Chapter 34 – Dead Robber's Father Blames Florida Man for Retaliating Against Robbers
= Life Sword Sect =
The Grand Elder Pagoda's top floor was the home of Han Hao. The entire floor was his living quarter, living room, and bedroom.
The floor below, on the other hand, was the monitor room of inner disciples. The sect housed key artifacts that represented the lives of all inner disciples – Life Candles.
Life Candles were the tools that the sect relied on to monitor their inner disciples' well-being. Every inner disciple's life was connected to one of the candles. Whenever they were healthy, the candle's flame shone. Whenever the disciple was sick, the flame flickered and wavered. When a disciple was injured, the candle melted, and the fire faded.
But whenever a disciple died, the candle would reveal the cause of death. If the disciple died because of sickness, the candle stick would always remain intact, but the flame would die out. But if someone killed the disciple, the candle would be broken in half.
On the candle stands next to the wall, two hundred candle sticks stood there, and the flame was calm. At the bottom of the candles were the labels and tokens of inner disciples.
In the middle of the room with nothing but candles and shelves, a burly middle-aged man sat there, meditating and guarding the candle sticks. He had no facial hair, and he tied his long hair into a topknot like a samurai. The red tiger tattoos on his thick arms and countless sword scars on his skin were his signature feature, and his Daoist Name was Tiger Swordsman.
Tiger Swordsman was another elder of the sect. His position was below Han Meng and Han Hao, but held a high ranking among the internal affairs elders due to his duty – He was in charge of monitoring the statuses of all inner disciples.
CRACK
While Tiger Swordsman was meditating, one of the candles broke in half and fell to the floor. The elder snapped open his eyes and stood up. Walking toward the candle, the elder picked it up and looked at the name token of the fallen inner disciple.
Ouyang Ting
"Ouyang Ting? Which madman provokes the Ouyang Clan? Is he insane?"
The elder pulled the broken candle out of the shelf and brought them to a Buddhist altar on the north side of the floor. The Buddha statue was three meters tall, but it depicted a sleeping Buddha. In front of the statue was a large water bowl with clear water.
Tiger Swordsman deeply sighed and dropped the broken candle into the water bowl. The liquid instantly turned murky white.
"Show me what he did before his death."
This water bowl was another artifact of the Life Sword Sect. Upon dropping a broken Life Candle into this container, the water would show the last 10-30 minutes of the deceased's vision before his death. Unfortunately, it could only show the vision. The audio was not included.
The water in the bowl revealed a scene of a dark forest and a certain wooden cabin. At first, the scene remained the same because Ouyang Ting had been stalking the general store.
A minute later, Leo returned to his store. Then, a group of assassins came out and started putting on talismans around the cabin.
Tiger Swordsman frowned. Although they wore black robes, he recognized this tactic of this assassin unit. After all, they were famous for overusing the Qi Sealing Talismans of the Situ Clan.
"Damn Ouyang's Hound Squad. This stupid group should have been eradicated long ago if not for the Ouyang Clan! They're the dumbest one-trick-pony gang. What assassin? They're just a pretentious group of ragtag assassin-wannabe. They have no skill whatsoever!"
The elder was in a bad mood as he hated dishonorable assassins. He forgot for a moment that he was supposed to investigate Ouyang Ting's cause of death.
Soon, the vision changed. Ouyang Ting moved down from a tree, but he still lurked in the shadow. He watched the fight scene between a group of assassins and a monster plant on the rooftop, but five of them were slaughtered instantly. Then, the assassins activated the array and trap the monster inside.
Seeing how the assassins stayed outside of the Qi Sealing Array and shooting bolts and arrows at the plant, Tiger Swordsman sneered.
"See? In the end, your group is just full of trashy wannabes. None of you know anything about swordsmanship or weapon techniques. You're all nascent soul cultivators, but you can't even take down a 3rd-stage monster. How disgraceful."
Tiger Swordsman laughed for a moment, but then, he noticed something weird.
The infamous Qi Sealing Array was cracked by the monster's whips.
His interest was piqued. He looked closer and clicked his tongue. However, Ouyang Ting was too far away from the scene, and Tiger Swordsman couldn't see the detail.
"Get closer, you coward! Get back on a tree and look from above if you are stalking someone! What a fool!"
The elder wished he had a jar of wine and snacks to eat while he watched the show. Once again, he forgot that he was supposed to investigate Ouyang Ting's death.
The fight tipped on the monster's side at first. But then, the assassin captain started using a sword technique. It was a long-ranged crescent slash, which generated a sword energy wave that could cut through steel.
The elder shook his head. This was a basic skill that all disciples eventually learned from the Life Sword Sect. He didn't know how Duan Mu had learned it, but its strength and speed were subpar. Tiger Swordsman, who had the same cultivation strength as Duan Mu, was confident that he could do it a thousand times better.
The monster got pushed back by the sword slash. It fell to the back of the store.
After the monster had fallen off the rooftop, the assassins followed it. Ouyang Ting also moved out of the shadow and ran toward the back of the store. He continued observing the situation from behind.
