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A wind blew through the mountains, but it couldn’t disperse the tension in the air.
“Kneel for now. If you dare utter so much as another world, I’ll execute you,” Su Yi said calmly.
Rou Yun gave up the struggle and lowered her head in shame, rage, and terror.
The jade-robed Yuan Shuo and the others’ expressions shifted erratically.
Yuan Heng stood not far away, and he coldly swept his gaze across the other Five-Lightning Spirit Sect cultivators.
Unlike Su Yi, he’d heard the name “Five-Lightning Spirit Sect” numerous times over the past two months.
They were an otherworld faction stationed within the Great Qin, and their collective strength and foundations were roughly comparable to the Wrath of Heaven Sect.
However, Yuan Heng also knew that even if Su Yi understood that, he wouldn’t care.
“Miss Lan Suo, you can go ahead and speak,” Su Yi said softly.
Lan Suo nodded, then explained the entire sequence of events.
The situation wasn’t complicated.
Not long ago, the Cloudstone Venerate was exploring a ruin in the Sea of Chaotic Spirits when he found a stalk of Emerald Ring Spirit Grass, a divine medicine. However, as he picked it, he encountered competition from the Five-Lightning Spirit Sect.
In the end, his skills were superior, and he heavily injured his opponent and obtained the divine medicine.
However, because of this incident, the Five-Lightning Spirit Sect set its sights on the Cloudstone Venerate.
As soon as he returned from the Sea of Chaotic Spirits, experts of the Five-Lightning Spirit Sect started pursuing him, leaving him no choice but to hide.
Lan Suo was headed to the Cloud Terrace Assembly in hope that the Wrath of Heaven Sword Sect would uphold justice and save her master from disaster.
This didn’t surprise Su Yi at all. In the world of cultivation, such incidents weren’t at all unusual.
“Miss Lan Suo, you got something wrong,” the jade-robed Yuan Shuo said coldly. “The Five-Lightning Spirit Sect found the Emerald Ring Spirit Grass first. It was your master who attacked our disciples to seize the treasure! If not, how could we possibly go to such lengths over a single stalk of medicine?”
Lan Suo knit her brow and was just about to argue when Su Yi raised his hand and cut her off. “In a competition over treasure, right and wrong aren’t important, and there’s no need for you to argue with him.”
He laughed. “Besides, I’m not here to decide who was in the right. Why waste words with them?”
Lan Suo was stunned, while Yuan Shuo and the others’ expressions shifted.
Su Yi’s attitude and implied meaning couldn’t have been any more obvious!
“Friend, if you really insist on getting involved, you’ll only bring disaster upon yourself,” the tall man in beast skins, Hong He, said coldly. “When the time comes, you won’t just fail to save the Cloudstone Venerate; you’ll suffer over this too. Is it worth it?”
“You’re seeking death!” Yuan Heng’s expression darkened, and he prepared to attack.
However, Su Yi waved him away. “Even if you kill him, it won’t improve the Cloudstone Venerate’s predicament.”
Yuan Heng thought it over, then understood.
It was true. Even if they helped Lan Suo kill this entire group, and even if they guaranteed no word got out, the Five-Lightning Spirit Sect would still learn of its disciples' deaths, and they would undoubtedly pin them on Lan Suo and the Cloudstone Venerate!
“It seems you’re a clever sort, Fellow Daoist.” When he heard Su Yi’s words, Yuan Shuo visibly relaxed. “The Cloudstone Venerate caused this problem, and he’s the only one who can fix it. Seems to me you ought to urge Miss Lan Suo to reveal her master’s location. That way, this will end well for all of us. It’s a win-win.”
Lan Suo’s heart sank.
But then, Su Yi asked, “Will the Five-Lightning Spirit Sect’s higher-ups be participating in the Cloud Terrace Assembly?”
“That’s right,” Yuan Shuo said solemnly. “Fellow Daoist, tell me: given the situation, if Miss Lan Suo requests aid at the Cloud Terrace Assembly, who will pay her any heed?”
Lan Suo bit down on her red lower lip, her expression bleak. She felt stifled and frantic.
She wasn’t stupid. How could she fail to realize that although Yuan Shup’s words stung her ears, he wasn’t wrong?
In the past, with his status as a higher elder of the Donghua Sword Sect, few in the Great Qin dared provoke her master.
But times had changed!
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The Donghua Sword Sect had already subordinated itself to the Wrath of Heaven Sect.
How could the Wrath of Heaven Sect possibly risk offending the Five-Lightning Spirit Sect on her master’s account?
However, Su Yi said casually, “I just so happen to be headed to the Cloud Terrace Assembly myself. If the Wrath of Heaven Sect refuses to get involved, I’ll just have to take care of it.”
“You?”
Yuan Shuo, Hong He, and the other Five-Lightning Spirit Sect cultivators were stunned. If Su Yi hadn’t suppressed the beautiful Rou Yuan with a gesture, they would have long since burst into mocking laughter.
“So, you’re certain you want to get involved?” Yuan Shuo took a deep breath.
Su Yi nodded. “I’ll give you a chance. Go back and tell your sect master that if he lets this end here, I won’t pursue the matter. If you haven’t let up by the time I reach the Cloud Terrace Assembly, don’t blame me for my poor manners.”
His tone was calm and casual, but it left Yuan Shuo and his companions dumbstruck.
Throughout the Great Qin, who dared threaten the Five-Lightning Spirit Sect like that?
“Miss Lan Suo, let’s go.” Su Yi couldn’t be bothered with them anymore. He was already walking into the distance.
Lan Suo hurried after him.
Yuan Heng walked at the tail end of the procession.
The Five-Lightning Spirit Sect disciples watched them leave. They were inwardly unwilling, and they couldn’t help but look at Yuan Shuo.
