Chapter 500: Chen Zikuang
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
If the Snow Storm Stratagem could let an Intentionless Sect Golden Elixir realm elder kill two Sacred Flame Sect Golden Elixir realm elders, then why would the Intentionless Sect fear the Sacred Flame Sect? Wouldn’t everyone who came from the Sacred Flame Sect end up dead?
Even though he was relying on the Snow Storm Stratagem, an elder from the Intentionless Sect going against two elders of the Sacred Flame Sect was pushing it. Also, the Sacred Flame Sect had treasures that were equally incredible. After half a month of war, the Intentionless Sect had always been at a disadvantage. This was the first time an incident had occurred where they had managed to kill two Sacred Flame Sect elders.
On the contrary, the Intentionless Sect had lost an elder not long ago, making their already precarious position worse.
“Mu Liao, you are joking to lighten the mood, right?” An old man with braided snow-white hair down to his shoulders looked oddly at Mu Liao. Mu Liao was not usually someone who liked to crack jokes. What was up with him today?
In the center of the great hall sat a middle-aged man. He was clearly an important figure. The man was handsome and must have been attractive when he was younger. His eyebrows gave him a majestic appearance. He looked like a man who had held a high position for a long time.
He was none other than the Intentionless Sect deputy sect leader Chen Zikuang. After the sect leader was severely injured and bedridden, he was in charge of all the affairs of the Intentionless Sect. During this dire time for the Intentionless Sect, he had led their forces in pushing back the Sacred Flame Sect’s attacks a total of three times.
Right now, Chen Zikuang also looked curiously at Mu Liao. However, he spent more time paying attention to Mo Wen. It was because he knew inside that Mu Liao could not kill two Sacred Flame Sect elders alone. Just being able to push back two Sacred Flame Sect elders was hard enough, let alone managing to kill them.
If what Mu Liao said was true, then the credit certainly did not belong solely to Mu Liao. With his understanding of the gatekeeper, he was very certain of this point. So, there must be someone else, or maybe something else, involved.
The fact that an outsider had appeared out of nowhere made Chen Zikuang somewhat curious and incredulous.
“Since when have I joked around, let alone joke about something like this. The two Sacred Flame Sect elders have indeed died. They did not die by my hand, but by the hands of this young hero.” Mu Liao turned slightly and looked very respectfully at Mo Wen.
In the ancient martial arts world, strong practitioners were the most revered. All strong practitioners could involuntarily make others respect them. Although the two Sacred Flame Sect elders were killed by him, Mu Liao knew it was because of Mo Wen that he had been able to kill them so easily. If Mo Wen had not helped him, it was difficult to say whether he could have made it back alive, let alone killed the two Sacred Flame Sect elders. He had also not expected that the Sacred Flame Sect would bring along the sect’s most treasured spiritual weapon for a small force harassment mission.
“What?”
“That can’t be!”
“Mu Liao, did you forget to take your medicine today?”
“Mu Liao, this is not a place to crack jokes.”
It would have been better if Mu Liao had not mentioned Mo Wen. The moment he did, the great hall immediately came alive with discussion. Almost no one believed what Mu Liao had said. This was two Sacred Flame Sect elders, Golden Elixir realm ancient martial arts practitioners and not two Qi Nucleation realm ancient martial arts practitioners. How could they be killed so easily? The person Mu Liao mentioned was still a youth. He seemed at most twenty years old, possibly not even that. For such a young man to be able to kill two Golden Elixir realm elders felt like a tale from Arabian Nights.
In the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension, the four most outstanding youths were called the Four Geniuses. Among the Four Geniuses, only one of them had broken through to the Golden Elixir realm. The other three were of the fake Golden Elixir realm. Also, the one who was the leader was already more than thirty years old. He was at least ten years older than this youth. It would be impossible for even the First Genius Jiang Gujian to kill two Sacred Flame Sect elders. If a youth that came out of nowhere could do it, wasn’t that saying that the Four Geniuses in the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension were all useless!
In the great hall, everyone felt that Mu Liao’s words were somewhat fake. Not just somewhat; they were too fake.
Even the larger Inner worlds would rarely see such a frightening youth appear. Those genius talents were all too rare. Could it be possible for them to appear in the Intentionless Sect, and at this time?
The gazes that a few Intentionless Sect elders gave Mu Liao showed that they secretly thought that Mu Liao had gone crazy. Why would he say such bizarre things? Could it be that when he was holding off the two Sacred Flame Sect elders, he had been injured and hurt his head? Otherwise, why would he bring back a youth out of the blue and also say such astonishing things?
“Every word I said is true. Please don’t pretend to discuss.” Mu Liao frowned. The response of those people displeased him. A terrifying youth stood beside him, a strong existence that could change the fate of the Intentionless Sect. The youth might well be displeased with the attitudes of the people in the hall and could leave in anger. If that happened, Mu Liao would be left in despair.
Mu Liao had used Inner Qi in his words, causing them to constantly reverberate around the great hall. Everyone immediately fell silent. The people who in the room at the moment were all of extraordinary importance in the Intentionless Sect. Right now, they realized that they were acting somewhat inappropriately. What Mu Liao had said and done must have a deeper meaning to it.
Thinking that Mu Liao had lost his mind and was talking nonsense was clearly not the mindset a person of high rank should have. However, Mu Liao’s words were so astonishing and somewhat unrealistic, leading to such a reaction.
