If we were a second late, Feng Lin would be past tense by now. The wind wolves ganged up on him and brutally injured him; the scene reminded me of the first day we met. Hu Ninger fed him a pill restoring his health in the process. I feel bad for doubting him, but what has been done can’t be changed.

“Hu Ninger, how many stones do you think these guys are worth?” As Feng Lin slowly recovered, I turned to the corpses of the wind wolves and said.

“It depends on the market demand; the only valuable thing is their fur; hence if you want to properly profit, you can choose to sell on specific seasons,” I nodded at her explanation and got to work. “But you should expect nothing less than three hundred stones,” I immediately frowned. If it’s like that, then I’m better off selling books. I got two hundred more stones by sitting and writing a book. No risk was involved. “The most important part of beasts is their core; a low-levelled core can sell for up to one thousand, but with reward comes risk. Only tier three and above have cores, so you can guess the difficulty.”

“What’s a core like? And what’s their use?” I curiously asked her

“They are usually used to refine treasures and artefacts, as for seeing one, I have, but I have never possessed one. You should know, a tier-three beast has the same power as a core formation expert; this means a hundred mediocre peak foundation establishment experts are not its opponent.”

“Then what is your cultivation?” I have been curious for some time about her level.

“Well… I’m still a second layer foundation establishment,” Hu Ninger, for some reason, was embarrassed while saying her level. Maybe she’s not satisfied with it?

After that, we chatted as I expertly skinned the wolves and gave her the grey fur. At some point, Feng Lin recovered completely and could walk perfectly, so after I was done, we walked back to the sect.

The journey back was uneventful and boring. No beast dared to attack; their instincts must have warned them against trying. We finally arrived at the huge bronze gate with green tendrils snaking on it, making the gate look like a passway to a hidden, forgotten realm.

Our arrival prompted the gate to mysteriously open. I looked around to see if someone was watching, but I saw no idea onep. Eventually, I shrugged my shoulders and followed Hu Ninger and Feng Lin; not every mystery must be solved or is worthy of being solved.

“Will you come with me to the exchange pavilion?” Hu Ninger asked once we were back inside the sect. I thought about it and finally shook my head in rejection. I have been running around non-stop after leaving the courtyard. Although it was fun, I still need to cultivate.

“Then take this. I will use it to contact you. You can also do the same,” she handed me a jade talisman. I curiously observed it before storing it away.

“Then see you….”

“Bold!”

Before Hu Ninger could finish her words, a loud authoritative voice sounded. Somehow, I could sense endless anger and resentment in it.

“You old fools, your sect was formed just recently, and yet you dare to state terms with my Hongmeng sect?” I turned toward the direction of the voice; an old man with fluttering white hair and a clean shaved beard stood in the air domineeringly. He was covered with a white patterned heavy black armour from head to toe. “Us visiting you is already giving you face, but how dare you dictate the terms and give yourself a higher quota?” The old man kept angrily shouting. Everybody stopped moving and looked towards the sky with wonder and excitement. I am no exception; freely flying like the birds and commanding the sky has always been a secret dream of mine.

“Old Chu, aren’t you embarrassed acting like this in front of the younger generation?” A calm and composed voice sounded. I turned to see an elder with snow white Taoist robes and hands clasped behind his back. The white-haired long-bearded old man walked on air as if it were the most natural thing to do.

“Embarrassed my ass. Why should I care what some brats think? You guys have to give us a suitable answer today. We have been discussing for a whole week, but you have yet to give us an answer,” the old armoured man refused to bulge.

“Hmph! By answer, you mean something that favours you?” The elder sneered. “And what will you do if we don’t answer?”

“Then don’t blame this old man for being impolite,” saying that, the old armoured man suddenly summoned a huge black hammer. For some reason, the sky darkened, and lightning threatened to smite any and everyone. Despite all the violent lightning and thunder, the Taoist elder remained calm and still as a well. “Today, I’ll show you why our sect has managed to survive the test of time.”

“Hong Meng first style, nine thunders!” The old armoured man shouted and raised his hammer. His action was like raising the middle finger to the sky. An almost blinding light flashed as raging lightning violently struck the raised hammer. In a blink of an eye, the attack happened. Regrettably, I didn’t manage to catch how it happened.

“Impossible! How can you, a mere elder, be capable of stopping my Hongmeng hammer?” The old armoured man spoke with a grievance. Somehow, he had managed to attack the elder, but the elder easily caught his hammer.

“Old Chu, do your actions represent the entire Hongmeng?” The Taoist elder asked with a cold voice.

“Venerable Yang, please calm down,” suddenly, another voice boomed just as things were about to get interesting. The voice sounded a little familiar, so I turned to investigate. A burly old man appeared with light steps. Elder Da Wei? Surprisingly, the newest arrival is elder Da Wei.

“He has to give us an explanation first; otherwise, next time, they will be bolder and out rightly attack our sect.”

“Venerable, we should avoid embarrassing ourselves in front of the younger generation. Let’s go back and discuss,” the Taoist elder was finally persuaded by elder Da Wei. He released the hammer from his iron grip, causing the old armoured man to lose his balance for a moment.

