Young Sect Master

On Heavy Sword Peak.

Mo Hu and two disciples took a shortcut up the mountain. Their faces were grim, their eyes glinting with cold light. No matter what, they had to make that Ten Thousand Swords Sect brat bleed.

But moments later, they came up empty-handed. The young man who had been on Heavy Sword Peak had vanished, and even several elders were nowhere to be seen.

Just then, several disciples who had stayed behind on Heavy Sword Peak walked over. Seeing Mo Hu and the others looking murderous, they frowned and asked, "Mo Hu, what are you planning to do?"

"Where are the people from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect?" Mo Hu asked, his expression turning cold.

"I advise you not to do anything foolish. That young man has an extraordinary identity," one disciple said, seemingly guessing why Mo Hu and the others had come.

"An extraordinary identity? Hmph. He's probably just another genius disciple from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect," Mo Hu scoffed disdainfully.

"It's more than that." The disciple shook his head gravely and continued, "I just heard an elder call him the Young Sect Master."

"What? The Young Sect Master of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect?" Mo Hu and the others blanched.

"So don't do anything rash. Heavy Sword Peak has been under the Ten Thousand Swords Sect for years. With his status, he could kill disciples like us without even furrowing his brow. The peak master might not even be able to hold him accountable."

"This..." Mo Hu's mind went completely blank. The disciple had him thoroughly cowed. He was right: with the Young Sect Master's status, killing them would be as easy as crushing ants.

"Actually, don't be too angry. We're all furious that Senior Brother was hurt like this. But after the Vice Peak Master stepped in earlier, the Young Sect Master seemed to back down a little. He's gone down the mountain with several elders and the Vice Peak Master to treat your brother's injuries."

"What? They've gone down the mountain?" Mo Hu and the others froze in place.

"Yeah, they left a while ago. Plenty of disciples heard the news and followed them down. If I didn't have patrol duty, I'd have gone too." With that, the disciple walked away, leaving the three of them standing there.

"Senior Brother Mo Hu, what do we do now?" one of them asked.

"Down the mountain." Mo Hu ground out the words through clenched teeth.

The small wooden cabin was already crowded with several people.

"Vice Peak Master, Elder Lin, Elder Li." When Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng saw who had arrived, they hurried to their feet.

"Peak Master Yang." Old Apothecary also came out of the medicine room and respectfully nodded to one of them.

At the sound of Old Apothecary's voice, a middle-aged man nodded slightly, then looked solemnly toward Mo Bai on the bed.

Chen Fan leaned against the wall nearby, taking in the cultivation levels of everyone present.

The middle-aged man stood as straight as a spear. His long robe lent him an elusive air of authority, and his cultivation had already reached Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. From Old Apothecary's words, he was Yang Feng, the Vice Peak Master Chen Jingjing had mentioned.

Two elderly men stood beside Yang Feng. Both were experts at Qi Refining Ninth Layer, and they were likely Elder Lin and Elder Li.

Elder Li had some ties to the Chen Clan. Before Chen Fan and Chen Jingjing's father died, he had been close friends with Elder Li, and had even entrusted him with the Chen Clan's inheritance. But Elder Li's expression was indifferent now, and he treated Chen Jingjing and Chen Fan like strangers. Chen Jingjing frowned slightly at this.

"Peak Master, Elders."

Seeing that even the Vice Peak Master had come down the mountain in person, Mo Bai struggled to sit up, but Elder Lin pressed him back down with one hand.

"Mo Bai, this is the Young Sect Master of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect. This incident was a misunderstanding, and the Young Sect Master has brought out a high-grade pill from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect to treat your injuries." After holding Mo Bai down, Elder Lin smiled as he introduced the young man standing a few paces away.

Everyone knew full well that it had been no misunderstanding. When Mo Bai heard the words "Young Sect Master," his expression changed. He glanced at the young man, then forced himself to stay silent.

The young man looked about seventeen or eighteen. He wore splendid robes, with sword-shaped brows and thin lips, and his eyes held a vicious glint. Chen Fan could tell he was at Qi Refining Ninth Layer, but his cultivation seemed unstable, as if it had been piled up with pills.

An old man and an old woman stood quietly behind him. Both were at Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

At that moment, a cold smile played at the corner of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect Young Sect Master's mouth. His mocking gaze swept over Mo Bai on the bed before finally settling on Zhang Rumeng and Chen Jingjing.

"You shameless scoundrel, what are you staring at?" Zhang Rumeng snapped at him, bristling like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on.

"You two junior sisters are quite pretty," the Young Sect Master said with a cold smile, brazenly looking Zhang Rumeng and Chen Jingjing up and down.

"You..." Zhang Rumeng and Chen Jingjing had never been teased like this before. Their faces flushed with anger, but they didn't know how to strike back.

The many disciples at the doorway had seen it all. Their fists clenched, murder in their eyes and flames raging in their hearts, but they had nowhere to vent their fury.

"This man is utterly lawless. First he insulted Senior Brother, and now he's harassing our junior sisters," one male disciple said angrily.

"I suddenly hate myself. Why didn't I work harder at cultivation? Then I could stand up for Senior Brother right now."

