The Tea Cools When the Person Leaves

One month later, Jingyun Sect.

On a mountain peak.

"Young Sect Master..."

A maid in green robes looked at the young girl before her with concern, her tone hesitant. "You have been standing here for nearly three hours."

"Xiaosu, today I saw another twelve people leave the sect with my own eyes."

"In just one month, this massive sect has fewer than three hundred people left. I wonder what the Sect Master and the others will think when they return and see this."

Meng Tangtang withdrew her gaze and spoke softly.

As time passed, she had gradually adapted to the identity of Young Sect Master.

She was no longer as anxious as she had been at the beginning, nor did she feel unworthy of the position.

Instead, she had truly begun to shoulder the responsibilities of the sect.

Now, she had both the obligation and the capability; she was already a powerful existence at the late stage of the ninth rank.

In the entire Jingyun Sect, one could hardly find anyone stronger than her.

"Has the Jingyun Sect truly reached the end of its fate?"

In the month since the Supreme Elder passed away, Meng Tangtang had witnessed too much betrayal and too many ugly faces. Aside from the initial anger, she had become increasingly numb as time went on.

A great sect that originally had over a thousand disciples had seen them leave or scatter in a mere month.

Now, excluding the Sect Master and several elders on the front lines.

The Jingyun Sect, once one of the top ten sects, had a mere two hundred and seventy-eight people left on record.

Among them, there were twenty-three at the elder or deacon level.

Only two hundred and fifty-five disciples remained.

Any disciple with a shred of talent had already left, either seeking their own path or being poached by other sects.

Those who stayed were all ordinary disciples with mediocre aptitude.

The majority were outer sect menial disciples.

Even Senior Brother Liu Sheng, once a genius of the inner sect, had descended the mountain and left yesterday.

Many elders had also left, leaving only a few loyal ones like Elder Hao and Elder Zhang Feng.

These days, Meng Tangtang had been under immense pressure.

She had considered asking her master for help, but in the end, she temporarily gave up on the idea. She did not want to trouble her master every time she encountered a minor issue.

The old man had already sacrificed enough.

"Young Sect Master, the elders are waiting in the Council Hall."

Seeing Meng Tangtang's pale face, Meng Xiaosu felt a pang of sympathy. She had seen all the effort the former had put in over these days, and she truly admired her cousin.

The elders were also worried about Meng Tangtang, so they had specifically brought Meng Xiaosu over from the Meng Family to keep her company.

"Sigh, let's go."

Watching yet another disciple leave right under her nose, Meng Tangtang sighed and turned to leave.

Meng Xiaosu glanced at the disciple descending the mountain, her brows furrowing in displeasure.

She felt quite bitter in her heart.

She felt it was unjust for the Jingyun Sect.

A bunch of ingrates!

The Jingyun Sect provided them with cultivation resources and taught them how to become strong, yet when the sect faced a crisis, they all thought only of fleeing for their own lives.

It was truly chilling.

Walking into the Council Hall.

Meng Tangtang immediately sensed something amiss. She looked around, her expression filled with confusion.

"Why are there so few people?"

"Aren't there twenty-three elders in total?"

Inside the hall, the rows of empty chairs exuded an indescribable sense of desolation.

In such a vast space, only a sparse few people were seated.

Zhang Feng gave a bitter smile. "Another group left. Just a moment ago, Xu Gang and three other elders took dozens of disciples and left the sect entirely. Now, there are fewer than two hundred people left in the entire Jingyun Sect."

Meng Tangtang's body trembled upon hearing this.

They left again?

The remaining elders also wore grim expressions.

The dignified Jingyun Sect, with its thousands of disciples and elders, had scattered overnight, leaving fewer than two hundred people behind. It was practically a joke.

"Is there anyone else leaving?"

Meng Tangtang pursed her lips. Ignoring those who had already departed, she scanned the great hall and let out a quiet sigh of relief upon seeing that everyone else remained seated.

However, as she looked around, she suddenly let out a sound of surprise.

"Senior Sister Wang Xue'er?"

