“‘His family’s concern… and ours regarding the paperwork?’”

Xiao Feng mouthed the cruel words uttered by the Scribe Elder soundlessly, hurt and disbelief all over his face.

Xiao Feng knew Master Tian Ji Han had no other family. This was because both of them were orphans!

In fact, for a long while, both Xiao Feng and Tian Ji Han were once mocked as the “orphan cultivators” of the sect, how could the elder not know this?

How could the Elders of a top Righteous sect be so indifferent to the prospect of losing one of their own cultivators? How could they just sit and conspire to do nothing for their own?

Xiao Feng was young, but he was not stupid. He was a clever disciple, and understood situations and bureaucracies with only a glance.

However, he could be said to be naive for simply hoping that human nature— that rare shred of benevolence— which the mortal scholar Mencius believed all humans to possess, would win out today in spite of politics and grudges.

But unfortunately, while Master Tian Ji Han had no shortage of benevolence or virtue, he lacked the thing which carried much more weight in human institutions: relationships.

In fact, one could say that his being so virtuous had an inversely correlated effect with his ability to form connections and increase standing in the Heavenly Sword Sect— that because he was so unyieldingly righteous, he was bad at playing Sect politics, and therefore upset many people and caused “misunderstandings.” Nevermind the fact that he was an orphan and had no family backing him in the Sect, no family ever sought to adopt him for his lack of standing.

If Yin Na were here, he would explain it this way: “There were little to no benefits in adopting Tian Ji Han!”

A guard had walked over and whispered into the ear of the Supreme Elder. The Supreme Elder at last seemed to stir from his rigid standing posture, like a statue coming alive.

“Xiao Feng,” said Supreme Elder Tian Tai Li. “The True Disciples of the sect have looked into the matter regarding the status of your current party.”

Xiao Feng felt hope as well as heart-pounding anxiety at hearing these words. It turned out that the ruckus he was making at the Elder Hall instigated the True Disciples of the sect to go into the “bath house,” which was where the Sect hung the jade slips bearing the names of all the sect members out on missions on strips (like a bath house). These jade slips were linked to the life of each individual, and should the light on these jade slips fade and crack, the cultivator would be presumed dead.

Was the Supreme Elder expressing his support with his words? What was the status of his squadmates?

“According to the jade slips hung in the bathhouse, all six of your party are dead…only Tian Ji Han is still alive.”

The Supreme Elder Tai Li stroked his beard enigmatically before resuming his rigid, unmoving posture again, like he had fallen asleep.

Xiao Feng’s face became ashen in color.

“All of my teammates who I was talking to this morning have perished. We don’t have any more time, my words weren’t wrong, the Yellow Fox Sect cultivator Xiao Ying wasn’t wrong- Master is in grave danger!”

Xiao Feng sunk his knees to the floor. Then he kowtowed, banging his head into the floor repeatedly until blood began to come out of his forehead.

“Please, Elders! Please send cultivators to rescue Master Ji Han immediately!”

“...” Only the sound of Xiao Feng hitting his head on the cold floor of the Hall could be heard for a while.

“Unfortunately, we cannot do anything ourselves,” said Elder Ci Huai. His frown could be seen even through his graying beard. “As the Senior Elders, we have a responsibility to be overlooking vital aspects of the Sect at all times, we cannot delegate time in arranging a squad for you.”

Elder Ci Huai was more upset that Xiao Feng said that he was wrong in front of everybody rather than being proven wrong about Yin Na as a threat himself. How dare this mere Qi Condensation cultivator make him lose face in front of everyone in the Elder Hall!

“But we can give you an emergency loan of spirit stones and Sect contribution points,” said Elder Ling Ping. “You can use it to quickly buy supplies and hire a band of cultivators to go rescue your master.”

Elder Ling Ping looked at Scribe Elder Hou Cheng, who did not even look up from what he was writing as he conjured two bags of spirit stones and Sect contribution points. With the flick of his finger, he sent them landing beside Xiao Feng. By not making Elder Ci Huai apologize while offering a solution that didn’t really help by proxy, Elder Ling Ping was secretly saving face for Elder Ci Huai.

The two bags holding spirit stones and Sect contribution points spilled upon hitting the floor.

Xiao Feng looked up, blood leaking down his nose from his forehead, and estimated that there were only 100 spirit stones and 50 Sect contribution points in each bag.

“It cost master Tian Ji Han roughly 5,000 spirit stones or 300 sect points to hire each man for our squad today…” he thought. “I can’t even buy the services of one cultivator, let alone assemble a squad with this!”

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For the moment, Xiao Feng felt nothing but desolation in his heart. The Elders did not support him at all, they made it clear through their words and lack of action that they did not care about the life of Master Tian Ji Han.

Xiao Feng got up without touching the spirit stones or Sect contribution points scattered beside him. Without bowing to thank the elders, he turned around and left the hall as boorishly as he entered. The Elders harrumphed, and the guards of the hall laughed, their laughter echoing after Xiao Feng’s footsteps.

Xiao Feng ran to the nearest cultivator he saw upon exiting the Hall. He sensed his power as a Late Foundation cultivator.

“My master is about to die!” He said. “Please, will you help me, brother Daoist?”

The Late Foundation cultivator looked at Xiao Feng from head to toe, sensing that he was only in the Qi Condensation stage.

“Do I…know you?”

“I’m Xiao Feng, my master is Tian Ji Han, he’s a Core Cultivator fighting a life and death battle!”

