Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 263 - 178: It’s Mr. Jiang’s Turn to Show Off

Chapter 263: Chapter 178: It’s Mr. Jiang’s Turn to Show Off

"Sixty-two?"

"What a joke! There must be some trickery involved. How could this little girl, only at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, possibly get her hands on sixty-two tokens!"

"No, this brat must have found some loophole. Could she have bought them from someone else?"

"Fear so, but judging by her attire, she doesn’t look like she comes from wealth. Besides, what kind of price would she have to pay to acquire over sixty tokens?"

"Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous..."

"Strict investigation is required! Her qualifications must be confiscated! Kick her out! Such opportunistic behavior cannot be tolerated within the ranks of Purple Cloud Immortal Palace!"

There was an uproar again, and everyone’s gaze focused on the young girl. The scrutinizing, distrustful, doubtful, and angry looks made Lin Jiangxian shudder uncontrollably, having never witnessed such a scene in her lifetime.

Most of the people who glared with such resentment were cultivators who had been eliminated. Their hearts filled with unwillingness, they simply could not accept the fact that someone with much lower cultivation than theirs had obtained more tokens than they had.

Suddenly, there was a weight on her shoulder.

It was Jiang Feng pulling her behind him, using his body to block the questioning glares from everyone, returning their gazes fiercely, with even a hint of ferocity in his eyes!

"She has traveled with me in the mountains for a month. Every token she has obtained was through combat. Some of you have fought with us, so you should know very well where these tokens came from."

"Ever since we entered the mountains, numerous seniors have been covertly observing our every move. Brother Chen Shan here must have seen us fight with others more than once."

"You bunch of trash, if you can’t win, do you only know how to sling mud at others? You don’t deserve to question her!"

He lashed out without restraint, berating them openly.

That was the way Jiang Feng operated; he usually wouldn’t bother himself with others’ affairs, but if his own people were threatened, he would turn hostile without hesitation.

Especially now, as those eliminated cultivators revealed their ugliest sides. If it were mere suspicion, that could be understood—after all, Lin girl’s acquisition of so many tokens was indeed beyond expectations, and Jiang Feng wasn’t entirely averse to doubts.

But what Jiang Feng could not tolerate were slander and defamation, particularly when someone in the crowd shouted about confiscating her qualifications and kicking her out, coupled with the clamorous support from many.

If it weren’t for the fact that they were in front of many seniors right now, those who had just spoken would not survive another moment with Jiang Feng’s temperament.

An imposing aura effectively intimidated them, but given their numerical advantage, just as they were about to cause trouble, the Chief Disciple of Qingxia Peak spoke up.

"His words are true."

"For the past month, our Qingxia Peak has been in charge of supervising their path, and I have personally witnessed most of their battles."

"This young girl has significant strength. She has always fought against cultivators with higher cultivation realms than herself, exchanging blows fairly, even frequently engaging with those at the Foundation Establishment Stage. She deserves her achievements."

"I advise everyone not to spread rumors indiscriminately, or Purple Cloud Palace will deal with it seriously."

A few words instantly silenced the murmuring crowd, who became as meek as sheep, while Chen Shan simply saluted the Peak Masters and stepped back.

The Peak Masters on the stage all frowned with hesitation.

The young girl before them had ordinary physique, and her meridians were even slightly clogged, far from being exceptionally talented.

Even though she might have some techniques, if her aptitude was too poor and the sect’s resources became overstretched, resulting in her realm falling too far behind others, then there was no point. After all, the cultivation resources remaining in each peak were quite limited.

If they were to take her in, then the other disciples would undoubtedly receive less Spirit Stones. It would be better to let her start as an Outer Disciple and consider bringing her into the Inner Sect after Core Formation...

"Come forward, follow me up the mountain shortly."

A chilly voice drew everyone’s attention.

The entire sect fell into a silent stillness.

Only the young girl at the center, her face full of panic, didn’t understand what was happening, nor did she know who the woman speaking from above was. She instinctively looked towards Jiang Feng beside her.

She had said, wherever Jiang Feng went, she would too.

"Go ahead."

Whispering just two words into her ear, Lin didn’t know if it was her imagination, but hearing Jiang Feng’s words seemed to steady her suddenly anxious heart.

She carefully walked over, glanced at the other neatly assigned disciples, and then quietly stood in the corner, as if somewhat intimidated by everyone’s gaze, and sat down on the ground with her back against the wall.

But the shock was visible on everyone’s faces.

"Liu, the Sword Immortal is taking an apprentice?"

"No, why, why does that little girl deserve the favor of the Sword Immortal?"

"This is impossible, this isn’t right."

Not just the disciples, even the Peak Masters exchanged bewildered glances. What exactly was Nephew Liu playing at? Could it be that they were so short-sighted? It seemed unlikely.

However, the Chief Disciple of Dragon Head Peak took the opportunity to speak.

"My Junior Masters need not worry."

"Senior Sister Liu’s actions must be for the benefit of many Junior Masters. After all, none of them wanted to take the risk, and the cultivation resources of each peak are scarce. Only Swordmaster Peak has no disciples, and thus has ample cultivation resources."

