Chapter 96: Favoritism

Zhang Shijie’s power was obvious.

The moment she arrived, the face of that Discipline Hall Shu Shu turned wary.

“Zhang shijie? What are you doing here?” His gaze involuntarily flicked toward Zheng Fa.

“Shu Shu Wang.”

Zhang Shijie bowed to him, her movements precise and flawless.

She turned to look at that Li shixiong and returned to her question: “May I ask, what did this younger brother say about me?”

“...”

Li shixiong lowered his head, clearly aware he was in the wrong.

One of the Shu Shu beside him let out a dry laugh: “It’s just words—Shijie, you’re magnanimous, why take offense?”

“I do take offense.”

“...”

The Shu Shu choked on his words, his expression darkening: “Though Li Shijie spoke rashly, your favoritism toward Zheng Fa is excessive! The whispers within the sect aren’t without cause!”

Zheng Fa glanced at Zhang Shijie.

Zhang Shijie’s face showed no expression; she merely looked at the Shu Shu, as if puzzled, and said slowly: “How is it excessive?”

“This Zheng shijie just entered the sect, yet you’ve granted him the same allotment as an Xuan-grade rune master... Spirit materials are scarce now, shijie—don’t you think this is favoritism?”

“They’re my own belongings.”

“Shijie, you’re overseeing the Provision Hall on behalf of Huang True Person. Under such circumstances, your actions invite suspicion,” the Shu Shu sneered.

“...”

Zheng Fa finally understood—he’d become a target aimed at Zhang Shijie.

The issue wasn’t the spirit materials; it was Zhang Shijie’s unique status.

Zhang Shijie remained silent, but the Shu Shu began speaking again.

“The Provision Hall governs the distribution of spirit materials for the entire Jiushan Sect. As its overseer, you should be utterly impartial. Yet now you favor one person...” Wang Shu Shu gave a light, cold laugh: “Shouldn’t others be allowed to speak?”

After these words, the expressions of the disciples present grew uneasy.

After all, the Provision Hall’s duties were far too sensitive.

“What do you mean?”

“To demonstrate fairness, Zheng shijie’s allotment should be equal to everyone else’s. Since he has talent, he’ll surely become an Xuan-grade rune master easily—then grant him the appropriate allotment, and the rumors will naturally fade.”

“But...” His words had barely ended when a hesitant voice came from behind him: “Zheng shixiong is already an Xuan-grade rune master!”

“?”

Everyone turned to look at the speaker—Zhou Gan, an acquaintance Zheng Fa didn’t know well.

“He’s an Xuan-grade rune master?”

The Discipline Hall Shu Shu froze, staring at Zhang Shijie.

To his surprise, Zhang Shijie also looked puzzled at Zheng Fa, as if unaware of this fact.

“Yes!” Zhou Gan affirmed: “I’ve been watching Zheng shixiong the whole time—just now, the Water Prison Rune was thrown by him.”

Zheng Fa: ... Wait, I was hiding perfectly—why were you watching me?

Li shixiong lowered his head, slowly looking at his soaked robes, then raised his eyes to Zheng Fa.

“You know best the power of that Water Prison Rune, right, Li shixiong?” Zhou Gan asked him.

Li shixiong: “...”

He looked as if he didn’t want to admit it.

“You just said it was an Xuan-grade Water Prison Rune.”

Zhou Gan pressed.

Li Shixiong opened his mouth, glanced at Wang Shu Shu’s darkening face, but said nothing.

“You’re a Foundation Establishment cultivator—you couldn’t possibly be trapped by a Huang-grade rune, could you? Wouldn’t that be too embarrassing?”

Zhou Gan’s tone was sincere, his words full of trust in Li shixiong’s abilities.

“Yes!”

Li shixiong gritted his teeth.

Others stared at him with strange looks—being trapped by a Water Prison Rune thrown by a new disciple hardly seemed less embarrassing.

Of course, their glances at Zhou Gan were even stranger—aren’t you in the wrong faction? Why are you siding with Pang True Person’s group?

Hearing Li Shixiong’s admission, the Discipline Hall Shu Shu’s expression turned utterly chaotic.

After a moment, he bowed to Zhang Shijie, his tone now mild: “You truly have keen insight, shijie.”

He was surprisingly graceful—immediately conceding defeat without further argument.

“I have no keen insight,” Zhang Shijie said, glancing at Zheng Fa. “I’m just biased.”

“?”

“Even if he were a Huang-grade rune master, I wouldn’t change his allotment. If you’re dissatisfied, let Pang Shu Shu come speak to me.”

After hearing Zhang Shijie’s words, the room fell silent.

The Discipline Hall Shu Shu’s face shifted colors, yet he could not speak.

He merely swept his sleeves and, without a word, transformed into a streak of light and departed from the Rune Hall.

Zhang Shijie watched him leave, then turned to Zheng Fa: “Come find me later—I have something to tell you.”

She seemed to have come solely to say this to Zheng Fa; after speaking, she ignored everyone else and left.

Zheng Fa watched her retreating back, then felt someone tug his sleeve—he turned to see Han Qi’s face brimming with thirst for knowledge:

“Younger brother, teach me.”

“Teach you what? Rune arts?”

