After Wang Ding left, Bao Gu sat alone in the side hall, her heart so heavy it hurt. She leaned back against the large chair, closed her eyes wearily, and felt utterly exhausted.
A voice came from the entrance:
“Reporting, Commander. The Master of the Engineering Hall, the Master of the Tiger Armored Guard Hall, the Master of the Dragon Cavalry Armored Guard Hall, the Inner Hall Marshal in charge of the troops, the Master of the Engineering Hall, and the Chief Steward of the Hack Gang Inn request an audience.”
Bao Gu opened her eyes and straightened.
“Let them in.”
She looked up as several people entered. Once they had paid their respects, she asked:
“What is it?”
The Master of the Engineering Hall replied:
“Commander, we just received the decree you sent through the Left Envoy ordering the expulsion of the Xuantian Sect disciples. Every branch has Xuantian Sect disciples serving under it. How should we deal with them?”
“Either make them sever their ties with the Xuantian Sect, or compensate them according to their years of service before striking them from the rolls.”
The Master of the Tiger Armored Guard Hall said:
“Commander, the Xuantian Sect’s conduct over the past few days may be the work of someone pulling strings in secret, intending to drive a wedge between you and the Xuantian Sect.”
“Whether another force or someone harboring ulterior motives is meddling from the shadows, the Xuantian Sect’s failure to discipline its people is a fact. At a time like this, the Xuantian Sect did not strictly restrain its disciples. Instead, its disciples caused trouble in Nether Shadow City and even openly surrounded and tried to kill the Hack Gang’s young master, yet not a single member of the Xuantian Sect stepped forward to stop them. Even if the sect did not deliberately condone it, its inaction is undeniable.
“If it cannot control its own people, then it must pay the price. You all came together—is it to plead for them?”
Hearing the sharpness and murderous intent in Bao Gu’s voice, everyone hurriedly denied it.
The Master of the Dragon Cavalry Armored Guard Hall said:
“We would not dare make a decision on our own, Commander. We came only to ask you to decide.”
Zi Yunshu hurried into Xuantian Hall. The moment she stepped inside, she asked:
“Bao Gu, did you order Wang Ding to lead troops against Azure Dragon City?”
Bao Gu asked:
“Have you heard that Xuantian Sect disciples surrounded and tried to kill Bao Nianhui?”
Zi Yunshu nodded.
“I have. Is that what this is about? Could you give us two days? Senior Brother Feng or I can capture those people, investigate exactly what happened, and deal with them afterward.”
“Whether this matter is investigated or not is the Xuantian Sect’s own concern. Since its disciples dared to openly attempt to kill the Hack Gang’s young master, they must pay the price. Azure Dragon City is not within Xuantian Sect territory. It should have belonged to the Hack Gang in the first place. What’s wrong with the Hack Gang reclaiming its own city?”
She noticed that the hall masters and the chief steward were still standing nearby.
“You may leave.”
The group bowed.
“We take our leave, Commander.”
They withdrew at a leisurely pace, turning slowly as they went so they could keep a careful ear on the conversation between Zi Yunshu and Bao Gu.
“What is the real reason?”
“I can tolerate them ostracizing me, but I cannot tolerate them repeatedly provoking the people close to me in my own territory. Little Martial Aunt, everything has its limits. Blind indulgence only does harm. The Xuantian Sect has become a festering sore. If Grandmaster wants to keep nursing it, that’s none of my business. But if he wants to let that sore run wild and wreak havoc throughout the Hack Gang, then he will have to pay the price.”
The frustration in Bao Gu’s heart had built up until she could no longer hold it in.
“Little Martial Aunt, can you tell me why Xuantian Sect disciples have been openly causing trouble in Nether Shadow City these past few days, yet no one from the Xuantian Sect has come out to stop them? Why has the Xuantian Sect come to this? I don’t understand. I truly don’t.
“I regard the Xuantian Sect as my home, the foundation on which I stand. I have devoted myself to restoring its former glory, planning for it and considering it at every turn, yet this is what I get in return.”
