Chapter 219 - 131: Grand Celebration (Part 2)
Upon hearing this, Peng Zhen, far from getting angry, let out a hearty laugh. He stood and walked forward to greet him. "Old Fool Du! Your mouth is as foul as ever! We’ll see who falls apart if you try me! I want to see if that shabby spear of yours has rusted over the years!"
Following closely behind him was He Yueting, the Second Manor Master of Qixia Manor.
He wore a warm smile and greeted those all around with a cupped-fist salute. His posture was poised and proper, exuding the dignified air of a man from a great house.
Behind him was a young woman in a pale yellow silk dress.
She looked to be about eighteen or nineteen, with a slender figure and a lovely face. While not a devastating beauty, she had bright eyes, pearly teeth, and an elegant demeanor, making her quite attractive.
She was He Yueting’s only daughter, He Lanxin.
She discreetly swept her gaze across the viewing platform, over the seats of the various institutes’ Chief Disciples. Her eyes lingered for a moment on the faces of young talents like Yan Yaoyang, Nie Shanshan, and Chen Qing.
Several people from Cold Jade Valley had arrived, led by a hunched old woman leaning on a Winding Dragon Staff.
Her full head of silver hair was combed immaculately, her face etched with deep wrinkles.
She was none other than the revered Grand Elder of Cold Jade Valley—Granny Ling Shuang.
She gave a slight nod, a gesture that served as her greeting to Sang Yanping and the various Deans. Her expression was placid, showing neither joy nor sorrow.
Chen Qing recognized the person beside her—they had met once before.
It was Ye Qingyi!
She stood tall and slender, dressed in robes whiter than snow and utterly immaculate. Her skin was as fair and lustrous as jade, seemingly shimmering with a faint halo under the sun.
Under Sang Yanping’s guidance, the masters from the three great powers took their seats in the main guest section, exchanging pleasantries with the Wutai Sect’s leadership.
The atmosphere of the event grew increasingly subtle and complex.
Just then, Li Wang, who had at some point moved to Chen Qing’s side, sent a voice transmission using his True Qi:
"Junior Brother Chen, Senior Sister Nie told me in private yesterday that she plans to conserve her strength, so she most likely won’t be competing today. But as newly appointed Chief Disciples, I’m afraid you and I won’t be able to get out of it."
"There’s some bad blood between me and Yan Yaoyang, so he’s definitely going to come after me today."
"You’d best be careful, too."
Hearing this, Chen Qing began to weigh the situation in his mind.
Just then, Sang Yanping spoke up. "Chen Qing, Li Wang, come and greet the seniors here."
"Yes!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Qing and Li Wang turned to the masters in the central part of the viewing platform, bowing with a cupped-fist salute that was neither servile nor arrogant.
"Li Wang, disciple of the Li Fire Institute, pays his respects to all the seniors."
"Chen Qing, disciple of the Cyan Wood Institute, pays his respects to all the seniors."
This bow immediately made Chen Qing and Li Wang the center of attention.
’Chen Qing!?’
’What a familiar name!’
However, Tan Yang, the Dean of the Geng Metal Institute, seemed to recall something.
He had just emerged from seclusion and was not up-to-date on recent Sect affairs, but his memory was excellent. He recalled a disciple named Chen Qing from a previous joint review, who had been passed over at the time due to his poor Root Bone.
’Could it be the same person!?’
’In just two short years, he not only broke through to the Embracing Pill Force but also became the Cyan Wood Institute’s Chief Disciple?’
He didn’t dwell on it, however.
「Meanwhile.」
Du Lingchuan was quite surprised. "How long has it been? That kid actually became a Chief Disciple?"
Peng Zhen asked in confusion, "Old Ghost Du, you know him?" ’When did Chen Qing get mixed up with Old Ghost Du?’ he wondered.
Du Lingchuan nodded. "We’ve met once. The kid’s a promising talent for the spear."
Peng Zhen nodded in agreement. "A promising talent indeed."
Du Lingchuan gave a jeering smile. "A shame, isn’t it? Such a fine piece of raw talent slipped right through your fingers and ended up in the Cyan Wood Institute."
At these words, Peng Zhen smiled confidently. "Old Ghost Du, a disciple I’ve personally trained is bound to make you look at him in a new light."
"Oh?"
Du Lingchuan’s face showed a flicker of skepticism.
Granny Ling Shuang, meanwhile, glanced past the two men, her eyes settling on Chen Qing. She sneered inwardly. ’The Cyan Wood Institute... has their well of talent run so dry? Someone with his aptitude and Cultivation wouldn’t even rank in the top ten in my Cold Jade Valley, yet he can be a Chief Disciple?’
’Besides, that Li Baichuan is obsessed with the Yellow Emperor’s Skill. He’s a man with one foot in the grave, nothing but dry bones in a tomb.’
The thought passed in a flash, and she turned her attention away, completely uninterested.
Ye Qingyi shot him a single glance before returning her gaze to the teacup in front of her.
’In her eyes, only Nie Shanshan and Yan Yaoyang of the Wutai Sect had any notable strength. She didn’t care about anyone else, nor did she pay them any mind.’
He Yueting, for his part, simply gave a slight nod, his expression revealing nothing.
After completing the bow, Chen Qing lowered his hands and stepped back behind Li Baichuan, silently letting out a breath of relief.
Under the scrutiny of so many Astral Force masters, he had to circulate his Origin-Returning Breath-Sealing Art at full power. His mind was stretched taut, terrified of revealing the slightest flaw.
Fortunately, no one had truly seen through him.
In their eyes, he was just the new Chief Disciple of the Cyan Wood Institute, unworthy of deeper scrutiny.
"The Sect Leader arrives!"
The cry of a herald rang out, and the atmosphere on the viewing platform shifted at once, falling completely silent.
All eyes turned as one toward the space behind the main seat.
There, an elderly man with a tall, slender frame, dressed in simple cyan robes, approached at a measured pace.
His hair and beard were gray, his eyes profound.
He was none other than the Sect Leader of the Wutai Sect, the Canglang Fisherman—He Yuzhou.
He Yuzhou walked at an unhurried pace until he reached the main seat and stopped.
"We pay our respects to the Sect Leader!"
"We pay our respects to Sect Leader He!"
Everyone present rose to their feet and bowed to He Yuzhou.
The sound was deafening, reverberating across the entire Lake Heart Island.
Chen Qing glanced at him and felt an unfathomable depth; he couldn’t sense the slightest fluctuation of True Qi.
"There is no need for such ceremony."
He Yuzhou said calmly, "Today marks the grand celebration of the seven-hundredth anniversary of our Wutai Sect’s founding!"
"Through seven hundred years of storms, our ancestral masters blazed a trail through the wilderness and hacked through every thorn. It is only because of them that the Five Platforms stands tall in Yunlin today. This is not the achievement of one person, but the fruit of generations of our people working as one, a legacy passed down through the ages!"