Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ye Futian stared at Jun Mu. He and Wan Shouyi would each get one piece of fruit, and Jun Mu would watch over the other three pieces?
It seemed that Jun Mu was leaning on his position as a disciple of Taixuan Mountain. He was indeed at the head of the other disciples of Taixuan Mountain. He wanted to divide the fruit up according to his own desires and even take a piece for himself.
However, when one had cultivated up to their level, there were countless other people in the HIgher Heavens Realm who were fighting for this very chance that they had now. They wanted to break out from the crowd of ordinary disciples and have a chance to take part in this event. They would face a lot of challenges just to have this opportunity.
Even though they had such a slim chance, countless people still came here. This showed just how much the people of the Higher Heavens Realm valued the fruit. Was Jun Mu worthy of taking charge of and dividing up something so precious?
However, perhaps it was the very preciousness of the fruit that had conjured feelings of greed within him. What did friendship between fellow disciples even count for anyway? Moreover, Jun Mu had never looked favorably upon Ye Futian ever since the day that he had come to the mountain, probably because of the relationship with his master.
“Why would you be the one to guard them?” Little Phoenix stared at Jun Mu in surprise. “Before Shen Jing got here, you had already counseled Wan Shouyi to give up the fight. That is equivalent to giving up your right to the fruit. Then Shen Jing came and strengthened Wan Shouyi’s swordsmanship. This is why they are able to have the fruit in the first place. Now, you want to seize the fruits of their labors?”
“Feng Yan, our Master has given you a place on this quota, so your conduct will reflect upon the two Demon Emperors. Taixuan Mountain has been so good to you, and yet you still plot against them? You should know your place,” said Jun Mu coldly. As he spoke, he was already walking towards the tree. He was going to pick the fruit.
Woosh!
A beam of sword Qi whistled down from the sky, shooting straight towards the tree. Jun Mu frowned as he reached up to slap it away, destroying it. He looked back at the one who had done this. It was Wan Shouyi.
“What is the meaning of this, Brother Wan? Do you think that you should be the only one to have the fruit?” Jun Mu’s face turned ugly. Although there were many pieces of the precious fruit, they were difficult to obtain. The most powerful people had already fought their way through and seized many of them, and many other cultivators had seized more of them. It would be very difficult for the fifteen cultivators from Taixuan Mountain to get 15 pieces of the fruit.
Given that, Taixuan Mountain had managed to obtain five pieces of fruit. How could they let them all go?
Would he not get even a single piece of fruit?
He was at the Nirvana level. It was not easy to cultivate up to that level, and to break through to the Renhuang level was even more difficult.
Who of the people who had made it to his level would not want to forge a Renhuang body, activate the Wheel of the Great Path, and shine with the sun and the moon?
When he took this step, he would have the right to pursue a higher level. Before he did so, even though he was a genius, he would forever be far away from the next level.
“Brother Jun, Feng Yan is correct. We had lost the fruit, but then Shen Jing used his guqin music to transform my swordsmanship into something much more powerful. Otherwise, Li Xun of the Divine Sword Li family would have defeated me. Thus, Shen Jing is the one who has the right to divide up the fruit. Even I don’t have the right to ask for a piece,” Wan Shouyi said politely to Jun Mu. He seemed very courteous, but he was firmly stating his position.
It was not that he favored Shen Jing. This was just the right thing to do.
Even if Ye Futian did not give him any of the fruit, he would not say anything. After all, without Ye Futian, he would have lost, and may even have been crippled by Li Xun.
When a battle broke out while seeking the Way, even if he was killed or wounded, his elders could not seek revenge. It would have been his own choice that had led him down that path.
“I think that what Brother Wan said makes sense. It is for Shen Jing to divide up the fruit,” said Luoyue, looking at Ye Futian as she spoke. This made Jun Mu hesitate as he walked towards the tree. He could not force his way through to pick the fruit.
Given the current situation, if he picked the fruit, it would probably cause infighting between them.
“Lord Taixuan broke through to the next level, and thus Taixuan Mountain was allotted 15 people to come here. I never thought that a single tree would cause a situation like this to happen. If we go on like this, how can we be of one mind going forward?” asked Jun Mu coldly.
“So if you divide up the fruit, we will be of one mind, but if Shen Jing does it, we won’t?” Feng Yan looked at Jun Mu angrily. He was clearly just like all the others. He wanted to seize the fruit. But this was normal, after all. Everyone was greedy.
“I am a disciple of the Taixuan Hierophant. Who is Shen Jing? Even though Fourth Miss brought him to the mountain, he is still just a musician who has received many favors from Taixuan Mountain, which is why he was able to cultivate this Famous Song. He may have been successful in forcing the people from the Divine Sword Li family to retreat, but that was due to an ability that Taixuan Mountain gave him. Even the fact that he was on the quota was thanks to Taixuan Mountain. So who do you think should divide up the fruit?”
Jun Mu’s words were harsh. He wanted to differentiate him from the rest of Taixuan Mountain and make him lose heart.
