Chapter 321: Chapter 38: It’s Up to You Now
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“Junior Sister seems to have become more diligent lately,” Linghu Chu said as he walked into the hall. “I just passed by the front courtyard and saw her still practicing the Sword Control Technique with Junior Brother.”
“She should have done so long ago,” Liang Ruohua said coldly. “If it hadn’t been for her leaving the temple without permission that day, causing Master to go out to look for her and leave the temple unattended, how could that traitor have find the opportunity to strike?”
“Cough, Junior Sister is being too harsh on her,” Linghu Chu coughed and said. “How could Junior Sister have foreseen that Yuqing View would suffer such a catastrophe?”
“Let’s not talk about this time,” Liang Ruohua said icily. “How she has treated us in the past, and how we have treated her, Senior Brother must have seen it all.”
“Even if she is the youngest and didn’t understand, that would be fine. But after Junior Brother Shi’s death, have you ever seen her feel any remorse? She still refers to that traitor as Second Senior Sister to this day!”
Linghu Chu sighed helplessly.
He actually understood the reason for Liang Ruohua’s anger towards Shi Liuli: If Master had not gone out to find her that day, Lei Caiyan would probably not have had the courage to sneak into his study, and she would not have been discovered by Shi Wenshi, which led to him taking lethal action.
Now everyone in Yuqing View knew that the traitor was Lei Caiyan, the second disciple of Heavenly Craft Workshop, and this had caused Heavenly Craft Workshop to bear much of the grudge from their fellow sect members.
Even True Person Shi Ding, their Master, had to personally apologize to the Elders at the temple assembly, claiming his failure to “recognize people clearly”…
But before Lei Caiyan was taken into the temple, her background was indeed clean, and she had not practiced any cultivation techniques. She showed no flaws in her words and behavior; who could detect that she was a spy from Hell Path?
How many hidden agents had Hell Path infiltrated into the major sects over the past, and how many were discovered before they actively exposed themselves?
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After all, everyone was harboring grievances and just needed a scapegoat to vent, that was all!
Linghu Chu, looking gloomy, stepped out the door and saw Shi Liuli practicing her swordsmanship with Luo Yan.
More precisely, she was being unilaterally overwhelmed by Luo Yan.
He couldn’t help but stop and watch. After a while, he started to marvel.
How should he put it? Luo Yan’s swordsmanship… was ingeniously simple!
Although it was the most basic East Sea Coral Sword of Yuqing View, when wielded by Luo Yan, it was as if effortlessly executed and as unpredictable as a hanging antelope’s horns.
On one hand, it retained its agile and elegant movements, and on the other hand, it perfectly matched the orthodox techniques. If compared with the Shushan Shangqing Temple, which specialized in swordsmanship, it would not be much inferior.
Then looking at Junior Sister, even though her Immortal Sword was of a higher grade and her swordsmanship even more ethereal, it seemed as though she did not grasp the essence.
Luo Yan only needed to vary his moves slightly, and she would react in a panicked rush to counter, resulting in the rhythm being completely controlled by Luo Yan. He easily tore a clear hole in her swordsmanship defense, then defeated her cleanly and briskly.
“Sister, you’re too tense,” Luo Yan said as he stopped his Sword Control, sighing. “Didn’t we say it before? I fight my way; you fight yours.”
“Why did your sword immediately follow when mine attacked from the left?”
“I was scared!” Miss Shi stamped her feet in frustration.
“Don’t be afraid,” Luo Yan said helplessly, waving his hand, “In the face of an attack, sometimes you indeed need to defend, but sometimes you have to counterattack.”
“Come, I’ll use these sword techniques again, watch carefully…”
Linghu Chu watched the two practice swordsmanship together, their intimate and harmonious appearance, and felt the gloom in his heart dispersing quite a bit.
Suddenly, he saw Elder Shi Ding hurriedly walking in from outside.
“Liuli, Luo Yan,” he said with a stern face. “Both of you, come with me quickly… uh, remember to bring all your personal belongings, and don’t leave behind any Elixirs or Magical Treasures.”
