Chapter 141: The Young Master
Upon arriving outside the city, Seraphine saw a Blue Jade Bead, sent by Insight Academy to the five continents, resting on a long table.
Cultivators entering the city had to pay four low-grade spirit stones and pass a detection by the bead.
Only two cultivators guarded the gate, sitting behind the table and watching those entering. Whenever the bead lit up, they would say, “Enter.”
Seraphine noticed that every time the bead glowed with a pale light, the two guards looked relieved.
Raising an eyebrow, she joined the back of the queue.
She wore a face-concealing artifact, so to others, she appeared as a common woman in red. Error looked around curiously.
Aside from Luanyang City and Sunset Glow City, she had never been to another city.
Echo glanced at her and thought: Error, you really are a dragon with no experience.
She captured Error’s wide-eyed wandering and titled it “Error Enters the City” then snapped a few more photos of Seraphine.
With mountains in the back and blue sky above, Seraphine looked casually elegant in her red robes, like a bright flame.
Let’s brighten it up a bit. Echo happily color-graded the photos and opened her character archives.
Millions of records were neatly organized, and at the very top were two figures: silver-haired Xi Lingren on the left and black-haired Seraphine on the right.
Echo opened Seraphine’s archive. The collection of images inside was larger than everyone else’s data combined.
They were sorted by date; even when Seraphine was in the Secret Realm and Echo was delivering letters, she would snap a picture to save.
She looked through them efficiently; thousands of images were captured in an instant.
It’s still too few. I should record more of Seraphine; these are our precious memories, Echo thought. She examined image #5248, “Seraphine is beautiful today too.jpg” and filed it away.
Since I’m free, let’s look through them a few more times!
After Echo had looked through them “a few more times” many times over, the line finally reached Seraphine.
She dropped eight spirit stones and was about to reach for the Blue Jade Bead when a beast’s roar erupted behind them.
A man riding a tiger spirit beast charged forward, followed by a group of people.
The cultivators in line scrambled to get out of the way, frowning at the rule-breaker. The two guards behind the table rose in a panic, shouting, “Young Sect Master!”
“How long are you going to dawdle? Open the gate for me!” The man called the Young Sect Master lashed his long whip toward the city gates.
The main gates of Wooden Cloud City were tightly closed, with only a small side door for entry. Since this man was riding a spirit beast, he obviously couldn’t fit.
Sweating profusely, the guards said with fawning smiles, “Young Sect Master, the rules set by the superiors state that everyone must be tested by the Blue Jade Bead. Please dismount and input a trace of spiritual energy; it won’t take long.”
“We can even bring the bead to you, Young Sect Master!”
The two were so sycophantic that they immediately picked up the bead to present it to him.
Seraphine lowered her gaze, casting a displeased look at the man on the tiger, her eyes filled with mockery as she watched him grip his whip.
She took a step back, not wanting to waste time on such trifles, intending to let this arrogant person leave first.
However, when the guard held up the bead to the Young Sect Master, the man on the tiger flew into a rage. He lashed out with his whip, sending the guard flying.
The guard screamed as the bead fell from his hand, rolling slowly until it bumped against the hem of Seraphine’s skirt.
Seraphine’s eyes turned ice-cold as she stared at the man atop the spirit tiger.
The cultivators queuing to enter the city watched with a mix of shock and fury.
A few tried to speak up in protest, but they were quickly held back by those around them.
“Hey, don’t go looking for trouble!” someone whispered urgently.
“That’s the Young Master of the Wooden Cloud Sect. Previously, the Profound Cloud Sect and the Wooden Cloud Sect were the two most powerful factions here.”
“This city originally belonged to the Profound Cloud Sect, but a year ago, their disciples vanished without a trace. The Wooden Cloud Sect immediately seized all their territory and renamed the city.”
“Now they dominate the region. Not only have the entrance fees doubled, but the rents in the city have skyrocketed as well. Whatever you do, don’t provoke him.”
If one offended the Young Sect Master, not only would they be barred from all nearby cities, but being hunted by the Wooden Cloud Sect was a death sentence.
The onlookers, though resentful, could only suppress their rage and look away.
Seraphine glanced up at the city’s plaque. So, this used to be Profound Cloud City, she noted inwardly.
The other guard helped his fallen companion up and said hesitantly, “But, Young Sect Master…… these inspections are a directive to prevent demon cultivators from infiltrating and causing chaos.”
Before the Young Master could even speak, his followers chimed in aggressively, “Shut your mouth! Are you implying our Young Master is a demon cultivator?”
“It seems you haven’t realized who calls the shots here! ‘Directives from above’? What ‘above’? The Wooden Cloud Sect is your only superior. The Young Master’s word is the only rule that matters!”
“Young Master, I’ve said it before—these city cultivators are useless. We should have kicked them out long ago!” a lackey added, pointing at the guard. “These two clearly have no respect for you!”
The two guards stood pale and speechless, unable to defend themselves.
The man on the tiger narrowed his eyes. Seeing that they still dared to hold their ground, his fury boiled over. “I am returning to my own city, yet I have to be tested by you? Who are you trying to insult? If you don’t open these gates right now, don’t blame me for getting violent!”
As if he were being “gentle” now.
A soft, low chuckle drifted from the crowd. The Young Sect Master, who had been posturing before the guards, frowned and glared toward the source.
There, at the very front of the line, stood two women in red. Both were tall and elegant, though the one in the rear was significantly taller, towering over most men and women in the vicinity.
The laughter had come from the woman in front.
With a light tap of her toe, the Blue Jade Bead that had rolled to her skirt floated into the air.
Seraphine pulled out a white handkerchief to hold the bead and channeled her spiritual energy into it.
A brilliant gold-red light flooded the bead, causing it to emit a soft, steady glow.
Seraphine then tossed the bead to the person behind her.
Error caught it and, mimicking her master, channeled her own energy. As the bead lit up again, the two of them walked forward as if no one else existed, completely ignoring the tension at the gates.
As they passed the guards, Error casually tossed the bead back to them.
The guards caught it, staring dazed as the duo continued their walk.
Just as they were about to enter the gates, the Young Sect Master finally snapped out of his daze.
His servants began to howl, “Young Master! What is the meaning of this? They are ignoring you!”
“They actually dared to enter before you! They clearly look down on you!”
The surrounding cultivators turned their expectant gazes toward the Young Sect Master.
Over the past year, the Wooden Cloud Sect had enjoyed unprecedented glory; their rivals had vanished, and all territory had fallen into their laps without a fight.
Having been coddled and flattered for so long, the Young Master felt those gazes like needles piercing his skin.
His arrogance curdled into a towering rage as he lashed his whip directly at the two women.
“Stand still!”
“Young Master, don’t!” the guards cried out in alarm.