Chương 107: Chapter 104 – A Brand New Start

Azure Mountains Sect, inside the Hall of Discipline: In a palatial building covering a distance so large a mortal could spend a month traversing it, a simply dressed man waited in an enormous, yet austere, room. The doors swung open, and a man bearing severe burn wounds entered. Despite the simplicity of the room itself and the appearance of the man waiting within, the ex-sect leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect was left with no doubt about the incredible wealth and influence wielded by the man within.

The desk the hall master patiently waited behind emanated a dizzying aura upon just glancing at it. On approaching, the ex-sect leader was overcome with an impulse to collapse to his knees and confess his every sin. It was all the ex-sect leader could do to maintain his dignity before it by digging his nails into his palm. The hall master said nothing, content to wait. And eventually he succumbed, falling to his knees so hard, he hurt himself even further.

Even his destabilized cultivation was harmed, causing him to cough up blood. A core formation cultivator made to kneel like a dog on a floor made of such impressive origins that he couldn't even leave a crack on it.

"Reporting to the Hall Master, the evacuation of the branch sect is nearly complete. All vital resources have been secured." The ex-sect leader hung his head as he spoke.

"Secured, is it?" The man's soft sibilant whisper echoed through the room, burning into his ears. He continued speaking. Being unable to see his expression made the words sound even more disturbing to the kneeling man.

"You had but one task. Retrieve the Stairs of Ascension. And this is the best you could do? Weaken it through use at the last moment, then dig it out? Such audacity! Do you have an inkling of the resources it would take to repair the foundations you harmed? The total wealth you provided would barely be enough to repair a single crack on its first step! Ah, what a loss!" The gentle tone of the Hall Master's lament was in truth a scathing reprimand. The ex-sect leader gritted his teeth in shame.

But he let not a hint of his frustration show through his body. Not here. Not before this man.

"A thousand pardons, Hall Master! Please punish me as you see fit!" The words were as heartfelt as the ex-sect leader could make himself sound, despite hating himself for saying them.

"What else do you have to say for yourself?" An opening! The ex-sect leader jumped at the opportunity to lessen his imminent punishment.

"We have evacuated nearly ten thousand talented disciples to serve the Azure Mountains! And a few disciples worthy of joining the core sect!" The gentle voice gained an edge of hardness.

"Utter trash! Locusts nibbling at our resources!" The Hall master regained his composure with a sigh.

"Still, they may have their use. As for whether they are disciples worthy of joining the core sect? Don't make a fool of yourself! What was it, Li Feng? That's the child you've pinned all your hopes on? Hah, he may have been talented once, but like a flower placed on a pile of manure, you lot were unworthy of his talents. You've squandered his potential. He will join the inner sect, but he will be granted additional resources. He may yet rise above his simple beginnings."

The ex-sect leader knew by now what was going on. He could only accept his fate and thank the hall master for his generosity.

"Very well. You've done all that you can with what you had." The ex-sect leader started to see a small light of hope at those words, but it was smothered with the next sentence.

"You've been transferred to the liaison outpost for the Valley of Eternal Peace. Try to acquit yourself admirably. Dismissed." The burden of the aura lifted, allowing the ex-sect leader to rise slowly to his feet and bow deeply. The plain doors shut softly behind him, severing the room from all of his senses. Even to his divine sense, the beautiful doors appeared exactly like the walls around him, though he could still see them. He trudged away through lavishly decorated corridors, head still hung low.

PoV Change: Mei Ling assisted her master, Elder Si Yin, in treating the sect leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect, still on the flying ship. He was still heavily injured from protecting their flying transport, which had been struck the worst of all four of them. But as the vanguard, carrying the most vital sect resources within, the tribulation lightning had targeted them the most.

She hadn't exactly seen the worst of the storm cloistered in her room, but if even a mighty core formation realm expert such as the sect leader were injured despite working with many other elders, then she shuddered to think of just how vicious the heaven's wrath might have been. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Pay attention, Mei Ling. Bring over that soothing snow essence balm." Master chided her gently.

"Promise me you and the others will watch over our disciples. When the other ships arrive, they will face a difficult time adjusting here. I am not privy to whatever plans the Azure Mountains have for them, but I won't be here to watch over them." The sect leader was instructing the other elders assembled there, even as Master Si Yin administered healing.

