I Must Have Been Blind

Night lay hazy over the Azure Cloud Immortal Sect, which was utterly still.

But a long howl mingled with wailing shattered Ning Jing's peace.

Countless lights flared on Azure Cloud Peak as a figure staggered into the sky.

It was Luo Tian, the sect master of the Azure Cloud Immortal Sect.

At that moment, Luo Tian had none of a sect master's lofty dignity. Instead, his clothes were ragged, his hair disheveled, and bruises marked his face. Both eyes were swollen shut, leaving him looking utterly bedraggled.

A dark figure shot up behind him, pursuing him relentlessly.

"You brazen lunatic! You've gone too far!"

Luo Tian roared, smoke practically pouring from his seven orifices. He, a dignified sect master, had been dragged out in the dead of night for a fight-and he hadn't even won.

Although he hadn't suffered any real injuries, it was humiliating!

As far back as eight or nine years ago, a fiend had appeared, seeking someone out every few days to give them a savage beating, yet no one had ever caught him.

As time passed, he grew increasingly bold. Beating disciples no longer satisfied him, so he started beating the elders of the various peaks. After a while, he set his sights on the Peak Masters.

Now he had actually come to beat the sect master himself.

Luo Tian watched, growing angrier the more he thought about it. Although the man had never seriously injured anyone, he simply kept coming.

Single-handedly, he had forced the entire sect to rise at cockcrow and devote themselves wholeheartedly to cultivation, terrified that he might come for them one day.

Soon, everyone heard the commotion and came to investigate, but the other party had long since vanished.

The Peak Masters rushed over, but they were too late.

On Qingyun Peak, Ye Tianyi heard the commotion and rose to investigate.

He was just about to rush over to help when he seemed to see a dark figure slip into Qingyun Peak.

His heart immediately tightened, and he went to investigate.

Yet he found nothing unusual after searching around. Only Lu Changsheng came walking from a distance, from the direction where their eldest senior brother was in seclusion.

"Second senior brother, still awake this late?" Lu Changsheng asked.

Ye Tianyi said, "Junior brother, did you see anyone enter Qingyun Peak just now?"

"No!"

"No?"

Ye Tianyi eyed his youngest junior brother suspiciously, but said nothing more and turned to hurry toward Azure Cloud Peak.

Watching his senior brother leave, Lu Changsheng couldn't help sighing. "This sect really makes me worry myself sick. Unless I push them, none of them want to cultivate. If they're all like this, how will we ever grow bigger and stronger? Who will protect me?"

As he spoke, he looked somewhat exasperated at iron that refused to become steel, then returned to his room in a huff to rest.

Although he was cautious, he still needed to know just how much combat strength he had.

That way, when he encountered an opponent, he could judge whether he could win.

So every time he broke through, he sought out some fellow disciples who had been slacking in their cultivation for a spar.

And before making a move, Lu Changsheng always analyzed everything to ensure he wouldn't be discovered.

To be safe, he studied ways to escape, mastering every kind of escape technique. Unless someone was several realms above him, they couldn't catch him at all.

He also had movement techniques and methods for concealing his presence down pat. Even his own mother wouldn't recognize him.

This was what gave him the confidence to become the Nighttime Madman.

But today's cultivation had once again triggered the torment of the Myriad Tribulations Immortal Physique. He had gone to fight the sect master before recovering, and now his whole body ached unbearably.

After the night passed, it wasn't until noon, once they were certain the sect master was all right, that everyone on Azure Cloud Peak went their separate ways.

Ye Tianyi also returned the way he had come.

He simply couldn't imagine anyone being so outrageously bold as to give the sect master a savage beating in the middle of the night.

Many others had experienced the same thing. Whenever they spoke of it, they wept bitterly, declaring that the fellow wasn't human!

But as Ye Tianyi approached Qingyun Peak, he remembered the dark figure he had seen last night, and how he had found only his youngest junior brother after giving chase.

An absurd thought suddenly arose in his mind.

Could the person who attacked last night have been my youngest junior brother?

Mainly, Lu Changsheng's appearance had been far too coincidental.

But the instant he returned to Qingyun Peak, he felt that water must have gotten into his brain for him to think it could have been his youngest junior brother.

