Chapter 150: You Are My Vice Patriarch, Sir!

Late night, at the Xu‑Hai hour,

Murong An slipped away with the Eight Bull Crossbow, settled Empress Murong Miao Zhen, and Niu Dingtian mysteriously pulled Fentian into the hall, then solemnly said:

"The Divine Sect is about to be established, but it still lacks some foundation."

"As the Patriarch and Vice Patriarch of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, we naturally must each contribute some effort for the sect's growth; you certainly won't refuse, right, sister?"

Contribute some effort?

Fentian knit her brows, feeling an instant sense of unease.

She subconsciously lifted a cup of tea, took two sips, and after a moment of contemplation said cautiously, "Most of the Mani Sect's branch disciples have already been recruited by Murong An."

"Once word spreads that I agree to merge the two sects, many disciples will view me as a traitor; who will still listen to me?"

Having said that, a strong self‑mocking expression crossed her face, and she forced a smile at Niu Dingtian.

After nearly two days together, Fentian formed a completely new perception of Niu Dingtian; he was literally a cowhide, and she had been too naive before.

That fellow not only coveted his own body, but probably already harbored ulterior motives against the Mani Sect when they were on the ship.

And this current demeanor, no matter how one looks at it, seems to covet something on her, naturally raising her vigilance a hundred thousandfold.

Niu Dingtian, seeing this, replied irritably, "You will be the future Vice Patriarch; we're all comrades, how could I possibly betray you?"

"Besides, I'm not fond of handling affairs; previously my sister‑in‑law dealt with matters in the mountain villa, and from now on any sect matters will naturally be yours to handle."

"Once I set the big direction, all the miscellaneous tasks go to you; we can act openly and honestly, far stronger than your sneaky ways in the Mani Sect before."

"But even among comrades there are rules; if you mishandle anything, I will deal with you."

Just then,

Niu Dingtian glared suddenly and snarled, "Deal with it harshly!"

These heartfelt words made Fentian feel a stir of intention.

Although she sensed something indecent behind Niu Dingtian, she had no proof.

Just a lack of experience.

Thus, Fentian's face grew hesitant, and she softly said, "Then you… first tell me, if there's any place I can help, I will naturally do my part."

"Of course there are places to help!" Niu Dingtian, brandishing his staff, cheerfully moved next to Fentian, blinking, and said:

"Sister, lend me your 'Qiankun Great Transposition' so I can refine it; then we'll have another sect‑stabilizing divine skill, right?"

From Niu Dingtian's tone, it seemed a trivial matter.

But he ignored the prestige of inherited martial arts among the jianghu, especially a profound art like Qiankun Great Transposition.

Moreover, given Fentian's current situation, this act felt like exploiting a vulnerable person, a despicable move to seize a martial technique.

Imagine,

When you are fleeing in all directions, cornered with no way out, you suddenly recall the person you deem most trustworthy and hope to entrust all your assets to.

But that person kills your companions, dismantles your family business, imprisons your founding elders, and even plots against the very thing you rely on for survival.

How would that feel?

Sure enough—

Fentian heard this, her complexion froze instantly; that dog indeed had no good intentions!

She quickly pulled away from Niu Dingtian, growing angrier in her heart, raising her brows and snarling, "

You, a so‑called head of the sect, can't even have any face? You keep saying I'm one of your own, yet treat your own like this?"

Niu Dingtian's face darkened, eyes bulging, "What the hell are you, tiger woman! Sit down and listen to me finish!"

As he spoke, he reached out to pull Fentian back beside him for further discussion.

Fentian, heedless, dodged away in one swift move, and as if she had lost her mind, thrust her bosom forward and shouted angrily:

"When you once asked me for favors, you kept calling me sister over and over! Don't think I don't know what twisted plan you're hatching! Now I've lost everything; you can't get any benefit, you keep shouting that I'm a tiger woman!"

"I trusted you enough to bring Yang Miao Zhen to seek refuge with you! Now you unceremoniously take that young lady, then come to bully me, a frail old woman—what kind of skill is that!"

"You… you are truly shameless!"

By the end of her tirade, Fentian's face was flushed with anger, and the waves across her chest rose and fell repeatedly.

Perhaps because she had been on the run for days without proper rest, at this moment her fatigue could no longer be concealed.

In fact, Fentian was never a talkative person; she had always kept a cold demeanor toward everyone.

Back on the sea vessel, the words she exchanged with Niu Dingtian were nowhere near as many as today.

After a series of upheavals,

she sought refuge with Niu Dingtian.

When Niu Dingtian split the Mani Sect and released Murong An, Fentian already felt some discontent.

Regarding Niu Dingtian's nonsense, she also gave up, accepting it like an ostrich.

But she was also enduring it with great effort.

At this moment,

seeing Niu Dingtian overstep and direct his scheme onto herself, she erupted like a volcano, spewing forth turbulently.

Niu Dingtian was stunned by Fentian's scolding, thinking, "Could this woman be a relative?"

But when he saw the fatigue in her eyes and the sudden, girlish sense of helplessness, his heart moved.

They say a woman is most charming when powerless and most alluring in despair, and indeed it was so.

