Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts

Chapter 199

The Hall of Rituals, Tianxuan Sect.

An elder rolled up his sleeves and poured tea for the man before him. “This time, at the Zixia Ceremony, Nephew Xia, your support is quite remarkable. Many elders are backing you to become the Saint Son. Among the sect disciples, you’re truly seen as the most deserving.”

Xia Donghua smiled and shook his head. “What support is there? The one with the highest support should be our Senior Brother Chen from Yunhai Peak. If not him, then it would be Elder Wang Xuan’s disciple, Qin Qingwan. And let’s not forget He Qingqing from Baihe Peak—she’s quite competitive too.”

“Hahaha,” Elder Xu of the Hall of Rituals chuckled and shook his head. “Although that Chen Yun kid is indeed good, he’s not interested in the position. As for the others, they fall short of you. In the eyes of us old folks, you are the most suitable.”

Xia Donghua raised his teacup. “In that case, I’ll use this tea as a substitute for wine to thank Elder Xu for your recognition.”

“No need to be so formal,” Elder Xu said, raising his own teacup and drinking it in one go.

Stroking his beard, Elder Xu said, “When Nephew Xia becomes the Saint Son, our Hall of Rituals will need to host the ceremony for you. But that Ritual Hall of ours is looking a bit outdated.”

“That’s no trouble at all,” Xia Donghua said, understanding the elder’s implication. “When the time comes, I’ll have the entire Hall of Rituals renovated. After all, ceremony and etiquette are of utmost importance. The Hall of Rituals is the face of our Tianxuan Sect.”

“Then I’ll thank you in advance, Nephew—no, thank you, Saint Son.” Elder Xu raised his cup once again.

“Elder Xu, there’s no need to be so polite,” Xia Donghua said with a smile.

“Elder Xu, Senior Brother Xia—”

Just as the two were enjoying their conversation, a disciple entered the hall and bowed to them.

“What’s the matter?” Elder Xu asked cheerfully, clearly in a good mood.

“Elder Xu, Senior Brother Xia, Xu Ming of the Wu Kingdom has arrived, claiming to have been invited by Senior Sister Qin to present a gift,” the disciple reported, his tone tinged with unease.

“Xu Ming?”

Upon hearing the name, Elder Xu frowned and glanced at Xia Donghua.

Xia Donghua remained calm. “We don’t know this Xu Ming. Who’s to say he’s the real one? And besides, Junior Sister Qin is still in seclusion. Without her confirmation, how can we be sure she invited him?

Send this so-called Xu Ming away for now. We’ll address it after Junior Sister Qin emerges.”

Elder Xu nodded. “Do as your Senior Brother Xia said. Dismiss him.”

“But…” The disciple hesitated.

“What’s there to hesitate about?” Elder Xu’s tone turned displeased.

“Elder, this Xu Ming handed me this,” the disciple said, producing a jade token and handing it over.

Elder Xu examined the token. Engraved on it were three characters: Wen Wu Qing.

“What does this token mean?” Elder Xu asked.

The disciple explained, “Elder, Wen Wu Qing (Minister of Letters and Arms) is an official title personally bestowed by the Emperor of the Wu Kingdom. It’s unprecedented, and Xu Ming is the first to hold it. He says he’s here representing Wuguo to present their congratulations.”

Elder Xu and Xia Donghua: “…”

—

Outside Tianxuan Sect,

Yue Lou appeared anxious, while Xu Ming maintained a calm demeanor.

“Why do you call Qingwan ‘Uncle (Shishu),’ but address the sect master’s son as ‘Senior Brother’?” Xu Ming asked, striking up a conversation.

Yue Lou rolled her eyes. “It’s all about seniority. Elder Wangxuan is the sect master’s senior sister, and Uncle Qin is Elder Wangxuan’s direct disciple. Of course, we address her as Uncle (Shishu).

Though Uncle Qin doesn’t put on airs and often says we can just call her ‘Senior Sister’ or ‘Junior Sister,’ in my heart, her status is untouchable.

As for Senior Brother Xia, even though he’s the sect master’s son, he’s just the direct disciple of an elder. Naturally, we call him Senior Brother.”

“I see,” Xu Ming nodded, finally understanding.

“Let’s not talk about that. Are you sure your jade token will really work?” Yue Lou asked, her tone laced with doubt as she glanced at Xu Ming.

In Yue Lou’s original plan, the gatekeeping outer sect disciples should have been directly subdued with her authority, allowing her to escort Xu Ming inside. By the time the elders of the Hall of Rituals reacted, they would have already made it in.

Now that the disciple had gone to report, she expected things to become more complicated. With the elders of the Hall of Rituals explicitly backing that disciple, his confidence would undoubtedly grow.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine,” Xu Ming reassured her confidently.

“If you said you were a guest of Qingwan, they might not care much,” Xu Ming explained. “But as an envoy representing the Wu Kingdom, refusing me entry would be an affront to the Wu Kingdom itself. I don’t think the disciples of your sect would dare take such a risk.”

Yue Lou blinked, momentarily confused by his logic. After giving it some thought, however, she had to admit he made sense.

He was right!

Wu Kingdom was one of the ten great human dynasties, and Xu Ming held an official position within it. If he were visiting as a Wu Kingdom official, how could they refuse him?

Sure enough, within the time it takes to burn two sticks of incense, the gatekeeping disciple came running back, cupping his fists in apology. “Young Master Xu, my earlier conduct was out of line. I was merely following protocol—please forgive me.”

Xu Ming wasn’t about to hold a grudge against an outer sect disciple. After all, life was difficult for such individuals in any sect. “So, may I go in now?”

“Of course! Young Master Xu, please proceed.”

The disciple quickly stepped aside, clearing the way.

Xu Ming nodded and started walking up the mountain path.

Yue Lou, still sitting beside him, was somewhat stunned by how smoothly things had gone.

“I made so many preparations, but it turns out you didn’t need any of them,” she said with a smile.

“It’s not over yet,” Xu Ming said, shaking his head. “They’ve let me in, but that doesn’t mean they won’t make things difficult for me. At the very least, they’ll want to cause me some trouble.”

Yue Lou frowned. “But aren’t you here as a Wu Kingdom official? Would they really dare target an official from the Wu Kingdom?”

Xu Ming glanced at Yue Lou, thinking how loyal she was to Qingwan, yet how strangely naïve she seemed. “Tianxuan Sect let me in because I’m a Wen Wu Qing, and behind me stands the Wu Kingdom. Behind them stands the Tianxuan Sect. From one official entity to another, they can’t refuse me entry.

But any random disciple of Tianxuan Sect could still cause trouble for me. After all, they’re just individual cultivators, and I’m a cultivator too. That makes it a matter of person versus person.”

Yue Lou blinked, looking confused. “I still don’t get it. That sounds overly complicated.”

“It’s fine,” Xu Ming said with a faint smile. “You don’t need to understand it, Miss Yue Lou.”

He gestured forward with a slight nod. “Look, speaking of Cao Cao, Cao Cao is here.”

[T/N: It’s a chinese idiom which means by mentioning trouble, trouble will arrive.]