This was Xu Que’s second visit to the Celestial Sect.
The Sect’s giant monastery gate was completed by the white jaded stone steps leading to it, glistening with brightness. There was a stone tablet decorated with a flamboyant, cursive calligraphy. It wrote the 3 characters of "Celestial Sect" on it, emitting an imposing atmosphere.
Gazing along the monastery gate in the distance amongst the clouds, one could vaguely see a wide training ground. One could also see rows of red-colored roof tiles along with vibrant colored light flowing through the skies— the Celestial Sect disciples riding on their flying swords.
What a scenery!
Xu Que was dazzled. The first time he came was an accident with the Divine Escape Emblem sending him to the treasure store outside the Sect. He then pilfered the store empty and quickly fle but did not have a good look at the majestic scenery the Celestial Sect possess.
This time, he went up to the gate and entered from the front. He was shocked at the imposing aura the monastery gate gave out.
"Whoosh!"
This time, two dazzling light flew from behind. Zhang Su Liang and the other disciple chased and landed beside Xu Que.
"Friend, this way!"
The both of them were very polite to Xu Que, showing the way to him.
Xu Que nodded and followed.
Of course, clutched in his hands was a piece of the Divine Escape Emblem. If the situation gets out of hand, he could escape instantly.
However, the path he was taking seemed steady. He proceeded past a paradise-like arch bridge. Xu Que was ultimately brought to the main center of a main hall.
This was Celestial Sect’s discussion hall. There were countless members from the smaller Factions along with the Elders seated on both sides of the hall. In the center seat was a middle-aged man with a refined look. It was Celestial Sect’s Leader— Zhang Dan Shan!
The moment Xu Que appeared, everyone’s focus were fixated on him and at the same time, looking at him from top to toe.
Xu Que wasn’t excited at that fact and he turned his head, staring at one of the Elder and asked, "What the hell are you staring at?"
"Ding! Congratulations to host ‘Xu Que’ for successfully acting tough. The reward is 20 act tough points." The system beep sounded in his head.
The reply "Why can’t I stare" which he anticipated did not happen. The Elder acted as if he did not hear anything, lifted his cup and drank his tea.
Several coughs by others could be heard, seemingly to hold back from flaring up. It was as if they felt that the attitude by Xu Que was fitting of the rumor that he was Duan Jiu De’s disciple.
Zhang Dan Shan, who was on the center seat, puckered his eyebrows and asked, "As the leader, let me ask you, who was the senior of your master, Duan Jiu De?"
"None of your damned business!" Xu Que replied angrily, with the system beep sounding in his head again.
"..."
The discussion hall momentarily turned silent.
Everybody was stunned. Is this youngster being too daring? His temper is so bad as well. He definitely has an exceptional background.
Zhang Dan Shan also blanked out.
From what it seems, even if this youngster was Duan Jiu De’s disciple, he did not have a reason to behave in such a manner. On top of that, he was an Infant Transformation stage and a Sect Leader.
Xu Que felt the weird atmosphere and realized that he may have gone overboard. He then asked, "The reason I was invited here was to discuss, isn’t it? Go on and don't ask unnecessary questions. My master doesn’t like to be talked about."
After his words, everyone on the scene started to understand.
His master does not like it?
Isn’t this equivalent to him saying that Duan Jiu De is his master?
Thank god, we almost offended them. We still can make it up.
Many people heaved a sigh of relief in their hearts.
Zhang Dan Shan puckered his eyebrows again, staring at Xu Que. He thought for a moment and said, "That’s right. The reason we invited you is to clear the misunderstanding between you and the various Factions."
"Eh, say it. What do you want to clear?" Xu Que nodded and replied neutrally.
Zhang Dan Shan looked at the others for a bit and mumbled, "Firstly, it’s when you stole items from our treasure store…"
"Wait, wait!" Interrupting Zhang Dan Shan, Xu Que widened his eyes and replied, "When did I steal from your treasure store? Are you kidding me? I will never do that."
"..." Zhang Dan Shan was absolutely stunned. He blanked out for a moment, face changed and deeply said, "We have a witness. Zhang Su Liang, come out and tell us."
Zhang Su Liang, who was standing at the door, immediately rushed over after hearing the Sect Leader.
Before he could open his mouth, Xu Que let out a harmless smile, then laughed and replied, "Haha! Who knew brother Zhang was there too! I was just cracking a joke if you people don’t mind. I, Xu Que, will always stand up for my actions. You are right. I stole from the treasure store."
"..."
Everyone on the scene were speechless.
Zhang Dan Shan let out a gasp and was too lazy to put up an argument with him. He continued, "After stealing from our treasure store, you killed the disciples and Elders from the various Factions."
"Hold on!" Xu Que interrupted again and replied loudly, "I definitely did not kill them."
Damn. They had never met such a shameless guy before.
