Chapter 460: Friendship and Love Must Not Be Let Down

The eighth of the sixth lunar month, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

Chen Shu changed into a set of magnificent traditional attire and combed the long hair he had grown over the past few days in front of the mirror; the more he looked, the more satisfied he became, as if the phantom of the deity within his spiritual body had truly descended into reality—what made people most jealous was that such a handsome person also possessed peerless talent that suppressed his entire generation.

"How is anyone else supposed to live?"

Chen Shu muttered to himself, admiring the details.

At the same time, outside the bathroom, a beautiful woman sat calmly on the edge of the bed, a cat sat beside her, and a little girl leaned against the doorway; the two people and one cat heard the voice inside and couldn't help but look at each other.

"Click!"

The two people and one cat immediately shifted their gazes, the silent ones continued to be silent, and the one licking its paw continued to lick its paw, as if nothing had just happened.

Chen Shu walked out, patted his lapels, and asked them happily: "How is it? Is it very handsome?"

"Yes!"

"Woof~"

"I can't tell that you are..."

"Enough!" Chen Shu reached out to stop the woman sitting on the edge of the bed, "Attending the Sect Master's inauguration ceremony is what matters, no need to say more!"

"..."

Ning Qing pursed her lips and stood up to follow him out.

Yet her gaze couldn't help but drift toward him.

Although it was traditional attire, it was also constantly improved with the times; traditional attire had always been different from generation to generation, and as long as the tradition was not broken, there was naturally no need to blindly pursue tradition to the point of appearing orthodox, as it would naturally change with the times. However, this outfit did not incorporate modern clothing elements, but merely optimized the fabric, design, and color coordination, making it look more eye-catching and beautiful to modern eyes.

The jade-white base color, paired with light gold, had a magnificent, noble, and god-like feeling.

He walked with a breeze, his sleeves fluttering.

It was actually very good-looking.

Ning Qing looked at herself again.

Perhaps she should also wear traditional attire; would that make her look better walking with him?

Arriving at the square on Yuding Mountain, many onlookers had already gathered; Chen Shu took them to find Zhang Suannai, then entered Yuling Hall alone, and at a glance, he saw the Sect Master, who had aged significantly.

"Greetings, Sect Master."

Chen Shu couldn't help but lift his eyes to glance at him.

When he first met the Sect Master, he was still a gentle and refined middle-aged man, possessing only a mature demeanor without any traces of aging; his appearance and bearing were more outstanding than the current Dao Head, the Bodhisattva, or even the Former Emperor, but now, nearing Spirit Decay, he seemed to have aged over a dozen years in just a few short years.

Chen Shu couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.

The Sect Master, however, was very indifferent and even said to him kindly: "This outfit looks quite good."

"I think so too."

Not long after, the ceremony began.

Chen Shu followed the instructions the Ritual Deacon had given him the day before, following the crowd of sect bigwigs and strictly adhering to the procedures, while flashbulbs in the distance went off incessantly.

After the miscellaneous tasks were finished, the most important procedure was to pay respects and report to the Spirit Saint.

However, the Spirit Saint himself did not seem interested in this; that huge statue still stood there, welcoming the morning mist and drizzle, without any signs of manifesting or revealing his spirit, nor did he cast his gaze down.

It was to be expected—

The Spirit Saint had existed for nearly a thousand years, and Spirit Sect masters served for a few decades at the shortest and only a hundred years at the longest; the Spirit Saint had likely already seen over a dozen generations.

Next was the new Sect Master's speech, talking about himself, talking about the sect, encouraging and admonishing the sect disciples, expressing loyalty to the Yiguo Emperor, and simultaneously stating that he would strive for the interests of the country and the people...

At noon, the ceremony ended.

The Spirit Sect had a new Sect Master.

Chen Shu, the person Chen Shu had backed within the sect, ascended to the position of Sect Master, while the old Sect Master retired completely to focus on health and face Spirit Decay.

Many onlookers had already gathered to discuss, discussing nothing more than whether the future external strategy of the Spirit Sect would change, what personality differences the new Sect Master had compared to the old one, and what preferences or visions he had for managing the sect; these all concerned their interests.

Chen Shu continued to follow the Sect Master and the old Sect Master, watching them chat with leaders of other top sects.

He had thought this process would be very serious, yet the Sword Master opened his mouth: "Isn't your turtle son two years younger than me? What, is your Spirit Sect's original Cultivation Spiritual Method even worse than our Sword Sect's?"

Chen Shu remained calm, observing secretly.

The old Sect Master remained gentle: "Reading books is too taxing on the brain."

"I told you reading is no good!" The Sword Master slapped his right hand against his left, *slap*, and spread his hands toward the crowd, "You didn't believe me!"

"How is Brother Mei?"

"I have at least twenty years left."

"Brother Mei is exaggerating."

"At least a dozen years!"

"Brother Mei has a good mindset, carefree and without worries."

"I told you all long ago, use your brains less, worry less about things, eat well, drink well, and have fun every day, and you will naturally live long..." The Sword Master shook his head, staring at them with a look of disdain and helplessness, "If you don't listen to the words of the elderly, you will suffer before your eyes."

"There are still a few years left."

"A mere few years, it will pass in a flash." The Sword Master continued to shake his head, but bowed to the old Sect Master, "Congratulations to you, for being the fourth to go."

"Brother Mei is too kind."

The Changpei Daoist Leader, who had been sitting and drinking tea nearby, suddenly lifted his eyes: "Brother Liu's temper has truly become better and better over these years; you can even endure this. Could it be that Brother Liu has already forgotten the Spell structure of the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art?"

