Old Master, Times Have Changed - Chapter 715 (Patreon)

Chapter 715: You Must Address This Sect Master as “Sect Master”

Inside the space Xu Xing opened up, Hong Sheng had already been blown apart by Yuan several times over!

Crushed.

Their power wasn’t even on the same plane. No matter what methods Hong Sheng used, Yuan answered with nothing more than a plain, simple punch.

Dao-reaching and Soul Transformation…

The gap between them was simply far, far too great. This was pure, one-sided domination—Yuan crushing Hong Sheng from start to finish.

Facing a match where there was no hope to be seen, Hong Sheng kept his mind taut and his expression heavy, yet he showed not the slightest intention of giving up.

He struck again and again, and was blown apart again and again.

Later, after dying so many times, Hong Sheng not only didn’t feel discouraged—he grew more and more excited.

By the end, there was even a hint of exhilaration in his eyes…

Yuan: “…”

This guy… hasn’t he been killed too many times and awakened some kind of weird trait?

A chill crawled up Yuan’s spine.

But the people behind Hong Sheng didn’t notice these “details.”

They just watched as Hong Sheng was blown apart over and over, and their hearts seemed to be infected by that “unyielding” spirit.

He knew there was no hope. He knew the gap between them was so vast it was hard to imagine—yet he still summoned the courage to gamble everything and throw himself at Yuan!

In a daze, they seemed to see their former selves in Hong Sheng’s back.

The version of themselves who dared to swing a fist at everything under heaven.

Some fell into thought, some wore conflicted expressions, and some looked dazed…

At some unknown point, a mountain called “Yuan” had taken root in their hearts, stealing their will, making even the courage to chase after him hard to muster.

Yuan today was a legend—more than that, the most dazzling person in a thousand years.

When you step onto the path of cultivation full of ambition, when teachers, friends, and family all call you a “heaven’s chosen,” when you yourself believe you’ll stand at the very peak of the age—only for someone to appear ahead of you, someone whose back you can do nothing but watch grow farther and farther away no matter how hard you try…

That sense of powerlessness was something cultivators of this era could never truly imagine.

But…

Should they really stop here?

They asked themselves.

Yuan was strong, yes—but did that mean they should give up their own future?

No!

Absolutely not!

A strange change quietly surfaced among the crowd.

Finally—

When Hong Sheng was blown apart for the three hundred seventy-first time, someone lifted their head to look at Yuan.

Their eyes were no longer as hollow as before, but carried defiance and resolve.

Gradually, more and more people raised their heads to Yuan.

They had all once been the kind of figures the world called “heaven’s chosen.”

It was only the unending failures, only the blinding brilliance Yuan displayed, that made them unable to cross that hurdle in their own hearts.

And today, Hong Sheng’s performance—knowing he couldn’t win, yet still having the courage to throw a punch—

It might not be enough to drag them completely out of their past shadows, but it did shake that mountain pressing down on their hearts, the mountain called “Yuan.”

Perhaps after some time, the vast majority of them would regain the will to move forward again.

Noticing the crowd’s shift, Yuan was a little speechless.

Wait, what?

You’re making me look like some kind of demon king, some big bad villain.

I’m an upright, proper member of the righteous path, okay?

…

…

Sword Sect, Inner Sect.

Xu Xing walked along a winding path paved with spirit jade, lush spirit plants flourishing on both sides.

He held his phone, watching messages flash in the group chat.

Because he hadn’t sealed off that space, the other True Immortals could see what was happening too.

Lord Hong: “Looks like the effect is pretty good.”

Lord Hong: “As expected—heart sickness needs heart medicine /satisfied”

Overlord: “Tsk tsk!”

Overlord: “In front of me, he blows up my buddy’s son more than five hundred times and the dad’s still happy—tell me this world ain’t weird /shrug”

Lord Hong: “/Vulgar brute, not fit to keep company.”

I won’t lower myself to argue with a body cultivator.

Pill Patriarch: “Fellow Daoist Lord Hong is thinking for the greater good. Overlord, that’s too much.”

See?

There are still sensible people in this group!

Lord Hong: “Only you understand my painstaking intentions /satisfied”

Pill Patriarch: “So can you tell us what it feels like watching your own son get blown apart more than five hundred times /side-eye grin”

Lord Hong: “…”

There isn’t a single normal person in this cursed group!

Seeing the chat filled, as always, with backstabbing, Xu Xing felt deeply gratified.

He was just about to type something.

Beep beep~

Meizu Ya: “I heard, Dao Brother, you’re going to Qingxu?”

It was a message from Meizu Ya.

Fugitive Ancestor: “I do plan to.”

Fugitive Ancestor: “But how did you find out?”

He’d only mentioned it to Senior Sister a moment ago. Logically, there shouldn’t have been a third person who knew.

