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"Hey, hey, hey, let's speak calmly," Elder Dou quickly stepped forward to persuade Ye Tian, who was furious.
Ye Tian waved his hand to signal Elder Dou to stop talking, but continued to glare at Hong Zhi. From his gaze, it was clear that even if Hong Zhi wanted to end things amicably today, Ye Tian would not give him that chance.
Hong Zhi was taken aback by Ye Tian's sudden rage, but he was not afraid. After a moment of reaction, he mocked, "Is it your Master who values righteousness or is it you who is so righteous?"
"Ah, Hong Zhi, say less..."
"Get lost!" Hong Zhi pushed Elder Dou aside, who had tried to step forward to comfort him. His words and actions had already exceeded the limits expected of a junior disciple.
After being pushed aside, Elder Dou stepped forward again. Not only did he not get angry, but he seemed to want to emerge victorious from this situation.
"Elder Dou, have some self-respect," Ye Tian could no longer bear to watch. As the saying goes, good people are often bullied, but another saying states that those who are pitiful must have something hateful about them. As an elder of Cloud Pavilion, Elder Dou showed such a lack of self-respect by allowing a junior to insult him. It would be better to say he was not self-respecting than to say he was kind.
Elder Dou was taken aback by Ye Tian's words; a hint of shame flashed across his face as he sighed and shook his head helplessly.
Ye Tian looked on coldly. He would not sympathize with someone who did not respect themselves. However, as a junior of the same sect, Ye Tian could not completely ignore the situation and had no choice but to remind him: "Elder Dou, I don't know what difficulties you are facing, but you are not living just for yourself. You have responsibilities; you must live up to the reputation that comes with your status. As an elder of Cloudscroll Pavilion, being insulted by a brat without daring to retort—this kind of thing will bring shame upon Cloudscroll Pavilion!"
Ye Tian spoke sternly; he wanted to provoke Elder Dou into awakening. No one wishes to be insulted by others; the reasons they endure such treatment usually boil down to two possibilities.
First, weakness and fear of trouble; however, this did not apply to Elder Dou. Reaching the position of elder was no mere stroke of luck. Due to the unique rules and systems of Cloud Sea Sect, becoming an elder required accumulating Contribution Points and competing in martial arts. Ye Tian did not know the exact number of Contribution Points needed for the elder position, but judging from the ages and appearances of all the elders he had seen, it likely took decades of consistent effort to reach such a number. Decades of perseverance in accumulating Contribution Points speaks volumes about a person's determination; as for martial arts competition—strength is the best proof. Would a person with strength and perseverance be cowardly? Clearly not.
Second, there might be something suppressing their true nature—perhaps guilt or some past trauma. In any case, a normal person would never allow a junior to look down on them like this.
"I threw out someone from the Cloudscroll Pavilion..." Elder Dou visibly trembled upon hearing these words, and his wrinkled face seemed to age a few more years in an instant.
"Ye Tian, you are truly malicious!" Hong Zhi pointed at Ye Tian, speaking with a tone filled with righteous indignation. "I only had a slightly poor attitude towards him, but I didn't expect you to deliberately expose his scars. You are such a petty person!"
In fact, after Ye Tian finished speaking, he felt a bit regretful. In a moment of excitement, he hadn't thought it through. Now reflecting on it, as Hong Zhi said, for someone who has experienced trauma, Ye Tian's actions were akin to cruelly reopening wounds that may have been scabbed over for years.
"Elder Dou, I just..." Ye Tian was a straightforward person, and once he realized his mistake, he would not deny it.
"Forget it, you are right," Elder Dou gently waved his hand. There was a hint of defeat in his expression, but at the same time, the previously stubborn kindness had vanished without a trace.
"Elder Dou, I really didn't mean to..." Ye Tian wanted to explain further, but Elder Dou had already turned away and left. His slightly hunched figure slowly walked down the path under the sunlight.
"Don't forget this afternoon's Apprenticeship Ceremony."
The aged voice came back from the end of the path where visibility was limited, and there was no emotion discernible in his tone.
Both of them withdrew their gazes simultaneously and then fell into another round of staring at each other. Eventually, it was Hong Zhi who moved first, with Ye Tian closely following behind.
After about a cup of tea's time, they finally appeared in the dense forest.
The two figures swiftly darted between the towering ancient trees, occasionally startling birds and beasts that fled in haste. The tranquil Forest echoed with the calls of Birds and Beasts.
They moved quickly and soon reached the depths of the forest. Looking back revealed only vast ancient trees and nothing else.
"Ye Tian, I've heard that you have quite some abilities," Hong Zhi stopped and turned back to face him.
His tone was filled with mockery and teasing, and his gaze openly revealed his hostility towards Ye Tian, a hatred born from jealousy, which at this moment felt like cold water in winter, instantly freezing upon being splashed.
