Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 254 - 173: Someone Robbing in the Mountains?

Chapter 254: Chapter 173: Someone Robbing in the Mountains?

Before the Purple Cloud Palace, the scene was extraordinarily lively.

Numerous cultivators gathered together; even though nearly ninety percent were eliminated in the mountains, hundreds still ascended the mountain, and hundreds more were still plundering each other within the mountains.

People had started arriving at the mountain gate about seven days ago, after all, after twenty days, those who were capable of obtaining the token had already done so, and those who were not had little hope of continuing.

And at the mountain gate, not only were there these eager disciples, but there were also quite a few deeply cultivated senior brothers and sisters who were talking and chatting with these soon-to-be new disciples.

"This junior brother, would you like to chat with your senior sister for a moment?"

"Me... me?"

Facing the mature senior sister, some of the younger and inexperienced male disciples panicked at being addressed, looking at the sister whose demeanor was fresh and unworldly, their faces even becoming somewhat flushed.

However, the senior sister just smiled gently, as she was simply carrying out a teacher’s command to make contact with these disciples soon to enter the sect. Their cultivation was far above those being examined, naturally able to discern the others’ cultivation realm at a glance.

This child, in his early twenties and already at Foundation Establishment, clearly had potential, so she naturally tried to make contact.

Not only to see if she could pull him to their sect but also to test his temperament. The disciple in front of her was pure, like a blank sheet not yet tainted.

"Mm, senior sister sees you have quite the talent, and this physique of yours is very suitable for practicing our Divine Wood Peak’s cultivation techniques. Would you like to share your cultivation experiences with me?"

On the spacious platform, many were conversing with each other, some discussions about cultivation, others simply chatting to assess temperament, and the goal of these senior brothers and sisters was to attract promising talents into the sect.

If Jiang Feng were here, he would surely laugh.

This scene was quite like the time immediately after his college entrance exams when he rushed to inspect various universities, where many schools had handsome or charming seniors standing at the entrance to draw in students.

Whenever a new student visited, they would lead them on a tour to the most impressive parts of the school, usually, if they dared to show you the dormitories, that meant the school was decent, but if they only dared to take you to laboratories or libraries...

"Hmph, if Zhang Fengzi spent as much cunning on cultivation as on these schemes, he wouldn’t be stuck treading water for so many years."

About a hundred meters up from the mountain gate corridor, there was a small pavilion where a burly man walked over, speaking from a higher position with quite some dissatisfaction.

Inside the entire mountain gate, it was Yuzhu and Divine Wood Peak’s female disciples who were most numerous, followed by Qingxia Peak, but the Peak Masters of both Yuzhu and Qingxia Peaks are currently women.

Naturally, they would not resort to such tactics, but Zhang Fengzi was somewhat overdoing it.

"Junior Master He, there’s no need for anger. If Nephew Liu remembers correctly, in the last two sessions of the Martial Arts Competition, Lan Zhu Peak has been among the top, and it should be you who selects the talents first."

"Well, that’s true, but besides passing our selection, it also depends on whether the disciples are willing. If those promising talents are all bewitched by these girls and aren’t willing to join, what can be done?"

His voice booming, he sat directly opposite Liu Tangxi, his seniority making it unnecessary for him to observe all those cumbersome formalities.

At a focused look, it was indeed Junior Master He, with whom Liu Tangxi had a slightly contentious debate a while ago.

"Nephew Liu, I heard your disciple is also among these candidates. Which one is he? Let your uncle have a look."

His voice was somewhat strange, if there were a skilled doctor here, they would recognize that this was probably due to irreversible damage near the vocal cords in the past, but one could hear that there was no malice in his tone, more curiosity.

And even a hint of anticipation.

Despite their fierce debates when they had disagreements, each challenging Liu Tangxi’s teaching ability, almost all of the other eight Peak Masters had spontaneously proposed passing their disciples or their offspring into Liu Tangxi’s tutelage.

The inheritance of a Sword Immortal was just too tempting.