"Accepting one more potential Qi Refinement Realm disciple won’t have a significant impact, and Senior Sister Liu can also rest assured. This extra person will not take up any recognized quotas, after all, Senior Sister has also done us a favor."

This statement made the other Peak Masters feel much better, as by the rules, Lin Jiangxian’s sixty-some tokens more than qualified her to be an Inner Sect Disciple.

However, with her young age and low cultivation, no one was particularly eager to spend resources on her. Therefore, Liu Tangxi taking her away indeed eased the burden for them.

It must be said that the Chief Disciple’s emotional intelligence is terribly high, Jiang Feng and Yan Fengchun were both taken aback by the woman who suddenly stepped forward.

In fact, she aggressively pushed Yan Fengchun and Jiang Feng aside and was the first to place all the tokens on the table.

It was that female sword cultivator.

This scene left Jiang Feng and Yan Fengchun stunned, unsure what this woman was all about, but the next second, hundreds of tokens flew straight out of the Qiankun Bag, covering the entire table.

And it was accompanied by the woman’s anxious and nervous voice.

"A total of one hundred and nineteen tokens! My name is Bai Yu, and I wish to become a disciple of the Sword Immortal Sect!"

"..."

"..."

The two displaced comrades exchanged glances.

A bit of wry amusement, but also somewhat expected.

This cultivator named Bai Yu is obviously a fervent fan of Liu Tangxi, her earlier hesitation to approach any other Mountain Gate was due to uncertainty about whether Liu Tangxi would take disciples.

But now Liu Tangxi has accepted one person, so naturally, she worried about these two competing for a spot and hurried to speak first.

Several Peak Masters exchanged glances, mostly with helpless expressions, because indeed this girl is quite good, talented and incidentally practicing sword cultivation, thus fitting to be guided by Nephew Liu.

Besides, they had already agreed in advance to let this nephew pick someone first.

But unexpectedly...

"Join another sect, you are not suitable for learning my way of the sword."

Without even a second’s hesitation, she was outright rejected.

Alright.

Now not only were the surrounding Peak Masters puzzled, but even Jiang Feng was confused. Isn’t she at Core Formation at the age of twenty-seven? How high can Senior Sister’s standards be? You don’t approve of her? Doesn’t our Swordmaster Peak need more disciples?

"But just now that young lady was able to become your disciple, why not me? I, I have formed my core, and I obtained one hundred..."

"Miss Bai Yu, do not insist; if the Sword Immortal has spoken thus, there must be a reason."

Yan Fengchun stepped forward assertively, his injuries having mostly healed, but his advice, instead of dissuading Bai Yu, caused her to turn her head and glare fiercely at him!

The smile on his face froze, clearly he was not well-versed in dealing with women, so he did not continue to meddle, instead taking out all his tokens.

"From Jiangnan Zhang County, Yan Fengchun, with a total of one hundred and twenty-seven tokens, I hope my elder will consider."

He politely bowed.

This new number once again surprised everyone, and the arrival of Yan Fengchun led to the Peak Masters clamoring for him, as in this broad recruitment, Yan Fengchun essentially signified the upper limit.

Whether in terms of Cultivation Realm or strength.

With one hundred and twenty-seven tokens, according to their intelligence, this young man defeated a total of eighty people in one month, achieving such a remarkable success, and the Yan Family is similarly well-known in Jiangnan.

The atmosphere was subtly awkward; the Peak Masters were all vying for Yan Fengchun, but Bai Yu was left out in the cold.

These high-ranking individuals all shrewdly realized that the girl’s heart was set on following Liu Tangxi in her sword cultivation; seizing her would be futile.

What use is she if her heart isn’t with us?

While Core Formation at twenty-seven is rare, who are they? What kind of geniuses haven’t they seen? They’re not short of one more.

No, Heavenly Power Peak might actually need her.

The final debate concluded with her becoming a disciple under He Niu of Lan Zhu Peak, the one who was sitting in the pavilion and drinking tea with Liu Tangxi.

Also, it was Junior Master He, who left behind that famous remark, "Junior Master He, I’m not blind; that look in your eye was almost dripping."

With a smile, Yan Fengchun was clearly very pleased with the outcome.

However, a hint of regret flashed in his eyes, as it was rare to come across a Sword Immortal taking disciples, yet he hadn’t caught her eye.

But soon, Jiang Feng stepped forward leaning on his aching waist, ignoring Bai Yu with a face full of displeasure on the side, and lifted his Qiankun Bag with his left hand that was covered in rolled flesh and wounds. This act made Bai Yu, who had been reluctant to leave, frown.

A sense of unease suddenly surged in her heart.

Then the next second.

Whoosh —

A downpour of tokens.

The crowd that was just discussing the conclusion of the recruitment process went silent.

The tokens were simply poured out, the terrifying quantity left everyone gaping, and a few even fell on the floor due to the small table and made a crisp sound.

Not only were Bai Yu and the onlooking crowd stupefied, but even the expressions of the few Peak Masters on stage clearly froze for a moment.

The only one who didn’t show surprise might have been the aloof Liu Xianzi.

"My name is Jiang Feng, with a total of two hundred and one tokens, please review, elder."