Spectating the Angsty Romance of the Master and Disciple from the Sect Next Door Chapter 55

Xie Huaixue looked up and responded with a soft, “Hm?”
Seeing Qingxiao Immortal Venerable’s response, the elders from both sects on the high platform turned their gazes towards the arena. Their ears were perked up, and their peripheral vision darted about. Occasionally, when their eyes met those of other elders, they would share a knowing smile before looking away.
Even Jingting Dao Lord, seated in the main position, straightened her posture and listened intently to the conversation between Li Jin’an and Xie Huaixue.
Even the referees in the arena secretly glanced over.
Young disciples’ fights were just so-so. They looked flashy but weren’t practical, their only merit being somewhat entertaining. But with a grand competition between the two sects every ten years, not to mention the internal Dao Sect matches, everyone was tired of watching them.
How could they compare to the silent clashes between Jijin Sword Sovereign and Qingxiao Immortal Venerable? Their exchanges, with just a few words, stirred up a storm of implied blades and swords, though no blood was spilled. It was far more captivating, and one could watch it for a thousand years without getting bored!
This was a confrontation between the Sword Sect’s Jijin Peak and the Dao Sect’s Qingxiao Peak.
What storyteller’s tales, novels, or operas could compare to this?
Li Jin’an smiled faintly, adopting a posture meant to pique curiosity. “This brings us to a long-buried old matter.”
Xie Huaixue, puzzled, pressed for more. “What matter?”
Jingting Dao Lord sat in her elevated position, everything below within her sight. Her gaze swept over, and amusement and understanding flickered in her eyes.
It wasn’t in vain that she occupied such an advantageous position, blessed by timing, location, and human harmony. Now, she saw Little Huaixue cooperating with Little Jin’an, and even using her own sect leader as a topic.
Remarkable, simply remarkable.
As expected, girls grow up and can’t be held back. Little Huaixue, who had low emotions and desires since childhood, now knew how to pull the little sword cultivator from outside into her bowl.
Yinyue must also wish to see this scene.
Jingting Dao Lord’s eyes held satisfaction. She was the matchmaker for all this!
When these two formed a cultivation bond, Jijin Peak and Qingxiao Peak would have to give her a matchmaker’s gift.
Down below, Li Jin’an was already clearing her throat. Her eyes sparkled, and half her body leaned on the armrest. Her brows were relaxed and somewhat playful. She recounted in a storyteller’s customary tone: “Once upon a time, there was a sword cultivator. She was open and generous, righteous and charitable, and genuinely kind-hearted, a true paragon among all sword cultivators in the world…”
This opening immediately made the faces of the elders from both sects contort in disbelief. They all looked at Li Jin’an incredulously.
Who? Who did you say was righteous, charitable, and genuinely kind-hearted? Are you talking about that bunch of sword cultivators whose eyes turn green with greed, who would snatch every good thing back to their own homes, like a plague of locusts passing through?
They remembered those wretched things were all bandits and villains!
Sword Lord Xiaoxiang and Junxing Sword sovereign exchanged glances, both seeing the guilt in the other’s eyes. Did the Sect Leader and Chixin Sword Lord know that Sword sovereign was boasting about their sword cultivators like this outside?
If these three adjectives were to spread back to the Sword Sect, the vast majority of sword cultivators would undoubtedly react with furious rage. ‘Who’s ruining our good name?’ they’d think. ‘Don’t they know that only villains can thrive in the cultivation world these days?!’
Through generations of sword cultivators’ unremitting efforts, the Sword Sect had earned its current notorious reputation: overbearing and protective of their own, sword maniacs, unable to pay off debts…
Never mind. If the sword cultivators’ reputation were to improve, then scamming one person would be better than nothing.
Maybe some unlucky sect would be willing to give them credit.
Li Jin’an continued to lie without batting an eyelid. She strained her limited vocabulary, piling up idioms to praise the sword cultivator in her story as peerless in heaven and earth.
After all, she was recounting the past of Chixin Sword Lord and Yinyue Monarch. She was acting first and reporting later, without even informing Chixin Sword Lord. To prevent Chixin Sword Lord from clamoring to expel her from the sect, she had no choice but to beautify the image of sword cultivators.
However, Li Jin’an guessed the greatest possibility was that Chixin Sword Lord would be overjoyed upon learning that her Daoist title was ranked alongside Yinyue Monarch’s… Yes, everyone in their lineage, old and young, was so unaccomplished. But she was different; she was exceptionally accomplished!
The only two who knew the truth, Jingting Dao Lord and Xie Huaixue, simply watched her silently.
Skipping over a pile of empty and exaggerated words, Li Jin’an selectively ignored the expressions of the others and continued her tale.
