Chapter 14: Success Comes from the Wind and Cloud, Failure Comes from the Wind and Cloud

This masked person's internal energy was truly profound; carrying Ni Pusa, he still leaped as nimbly as if he were flying.

The masked person ran quickly with Ni Pusa, and in an instant, they had already arrived at the World Gate.

The masked person entered the Lianwu Tang directly through a secret passage.

The masked person slowly removed his disguise; beneath the disguise was none other than Xiongba.

Looking at the black-clad Xiongba before him, Ni Pusa mocked, "I never expected that the dignified Sect Leader Xiong would actually stoop to such petty, underhanded deeds."

Xiongba replied, "My behavior is merely because I do not wish for the secrets of heaven to be leaked and known by too many people."

Ni Pusa let out a sudden, mocking laugh.

Xiongba looked at Ni Pusa, whose face was covered in pustules, and ignoring his mockery, sighed:

"Ni Pusa, long time no see. Our last parting was ten years ago."

Ni Pusa also replied cooperatively, "Indeed, time flies. In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed. I have become this ghost of a man, while you, Sect Leader Xiong, still possess such heroic spirit."

Xiongba smiled, then suddenly changed his tone, saying with great seriousness:

"Ni Pusa, you have made me search for you quite hard. Ten years ago, you gave me the prophecy: 'The golden scale is no creature of the pond; once it meets the wind and cloud, it shall transform into a dragon.' I have found the wind and cloud. Today, I ask you to read my Destiny once more."

Ni Pusa shook his head and said, "Sect Leader Xiong, the World Gate has now forged an ironclad empire in the martial arts world. The World Gate is currently the number one sect in the martial arts world, and Sect Leader Xiong commands the world; who dares to disobey? Why must Sect Leader Xiong be so stubborn about the words of Destiny? What is meant to be will be; do not force what is not in your fate. Why is Sect Leader Xiong so obsessed with this?"

Seeing that Ni Pusa refused to read his fortune, Xiongba formed his hand into a claw and gripped Ni Pusa's throat, saying, "If you do not cast a hex for me today, I fear this Ni Pusa will not be able to save his own life."

Seeing that there was no way to avoid it today, Ni Pusa had no choice but to agree to Xiongba.

Ni Pusa took his Taiyi Nine Palaces Divination Plate from his robes and began to chant; as if a switch had been flipped, the Taiyi Nine Palaces Divination Plate began to rotate slowly.

Ni Pusa signaled for Xiongba to place his hand on the divination plate. After Xiongba followed Ni Pusa's instructions and placed his hand on the plate, the rotation speed increased, and two lines of large characters appeared.

Looking at the two lines of prophecy before him, Xiongba muttered, "The dragon's roar in the nine heavens startles the world; the wind and cloud meet, and the dragon swims in shallow waters. Ni Pusa, what does this mean?"

Ni Pusa shook his head and interpreted it for him: "This prophecy means that in the first half of your life, Sect Leader Xiong, you used the power of the wind and cloud to build an ironclad empire and achieve a thousand-year hegemony, but in the second half of your life, you will lose everything because of the wind and cloud. It can truly be said: success comes from the wind and cloud, and failure comes from the wind and cloud. Sect Leader Xiong, there is no need to force it; let everything follow its natural course."

Xiongba muttered, "You are saying my second half of life will be caused by the wind and cloud. My fortune will reverse, leading the dragon to swim in shallow waters. May I ask, Ni Pusa, does this 'wind and cloud' refer to my three disciples: Duan Fengyun, Nie Feng, and Bu Jingyun?"

Ni Pusa countered, "Does Sect Leader Xiong not already have the answer in his heart? Think about whether the World Gate's fortune has been smooth since you took the wind and cloud as your disciples."

Upon hearing this, Xiongba raised his arms and shouted in a crazed manner, "I do not believe in Destiny! My own Destiny is controlled by me! I, Xiongba, insist on defying the heavens and changing my fate; my life is determined by me, not by the heavens!"

Ni Pusa, seemingly unaware of the gravity of the situation, advised from the side, "Such is fate; I implore Sect Leader Xiong to comply with the will of heaven. The power of heaven is unfathomable; Sect Leader, do not force it."

To the current Xiongba, this was nothing more than adding fuel to the fire. Looking at the meddlesome Ni Pusa before him, Xiongba, in a fit of rage, struck Ni Pusa on the head with his palm, and the legendary master of divination, Ni Pusa, fell right there.

By this time, Qin Shuang and the others had already rushed back to the World Gate and sent a servant to report to the Sect Leader. The servant returned and replied that the Sect Leader was currently occupied with important matters and told them to wait at the entrance for the time being.

The three had no choice but to give up. Thinking that Duan Fengyun had not yet returned, the three went to the main entrance of the World Gate to wait for him, so that the four of them could go together to ask Xiongba for punishment.

When Duan Fengyun returned to the World Gate and saw Qin Shuang and the others still waiting for him at the entrance, he deliberately slowed his pace, whistling, and approached them with a cheeky grin:

"What's this? Are you senior brothers afraid of the Master's blame, and waiting for your little junior brother to go receive punishment together?"

The three, who had been worried about the Ni Pusa affair, were instantly amused. Qin Shuang smiled and replied:

"Look at you. The Master has important matters to attend to and told us to wait for notification. We thought you hadn't returned yet, so we waited here for you. Once the Master notifies us, the four of us will go to see him together."

Duan Fengyun muttered to himself, *What is there to ask for punishment for? It's clearly that Xiongba didn't want us to know his Destiny and deliberately intercepted Ni Pusa halfway. *

Just as the four were joking with each other, a servant came to report that the Sect Leader was summoning them.

When the four arrived at the Lianwu Tang, Ni Pusa's corpse had already been removed, and the Lianwu Tang had been restored to its original state.

But the sensitive Duan Fengyun still smelled the scent of blood in the air. He began to mutter to himself again: *If I'm not mistaken, Ni Pusa is truly a 'Bodhisattva' now. It's a pity; I still wanted to learn a trick or two about fortune-telling so I could swindle people and deceive young girls in the future... *

Seeing Xiongba, the four clasped their hands and bowed, saying, "Please punish us, Master. We were negligent in our duty, and Ni Pusa was abducted."

Xiongba feigned surprise and asked, "Oh? There is someone who could rescue Ni Pusa from your hands? This person must be an expert."

Duan Fengyun despised Xiongba in his heart, but he still agreed with Xiongba's opinion along with Qin Shuang and Nie Feng.

Bu Jingyun, however, was honest and asked directly, "This masked person could predict our next move every time. May I ask, Master, who in this world understands the Heaven Frost Fist, Cloud-Seizing Palm, and Wind-Cloud Legs so well?"

Xiongba caught the subtext in Bu Jingyun's words and feigned displeasure: "Are you suspecting me? In this world, there is always someone better; there are countless nameless experts you do not know about."

Seeing that the atmosphere was awkward, Duan Fengyun hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over, pretending: "Senior Brother Yun, the Master is right. There are too many mysterious experts in the martial arts world; it was just a coincidence that we ran into one."

Xiongba did not want to dwell on this topic with them either, and said, "You have all had a hard journey; go back and rest."

Seeing that Xiongba had spoken, the four dared not say more. After saluting Xiongba, they left the Lianwu Tang.

After the four left, Xiongba opened the scroll on the table. On the scroll were written eight large characters: Success comes from the wind and cloud, failure comes from the wind and cloud.

Xiongba looked coldly at these four characters and said mockingly, "I can make you, and I can destroy you. Whether it is wind or cloud, I will make you all vanish like wind and cloud."