lose control and interject, Ning Sihua gently shook her head. “I just don’t understand. Why concern yourself with the opinions of the mundane world? Why not simply ignore it?”
Wang Jianchong forced the words at the tip of his tongue back down. He looked bewildered. What is the palace master trying to do?
He glanced over at Li Fengxing, but he looked completely baffled too.
“I dwell within the mortal world; how can I possibly disregard it? In my eyes, this is ridding myself of an obsession and clearing mental barriers. If I simply ignore my obsession, how am I to rid myself of it? How am I to speak of the Dao then?” said Su Yi flatly. Having said this, he sank back into thought.
“Ridding yourself of obsession, clearing mental barriers…” Ning Sihua repeated, then nodded. “So that’s why. Alright, but before signing your contract, might I ask how you propose to resolve what happened here today, Fellow Daoist?”
Wang Jianchong and Li Fengxing glanced at each other, and their spirits lifted. Is the palace master finally going to take action?
Su Yi set down the ink and inkstone, then turned to the nearby youthful-looking woman and said flatly, “Since you seem to understand a little, you ought to know just how grave the consequences of becoming my enemy would be.”
“Impudent!” Wang Jianchong couldn’t help but bellow, “Su Yi, you still dare make such wild threats? This is an affront to our palace master’s prestige; you deserve to die a thousand deaths for this!”
Su Yi’s brow furrowed, but Ning Sihua only sighed. “I’ve embarrassed myself, Fellow Daoist.”
Her pleasant, melodious voice still ringing through the skies, she raised her right hand and gently waved it through the air.
Bang!
The nearby Wang Jianchong was like a little boat in the face of a raging tidal wave. He was sent flying, and he slammed directly into the cliffside, bleeding from his mouth and nose.
He was fully embedded in the rock!
Li Fengxing’s heart shook, and he stood there, rooted to the spot. Even if you whacked him over the head, he never would have guessed that the palace master would attack Wang Jianchong out of nowhere!
Wen Lingzhao was stunned too. She couldn’t even imagine why this was happening.
“Palace Master….” Wang Jianchong fell to the ground, his head still buzzing and his expression uncertain.
Ning Sihua said lightly, “Go to the ‘Cliffs of Penance.’ You are not to take a single step outside for a year.”
“This….” Wang Jianchong was dumbstruck.
The Cliffs of Penance!
That was the harshest, coldest place in the entire academy. Typically, only the most grievous of offenders were sent there to repent. Those imprisoned had to endure the torment of biting winds and fierce rains day and night.
Wang Jianchong was a Grandmaster, but if he was trapped there for a year, the torture would deal an enormous blow to his vitality, and that’s assuming he even made it out alive!