I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 842: Chapter 136: Mistakes

Tang Luo’s abrupt departure was unexpected by everyone, and Bu Xiao, standing on the cloud platform, had an extremely gloomy expression on his face.

The second he realized that he couldn’t save Duan Qiuchou’s life, he was already prepared to make Tang Luo pay the price; even if it meant getting punished, he was determined to teach the bastard a lesson as soon as he found a way to get rid of Old Xu Ying.

But Tang Luo’s turning and leaving thwarted his plan. As a Dao Child of Martial Saint Mountain, he needed to stay at the core to deal with many matters, and leaving the sacred place for personal desires was beyond his comprehension threshold.

Having missed this chance, it would be nearly impossible for him to look for another opportunity to discipline, perhaps only by stripping Longxi of its rewards could he alleviate his feelings somewhat.

With a decision in mind, Bu Xiao was about to strip the four members of the Longxi Alliance of their rewards in the name of disrespecting the sacred land when he heard Old Xu Ying from below the platform cup his hands towards the cloud platform and raise his voice, “This family letter only arrived at Martial Saint Mountain a few days ago. Tang Luo wanted to report this good news back to Longxi as soon as possible, which is why he left without stopping. He specifically asked me to accept Longxi’s ranking rewards on his behalf, Brother Bu, is that okay?”

Not to mention that Martial Saint Mountain still owed Old Xu Ying an explanation, the high-sounding reason Tang Luo found made it hard for Bu Xiao to refuse.

As if a bout of pent-up frustration was stuck in his chest, the proud Dao Child of Martial Saint Mountain barely squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth, “No, prob, lem!”

Bu Xiao’s expression grew even more somber because he knew that, with his agreement to Old Xu Ying’s request to take the rewards, he would no longer have a way to punish Tang Luo, after all, the man had already left; would he really send someone to chase him back?

For the first time in his life, the usually fortunate Bu Xiao felt that there was someone in the world even more annoying than Bu Lin.

“Had I known that day in the Medicine Valley, I should have accepted his challenge; how could there have been so many troubles today!”

…

The heaven-defying act of Dapeng Mountain disciples instigating discord among the three great sacred places spread rapidly through the sects and clans managed by Bifang Mountain.

Everyone treated it as the biggest piece of gossip of the year, even overshadowing the marvelous news of a scion getting first place in the Longzhou martial arts tournament and earning the title unparalleled in his lifetime.

Everyone wanted to know who dared be so audacious, and afterward, the life story of the prime disciple of Dapeng Mountain was dug up.

Relative of the Bu family, cousin of the Dao Child, youngest practitioner of the Golden Peng battle physique, exceptionally protective personality…

The usually illustrious prime disciple of Dapeng Mountain found himself demoted and pressed to suffer in Poison Dragon Stream of Canglong Mountain overnight. There, he was interrogated using the soul-separation technique by a grandmaster of the Twin Extremes Secret Guards. They wanted to see why he would provoke the gap between the three great sacred lands. If it wasn’t for some pleading on his behalf, there might even have been grandmasters suggesting the use of more brutal soul-searching means to dig out the secrets buried deepest in Duan Qiuchou’s heart. After all, relying solely on the soul-separation technique against a powerful warrior of the Fierce Realm was not secure enough.

Just as Tang Luo had surmised, to the martial fanatics of Martial Saint Mountain, anyone who could potentially obstruct their research was an obstacle to be eliminated, with no prospects of leniency, even for relatives.

It was said the wails from Poison Dragon Stream lasted the entire night, but the evidence gathered was shockingly simple, just a mad attempt to avenge Bu Chen, even at the cost of exploiting Buddha’s Country’s Saint Child. This foolishness angered the grandmasters of Martial Saint Mountain even further, prompting them to dig deeper.