Meizu Ya: “Of course I heard it from Sword Sovereign /proud”

Senior Sister?

Xu Xing raised an eyebrow.

Would Senior Sister really tell Meizu Ya something like this?

Meizu Ya: “Dao Brother, are you really curious why I could get this news from Sword Sovereign?”

Fugitive Ancestor: “A little curious.”

Meizu Ya: “Too bad I can’t tell you /sigh”

Meizu Ya: “It’s an agreement between me and them.”

Them?

From the sound of it, it wasn’t just Senior Sister.

And lately, the usually most active Senior Sister and Meizu Ya hadn’t shown up much either.

Emm…

Don’t tell me they started a private little group chat?

Fugitive Ancestor: “Did you make your own group chat?”

Xu Xing asked directly.

Meizu Ya: “/Ababa”

Fugitive Ancestor: “What have you been talking about?”

Meizu Ya: “What are you saying, Dao Brother? I don’t understand /drooling little yellow duck”

Fugitive Ancestor: “…”

Meizu Ya: “Let’s talk business /serious”

Meizu Ya: “Why are you going to Qingxu?”

Fugitive Ancestor: “Didn’t Senior Sister tell you?”

Meizu Ya: “It took me ages just to squeeze out a little from her, and then she got mad /helpless”

Xu Xing paused when he saw that.

He was going to say it anyway…

Fugitive Ancestor: “It’s still because of that abnormal situation that appeared during the breakthrough of that Soul Transformation Cang cultivator last time…”

Xu Xing explained the whole chain of events and all his guesses to Meizu Ya.

Meizu Ya: “That bad?”

Meizu Ya: “Yeah… going to take a look won’t cost anything /deep in thought”

Meizu Ya: “When are you leaving, Dao Brother /spinning”

Fugitive Ancestor: “A few days. The Alliance of Righteousness is coming to pick someone up soon. Once Yuan goes back, I’ll head to Qingxu and take a look.”

Meizu Ya: “Then I’ll go with you /resting chin”

Meizu Ya: “Perfect time to see Fellow Daoist Huo and ask about little Ji Yinxue’s condition.”

Meizu Ya: “Without your help, I can’t find him.”

Huo ran around everywhere all day. He really wasn’t someone you could locate quickly.

But Dao Brother had a good relationship with him.

Through Dao Brother, it should be much faster to contact him.

Fugitive Ancestor: “Alright.”

With things said to that point, he naturally couldn’t refuse.

Meizu Ya: “Mm! Then I’ll go tell Sword Sovereign, and I’ll also send a message to annoy Daoist Ling while I’m at it.”

Meizu Ya: “Bye bye, Dao Brother /heart little yellow duck”

Xu Xing put away his phone.

When he looked up, he saw several familiar figures not far ahead.

Chi Jiuyu, who had just returned from a mission not long ago, sat in a wheelchair. She was tied up like a mummy, bandages wrapping her entire body so tightly that only half her face was exposed.

Even so, her mouth never stopped. She kept boasting to Zhao Ruohan, Ye Zhiwei, and Zhang Yunlu—who was pushing the wheelchair—about how brilliant and heroic she’d been on this mission.

She looked incredibly excited.

Mainly because she was about to win an award.

“…"

As usual, when she finished her mission and was about to return, the stellar system she’d gone to handle ran into an accident—

A new type of biological weapon, fused with the special annihilating property of tribulation lightning.

At the time, there were only a few Soul Transformation cultivators in the entire stellar system, so she became the main force.

With her own strength alone, she held the line and protected two habitable life planets. The other seven Soul Transformation cultivators working together only managed to protect one.

The price…

Was her current state.

The new biological weapon not only had stronger concealment, the injuries caused by that power—mixed with a special annihilating trait—were also far harder for cultivators to heal.

According to the diagnostic report from the Pill Cauldron Pavilion, if she used conventional treatment methods, it would take at least a month, nearly two months, to recover.

But she didn’t get injured for nothing.

Because of her brave performance, the stellar system’s Star Territory Warden helped her apply to the Sword Sect for a Third-Class Rededge Medal.

Even though it was the lowest tier…

In all the years since the Sword Sect was founded, there really weren’t many who earned one at her age.

“So she finally got her chance.”

Chi Jiuyu, who loved showing off in front of others, naturally wouldn’t miss it. Anyone she knew got a message from her.

Yes.

Even Xu Xing received one.

As her martial uncle, Xu Xing even sent her a red packet…

Fair is fair—though she loved to show off, she did have her own ideas.

When she came back, Bie Xuening checked her injuries immediately.

Conventional treatment really did take time, but to a True Immortal it was no big deal—pulling it out wouldn’t be difficult.

But this girl refused when she heard that.

She said she wanted to keep the injury, using it as a chance to thoroughly comprehend the Sword of Annihilation.