"It's no use. Never mind the two Foundation Establishment experts protecting the Young Sect Master; his own cultivation is already at Qi Refining Ninth Layer. What could we possibly fight him with?"

"Hmph. If I had the resources of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, what would Qi Refining Ninth Layer mean?"

"Forget it. Don't say any more. At least Peak Master Yang stepped in. This man only agreed to treat Senior Brother after that, so all we can do is swallow our anger."

"Peak Master Yang, may I ask what these two junior sisters are called?" Seeing Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng's furious, embarrassed expressions, the Young Sect Master could barely hide his greed. Without turning his head, he asked Yang Feng.

Yang Feng frowned at this, displeasure plain on his face. He had heard about the Young Sect Master's conduct in the Ten Thousand Swords Sect. Many female disciples had fallen into his clutches. Now the Young Sect Master was asking about the two women right in front of him, showing not the slightest regard for anyone present.

"Young Sect Master, let's have our disciple treated first," Yang Feng said in a low voice, changing the subject.

"Treat him?" The Young Sect Master took a bottle of pills from his robe, tipped out a red pill, and smiled. "You people from these backwater places have tough skin and bones. One Qi Replenishing Pill should be enough to treat him, right?"

Everyone's expression darkened. A Qi Replenishing Pill was nothing more than an ordinary pill for invigorating the blood and relaxing the tendons. With injuries as severe as Mo Bai's, even a hundred Qi Replenishing Pills wouldn't help.

Mo Bai's expression was especially grim, though he held back his anger. What puzzled him was that the pain in his body was slowly fading, and the chaotic True Qi within him was gradually settling.

Chen Fan glanced at Mo Bai. He knew the Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talisman had already put all the vital energy in Mo Bai's body in order.

Yang Feng and the two elders wore even darker expressions. It was bad enough that the Young Sect Master had acted like he owned Heavy Sword Peak, but this was plainly a deliberate provocation against Heavy Sword Peak's leaders.

Especially Yang Feng. He was the dignified Vice Peak Master of Heavy Sword Peak, and he had personally asked for help, only to be met with mockery. Yet they couldn't truly let their anger loose, because this was the son of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect's master—their Young Sect Master.

"Damn it, I'll kill him!" A disciple outside the cabin saw red. He drew the sword at his waist and charged toward the entrance, but the disciples around him grabbed him and clamped a hand over his mouth.

Everyone was furious, but what could they do?

The Ten Thousand Swords Sect stood high above them. Any elite disciple it sent could wipe out Heavy Sword Peak.

"The world is unjust. Why should someone like him be born into such a powerful family?" one disciple sighed, shaking his head.

"I thought our Heavy Sword Peak was a local overlord. Who knew that one heir from a great sect would leave us too afraid to speak up, cowering like turtles? Don't we have a single genius in Heavy Sword City?" a female disciple said bitterly.

Then all the disciples outside could only lower their heads in silence. It was true. They weren't geniuses, and they didn't have the strength to stand up to him.

"Hmph. I never thought the Ten Thousand Swords Sect had so little to offer. The best its Young Sect Master can produce is one measly Qi Replenishing Pill? What a joke." Chen Jingjing's face was livid as she mocked him.

The smile on the Young Sect Master's face instantly froze. He narrowed his eyes at Chen Jingjing, then sneered disdainfully. "Could this junior sister really produce a better pill in a place this poor?"

"Jingjing, don't make trouble." Elder Lin knew Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng, and he spoke up to stop her. The Young Sect Master was bent on humiliating Heavy Sword Peak today. If Chen Jingjing kept talking, she would only give him more ammunition.

"I may not have any pills, but healing him won't be a problem." Just as Chen Jingjing was at a loss for words, a breezy voice came from the corner.

"Hmm?" The Young Sect Master, Yang Feng, and the others all turned. A fair-skinned young man was leaning against the wall in the corner, watching them calmly.

"Qi Refining Layer 6? If you hadn't spoken, I wouldn't even have noticed this good-for-nothing hiding here." The Young Sect Master glanced at Chen Fan, then turned away with disdain.

The idea that a Qi Refining Layer 6 disciple could heal Mo Bai was a fool's dream.

Elder Lin and Yang Feng had never met Chen Fan, but they knew he was a disciple of Heavy Sword Peak. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been there.

Only Elder Li's eyes flashed with a trace of surprise. He still turned away without changing his expression.

"Jingjing, Rumeng, take this disciple outside," Elder Lin said, his face dark.

The disciples outside the cabin were also stunned into silence.

"Was that Chen Fan? When did he go in? I didn't even notice."

"No, I think he was inside the whole time. I caught a glimpse of him earlier, but didn't look closely. I can't believe it was him."

"Wait, did he just say... he could heal Senior Brother?"

"We're doomed. I thought he'd turned over a new leaf and would become more levelheaded after getting stronger. I didn't expect him to fall back into his old ways, bragging and showing off without even looking at the occasion."

"Sigh. Looks like he's going to get humiliated by those Ten Thousand Swords Sect people again."

As they talked about Chen Fan, their voices gradually grew louder, carrying into the cabin.

But Chen Fan paid them no mind. He slowly walked up to the Young Sect Master and narrowed his eyes. "Good-for-nothing, move aside."