The people almost spat out blood. The old ones who had a bad temper almost flared up at the scene and wanted to slap Xu Que to death.
Zhang Dan Shan changed his expression and replied, "If you continue with this attitude of yours, we shouldn’t discuss further."
"If you don't want to discuss further, so be it. My master will personally discuss it with you all. Bye." Xu Que pushed up his sleeves and walked off.
Everyone on the scene panicked. They were already having troubles with the disciple. If the master comes, won’t it be the end of the world?
An Elder from the side reacted quickly. He stood up and held onto his hand. He let out an awkward smile and said, "Small Brother, don't be rash. Sect Leader Zhang didn’t mean it that way."
"If it doesn’t mean that, then what does it mean? I’ve already asked you all on solving the problem. You people didn’t want to give me a proper answer and talked some nonsense about things which had already happened. As people from the ancient times have said, let bygones be bygones, does bringing it back up have any meaning?"
Xu Que’s brief remark started to make them unhappy.
Everybody was speechless. They were thinking who exactly said those nonsense? That fool just wanted to run away from the consequences.
Zhang Dan Shan’s face became more unsatisfied by the minute but he held on to his temper and replied, "Since you like to go straight to the point, we shall say what we wanted to say then."
"Before your arrival, I’ve already discussed with the various Factions. We have decided that you have to apologize to everybody and then we will let the matter rest."
"Of course, you can choose to not do it. After all, you are Senior Duan’s disciple and we will not lay our hands on you. However, for the lives of the Pan Shan Villagers, we cannot guarantee that you will be able to protect them."
Xu Que heard the remark and let out a cold laugh, "Are you threatening me?"
"This is not threatening. I am just informing you about the two consequences." Zhang Dan Shan nodded and murmured, "As the Celestial Sect Leader till this day, I have many skills and weapons at my disposal. Among them, I have a Spell-breaking cartridge which can break any Beginner Spells. Therefore, the spell you have casted is definitely not invincible."
Spell-breaking cartridge? Able to break any Beginner Spells?
Hehe… after this round of acting tough, I shall go back and change to an Intermediate Spell. I shall see how you fools break it.
Xu Que laughed coldly in his heart and nodded, "I will never apologize. When I first joined my master’s school, my master told me that no matter what I do, I must never apologize over my dead body. If not, he would kick me out of the school. At that time, I gave him a big tight slap on his head. He chased and beat me for three days and three nights and I never gave in and apologize. And now…"
Having said that, he stuttered a bit, gave a brief look at the people, and continued, "And you want me to apologize? Are you even worthy of my apology?"
"Ding! Congratulations to host ‘Xu Que’ for successfully forcefully acting tough. The reward is 20 act tough points!"
"Atrocious!"
A few of the bad-tempered elders finally could not take it anymore so they stood up and began angrily shouting.
Xu Que briefly looked at the few of them, nodded and said, "If you all show me such attitude, I will not discuss with you all further as well. You all can talk to my master."
The few elders stuttered and heavily panted for a bit. As if being choked, they could not continue to say anything!
The discussion hall’s atmosphere became still once again.
None of them wanted to offend Xu Que but none of them were willing to put down their ego and settle this peacefully.
In actuality, Xu Que did not want to stir up any trouble as well. He was very clear on exactly how to settle this type of issue.
With this extremely tough "Master" as a backing, he definitely cannot appear to be too easy going. On top of that, the rumours say that Duan Jiu De had an eccentric nature and therefore he had to be a little more arrogant.
If he apologized to them easily, it will have an opposite effect of making them suspicious. If, in the worst case scenario, his true identity was revealed, the various Factions will definitely come back with a greater vengeance.
He was not afraid of anything as he had the system at his hands. However, the Pan Shan villagers would be in great danger!
Therefore, he had to put on this act ‘till the end!
Xu Que clenched his fists as he thought to himself, "There are going to be many more opportunities to act tough. I’m in!"
...
"Since you won’t apologize, what do you think will solve this issue?" The Sect Leader Zhang asked amongst the quiet atmosphere.
The weird part was that, the Leader’s tone was not as cold as previously. Instead, he sounded a little more accommodating.
Xu Que let out a smile in his heart. He was successful with the act he was putting up and reckoned that even this Celestial Sect Leader was starting to believe his identity.
But, didn’t the Sect Leader himself meet Duan Jiu De a few times before?
That’s good. I can still play this card for a little while more!
Xu Que realized that and he pretentiously mumbled to himself, contemplated for a moment before replying, "How about this. Since the misunderstandings stemmed from my side and everyone here is considered my senior, why not let me use this place and treat everybody to a feast. This way, we can all become friends. What does Sect Leader Zhang think about this?"
After that, Xu Que sincerely looked at Zhang Dan Shan and gave him a brief smile.
It was as if he was hinting Zhang Dan Shan that he was here to become friends and he shouldn’t resist this goodwill!
