Chapter 1044: Before the Ceremony

"You're saying something foolish again. Humans are all constantly changing. If you don't change, then you're not a human. Originally, you should have ended up as our most capable helper. Unfortunately, you just made a momentary slip." Ji Xuanri's face was filled with disappointment.

"It's not just a momentary slip. Our paths are completely different altogether." Hua Chengzan shook his head.

"So be it. I know I can't convince you, nor do I plan on punishing you. You still are the junior brother that I admire the most after all. However, you'll have to make up for the problems you've created yourself. Don't forget. This is equivalent to Li Qingshan dying by your hands. He originally could have fought by our side."

Ji Xuanri stood up and said to the palace master and the Light Queen, "I'll go visit my father!"

"First senior brother, not everything might go as you planned!"

Right when Ji Xuanri was about to step out of the hall, he heard Hua Chengzan, which made him furrow his brows slightly. He turned around and glanced backwards, giving him a smile before stepping out. The education he had received since young was about grasping everything in the palm of his hand. Even if some accidents happened, they were merely some small, joyous surprises that life offered.

The palace master swung his hand and pressed his fingers against Hua Chengzan's forehead

Hua Chengzan shuddered and felt his final sliver of consciousness sink, devoured by the sword intent. He gazed at the palace master deeply and said stutteringly, "The palace master... wants to... control people... through the sword... but are you aware... that you yourself... are being controlled by the sword?"

"I've just become one with the sword. It doesn't matter who controls what," the palace master said indifferently and pulled back his hand.

Hua Chengzan collapsed on the ground, without budging at all.

The Light Queen frowned. "I never expected a careless mistake like this!"

The palace master said, "This child didn't start off as a sword cultivator, and he's overly clever, so there's nothing strange about him being able to fool our eyes. Unfortunately, he still made a momentary slip. As long as he maintained a sliver of clarity, he could have easily contacted Li Qingshan behind our backs."

The Light Queen, "It's just a pity with the three thousand sword moves."

"What we are after are much more than the three thousand sword moves. Anyway, let's deal with this potential source of trouble first!"

"That's very simple." The Light Queen sneered as cold light flashed through her eyes.

Hua Chengzan crawled up from the ground slowly and shook his head forcefully. He said apologetically, "Chengzan knows his crimes!"

"As long as you know your crimes."

Dong! Dong! Dong!

Rising and falling sounds of a bell rang out from outside. The conferment ceremony was about to begin.

Cultivators emerged from the side halls around the grand hall in small groups.

The Light Queen and the Dark Queen basically discovered each other at the same time. Their gazes met, and they did not hide their hostility at all.

The master of the Sword Collection palace and the master of the Umbral Yin sect stood behind them respectively, gazing at one another coldly.

The Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga had intentionally separated the Umbral Yin sect and the Sword Collection palace, just in case any disputes arose, but it was still unavoidable for them to meet in the end.

"Fellows, please come on in! The ceremony is about to begin."

The Unraging monk invited in a jolly manner. He saw Hua Chengzan behind the palace master and felt a little perplexed. He clearly had not seen him earlier, but he did not think too much of it.

On Great Buddha mountain, everyone had to show respect towards the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga, so the palace master and sect master both stepped into the hall.

Very soon, all of the invited cultivators arrived in the grand hall. There were not too many people, only around a dozen or two. When they conversed, they did so with whispers or directly through their soul sense. They only made the lofty grand hall seem even more spacious and quiet, such that the conferment ceremony seemed extremely solemn instead of lively.

However, all of these people were great cultivators that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation. Basically all of the powerful cultivators of the Green province cultivation community had gathered here. Even when they intentionally masked their auras, the presence they gave off gushed into the air when they gathered together.

The four Monk Kings of the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga received the guests as the hosts, while the four great cultivators from the Sword Collection palace and the Umbral Yin sect each occupied a corner of their own, radiating with a cold, chilling aura. No one tried to talk to them, and they did not try to talk to anyone else either.

Unlike the Mist province, all of the great cultivators that belonged to sects in the Green province came from these three major sects.

Apart from them were the grandmasters of the hundred schools, ranging from confucianism and daoism to legalism and mohism. They amounted to the most people, and they currently discussed quietly among themselves.

"I heard the One Will Monk King isn't even a hundred years old? How young!" "I've heard that she might not even be fifty." "How unbelievable. How many years has it been since the world has produced a figure like that? Now that I think about it, they've all been Reincarnated Celestial!" "Oh right, wasn't there a Reincarnated Celestial in the Clear River prefecture a few years ago?" "Don't talk about it. He already died." "Hehe, even celestials can be divided into good and bad."

Yue Wuyang stood with his arms crossed. His face had darkened from anger as he said absolutely nothing.

Jin Fugui asked with a smile, "Old Yue, what are you angry about this time?"

Yue Wuyang glanced at this Gold Hawk commander. "You're still so nosy!"

Jin Fugui chuckled and did not lose his temper. "I'm caring for an old friend, so how can you call it being nosy? If you're always so angry, I'm afraid you won't live past a thousand."

"I'll just end up in the Asura realm if I can't. You'll have to go down to hell if you can't!"

"Alright, alright. Just tell me. If the worst comes to worst, I'll help you out with venting your anger!"

"Do you know Li Qingshan?" Yue Wuyang thought about it.

"Of course. He was even my subordinate back then!" Jin Fugui had an extremely deep impression of Li Qingshan.

"That kid has fooled me twice already!" Yue Wuyang ground his teeth. He had been stood up by Li Qingshan again.

Back then, Li Qingshan had gone to attend the Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan. Yue Wuyang did not want to wait around doing nothing, so he told him to meet him in the great general's estate once the Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan ended. He planned on carrying out the plan of baiting out the Soaring Locust King. However, so many days had passed since the Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan ended, but no matter how Yue Wuyang waited around, he did not even catch a glimpse of Li Qingshan. He had almost gone crazy from anger.

The school of the Military was about military orders being paramount. "If he were a disciple of the school of the Military, I'd butcher him!" Yue Wuyang ground his teeth. Of course, that was given he was capable of something like that first.

Actually, it was not Li Qingshan's fault for brushing aside Great General King Yue. Xiao An had come up with a new plan that was better, so he did not want to wait around as bait like a fool. Originally, he planned on mentioning it to Yue Wuyang after he had pulled out his sword in the Sword Collection palace, but so many things had happened along the way, so he completely forgot about it now.

Jin Fugui chuckled loudly with that and glanced at the Unraging monk nearby. "Can't you just teach him a lesson when the Unraging monk is around? Or I can teach him a lesson for you. He's still a part of my Hawkwolf Guard after all."

Yue Wuyang said, "You? You might not even be able to teach him a lesson now."

"Oh?" Jin Fugui did not believe there would be any problems if he tried teaching a junior a lesson. The Unraging monk was not someone petty like that either.

"He underwent the third heavenly tribulation a long time ago. Crown prince Si Qing came all the way from the Dragon province to kill him, yet he almost died at his hands. How are you supposed to teach him a lesson?" Yue Wuyang hesitated, but he was unable to hold in his anger.

"What did you say?"

ps: 让我们继续!