“Hmph! You still have to give us an explanation. Otherwise, don’t even think about leaving,” saying that, the venerable gracefully and majestically walked back to the ground and disappeared. Elder Da Wei politely gestured for the old armoured man to follow him, and just as it appeared, the chaos disappeared.

“What was that about?”

“Did you see our elder? He managed to stop the Hongmeng’s people with one move.”

After the powerhouses left, the disciples finally managed to speak in amazement. I, on the other hand, was a bit disappointed. What I wanted was a clear fight between old monsters.

“Jiang Ming, I’ll see you later,” Hu Ninger said to me and walked away. I also went back to the courtyard with Feng Lin silently following behind. What was all that about anyway?

***

~3RD pOv~

A large scarlet table was centrally positioned in a luxurious room decorated with attention to detail. Fifteen chairs occupied with various powerful figures surrounded the table.

“Now that we have calmed down, let’s continue from where we left,” if Jiang Ming were present, he would identify the speaker as elder Da Wei. Surprisingly, the seemingly simple and calm elder leads a group of powerful Taoists.

“If the terms are the same as the previous, then forget it,” an old armoured man hatefully said.

“Then how do you want the quotas to be distributed?” Elder Da Wei shot a question to the armoured man.

“Obviously, our sect has been present for a long time and has many disciples, so it's natural that we should get the majority of the quotas,” the old armoured man said.

“Presumptuous! Our sect discovered the secret realm; it is us that discovered a way to enter it. Why should you guys have the majority of shares then?” A black-haired female angrily said. “In fact, I think we should stop this nonsensical discussion and use all the quotas for ourselves.”

“What about the city lord's rules? Do you want to rebel?” The old armoured man curiously eyed the black-haired woman.

“What a joke, the one with the biggest fist makes the rules,” the black-haired woman sneered.

“Let’s calm down. Fighting will bring us nowhere,” elder Da Wei once more chimed in before things got out of hand. “I have a suggestion. I don’t know if fellow Taoists are willing to listen?”

“Speak!”

“No comment!”

“Why don’t we let the youths fight for their chances? We can host a joint tournament and allow only the top one hundred to enter the secret realm,” after he got permission from the others, elder Da Wei proposed.

For a moment, the room was silent. The powerful figures appeared to be considering various situations. Some of them nodded contently.

“Fellow Taoist is indeed right; we should let the younger generation fight for their chances. Deciding for them will only lead to embroidered pillows,” a heaven returning elder said.

“Our Hongmeng sect also agrees with the idea,” the old armoured man said, finally content with the proposal. To him, the Hongmeng sect has been around for generations; hence there is no way a newly formed sect can have better disciples than them. Hmph, just wait until the competition and see how we embarrass you. The old man sneered.

“Since everyone has agreed, then let’s leave a two-month window for preparations,” elder Da Wei said.

“Then we’ll leave first. We must inform the sect master how wonderful the Heaven returning sect hospitality is,” the armoured man hatefully glanced at a particular venerable before storming out. With his departure, only seven figures were left. These seven are the powerhouses of the Heaven returning sect. Of course, the sect master was excluded.

“Hmph! I still think we were too lenient with them. Right now, we have the power to suppress them, so why are we hesitating?” The black-haired woman said.

“Peak Master Yun Hua, we can’t let power cloud us. Besides, the sect master doesn’t share the same thoughts as you,” elder Da Wei refuted devolving to violence and ruling with the fist. The beautiful peak master could only sneer and look away.

“I agree with peak master Yun Hua. The Hongmeng sect is too domineering. If it was them in our position, do you think they would even consider us?” The old man who earlier stopped the armoured man’s hammer spoke. “Also, Taoist Wei, when did the sect master comment on her position? Aren’t you abusing your temporary power?”

Elder Da Wei wanted to refute the claims, but it is indeed, as venerable Yang said; he doesn’t like using violence to solve problems, so it is according to reason that he will use his power as the acting sect master to enforce his views. The elder calmly looked at everyone present; some were against him while others remained neutral. None shared his pacifist view. He didn’t blame them. In fact, he knew he was being naïve. Sigh, you’ll all understand one day.

“If no one has something to add, then the meeting can end,” after a long silence, the calm elder said with a dejected voice. The six elders walked out of the room. Those with a good relationship walked out together.

After the room was clear, elder Da Wei adjusted his posture on the seat and blankly stared at the void. Is this really right? He then grabbed a jade talisman and whispered some incoherent words in it. Sometime after, a disciple meekly walked into the room.

“Master, you summoned me,” the disciple respectfully cupped his fists.

“Pass my orders to everyone. A tournament will begin in two months; the top one hundred will be allowed to enter a secret realm full of treasures and opportunities,” after saying that, elder Da Wei remained silent.

“This disciple will follow the master’s orders,” the disciple then walked out of the room.

“Perhaps I should let everyone experience their own fates. Not everyone will end up like….”