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She was just about to step forward to help when Qiaoqiao raised her hand. Her fair hand held a sprig of white plum blossoms. It looked like no more than a light lift of her hand, but a petal flew from the blossoms and struck Chen Wanqian in the chest with what seemed like the force of a thousand jun. Before the wind from his palm strike could reach her, a single plum petal had overturned him onto the ground, and he spat out a great mouthful of blood!

That move stunned everyone.

Qiaoqiao looked at the white plum branch, then at her own hand.

A true master!

Plucked leaves and flying flowers could all wound!

[Had I already cultivated to this realm?!]

Elder Ning: ...

Eldest Senior Brother: ...

Only Second Senior Sister was thoroughly supportive. "Little Junior Sister, you're amazing!"

Seeing his son spit blood, Elder Chen flew into a towering rage. "You dare hurt my son? You're courting death!"

He charged forward. Elder Ning, Shen Ji, and Xiao Tingyu all moved in front of Qiaoqiao at once, shielding their little junior sister completely behind them, leaving not a gap.

Looking at her senior brother and senior sister standing in front of her, Qiaoqiao was so touched that tears glittered in her eyes.

[The elder and my senior brother and senior sister were all so nice.]

[But so what if he was Elder Chen? Bring it on!]

Shen Ji: ...Junior Sister, he was a Nascent Soul cultivator!

Ning Shuang sneered. "Elder Chen, I advise you to hurry and find a medical cultivator to treat your son. Otherwise, that injury is going to become serious."

"Bullshit!" Elder Chen said. "What could a weakling at the Qi Refining Stage possibly do to Qian'er!"

Even as he spoke, he realized something was wrong. Exactly-how could Qiaoqiao, who was at the Qi Refining Stage, have injured his son badly enough to make him spit blood?

He turned to look and saw that his son's face was deathly pale. Clutching his chest, he groaned incessantly. A probe with his spiritual sense revealed that his breastbone was completely shattered, and even his heart meridians were damaged!

An injury like this was no trifling matter!

Elder Chen hurriedly fed his son a life-saving spirit pill, then whipped his head around to see Ning Shuang watching him with a calm expression.

Something was wrong.

In the past, out of consideration for the disciples of Ethereal Peak, she had always yielded to him. Yet, starting just now, her attitude had become forceful, as if she had suddenly gained something to rely on.

Looking at Qiaoqiao again, he considered how she had actually severely wounded Qian'er with a single petal right in front of him. This was certainly not the work of a Qi Refining disciple. Elder Chen realized something.

Could it be-

Immortal Venerable Wanghan had come out of seclusion?!

At the thought of that possibility, Elder Chen's face paled further. He dared to scowl at Ning Shuang, but before Immortal Venerable Wanghan, he would not dare let out so much as a fart.

He truly feared that the man would lop off his head at the slightest disagreement.

This immortal venerable had an extremely cold disposition. Although he cultivated the guardian sword Dao, he would not even blink when killing someone. Everyone throughout the Flowing Cloud Sect was deeply wary of him.

At the thought that Wanghan had come out of seclusion and might appear here at any moment, Elder Chen felt he could not stay on Ethereal Peak a moment longer. He helped his son up and said fiercely, "Ning Shuang, this matter of your disciple injuring my son isn't over. I'm going to report it to the sect master right now. Just you wait!"

He refused to believe that, with the sect master brought into this, he still could not punish this little disciple!

And there was the matter of that cave, too. He had to hurry and deal with it.

He had only just helped his son up when Qiaoqiao poked her head out. "Elder Chen."

Looking at that sweet, well-behaved face of hers, Elder Chen went green with anger. "What else do you have to say?!"

Qiaoqiao blinked and said sincerely, "Your son really looks like you. It's as if you were cast from the same mold."

Elder Chen: ?

Wasn't that stating the obvious!

The others, who knew the truth, all stifled their laughter. Their little junior sister really knew how to twist the knife.

Elder Chen snapped, "Don't think trying to please me now will do you any good. I'll definitely report this to the sect master. This isn't over!"

[I remembered!] The sight of him making those threats reminded Qiaoqiao, and she pieced the incident together from many fragments of dreams. [It turned out that Chen Youqian had stumbled upon Jade Ball catching fish by the river and used a spell to steal its fish. That was why Jade Ball scratched him.]

[Later, Elder Chen complained to the sect master because his son was injured. The sect master played peacemaker and hushed the matter up. Young Master Chen bore a grudge and secretly killed Jade Ball. Elder Ning was so heartbroken that she nearly suffered Qi deviation.

Elder Chen became even more brazen about making trouble for Ethereal Peak, and even spread rumors outside to slander us. Our Ethereal Peak really had it so hard. We couldn't even afford food.]

[Ugh, this was infuriating!]

Qiaoqiao herself had not appeared in her dreams. The one who injured Young Master Chen had been Elder Ning, and her master had not come out of seclusion at this time, either. Things seemed somewhat different from the dreams.

Hearing her thoughts, Shen Ji was furious. Elder Chen was going far too far in bullying them, scheming so painstakingly against their Ethereal Peak!

Xiao Tingyu: Be that as it may, wasn't his name Chen Wanqian?

Hearing that Jade Ball would be killed by Young Master Chen, Ning Shuang looked at him with murder in her eyes, thinking, Why not just kill this scourge and be done with it?

Just then, a red-robed figure passed outside. Sharp-eyed Shen Ji called out, "Sect Master?"

The woman in red turned her head. Her beauty was like flowers and jade, with a peach-blossom ornament between her brows accentuating a face lovely enough to topple a city.

She, too, froze for a moment at the commotion in the Service Hall. Then the short, stout Elder Chen lunged out. "Sect Master, you must uphold justice for me!"

The Flowing Cloud Sect Master: What was that smell? It was awfully pungent.

Why did Elder Chen smell of old garlic?

It smelled terrible!

She discreetly skirted around Elder Chen and stepped into the Service Hall. "What happened?"

Though she asked, she actually did not particularly want to get involved.

Everyone in the Cultivation World knew that Mu Liuyun, the Flowing Cloud Sect Master, was a great beauty, and famously good-tempered and easy to talk to.

In truth, she was not good-tempered. She was simply lazy.

Mu Liuyun's greatest dream in life was to retire on the spot and stop being the sect master. However, if she really did that, the former sect master would leap out of the coffin and beat her to death, so she could only muddle through each day that she remained sect master.

What on earth had possessed the former sect master back then to hand the position over to her?

Elder Chen followed behind her, prattling endlessly about how the people of Ethereal Peak had bullied them intolerably and beaten his son. Listening to him gave Mu Liuyun a headache.