“…Such an outstanding sword cultivator naturally attracted equally outstanding companions. After experiencing this and that, they both realized their feelings for each other. Just as they were about to hold their cultivation bond ceremony, a person dressed in white, appearing outwardly righteous but inwardly hypocritical, couldn’t bear to see their affection and brazenly broke them apart, like striking down a pair of mandarin ducks!”
Li Jin’an raised her voice: “And this unfortunate pair of lovers were none other than my and Qingxiao’s senior predecessors! Such vile behavior from that person in white should be recorded for generations to come, to be scorned by all!”
Her gaze burned as she looked at the others. If things went as expected, everyone would surely scorn this person in white…
They did not!
The elders were all wondering what “this and that” actually meant. And when did the predecessors of these two lineages get involved with each other? They even reached the point of forming a cultivation bond!
Could this be the reason for Jijin Sword Sovereign and Qingxiao Immortal Venerable’s thousand-year rivalry?
Li Jin’an hadn’t meant it intentionally. She truly didn’t know much about the matters between Chixin Sword Lord and Yinyue Monarch. Her bedtime stories had always been Chixin Sword Lord recounting how she slaughtered enemies in all directions, entering and exiting the demonic battlefield seven times. The emphasis was on bloodshed and violence, ensuring children would have nightmares after hearing them.
If she recounted Chixin Sword Lord’s past deeds, it would be too obvious. What difference would it make from naming names directly?
She felt everyone was being disrespectful. So she gloomily looked at Xie Huaixue. “Qingxiao, what do you think? Should we add a note to the sect’s historical records?”
The atmosphere instantly shifted to one familiar to the elders. They interpreted it based on their past experiences: At this moment, Jijin Sword Sovereign was pressuring Qingxiao Immortal Venerable!
Xie Huaixue remained silent for a moment before saying, “After Master’s passing, I became the master of this lineage. I can make decisions on all matters, so adding or changing records is not an issue. However, Sword sovereign is not yet the master of her lineage, so modifying the sect’s historical records might require consulting Chixin Sword Lord.”
The elders’ eyes brightened. They automatically translated: Immortal Venerable is mocking Sword sovereign for still being a child who can’t make her own decisions and needs to ask her master for permission for everything!
Hearing this, Li Jin’an’s expression stiffened, further confirming the elders’ suspicions.
“Heh heh, Qingxiao Immortal Venerable is indeed very thoughtful.”
Xie Huaixue said calmly, “Sword sovereign is too kind.”
After these four words fell, gasps of cold air could be heard from the side. Based on past experience, what difference was there between Sword sovereign hearing Immortal Venerable say this and a declaration of war?!
Sword sovereign is going to explode!
In this atmosphere of ‘everyone else is confused and I alone am clear, everyone else is drunk and I alone am sober,’ Li Jin’an couldn’t help but twitch her lips. She felt as if talking to Xie Huaixue like this was like having a secret affair in broad daylight.
Everyone thought they were still at loggerheads. But in reality, they had long since turned hostility into friendship. They were just short of becoming deeply intimate… Oh, and Jingting Dao Lord knew too.
Xie Huaixue saying she needed to consult Chixin Sword Lord wasn’t a deliberate mockery.
The original story was about Chixin Sword Lord. If the sect’s historical records were changed based on this, then future generations of their lineage might see Chixin Sword Lord’s romantic escapades…
Yinyue Monarch had already fallen. But Chixin Sword Lord and Jingting Dao Lord were still alive. If she maligned them like this, she had to be careful they didn’t retaliate by revealing embarrassing secrets about Li Jin’an and Xie Huaixue.
After Li Jin’an thought it through, she gave an awkward smile. She praised Xie Huaixue, saying her words made sense and were truly well-thought-out, and it wasn’t sarcasm in return.
She unexpectedly turned her head, only to see dozens of bright, wide eyes. She wordlessly raised an eyebrow. The next second, all the heads that had been looking her way casually turned back.
One plan failed.
Time for another plan.
Li Jin’an looked up at Jingting Dao Lord, whose face was still wreathed in smiles. She spoke as if with deep emotion: “I recall that Dao Lord, my master, and Qingxiao’s master were all good friends. Perhaps Dao Lord could speak to them for me then. Tell my master not to be so stubborn with her temper. Sometimes, cultivators must accept old age; they shouldn’t cling to power and refuse to let go. I am, after all, waiting to become the lineage master.”
“If that’s the case, how can the next generation of young cultivators gain experience? Don’t you agree, Dao Lord?”
After speaking, her meaningful gaze swept over the Dao Sect’s Young Sect Leader.
Below, in the arena, people fought fiercely. Above, on the high platform, veiled provocations continued ceaselessly.
