Time-Limited Mountain Sealing

Dark Night felt embarrassed.

Su Rong felt insulted.

Su Yuanshan naturally felt the same, but age had turned him into a wily old fox. Though anger burned within him, he kept it firmly suppressed, his face betraying nothing as he said calmly, "Grandmaster Lin is a Literary Grandmaster and should know etiquette. Yet seeing you today has truly surprised me."

His words were mild, but the rebuke within them was grave.

He was directly accusing Lin Su of having no manners.

Lin Su smiled. "Rites distinguish intimacy from distance, settle doubts, separate sameness from difference, and clarify right from wrong. Though the giver has a duty, the receiver also has dignity. Between Medicine King Mountain and me, why should we put on a false face?"

That single sentence was sharper than a blade.

With that single sentence, every hidden card was laid bare.

Rites were practiced toward those worthy of respect, yet Medicine King Mountain was utterly unworthy of it.

Rites were also practiced when intimacy and distance had yet to be decided, when differences and common ground remained unclear. But now that we stood as enemies, with everything plainly understood, why bother with hollow courtesies?

Though Su Yuanshan had cultivated for several centuries and long since mastered keeping joy and anger from his face, fury still surged in his heart. He said in a low voice, "Grandmaster Lin truly does not conceal even the slightest hostility toward our sect."

"My temperament has always been thus. Before an old farmer who stands upon the earth with no shame before Heaven, I would show seven parts respect. But before sects that throw the court into turmoil and bring disaster upon the world, why should I show even the slightest regard?"

Su Yuanshan's face darkened abruptly. "Throw the court into turmoil and