Zi Yunshu struggled for a long while before finally saying:
“Because what you want isn’t what everyone else wants.”
After another long pause, she added:
“Besides, Yu Mi and Lu Lei seem quite happy to leave the Xuantian Sect.”
Bao Gu was left speechless. It was true. What she wanted might not be what other people wanted. She gave everything she had, but others might not appreciate it.
Seeing her stricken expression, Zi Yunshu called anxiously:
“Bao Gu.”
She sprang to Bao Gu’s side in a few bounds.
“Bao Gu, I only mean that even if we leave the Xuantian Sect, there was no need to turn it into a bitter feud.”
Bao Gu looked up at Zi Yunshu and asked quietly:
“So Little Martial Aunt means that when Xuantian Sect disciples caused trouble in Nether Shadow City, I should have pretended not to see it and let them do as they pleased? They openly surrounded and tried to kill Nianhui, and I should have ignored that too?”
“That’s not what I meant! Fine, forget I ever came or said anything.”
She leaned closer to Bao Gu, worry filling her voice.
“Are you still upset? What happened?”
Bao Gu closed her eyes and spoke heavily:
“Fortunately, Master’s wife has not regarded the Xuantian Sect as Patriarch Xuantian’s orthodox lineage. If she were to act, the Xuantian Sect would be purged in blood. Little Martial Aunt, tell Grandmaster to know when enough is enough. If he keeps this up, he truly will not be far from death. When that time comes, neither you nor Holy Aunt will be able to protect him.”
She rose and slowly left the side hall, wandering aimlessly along the corridor.
She had not gone far when she heard movement behind her. Realizing that Yu Mi had arrived, she stopped, drew a deep breath, and steadied her emotions.
Yu Mi landed beside her.
“Wang Ding came to see me just now. He told me a few things.”
Bao Gu turned and buried her face in Yu Mi’s embrace.
“Senior Sister, hug me.”
Yu Mi lifted her arms and embraced Bao Gu.
“You were fine just now. Why are you upset again? Is it because those Xuantian Sect disciples caused trouble outside the teleportation gate? Kill them and be done with it. Why let it upset you? Haven’t you already issued the order?”
Bao Gu asked:
“Am I really different from all of you? I’ve realized that I think differently from every one of you. Things I consider important, all of you consider trivial.”
She raised her head, her eyes clouded with tears.
“Grandmaster. That’s Grandmaster we’re talking about. Does he really not care about us, his grand-disciples who have shared life and death and hardship together? The Xuantian Sect—a legacy passed down through all these years—can he really destroy it just for his own selfish desires?”
“There are many people in this world who can share hardship but cannot share prosperity. Bao Gu, not everyone values loyalty as deeply as you do. For many cultivators, the first thing they do upon entering the cultivation world is abandon their families and sever their familial ties.
“A few decades are no more than a blink to a cultivator, yet to the family they leave behind in the mortal world, those decades are an entire lifetime. Once they enter the cultivation world, many have nothing left but themselves—no attachments and no scruples. All they seek is enough strength to avoid becoming a stepping stone on someone else’s path to advancement.
“For cultivation resources, power and status, or personal gain, there is nothing they will not do.”
“Sometimes one’s sect is important. But once a person reaches a certain realm and can move through the world without relying on the sect’s protection, the sect may no longer seem so important. When a sect’s interests conflict with one’s own, how many people can give up their own interests and put the sect first?”
“Back when the Xuantian Sect faced disaster, Master and many fellow disciples fought to the death to protect the sect. They would rather die in battle than live on in disgrace, but they were also fighting because they had no choice.
“If the Xuantian Library had not been discovered, do you think everyone would still have risked their lives? If they had known from the start that only you could control and carry the Xuantian Library away, would they still have fought to the death?”
“I fought to the death and risked my life to save people because if the Xuantian Sect had been destroyed, then without fellow disciples or the sect’s protection, my future would have been miserable and every step ahead would have been harder.
