Li Cai smiled pleasantly. “I’m Li Cai of Ultimate Bliss Peak. Would Junior Brother be willing to return there with me?”
Su Xin froze.
Ultimate Bliss Peak… Zhuo Hanyan and the others exchanged peculiar looks.
They all remembered Xu Ziqing’s warning. Without it, Su Xin would undoubtedly have agreed immediately. After all, the name alone revealed that Ultimate Bliss Peak was a middle peak. Entering such a peak promised an excellent future.
But Xu Ziqing had warned them.
Su Xin knew Xu Ziqing fairly well. He was kindhearted by nature, so perhaps the warning came from his distaste for Ultimate Bliss Peak’s conduct. Yet the business of concubines, cultivation cauldrons, and the like was nothing unusual to Su Xin and his companions. Such arrangements were common in large, powerful sects. One only had to remain resolute oneself.
Su Xin hesitated.
Should he heed Xu Ziqing’s warning… or accept Li Cai’s proposal?
Seeing Su Xin’s hesitation, Li Cai assumed he was weighing the advantages he could gain. Although he inwardly scorned the youth as greedy and presumptuous, he believed his plan was largely assured.
He spoke rather haughtily. “Junior Brother Su Xin, if you enter Ultimate Bliss Peak, I’ll report to the ancestor, who can at least arrange for you to become a nominal disciple under a Golden Core perfected master. Other resources will flow to you without interruption. What is there to hesitate over?”
But hearing this made Su Xin frown instead.
Li Cai was clearly arrogant and domineering, yet he seemed unusually eager to bring Su Xin into his middle peak. That was peculiar. Although Su Xin possessed a single Fire spiritual root, geniuses with single spiritual roots were hardly scarce in a great sect such as this. His talent alone did not warrant such determined solicitation.
Li Cai had no idea that his unintentional display of impatience had made Su Xin suspicious. Seeing that Su Xin still did not agree, he grew more convinced the boy was greedy and prepared to offer even further inducements.
By then, however, Su Xin had made up his mind.
Something was wrong.
Compared with Xu Ziqing, Su Xin had more experience and a stronger sense of caution. The immortal path was filled with dangers. He could not allow immediate gains to blind him. At that moment, his trust in Xu Ziqing deepened.
An apologetic smile appeared on his face. “Thank you for your generous regard, Senior Brother. But Su Xin’s talent is limited. I would not dare bring shame upon Ultimate Bliss Peak.”
It was a refusal.
Li Cai’s face turned hideous. “Are you saying… you refuse?”
Su Xin looked even more apologetic. “Su Xin’s cultivation is shallow…”
With a wave of his hand, Li Cai cut him off. “So you refuse the toast and demand the punishment wine! Do you understand what your refusal will bring you?”
Hearing this, Su Xin was only more certain of Li Cai’s ill intentions. His gaze grew firmer. “Su Xin is merely an insignificant disciple newly admitted to the sect. Surely someone of Senior Brother’s stature would not stoop to making trouble for me.”
His tone was courteous. But the more politely he spoke, the more Li Cai felt he was being looked down upon.
Li Cai sneered. “And what if I insist on making trouble for you?”
Su Xin did not change expression. “With the sect overseeing us, surely no one would force another against his will.”
Instead of growing angry, Li Cai laughed. “You’re nothing but a disciple who just entered the sect, while I’m the ancestor’s direct grandson! So what if someone from Peak of Discipline comes to supervise? They’ll have to give the ancestor face! Let me tell you plainly: Ultimate Bliss Peak is determined to have a disciple with your single Fire spiritual root. Be sensible and come back with me. If you refuse, the ancestor may have to intervene personally… and then, hmph!” Smugly, he continued, “The disciple recruitment held once every ten years is important, but only so important. Even if Peak of Discipline sends someone, it’ll be one of the forty-nine Stewards of Discipline, a Golden Core perfected master at most. How can a Golden Core cultivator contend with a Nascent Soul ancestor?”
Su Xin’s breath caught. A trace of regret arose in his heart, but it vanished almost at once.
