The Sect Master's Resentful Gaze

An azure light flashed, and the entire sect entered a state of battle readiness.

The elders and stewards who had been in seclusion emerged one after another. Judging by past experience, the beast tide would arrive in two or three days.

Lu Changsheng watched, but he could not understand why they came every so often. Couldn't they head in a different direction?

Could the Cangyun Sect have something they simply couldn't forget?

But he had been here for ten years. If there were, would there still be anything left for them?

Ye Tianyi also returned after signing up and told Lu Changsheng to prepare properly.

He said nothing more.

Meanwhile, on a mountain, the three from the Profound Heaven Sect gazed toward Qingyun Peak from afar.

"I was no match for Zhou Qingyu. Please punish me, Elder!" Li Changfeng knelt on one knee, cupping his hands and lowering his head.

The old man shook his head. "Zhou Qingyu's brilliance exceeded all expectations. Few in all of Cang Province could compare with him. This isn't your fault!"

Li Changfeng said nothing more.

Shi Feng's brows were also tightly knitted. He had watched the entire battle, and it truly left him unable to calm down.

Not yet thirty, he was already close to Core Formation. His Sword Dao was astonishing, too. Even the sect's elders who specialized in the Sword Dao were probably inferior to him.

"Then what do we do now?"

"His Sword Dao is probably nearing the seventh layer. Someone like him is far too terrifying. Even in those great sects, he would be among the very best. If he were merely an ordinary genius, we could let it go, but as things stand, he cannot be allowed to live!"

An icy menace flashed in the old man's eyes.

Li Changfeng asked, "What should we do?"

"Help Cangyun Sect fend off the Demon Beasts as usual. Don't concern yourselves with anything else!"

"Yes!"

The two nodded.

Time passed, and the hour to assemble arrived.

The sect left some experts behind to hold the fort, while the others followed the sect master out to repel the beast tide, preventing it from striking the sect and harming mortals.

After giving Ning Yuxin a few instructions on things to watch out for, Lu Changsheng followed his eldest senior brother to report in.

For a time, the entire sect stood ready for battle. The disciples brimmed with passion and ambition, as though they had finally been given the opportunity they had awaited.

After all, those who cultivated sought immortality and pursued the Dao. Possessing abilities beyond those of mortals, they also enjoyed contests of courage and strength.

While still young, they always had hot blood that would not settle and ambitions that soared into the heavens.

Apart from Lu Changsheng, who was thoroughly reluctant, almost everyone was excited.

Soon, the people from each peak had assembled. Zhou Qingyu stood at the front of the ranks with Ye Tianyi and Lu Changsheng, with dozens of inner disciples behind them.

Just then, Luo Xianling arrived.

"Greetings, senior brothers!"

She bowed to Zhou Qingyu and Ye Tianyi.

The two smiled in acknowledgment.

Then Luo Xianling walked up to Lu Changsheng with a spring in her step.

"Senior Brother Changsheng!"

She held her hands behind her back, a bright smile on her face and a watery gleam filling her eyes.

"What is it, Junior Sister?"

"I brought you the Spirit Stones!"

As Luo Xianling spoke, she took out a cloth pouch and pressed it into his hand.

Lu Changsheng froze. He probed it with his Divine Sense and immediately stiffened on the spot. There were actually ten thousand Spirit Stones inside!

A Peak Master received a little over a hundred Spirit Stones a month, and the sect master two hundred. Yet here were ten thousand. How many years would it take to save that much?

Aside from wealthy women like Ning Yuxin, ten thousand Spirit Stones was by no means a small sum for ordinary cultivators, even someone like the sect master.

For a moment, he grew a little nervous. "This is so much. You..."

"Don't worry, my father doesn't know!" Luo Xianling smiled, then added with a hint of shyness, "He said he was saving it for my dowry anyway. It would be mine sooner or later. I just took it ahead of time!"

"Well..."

Lu Changsheng's hands trembled slightly. Looking at this junior sister of his, he found himself somewhat at a loss.

Feeling a little guilty, he glanced toward the sect master, only to find him staring fixedly at him, his gaze even more frightening than a ferocious beast's.

"Junior Sister, does the sect master really not know?"

Lu Changsheng felt rather unsure. Did that look like the gaze of someone who didn't know?

Elsewhere, as the sect master watched them, an elder beside him could not help asking, "Has young Changsheng offended you, Sect Master?"

"No!" Luo Tian replied, but the ferocity in his eyes did not fade.

The elder said, "Then, Sect Master, why are you..."

Luo Tian turned to give him a look. Wasn't it obvious enough?

His own daughter was about to be stolen away. How could he possibly smile?

Only after a while did he slowly say, "I don't know why, but lately, the moment I see that brat, I get angry. My body just inexplicably develops an urge to beat him to death. A few times, I almost couldn't hold back!"

"Well..."

"Sect Master, surely there's no need for that. Changsheng may be a little lazy usually, but he's a good lad. Besides, I heard Tianyi has started pushing him, and he's already broken through to the fourth layer of Spirit Gathering!"

"So, is there much difference between the third and fourth layers?" Luo Tian's expression remained sour.

The elder said, "Peak Master Qianjun does have a good eye. Changsheng's talent isn't poor. He simply lacks guidance and experience!"

Luo Tian frowned at the elder, his expression still unpleasant.

Qianjun was Lu Changsheng's nominal master, the Qingyun Peak Master.

In the end, Luo Tian glanced at Lu Changsheng, but still cursed him as a beast.

His daughter was only sixteen or seventeen, yet he could bring himself to make a move on her. He was worse than a beast.

Every word reached Lu Changsheng's ears. He let out a long breath of relief. He had thought the theft of the Spirit Stones had been discovered.

Luo Xianling reminded him once more to tell her if he needed more Spirit Stones, then left and returned to Luo Tian's side.

As the sect master's daughter, she ought to set an example and advance or retreat alongside him.

Still worried about Lu Changsheng, however, she went up to her father and said, "Father, this is Senior Brother Changsheng's first time helping repel a beast tide. He has no experience. Nothing will go wrong, will it?"

"What could go wrong? Which disciple here isn't doing this for the first time?"

Luo Tian sounded irritated. It was Lu Changsheng's first time, but wasn't it everyone else's, too?

"I don't care. You have to protect him!"

Hearing this, Luo Tian knitted his brows even tighter.

He fell silent for a long while. She was his own flesh and blood, after all, and there was really nothing he could do. Helplessly, he said, "With Zhou Qingyu protecting him, and Qingyun Peak's elders there too, he'll be fine!"

"That's good!"

Luo Xianling relaxed.

But Luo Tian asked, "Ling'er, do you really like him that much?"

"Can't I?"

"You'll leave the sect eventually, and you'll be separated from him, too. Often, it won't be your choice. I'm afraid that when the time comes, it will disturb your Dao heart and cut short your future. He is destined to be unable to keep pace with you!"

Luo Xianling frowned, her expression turning complicated. After a long while, determination still emerged on her pretty face.

"Then once I've achieved success in cultivation, I'll protect him!"

Her words were firm, something Luo Tian had not expected.

For a moment, he could not help glancing at Lu Changsheng again. Watching the youth who stood behind his senior brothers the whole time, he sank into thought.

"I don't understand. What exactly do you like about him?" Luo Tian asked.

Luo Xianling glanced back, her eyes shimmering like a sky full of stars, carrying an indescribable joy.

"He's good-looking!"

Luo Tian: "???"

In this world, people judged talent and background. Judging effort was fine, too, but judging looks was truly rare.

Could a face put food on the table?

Luo Tian fell silent and could not help touching his own face. Wasn't he good-looking?