Reborn as a Mountain: I Defy the Heavens with a Smile

As the sword of fallen sect elder reached Zhi Qiang, Lu Changhe's and other elders' expressions changed drastically.

Even though they constantly monitored the heretical and fallen sects, some elders were equally powerful, making it difficult to track their movements.

Furthermore, the distance between Zhi Qiang and them was too great for them to respond in time. Even if they teleported in an instant, it would still be useless as the one who made the move was as quick as them.

Zhu Wenkai was quite happy at how things turned out; however, suddenly his face stiffened.

Clang!

A radiant golden hue erupted from Zhi Qiang's chest, intercepting the deadly blade mid-air. Then, before the fallen sect elder could do something, the golden hue surged forward, shooting straight towards his head, targeting the sea of consciousness.

"Bloodbound Curse Shield!"

"Bloodline Mirror Seal!"

Suddenly, two sinister auras appeared, casting layered barriers. However, the divinity of the azure dragon was not something that could be challenged by mere cursed arts.

BOOM! BANG!

The shields shattered like glass, and the golden light pierced through.

Thud.

A lifeless body hit the ground.

Seeing this, Zhu Wenkai felt how lucky he was to be stopped by Lu Changhe and others.

"Ye Chen!!! We will not take this lightly!"

A menacing roar filled with external hatred rang out, after which a black fog appeared and took away the body of the fallen sect elder.

"Tsk. Once again, a loss," Ye Chen was not happy at how he could not even get anything in return.

The divine blood, after all, was not a normal item to use and not gain anything in return; even a saint would feel disheartened.

Swoosh!

"Leave this traitor to me," Hong Fang sealed Zhi Qiang's cultivation along with his mouth and suggested.

Hearing him, Zhu Wenkai was unwilling, but he could not do anything about it. What if another trick was left in Zhi Qiang's body? He will be the one to die.

"I have no issues if BlueMoon Pavilion is taking over it," Lu Changhe agreed without any hesitation.

Others also nodded in response because the BlueMoon pavilion will invite elders from other powers and record the whole process. This was a lot different from the heavenly court, where some matters could be settled privately as long as one paid enough price.

Of course this did not mean the criminal would be let off; it's just that the news would be about the criminal doing everything on its own and even planning against their own sect.

"Friend Ye Chen, you do not have any problem with this, right?" Hong Fang inquired with a doubt.

If it were any other young disciple, then they would already be demanding to torture Zhi Qiang in front of everyone along with death.

"There is nothing useful to me except his soul, blood essence, and spatial ring. I hope old Hong would leave those things for me," Ye Chen shrugged his shoulders with a nonchalant look.

For him, Zhi Qiang was no threat so what would happen to him does not matter too much. Besides, the information Zhi Qiang held about the fallen sect could prove crucial, so it was better to keep such things under wraps and leave the enemy in the dark.

Hong Fang was pleased at his understanding and just as he was about to nod, Zhu Wenkai burst out with an aura.

"Regardless of his actions, Zhi Qiang is still one of us. Handing him over to a demon is unacceptable! Moreover, his spatial ring belongs to the Flame Dragon Sect. It's not something that can simply be given away!" he stated with a cold look.

Many thought his words made a point; Ye Chen's method was still questionable after all.

"Old fart, don't meddle in my business! I captured him so whatever I do has nothing to do with others. Also, you and that idiot over there had to give me your spatial rings; if not, don't blame me for being impolite!" Ye Chen snorted as he brandished his spear with a golden hue surrounding his body.

Seeing this, Zhu Wenkai, Xi Yanzhou, and elders from the Flame Dragon sect hurriedly made a distance.

"Monk Wei Sun, do you see how evil that brat is?! You better not support him, or the whole righteous faction will end up dead!" Xi Yanzhou shouted with a cold look.

"Hahaha. It seems you are blind and shortsighted. Don't you see what friend Ye Chen has is a pure form of righteous power? Even I feel jealous over this. As for his evil methods you speak of? There is nothing wrong with collecting the blood essence and souls. Don't tell me you alchemists of the Flame Dragon sect never did this in the name of researching soul-healing pills?"

"Even I and other monks had extracted the blood essence and souls to seal and study weak points. Are you saying that we are evil and should not be left alive?" Wei Sun inquired with a cold look.

No matter what Ye Chen did, it was not targeted towards the righteous faction but the cultivators who tried to kill him. If it were otherwise, he would really consider eradicating or throwing him in the 'Karmic Rebirth Pagoda,' which reforms souls and wipes away evil thoughts.

Hearing his words, Xi Yanzhou, Zhu Wenkai, and many others' expressions became ugly.

"Cough! Cough! What Ye Chen did is not wrong, but it also couldn't be said it is right. But he is just a young disciple and since he has not done anything that deserves punishment, a kind reminder will do."

Lu Change decided to put a stop before both of them started to dig up Black history. Every power, after all, had some unworthy cultivators who would do something that would tarnish their name. So, it was not good to bring up these things, especially in front of the young disciples.

"Humph!"

Wei Sun snorted with an unhappy look. If anyone had a less problematic cultivator, then it would be the Buddhist Temple, so he wasn't afraid when it came to digging up.

"Ye Chen had fulfilled your demands by holding the 'stone of true words' and explaining what you asked. So now it's your time to abide by rules and hand over the spatial rings," Song Meilin, who had been silent this whole time, spoke suddenly.

Hearing her, even Ye Chen was surprised, not expecting she would take his side despite how he had made their promising disciple lose a good opportunity.

"Song Meilin, we did not promise anything! Also, don't think we will fear you just because of Sword Pavilion behind you!" Xi Yanzhou snorted with anger.

He was the butler of the eighth prince, so he had nothing to fear, especially since the royal family was behind him.

"Oh? Really, you do not fear me? Then what about now?" Song Meilin chuckled and held a violet token in her hand with the words 'Sword Master Candidate' written on it.

Seeing this, all of the elders were shocked; even Zhen Yunqi displayed surprise.

"Yunqi. It seems you are getting another best friend," Jing Xiao spoke with a chuckle.

In response, Zhen Yunqi just rolled her eyes and said nothing.

"Master. Master. Why would Elder Song Meilin be the best friend of Sect Master Zhen Yunqi?" Wang Yiyi inquired, curiosity filling her eyes.

Li Mei and others also glanced at Jing Xiao for an answer, but she shrugged and claimed it as a secret.

"Congratulations to elder Song Meilin for becoming the Sword Master candidate," Lu Changhe spoke first, followed by others.

Sword Master was a high position in Sword Pavilion and could even be considered vice pavilion master. Which meant Song Meilin would be able to control and interfere with incoming and outgoing resources.

This would not matter too much, however; Sword Pavilion possessed a spiritual mountain that granted some specified herbs that every prince would want if they wanted to secure the throne more firmly.

The Flame Dragon Sect also relied on them for some herbs, which profited them a lot. There was no way they would want to see this falling just because some idiots made a bet they could not fulfill.

But of course, Song Meilin had to become a Sword Master first, which takes forty to fifty years at minimum.

Nonetheless, her identity as a candidate also held a lot of weight because only the previous generation Sword Master can elect candidates for this placement, which meant a terrifying Void Ascension stage cultivator had a favorable impression of her.

"Old farts, give me your spatial rings. Let's not say what will happen if you offend her but if you choose to offend me, you will die here and a very terrible death at that," Ye Chen stated with a cold look.

He did not know why they were afraid of Song Meilin's candidate token, and he did not think too highly of it. The reason was he did not need anyone's help in getting his things back.

He alone was enough!