Dragon-Slaying Peak, Dragon-Startling Hall.
The Grand Elder sat calmly in the seat of honor.
His hair and beard were completely white, but his face was fair and ruddy. If not for that white hair and beard, he could easily have passed for a young man in his twenties.
Only his deep eyes, with the vicissitudes of passing years hidden within them, betrayed an experience far beyond any young man's.
"Protector Cao, why aren't you meditating on Ancestor Linyuan's sword intent in the mountains? What brings you to Dragon-Slaying Peak?" The Grand Elder poured a cup of tea without hurry and gently sent it floating toward the old man seated to his lower right. The white porcelain cup came to a steady stop before him.
"Try this year's Mist-Hidden Spirit Tea, offered by the Lingyang Sect."
Protector Cao, the old man seated at the head of the right-hand row, waved a hand and caught the tea. He took a small sip and praised it. "Sweet on the aftertaste, and it clears the mind and calms the spirit. Not bad."
Protector Cao set down his teacup. "I'm indeed here for more than just my registered disciple, Guan Che. I've come for Yu Xiu as well."
His nerves were taut. He didn't dare relax in the slightest.
The Grand Elder of Dragon-Slaying Peak might look kind and easy to talk to, but who among the older generation didn't know that this old fellow had been a ruthless killer in his youth?
Back when he had only just reached the Indestructible Realm, he'd dared to charge alone into Dusk Ridge with nothing but his sword, cutting down dozens of Indestructible Realm Shadow Demons.
If the Supreme Elder hadn't been there to provide support from outside, Dragon-Slaying Peak's Grand Elder would have been trapped in