This instantly sparked Niu Dingtian's protective instinct.

He instantly flashed forward, reaching in front of Fentian, grabbing her lotus‑like jade arm, and shouted, "Who says you're an old woman? I'll damn well kill her!"

"You are my Vice Patriarch, sir! From now on any sect matters are handled by the adult! If nothing… nothing is decided by the adult! How could I bear to bully you?"

"Sister, in the future you will represent the face of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect; if anyone dares to ignore facts and utter even a single old word, the Sun and Moon Divine Sect will force them to become a new person, change their lineage!"

"Get lost!" Fentian shouted angrily, utterly disgusted by the face before her, yet no matter how she struggled, she could not break free.

"You listen to my explanation first!" Niu Dingtian gently exerted force, pulling Fentian over to his side:

"No matter where you claim sister is one of us, those who truly are our own act straightforwardly; if you need to discuss something you still have to hide and cover, what kind of 'one of us' is that?"

"Besides, 'Tiger Woman' is my exclusive nickname for you; have you ever seen anyone worthy of me calling her that? Let me tell you! If one day you make me angry, you'll still have to call her!"

"Let go!" Fentian glared angrily and shouted.

But Niu Dingtian's hands were as solid as cast bronze and iron; no matter how they glared, his hands did not budge an inch.

Even his calm eyes slowly stared straight back, giving no retreat.

Gradually, Fentian's angry stare became slightly evasive; flustered, they turned their head away, and a strange faint redness spread across the cheek and neck, urgently rebuking:

"You let go quickly! Stop pulling the same trick you use to fool the little girl on me!"

At that moment—

Niu Dingtian's chest seemed to be swept by a sudden torrent, then abruptly choked.

Suppressing the urge to pull Fentian into his arms, Niu Dingtian said softly, "I've already called you my Deputy Patriarch, how could I possibly afford to deceive you?"

Fentian's cheeks flushed red and they fell silent, yet their gently trembling eyelashes revealed a deeply unsettled heart.

Niu Dingtian said slowly, "At my current realm, neither the martial arts I previously cultivated, nor yours or Mu Rong An's, are of much use to me now."

"Qiankun Great Transposition I have never cultivated, yet I learned by chance that the final layer of this technique contains an error. The master who created Qiankun Great Transposition had strong inner strength, but even he could not reach the final step, only mastering up to the sixth layer."

Hearing this, for a moment Fentian forgot their awkwardness, turned their head and stared blankly at Niu Dingtian, their fair face clearly writing ten thousand doubts.

"The Sect-Guardian Divine Skill that has been passed down for centuries has an error? Who are you trying to fool now?"

"Just a moment ago you said, 'You are my Deputy Patriarch, how could I possibly afford to deceive you?' And in the blink of an eye you start fooling again."

Recalling this, Fentian's breath quickened, and they glared viciously at Niu Dingtian.

Seeing this, Niu Dingtian was startled, then a bit enlightened, smiled, and softly recited, "Emerald light seeks to encircle, dragon's roar first appears, roaming heaven and earth, skill through joints, tendons shift, turning weakness into strength, inner sight observes the heart, grasp firm in tranquil thought, solidify essence and refine Qi."

"Circulate the extraordinary meridians, nurture Qi to transform the spirit, ascend the lofty tower, the spirit returns to the void, moonlight to evade, a light not yet connected, void transforms three blossoms, yang Qi briefly emerges, the sun's first rise."

After finishing, looking at the stunned Fentian before him, Niu Dingtian smiled lightly, "Is this the final layer's core formula? I may not recall it perfectly, but I think these are roughly it."

"The seventh-layer core formula written by that senior was merely his clever imagination seeking variation; if later practitioners forcefully cultivate it, the end inevitably leads to demonic fire."

In fact, remembering this chant relies entirely on a dust‑sealed memory in Niu Dingtian's mind, from his childhood in a previous life, obsessed with the ultimate martial arts in books.

In his previous life, how many could, after finishing a novel or TV drama, not go mad and start practicing the unparalleled martial arts within?

And how many would not remember verses like "His strength is his strength, the gentle breeze brushes the mountain ridge; his boldness is his boldness, the bright moon illuminates the great river" and "The Way of Heaven diminishes the excess to supplement the lacking; therefore emptiness overcomes fullness, lack overcomes excess," such profound inner‑energy formulas?

Although not fully remembered, many crucial lines were memorized flawlessly by many since childhood.

At this moment, Niu Dingtian made a slight probe, and unexpectedly got it right.

Seeing Fentian still dazed, Niu Dingtian gently tugged the bone‑soft jade arm in his hand, softly saying, "I only intend to improve Qiankun Great Transposition, then devise a technique that matches it, and pass them on as the Sun and Moon Divine Sect's Sect-Guardian martial heritage."

"I actually have many ultimate techniques, but your Qiankun Great Transposition comes from the Manichaeism Sect; after our two sects merge, you can't let the Manichaeism bloodline's inheritance be cut off, can you?"

"Since you and I are both witnesses to the birth of the Divine Sect, I hope that centuries later the Sun and Moon Divine Sect will still retain the shadow of us between us." (End of chapter)