Every word the man spoke concerned Su Xin’s single Fire spiritual root. At this point, he would hardly believe Li Cai was interested in fostering his talent.
Could it be… Remembering what he had witnessed earlier, Su Xin’s face darkened.
Zhuo Hanyan and the others had reached the same conclusion. It seemed Ultimate Bliss Peak wanted to use Su Xin, with his single Fire spiritual root, as a cultivation cauldron. Moreover, whoever needed the cauldron apparently held a high position on that peak.
They were horrified. Apart from poorly talented cultivators hoping to advance by such means, or those born with suitable constitutions, what gifted cultivator would willingly become someone’s cauldron? With Su Xin’s talent, given proper training, he might soar to extraordinary heights!
And of all people, Li Cai of Ultimate Bliss Peak had noticed him… Thinking of this, Su Xin and his companions felt hatred stir.
Were they really supposed to let Su Xin suffer such humiliation? No!
Seeing Li Cai behave so outrageously, Su Xin, the young alliance leader who had suppressed his anger for so long, changed expression. “Senior Brother Li is trying to force me into something against my will. Su Xin cannot agree!”
Li Cai stopped wasting words. He turned to the two men beside him. “Go speak to the Steward of Discipline supervising today. Tell him Ultimate Bliss Peak is taking the boy away, and the ancestor will treat him very well. Ask him to make an exception!”
Su Xin and his companions could not help despairing.
Li Cai himself was at the Foundation Establishment stage, while the two men accompanying him were even stronger. Su Xin’s side was far outmatched. Zhuo Hanyan and the others naturally stood with him, but he shook his head slightly, stopping them from taking his part. It had taken so much for the Rogue Cultivator Alliance to send these cultivators into the great world. He could not let them all be ruined for Su Xin’s sake alone.
For this reason, Su Xin did not even look toward Xu Ziqing.
Li Cai snorted and grasped at the air. A golden cord appeared in his hand, radiating a hundred brilliant rays of light, and shot directly toward Su Xin!
The middle-grade spiritual artifact Immortal-Binding Rope could, when infused with true essence, bind cultivators of the same broad cultivation realm regardless of their level. Even Li Cai, who was only at early Foundation Establishment, could easily capture a late Foundation Establishment expert with it!
Now, to ensure there was no chance of failure, he had used the Immortal-Binding Rope against Su Xin. Whatever methods Su Xin possessed, they would be of little use.
Su Xin refused to retreat. Better to fight with everything he had than submit without a struggle!
He immediately raised his sword. Brilliant blue flames spread across the blade, radiating extraordinary heat!
As soon as Li Cai approached the prospective inner-sect disciples, Xu Ziqing sensed that something was wrong.
But he had never imagined Li Cai would try to take Su Xin away. His heart leapt into his throat.
Xu Ziqing had encountered Li Cai several times and knew his character reasonably well. He was petty, narrow-minded, and arrogant because of his background. His actual cultivation was poor, but his ability to cause trouble was first-rate.
Xu Ziqing therefore knew that, once Li Cai set his sights on Su Xin, any refusal would provoke tremendous resentment. And a place like Ultimate Bliss Peak, where Li Cai’s tyranny was tolerated, could hardly be a sanctuary for quiet cultivation. Even with a Nascent Soul ancestor overseeing it, the peak was not worth joining!
Moreover, Li Cai had a shifty look about him. When his gaze first swept the prospective inner-sect disciples, Xu Ziqing, who had been quietly watching him, had caught his unusual reaction.
He undoubtedly had bad intentions toward Su Xin.
Sure enough, Li Cai later spoke loudly enough that everyone nearby could hear. The crowd had been relatively quiet, so every word and movement reached the other cultivators.
When Su Xin refused, Li Cai threatened him exactly as Xu Ziqing feared, and a moment later he attacked!
The golden rope flared with light and released a pressure that seemed irresistible. Su Xin’s precious Azure Flame Treasure Fire was extraordinary as well. It immediately clung to his flying sword as he attempted to fight the rope!
When the Azure Flame Treasure Fire touched the rope, it raced along its surface. The rope shuddered under the flames, which slowed it slightly, but it continued attempting to bind him!
