Only a few elders present knew of the name Yue and what it represented. At this moment, it represented fear and terror. The most responsible thing to do would be to warn the others to be exceedingly polite and courteous.
However, none of them would dare to go against Lady Yue’s instructions and speak of matters unrelated to those instructions.
“Outsiders are not welcome he—“ An elder of the Seven Killing Swords sect began to speak, and all that remained of him was a red stain on the wall behind him. There was no motion. There was no qi, sword energy, or killing intent. There was a sound of impact, then a red stain.
Lady Yue’s expression didn’t even twitch. It’s as if she didn’t even notice, or do anything.
This was reasonable.
True power was not expressed in words or threats. At the extreme limits, it was not even expressed through fame or action. True power was true power. They were ants. No, they were mud — worse than mud.
The question was: who was the member of her Yue family? If they got this wrong, another one of them would die. Or maybe all of them would.
Wu Yulan?
This made logical sense. Wu Yulan was incredible. Of course, some unknown, ancient family would take her in. It simply made sense.
“Lady Yue, though… things became a little heated… and we exchanged a few blows… we didn’t mean any ill will or harm toward Wu Yulan. She is a precious cultivator to all of us… and our future — this continent’s future is in her hands… naturally, we would never…”
The elder trailed off as he observed Lady Yue’s interaction with Wu Yulan. This elder felt slightly gladdened when he saw Lady Yue affectionately pat Wu Yulan on the head and smile.
“Have you been having fun?” Lady Yue asked Wu Yulan, completely ignoring the elder.
Wu Yulan nodded happily. “Yes, Lady Yue.”
“Good, good. I am glad. I knew you two would be so perfect for each other,” Lady Yue said.
“This Wu Yulan has Lady Yue to thank for the greatest fortune of her life,” Wu Yulan said with such honesty and warmth that it touched even some bystanders. She even had tears of joy in her eyes.
“Don’t you want to join my Yue family too, little Lan’er?” Lady Yue asked.
The elders' expressions became unsightly.
“Lady Yue, I already have a family…” Wu Yulan whispered.
“You and the little lily could be real sisters, though, if you did,” Lady Yue pointed out.
Wu Yulan blinked. She never thought of it this way. She bit her lower lip, and a blush appeared on her cheeks. “W-well, if… if it’s like that… then maybe… I think I would… like that.”
Lady Yue burst into laughter and then clapped her hands together. “Good, good! This put me in such a good mood! My humble, little family grows, with the best talent in the world.”
A yawning pit of doom opened inside everyone’s stomachs hearing those words.
The best talent in the world.
Those words echoed in their heads. Who was Lady Yue? Most of them did not know. Even those who knew, only knew that this family must be obeyed. Forget losing one’s life; an entire sect would be annihilated.
These people — this clan — sought to win over Zhu Xuelian and Wu Yulan, not through force, but through kindness? So much so to extend their patronage and support to these two cultivators, and let them experience the rivers and the lakes, without too much interference?
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Their eyes all simultaneously focused on Zhu Xuelian.
These elders — their sects — all agreed to kill that Zhu Xuelian and, despite their lies earlier, Wu Yulan? Instead of fighting tooth and nail, sacrificing everything — especially their miserable, worthless lives — to keep them, they tried to kill them?
The Galaxy Sword elders howled and immediately fell to their knees. They pressed their heads to the ground.
“Lady Yue, please forgive the foolishness of these old men!” One of them shouted. “We were blind and could not see. Now that we know, we will never let anything happen to them. We will protect them with our lives.”
Lady Yue scoffed. “You can’t even protect your own lives from them. Are you trying to make me laugh, or do you take me for a fool?”
“Laugh! Laugh! It was a joke, Lady Yue! Just a joke!” One of the elders shouted, shamelessly. The gathered disciples looked away, disgusted and ashamed.
Lady Yue’s glittering giggle filled the room with her amusement. “Good, good.”
In many ways, this was worse than death. But what else could they do? They already betrayed the principles and dignity of their sects. In the past, they could do things like this, and people would forget because they were the major sects of the world. Anyone who remembered, or spread rumors, would die.
