Chapter 75

The air went quiet instantly, and the atmosphere was slightly awkward.

For a moment, Hong Zun was completely numb. He had calculated everything, but how could he not have thought that the disciples under his own knees, the people closest to him, would jump out and backstab him?

What followed was extreme anger. The look in his eyes that wanted to kill someone couldn't be hidden.

Facing Hong Zun's death stare, Xu Jie broke out in a cold sweat. Master's look was a bit scary.

However, for the sake of eating, Xu Jie gritted his teeth. He went for it, pretending to be calm, and put on a forced smile.

"Oh, the Second Elder is here too. We won't disturb you; I'll take Junior Brother Changqing to board the ship first."

Seeing Xu Jie wanting to slip away, Hong Zun naturally couldn't agree. He instantly put on a "kind" smile, flashed over to block their path, and asked with a smile.

"Good disciple, what were you doing running into my cave dwelling?"

Although he was smiling, Xu Jie felt an endless chill enveloping him, and even Ye Changqing behind him shrank his neck. No, the Peak Master's smile was truly a bit scary.

"Master, I... that, this, I... oh, I went to the cave dwelling to find you, Master, but I accidentally discovered Junior Brother Changqing and came out with him."

Although he was prepared, it was a lie to say he wasn't nervous facing his master's majesty.

To this, Hong Zun sneered.

"Oh, is that so?"

He didn't believe a single word of what Xu Jie said. You went to the cave dwelling to find me? Damn, I was standing right outside the cave dwelling, and you didn't see me?

And "accidentally" meeting the Changqing kid? That was even more nonsense. This guy was definitely doing it on purpose.

But how did he know the Changqing kid was in his cave dwelling? This matter had only been known to him and Qingshi all along. To be safe, he hadn't even told the other Elders.

The matter was full of suspicious points, but now was not the time to delve into it. The current consideration should be how to keep the Changqing kid, after all, on the side...

Fear what you fear. Shi Song, who had come to his senses, spoke up at this time.

"Junior Brother, what does this mean?"

His eyes were full of suspicion, and there was a hint of anger in his heart. Thinking that he had actually felt he had wronged this old drunkard just now, it seemed he had slapped himself in the face.

Facing Shi Song's inquiry, Hong Zun pretended to be calm and smiled.

"Senior Brother misunderstood. This child is someone I recently prepared to take as a disciple. I didn't know much about him before, so I brought him to my cave dwelling. This should be quite reasonable, right?"

Hearing this, Shi Song looked Ye Changqing up and down and found that he only had Core Formation realm cultivation. Apart from his looks, there didn't seem to be anything outstanding about him. His first reaction was that this old drunkard was fooling him again.

He was about to speak, but Hong Zun spoke first.

"Senior Brother, as a Peak Master, taking a disciple shouldn't violate sect regulations, right?"

He didn't know what Hong Zun meant, but Shi Song nodded.

In the Dao One Sect, each peak was basically decided by the Peak Master, and the Law Enforcement Hall couldn't intervene at will. Moreover, whether or not to take a disciple was a private matter, so there was even less reason to manage it.

Not only Shi Song, but even Xu Jie on the side was full of doubt. What was Master doing? He couldn't understand it at all, but he felt that something was going to happen.

Under the gaze of several people, a smile gradually appeared on Hong Zun's face.

"That's fine. And recently, I plan to put this kid through some tests, so he can't go to the Near-Sea Camp for the time being. This should count as a special situation, right? When the tests are over, I will personally send this kid to the Near-Sea Camp."

Damn! As soon as these words were spoken, Xu Jie went numb. He had calculated so much, but he didn't expect Master to pull the rug out from under him at the end.

And in this way, he really had no way. As for sending him to the Near-Sea Camp later, that was simply nonsense.

If he couldn't take Junior Brother Changqing away today, he could forget about it in the future.

And Xu Jie couldn't explain this to Shi Song.

Hearing Hong Zun's words, Shi Song pondered for a moment. A Core Formation realm disciple going or not didn't seem to matter.

And since Hong Zun had said so, he couldn't give him no face at all.

Forget it, the matter of one or two disciples was trivial.

Just as Shi Song was about to agree, a voice suddenly came.

"Master, the disciple objects."

Hmm???

Seeing Shi Song about to nod, who the hell was ruining his good deed?

He turned his head angrily, and upon seeing, Hong Zun was dumbfounded. He saw Zhao Zhengping, who had just come out of seclusion, walking over quickly, accompanied by Liu Shuang, Lu Youyou, and Wang Yao.

Looking at the four, and combined with the various actions of this rebellious disciple Xu Jie just now, Hong Zun suddenly had a bad feeling. Could it be that they also...

At the same time, Xu Jie was also looking at Liu Shuang with a confused expression, asking what was going on and why they had brought the Senior Brother.

To this, Liu Shuang gave a reassuring reply.

A group of people were winking at each other here, and their whole bodies exuded an aura of calculation.

"Master."

Zhao Zhengping came to Hong Zun with a serious expression, bowed, and then, under Hong Zun's puzzled gaze, said righteously.

"Master, I do not agree."

"What do you not agree with?"

Is this kid sick? It's none of your business. You haven't even eaten the Changqing kid's food; why are you coming here to join the fun?

Zhao Zhengping indeed hadn't eaten the food made by Ye Changqing, but Liu Shuang had just found him and said that Master was worried about the disciples' safety and was afraid there would be danger at the Near-Sea Camp.

So this time he planned to hide some people in the sect.

This was a violation of sect rules.

Hearing this, with Zhao Zhengping's upright character, he naturally wouldn't stand for it and rushed over immediately.

Looking at the entire Dao One Sect, if Shi Song was an old stubborn, then Zhao Zhengping was a little stubborn.

And he had a tendency to be even more so. In some matters, he was even more rigid than Shi Song, such as sect rules.

This was also related to Zhao Zhengping's upbringing. He was picked up by Hong Zun when he was young and grew up in the Dao One Sect. For Zhao Zhengping, the Dao One Sect was his only home, so he cherished the sect more than anyone else.

Even facing his own master, Zhao Zhengping didn't show any weakness.

"The disciple knows Master cares about us, but guarding the Near-Sea Camp is a sect regulation. Moreover, if everyone is unwilling to guard the Near-Sea Camp, are we to let those water tribes enter our Dongzhou and cause trouble?"

"Since our Dao One Sect is the leader of the righteous path in Dongzhou, we should naturally take protecting the people of Dongzhou as our duty."

"No, Master I..."

"Since the sect regulations state that every year there is a rotation and all disciples of each peak must go, then all must go."

"Who did you hear this from? I..."

"Master is worried about the disciples' safety..."

"Shut your mouth."

"But as a disciple of the Dao One Sect, facing demons, one should fear nothing and protect Dongzhou."

Hong Zun spoke, and Zhao Zhengping also spoke. Both said their own things, and in the end, Zhao Zhengping's voice actually drowned out Hong Zun's, leaving the old man with no temper.

"Senior Brother is still awesome."

Facing this scene, Liu Shuang, Xu Jie, and the others weren't too surprised. After all, the number of times the Senior Brother and Master had argued wasn't small, especially when the Senior Brother was being stubborn; even Master couldn't do anything about him.

Scolding didn't work, and fighting didn't work. How should one put it? He was like a stone in a latrine—stinky and hard.

That might be a bit much, but the fact was just so. The Senior Brother was just such a strong-willed person.

"What's the situation now?"

At this time, Xu Jie asked Liu Shuang via sound transmission.

"A little backup I prepared, in case you couldn't handle it."