In her words—

“Martial Uncle’s Sword of Annihilation is awesome, sure, but that’s Martial Uncle’s sword. I have to add my own understanding and turn it into my own sword.”

If others heard it, they might think she didn’t know the heights of heaven.

But Xu Xing strongly approved of her thinking.

The changed Sword of Annihilation might not be as strong as the original Sword of Annihilation.

But for a sword cultivator, the best sword is the one that fits you.

Sometimes Xu Xing even thought: even if she had been born in Yuan’s era—the era that pressed every heaven’s chosen so hard they couldn’t lift their heads—she probably still wouldn’t become like other cultivators from the immortal sects, collapsing into despair after a setback.

He watched the girls laugh and chat as they walked away. Only when they had completely vanished from sight did Xu Xing withdraw his gaze.

He turned and entered the nearby plaza, sitting down on a long bench at the edge.

He raised his hand. On his index and middle fingers, a point of strangely colored light glowed.

Purple-black interwoven, as if constantly melding.

But if you looked closely, you’d see the two colors were sharply separated, with not the slightest trace of mutual seepage.

This was the origin power that formed that new biological weapon.

Xu Xing took it for research the moment he learned of it.

Unfortunately, this origin power had undergone Xuan’s special processing. There was no way to trace even a shred of useful information from it.

…

…

The match between Hong Sheng and Yuan ultimately ended with Hong Sheng being killed one thousand two hundred fifty-six times.

After it ended, Hong Sheng showed no fatigue whatsoever from those thousand-plus “deaths.” Up to the very end, he remained radiant and energetic.

Instead, Yuan gave him a strange look, then quickly left.

That night, Hong Sheng even gathered for a meal with the people who’d come with him.

And everyone completely conceded to him.

Even though he’d been utterly crushed the whole way through, that posture of throwing punches at Yuan without fearing life or death had still deeply moved the others.

In short, the purpose of this visit to the Sword Sect was achieved.

The next morning.

The sun hadn’t risen yet, and a thin mist still lingered along the horizon.

Before long, the Alliance of Righteousness’s Xuanqiong Heavenly Ark tore through the clouds and fog. Under the pull of its guidance system, it slowly docked in the Starship Berthing Zone.

Several streaks of escaping light descended from it, the lowest cultivation among them all at the Integration realm.

At the head was a man with crane-white hair and a youthful face, not a trace of age to be seen.

He wore a Daoist robe and held a whisk, carrying the weight of years and a detached air beyond the world.

It was Qian Xiang, founder of the Myriad Techniques Dao Sect.

There wasn’t a single person around, which made him frown.

Soon, with the ringing of a sword, a sword light ripped through the air and landed before the Alliance of Righteousness delegation, transforming into a figure in a purple-gold robe, immortal grace and Dao-bone evident.

It was Du Ruoheng, Sect Master of the Sword Sect.

“Greetings, senior.” Du Ruoheng casually cupped his hands, then said bluntly, “Please follow me.”

Qian Xiang paused.

He could already tell that the Du Ruoheng before him was only a Sword Intent Projection.

They had come from far away, yet the Sword Sect treated them like this…

He felt displeased, but thinking of the Alliance’s complicated internal situation—

And the purpose of this trip, which was to receive Yuan and make certain arrangements afterward—

Qian Xiang could only swallow that displeasure.

“Lead the way.”

His tone was flat, giving away no anger or joy, but several people behind him who knew him well could tell he was already very unhappy.

Du Ruoheng didn’t care at all. He turned and walked off, not bothering with what expressions the others wore behind him.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand courtesy.

It was just that all of this was requested by Senior Yuan himself, and the Patriarch also wanted him to cooperate with Yuan…

Sigh.

He had no idea what Senior Yuan’s goal was.

Du Ruoheng walked while thinking. In the eyes of the group behind him, it looked like pure indifference, and their anger only grew.

Soon, he led the Alliance of Righteousness delegation to a small road that was under repair.

Looking at the “No Entry” sign placed ahead, Du Ruoheng looked as if he’d just realized something.

“Sorry, sorry. I forgot this road is still being repaired. Let’s take another route.”

“Hmph!”

Qian Xiang finally couldn’t hold back and let out a cold snort.

Several Integration cultivators behind him glared at Du Ruoheng.

By now, how could they not see that the Sword Sect’s sect master was deliberately toying with them?

“Are you playing with us, young friend?” Qian Xiang said coldly.

“Senior, you jest. It’s only that I’ve been busy with affairs lately, and forgot for a moment.”

Du Ruoheng turned back to look at everyone. A token appeared in his palm, and the smile on his face faded.

“Speaking of which, this time I am here on behalf of Sword Ancestor Patriarch to receive you all. By both sentiment and reason, you should address this sect master as ‘Sect Master.’”

The space fell deathly silent at once.

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