The Dao Sect’s Young Sect Leader was an exceedingly upright and proper woman. She was slightly younger than Li Jin’an and Xie Huaixue. Noticing Li Jin’an’s gaze, she chuckled and nodded at her. Then she turned to Jingting Dao Lord and said, “Master, what do you think?”
Jingting Dao Lord thought not much.
It was well known that sword cultivators were greedy for wealth but not for power. The Sword Sect Leader complained daily about not wanting to do her job. How could Chixin Sword Lord stubbornly refuse to pass on the lineage master position to Jijin Sword Sovereign?
The position of lineage master was more like that of an old ancestor in a cultivation family. It was only useful when one had countless disciples and grand-disciples. If the next generation was a single heir, the lineage’s inheritance would still be hers; it wouldn’t fall into anyone else’s hands. So what was the need to make a fuss?
This was clearly hinting that Jingting Dao Lord was power-hungry and wasn’t giving young cultivators a chance to shine.
Jingting Dao Lord chose to shift the conflict. She looked at Xie Huaixue. “Qingxiao, what is your opinion? If there are any joyous occasions between our two sects in the future, it would be difficult for me, as the Sect Leader, to easily give my blessing.”
The elders on both sides were bewildered. They had been holding their breath, listening to Jijin Sword Sovereign mock Jingting Dao Lord. But then Dao Lord uttered two completely unrelated sentences and even threw Sword sovereign’s question to Immortal Venerable. Moreover, when did these two sects have any joyous occasions?
It was already surprising that Sword sovereign hadn’t retaliated but had fallen silent under Immortal Venerable’s ‘attack’. Now it was even stranger.
Unfortunately, none of these three would explain anything to them.
Li Jin’an understood the hidden threat in Jingting Dao Lord’s words. She said with a forced smile, “How could we trouble Immortal Venerable with this? If you ask me, as long as the young cultivators have no objections, isn’t that enough?”
She wanted to perform dark arts, curse and stab a straw effigy!
She would curse certain disrespectful old villains to gain ten or eight mortal enemies by tomorrow!
Stab!
Jingting Dao Lord looked at Xie Huaixue again. She asked eagerly, “Qingxiao, what do you say?”
Xie Huaixue concealed the faint amusement that had flickered in her eyes. She said gently, without any discernible emotion, “Sword sovereign is right.”
The elders on the side took deep breaths. Ah, this felt right!
They truly hadn’t understood the recent developments. Now, this was their familiar territory.
Li Jin’an couldn’t be bothered to deal with these ‘crazy’ people. She rolled her eyes fiercely. Catching something in her peripheral vision, she focused her gaze. Standing in the arena with her hands behind her back, an arrogant expression on her face, was indeed Lan Ci.
Lan Ci knocked her Mid-Core Formation opponent off the stage with a single strike, a hint of disdain in her eyes.
As expected of the protagonist from the Heavenly Tome, that wretched creature. After a single period of worldly experience, she had already reached the perfected Core Formation stage. In Core Formation stage competitions, she was practically invincible. She had practically secured first place in advance.
Li Jin’an immediately let out a drawn-out, displeased “Ugh,” as if chiding angrily: “Qingxiao, your lead disciple’s temperament isn’t quite right. She’s a bit too self-satisfied with her small achievements.”
Yes, she was openly complaining about Xie Huaixue’s disciple in front of everyone.
Of course, she wouldn’t admit she was pouting.
It wasn’t surprising that Lan Ci behaved this way. Ever since Jijin Sword Sovereign abruptly appeared on Qingxiao Peak, nothing had gone smoothly for her. She had been whipped, beaten, scolded, and had her memories erased. Now, finally facing an opponent of the same cultivation level, it was natural for her to show a touch of arrogance.
Everyone followed her gaze. They had been so engrossed in the ‘show’ that they had almost forgotten there were still disciples competing in the arena.
Xie Huaixue said calmly, “Sword sovereign speaks wisely. Lan Ci still needs more experience.”
Li Jin’an looked directly into Xie Huaixue’s eyes. Her eyes sparkling, she said understandingly, “Immortal Venerable, there’s no need to blame yourself. As for how disciples grow, masters can only guide them. Are you really expected to constantly lecture her not to be overly proud of her accomplishments?”
How passive-aggressive, utterly passive-aggressive!
It hadn’t been that long since they last met, yet Jijin Sword Sovereign’s venomous tongue had already reached new heights!
Seriously, was there anyone more arrogant and self-satisfied than her when they got what they wanted? Jijin Sword Sovereign really underestimated herself!
The others seemingly kept their gaze on the arena, but in reality, they were even more eager than Li Jin’an for Xie Huaixue’s reply.