"Sect leader, you should protest against the Hall of Disciplines' punishment! The events that occurred were beyond our control. That so many disciples have survived is already an achievement!" An elder Mei Ling was unfamiliar with spoke passionately. The sect leader merely sighed and said, "You know that it is impossible. The Fang clan that lost the Celestial Shield Umbrella treasure, bringing about this entire disaster, are the Long family's subordinates.

I'm not sure who failed to retrieve the treasure before that sect got their hands on it, but neither of them would ever admit their failures. I find myself in the wretched position of scapegoat. But if I accept this fate, it would bring the matter to a close without causing problems for the members of our fallen branch. They would get a fresh new start. It is the last thing I can do for them…"

The elders were visibly moved by the sect leader's words, and one lamented out loud, "But liaison to the Valley of Eternal Peace? That's effectively ending your path…"

"Such is the will of the Heavens." The sect leader looked resigned to his fate. Mei Ling moved about quietly assisting her master even as she learned of matters far above her station. She too was moved by the sect leader's sacrifice, but she was glad to hear that fellow disciples would be treated decently. According to what her master had seen fit to share, the territories of the Azure Mountains were so vast that more than ten Heavenly Sword Mountain Ranges could fit inside comfortably.

She had trouble imagining such magnitude, so she focused more on things that concerned her. In a practice similar to the Heavenly Sword Sect, inner sect disciples were given territories to own and cultivate; only they weren't restricted to mountains. But unlike back home, favoritism and politics were often involved during assignment. Her master had reassured Mei Ling that she would still be considered an inner sect disciple of Azure Mountains but only by virtue of her cultivation and age.

Other disciples would be judged individually. She had been somewhat relieved to hear that, not just for herself but also for her friends because by that standard, their titles were likely secured too. But she had also picked up on what her master wasn't saying. The sect leader's words only confirmed that the bias was real. Inner sect disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect certainly wouldn't share the same prestige as the inner sect disciples of the Azure Mountains.

Mei Ling didn't mind it that much because the environment in these regions contained so much qi that even her master's private abode paled in comparison, even though they were still on the borders!

'Life is going to be harsh initially, but if Hua and Ren make it back safely, then I'm sure all of us together will do just fine.' Mei Ling was choosing to be optimistic about the future despite all that had happened. PoV Change: The flying transport artifact was descending through a dense fog. The exhausted elders must have been unable to power the artifact to maintain such a breakneck advance for longer than a month.

When the sword reached the ground, the fog surrounding them was oppressively thick, almost as though the elders were hoping the storm would be unable to perceive them here. Everyone dismounted in silence. At this point, there wasn't a single disciple left that couldn't tell something was terribly wrong. The storm, the hurried departure, the desperate flight in a different direction than before. They wanted answers, and even the elders couldn't deny them that. Elder Ding stepped forward and addressed them wearily.

"Due to certain circumstances, we will not be returning to the sect. Instead, we will be traveling to the main sect standing above our sect. Our Heavenly Sword Sect is but a branch of the Azure Mountains, a place of deep foundations and immeasurable heights. We are nearing the border of their territory and will be relatively safe once we reach it. We may have left the storm behind, but there are other dangers out here that we are unprepared to deal with."

Everyone knew Elder Ding was intentionally concealing vital information, but no one was foolish enough to dare pry further.

"What circumstances? What's happening back in the sect?"

'Or perhaps there were some foolish enough!' Thought Ren in disbelief at the disciple's recklessness.

"You will learn more once we are safe." Elder Ding deflected.

"Now there is still some more vital information you need…" He waved his hand, and jade slips appeared and floated to all present.

"Study it well. Your lives will depend on your conduct. As miraculous a place as the Azure Mountain is, you cannot afford to underestimate its dangers. We are heading into the dragon's den, and you must learn what can and can't be said or done." They rested for just a short time, but Ren detected a vast amount of qi from their surroundings being absorbed by the elders. In that brief time, he had barely enough time to scan the jade slip for the information it contained.

Fortunately, much of it was the same as what Jian Feng had given him. The young master's slip actually contained far more nuanced information, and Ren felt far more comfortable than before. As convoluted as his emotions were, at least he knew he'd land on his feet. Once the elders were done recovering, everyone boarded the sword transport once more. The three elders still looked tired but much better than before. There hadn't been much time to catch up with Hua, but they would have time for that once they arrived.

Soon the sword was soaring through the mists once more. A day or so later, it started thinning until all of a sudden, the sword sped up. Ren's next breath was so full of qi that he thought he was back home on his mountain. Then with every other breath, the concentration of qi kept climbing! A bright light pierced through the fog, and it melted away, revealing a most marvelous sight before them.