“Oh,” the Late Foundation cultivator’s eyes squinted in contempt. “The ‘orphan cultivators’…

“I am busy. Besides, what can I, a single cultivator, do? Put a request in the mission hall if you got the spirit stones.”

Xiao Feng watched helplessly as the man harumphed and walked away. Xiao Feng quickly turned to another passing cultivator, who was also of the Late Foundation stage.

“Please, fellow Daoist, my master is going to die, please save him!”

The cultivator took one look at Xiao Feng, then snorted. He quickly disappeared in a prismatic beam into the sky, without a word.

Xiao Feng would not give up, he kept trying to grab the attention of passing cultivators, until he had ran to the Heavenly Sword Sect square, where almost a hundred cultivators were seen passing to and fro, doing transactions, or training their martial arts.

“Please, someone, anyone!” Xiao Feng’s eyes turned red with tears. He felt utterly helpless and alone. In his heart it felt like the entire sect was conspiring to let his master die!

During the time he had arrived at the Heavenly Sword Sect, the noon sun was gradually turning into an afternoon orange. At around this same time, Yin Na was fighting his life and death battle with Tian Ji Han, in the middle of their projectile battle of the five elements.

Little did Xiao Feng know, his cries and “shameless” pleading were successfully capturing the attention of the people in the square.

“Sect brother,” Xiao Feng felt a gentle touch on his shoulder.

Xiao Feng turned around to see…

“Sister Ying Er!” Xiao Feng felt hope at seeing the Foundation cultivator he called Ying Er Jie. He did not know her too well, but he had seen her and master Tian Ji Han on good terms, frequently cupping hands and respectfully addressing each other.

Her overall personality gave off an athletic composure, and although she seemed the kind of girl to always be energetic, Xiao Feng could instinctively tell that she was attempting to comfort him in a maternal way.

“Xiao Feng, no need to cry. Little boys need to be strong. I heard that master Ji Han is in trouble?”

“Y-yes!” Xiao Feng wanted to shed tears in relief. “He’s in mortal danger, along with all the Sect brothers who joined us on our mission!”

Xiao Feng gave a quick summary of the threat his master and comrades were facing.

“Yin Na…” Ying Er frowned. “I’ve heard of Master Ji Han’s stories about that former Dao brother of his. But if he’s really as powerful as you say he is, there’s almost nothing I can do, my mid Foundation stage is no match for him.”

“Sister, what should I do?” Xiao Feng asked. “I went to the Hall of Elders to ask for help, but the Elders would not do anything!”

Ying Er’s light complexion paled further when she realized that Xiao Feng barged into the Hall of Elders.

“Oh, Xiao Feng, you cannot do things this way, there are etiquettes we all must follow within a Sect, you cannot go in there yourself without your…” Then she smiled brightly. “Oh, forget it. Here’s what we’ll do: we ask Master Tian Ji Han’s friends, and form an emergency rescue party ourselves!”

Ying Er knew that Xiao Feng was smart, but she also knew Xiao Feng was hopeful.

“Being hopeful is one of the last traits a child possesses,” she thought. “But being hopeful that the Elders and numerous families Tian Ji Han offended would overlook their grudges is just childish. He really is just like master Tian Ji Han…”

A wistful smile spread across her lips. “Perhaps I am still hopeful, too…”

“Then it’s perfect timing that we’ve arrived!” A cultivator with a strong jawline popped up behind them. Ying Er let out a cry as she was startled, then turned to see a hairy man in the blue-white True Disciple uniform of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

His muscular body, as well as his Core Formation appeared strong (which she could sense was a Red Core). Beside him was a gentle-faced man, who gave off scholarly-vibes. Despite wearing the same uniform as his companion, one could say that the robe simply “fit him better.”

“Brother Liu Kang and Brother Sun Lu!” Xiao Feng addressed them respectively. He remembered to cup his hands, as the muscular cultivator Liu Kang took off Xiao Feng’s green hat as he bowed and tousled his hair.

Tian Sun Lu and Tian Liu Kang cupped hands and greeted sister Ying Er, who quickly greeted back in respect as their junior.

“How will you get people to come along with you,” said Sun Lu. “Without offering them incentives?”

“Brother Sun Lu, right now you’re sounding like Yin Na,” frowned Xiao Feng.

Tian Sun Lu smiled kindly.

“Yes, because we’re Master Tian Ji Han’s friends, we share his ideals, too.”

Tian Sun Lu was a Core Formation cultivator. However, unlike Tian Ji Han, he did not possess a Golden Core, but an Azure core.

Ying Er giggled to herself as she watched Xiao Feng. “How cute!” she thought. “Because he observes his Master always greeting these two as equals, Xiao Feng forgets to address them as his seniors and emulates his master completely in speech.”

“Alright!” Ying Er said. “At this rate, we’ll be able to form a quick party, enough for a Diamond formation.”

At the mention of “Diamond formation,” Xiao Feng shuddered at the memory of Master Ji Han and his teammates’ hasty attempt to form one while covering the Yellow Fox Sect girl Xiao Ying.

“A Diamond Formation would not be enough. We need to figure out a way to counter those Ethereal Hounds,” said Xiao Feng.

Tian Sun Lu nodded in understanding and said, “Although Liu Kang and I can use summoning techniques, it would seem like our headcount and firepower simply aren’t enough.”

Both Liu Kang and Sun Lu were some of the friends of Master Ji Han that were tasked with tracking and impeding Yin Na’s progress while Tian Ji Han was in closed door cultivation to Golden Core. They knew how formidable an opponent Yin Na really was.