Yue Buqun's True Feelings

Some time had passed since Yue Buqun personally acknowledged Ji Boying's martial arts as the best on Mount Hua, and the lively New Year had come and gone.

Ji Boying steadily cultivated the Primordial Chaos Technique, Golden Wild Goose Technique, and Nourishing Self Swordplay to the level of perfection.

The Purple Mist Divine Skill was also progressing steadily without any setbacks.

During this time, Ji Boying carried around a blank booklet.

Holding a small brush, he would occasionally write and draw in it before falling into deep thought.

One day, Yue Buqun summoned him again.

Only the two of them were present. Mistress was absent, and so was Linghu Chong.

"Your internal strength is already considerable. Even if you descend the mountain now, you need not fear enemies surrounding and killing you again."

Yue Buqun spoke with considerable satisfaction.

"Does Master have some matter for me to handle down the mountain?"

Ji Boying was slightly puzzled. He did not particularly yearn to leave the mountain.

Perhaps, in this world of wandering martial artists, descending the mountain to make a name for oneself was a kind of romance unique to the jianghu.

It was the path that all people of the jianghu ultimately took, by different routes.

For Ji Boying, staying on the mountain, practicing martial arts every day, and watching his skills improve already made him very happy.

Cultivating martial arts was itself a pleasure for Ji Boying.

Not to mention that he had his own Golden Finger, allowing him to see his progress every day.

That immediate positive feedback only made him more enthusiastic.

Therefore, Yue Buqun's continued restriction on him leaving the mountain, meant to protect him, had never troubled Ji Boying in the slightest.

Yue Buqun nodded, rose from his chair, clasped his hands behind his back, and slowly paced around the room.

"I know that you, Boying, have always been more mature than Chong'er and the others. From an early age, you were able to see through the helplessness contained in the words 'people in the jianghu,' and the bloodshed hidden within the words 'fame and profit.'"

Yue Buqun smiled, but it was a self-mocking smile.

"Though your master is nearly sixty, I have never been able to see things as calmly as you do. Reviving Mount Hua has always been an obsession in my heart! It is something I can never let go of! I cannot see through the fame and gain within it, nor do I intend to try any longer. I will revive the Mount Hua Sect!"

Yue Buqun clenched his right hand into a fist before his chest. It tightened, trembling faintly.

"Master, rest assured. You have bestowed your teachings upon me, and this disciple is also part of the Mount Hua Sect. If Mount Hua is to be revived, I ought to do my part as well. I will never let Master fight alone."

Ji Boying immediately made his stance clear.

He did not feel any particular dislike toward Yue Buqun's pursuit of fame and power.

In truth, indifference to fame and fortune was a privilege reserved for only a small number of people.

Living in this mortal world, everyone was ensnared by a vast and tangled web. How could one so easily break free?

Even if one did not pursue material pleasures, did eating and drinking not cost money?

Even if one could remain indifferent to fame and profit, how could one ensure that others would not step on them and bully their entire family?

Not everyone was like Ji Boying—a peerless genius with a Golden Finger, able to find joy in life through martial arts alone and stand at the pinnacle of the jianghu through martial arts alone.

He naturally stood at the summit of the jianghu. No one could threaten him or bully him.

But Yue Buqun could not. Neither could the Mount Hua Sect.

Thus, there was nothing to criticize about Yue Buqun's obsession with reviving Mount Hua.

As Yue Buqun's disciple, Ji Boying would naturally give him his full support rather than oppose him.

To oppose him at this moment would not merely be to oppose the pursuit of power and fame. It would also be to oppose Yue Buqun's entire life.

"Your master has always had a considerable reputation in the jianghu, but how could those people know of the struggle in my heart? Zuo Lengchan is brimming with ambition and watches the Mount Hua Sect like a tiger eyeing its prey. And our Mount Hua Sect was once a leader of the righteous path. Who knows how many enemies we made among the demonic path? I worry every day that they may come seeking revenge."

"But Heaven is simply like this. I, Yue Buqun, lack sufficient talent! I am always just a little short, but being a little short means I can never escape this crisis!"

Yue Buqun sighed and gazed out the window, toward the distant mountains.

"I know that there must still be senior members of our Mount Hua Sect living in seclusion within these mountains. Back then, I was rescued from grievous injuries and succeeded to the position of Mount Hua Sect Leader. My strength was not much greater than Chong'er's. In the entire jianghu, I was naturally insignificant. Yet with so many enemies, who ever dared offend our Mount Hua Sect?"

"I believe there must be senior members who have seen through the coldness of the world. Though unwilling to reveal themselves, they still fulfill their duty of protecting the Mount Hua Sect."

Yue Buqun raised a hand and stroked the five long wisps of beard hanging before his chest.

"Your master is already nearly sixty. Even if my internal energy cultivation has borne fruit and I live to eighty, my strength is unlikely to improve much further. How many years do those senior members living in seclusion in the mountains have left?"

"They must be at least a generation older than your master. They are likely already advanced in years. How much fighting strength they still possess, or how many years they have left to live, is impossible to say. In the end, Mount Hua will still have to rely on us to hold it up."

"But as I watch the days pass one after another, as I grow older day by day, how could I not be anxious? I am nearly driven mad!"

Yue Buqun grew somewhat agitated and turned to look at Ji Boying.

"My dissatisfaction with Chong'er has grown greater and greater because he has never lived up to expectations. Of course, that is also because I myself am powerless!"

"But Zuo Lengchan's ambition has become increasingly obvious, as has his coveting of the Mount Hua Sect. Is that not because he is in his prime, his martial arts surpass mine, and he is no weaker than Mount Hua's elders at their peak twenty years ago? Let alone those Mount Hua seniors living in seclusion twenty years later, now frail with age, perhaps even dead of old age somewhere in these mountains?"

"The pressure has driven me nearly mad! The jianghu calls me a gentleman, but how difficult it is to be one! Countless strange thoughts have risen in my mind more times than I can count!"

In his frenzy, Yue Buqun's eyes shone.

"But Heaven truly has eyes, for it allowed me to meet you! The moment I brought you back to the mountain, I knew you were surely a peerless genius and would one day surpass Zuo Lengchan. The pressure in my heart eased greatly then. Even if Zuo Lengchan truly forced us to abandon our home and sect, if we lived in seclusion in the mountains for twenty years, we could still reclaim Mount Hua."

"You never stopped giving me surprises. Later, I thought that in five or six years, we would no longer need fear Zuo Lengchan. Then I thought two or three years would be enough to revive the Mount Hua Sect. But only half a year has passed! You have already surpassed your master. Even against Zuo Lengchan, you need not be afraid."

"The revival of Mount Hua that I have pursued bitterly for decades now seems to lie right before my eyes!"

"Good disciple, now is the time for you to act!"

Yue Buqun tightly gripped Ji Boying's shoulders. He used so much force, and his delight was so wild.