Zhang Dan Shan slightly squinted his eyes and nodded, "I, the Celestial Sect Leader, do not have any objections. I shall lend you our training grounds outside and let you arrange for the feast tonight."
Upon this situation, the members of other Factions seconded, "Brother Xu, you are too kind. We, the Fierce Flame Faction do not have any objections. Let’s drink ‘till we drop."
"We, Pale Mountain Faction have no objections as well."
…
"We Sunset Faction… have no objections!"
At last, the Sunset Faction members agreed as well as they swallowed their anger.
They had no choice. Even the big Celestial Sect has let the matter go. What rights do a small faction have?
On top of that, the situation started with them being greedy, bearing a malicious intent to kill Xu Que for his treasures. In the end, the tables turned and many disciples and Elders from their side were killed. The only thing they could do now was to act like they were mutes.
As a result, a previous situation filled with possible vengeance and killing was solved with a simple round of feast.
However, the main reason was the name ‘Duan Jiu De’. It had a very big effect.
When the night descended, the Celestial Sect carried out the feast as planned.
Xu Que became popular with the Sect and the factions due to bringing all them together. Wherever he walked, he was being toasted in respect.
He was crowned with the name "Duan Jiu De’s disciple" out of the blue. He naturally would not let this perfect chance to act tough to slip by with the chance to drink wine. He could brag about himself all he want without reservations.
"Years ago, I remembered master bringing me down the mountains to train. He brought me to a Sect and everybody there were very tactful. They immediately presented us with a pile of treasures saying that this was just a door gift, leaving us with a very deep impression. After that, when that Sect were being attacked by enemies and I, being a righteous and loyal friend, without any qualms, dragged my master to help out. We destroyed those enemies of the Sect completely in the end."
Everyone were shocked upon hearing that and they realized something.
Is… Is he hinting us to send him gifts?
One of the Elders from Fierce Flame Faction reacted quickly while holding up his wine cup and replied, "With Brother’s and Senior Duan’s godly hero tactics, everywhere they go, everybody will know them. The old man shall toast you and we shall offer you a few magical weapons from our Faction. Just treat this as an old man’s door gift, hope Brother Xu don’t mind."
"Brother Xu, I, too, shall represent Pale Mountain Faction and toast you. We have a few roots of 800 year old Medicinal Qi Grass here for you to keep."
"Tch, just a mere few roots of Medicinal Qi Grass? Brother Xu, we Fire Cloud Faction offers you a bottle of Jiu Zhuan blood-soaked powder. These medicine pills temper with your blood circulation and is an important godly medicine for one to become a sage." One of the elders stood up and boldly said.
Everyone was shocked as they inhaled a breath of cold air.
This Fire Cloud Faction is way too aggressive. They were willing to offer so much just to impress Duan Jiu De. They were presenting a bottle of the Jiu Zhuan blood-soaked powder and it is said that they have only 3 of them in their whole Faction.
"What, how can I take it?" Xu Que let out a ‘shy’ smile,and rejected sarcastically.
"Brother Xu, don't be a stranger! If you treat this old man as a friend, you must keep it."
While the Fire Cloud Elder was talking, he immediately took and stuffed the medicine bottle into Xu Que’s hands, looking at him with the "You must take it, if not you are not stroking my ego" look.
Xu Que had ‘’no choice’ but to take the medicine.
Of course, he had to take the gifts from the rest of the Factions. His system deposit space was stuffed full after one meal and he collected many act tough points too.
…
At the same time within Celestial Sect’s inner area, in an attic.
A disciple was kneeling on the ground and was speaking with a white-haired old woman.
The old woman widened her eyes after hearing the disciple and screamed out with a unbelieving tone, "What did you say?! Not only the Sect Leader didn’t let that scoundrel apologize, he borrowed the training ground to him to arrange a feast?!"
That old woman was Tang Xue Rou’s master, Elder Sun. It seemed that she was too angry at the fact since her voice sounded shaky. She also threw the tea cup on her hand, landing with a loud "Pa" sound.
"M-Master Sun Elder, that was the case!" The disciple was scared stiff and started to tremble while kneeling down.
The old woman’s face became gloomy by the second and her eyes were filled with flames of anger.
"This guy is treacherous and vicious. He also sexually harassed my disciple in the past. I will never forgive him."
The old woman’s focus changed to the kneeling disciple. With a cold voice, she said, "Take my token. Go to the inner Sect’s treasure chamber and get me the Spell-breaking cartridge. Remember, this is between the two of us. I don't want a third person to know, including the Sect Leader. Understand?"
"Ye-Yes… I understand."
The disciple took the old woman’s token and quickly ran towards the direction of the treasure chamber.
The old woman looked at her disciple’s shadow as he ran and her eyes started to gradually focus into the distance, face letting out a sinister grin, "Since I can’t do anything to you little scoundrel, I shall let those ants in Pan Shan village atone for your sins."