Ambition

Cheng Yunxiao refused to yield an inch.

"Rules are made by people, and unreasonable rules must be abolished! If disciples can willfully provoke authority, it will only be easier to instigate internal chaos within the sect."

"You--!"

"Enough!"

Seeing that the two of them were about to quarrel fiercely, the First Elder stepped in to stop them in time.

"Both of you make some sense, but it is also a fact that Lu Wangchuan killed someone in public. Let's do this: penalize him with half a year of confinement, and furthermore, the Law Enforcement Hall must compensate Still Water Peak with some resources as recompense. This matter ends here and is not to be discussed further!"

Both sides had to give some face, yet each had fundamentally gotten what they wanted.

Cheng Yunxiao protected Lu Wangchuan and turned a major issue into a minor one. The Second Elder also made the Law Enforcement Hall bleed a little while preserving his own pride.

Although it could not be said that everyone was happy, they still had to give the First Elder some face, didn't they?

After returning to his quarters, Lu Wangchuan wrote a letter to his elder sister far away in Chu Zhou.

When he first came here, he only wanted to raise his cultivation realm as quickly as possible so he could settle down sooner; now it was also time to write a reply to her.

In the letter, he first spoke of his recent situation and told his sister not to worry, for he had already joined the Divine Water Sect.

The remaining greetings were rather formal, and he inquired about Xiao Wu and Xiao Yue, hoping that his sister could give them a bite to eat and treat the two of them kindly.

Finally, he tucked fifty thousand taels of silver notes into the letter for his sister before sending it off.

His past self was not strong enough, and the money in his hands was scarce, requiring him to spend frugally to advance his cultivation as quickly as possible. Now he could finally repay his sister a little.

With the money he had returned to her, his sister should be able to hold her head a bit higher in her husband's family from now on, right?

He hoped she could live happily.

After the letter was sent out, Lu Wangchuan prepared to enter immersive cultivation once again, but Chen Qingquan brought a message saying that the Grandmaster was summoning him, so Lu Wangchuan immediately and swiftly rushed to the Law Enforcement Hall main hall.

Along the way, Chen Qingquan had already told him how the Grandmaster had smoothed things over for Still Water Peak, so upon arriving at the Law Enforcement Hall main hall, Lu Wangchuan directly cupped his fists in thanks.

"Many thanks, Grandmaster."

Cheng Yunxiao wore a solemn expression.

"Wangchuan, you were somewhat rash today. Old me does not mean you were rash to kill, but rather that you provoked Yun Mengyao. You must know that aside from you facing her, even if you were to swap in your master to face her, the result would still be certain defeat."

Lu Wangchuan's expression was calm.

"I once promised my master that I would surely win back Still Water Peak for him, and I will not break that promise."

Cheng Yunxiao let out a long sigh.

"Naturally, Grandmaster knows you are a good child who remembers a debt of gratitude, but the reality is cruel. It is not Grandmaster speaking harshly to hurt you, but you simply do not have the qualifications to battle Yun Mengyao."

"Not having the qualifications now does not mean I won't have them in the future."

As those words fell, an aura of the Dantian Realm erupted from Lu Wangchuan's body, causing Cheng Yunxiao's pupils to constrict instantly as he bolted up from his chair, staring at him with a face full of disbelief.

"You've broken through again?"

"Thanks to the abundant spiritual Qi of the Divine Water Sect."

Lu Wangchuan casually found an excuse to gloss over it, but Cheng Yunxiao was shaken to his core inwardly.

He naturally knew that the spiritual Qi of the Divine Water Sect was abundant, but those who could break through to the Dantian Realm at the age of eighteen like Lu Wangchuan were few and far between; achieving this required exceptional innate talent.

The vast majority of people reached it in their twenties, thirties, forties, or even exhausted their entire lives to do so.

"Good fellow, geniuses are hard to come by. Who would have thought that Xian Yuan would bump into two of them all at once, and each one more monstrous than the last."

After a long while, Cheng Yunxiao finally recovered from his shock, and immediately took a bottle out from his bosom, tossing it to Lu Wangchuan.

"Inside here are fifty Divine Blood Pills. Take them all and cultivate properly. Do not rush into a duel with Yun Mengyao; at worst, wait another three years.