“Look! Senior Brother Li has released his Immortal-Binding Rope!”
“That boy in red is far too bold! To dare attack Senior Brother Li… This time he’ll certainly be captured!”
“Sigh. Who told Senior Brother Li to be a disciple of Ultimate Bliss Peak? With the ancestor supporting him, we have no choice but to defer!”
Discussions sprang up everywhere. Hearing them only made Xu Ziqing more worried.
After a moment’s thought, a length of thousand-year-old steelwood appeared in his palm.
This was not the same piece of steelwood that he had already fashioned into a steelwood sword. It was a fresh length he had stimulated into growing. He intended to conduct an experiment with it, and if successful, he could help Su Xin.
Xu Ziqing silently circulated his cultivation technique. Green light flowed over the steelwood in his hand, and soon the wood began to change.
Originally it was a thick, hard, black length of timber. Now it visibly softened, as though turning to water and about to flow.
But Xu Ziqing did not let it flow. He released another pulse of power, making it pliant but resilient again. The material that had nearly become a puddle condensed into a long, thin black cord.
Then he pointed with two fingers and commanded, “Go!”
The cord rose into the air and shot toward the Immortal-Binding Rope.
In moments, the black cord collided with the Immortal-Binding Rope. Both were pliable and tough. Nourished by Xu Ziqing’s exceptionally pure Yi-Wood energy, the thousand-year-old steelwood was not crushed by the middle-grade spiritual artifact’s radiance. The two cords intertwined and struggled with each other. Stimulated by the Wood energy, the Azure Flame Treasure Fire blazed even more fiercely.
For a time, the Azure Flame Treasure Fire and black steelwood cord together managed to hold the Immortal-Binding Rope at bay!
Just as Xu Ziqing began secretly helping Su Xin, he sensed someone approaching.
Looking up, he saw the two men who had accompanied Li Cai.
Clearly, they were following Li Cai’s instructions to find today’s supervising Steward of Discipline and request that he turn a blind eye.
Involuntarily, Xu Ziqing glanced aside.
From the moment he had made his decision to intervene, the senior brother beside him had not said a single word.
Had he caused Senior Brother Yun trouble? Or did his senior brother approve of what he was doing?
Yun Lie had yet to react when the two men arrived not far ahead.
One called loudly, “May I ask where the Steward of Discipline overseeing today’s proceedings is?”
Yun Lie said nothing. But the disciples who had already witnessed his authority parted at once, opening a path.
Their movement revealed the black-clad Steward of Discipline to the two men.
As the crowd separated, Yun Lie came into view.
Tall, upright, unyielding as a keen sword!
A flicker of alarm appeared in the two men’s eyes. Yun Lie of Little Slaughter Peak? It’s him!
Unlike the overbearing Li Cai, anyone sincerely devoted to cultivation paid close attention to changes among the sect’s core disciples and to the Heavenly Dragon Ranking.
Slaughter Sword Yun Lie had entered the top five of the Heavenly Dragon Ranking immediately upon forming his Golden Core. Even the sect master could not overlook such an extraordinary event. These two Core Transformation cultivators, struggling to reach the Golden Core stage themselves, were even more attentive to it than most.
Of course they recognized him.
They had heard that Slaughter Sword Yun Lie resembled a gigantic sword walking among people, his sword intent soaring and his killing intent terrifying. Yet neither of them had sensed him a moment earlier.
Could Yun Lie already conceal his aura to such an extent?
Of course! Slaughter Sword Yun Lie was the newly appointed forty-ninth Steward of Discipline on the Peak of Discipline. It was entirely possible he had been assigned this mission.
Had they known Steward Yun was present, they would certainly have stopped Li Cai from making trouble… At the thought, bitter smiles appeared on both their faces.
Li Cai, completely unaware of their complicated feelings, had turned to search for whoever had helped Su Xin with the black steelwood cord.
His gaze quickly found the green-robed youth at the edge of the crowd.
His eyes widened almost to splitting, and he spat out every word through clenched teeth. “Xu Ziqing! It’s you again!”