Liu Jian was undeniably the foremost sword practitioner of their time, within their group of masters and brothers, Liu Jian was indeed the leader, even the current Sect Master of Purple Cloud Palace seemed inferior by comparison.

Jiang Feng has passed away, and his direct disciple Liu Tangxi has taken over Swordmaster Peak. Fifty years ago, doubts lingered about Liu Tangxi, as they thought she was incapable of greatness, especially given her low cultivation realm.

But in just twenty years, she defeated four Peak Masters outright in the Nine Peaks Martial Arts Competition, and drew with several others.

Sitting here, He Niu, although not defeated, felt defeated in his heart for only managing a draw against a young girl over four hundred years younger than him.

This is also why when Liu Tangxi issued a challenge, he deftly evaded it; fearing that, besides the Sect Master, no one knew the extent of Liu Tangxi’s current power.

"He hasn’t arrived yet, knowing my junior brother’s character, he probably wants to snatch a few more tokens to bring up the mountain and make me proud."

After sipping his tea calmly, He Niu was a bit surprised by her statement, widened his eyes but soon returned to composure, shaking his head.

It’s said that those of the same household all share similar traits; Liu Tangxi has such a personality, so naturally, her disciple would be the same.

"Aren’t you just at Qi Refinement Level 7? If he stays in the mountains for too long and something goes wrong, it would be a loss unworthy of gain. I heard there are some talented individuals in this generation, they’ve succeeded in Core Formation by their thirties."

"Do not worry about him, Junior Master He, that kid is quite slick; he might not be the strongest of his group, but he’s surely the craftiest."

Thinking of Jiang Feng’s character, she wasn’t too worried. Meanwhile, two women walked up the stairs in the distance, causing Liu Tangxi’s gaze to linger on them for a moment.

Somehow, she felt her junior brother’s presence on these two people, especially the petite child who had an inexplicably familiar aura.

"Speaking of your Nephew Liu, since today I have some free time, I want to ask you, the Sect Master mentioned a few days back that your master entered the belly of the Candle Dragon. Is this true?"

Shifting her gaze back to He Niu, their doubts about this year’s World Martial Arts Competition were apparent. Despite the Sect Master laying out his plans, the concerns had not lessened.

"It’s true."

"Actually, there were quite a few people who were swallowed with my master, such as The Blade Maniac of the Eastern Sea, former Saintess Yong Qi of the Southern Border, the Four Demon Kings of the Western Regions, the Great Elder of the Xuanyin Sect, and Yuhua Palace’s Drunken Shadow."

"I know many of these people have already passed away, but if Junior Master He is willing to investigate in the next few years, I also covet the opportunity within the Candle Dragon’s belly, as it is a legacy different from our time..."

He nodded as he listened.

In fact, in the past few days, he had already contacted some old friends with good relationships, asking them to scout for information, mainly because this matter sounded too absurd.

Meanwhile, the huge square was slightly agitated, drawing everyone’s attention, especially when they saw the newcomers, all showing faces of surprise.

"... Look, that person is clearly at the peak of Foundation Establishment, why are they so dirty and disheveled?"

"Could it be that they were just defeated?"

"Most likely got robbed; these last few days, quite a few at the Foundation Establishment Peak came up the mountain, none looking normal."

"I don’t know, has it been eight in a row?"

"Could it be that someone at Core Formation has teamed up to rob in the mountains?"

The crowd discussed fervently, and the face of the cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment darkened, clearly hit by a sore spot, but unable to react in front of so many people, especially with many disciples from Purple Cloud Palace maintaining order.

He snorted coldly and then walked alone to a corner and sat down, not speaking, just silently cultivating, obviously very upset by the defeat.

"Nephew Liu, Nephew Liu?"

Unresponsive, Liu Tangxi’s attention was entirely captured by the newly arrived cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment, staring intently at the torn marks on his clothes.

For a moment, she entertained a ridiculous thought, a bold idea emerged in her mind.

"Could this kid be planning to..."

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