Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts

Chapter 200

Yue Lou looked ahead and indeed saw several cultivators flying toward them. (Flying was prohibited around Tianxuan Sect except within its boundaries.)

“Who are these people? Do you recognize them?” Xu Ming asked.

Yue Lou nodded. “Of course. Look at their robes with the flame emblem—they’re from Liefu Peak. That’s the peak where Senior Brother Xia resides. Many cultivators from there follow his lead.”

“Oh?” Xu Ming raised a brow in mild surprise. “Your Senior Brother Xia wants to target me?”

Would Xia Donghua really be foolish enough to send his own people to deal with him?

Yue Lou shook her head. “I don’t think it’s Senior Brother Xia. While many from Liefu Peak listen to him, these particular cultivators are notorious troublemakers. They often go against him.”

“Ah, so they’re deliberately targeting me,” Xu Ming said with a small smile.

If Xia Donghua wanted to use his people to deal with him, such a reckless move would be unlikely. Perhaps someone was trying to frame Xia Donghua to tarnish his reputation. But if these were his direct opponents, then it made sense—it was a black glove situation.

Seeing Xu Ming’s smile, Yue Lou felt as though her intelligence had risen slightly just by spending time with him. She quickly pieced things together.

Could these people secretly be working for Senior Brother Xia? Was this his way of targeting Xu Ming?

Her curiosity shifted. “By the way, who is this Cao Cao you mentioned earlier?”

“A chancellor I greatly admire,” Xu Ming replied casually as he stepped forward, clasping his hands in a polite gesture toward the group blocking his path. “May I ask why you gentlemen are here?”

“You’re Xu Ming?” the leader sneered, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. His demeanor was more rogue than cultivator.

“That’s me,” Xu Ming replied calmly.

“I heard you stole opportunities in the Baiwa Secret Realm, framed others, and even colluded with the heinous Black God Sect!” the leader accused, his tone full of menace.

Yue Lou quickly stepped forward, standing by Xu Ming’s side.

Xu Ming glanced at her and asked, “Does your Tianxuan Sect also produce ruffians like this? It feels rather… dim-witted.”

Yue Lou flushed with embarrassment. “Young Master Xu, this ruffian is Wang Zhong. Tianxuan Sect has tens of thousands of disciples. With a forest so large, there are bound to be all kinds of birds. You can’t expect everyone to match your intelligence, can you? Surely even in the Wu Kingdom, you’ve met people like this?”

Xu Ming nodded thoughtfully, conceding her point.

Having read novels and watched dramas with foolish antagonists, he knew the reality was sometimes worse. Back in university, he’d seen student council members bossing others around, treating minor responsibilities like grand authority.

“First of all, I didn’t steal anyone’s opportunities or frame others. Secondly, I’ve never colluded with the Black God Sect. Lastly, even if I did seize opportunities, so what? Do you think life-and-death struggles are some childish game of pretend?”

“Xu Ming! Such arrogance! You dare come strutting into Tianxuan Sect after stealing from our disciples and betraying them? Do you think Tianxuan Sect is without people who can put you in your place?!” Wang Zhong shouted, his voice loud enough to attract the attention of several passing cultivators.

Xu Ming remained composed, his tone measured. “In the Baiwa Secret Realm, disciples from Tianxuan Sect and other sects banded together to attack me, intending to kill me. Is that the so-called dignity of Tianxuan Sect?

In the Heavenly Staircase within the secret realm, no one dared proceed. With the help of your sect’s Qin Qingwan, I passed the trial, opened the gate, and allowed everyone to escape. Yet I was ambushed by Black God Sect disciples and accused of collusion. Is this how Tianxuan Sect handles truth and lies?

And you—what qualifications do you have to question me on behalf of Tianxuan Sect?”

Wang Zhong’s hair practically stood on end in anger. “The sword in my hand is all the qualification I need!”

As soon as Wang Zhong finished speaking, he drew his sword and attempted to strike Xu Ming.

However, just as Wang Zhong’s sword was halfway drawn, his pupils suddenly constricted.

Xu Ming was already standing right in front of him.

With a quick move, Xu Ming pressed his palm against Wang Zhong’s hand, forcing the sword back into its sheath. Before Wang Zhong could react, Xu Ming struck his chest with a palm, sending him flying into a rock, which shattered on impact. Wang Zhong spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed, unconscious.

“You dare commit violence in Tianxuan Sect!”

The other cultivators drew their swords and charged.

Xu Ming kicked one after another, sending them all flying. They crashed into each other in a heap like a stack of fallen logs, all of them knocked unconscious.

Seeing the motionless figures, Shen Shengsheng’s inner looter instinct was awakened. She stepped forward, ready to raid their storage pouches.

But Xu Ming stopped her. “We can’t loot people here. We’re guests, and it wouldn’t look good.”

“Oh…” Shen Shengsheng nodded, looking a bit disappointed.

Xu Ming patted her head to comfort her, then turned to Yue Lou. “Miss Yue, do you have any artifact that can amplify sound?”

Yue Lou blinked in surprise. “Young Master Xu, what do you need that for?”

Xu Ming smiled. “I feel like your sect has a strong bias against me. I want to try to explain myself to your sect.”

“Oh, I see. Yes, I do have something for that.”

Yue Lou took out a pill from her storage pouch.

“This is called a Sound Amplification Pill. After you take it, concentrate your energy in your dantian, and for the next ten breaths, your voice will be amplified within a radius of fifteen li. It’s often used by Tianxuan Sect’s halls, especially the Disciplinary Hall, to issue announcements.”

“Thank you.”

Xu Ming took the pill and swallowed it in one go.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

Xu Ming cleared his throat.

His clearing of the throat immediately attracted the attention of cultivators within a fifteen-li radius.

Yue Lou, also curious, wondered how Xu Ming would explain himself.

Just as she eagerly waited, Xu Ming’s voice rang out across the mountains and forests:

“Fellow disciples of Tianxuan Sect, I am Xu Ming from the Wu Kingdom.

I know that most of you may have a poor impression of me.

But that doesn’t matter.

In the Baiwa Secret Realm, I, along with a few friends, managed to stand against thousands of human and demon cultivators.

Today, dealing with all of you shouldn’t be a problem.

Any cultivator below the Nascent Soul Realm is welcome to challenge me anytime. At worst, I’ll just knock you all down again.

I hope the disciples of Tianxuan Sect aren’t so fragile.”

As Xu Ming’s words echoed through the area, Yue Lou was left stunned.

What? This is how you’re explaining things?