Chapter 192
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Chapter 192: Coercion
"What if I refuse to back down?"
Having been the Peak Master of the Shadowless Peak for a decade, Su Hao naturally carried an air of unyielding authority. Even faced with Elder Yun, an inner sect elder of Tian Shen Peak, he stood firm.
"If you persist in this stubbornness, Su Hao, your position as Peak Master might not remain secure," Elder Yun replied with a faint smile, his face betraying no anger.
"That’s none of your concern—nor are you qualified to concern yourself. Focus on keeping your own affairs peaceful, lest others manipulate you." Su Hao smiled coldly, clasping his hands behind his back.
Elder Yun stiffened, drawing a sharp breath. Su Hao’s words had struck a raw nerve.
"My advice ends here. The choice is yours, Su Hao."
Su Hao snorted dismissively, refusing to dignify the remark with a response.
"Brother Su, you seem weary after these months apart," Ouyang Wentian remarked as he approached, his smile thin.
"Managing a peak brings endless duties. A tired face is expected. I heard your own spirits dimmed recently—wasn’t one of your top ten disciples lost?" Su Hao replied politely, though he sensed an undercurrent of hostility in Ouyang’s tone.
"The path of cultivation is merciless. Deaths are commonplace—replacements are easy. Ye Yun’s talent intrigues me. Hand him over, Brother Su," Ouyang Wentian stated coolly, his smile unchanged.
"You jest. After years of searching, I’ve finally filled my ten disciples. He stays." Su Hao’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"A pity. I won’t steal what you cherish, then. Take care, Brother Su." Ouyang nodded and turned away.
A sharp glint flashed in Su Hao’s eyes. Ouyang’s words bordered on hostility, a stark shift from their former camaraderie. They had always addressed each other as brothers, with Ouyang showing deference as the younger. Yet now, he used "Brother Su" instead of "Elder Brother Su" and referred to himself formally—a clear rift.
Su Hao inhaled deeply, turning his gaze to Yu Guangyuan, Peak Master of Tian Zhu Peak, and Jing Ru Shui, Peak Master of Lan Yue Peak.
"Junior Brother Yu—surely you’re not here for Ye Yun?"
Yu Guangyuan’s expression was frosty, his gaze piercing. "I came only due to the Heavenly Sword’s summons. I know nothing of this Ye Yun."
Su Hao nodded, then looked to Jing Ru Shui.
"Why stare at me, Elder Brother Su? Like Yu, I heeded the summons. This Ye Yun must be extraordinary to draw even Ouyang’s eye." Her voice was light, her phoenix eyes amused.
"Extraordinary? No. But he suits my temperament."
"Character matters most in disciples. Talent fades if untested—how many ‘geniuses’ crumble before maturing?" Jing Ru Shui chuckled behind her sleeve.
"Wisely said, Sister Jing." Su Hao sighed. Over the years, he’d seen countless prodigies falter.
"The Sect Leader hasn’t arrived. This trouble likely stems from *that* side." Jing Ru Shui’s eyes flickered meaningfully.
Su Hao understood. If neither Jing Ru Shui nor Yu Guangyuan instigated this, and Ouyang wouldn’t act for a mere disciple, only one remained: Murong Wuqing, the Heavenly Sword Sect’s peerless genius who had ascended to the celestial realm.
Su Hao turned to Murong Wuqing, whose pale face held no warmth.
"Junior Brother Wuqing, we meet again."
Murong Wuqing lifted emotionless eyes. "I know of Ye Yun’s feud with Wuhen and his reckless boasts. This triviality doesn’t concern my cultivation."
Su Hao blinked, surprised. He’d assumed Murong Wuqing orchestrated this, yet the man dismissed it outright.
Indeed, since his potential awakened fifteen years prior, Murong Wuqing had shed all earthly ties, his name reflecting his ruthlessness. Beginning cultivation at fifteen, he’d reached the foundation establishment stage in five years, then soared through tribulations to the celestial realm.
"Then why did the Sect Leader summon us?" Su Hao frowned. If not for Ye Yun, why halt the apprenticeship ritual? The Heavenly Sword’s order explicitly commanded bringing Ye Yun here—this *had* to involve him.
Su Hao frowned slightly and turned his gaze to Ouyang Wentian.
Ouyang Wentian’s demeanor and tone were markedly different from before, suggesting he’d learned something crucial that caused this shift. It seemed he now understood the true purpose behind the Tian Shen Peak expedition.
By nature, Su Hao wouldn’t press further after Ouyang Wentian’s remarks. Yet Ye Yun mattered too much—he was the final piece needed to complete Su Hao’s roster of top ten disciples. If Ye Yun became his disciple and cultivated the Ten Killing Formation with Thunder Spirit Qi, Su Hao’s status would soar, greatly boosting his chances of claiming the Peak Master title.
As Su Hao debated whether to speak up, a soft glow flickered over the rocky peaks within the Small Courtyard. The air rippled like water, and from the center emerged an elderly man in a gray robe, his hair tied in a daoist knot. He descended as though walking down invisible steps.
"We pay respects to the Sect Leader!"
Su Hao and the others bowed in unison.
"Rise. I’m not alone—two Supreme Elders accompany me," the gray-robed man said, a gentle force lifting the group.
Two more elders emerged from the rippling air. Both had white hair and youthful faces. One wore a golden daoist robe that gleamed faintly in the sunlight. The other nearly made Ye Yun gasp—it was Elder Zi from Zang Wu Pavilion, clad in his usual black robe with gold-trimmed collar, unchanged from their last meeting.
Ye Yun stared, bewildered. Wasn’t Elder Zi just a guardian of Zang Wu Pavilion on Tian Zhu Peak? His cultivation was rumored to barely touch the foundation establishment stage, and Ye Yun had never sensed any profound aura from him. The man had even complained bitterly when the Little Absorption Technique was demoted to a ninth-tier Celestial Technique, lamenting his faction’s decline. Yet here he stood as a Supreme Elder beside the Sect Leader. Ye Yun’s mind reeled.
"Ye Yun, we meet again," Elder Zi said, stepping forward to stand beside the Sect Leader.
Ye Yun bowed deeply. "Greetings, Sect Leader. Honored Supreme Elders."
"You are Ye Yun?" The Sect Leader studied him.
"I am," Ye Yun replied calmly, showing no trace of fear.
"First level of Qi refining, yet your true qi rivals that of seventh-level disciples. With Thunder Spirit Qi no less—truly, a once-in-a-millennium talent for our Heavenly Sword Sect." The Sect Leader nodded approvingly.
"The great tomb’s trial merely favored me, Sect Leader," Ye Yun said modestly.
"False humility ill serves cultivators. What you’ve earned cannot be stolen," the Sect Leader countered.
"I’ll remember," Ye Yun acknowledged.
Watching this exchange, Su Hao began piecing things together.
"Sect Leader, why have you summoned us?" Su Hao asked, though he already guessed.
The Sect Leader’s gaze swept the group. "Normally I wouldn’t interfere with discipleship. But Elder Shi notes Ye Yun’s cultivation leaped from body refinement stage’s third level to Qi refining’s first level in under a year—while matching seventh-level opponents. Such anomalies demand investigation before we accept him as an elite."
Su Hao’s eyes snapped to the golden-robed elder.
"Peak Master Su surely agrees?" Elder Shi stepped forward, voice cool.
Su Hao’s jaw tightened. "No objections."
Ye Yun’s heart clenched. He’d long feared this—his explosive growth, the hidden Fire and Water Spirit Qi undetected so far. A proper inspection would expose everything. What judgment awaited then?
Cold dread pooled in his chest.