"Slurp..."

The Sword King also took a sip of tea and said coldly: "You're all about to die, Brother Liu, don't leave any regrets."

Chen Shu continued to secretly glance at them.

Being the fourth to go, counting the Former Emperor and Cao Ci, there were only two before him; this Sword Master must have also counted the Bodhisattva who attained Buddhahood.

At the same time, looking at the way they were chatting...

What was the difference between this and the silly gathering from two days ago?

Looking again at the Sword Master, who was speaking his mind with a "come and hit me" expression on his face, the Changpei Daoist Leader who feared the world wouldn't be chaotic enough, the Sword King who found the Sword Master extremely unpleasant to look at, and the Old Sect Master with an "I'm already used to this" expression...

"Uh..."

The sense of déjà vu is so strong.

I only heard the Sword Master speak up again to ask: "How is that Cao fellow doing?"

The Daoist Leader raised his eyes again to answer: "Soon."

"It seems that before my Spirit Decay, I will be able to see him one more time." The Old Sect Master paused, then asked again, "How did it feel when Brother Mei fought him last time?"

"It was alright."

The Sword Master's tone was relaxed, but he did not hide his gravity: "That damn method of the Ming Sect is just like that; it's trash at the Low Tier, average at the Intermediate Stage, and gets more outrageous the further one goes at the High Tier. You all know how high that Cao fellow's talent is. His clones are no different from his true body. At his age, who knows how many clones he has... and..."

"And what?"

"Please speak."

"Is he dying?"

The three most senior big shots were all staring at him.

The others, including the Yi Emperor, the Ming Sect Sect Master, the current Xinzheng Temple Abbot, and the newly appointed Spirit Sect Sect Master, also glanced at the Sword Master, but the Ming Sect Sect Master was too embarrassed to ask, and the Yi Emperor, the Xinzheng Temple Abbot, and the Spirit Sect Sect Master were a generation or two younger than them, so it was not appropriate for them to interrupt.

The Sword Master was unhurried; he picked up his teacup, took a sip, smacked his lips with a 'pa' sound, seemed to think it was good, and took another sip.

"Ptoo!"

He spat out the tea leaves.

Only then did he look at the group: "And he doesn't know where he got a Buddhist Secret Method. Besides his own Ming Sect system, he has also started practicing Buddhist Zen Cultivation. The Ming Sect is already as hard as a turtle, and now it's even harder to gnaw on. I almost suffered a loss at his hands last time."

"Almost suffered a loss? You suffered a big loss, didn't you?"

"??" The Sword Master immediately turned his head, "You're three hundred years old, can you grow some brains?"

"Hehe..."

"What the hell are you laughing at!"

"Indeed."

"I... Come! Forbidden Land!!"

"Why not?"

I saw the Old Sect Master raising his cup and lowering his head to drink tea, and the Changpei Daoist Leader was also holding his teacup, but he was licking his teeth with his tongue, as if he had gotten some foreign object stuck. Both of them acted as if they didn't see the two top-tier powerhouses beside them who were about to fight.

In the end, it was the Yi Emperor who spoke up, with the new Sect Master echoing him, that temporarily suppressed the two's anger.

Time passed bit by bit.

The Sword Master finally put down his teacup, stood up, and said: "I'm off, I'm off. I've stayed here for a few days and it's quite boring. I'm going back to my Sword Sect... Don't worry, when I'm bored in a while, I'll come find you to mess around again."

"Safe travels, Brother Mei."

"This Daoist is leaving too."

"I shall also take my leave..."

Everyone said goodbye to the Old Sect Master one by one.

However, when passing by Chen Shu, the Sword Master suddenly stopped and turned his head to stare at Chen Shu.

Chen Shu hurriedly stood up and bowed to him.

"You are Chen Shu?"

"Yes."

"I heard you once luckily beat my little disciple?"

"Senior, you have misunderstood." Chen Shu kept his head low honestly, his posture very humble, "It wasn't luck; I won very easily."

"Hm? Don't brag! I heard you two should have been a draw, and in the end, you won only because she voluntarily let you!"

"I also heard that you and Senior Cao Ci were a draw..."

"??"

The Sword Master was stunned for a moment, then looked up and down, carefully examining this Spirit Sect disciple, and said: "Not bad! Quite arrogant! It suits my taste! It's a waste of talent to worship in this damn Spirit Sect; you should have joined our Sword Sect."

"I don't have the talent for a Sword Cultivator."

"What a pity..."

The Sword Master shook his head repeatedly in disappointment, his expression as if to say, what a good seedling, just because he lacks the talent for a Sword Cultivator, he is ruined from now on.

He then waved his sleeves and turned to walk out the door.

He beckoned for his Sword and flew away, breaking through the air.

The Yi Emperor, Sword King, Ming Sect Sect Master, Changpei Daoist Leader, and others behind him also cast their gazes at Chen Shu one by one. Chen Shu strictly observed the sect etiquette and bowed to these seniors one by one to see them off.

The Sect Master also walked to the door to see them off.

Only the Old Sect Master remained sitting in his seat, drinking tea alone, feeling a bit lonely for a moment.

At their age, being able to have friends from their youth gather together is truly a lucky thing. Perhaps that big shot who first decided to build a circle of top-tier national power successors centered on the direct descendants of the Imperial Family also held a bit of this thought? But friends in the world are already few, and watching one old friend after another leave one by one is truly a cruel thing.

If they don't become gods, perhaps they will be like this in the future.

Becoming a god is another kind of change.

Chen Shu withdrew his gaze, asked the Sect Master for permission, and then stood up and went out the door to see his friends.