Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 237 - 164: The Candle Dragon Appears in the World

Chapter 237: Chapter 164: The Candle Dragon Appears in the World

"..."

The words stuck in his throat were swallowed back down.

It has been said long ago, the lineage of Swordmaster Peak is full of madmen, first there was Old Sect Master’s crazy act to marry a sword as his wife, that madcap Liu Jian.

Then there was Liu Tangxi, the madwoman who, with sword in hand, would leave every day to fight Evil Cultivators, and despite fighting for decades, refused to return home, even the current Sect Master could not persuade her.

Indeed, the apple does not fall far from the tree; what the master is like, so is the disciple.

However, what this nephew says is indeed true, according to the rules of Purple Cloud Palace, if there is a dispute or dissatisfaction, it should be resolved behind the mountain.

It’s indeed inappropriate to challenge an elder in terms of seniority, and to do it openly would invite criticism, but from the perspective of a Peak Master, there is nothing improper.

For a Cultivator, strength is the most convincing, which is why many Evil Cultivators still establish their own sects; in their eyes, power and realm are the foundation of authority.

The more than ten people present all had reputations soaked in blood from their youth, which is also the reason they are able to sit in these positions.

"Peak Master Liu is right, our rules at Purple Cloud Palace have always been such. He Niu, back when you competed with Liu Jian, you never won. Now that his disciple is challenging you, can you endure this?"

It had begun.

Directly pouring a bucket of oil onto the fire, with a gloating expression, especially using the title of Peak Master deliberately to indicate that you should not even think of suppressing others with seniority.

If one looked closely, they would find this somewhat stooped old man had once appeared in the foothill town, arrogantly issued Tokens, and had been referred to as an Elder; this person was the... former Peak Master of Qingxia Peak.

He is also the second oldest in this hall.

This former Peak Master chose to retire due to old age and served as an elder in the sect to lead a leisurely life, occasionally bullying his junior disciples.

In theory, it should be the current Peak Master of Qingxia Peak who should come personally to recruit talent, but this newly appointed Peak Master is still young, with neither high cultivation nor seniority.

The previous time, she came personally but... how could a young girl out-argue these crafty old men?

She couldn’t outcompete or outfight them, so this year she decided to be straightforward and leave the recruitment to her own master.

She took the stance that she would no longer be concerned with Qingxia Peak if her master didn’t personally go and quarrel with those old men, so the first thing he did after coming...

Was to stoke the flames.

"He Niu, go on, what are you hesitating for?"

"Didn’t you always lament wanting to avenge that grudge from back then? Hey, Liu Jian wasn’t the only one who beat you; didn’t your disciples receive a slap each when they caused trouble back then?"

"Now his disciple is here, don’t miss the opportunity."

"How about this, I’ll call over all the disciples in the sect who haven’t been assigned to monitor the mountains to act as witnesses, this one battle to decide ownership, what do you say?"

His face turning red then white, his eyes almost spewing fire, if the Sect Master wasn’t here, he probably would’ve kicked this old man in the face.

Instantly heated up.

Not a single swear word erupted, but every phrase reopened his wounds and rubbed salt in them, causing a gnashing of teeth in pain.

Everyone’s gaze turned to Liu Tangxi, this young nephew with an indifferent expression, resembling the style of her master; for her, any problem that can be resolved with the three-foot Qingfeng in hand was not a problem.

Only issues that cannot be solved with the sword can be considered trouble.

Age does not equate to realm, realm does not equate to strength. Solely in terms of cultivation, she may rank at the bottom among the many elders in the hall, but in terms of actual combat...

Holding her cup of tea, Liu Tangxi only glanced at the Sect Master seated at the head, casting an inquiring look; in fact, she had already taken the initiative to meet with the Sect Master some days ago, proposing her intention to rebuild Swordmaster Peak.

Nobody here was foolish. Since Liu Tangxi decided to stop wandering and return to the sect, there were only two possibilities: either her Swordsmanship had reached its peak,

Or, she encountered a bottleneck that she could not overcome for a short period, thus she chose to return to teach.

Regardless of the scenario, these older individuals would not actually go to the back mountain to spar with Liu Tangxi. Everyone present knew their own strength, and probably, apart from the Sect Master sitting at the highest seat, no one dared to say they could win against this nephew.

"Nephew Liu jests, your uncle only thinks that your recruitment of disciples might affect your cultivation, and did not intend to obstruct it. If nephew has the intention to rebuild Swordmaster Peak, that is indeed a good thing."

Smoothly deflecting the topic, and no one else spoke up, their brows furrowed, and their expressions not very pleasant.

If He Niu dared to continue being tough, then they would naturally say their piece since an arm can’t twist a thigh.

Their behavior was not due to any opinions against this nephew, but out of distrust, doubting Liu Tangxi’s ability to instruct and nurture disciples.

Swordmaster Peak had suffered a catastrophe and had not flourished for many years, with only Liu Tangxi struggling on. In reason and in sentiment, they should provide her with more care, a point they would not refute.

Like about twenty years ago, Liu Tangxi once came to them asking for cultivation resources; back then, although it was painful, nobody opposed as those were originally allotted to Swordmaster Peak.

But since Swordmaster Peak had no disciples, the resources were divided among the other Eight Peaks, and now that she was asking again, there was no reason not to give. Dragon Head Peak and Qingxia Peak even offered additional help.