“Okay, let’s not discuss it any further. Let’s hear Mu Liao finish speaking. Also, who is this youth? We have a guest and the Intentionless Sect has been discourteous.” Chen Zikuang waved his hand and stopped the few people who still wanted to talk. His gaze fell on Mu Liao and Mo Wen.
“This is a strange matter.” Mu Liao sighed deeply, then laughed bitterly as he retold the incident that happened before this. Even now he had a surreal feeling about it.
After hearing Mu Liao everyone was shocked, one by one frantically looking at Mo Wen. If what Mu Liao said was true, then wouldn’t this youth be too terrifying? Just by lifting his arms and moving his legs, he could strike a Sacred Flame Sect Elder, easily eliminating two Golden Elixir realm ancient martial arts practitioners.
Both of these thoughts were enough to send a chill down everyone’s spine. In the great hall, everyone was of the upper echelons of the Intentionless Sect. Every single one of them was knowledgeable and had seen many things, but none of them had ever met such a terrifying person. Even later stage Golden Elixir realm ancient martial arts practitioners would most likely not be able to do what Mo Wen had done.
“Just now, you said that he is a friend of Zi’er, who asked him to come to the inner city to aid us?” Chen Zikuang stood up from his chair suddenly. His expression was serious. He suddenly looked at Mo Wen with a complicated look in his eyes.
“Yes, he has a token from the young mistress.” Mu Liao bowed slightly to Chen Zikuang. Then, he took out Chen Zi’s jade insignia from his clothes and passed it to him.
“As expected, this belongs to Zi’er.” Chen Zikuang looked at the jade insignia in his hand, then his gaze once again fell on Mo Wen. With a solemn tone, he said, “Your surname is Mo?”
“Deputy Sect Leader Chen recognizes me?” Mo Wen raised his eyebrows. As expected, he had been correct. The sect leader of the Intentionless Sect knew his identity.
According to Mo Wen’s knowledge, this Chen Zikuang was the father of Chen Zi. He was the eldest son of the current Intentionless Sect leader Chen Wuhui and his successor as sect leader of the Intentionless Sect. With his status, the fact that Chen Zikuang knew Mo Wen’s identity was not strange.
“Mo Wen, I had not expected that you would come at a time like this.” Chen Zikuang sighed. The gaze he gave Mo Wen was somewhat complicated. Up until now, Mo Wen had refused to come to the Intentionless Sect. Chen Zikuang thought that this youth did not trust them and that it would be an age until they would be able to get in touch with him. Who would have thought, that at this most impossible and most surprising moment, he had actually appeared?
“When did Deputy Sect leader Chen believe I would come?” Mo Wen said with a faint smile.
Upon hearing this, Chen Zikuang was stunned. Then, he suddenly laughed and said, “If I were you, I would not have come to the Intentionless Sect at a time like this.”
“When I go and where I go all depends on my mood,” Mo Wen said plainly.
“As expected, the dominance of the finest of a generation.” Chen Zikuang smiled. If it was anyone else, he would have certainly called them young and arrogant. But he knew that this youth was not simple, really not simple. In the future, he was sure to stir up a storm.
Mu Liao looked at the deputy sect leader and Mo Wen with astonishment. He could not wrap his head around what was happening. It turned out that the two of them knew each other! In his heart, he was greatly relieved. The final doubts in his heart had been cleared.
The people around them were also looking at the deputy sect leader and Mo Wen with astonishment. Their minds were full of questions, but it was not a good time to ask.
“Today’s meeting is adjourned. We will discuss the matter on how to handle the Sacred Flame Sect later.” Chen Zikuang swept a glance at the crowd in the great hall, then looked at Mo Wen and said, “Mo Wen, please follow me.” As he said this, Chen Zikuang led the way out of the great hall. Mo Wen naturally did not object. He crossed his arms as he followed Chen Zikuang.
The two of them, one in front and one behind, walked to a secret room in a side hall. Only after sending off his close attendants did Chen Zikuang look at Mo Wen saying, “Should I address you as Cult Leader Mo? Or should it be Young Hero Mo?” Chen Zikuang’s eyes had a somewhat playful look. He had never expected that after centuries, a Ming Cult heir would actually appear.
The Ming Preservation Faction and the Anti-Ming Faction had been battling for centuries. Every few decades, there would be a huge war. But both parties were not legitimate Ming Cult inheritors, so no matter how they fought, there never seemed to be an end.
Now that Mo Wen had appeared, and had practiced the Nine Yang Divine Technique and wielded the Sacred Flame Insignia, it was an entirely different matter.
“You should address me as Supreme Sect Leader,” Mo Wen said plainly.
“Supreme sect leader? That’s not something anyone can become. Only one with sufficient ability has that qualification.” Chen Zikuang laughed. This youth was quite direct. However, whether the Intentionless Sect would recognize him was not a decision that could be made with just a few words from him. Although the Intentionless Sect had always hoped to return to the Ming Cult and restore the Ming Cult to its former glory, they were not people who would blindly make such a decision.
If it was a Ming Cult heir that was destined to be unable to become the supreme sect leader, then he would not be a true Ming Cult heir. If that was so, the Intentionless Sect would naturally turn a blind eye and not recognize his identity.