Chapter 64: 64. Chapter 64

64. Chapter 64

Guan San was stroking the server; please complete your subscription to defeat him! Atian turned her head at the sound. The first thing she saw was a pair of boots resting on the table. Following these boots upward, she realized that at some point, the Senior Brother who had been sitting behind her had been replaced by a woman with short, ear-length hair. She leaned lazily against the seat, while the original owner of the seat stood to the side, nodding and bowing with a servility that was unbearable to watch.

"Of course, this doesn't mean the struggle will cease," the woman said, noticing Atian's gaze. She grinned, and the scar on her left cheek curved with her movement, the top end coming within a hair's breadth of her eye. "People fight for a breath of air, trees fight for their bark; how undignified it is to just shake hands and make peace. Even if you don't provoke others, others will come to provoke you. It's just that annoying."

She shrugged. "The struggle for the Dao Lineage is inherently a matter of life and death. If your skills are inferior, you deserve to die. When it comes down to it, this isn't about personal grudges; it's simply a bottom line that both sides cannot touch."

"Senior Sister Luo," Li Ke spoke up, interrupting the woman, his brows furrowing with helplessness. "This is my class..."

"Don't say that, Junior Brother Li," the woman said, swinging her feet, which were resting on the table. "We reminded them one by one when they entered the sect: if they violate the sect rules, the Law Enforcement Elder will come to teach them how to behave. Isn't that exactly what I'm doing now?"

Atian understood; this short-haired woman with a scar on her face was Elder Luo Li, whom Su Ying had mentioned—her future instructor.

Just as Li Ke pursed his lips, Luo Li jumped up from her seat, her movements so fast that even Atian, who had been staring at her, was startled.

"Hey, you little brats," Luo Li said, stepping onto the tabletop with a fierce expression, ignoring the tearful looks of the disciples beside her. "To fall for such a low-level trick—all of you, go back and reflect on yourselves!"

This was a dismissal. Seeing that Li Ke did not speak to stop her, the terrified disciples vaguely understood that the class was over for today, so they hurriedly packed their things and left the Classroom.

Atian followed beside Zhao Kuo, with Song Zhicheng behind them, scrambling to put on his shoes. As she passed by Luo Li, she noticed that the latter had a thin, sharp Sword tied to each side of her waist, which had been hidden under her wide robes while she was sitting.

"Junior Niece Bai Tian."

The slightly hoarse female voice interrupted Atian's observation. She looked up and met Luo Li's amused eyes. She was very tall; even though Atian was considered tall among women, she was still a full head shorter than her.

Atian felt that if there truly were a woman in this world who could make one praise her from the bottom of one's heart as "heroic and spirited," it would be someone like Luo Li.

"You made a wise decision," the female Elder said in a low voice. "Suppressing your Sword and hiding its edge will drive you mad."

"Tomorrow morning, find me at the Martial Arts Arena."

Her hands tightened around Ten Thousand Calamities, and Atian nodded, following the flow of people out of the room.

Strangely enough, the stone-carved Jiaotu guarding the entrance of the Classroom was very timid. The moment it saw people, it rolled to the side and shivered. The disciples were used to it and walked around it, and occasionally, those with a mischievous streak would jump over its head.

"Ah, I almost stopped breathing when I saw Senior Aunt Luo," Zhao Kuo said, patting his chest dramatically. Even Duanyue, which he carried on his back, twisted slightly, as if it were also letting out a sigh of relief.

"Why?" Song Zhicheng wiped his hand, which had been picking at his foot, on his clothes. "The moment I saw Elder Luo, I knew she was a straightforward person!"

"Yeah, she's also very straightforward when she beats you up. She really just hits you without any preamble," Zhao Kuo, who had been through it, agreed with narrowed eyes.

Atian wasn't as curious about Elder Luo Li's style of doing things, as she would experience it firsthand tomorrow. By comparison, the incident where Li Ke suddenly lashed out caught her attention more. "Senior Brother Zhao, today, Uncle-Master Li..."

"Shh!" Zhao Kuo covered Bai Tian's mouth with quick reflexes, looking around guiltily. Only after realizing no one was paying attention did he let out a sigh of relief. "My little aunt, this is too shameful. Can we go back to the room to talk about it?"

Having his dark history from his youth dug up was bad enough, and the only consolation was that the room was filled with fellow disciples who had been just as foolish, so no one could look down on anyone else. Now that they had left the Classroom, he absolutely didn't want anyone else to know about this!

As a model young lady of good breeding, Atian considered herself very reasonable. In the past, when the daughter of the county magistrate and the daughter of a scholar argued, she often "convinced people with reason." Taking care of Senior Brother Zhao Kuo's fragile self-esteem wasn't a big deal, especially since she hadn't seen anyone else in the Beihai Sword Sect who was specialized in housekeeping and willing to help her dry her clothes for free.

So, monopolies really are no good.

"This disgusting business of the Heartless Dao is likely the work of the Fangxian Dao."

As soon as they returned to their courtyard, Zhao Kuo busied himself preparing tea and snacks, being incredibly virtuous. His room was also spotless, enough to make Song Zhicheng, who had turned his own room into a pigsty, blush with shame.

