Watching the Mountain

Chapter 264: Chapter 164: Wind and Rain

In fact, only five of them had even made it into the top one hundred.

With such dismal results, if it weren’t for Li Daoyi securing first place, the Profound Pure Sect likely wouldn’t have been able to hold its head high in Changqing County for the next decade.

This wasn’t just a one-time occurrence. Looking back ten, twenty, or even more competitions, the Profound Pure Sect’s performance had always been mediocre. At any rate, it was hardly befitting of its status as the strongest sect in Changqing County.

The ordinary disciples were unaware of this. Most only saw that their Sect had produced another young prodigy and cheered for him.

But the Sect’s upper echelons, especially the Supreme Elders, were shrouded in gloom. Even the emergence of a disciple with limitless potential like Li Daoyi could not dispel their worries about the Sect’s future.

Even with Zhang Zhentian, Li Daoyi’s master, Xu Ran could often see a troubled expression on his face after the competition. He had none of the flair of the Evergreen Sword Saint he once was.

Seeing Zhang Zhentian like this, Xu Ran remarked, ”This isn’t the bearing an Evergreen Sword Saint should have.”

Hearing Xu Ran’s words, Zhang Zhentian gently shook his head and let out a soft sigh, his voice low as he spoke:

”Senior Brother, I’m not a child anymore. I’m a Supreme Elder of the Sect. I have responsibilities to bear. Of course I can’t be as carefree as I once was.”

He stood ramrod straight on the cliff’s edge at the summit of Celestial Sea Peak. Gazing down through the curling white mist at the sect gates below, he spoke in a peculiar tone,

”Thinking back, Grandfather had to serve as the Grand Elder of Celestial Sea Peak and still deal with my mischief. It must have been incredibly difficult for him.”

”Everyone in the Sect used to say Grandfather was short-tempered. Now that I think about it, maybe he wasn’t always like that. He was shouldering the duties of Grand Elder of Celestial Sea Peak, getting angry because of me, and worrying about my future. With so much weighing on him, how could he not be irascible?”

He shook his head and grinned. ”I really admire Grandfather. Even with all that, he never beat or cursed me. If it were me, I probably wouldn’t have had that much patience.”

”So, even though everyone said Grandfather had a fiery temper, in my eyes, he was actually very gentle and patient.”

Xu Ran listened silently as Zhang Zhentian spoke, saying nothing.

As the senior brother who had watched Zhang Zhentian grow up, he wasn’t sure whether he should feel proud and gratified or sad.

Seeing his junior brother become so responsible and dependable, he knew he should be proud and gratified. But as a senior brother, he wished more for his junior brother to live a more carefree life.

Instead of how he was now, with an unshakeable worry always in his eyes.

After a long silence, he reached out and gently patted Zhang Zhentian’s shoulder. Then, he looked him directly in the eyes and asked in a very serious tone,

”I’m glad you can shoulder the Sect’s responsibilities, but you haven’t forgotten your own goal, have you?”

”You are the one meant to succeed Ye Shan. Now is not the time for you to stop. The Nascent Soul Stage is not the end of your cultivation path.”

”If you are truly worried about the Sect’s future, then you must strive to become stronger. If you become as powerful as Senior Brother Ye Shan was in his final moments, then the Sect will stand tall, no matter what storms it may face.”

Upon hearing Xu Ran’s words, Zhang Zhentian paused, momentarily stunned. After a brief silence, he took a deep breath, chuckled softly, and said,

”Don’t worry, Senior Brother. I have never forgotten my goal.”

His eyes shone with the confident light befitting the Evergreen Sword Saint as he said firmly,

”Senior Brother Ye Shan may have set the bar so high it’s difficult to even see, a goal one can only gaze at from afar, but I have never stopped chasing it. I’ve never given up on the thought of surpassing him.”

Seeing the look on his face, Xu Ran smiled as well and nodded. ”Then I’ll look forward to your performance.”

He paused for a moment before adding, ”I said something similar to Wuchen over a month ago. His goal is you.”

Zhang Zhentian was slightly taken aback, but then a confident smile spread across his face.

”It’s good that Junior Brother Shen has such fighting spirit, but I won’t give him the chance to defeat me.”

Seeing his expression, Xu Ran just nodded lightly. ”Then you’d better work hard. I have great confidence in my student, Wuchen.”

’He, too, was looking forward to seeing whether Shen Wuchen could actually defeat Zhang Zhentian.’

He said no more. After exchanging farewells with Zhang Zhentian, the two of them headed toward Celestial Profound Peak.

After the inter-sect competition in Changqing County concluded, Li Daoyi won the recognition of the entire Sect and became its new Chief Disciple.

Meanwhile, Yue Qingyu succeeded as the Sect Leader of the Profound Pure Sect.

Today was the day of the succession ceremony.

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Xu Ran had never seen a Fairy, so he didn’t know how beautiful the Fairies of myth, who were said to live in the Celestial Palace, truly were.

But in that moment, as he watched Senior Sister Yue receive the Sect’s Command Token from Sect Leader Taihua True Monarch, he felt that no Fairy in the Celestial Palace could possibly be as beautiful as her.

The Sect Leader’s robes, pure white as snow, accentuated her cool and ethereal beauty, making her seem isolated from the surrounding clamor. Her tranquil eyes swept over the cheering crowd below, impassive, yet they made one’s heart clench, causing them to involuntarily hold their breath.