Your natural aptitude is even stronger than Yun Mengyao's, and surpassing her is only a matter of time. On no account be impatient. Before you have matured, you must learn endurance and keep a low profile."

"Understood, many thanks, Grandmaster."

Lu Wangchuan took his leave and departed. Sometimes explaining too much was unnecessary; exposing a bit of strength was better than anything else.

He had obtained another fifty Divine Blood Pills, and coupled with the few he had collected from the Resource Hall, he now had over fifty of them. If he refined them all, they should increase his blood qi considerably.

The reason he did not expose the Condensing Truth Realm was because that was simply too earth-shattering. He was only eighteen years old now, and merely exposing the Dantian Realm cultivation had already shocked Cheng Yunxiao to this degree. If he were to expose the Condensing Truth Realm cultivation, there was no telling how frightened the old man would be.

Through half a year of getting along, his character judgment of Cheng Yunxiao was trustworthy, but what if the man couldn't help bragging to others? It would be enough to stir up a massive uproar, and if it attracted some weird freaks who wanted to dissect him, that would spell huge trouble.

Just like that, Lu Wangchuan quickly returned to his cave dwelling and resumed his cultivation once more.

Meanwhile, over at Still Water Peak.

Yun Sheng half-crouched in front of an exquisite woman who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, and said through gritted teeth:

"Mengyao, we absolutely cannot let this go. That brat not only killed our people, but he also slapped our faces hard. If this matter is just dropped like this, how will our Still Water Peak ever lift our heads in the sect again?"

Yun Mengyao closed her eyes, too lazy to open them.

"The Law Enforcement Hall has already sent people to deliver spirit stones."

"Those few Low-Grade Spirit Stones aren't even enough to fill the gaps between our teeth!"

"Then what do you want to do? Go head-to-head with the sect's Law Enforcement Hall? Do you think that with Still Water Peak's current strength, we are a match?"

Yun Mengyao opened her eyes, her gaze clear and serene.

As a woman who had climbed up from the bottom, her greatest advantage was her calmness.

Because of her calmness, she plotted every step carefully, which allowed her to reach this point today and secure the position of Still Water Peak Master.

The other party beheading her subordinate disciple was an indisputable fact, but since the sect had already handed down its judgment, there was no need to waste any more time. Most importantly, she must not go against the sect!

"Mengyao, the Second Elder has always hoped for you to enter a marriage alliance with his grandson. If you agree, then from now on our Yun Family will have truly planted our roots firmly here in the Divine Water Sect.

You are a genius, it's true, but how many years will you have to cultivate before you can compare to the Second Elder? Now, as long as you become his granddaughter-in-law, you can obtain his protection and leap to the heavens in a single bound! The resources will be even greater than now, and who else would dare look down upon our Yun Family?"

"Absolutely impossible!"

"Why is it impossible? Back when you betrayed Lu Xianyuan, wasn't it because you coveted the abundant identity and resources of a Peak Master?

Now, if you marry the Second Elder's grandson, you can obtain even more resour--"

Slap--!

Before he could finish speaking, accompanied by the sound of a crisp, ringing slap, he was sent flying straight out by a strike from Yun Mengyao.

When he met Yun Mengyao's pair of icy-cold eyes with a somewhat dazed expression, a chill instantly ran through him, causing him to shiver involuntarily.

"Yun Sheng, do not think that because you are my eldest brother, I will keep pandering to you! If it weren't for the fact that you stepped in to protect me back when they sold me to a pleasure house, I would never have brought you into the Divine Water Sect! If you dare to harbor any more improper thoughts, I can expel you from the Mountain Gate just as easily! Get lost!"

Yun Sheng felt a chilling cold cut through his entire body, and he fled out in a panic.

Only after he left did Yun Mengyao gradually calm her anger.

She walked up to the window and coldly gazed down at this world.

Seizing the position of Peak Master, though immoral, could secure resources!

If she were to marry someone else, she would simply be reduced to a broodmare raised by another to sustain their offspring!

My fate is in my own hands, and mine alone!

Thanks to book friend Hong'en Gege and book friend Leng Naicha for their tips; I am immensely grateful.