Once more, the vision was poor. Ouyang Ting prioritized hiding over observing, which made Tiger Swordsman annoyed.
Fortunately, the situation developed. The store owner walked out of the store.
Tiger Swordsman raised his brow as he found Leo's odd. Although he couldn't tell if Leo was a soul formation cultivator, the colorful aura around him indicated that he mastered all five elements, which made him a dangerous existence. Picking a fight with a soul-formation cultivator was the same as picking a fight with a Quasi-Immortal cultivator.
"Well, it's over. They're done for."
The elder watched how Duan Mu activated the formation and used an explosive sword technique. Leo soon punched and broke the array with ease. Then, he came after the assassin captain in a flash.
The fight instantly ended. The assassin captain turned into ash on the spot. The other goons fled in all directions, but they also dissipated into dust even though Leo didn't touch them.
Tiger Swordsman was amazed by Leo's mysterious power. He broke a cold sweat, unable to imagine how he would cope with such a mysterious ability.
The elder bit his lower lips. No matter how he simulated the fight between him and Leo, he couldn't figure out a way to win. The power was too domineering.
DRIP
The water curtain rippled as a sweat drop Tiger Swordsman fell into the bowl. Fortunately, the artifact continued to show the last experience of Ouyang Ting.
The guy turned tail and ran. He was fast for a peak 3rd-stage cultivator. But facing a soul-formation senior with a monstrous foundation, he was like a kitten in front of a veteran lion.
Ouyang Ting was knocked by something as the vision span. The image blurred, and Tiger Swordsman could no longer see anything.
The elder gave up watching. He had enough information about what Ouyang Ting had done.
"Idiot. Truly an idiot. He picked a fight with a senior, and he got himself killed. Did he think that all seniors won't lay their hands on juniors? Not everybody follows the doctrine of the Jianghu Alliance. Those "Senior must not bully junior" things are outdated. If the juniors deserve it, we obviously will teach them a lesson!"
Tiger Swordsman deeply sighed. He believed that Ouyang Ting deserved it. However, there was a major problem.
How would Life Sword Sect explain to Ouyang Ting's father? Ouyang Long was a member of the Jianghu Alliance, and he was in command of the Ouyang Clan's troops. He would surely know about his son's death and pay the sect a visit. If this matter was handled poorly, it could trigger a war.
As Tiger Swordsman didn't have enough influence or power to make a decision for the sect, he picked the broken candle in the bowl and Ouyang Ting's token. Then, he brought it to the higher floor, where Han Hao resided.
.
.
The Life Sword Sect was not the only place with the Life Candle artifacts. The Ouyang Clan also possessed them as they could be easily made with alchemy. In addition, it was common knowledge that Life Candles were made from a human's spinal cord and the blood essence of Life Candle's owner.
The capital city, Cauliflower City, was the heart of the capital was the Jianghu Alliance's palace, which was the gathering place of clan lords and undying old men.
In the palace, one of the Ouyang Clan's Life Candles was broken. A clan membered picked them up and looked at the name token in panic. Then, they brought the broken candle stick to their master.
In a courtyard of the Jianghu Alliance, Ouyang Long sat at a tea table with two other clan lords. They had been exchanging pleasantries while they admired the scenery and wine.
But the Ouyang Clan's servant rushed in and knelt before the three lords.
"Report! Young Master Ouyang Ting has fallen!"
"Hmm?!"
Ouyang Long was a 6'6 toned middle-aged man in long blue robes. He had a long black beard that reached his solar plexus and straight long hair. He also wore scholar headwear to hide a portion of his hair in there.
Upon hearing of his son's demise, Ouyang Long remained expressionless. He muttered, "Who killed him?"
The clan member rubbed his spatial ring and ejected an empty bowl and a bucket of water. He poured the water into the container and dropped the broken candle stick in there.
The last vision of Ouyang Ting was displayed.
The two lords and Ouyang Long watched the water screen together. A few minutes later, only Ouyang Long closed his eyes while the other lords burst into laughter.
"Brother Long. Your son was quite bold. Why did he provoke a soul formation cultivator?"
Another lord snickered, "His death is unfortunate. But still, even we can't comprehend his thought. Why did he do it anyway? From the looks of it, the other party is just minding his business in the woods, but your son brought a group of assassins for him. Is he insane?"
Ouyang Long's face reddened in embarrassment. He wished that he would have received this report in private. Because of this clan member, Ouyang Long became a laughingstock.
The father stood up and politely cupped his fist, "It seems that I'll be busy for a while. I'll make sure to come back before the mystic realm expedition."
"Hahaha. Go ahead."
"Yeah. Just go. We understand."
"…"
Ouyang Long nodded and turned around. He glared at the servant with bloodshot eyes.
"Prepare the ship. We're going to Life Sword Sect!"
The servant sensed a chill running down his spine. He sweated profusely and ran toward the airstrip, where the Ouyang Clan had parked their flying ships.