Chapter 174

Chapter 174: You Are Not Worthy to Be Her Master

When the thick smoke faded, everyone first saw Master Ling Xiao still standing on the dueling platform.

Then their eyes searched for Immortal Lord Chang Li, and they finally found him off the platform, down on one knee.

As the last wisps of smoke vanished, the Elder bout was settled at last.

But the scene stayed silent; no one made a sound.

It felt like everyone was still lost in the memory of a fight that could only be called heroic.

After a long while, the Flying Cloud Sect’s waiting area finally burst into loud cheers, and their disciples shouted: “We won! We won!”

Some of them pumped their fists and cried: “Master Ling Xiao! Master Ling Xiao! Master Ling Xiao!”

In the past, the whole arena would have shouted Master Ling Xiao’s name.

This time, only a few joined the Flying Cloud Sect in cheering; most people kept quiet.

Though Immortal Lord Chang Li had lost, the shock he gave them ran deep.

He had challenged the top Cultivator of the Cultivation World across a whole realm and had been ruthless enough to burn his Divine Soul Power.

In this fight, Master Ling Xiao had only barely won.

If their cultivation levels had been the same, Immortal Lord Chang Li would have been far ahead of him.

Immortal Lord Chang Li pushed himself up, wiped the blood from his lip, and brushed the dust from his robe.

He lifted his eyes and gave Master Ling Xiao on the platform a long, meaningful look.

Then he looked away and walked straight toward Shen Sang Ruo and the others hurrying over to him.

His steps were calm, without a trace of a loser’s shame.

[Did he really lose?]

Immortal Lord Chang Li tugged at the corner of his mouth and let a small smile show.

On the stage, Master Ling Xiao was clutching his chest. His normally pale, handsome face was streaked with ash, and the hem of his robe had been burned to cinders, leaving him more battered than he had ever looked.

That was what everyone could see. What they could not see was the churn in his chest, the iron taste he forced back down his throat, and the fingers hidden in his sleeve that would not stop shaking.

His expression was grim, even ugly.

In his mind, the words from the final clash rang out again, the ones Immortal Lord Chang Li had thrown at him: “You are not worthy to be her Master.”

Others had missed the truth in the blinding light, but Master Ling Xiao knew it clearly: Immortal Lord Chang Li had not been knocked off the platform by him. The man had stepped off the platform himself.

He had laid all that groundwork, but his real aim had never been to win the bout.

From start to finish, Immortal Lord Chang Li’s purpose was to avenge Shen Sang Ruo.

If he could also win the Elder match, that would be great; if not, he would toss aside the Elder match and still give Master Ling Xiao a fierce beating.

Master Ling Xiao’s face darkened. [Burn Divine Soul Power just for Shen Sang Ruo, for a disciple? Is that worth it?] He frowned hard. He could not understand how Immortal Lord Chang Li could go that far for her.

In his view, a Master as an elder only needed to teach a disciple spells and refinement. That alone was a blessing for the disciple and fulfilled a Master’s duty.

Disciples might go that far for a Master out of gratitude, but how could a Master harm himself for a disciple?

He could not make sense of it and decided Immortal Lord Chang Li was just putting on a show. Even so, it shook him.

He had no time to think more. The sharp pain in his chest reminded him that he was badly hurt.

Immortal Lord Chang Li had stepped off the platform to open distance and avoid most of the strikes, while Master Ling Xiao had taken those attacks head on.

On top of that, Immortal Lord Chang Li’s target had been him from the start. His wounds might take more than a year to heal.

Even with the body strength of a Late Divine Transformation peak, a year would be needed. That was how heavy the damage was.

Bai Mu Mu and Feng He Yun hurried up and asked: “Master, are you alright?”

Master Ling Xiao’s voice did not show a trace of weakness as he said with a cold, mocking pride: “It is nothing. How could he ever hurt me?”

“Master, as long as you are fine, that is a relief,” Bai Mu Mu said in worry, then added: “Please let your disciple help you back to rest.”

But Master Ling Xiao glanced, almost without thinking, toward the Ninghua Sect’s area.

Shen Sang Ruo and the others were also crowding around Immortal Lord Chang Li.

Shen Sang Ruo asked in a rush: “Master, how do you feel? Is the injury serious? What about your soul?”

Unlike Master Ling Xiao, Immortal Lord Chang Li did not hide his wounds at all. He clutched his chest and wailed: “Ow, it hurts so much I could die. That Master Ling Xiao really went for the kill on me. He must hate me to the bone.”

He sighed and added: “If I had not protected my heart in time, I might have been gone already.”

He shivered on purpose and said in a sing-song voice: “So scary, Master Ling Xiao.”

With that, he flopped neatly into Immortal Maiden Azure Luan’s arms.

Immortal Maiden Azure Luan stared and thought for a beat, then, though she looked annoyed, still caught him because of how weak he seemed.

The corner of Immortal Lord Chang Li’s mouth curled the tiniest bit. Face and pride were nothing; a man who knows how to act cute lives his best life.

Hearing him, Shen Sang Ruo’s brows pinched together. She knew Master Ling Xiao well enough to know his hatred for Immortal Lord Chang Li was real.

“So why did you still burn your Divine Soul Power to fight him to the bitter end?” she asked in a soft sigh: “Master, you do not have to do all this for me. This is my grudge with them.”

She did not want her current Master and her senior brothers and sisters pulled into it.

Immortal Lord Chang Li snorted like he was angry and said: “What do you mean you and us? You are my disciple. I will not allow anyone to bully you.”

He flicked his sleeve and added: “If your senior brothers and sisters were bullied, I would go settle the score with those people too.” That, to him, was a Master’s duty.

“I understand,” Shen Sang Ruo said with a nod: “Thank you, Master. Let us help you back to the waiting area.”

With her and the other Ninghua Sect members supporting him, Immortal Lord Chang Li started up again with the “ow ow” routine as if he were gravely hurt.

Only the dark-faced Master Ling Xiao knew the truth: that guy was faking it.

Immortal Lord Chang Li’s injuries were not even a tenth of his. He was the one truly and deeply wounded. And Immortal Lord Chang Li’s sweet but fake words made it sound like Master Ling Xiao was the one trying to kill him, when it had been the other way around.

Already unsteady from heavy injuries, Master Ling Xiao’s blood and breath grew even more chaotic from anger at those upside-down claims.

Shen Sang Ruo was that concerned for a person putting on a show, yet she did not spare even a glance for him, the one who was truly hurt.

He had been her Master for so many years. For the first time, Master Ling Xiao felt what it was like to be treated differently, and the unfairness burned in his chest.

[He says I am not worthy to be her Master? No matter what, I am a hundred times better than that phony.]

He flicked his sleeve, ignored Bai Mu Mu’s hand as she reached to support him, and walked away.

Bai Mu Mu pulled her hand back with an awkward look and clenched it tight.

At last, True Lord Gu Ci stepped to the center of the platform to announce the Elder bout rankings for each sect.