The Sword Grotto rioted, surging with terrifying power.
Myriad sword qi roiled relentlessly, shaking the very foundations of the Cangyun Sect.
Outside the grotto, the disciple who had accompanied Wang Ming collapsed to the ground, trembling in terror.
He had sensed something amiss earlier and turned to flee to alert the Sect, but before he could even act, the Sword Grotto had already erupted.
“What is happening?”
Luo Tian arrived first. Watching the roiling energy within the Sword Grotto, his heart trembled.
That power was far too destructive. To be caught within it would surely mean death; it was an unstoppable force.
Elder Zhao Jing arrived shortly after, clearly startled by the raw power of the sword path.
The Cangyun Sect’s Sword Grotto was established by the first-generation Ancestor as a place for disciples to comprehend the Dao of the sword. While it occasionally fluctuated, such a violent, massive commotion was rarely seen.
Peak Masters and Elders rushed over one after another.
As the imposing pressure within the Sword Grotto slowly began to dissipate, the streams of light faded, eventually settling into stillness.
Only then did the group notice the disciple shivering outside.
“Li Yu, what happened here?” an Elder asked.
The disciple named Li Yu turned his head blankly, his mouth agape as if he had lost the ability to speak.
“Look how terrified the child is. This must be grave indeed,” an Elder sighed.
Another noted with suspicion, “Wasn’t he tasked with accompanying young friend Wang Ming? Why is he here alone?”
“Li Yu, do not panic. Speak slowly. What has happened?”
As the echoes of the riot faded, Li Yu finally regained some of his senses.
“Wang Ming wanted to enter the Sword Grotto. I accompanied him, and then… he…”
“What of him?” Luo Tian frowned.
Li Yu continued, “He wanted to kill Senior Brother Changsheng!”
“What!”
In an instant, the expressions of those present shifted.
A flurry of intense gazes turned toward the grotto entrance.
“He wanted to kill Changsheng?”
“How could Changsheng be at the Sword Grotto?”
They did not understand, but their faces darkened significantly.
If Zhou Qingyu discovered this, there would be no end to the trouble. Though Zhou Qingyu usually ignored worldly affairs, he was notoriously protective of his Junior Brother. If someone dared to target Lu Changsheng, he would not stand idly by.
Moreover, Zhou Qingyu was a man of singular stubbornness; he would not care for the prestige or background of the offender.
To attempt to kill a disciple within the very heart of the Cangyun Sect was a blatant disregard for the Sect’s authority.
Elder Zhao Jing’s face turned gloomy. She had known Wang Ming was headed there, yet she had seen no reason to intervene.
Now, she felt the weight of the hostile gazes surrounding her.
“Quick, go and check!” Luo Tian ordered.
As an Elder approached the entrance, a head poked out from the gloom of the grotto.
It was Lu Changsheng.
Beside him was Ning Yuxin, who looked utterly bewildered. She had been in the midst of cultivation when the world shifted, leaving her in the wake of what appeared to be a great calamity.
“Changsheng!” The Elder hurried forward. “You are alive! That is wonderful!”
Seeing him unharmed, the crowd collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
Yet, a lingering confusion remained. Wang Ming was at the seventh layer of Essence Condensation; dispatching Lu Changsheng should have been effortless. That he survived was a mystery.
Lu Changsheng faced the crowd, his expression one of lingering shock.
“I almost never saw you all again!”
His voice trembled as he glanced around, his pale demeanor prompting a wave of sympathy among the Elders.
Luo Tian’s expression softened. “Lu Changsheng, tell us, what transpired?”
“Sect Leader, Wang Ming of the Shenxiao Sect barged into the Sword Grotto and declared he would kill me. Fortunately, I have a tenacious life, or I would be dead by now!”
Luo Tian pressed, “And Wang Ming?”
“Dead!”
“How?”
Stunned silence followed. With such a massive eruption of sword qi, they struggled to believe Lu Changsheng remained unscathed while Wang Ming was gone.
Lu Changsheng continued, “He sought to kill me, but his actions triggered the grotto’s defenses. He was obliterated by the chaotic sword qi. Junior Sister Ning and I barely escaped with our lives. I beg the Sect to seek justice for me!”
The crowd accepted this. Ning Yuxin was the daughter of the wealthiest merchant in Cangzhou; it was reasonable that she possessed powerful life-saving talismans. That Lu Changsheng had survived by staying near her was a plausible explanation. This chapter was copied from novelping dot com without permission.
Lin Po, the Master of Liuyun Peak, turned to glare at the old crone. “Elder Zhao Jing, please provide our Cangyun Sect with an explanation!”
Zhao Jing frowned, her eyes snapping to Lu Changsheng.
Lu Changsheng spoke again, his voice rising, “Exactly! I have no enmity with him. Earlier, he humiliated and toyed with me in the street, and I endured it for the sake of peace. But today, you must give me justice!”
Zhao Jing’s face turned an ugly shade of plum. She would not dare reveal that a distinguished Elder of the Shenxiao Sect had been played like a fool by a young brat. She had to swallow this bitterness; her reputation depended on it.
“Little thief!” she spat, cursing Wang Ming’s incompetence under her breath.
Lu Changsheng appeared enraged, though he felt perfectly at ease. He knew the pride of these major sects would prevent her from telling the truth. If she confessed to being tricked by him, she would only invite ridicule.
Furthermore, with Wang Ming dead, no one would suspect that Lu Changsheng had the capacity to cause such a disaster. A youth of seventeen or eighteen was simply beneath such suspicion.
Even Zhao Jing saw him only as a cunning, troublesome youth, assuming Wang Ming had simply been arrogant and triggered his own doom.
“One-sided stories prove nothing! Who is to say he isn’t slandering us?” Zhao Jing countered, clinging to her pride.
Luo Tian’s tone turned icy. “Are you suggesting Lu Changsheng killed Wang Ming and then came here to perform a ruse?”
Zhao Jing sneered, “Who knows? Perhaps I should search his soul to find the truth.”
“You intend to humiliate my Cangyun Sect?” Luo Tian stepped forward.
“Is the Sect Leader intending to make a move against me?” Zhao Jing flared her aura-an eighth layer Core Formation cultivation that did not lag behind Luo Tian’s.
The atmosphere turned volatile as the surrounding disciples and Elders tensed.
“Right and wrong will be determined by the Sect. Does Elder Zhao Jing intend to suppress us with force?” Luo Tian demanded.
“Sect Leader Luo is quite imposing, but my Shenxiao Sect does not fear trouble!”
“You…”
Before the conflict could escalate further, an invisible force descended, pinning Zhao Jing in place. Her expression shifted from arrogance to sheer shock. Before she could shout, a surge of concentrated spiritual power manifested.
“Slap!”
A crisp, resounding sound echoed across the peaks. A swollen, red handprint bloomed across Zhao Jing’s face as she was slammed toward the ground, only to be hoisted back up by the invisible force for another strike.
“How dare you!”
Zhao Jing shrieked in humiliation, glaring toward the depths of the Sect.
Then, a booming, ancient voice resonated through the sky, heavy with absolute authority.
“You wretched hag, open your eyes! This is the Cangyun Sect, not your Shenxiao Sect. Who gave you the right to act with such insolence here?”
Stunned silence fell upon the crowd.
“The Ancestor!”
Lu Changsheng felt a sense of relief. The Ancestor rarely interfered, but this display of protection was exactly what he needed. This was definitely someone worth backing.