After the Double Supreme Shadows Guard had collected all the evidence, everyone was even more shocked to discover that on the day Duan Qianchou tricked Yankong to go to the Medicine Valley, Bu Xiao had briefly abandoned his post without authorization. There were thunderbolts in the sky in the direction of Dapeng Mountain, and afterward, Duan Qianchou returned to Dapeng Mountain and was confined to solitary for three days.

This meant that Bu Xiao had known about Duan Qianchou’s actions from the beginning and had intentionally covered for him.

The whole of Martial Saint Mountain was thrown into chaos, and a grandmaster assembly aimed at the current Dao Child commenced. One master from each of the Ten Saint Mountains gathered in the great hall of Saint Martial Peak, presided over by the Mountain Lord of Dapeng Mountain.noveldrama

“Bu Xiao, in his initial tenure as the Dao Child, was exceedingly selfish, disregarding the millennium-long principle of neutrality of Martial Saint Mountain for the sake of a relative. Although his cultivation is astonishing, such behavior is truly unfitting for such an important position. I propose that we revoke his status as the Dao Child and undertake a new round of effectiveness evaluations!”

“Evaluate effectiveness? Bu Xiao is the only Dao Child of Martial Saint Mountain with an undefeated record in battles. Despite everything that’s been said, this matter is really due to that Duan kid’s own disgraceful actions. If he had informed Bu Xiao beforehand, dealing with a mere noble family’s son wouldn’t have required so many devious tricks!”

“Bu Jiu, I know you want to protect your own grandson, but what kind of argument is that? You are well aware of the cause and effect. Bu Chen was simply inferior in skill and was defeated; there is no reason for retaliation. Even if there were a need for revenge, it should have been after Bu Chen broke through to the Fierce Realm. Could it be that our esteemed human sanctuary can’t even accept defeat in a fair duel?”

“Enough with the arguments. We’re all over a hundred years old. Arguing and bickering as soon as we meet – What kind of impression does that give to outsiders? In my opinion, this whole issue stems from Bu Xiao favoring personal relationships too heavily. Right now, the most important thing is how to provide an explanation to Buddha’s Country and the Xu Clan. Because of Duan Qianchou’s instigations, the Xu Clan felt compelled to issue the Divine Sword Decree in Yuanzhou to eradicate Buddhism; as a result, over a thousand temples in Yuanzhou have been destroyed, a million novices have returned to secular life, and many abbots and Zen masters have been directly expelled. It is said that the burning of scriptures darkens the sky like night, and the ash lingers for days. Fearing merely Duan Qianchou will not suffice to quell the rage of Buddha’s Country.”

“If the monks’ fury remains unappeased, then let it be! What, you’re suggesting that we should hand over Bu Xiao as a token of appeasement?”

“Of course not!”

“That’s exactly what you’re suggesting!”

The council was meant to be a rational debate, but once family ties came into play, many things could no longer be settled by reason alone.

It was as if Dapeng Mountain had finally produced a Dao Child. No matter how foolish it looked to outsiders, the Bu family of Dapeng Mountain would definitely go to great lengths to fight for Bu Xiao, aided by many lineage masters who did not take the Buddha’s Country of Zhongzhou to heart. As such, the council discussing the potential punishment for the Dao Child could easily devolve into a quarrelsome dispute.

Therefore, after a round of heated arguments, the masters left in discontent. Then Bu Xiao emerged from behind the screen and knelt before Bu Jiu, who was still in the council chamber, to apologize, “Your grandson has been unfilial and caused you worry!”

Bu Jiu shook his head, reached out to help his grandson up, and sighed, “Do you realize where you went wrong?”

“My mistake lies in not stopping my cousin from acting foolishly right away. If I could have…”

Bu Xiao started to speak but then trailed off, as he saw the growing disappointment in his grandfather’s eyes.

“Duan kid might act foolishly without considering the consequences, but you are the Dao Child of Martial Saint Mountain. How can you follow his example? From the moment you decided to save him, you should have been clear that this matter could never be revealed. Those who encountered the Duan kid in Medicine Valley that day had to be left with no survivors. Tell me, how then could you have let yourself fall into such a passive situation?”