Before his eyes, in an open area, Lu Changsheng was reclining leisurely in a rocking chair.

Several female disciples in their twenties stood beside him, kneading his shoulders and pounding his legs.

Each of the female disciples had her brows knitted tightly as she kneaded with effort.

Lu Changsheng wore an expression of enjoyment, occasionally letting out a soft hum.

"Senior brother Changsheng, is this pressure all right?"

"You can press harder. I need quite a bit of pressure!"

"Like this?"

"Yes, yes, right there. Harder!"

"All right!"

As the female disciples spoke, they worked even harder.

Lu Changsheng grew increasingly comfortable and said, "Tell me your questions later, and I'll ask eldest senior brother for you afterward. I won't let your efforts go unrewarded!"

They chatted, each chiming in.

Ye Tianyi's expression changed completely, and he could no longer suppress the anger in his chest.

"What are you doing?!"

The rebuke frightened the female disciples so badly that their faces paled, and they all stepped back to stand aside.

Lu Changsheng was startled too. Looking at him, he asked, "What's wrong, senior brother?"

"What are you doing?!"

Ye Tianyi demanded an answer.

Lu Changsheng answered instinctively, "Getting a massage!"

"A mas... I..."

That single reply actually left him at a loss.

Was that what he meant? Did Lu Changsheng think he didn't know it was a massage?

Lu Changsheng understood what he meant and said, "Senior brother, don't be so old-fashioned. Massage promotes circulation, loosens the tendons, and relieves fatigue and pain. It's good for you."

Yesterday, his breakthrough had subjected him to torment once again, and it would take some time to fade. This was also why he often slept beneath the old pine tree.

It wasn't that he was lazy. The pain was simply too much, and he had discovered by chance that massage could ease some of it.

That was why he had asked these junior sisters to massage him.

Looking at the scene before him, Ye Tianyi was so angered by Lu Changsheng that he couldn't speak. He turned to question and berate the female disciples instead.

"You're inner disciples of Qingyun Peak! Instead of cultivating, you're here indulging his pleasure. This is simply, simply..."

At this point, he was too angry to know what to say.

The female disciples hurriedly bowed. "Senior brother, we're doing this willingly!"

"Willingly?"

"Yes!" one disciple said. "We've run into problems with our cultivation. The Peak Master is away, and the elders are often in seclusion, so senior brother Changsheng frequently helps us consult eldest senior brother. We learned that he often suffers bodily pain, so we're massaging him to help relieve it. This isn't for pleasure..."

Ye Tianyi froze.

Lu Changsheng said, "That's right, senior brother. You've misunderstood us!"

"You..."

That one sentence nearly made him cough up old blood.

Most of what they said was true, except that the one solving their cultivation problems wasn't their eldest senior brother, but Lu Changsheng.

Having cultivated his way to this point, resolving these problems wasn't difficult for him. He also did it to take pleasure in helping others and aid the sect's development, making the Azure Cloud Immortal Sect bigger and stronger.

Over the years, those Peak Masters and elders had also cultivated harder under his urging, and many disciples had benefited as well.

The Azure Cloud Immortal Sect had even distinguished itself among Cang Province's three great sects. His efforts had already borne fruit.

That way, once the sect became powerful, he would have backing. He could cultivate safely within it, then ascend to immortality. This was his long-cherished wish.

But the cultivation world was fraught with danger. He didn't dare venture outside, afraid that powerful cultivators might scheme against him and wipe him out with a turn of their hands.

Nor did he dare draw attention to himself, keeping as low a profile as possible. Even if the world misunderstood him, it wasn't a big deal.

Sometimes, a bad reputation wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Ultimately, as long as he quietly hid in the sect and cultivated, there wouldn't be much of a problem.

Ye Tianyi said with a dark face, "You should all go back first!"

"Yes!"

The female disciples didn't dare argue. They said their goodbyes and left.

Then Ye Tianyi looked at Lu Changsheng. No matter what, he had to have a proper talk with him today. He absolutely couldn't allow him to disgrace their master.

Yet he still didn't get the chance to speak before a young girl arrived on Qingyun Peak from afar.

Looking at Lu Changsheng, she said, "Senior brother Changsheng, something's wrong! Eldest senior brother has run into trouble with his cultivation!"