“Bao Gu, you have never experienced the hardships of an unaffiliated cultivator, nor have you seen how humiliatingly cultivators live when they must abandon one sect and seek refuge in another. The cultivation world is built atop countless bones. Genuine affection and sincerity are both rare and precious.”
“Grandmaster’s actions are meant only to safeguard the benefits he has obtained. It isn’t that he does not regard you as his grand-disciple. You threatened his interests, so he chose to ensure that his own interests would not be threatened.
“All he wants are the cultivation resources controlled by the master of the Xuantian Sect. Once he is no longer sect master, those resources will no longer be his to distribute. At that point, no matter how powerful the Xuantian Sect becomes, what will its strength have to do with him?”
“My bond with Hua Sheng, Feng Menglong, and the others is so deep because all the suffering we’ve endured taught us that only by sticking together can we survive this bloody world.
“If a fellow disciple entrusted his back to me today and I stabbed him in it, someone would certainly stab me in the back tomorrow. That’s why we want to build a new sect that feels like home.”
Bao Gu clenched Yu Mi’s lapel and stared at her without blinking.
“Then why did all of you follow me?”
Yu Mi smiled softly.
“Because you’re foolish in a way that makes people ache for you.”
She hugged Bao Gu tightly.
“Because you make us feel safe enough to entrust our backs to you. Because the entire cultivation world fears you, yet laughs at you for being foolish enough to abandon the enormous foundation you painstakingly built and cast it into the void for the sake of other people’s safety…”
She paused before continuing:
“Bao Gu, some people stab others in the back. Others hope to find someone who makes them feel safe enough to entrust their backs to her.”
Bao Gu gave a soft hum and hugged Yu Mi tightly. Much of the weight in her heart lifted.
Yu Mi asked:
“Are you upset because of those Xuantian Sect disciples causing trouble, or because you heard something in the Demon Realm?”
Bao Gu spoke slowly and heavily:
“The Xuantian Sect is not the orthodox lineage passed down by Patriarch Xuantian.”
She told Yu Mi the entire story of the Xuantian Sect’s origins.
“When I heard that, I was truly devastated. It was like living in a home for hundreds of years, only to have someone suddenly tell me that my home had been stolen from someone else… and then finding out that I was the owner of that stolen home, only to be driven out of it in the end…”
“Don’t you still have thirty or forty thousand people who were driven out alongside you? Whether or not the Xuantian Sect is Patriarch Xuantian’s direct lineage, you practice the cultivation arts he passed down and honor him as your patriarch. There is nothing wrong with that.
“Just as carpenters venerate the great master craftsman Lu Ban as their patriarch, does that mean every carpenter is his disciple or descendant?”
After thinking for a moment, Yu Mi continued:
“I think Ling’er told you all this so you wouldn’t take Grandmaster and the Xuantian Sect so seriously or let them weigh on your heart. Aren’t you building a realm-breaking portal? Is it worth letting this trivial matter distract you from something important?
“Besides, I’ve already left the Xuantian Sect, and I’m now the Hack Gang’s Enforcement Envoy. If the Xuantian Sect still refuses to rein itself in, I’ll personally lead troops there and beat them until they don’t even dare leave their sect.
“We’ve already decided on the name of the new sect. It will still be Xuantian Sect!”
Although Bao Gu herself had been willing to continue using the name “Xuantian Sect,” she still asked:
“Why call it Xuantian Sect?”
“At first, everyone came up with lots of names, but none pleased everyone. We argued back and forth and nearly ended up sparring. In the end, we simply went back to ‘Xuantian Sect,’ so no one could keep nitpicking the sect’s name.”
Bao Gu could only stare.
She asked anxiously:
“What about the sect tokens and uniforms?”
“Uniforms would be a huge expense, and we’re all broke, so we unanimously decided not to have sect uniforms. As for sect tokens, forging them is expensive too.
“From now on, when someone joins the sect, we’ll imprint an identity mark on their body. The new Xuantian Sect won’t accept disciples casually. We’ll either choose someone we’re satisfied with and accept them directly as a true disciple and successor, or not accept them at all. Better to have too few than lower our standards.”
