“Oh, it’s Junior Sister Lan. What can I do for you?”
Deacon Wang asked with a forced smile.
“Ling Xiao is my friend. He’s here for joint training. Why hasn’t he been assigned a cave dwelling or given a wooden token for the inner sect’s Yuehua Tower?” Lan Yu’er asked, her face cold.
“Heh, Junior Sister Lan, you don’t understand. This is how it’s always been,” Deacon Wang said, his smile not reaching his eyes.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Are sect rules meaningless to you?”
Lan Yu’er’s expression grew colder.
“Of course not. It’s just an unwritten rule. Junior Sister, don’t meddle. This isn’t my call—it’s the inner sect higher-ups’ decision. I’m just following orders,” Deacon Wang said, sweat beading on his forehead as he felt Lan Yu’er’s killing intent.
“I don’t care for your excuses. Per the rules, these three are entitled to a cave dwelling equivalent to that of an inner disciple ranked around 200th, and each gets a wooden token for the Yuehua Tower. Will you provide them or not?” Lan Yu’er demanded.
She was in the right. By regulation, Deacon Wang had to arrange this, or he’d be derelict, facing severe punishment for knowingly breaking the rules.
“Junior Sister Lan, don’t push too far. I told you, this isn’t my decision—it’s the inner sect leadership’s,” Deacon Wang said, still defiant, backed by someone powerful.
“Whose decision? Call them out. I’d love to see who’s bold enough to treat sect rules like nothing!”
Some things fear scrutiny most.
Unspoken rules might work when ignored, but when someone digs in, it gets serious.
“It was my decision. What will you do about it?”
A gravelly voice rang out.
An one-eyed elder emerged from the inner sect’s main hall.
“One-Eyed Heavenly Venerable?”
The title sounded crude, but he embraced it proudly.
His eye was lost battling a powerful beast king—a badge of honor.
One-Eyed Heavenly Venerable wasn’t a true Heavenly Human Realm expert.
Strictly speaking, he was a half-step Heavenly Venerable.
Stronger than peak Mortal Realm ninth heaven, yet not quite Heavenly Human Realm.
Similar to a half-step master.
Still, a half-step Heavenly Venerable was called a Heavenly Venerable.
Lan Yu’er eyed the elder with disgust.
One-Eyed Heavenly Venerable, leveraging his past contributions to the Yuehua Sect, flouted rules constantly. Skimming disciples’ stipends was the least of it.
Rumors said he’d defiled outer and even inner sect female disciples.
Yet no one ever held him accountable.
As a sect hero, he had the sect leader’s amnesty token.
“That’s right, it was me! Now you know. Leave. A few outer disciples deserve inner sect cave dwellings? Entry to the Yuehua Tower? Don’t even dream of it! Trash!”
One-Eyed Heavenly Venerable glanced at Ling Xiao’s trio, his terrifying aura pressing down.
“Hmph!”
Lan Yu’er stepped in front, snorting coldly. “So what if it’s you? As an inner sect elder, breaking the law makes your crime worse!”
“Hahaha! Lan Yu’er, I’m not following the rules today. What can you do?”
One-Eyed Heavenly Venerable laughed, dismissing her.
As a half-step Heavenly Venerable, he didn’t fear Lan Yu’er, a Mortal Realm ninth heaven master.
With the sect leader as his backer, he had no reason to.
“If you won’t follow the rules, I’ll beat you until you do!”
Lan Yu’er struck as she spoke, her jade hand transforming into a massive true essence palm, materializing from the void to seize One-Eyed Heavenly Venerable.
“You’re courting death, brat!”
One-Eyed Heavenly Venerable roared, his true essence surging as he swung his fists.
“Ignorant!”
Lan Yu’er didn’t flinch. The true essence palm slammed down.
“No—this can’t be!”
One-Eyed Heavenly Venerable howled in terror. His fists shattered under the palm, bones breaking, and he was pinned, unable to move.
“Will you give them or not?”
Lan Yu’er, like a majestic war goddess, loomed over him.
“You wouldn’t dare do anything to me!” he roared.
“Oh? Really?”
Lan Yu’er intensified her true essence, and his ribs began snapping.
“You’re insane—Deacon Wang, give it to them! The cave dwelling, the tokens!” One-Eyed Heavenly Venerable screamed.
“Was that so hard?”
Lan Yu’er coldly withdrew her palm.
One move subdued a half-step Heavenly Venerable—the might of the second-ranked core disciple!
“Terrifying!”
“Worthy of our idol!”
“My dream goddess!”
“The next Young Sect Master has to be her!”
Lan Yu’er’s defeat of One-Eyed Heavenly Venerable happened in a blink. Many saw it, but how she did it eluded them.
“Heh, Senior Sister Lan, you don’t act often, but when you do, it’s earth-shaking. I’m nothing compared to you,” Ling Xiao said, elated after receiving the wooden token and a cave dwelling. “But offending an inner sect elder—will you be okay?”
“Just a half-step Heavenly Venerable elder. He might intimidate other inner disciples, but none of the ten core disciples take him seriously. You think the sect leader would protect him?” Lan Yu’er shook her head, smiling. “He contributed to the sect, and the sect leader gave him an amnesty token, so direct punishment is tricky. But they’re letting him spiral into self-destruction. The sect leader’s plans run deep.”
“Scary!”
Ling Xiao shook his head.
The sect was a web of power struggles, which explained Master Baiyun’s advice to find a backer.
Without one, climbing alone was grueling, with death always looming.
Big players clash, and the small fry suffer.
But with a backer, you rest in the shade of a great tree.
Life lessons indeed.
“Junior Brother Ling, I won’t interfere with your spar. You good?” Lan Yu’er asked with a smile as they reached the challenge platform.
“No problem at all,” Ling Xiao replied, smiling.
If he couldn’t handle this, what was the point of training or joining the inner sect training? He’d have stayed in the outer sect, wasting away.
Sparring with Jian Renwang was part of his plan. No way he’d back out.
