Chapter 130: It Is Beneath Me to Babysit with You Mystic Masters

"A mere Second Grade!" the old man scoffed coldly. "The Mysterious Sects of today have grown increasingly pathetic."

The old man's technique was swift, his movements ghostly. He had only ever seen such speed in one other person—a person he had yet to track down.

"Enough, enough! I shall grant you a clean death!"

Lu Feiyu and Lan Yezhou, the two disciples, had tried to intervene, but before they could even join the fray, the old man had pinned them in place. Worse still, Shan Hongxing was struggling even more desperately to defend himself.

"Master! Master! I am willing to die with you!" Lu Feiyu gritted her teeth; she could not bear to see her master suffer injuries on her account.

Hearing this, the old man spared her a glance. "Little girl, come, come. I shall let you move now. If you slit your own throat, I will grant your master a quicker death."

Lan Yezhou opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but remained silent.

"Little boy, you want to share your master's burden too? That’s fine! I don’t turn anyone away—as long as I can have a full meal."

Lan Yezhou: "..."

"Let them go."

"Are you bargaining with me? I was alive before you were even in your mother's womb. In my eyes, there have never been any rules."

"Release my master."

"Little girl, do not spout nonsense!"

"If you kill my master, my Junior Uncle will surely avenge him!"

Lu Feiyu’s face flushed slightly. She desperately did not want to speak that name; the only grievances she had suffered at the Xuan Yun Sect came from that person. Yet, she could think of no one else capable of saving her master.

"Junior Uncle?" The old man hoisted Shan Hongxing into the air and chuckled. "What kind of ability is that? Your master is only Second Grade; is this 'Junior Uncle' some sort of genius?"

"Even the Demon Race fears her," Lu Feiyu said, though she felt no confidence.

She was merely a young girl, inexperienced in the ways of the world. She had hoped to provoke the old man into releasing them, the weak, and instead seek out the stronger target. Now that the old man had asked, she could only steel herself and answer, "She was a genius before, but now, when she descended the mountain, she only had Ninth Grade cultivation left."

"Ninth Grade?" The old man dropped Shan Hongxing and gripped her throat. "Ninth Grade can save you? Hahahaha, don’t make me laugh."

"Yes, it is Ninth Grade. Now, I’m afraid she has no grade at all. But when she was Ninth Grade, she defeated my master," Lan Yezhou said, sounding utterly humiliated. His gaze drifted back to his master, who seemed to have lost his spirit.

"Is what this boy said true?"

"You truly cannot beat her." Shan Hongxing spoke from the heart. He forced a bitter smile onto his face and raised his sword again. "Even this Second Grade cultivation of mine was pushed out by her. In the past, I thought one could reach First Grade from Third. How foolish... I have been smug all this time. Hehehehe... the real joke was me."

"Master! You are not a joke! Even if Junior Uncle is a laughingstock, she brought it upon herself!" Lu Feiyu cried out anxiously. "Master has never wronged her! It is she who has always brought trouble to Master!"

"Senior Sister..." Lan Yezhou said weakly, "After all, this is our sect's business, and there is an outsider here..."

The old man, however, paused. "Today, I will spare you for now. What is the name of this person you speak of?"

"Wen Jing'e, Peak Master of Wanzhang Peak of the Xuan Yun Sect!"

"A fine girl, and quite vicious in her heart," the old man muttered.

In an instant, he vanished.

"Master... are you still angry with me?"

Ten days had passed since they encountered the old man. Throughout the journey, Shan Hongxing had remained silent, and the relationship between the two disciples had reached a freezing point.

Many times, Lan Yezhou wanted to speak but dared not; he was afraid of approaching, afraid of angering anyone.

"Don't look at me!" Yuan Qingling frowned. The closer they got to the Qianyan Kingdom, the more restless he felt. "I wasn't there that day. It took me great effort to regain Eighth Grade cultivation; if I had gone, I would have just been walking to my death. You must forgive my lack of integrity."

Lan Yezhou felt depressed for a while; after all, this was the only person on the road who could joke with him. "Are all of you on Wanzhang Peak so shameless?"

"If I already have a face, why would I need 'face'?"

Lan Yezhou: "..."

"What if I give you mine?"

"If you give it to me, I take it? What do you take me for? A beggar?"

"..."

"If I accepted it, wouldn't I just become thick-skinned?"

Lu Feiyu’s face grew even redder. She threw a pebble in annoyance. "Shut up! You're so noisy!"

"Lu Feiyu! That’s enough!" Shan Hongxing spoke his first words in ten days. His temper was sharp, but it was enough to move Lu Feiyu to tears.

"Master, I... I didn't want to do that at the time. I... I was wrong, Master... If I hadn't said that, I fear we wouldn't have survived!"

"What if he really goes to find your Junior Uncle?"

Lu Feiyu was silent for a moment, then muttered, "Then... he has to be able to find her! Besides, Junior Uncle has such... such great ability; she must be sharper than me. She will definitely be able to defeat that old man."

"Let us hurry! After leaving the borders of the Xuan Yun Sect, the population along the road has become increasingly scarce. This is not right—it looks as if the Demon Race has invaded in full force."

"Oh."

"Let us reach Qianyan quickly; it will at least settle one matter on my mind."

"Senior Uncle, let me strike a bargain with the Golden Crow!" Although the Golden Crow had always wanted to flee from them, with Yuan Qingling present, it had no choice but to resign itself to carrying them.

However, they were intercepted before long.

The one blocking their path was none other than Qiao Yu.

"This disciple greets Senior Uncle." Qiao Yu pressed his lips together.

That day, he and Bei Moying had gone out to inquire about the situation in the Qianyan capital, but when they turned back, the city had completely vanished.

The common people had no memory of a country called Qianyan; it was as if, overnight, the nation had been erased from their minds.

Qiao Yu recounted the events to Shan Hongxing, then found a moment for pleasantries. "Senior Uncle, why... why have you come?"

"The Demon Race is invading. We are preparing for the Trial Assembly and have come down the mountain to find your master."

"About that..." Bei Moying coughed at the right moment to indicate his presence. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but may I ask a question? Are you truly his Senior Uncle?"

"And who are you?" Yuan Qingling was dragged back several steps by the Golden Crow and asked impatiently, "Stop pestering me."

"Oh, so your master followed Wen Jing'e after he died, did he?"

"I am not!" The Golden Crow protested. "You bad man, stay away from me! My feathers are almost all plucked out. I tell you, I am not afraid of you anymore! Even if you pluck them all, they will grow back!"

Yuan Qingling felt a headache coming on. "So, you two know each other?"

"We know each other! After all, a three-legged Golden Crow is quite a rarity!" Bei Moying spread his wings and took to the sky. "Well, Senior Uncle, I have fulfilled my duty of guardianship. Wen Jing'e's second disciple is now in your hands."

Lan Yezhou: "He... he... he is a demon..."

"Is it not normal to be a demon? He had another body before, too. Eh, where did that go?"

"Indeed! Being a demon and babysitting for you cultivators is quite beneath me!"