Bao Gu’s lips parted in shock, and she was at a loss for words. It was becoming clear that the newly reestablished Xuantian Sect intended to simplify absolutely everything.
After a moment, she asked cautiously:
“How will this new identity mark be applied?”
Then she added uncertainly:
“It can be distinguished from the old Xuantian Sect, right?”
Yu Mi spread open her palm. The skin was white as jade, and the words “Xuantian Sect” suddenly appeared in brilliant gold across it.
Bao Gu asked:
“So from now on, we just show our palms? During a group brawl, are we supposed to make a point of raising a hand to display our identity mark?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the words “Xuantian Sect” vanished from Yu Mi’s palm. A moment later, they appeared in brilliant gold about an inch above her head, palm-sized.
Bao Gu stared in stunned horror. What kind of genius had come up with this sect emblem?
She suddenly imagined a sect assembly one day, with the sect master announcing:
“All right, everyone, display your identity marks so we can verify them.”
Then the enormous square would be packed with people, every head crowned by the brilliant golden words “Xuantian Sect.”
It was terrifying!
She stared for a long time before finally squeezing out:
“Senior Sister, with those words floating above your head whenever you go out, would you dare show your face in public?”
“I’m already out here facing people with them floating above my head, aren’t I? If they don’t go above my head, where else should they go—on my face?”
Bao Gu was genuinely frightened. This was far too terrifying. Nothing could possibly be more frightening. Even Qingying eating people would not have been as terrifying as this.
Yu Mi burst out laughing.
“Got you. Look how scared you are! It’s merely the new sect’s distress and emergency summons signal. Those words are condensed from spiritual energy, launched into the sky, and detonated there. They can be seen with the naked eye within a ten-mile radius, and the energy fluctuations can cover two hundred miles.”
She flipped her hand and revealed a waist plaque three fingers wide.
“This is the new sect token. Because of what happened with the old Xuantian Sect, the new Xuantian Sect’s identity tokens had to be made in a hurry, so we didn’t have time to give them an attractive design.
“The front bears the words ‘Xuantian Sect,’ along with the bearer’s name, lineage, and other information. The back bears the totem of your Xuantian Sword.
“We won’t have sect uniforms, but the Xuantian Sword will be sewn onto the collar as the sect emblem.”
She gently lifted one side of her collar.
“If you concentrate and look closely, you’ll see the emblem. The design contains a hidden authentication mark, so no one else can fake it even after seeing it.”
Bao Gu rubbed her forehead.
“You nearly scared me to death!”
Yu Mi laughed.
“See? A little scare and a little teasing, and you’re not sad anymore.”
Bao Gu was speechless.
“Come on. I’ll teach you the hand seals for the emergency summons and the hidden mark in the sect emblem.”
Bao Gu slapped a palm against her forehead. She suddenly felt exhausted by all the endless commotion.
After Yu Mi taught her the hand seals for the Xuantian Sect’s emergency summons and the hidden emblem mark, Bao Gu suddenly flipped onto Yu Mi’s back and wrapped her arms around Yu Mi’s neck.
“Senior Sister, I’m tired. Carry me back to my room.”
Yu Mi reached one arm behind her, supported Bao Gu, and carried her toward the sleeping quarters.
Through her spiritual sense, Yu Mi noticed Bao Gu staring wide-eyed at the top of her head without blinking. There was a faintly peculiar look on Bao Gu’s face.
Then Yu Mi realized that the words “Xuantian Sect” had appeared above her own head, growing more solid and distinct by the moment.
Her heart lurched.
Not good!
She hurriedly circulated her spiritual energy to erase the words, only to discover that she could not move them at all.
She called out:
“Bao Gu!”
Bao Gu patted Yu Mi’s shoulder contentedly.
“Senior Sister, don’t worry. The words ‘Xuantian Sect’ will disappear on their own after ten days.”
In an excellent mood, Bao Gu leaped down from Yu Mi’s back and drifted back to her room with a smile on her lips.
*Trying to prank me? Don’t you know I hold grudges and always get even? Hmph!*