However, a high-level vocabulary like "blushing with shame" did not exist in a mountain bandit's dictionary. He just took off his shoes in a grand manner, sat cross-legged on a rattan chair, and swung his feet.

"When I was still a mountain king, I had heard of the Fangxian Dao," he said, rubbing his chin. "It is said that the entire south belongs to them; they are surrounded by followers and are very imposing."

"Those are just branches; the main sect of the Fangxian Dao is still very low-key," Zhao Kuo said fairly, even though he had almost been tricked. "The situation in the Fangxian Dao is very complicated. Don't look at them as the head of the Four Great Immortal Sects now; in reality, the interior is already in chaos."

Atian looked solemn while sweeping the snacks off the table.

Drawing a sense of presence from the curious eyes of her Junior Brothers and Sisters, Zhao Kuo immediately forgot his previous embarrassment. "When I was a child, I followed my Master to the Fangxian Dao. They are the Alchemy Sect among the Dharma Cultivators. The disciples of the direct lineage rarely leave their homes; they just refine pills in their caves. Over time, thanks to the temptation of pills, many errand-runners gathered around them, and the Fangxian Dao was able to grow."

"The branches in the Fangxian Dao now, such as the Instrument Cultivators and Spirit Cultivators, were formed after the outsiders who attached themselves to the sect back then multiplied and grew. But as time passed, they no longer respected the direct lineage of the Fangxian Dao like their predecessors did, and each had their own hidden agenda."

"I get it, I get it," Song Zhicheng said, picking at his foot. "It's just the servants bullying their masters."

Atian had to admit that Song Zhicheng could really hit the nail on the head.

Zhao Kuo rubbed the teacup with his palm, thinking that although his own sect went to great lengths to get votes, the fellow disciples got along harmoniously. Unlike the Fangxian Dao, which was riddled with factions, he couldn't help but sigh, "There are benefits to having fewer people."

The awkwardness of the Beihai Sword Sect was that even if they wanted to have some internal strife to spice up their lives, they couldn't necessarily gather enough people.

While the disciples were chattering about the "Fangxian Dao" over there, the Elders over here were no more refined.

After driving away a room full of disciples, Luo Li dragged a meditation cushion over and sat beside Li Ke, humming a little tune and tapping her leg to the beat. She sang terribly, not only off-key but also tone-deaf, yet she didn't realize it at all and shamelessly leaned in close to Li Ke's nose to be annoying.

"Senior Sister Luo, did you go to Luofu Mountain?" Li Ke's nose twitched when Luo Li leaned in, as if he had smelled something unpleasant, and he showed an expression of disgust.

"Otherwise?" Luo Li stopped humming and raised her eyebrows. "To cause trouble for my Beihai Sword Sect—it was only out of respect for Wei Sheren that I didn't directly smash their broken gate."

Wei Sheren, the Sect Master of the Fangxian Dao, the number one Elixir Cultivator on the Yuanguang Continent, and also a well-known "good guy" in the cultivation world.

"This matter could not have been done by Wei Sheren." Li Ke's tone was very firm. The cultivation world emphasizes Life Dual Cultivation; only when one's temperament meets the standard can one's cultivation soar.

"Anyway, it must have been done by those branches," Luo Li sneered. "The Fangxian Dao has been made a mess by those guys over the years. Wei Sheren is also unlucky; clearly the Sect Master, yet I heard his words can't even leave the main peak."

"The Fangxian Dao has taken too many shortcuts over the years; it is expected that they will be backlashed," Li Ke said, covering his mouth with a handkerchief and coughing a few times. "If Wei Sheren can cut off the arm to save the body, the Fangxian Dao might still have a chance to come back to life."

Luo Li smiled upon hearing this, the scar on her face revealing a bit of sharpness. She was not a beauty in the traditional sense, but she had her own charm. She took a letter from her bosom and handed it to Li Ke. "If Wei Sheren is unwilling to cut off the arm to save the body, Junior Brother, you might as well help him."

Li Ke understood her implication and widened his eyes slightly. He took the letter and unfolded it, seeing a flamboyant, dragon-like "Discuss" character written on it.

"The Grandmaster's meaning is that for this year's Qingtan Assembly, you will go with him."

"Qingtan, Qingtan..." A flush appeared on Li Ke's pale face. "The Grandmaster doesn't want to talk with his mouth anymore, then. It's just that I haven't left the sect for a long time; I don't know how many people in this world still remember me, Li Ke."

"So what?" Luo Li smiled dismissively. "Destroying foundations and tainting the Dao Lineage—they are already riding on our heads, so don't blame others for fighting back. Everyone says my Beihai Sword Sect is full of lunatics; I'm afraid they haven't seen what we look like when we truly go mad."

"Before I raise the little lunatic, you, the old lunatic, will have to work hard."

The man's hand clamped onto the young girl's delicate neck, cold liquid dripped onto her cheek, and the suddenly rising flames crackled and popped; the feeling of suffocation and the pain grew stronger and stronger.