“Rune arts... I admit you becoming an Xuan-grade rune master so fast shows talent, but that’s trivial, unimportant!” Han Qi lowered his voice: “What I really want to learn is how you got on Zhang Shijie’s good side... Haihai !”

“Speak up!”

A disgruntled murmur came from beside them—Zheng Fa turned to see a dense crowd gathered around them, every face filled with eager curiosity.

“Zheng shidi.”

As Zheng Fa left the Rune Hall, Shi Xiong suddenly called out to him.

Shi Xiong quickened his steps and walked beside Zheng Fa for a while, yet said nothing.

Only when they reached the courtyard gate did Shi Xiong raise his arm and bow deeply to him: “Thank you, younger brother, for your help just now.”

“I didn’t really help you...”

It wasn’t that Zheng Fa intended revenge—he only had one rune, and had to wait for Li shixiong’s moment of carelessness, when he lost the protection of the Golden Armor Rune, to strike.

“I wasn’t doing this for myself, but for the new disciples,” Shi Xiong shook his head. “If you hadn’t acted, those new disciples would’ve been bullied by Li shixiong.”

Since he’d lost, and Li shixiong hadn’t been stopped by Zheng Fa, their side would’ve suffered terribly.

“...”

Zheng Fa looked at Shi Xiong and saw genuine gratitude on his face.

Shi Xiong spoke first: “Do you think I hoarded your rune paper for personal gain?”

“No, not at all.”

Zheng Fa spoke sincerely.

This shixiong didn’t seem stingy—in the brawl, he’d truly used many runes to protect the new disciples.

In the end, everyone had their limits.

This shixiong could’ve easily stood aside and conserved his runes.

“...What do you think of Jiushan Sect?”

“A transcendent aura.”

“...” Shi Xiong glanced at him, sensing his insincerity, then suddenly laughed: “I think it’s the dawn of chaos, with the people’s resentment boiling over.”

“Uh...” Zheng Fa looked at him, puzzled—could he say this openly?

“A genius like you, singled out the moment you entered, probably doesn’t understand the suffering of the lower disciples.”

“...”

Zheng Fa said nothing, only listened.

“I’ve read history from the mortal world. In every dynasty’s final years, the lowest people suffer most.” Shi Xiong didn’t expect a reply: “The same holds true for immortal sects—and it’s even more terrifying. If these lower disciples truly harbor resentment, even if they can’t overthrow the sect, what if they go to the mortal world?”

He looked at Zheng Fa with hidden meaning: “They’re the ones with no power to resist.”

“...”

“I just think—if those above use one less rune, the lower disciples get one more, and perhaps their resentment lessens. Honestly, I know I can’t stop this—and I know it’s futile.” Shi Xiong smiled, looked at Zheng Fa, and pulled three rune papers from his sleeve, offering them: “Since you’re an Xuan-grade rune master, you should receive the proper allotment. I was the petty one here.”

Zheng Fa didn’t move, but Shi Xiong pressed the rune papers into his hand.

He bowed again to Zheng Fa, then turned and walked away.

His clothes were wrinkled and dusty, yet his posture remained straight.

Inside the Rune Hall’s courtyard gate, Han Qi stared at Zheng Fa, his expression shifting constantly.

“Shixiong? What are you thinking?”

“You guys—what does Zheng shidi like?”

“?”

The tall, thin man blinked and asked, “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t join him?”

“How was I supposed to know he could draw an Xuan-grade talisman right after joining?” Han Qi’s expression showed regret.

“Brother, this isn’t easy at all.”

The tall, thin man said hesitantly.

“What’s not easy?” Han Qi asked, puzzled. “I think Zheng Fa’s personality is quite good—he’s not hard to please… it’s just that we’ve offended him before.”

“...I’m not talking about him. I’m talking about that one.”

The tall, thin man pointed toward the distance, where Zhou Gan stood, gazing far off at Zheng Fa’s back.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Brother, don’t you notice his gaze at Zheng Fa is exactly the same as yours just now?”

“...”

Han Qi stared at Zhou Gan’s expression, utterly baffled—

Who the hell are you?

The favorite disciple of True Person Pang!

Single elemental root, Geng Metal Dao Body, an absolute genius!

Are you trying to steal my position as lackey?

Our two branches fight every day—we’ve bloody well beaten each other to death!

You’re betraying your master and destroying the sect!

No wonder you just defended Zheng Fa…

What deviousness!

“Brother, maybe we should give up?” the tall, thin man suggested. “We can’t match him anyway!”

“No!” Han Qi gritted his teeth. “Fine if it’s Zhang Shijie, but Zhou Gan is True Person Pang’s prized disciple—I’ve heard he’s wildly favored. If both of them value Zheng Fa this much, aren’t we fools if we don’t follow now?”

The tall, thin man blinked, then slowly nodded. “That makes sense. Still, we can’t match him.”

“...”

Zheng Fa reached the gate of Zhang Shijie’s courtyard, which lay at the foot of the Ninth Mountain and was vast in size.

In his view, it was hard to say whether this courtyard was larger or smaller than the Zhao family’s.

But their locations were vastly different—the Ninth Mountain was the most spiritually rich place in the Nine Mountains Sect.

As Zheng Fa stepped through the courtyard gate, Zhang True Person’s voice reached his ears: “Walk forward, pass three gates, and come straight to the back courtyard to find me.”