Now, their reputation would be ruined forever. What else did they have to give? Their dignity. Their lives — shortened by Wu Yulan’s sword — were worthless. They did not lie when they said that they were blind before, but could see it now. Zhu Xuelian was the key to the future.
Maybe this was in part due to Zhu Xuelian’s connection to the Yue clan, but for the most part, it was because, if a clan like the Yue wanted her, then she must truly be something incredibly special.
“You still haven’t answered my question. What do you want from my family member?”
This time, Lady Yue’s tone was cold.
“Sh… she killed the young master of the Seven Killing Swords sect,” an elder of the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion replied.
“And?” Lady Yue asked.
“And… n-nothing.”
Lady Yue nodded. “Good, good. ‘And nothing’ is correct. I did not know mud and I can have a common understanding.”
Everyone’s hearts trembled. “We… we are glad… too.”
“He had a brother, no? Bring him out here. I will kill him too. So there’s no bad blood in the future, and so you understand ‘and nothing’ very thoroughly.”
A moment of silence filled the room.
“He… is already dead… Y-Yun Fei killed him.”
“Oh?” Lady Yue smiled. “Pity.”
Her smiles, her laughter, her good demeanor — it all confused them, but not anymore. At first, they thought Lady Yue was here to defuse the situation and reach a favorable outcome for all, but they were mistaken. Beneath those smiles, giggles, and outbursts of affection was a sinister, bloodthirsty nature.
No, maybe they were reading too much into it. They didn’t feel this was sinister, or bloodthirsty. This was merely the right of the powerful.
This was Lady Yue, an existence that could demand anything she wanted. If she wanted the sect master of all their sects dead, she would have it. She only asked for the two sons. Was this mercy?
They were only shielded from a true sinister and bloodthirsty nature by the mercy of her principle, and her ability to make reasonable demands. Yes, two heirs of a sect, now seemed very, very reasonable.
“Wh… what else must we do… to make amends… Please… instruct us, Lady Yue.”
“You will give your sect Ark to my disciples, and never interfere with them again,” Lady Yue simply said.
One of the elders raised his head to glare at Lady Yue. It was an unacceptable request.
The sect’s Ark is its lifeblood. It is the insignia of its glory and status. The name Galaxy Sword was deeply bonded to the Ark itself. Without the Ark, the name may as well be worthless. Only major sects had Arks. A sect without an Ark…
“Do you object?” Lady Yue asked.
“We… we must… inquire with the sect… master…” an elder whispered.
“No objections.” A voice suddenly boomed from the peak of a nearby mountain.
“S-sect master… is awake…?”
“Is this acceptable, little lily?” Lady Yue asked, looking at Zhu Xuelian.
Zhu Xuelian lowered her head and then spoke. “No.”
The elders all froze. “Please… please reconsider.”
“For the sake of grandpa Huang, who gave his life for the sect, I will go against my heart and my word, and seek no trouble with the sect. But you — you…!” Zhu Xuelian’s tone became colder and colder with each syllable. “When I am a Nascent Soul cultivator again, I will come to settle our debt.”
The elders almost seemed relieved. “Just… just us…?”
“Just you.”
The elders sighed in relief. “Let… let it be so… I, Elder Hao, wait patiently for the day you become a Nascent Soul cultivator.”
“I, Elder Meng, also.”
“I, Elder Fei, do so as well.”
Zhu Xuelian nodded grimly.
“What… about us?” An elder of the Seven Killing Swords sect asked.
To this, Lady Yue glanced at them sideways, as if she had completely forgotten about them. She seemed to think about it for a moment, then smiled.
“Wait to be destroyed,” she simply said, and turned around, moving toward the exit.
Her words left the elders stunned. They could not overturn this decision.
Zhu Xuelian, Wu Yulan, Yun Fei, and the others, all moved to follow Lady Yue.
“Zhu Xuelian,” the sect master’s voice boomed. “Will you come pay this old man a visit, before his final breath expires? I would like to meet you.”
Zhu Xuelian stopped and looked up at Lady Yue.
Lady Yue smiled. “Go, little lily. The old man must be getting lonely. Make sure to thank him for the Ark; it’s a small gift, but still expensive.”
A sect’s Ark is a small gift?
Only someone like Lady Yue could say such a thing.