Yuan Shuo hurriedly transmitted a warning. “Don’t do anything stupid. Didn’t you see how Rou Yun lost? If he wanted to kill us, do you think he couldn't?”
His companions’ expressions shifted. They glanced at the still-kneeling Rou Yun, but all of them remained silent.
Suddenly, Yuan Shuo called out, “Fellow Daoist, dare I ask your honorable name?”
Su Yi’s calm voice emanated from afar. “Su Yi.”
“Su Yi? Is there such a person in the Great Qin?” Yuan Shuo asked in confusion.
“I know who that is!” Hong He suddenly exclaimed. “He’s the imperial preceptor of the Great Zhou. He’s the young legend who swept through the demonic cultivators of the Celestial Prison Demon Court!”
As he spoke, beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
Just thinking back to how he’d threatened Su Yi without the slightest politeness filled his heart with lingering terror. He felt as if he’d survived a potential calamity.
“That was him!?” Without exception, the other Five-Lightning Spirit Sect cultivators were visibly astonished.
Although they were from another world, there was no way they’d be ignorant of the sect that once occupied the Great Zhou or how it had been wiped out!
“I didn’t lose unfairly…” Rou Yun silently climbed to her feet. Strangely, she looked somewhat relaxed.
When Su Yi forced her to kneel with a single palm, she felt so angry and ashamed that she almost wanted to die. She felt like she’d never be able to raise her head before her sectmates ever again.
Now that she knew who Su Yi was, she felt that there was no shame in losing to him.
After all, this was someone who could kill even Spiritual Manifestation Realm cultivators!
“So, that was him…” Yuan Shuo silently clenched his fists. His heart churned with emotion too.
He dared say with certainty that, had they attacked recklessly, they’d be nothing but corpses strewn across the ground by now!
“Junior Apprentice Brother Yuan, what should we do?” asked Hong He. “Su Yi said that he was headed to the Cloud Terrace Assembly. If someone like him says he’ll intervene, there’s no way he’ll go back on his word. This is bad news for our Five-Lightning Spirit Sect.”
The others all looked at Yuan Shuo.
His heart clenched as he realized how serious this was, but he didn’t need long to think. “I’ll send word to the sect right away. I’ll tell them what happened in detail. No matter what, we need to make sure the sect leader and the other higher-ups receive word before the Cloud Terrace Assembly begins!”
The group nodded.
It was true; the situation had developed to the point that the sect’s higher-ups would have to decide how to proceed!
….
The skies were clear and bright amidst the boundless mountain wilderness.
“They really aren’t chasing us,” whispered Lan Suo. She felt as if a massive weight had lifted from her shoulders.
“If they gave chase, it would be no different from throwing their lives away,” said Yuan Heng with a straightforward grin. “That said, earlier, I almost thought Master would kill every last one of those people.”
Su Yi couldn’t help but shake his head. “Those Five-Lightning Spirit Sect disciples actually conducted themselves fairly well. Given that they tried persuasion before resorting to force, there’s no way I’d bully small fries like them.”
Yuan Heng nodded in full agreement. “A general’s sword is not for cutting down flies, and an immortal’s magic isn’t for squishing ants. If we want to resolve Miss Lan Suo’s master’s predicament, we naturally need to start with the Five-Lightning Spirit Sect’s leadership. Dealing with a group of minor figures like that would indeed be beneath you.”
Just listening, Lan Suo was repeatedly stunned.
She didn’t recognize Yuan Heng, but she could tell that he treated Su Yi with borderline blind admiration and respect.
To the point of disregarding the Five-Lightning Spirit Sect!
Lan Suo hesitated, then said softly, “Brother Su, if you get dragged into this mess on my account…”
But before she could finish, Su Yi laughed. “A trivial matter. You’re not ‘dragging me into’ anything. Besides, I was already headed to the Cloud Terrace Assembly.”
Lan Suo said in a daze, “What are you going there for?”
Yuan Heng stepped in to explain. “The Wrath of Heaven Sect sent Master an invitation, and since he had nothing better to do, he decided to go have a look.”
Lan Suo felt enlightened, but more than that, her eyes lit up. “Since the Wrath of Heaven Sect values you so highly, they’ll surely intervene when they hear about my master.”
Yuan Heng’s expression grew a bit strange. “Miss Lan Suo, given Master’s status and capabilities, he doesn’t need the Wrath of Heaven Sect’s assistance. He could easily resolve the Cloudstone Venerate’s problems on his own.”
Lan Suo froze, but it seemed she dared not believe it.
“Don’t tell me you don’t know what happened in the Great Zhou two months ago?” asked Yuan Heng.
Lan Suo shook her head. “Lately, I’ve spent most of my time in seclusion attempting to break into the Grain Avoidance Realm. It wasn’t long ago that I learned of my master’s predicament. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have left seclusion. I have no idea what’s happened in the outside world.”
Only then did Yuan Heng understand.
Su Yi, however, shook his head. “Enough. This is too dull to warrant any further discussion.”
How could a trivial matter like this be worth discussing in such detail?
Better to sit down, drink, and admire the beauty of the landscape.
Su Yi then ordered Yuan Heng to become a softshell turtle once more.
Once he and Lan Suo were seated on Yuan Heng’s back, he took out cups and a jar of wine. As they drank, the two of them admired the passing scenery on their way to the Cloud Terrace Assembly.
Before long, Su Yi’s mood had improved quite a bit.
Both the mountains and the beauty seated across from him were picture-perfect, a feast for the eyes.
Lan Suo could tell that Su Yi had no desire to discuss what he saw as a trivial matter, so she considerately refrained from bringing it up.
However, deep within her heart, she was still a bit worried and uncertain.
Will the Cloud Terrace Assembly really go as Brother Su says? Will he really be able to resolve this?