Disciples Become Junior Fellow Disciples? Tribulation Clouds! Jieyin: Tongtian, You've Gone Too Far!

Any objections?

Any objections?

Who would dare object?

A Saint had spoken up in person. What else could they, his disciples and grand disciples, do besides nod and agree?

Wait!

Could someone actually dare?

Seeing her own master set his sights on her own disciple, Bi Xiao immediately objected and stepped in front of Xuanming to protect him.

"Master, how can you do this? Xuanming is your grand disciple!"

"Hmm?"

Sect Leader Tongtian raised an eyebrow. "He was before. Not anymore."

"What?"

Bi Xiao laughed in disbelief, though she was furious. What did he mean, not anymore? She was his master, and she hadn't agreed to this!

However,

even Bi Xiao didn't dare be too brazen in the face of Sect Leader Tongtian, who had already made up his mind. All she could do was protest tactfully:

"Master, even if I'm willing, Xuanming might not be! You can't force him to become your disciple, can you?"

"He'll be willing!"

Sect Leader Tongtian smiled mysteriously and beckoned to Xuanming, who stood beside him looking bewildered. "Xuanming, come join me and become junior fellow disciples with Bi Xiao and the others. What do you say?"

"Well..."

Looking at Bi Xiao's flushed face and the expression that promised trouble if he dared agree, Xuanming gave an awkward laugh and scratched his head.

"Grandmaster, wouldn't that be a little inappropriate? Master has treated me very well..."

"See? See?!"

Bi Xiao was overjoyed. She nearly threw her arms around Xuanming and kissed him, then quickly looked up at Sect Leader Tongtian.

"Master, you heard him, didn't you? Xuanming doesn't agree!"

"Heh..."

Sect Leader Tongtian chuckled, his expression unchanged. He sent a private message directly to Xuanming: "Good disciple, our sect doesn't forbid masters and disciples from becoming Dao companions, but it wouldn't sound right to other people, would it? If you and Bi Xiao were fellow disciples instead... You see what I mean?"

Thump!

Before Sect Leader Tongtian could finish, Xuanming's expression shifted, and he dropped to his knees with a thump.

"Master, please accept this disciple's bow!"

"Hahaha..."

Sect Leader Tongtian laughed triumphantly. After glancing at the dumbfounded Bi Xiao beside him, he hurried forward to help Xuanming up.

"Good disciple, get up. We don't do things that way in the Interception Sect!"

With that, Sect Leader Tongtian led Xuanming to his feet and brought him before Bi Xiao, whose pretty face had darkened. Smiling, he introduced them.

"Come, let me introduce you. This is your junior senior sister, Bi Xiao. Make sure you don't upset her!"

"..."

Xuanming's smile turned awkward. "S-senior sister, if I said I was forced into this, you'd believe me, right?"

"Of, of course!"

Bi Xiao clenched her teeth and glared fiercely at Xuanming. "You little ingrate! Don't think you'll get away with it just because Master's backing you up!"

"Just you wait!"

"When Eldest Senior Sister comes back, let's see what she does to you... And this time, I won't plead on your behalf!"

"It's fine. She wouldn't dare!"

Sect Leader Tongtian was clearly enjoying the trouble. He backed Xuanming up from the sidelines. "Xuanming, don't worry. If she dares hit you, I'll go check on Bi Xiao's cultivation and see whether she's been slacking off all these years."

"Huh?"

Bi Xiao had been fuming, but at those words, her expression froze, and she wilted.

"W-well... Master, I've been working hard on my cultivation. You have to believe me!"

"Is that so?"

Sect Leader Tongtian pursed his lips noncommittally. "The three of you became incarnate only a little over a century apart, yet Yunxiao has already reached the peak of the Quasi-Saint realm, and Qiong Xiao has already become a Quasi-Saint. You're the only one still stuck in the middle stage of the Great Encompassment realm... It must be because I taught you poorly!"

"No, absolutely not!"

Noticing the ill-intentioned look in Sect Leader Tongtian's eyes, Bi Xiao waved her hands in denial like a startled little rabbit.

"Master, I-I'm just not very talented. Yes, not very talented... You can't keep finding new ways to force me to cultivate!"

"Then are you still going to punish Xuanming?"

"I won't. I absolutely won't!"

Bi Xiao turned to look at Xuanming, who still seemed bewildered, puffed out her cheeks, and grumbled, "Master, don't worry. I'll be 'good' to my junior fellow disciple!"

"Master!"

Xuanming looked helplessly at Sect Leader Tongtian. What was this old geezer trying to do? Why did he keep making everyone resent him?

This was great.

Bi Xiao would have let it go if he'd just coaxed her a little, but now she'd remember this for sure!

"Heh..."

Sect Leader Tongtian chuckled, about to say something, when his expression suddenly changed. He turned to stare at the thunderclouds gathering in the sky and frowned.

"What's going on? Tribulation clouds? I don't recall this happening when we became Saints last time."

"Hmph, how could it be the same?"

Yuanshi Tianzun had watched the whole Interception Sect get along like one big happy family, and he'd been unhappy about it for a while. Seeing this, he spoke with undisguised schadenfreude.

"We're all disciples of the Dao Ancestor, so of course he'd go easy on us. This disciple of yours has nothing to do with the old man!"

"Exactly, exactly..."

Jieyin, who had almost been taken down by Sect Leader Tongtian, had now completely given up on working with him. He followed up with a sneer.

"Who knows where she got a strand of Primordial Violet Qi, and now she thinks she can sit at the same table as us? She's still wet behind the ears... Boom!"

Before Jieyin could finish speaking, Sect Leader Tongtian raised his hand and sent a bolt of Nine Heavens Divine Thunder at him. The completely unprepared Jieyin was struck black with soot. Only then did Sect Leader Tongtian speak coldly.

"When fellow disciples are speaking, what business is it of yours to butt in? If you're bored, go back to the West and take one last look at your Buddhism!"

"You?!"

Jieyin was furious. Ignoring Zhunti's attempts to hold him back, he charged at Sect Leader Tongtian, ready to fight him to the death.

"Tongtian, you're only relying on your magic treasures! If you've got the guts, let's both put them aside and fight again!"

"Excellent!"

Sect Leader Tongtian didn't hesitate. He flashed over to Jieyin and planted a solid kick into his lower back.

"Boom!"

His kick, imbued with the Laws, twisted the space around them.

Though Jieyin had been prepared, the gap in their strength was too great. Tongtian still kicked him flying.

As luck would have it, Jieyin went straight toward Yunxiao.

"Old thief, what are you trying to do?!"

Seeing this, Journey to the West Tongtian instantly understood what Sect Leader Tongtian was up to. Before his shout had even faded, he rushed over and kicked Jieyin in the head.

"Y-you bastards!!!"

Getting beaten in public by two Tongtians enraged Jieyin. He forgot all about their agreement to fight with fists and feet alone and summon no magic treasures. He brought out the Green Lotus Treasure Banner and began to wave it.

"Tongtian, d-don't get too carried away! You really think we can't beat you?!"

"Heh..."

Looking at Jieyin beneath the tribulation clouds, magic treasure summoned, Sect Leader Tongtian and Journey to the West Tongtian exchanged a glance and, in perfect unison, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Misunderstanding! It was all a misunderstanding!"

"Brother Jieyin, you're the strongest Saint in the West, and your Green Lotus Treasure Banner is so powerful that even Saints can't break through it... How could we possibly be your match?"

"We'll be counting on you from here!"

Jieyin: "???"