Ye Tian looked around; to the left and right, and behind him were dense woods, while ahead, just beyond Hong Zhi, lay a small lake. The lake appeared stagnant, its surface green with many bubbles formed from pollution floating atop.
"Is that all you've got?" Ye Tian concluded that Hong Zhi's intentions today were far more malicious than he had previously imagined; murder and silencing witnesses were not out of the question.
"Just because I might not be able to do it doesn't mean I'm as foolish as you," Hong Zhi sneered, then slowly began to clap his hands.
Clap, clap, clap...
The crisp sound of clapping echoed through the mysterious forest, but at that moment, it sounded jarring to Ye Tian.
Moments after the applause began, Ye Tian sensed two new presences in the woods. These two did not hide their strength at all; in fact, they intentionally displayed it as they rushed towards him from either side.
"Second-Stage Martial Artist, Mid Three-Stage Martial Artist," Ye Tian assessed their strength in his mind while keeping an eye on Hong Zhi, whose hands had quietly slipped into his sleeves.
"Heh heh, scheming against you must have been quite a burden for them," Ye Tian scoffed. He had yet to gauge Hong Zhi's true strength but was certain it wasn't too high; if it were strong enough to easily kill him, there would be no need for help.
"What can I say? You showed your brilliance on your very first day here," Hong Zhi replied sarcastically. After glancing at Ye Tian a few times, he continued, "By the way, if you want someone to blame, blame Xuanyuan Changfeng. If he hadn't referred to you as 'young friend,' we wouldn't have noticed you so quickly."
That old man Xuanyuan Changfeng...
Although Hong Zhi's earlier disrespect towards Elder Dou had already shown that he was not someone who valued masters and traditions deeply, Ye Tian never expected him to look down on Xuanyuan Changfeng as well.
"Ye Tian, I am also a direct disciple, and I have been one for three years now. Yet I have received neither his direct teachings nor even the Cloud Pattern. Do you think I should respect him? Tell me, should I hate him?" Hong Zhi seemed to see through Ye Tian's thoughts and vented all his grievances in one breath.
He did this not to explain to Ye Tian why he harbored hatred for Xuanyuan Changfeng, but rather to find a reason that could somewhat ease his conscience for the harm he was about to inflict on his colleague.
"Heh heh, do you think you can fool yourself with that?" Ye Tian scoffed coldly. Hong Zhi was not a fool; he should know why he was not valued by Xuanyuan Changfeng. The root of the issue lay in his mindset. Xuanyuan Changfeng had reluctantly granted him the title of direct disciple, likely intending to spur him on. However, what he did not anticipate was that Xuanyuan Changfeng's good intentions would backfire. Instead of working harder to correct himself, Hong Zhi resorted to such despicable means.
"Hahaha, you don't need to waste your breath. What do you think I'm thinking? Do you really believe you can charm me into letting you go with a few words? Or do you think that if you stall long enough, someone will come to rescue you?" Hong Zhi laughed wildly, as the other two were already less than a hundred zhang away.
"What? Do you still want to kill me?" Ye Tian's tone held no surprise or fear; he merely wanted to confirm first, lest he hold back when it came time to act.
"Shouldn't I?" At this moment, the figures of the other two were already visible, and Hong Zhi believed the situation was settled, his expression shifting to one of mockery.
"Li Xun instructed you to do this?" Ye Tian asked again. If it were just Hong Zhi, he had no real motive; jealousy would only lead him to slander and frame Ye Tian, but he would never take the risk of attempting murder. Even if he killed Ye Tian, he would gain nothing from it. Thus, the occurrence of this situation indicated one thing: they were being manipulated by someone and would receive some substantial reward once their task was completed.
Ye Tian had offended A-Xue from Azure Cloud Pavilion just a day before arriving at Cloud Sea Sect, but she had neither the reason nor the ability to bribe Hong Zhi and the others. Otherwise, she wouldn't have left so easily with her tail between her legs that day.
In fact, there was no need for such elimination methods; the target could be directly locked onto one person—Li Xun, who had connections with Ye Tian even before he entered Cloud Sea Sect!
And Li Xun had sufficient motive because Xuanyuan Changfeng was not immortal; sooner or later, he would pass away. After his departure, one of his direct disciples would inevitably take over Cloudscroll Pavilion. The Wine Kid had a troublesome personality and currently lacked the potential to manage Cloud Pavilion. But Ye Tian was different; Li Xun could see that aura in Ye Tian—calm yet passionate, skilled in strategy yet uncalculating, possessing both compassion and ruthlessness. Such a character truly deserved great responsibilities.
However, this position was at the pinnacle of Square Area; people needed to show respect upon hearing it and look up in awe upon seeing it—the Cloud Sea Sect's Cloud Pavilion Master...
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