Chapter 603: Reporting to Master
A hush fell over the nearly empty area. The disciples of various sects, who had been trudging towards the exits carrying their dead and wounded, all stopped. Without a sect master to protect them anymore, they were the same as other mere mortals. They all couldn't help but quiver at the commands of an immortal.
After a brief pause, those that had not been called out by Chen Wentian started moving again, with much greater haste. The disciples of the Tower of Swords and the Four Greats stood around with a rising air of fear and panic. They looked around at each other for support but found none as each person was more frightened than the next. They looked towards the sky, towards the two Spirit Kings for any kind of assistance, but those two seemed uninterested.
Once the rest had scurried away, Chen Wentian landed and spoke, "The Tower of Swords, the Mount Yun Sect, the Mount Xiong Sect, the Mount Huang Sect, and the Mount Tai Sect, you five were fighting so fiercely with my disciples. Everyone saw it so don't bother to deny it. As the master of Ten Thousand Flower Valley, naturally, I have to defend members of my sect. Before I deal with you…"
Silence greeted his words. Nobody was sure what he wanted to do.
He turned away from them and greeted his own people. "Disciples of Ten Thousand Flower Valley, welcome back. I missed you all very much."
"Thank you, master!" They all bowed and replied with faint smiles.
After a pause, Lin Qingcheng sensed that it was her turn and spoke up first, "Reporting to master, I am relieved to see you again. The Forest of Swords was very challenging and filled with dangers. After many battles with beasts and human competitors alike, we have all returned without injuries and many rewards."
"For the all-important sword truths, this disciple has managed to obtain three of them." She glanced over his shoulder at the people that had attacked her and her expression hardened, "However, myself and other disciples were constantly harassed by people from the four great sword sects. I would have been able to find more sword truths if they hadn't been trying to kill us day after day, for five days straight. They were completely unreasonable! I ask that master seek justice for me and my fellow sisters!"
Her words had a rousing reaction. Aside from being even more frightened, a disciple from one of the sword sects was even scared enough to shout out, "That's a lie! We weren't trying to kill… she lies!"
Chen Wentian flicked a finger toward the offending person, sending a burst of spiritual energy that knocked the breath out of their lungs.
"Silence!" He commanded, "If anyone dares to speak out of turn again, I will turn them into ash! I only spared him as a warning."
He then made a gesture at his own disciples.
Zhou Ziyun took the cue to give her own report. "Reporting to master, this trip to the Forest of Swords was filled with danger but also ample rewards. I managed to obtain four sword truths. I did not encounter the same level of attacks as Sister Lin but on the final day, we still encountered a dangerous situation and did our best to resist. Sister Wu can give more details."
Wu Qianyu bowed slightly and spoke, "Master, during these two weeks as I traveled the strange forest, I was constantly harassed by disciples of the Tower of Swords. They chased after me in small and large groups. They constantly got in my way when I was trying to obtain sword truths. They came back even after I spared their lives, with even greater numbers. Their intention was clear, they all wanted to kill me!"
She gazed at the group of gray-robed disciples. Peng Xiling was among them and so were many other familiar faces belonging to strong sword cultivators she had fought with for many days. A few of them even had a higher cultivation than her.
"Lonely Hero Peng was not among those who attacked me. I cannot imagine why his senior and junior brothers would bear this level of grudge against me. Because I did not want to push the situation between our two sects to an irreversible state, I spared many of their lives. Yet even so, they continued to attack relentlessly until the final day when I finally met up with Sister Zhou and her group. Together, we held them off until we were teleported back."
She paused to retrieve some items from her spatial bag. She cradled them in her arm, an array of tree branches large and small. The instant they appeared; a rich sword aura emanated from her. Everyone could sense the myriad sword intent that she wielded.
"Master, despite these setbacks. I still managed to obtain ten sword truths. If those people were not so intent on taking my life, I may have been able to obtain twice as much. The Tower of Swords, I truly do not care about them so master may choose to deal with them as he pleases. My only regret is that I was unable to set the sword truth record for Ten Thousand Flower Valley."
"Good, you did well. I am proud of you." Chen Wentian said after she finished, "You didn't let me down at all. Such a record, I understand that it can carry sentimental importance but you shouldn't feel bad. The road of cultivation is long and such records will seem like nothing in the face of much greater challenges ahead."
"I understand." Wu Qianyu said.
Following her, the other disciples gave their reports in turn.
Li Yuechan described her situation from beginning to end including her breakthrough to the first lesser realm. She had grouped up with Lin Qingcheng for a third of the time so some of the details were the same. However, since she was still averse to killing other people, she emphasized how Peng Xiling had helped her and her group, hoping that this could lessen her master's anger. Despite the fact that she herself only managed to get four sword truths due to so much chaos, she still felt strongly enough in her conviction to speak up.
Song Wushuang's report was similar to Zhou Ziyun's as the two of them had grouped up fairly early. She mostly talked about challenging sword truths and proudly declared that she had managed to obtain five. They had been sent to a section of the forest that had few disciples of the four greats so they passed many days without being bothered.
Out of the remaining three sisters, Xu Lanyi managed three sword truths, Su Xue managed the same number, and Su Yue only two. They didn't have much to add with regard to the attacks they suffered from opponent sects. Since their elder sister, Li Yuechan, had voiced her opinion, they didn't feel the need to add their own. After following her for so long, their hearts were already aligned. There wasn't anyone that felt the need for bloody revenge since none of them suffered any harm.
As for Bei Yingluo, she didn't find any. As the odd one out of the group, she had kept a low profile and didn't get herself into any trouble. She didn't roam far from the central safe area so the Four Greats couldn't do much to her. She was also not an important target so her enemies didn't put in too much effort.
After hearing all of their reports, Chen Wentian closed his eyes and considered the situation. He understood their sentiments. Lin Qingcheng could be considered the one most eager for payback while Li Yuechan could be considered the one on the opposite side of the scale. Even so, Lin Qingcheng's stance couldn't be considered too vindictive or small-minded. She was merely voicing her straightforward opinion and emotions and the others had done the same.
He thought of his own desires and why he had come down. He wanted to stand up for his disciples against anyone that would do them harm. He did not want to let anything go and he didn't care if his opponent was a lowly mortal or someone more powerful than him. He wasn't some kind of saint that forgave and forgot. He had killed far more people than his disciples could imagine.
However, he respected his disciples' opinions. They were all important to him so he couldn't afford to act like an ignorant and stubborn person. He cared deeply about their thoughts and how they thought of him.
He also had to regard the two wily Spirit Kings above with care. They seemed disinterested but he knew they were closely observing his performance. They were not on his side, not even Gong Liyun who liked to flirt with him. If he killed a bunch of people, they might pretend to not care but rebuke him at a later date and more opportune moment. Such ploys were common and he had experienced them a few times in the past.
He let out a long breath and made a decision. He crossed his arms and turned towards disciples of the Tower of Swords and the Four Greats.
"All of you listen up! I want to know what happened from your own words, why you people attacked my disciples so mercilessly. I don't want to hear nonsense so each sect will send a representative to speak on their sect's behalf. That person's words will decide the fate of their sect. Understand?"
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