Luo Yan and Shi Liuli were still confused, but Linghu Chu had already stepped forward, frowning and said:
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“Master, could it be…?”
“Yes.” Elder Shi Ding said solemnly, “The sect is short of manpower, and since they are both cultivators at the Refining Mansion stage, they must now go to the front line as well.”
He briefly explained to them that ever since the “Attack on Penglai by One Hundred Thousand Demons and Fiends,” within the thirty-six heavens of the East Sea, a whopping twenty factions had rebelly.
Now, the Penglai Yuqing Sect was dispatching a large number of cultivators to launch a massive siege on these twenty rebellious factions to ensure its prestige and dominion over the East Sea region.
Otherwise, if they couldn’t suppress the rebellion swiftly and decisively, the remaining sixteen sects of the East Sea who were still watching might also follow suit in establishing their own sects.
The problem was that the Penglai Yuqing Sect itself had been greatly weakened, with a significant loss of both high-rank and intermediate-rank cultivators in the last encirclement.
As a result, even on the battlefield of the Golden Core Realm, they had to mobilize manpower from among the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators at the Refining Mansion stage to support the True Persons on the battlefield.
Under normal circumstances, given that the Heavenly Craft Workshop was the leading artifact-refining faction of the Yuqing Sect, coupled with True Person Shi Ding’s influence and connections, the task of conscription would not have fallen to Shi Liuli and Luo Yan.
But in the previous calamity, it happened that there was a traitor from the Heavenly Craft Workshop, hence Elder Shi Ding could not decline this time but had to agree.
“The battle team you are to join this time is attacking the sect of Moon Island in the East Sea,” Elder Shi Ding said in a lowered voice. “The lineage of Moon Island was famous for the Postnatal Five Elements Great Extermination Divine Light during the ancient era of the Clarify Cult and was once a powerful faction in the East Sea.”
“However, the cultivation of the Five Elements Divine Light secret technique requires the Five Elements True Veins of Acquired Nature, which are extremely rare and precious, hence it has been lost in the East Sea for many years.”
“The present Moon Island lineage, however, specializes in the Five Elements Techniques. The cultivators there have generally moderate cultivation levels, but their offensive methods are exceptionally formidable.”
“The person responsible for leading the team is True Person Shui Lian from next door. I have already entrusted them to his care.”
“On your trip to the battlefield of Moon Island this time, you two must follow his arrangements, do not act recklessly! Do you understand?”
“Understood,” seeing Elder Shi Ding’s serious expression, both of them hastily agreed in unison.
Yet Shi Liuli could hardly contain her excitement, eager to immediately join the battlefield and display all that she had learned from the secret realms.
Luo Yan was aware of the dangers of the battlefront being blind to who you are and understood that Elder Shi Ding’s earnest instructions were mostly directed at him (since Miss Shi was too capricious, no matter how much was said, she might not listen), reminding him to take utmost care in protecting her.
Therefore, he smoothly added:
“I and my senior sister will definitely heed True Person Shui Lian’s orders on this trip to Moon Island and will absolutely not act rashly!”
“Very good,” Elder Shi Ding showed a look of relief, though worry still shadowed his eyes.
“Master.” Linghu Chu also spoke up, “What if I also…”
“You and Ruohua have other arrangements,” Elder Shi Ding said helplessly with a wave of his hand.
How could he not wish for Linghu Chu to accompany them, ensuring the safety of Luo Yan and Shi Liuli throughout the journey?
After all, one of them was his chosen successor, and the other was his beloved daughter. The loss of either would be unbearably painful for Elder Shi Ding.
However, the world was beginning to show signs of chaos; surely Linghu Chu couldn’t protect them for their entire lives, could he?
Once Linghu Chu formed his Nascent Soul, he would leave the Heavenly Craft Workshop to establish his own lineage.
With the second disciple, Lei Caiyan, having already betrayed them, and once the eldest disciple Linghu Chu departed, the sect’s highest remaining cultivator would be the third disciple, Liang Ruohua, who was merely at the Soul Storing Rank of the Golden Core Realm… The line of battle strength would be broken.
Luo Yan, Liuli, your future… must now rely on yourselves!