Chapter 165

Chapter 165: Are You Going to Watch Her Jump Into the Fire Pit?

After spotting a familiar figure, Luo Chu rubbed his eyes in disbelief. When he was sure he was not seeing things, he shouted: “Shen Sang Ruo!”

As the number one sect, Flying Cloud Sect followed strict rules in settings like this. The staging area had only a soft murmur of voices.

Luo Chu’s cry made everyone turn their heads at once.

Shen Dao Chen and Master Ling Xiao both frowned, not only because Luo Chu broke the rule by shouting, but also because of that name.

Luo Chu did not notice. His eyes were fixed on Shen Sang Ruo walking below with the others.

Voices rose around him: “What?!”

Someone blurted: “Little Ruo?!”

Another asked: “Where is she?!”

Hearing Luo Chu, Feng He Yun and two others spoke at the same time and stood up without thinking.

Luo Chu pointed quickly and said, his jaw tight: “There. She came to the Sect Grand Tournament too.”

The three looked and saw Shen Sang Ruo with several people around her.

Their mouths moved as if talking. Even from far away, they could see the faint smile at her lips and the bright, happy light in her eyes when she looked at the others.

Feng He Yun and his two companions realized how long it had been since they had seen her so lively. She had not stopped liking to smile. She was not cold and distant to everyone.

It was only when she faced them that she became like that.

The sharp contrast made their faces turn ugly.

Two of the people near her were ones Feng He Yun and Lu Shi Qing already knew, Ye Huai and Bai Ruo An, the ones they had met before.

From that, they were sure this was the sect Shen Sang Ruo had said she joined.

Wen Xuan and Luo Chu looked to the two for confirmation.

Feng He Yun answered in three weak words: “It is them.”

Lu Shi Qing clenched what he held in his hand and locked his eyes on Shen Sang Ruo.

They had known for months that she had joined a new sect. But when they saw it with their own eyes, the defenses they had built for months collapsed.

The people around her were so bright they hurt to look at.

The aftershocks of that collapse made their fingers tremble.

Luo Chu asked in a tight voice: “How can she represent another sect in the Sect Grand Tournament?”

This was a grand event with crowds everywhere and countless eyes watching.

In the past, they had longed for the day of the Grand Tournament, dreaming of standing side by side on Fengling Terrace. The five of Thunder-Scale Peak would be the most dazzling and high-spirited in the whole Cultivation World.

Now that the day had come, why was everything different?

Not being able to fight beside her was already a huge regret. How was he supposed to accept that she stood with others on Fengling Terrace, fighting for another sect?

From now on, in the eyes of the world, Shen Sang Ruo would have nothing to do with them. Her name would be tied to another unknown sect.

He thought in shock: [Why?]

To Luo Chu, the scene felt unreal.

She was the daughter of the Flying Cloud Sect Master, the personal disciple of Master Ling Xiao, and their fellow sectmate for years.

Her bond with Flying Cloud Sect ran deep. Her name should always be tied to Flying Cloud Sect and to them.

How could some random sect snatch her away?

And such a broken sect at that.

He had heard all the talk about Ninghua Sect just now.

Luo Chu, dizzy with anger, went straight up to Shen Dao Chen and demanded: “Sect Master Shen, are you really not going to care about her? Are you going to watch her jump into the fire pit?”

He pressed on, his voice shaking: “Even if you cut ties with her, even if she made many mistakes, she is still the daughter you raised for so many years!”

He pointed toward Ninghua Sect and said: “That sect cannot even gather enough people to compete. Joining a sect like that will waste Shen Sang Ruo’s talent. Sect Master Shen, can you stand by and watch her gift be worn away?”

Beside him, Feng He Yun, Wen Xuan, and Lu Shi Qing all showed deep unwillingness. Even if they were not perfect, they felt they were still far better than people from a sect like that.

Yet Shen Sang Ruo had chosen that sect and left them without looking back.

It felt absurd.

They could not help asking inside: [In what way are we worse than them?]

Luo Chu, still worked up, added in a hard tone: “To be blunt, Shen Sang Ruo was once your daughter and once Master Ling Xiao’s disciple. Her joining a sect like that is a slap to both your faces.”

His daring words to the Sect Master made the others in Flying Cloud Sect click their tongues in surprise.

Bai Mu Mu stepped in front of Shen Dao Chen and scolded sharply: “Fourth Senior Brother, watch your mouth. Is this how you speak to the Sect Master?”

She carried the authority of a Young Sect Master.

Luo Chu had disliked Bai Mu Mu for a long time. Now he felt she was standing against him on purpose.

He looked past her, still refusing to give up, and faced Shen Dao Chen.

Shen Dao Chen patted Bai Mu Mu’s shoulder and said calmly: “Mu Mu, step aside.” His look showed she had done well.

Bai Mu Mu obeyed and moved back.

When she first saw Shen Sang Ruo with Ninghua Sect on Fengling Terrace, she had been shocked.

Then her surprise turned to mockery. She had thought Shen Sang Ruo was so stubborn because she had joined some great sect. She never expected it to be a sect not fit even to carry Flying Cloud Sect’s shoes.

At once, she felt that all her past rivalry with Shen Sang Ruo had been meaningless. She had treated her like a real opponent, but the girl’s head was not even clear.

Bai Mu Mu’s lip curled as she thought: [A native is still a native. She cannot be compared with me, a strategist who crossed countless worlds.]

She had no wish to interfere. Doing nothing would still let her watch a fine joke play out.

Shen Dao Chen’s voice came low and firm as he judged: “Luo Chu, your rude words break sect rules. Punishment.”

A Disciplinary Hall Elder stepped forward at once, ready to take Luo Chu away to be dealt with by the rules.

Luo Chu puffed his cheek out. Though he always tried to dodge punishment, this time he did not resist and said: “I accept the penalty. But shouldn’t Sect Master Shen answer my question?”

He pushed once more: “Are you really not going to care about Shen Sang Ruo?”

Shen Dao Chen half-closed his eyes. As the master of the number one sect, his pressure spoke for itself.

He opened his mouth and said only one cold word: “Punish.”

The Disciplinary Hall Elder read the Sect Master’s intent and hurried to take the still-defiant Luo Chu away.

After Luo Chu left, a strange silence fell over Flying Cloud Sect’s staging area.

It felt like everyone was waiting for Shen Dao Chen to show his stance.

Shen Dao Chen flicked his sleeve, then finally looked down at Shen Sang Ruo standing with Ninghua Sect below.