Among the dozen or so elders remaining, she spotted a familiar face—none other than Wang Xue'er, a genius among the inner disciples who had once been on par with Liu Sheng.

She was now at the sixth-grade realm, a level of cultivation that was even slightly stronger than that of the departed Liu Sheng.

"You actually didn't leave?"

Meng Tangtang was astonished. She had not expected that while so many talented disciples had been poached, this inner-sect genius would still be willing to stay.

"Why would I leave?"

Among the elders, a woman who looked quite capable smiled gently and asked in return, watching Meng Tangtang's surprised expression.

"But..."

"Alright, Young Sect Master, enough with the 'buts.' We are all members of the Jingyun Sect; let's not be wishy-washy at a time like this."

"Let's discuss what we should do next."

"Regardless of anything else, the most urgent priority is how to survive the current crisis," Wang Xue'er said, her expression turning serious.

"Well said!"

At this moment, a familiar chubby figure stood up—it was Elder Hao. He chuckled and said, "Those who left were nothing but fence-sitters. The core of the Jingyun Sect has always been us, and it's just as well that those troublesome people are gone."

"Indeed!"

"That's right!"

"Exactly. Little Meng, you are the backbone of us all now. You mustn't let your spirits flag; you must pull yourself together."

"The Jingyun Sect hasn't completely fallen yet!"

Elder Mu from the Alchemy Hall and the others also stood up, nodding in agreement.

Seeing so many familiar faces, Meng Tangtang's previously gloomy mood finally began to improve, and her eyes brightened once more.

"Junior Sister Meng, you still have us! We are members of the Jingyun Sect now, too!"

Following that, a smiling Liu Yanran also stepped forward, looking at Meng Tangtang with a grin.

Soon, one figure after another stood up.

Only then did Meng Tangtang realize that the dozen or so remaining disciples from Beast Taming Mountain had all stayed behind to join the Jingyun Sect.

"Heh, since we are short on manpower, I promoted them all to deacons and elders. We can discuss matters together—there is strength in numbers, after all," Elder Hao said with a laugh.

"That's right!"

Elder Zhang Feng smiled and said, "Although our Jingyun Sect no longer has an Innate-realm expert to hold the fort and our strength is far behind other sects, you, Young Sect Master, possess an Innate constitution and are already a powerhouse at the late ninth-grade. I estimate that it won't be long before you reach the Innate realm yourself. When that time comes, our Jingyun Sect will once again be a major power in the Southern Region!"

"I understand!"

"Thank you for your guidance, Elders!"

Meng Tangtang took a deep breath and said solemnly.

Elder Hao stepped forward with a smile, patted Meng Tangtang on the shoulder, and encouraged her: "Human potential is limitless. Without pressure, where would the motivation come from? Even if the current situation is difficult, could it be harder than when the Jingyun Sect was first founded? Back then, we were truly starting from nothing!"

"At that time, the entire sect had only a few dozen people, and the strongest among them was only an eighth-grade ancestor."

"Everything our Jingyun Sect has today was built through the hard work of generation after generation of disciples, eventually becoming one of the ten great sects that shook the Southern Region."

"The Elder is right. I will not despair; I will definitely make the Jingyun Sect rise again!"

Meng Tangtang nodded heavily.

"Everyone, let's not be so serious."

At this, Zhang Feng spoke up with a full smile: "It is those fools' loss for leaving; there will come a day when they regret it. Besides, it's not as if our Jingyun Sect truly lacks a powerhouse to protect us. Don't forget about the one in the Library Pavilion..."

"If a real disaster strikes, I believe that senior will not stand idly by. Don't you agree, Young Sect Master?"

As Zhang Feng spoke cheerfully, everyone's eyes lit up!

The image of that day flashed in everyone's minds simultaneously—the memory of that figure stepping through the air left them deeply stirred!

"Master..."

Meng Tangtang's expression was dazed as the scene in the Mist Forest resurfaced in her mind.

Her heart, which had been somewhat uneasy, was suddenly filled with strength. All her anxiety and worry were swept away in an instant!