After all, what he was saying was true. Ye Futian was only a musician on Taixuan Mountain and did not have the status of a disciple. And Jun Mu was the personal disciple of the Taixuan Hierophant, making him a sort of grand-disciple of Lord Taixuan.
A look of surprise came over the faces of the other disciples of Taixuan Mountain. They had not thought that there would be any infighting. But given the current situation, there was not one among them who did not want a piece of the fruit. After all, they were not a family like the Divine Sword Li family. They did not have a definite leader like they did.
They had all vaguely considered Jun Mu to be their de facto leader since he was the disciple of the Taixuan Hierophant. But Jun Mu was not powerful enough to defeat them all. If he had been able to defeat Li Xun, then he would have been mighty indeed.
But now it seemed like he had not been mighty enough, which is why they were facing this current dilemma.
In this way, it would be difficult for them to get any more fruit. Moreover, spending time here debating was a waste of time in and of itself.
Some of them looked at Ye Futian. Hopefully, he would take the imitative and make a concession.
“There are five pieces of fruit, and I will give up two of them. One of them will go to Wan Shouyi, who fought in this battle, and the other one to Luoyue. The other ones will stay with me,” said Ye Futian. He stepped forward as he said this. Standing here talking nonsense was indeed wasting the time that still remained to him to strive for other pieces of the fruit.
Jun Mu stared at Ye Futian. He was indeed greedy. Other than the two people he had said, Wan Shouyi and Luoyue, he would be the only one to get the fruit.
He looked at the others. “This is someone who came to Taixuan Mountain to seek the Way. What do you think of this, Brothers?”
“You are being unreasonable, Brother Shen Jing,” said Ma Yi. He had been made a part of the quota by the House Master of Taixuan. He had always been curious about Ye Futian, but then he had entered String Palace to cultivate. He was thinking that this musician, who had been brought to Taixuan Mountain, was not showing enough gratitude for what his master had done.
Moreover, he seemed very close to Luoyue. This changed Ma Yi’s attitude towards him.
“Since we have all agreed to divide it up like this, go and receive your share, brothers. Trying to work together has led us to this situation. It is ridiculous,” said Jun Mu mockingly.
“I regret that it came to this as well, but I will stand by what I said. If someone comes to take the fruit,” Wan Shouyi raised his sword, “after we return, I will beg for forgiveness from Lord Taixuan.”
It was clear that if someone tried to pick the fruit, he would cut them down.
Ye Futian stood behind Wan Shouyi. He was still holding his guqin. Thinking of how powerful the two of them had been when they worked together, Jun Mu’s face suddenly turned ugly. Li Xun had been defeated by the two of them. He knew he was not as strong as Li Xun, so if he fought them, he would not only probably not get the fruit, but he would be hurt as well, which would make it harder to fight for more of the fruit in the future.
“Good for you,” said Jun Mu with a wave of his sleeve. He stepped forward and said, “You can see for yourselves what they are like. Those who want to can come with me.”
The other disciples of the Taixuan Hierophant naturally followed close behind him. Ma Yi followed as well, and then a few more people. After all, Jun Mu was very strong.
“Shen Jing, pick the fruit,” Said Wan Shouyi to Ye Futian. Ye Futian nodded. He picked the five pieces of fruit. He gave one each to Wan Shouyi and Luoyue, then ate one piece himself. This left two more.
“What about mine?” Feng Yan gave him a pitiful look.
“You want one too?” Ye Futian looked at her disdainfully. This girl asked too much.
“You’re so mean.” Little Phoenix snorted.
Ye Futian looked at the other people who had stayed and said, “I will not guarantee that any of you will get any fruit. If you seize it for yourself, then you are naturally entitled to it, but if I get it, then only after I have taken a certain number will I share it.”
Taixuan Mountain had been good to him, but he could not share all the fruit with the disciples of Taixuan Mountain. After all, he was not all that friendly with any of them. Other than Wan Shouyi, who he was on relatively good terms with, the others were all casual acquaintances at best.
Should he treat them as old friends and share the precious fruit with them based on such a casual relationship?
Then what about Yu Sheng, Wuchen, and Yaya?
So he would not promise anything, nor would he be stingy. He had left two pieces of the five that he had taken.
A look of surprise came over several people’s faces when they heard what he said. He may have said that he would be the one to divide up these five pieces, but what he was saying now was even more arrogant. It seemed that he would be deciding everything from now on.
The people who had been part of the quota were no ordinary cultivators. They did not look at Ye Futian as their leader.
He had learned the Famous Songs in the String Palace on Taixuan Mountain, and yet it seemed as if he regarded them as nothing.
As he watched them leave, Ye Futian knew that he had offended them, but it was better to speak the ugly truth now to avoid a situation like what had just happened than to have them be bitter at him later.
There were only five people left now: Ye Futian, Little Phoenix, Wan Shouyi, Luoyue, and Deng Hu, who had come with Luoyue. He was a subordinate of the City Lord of Taixuan.
“Let’s go,” said Ye Futian, and began to leave. Wan Shouyi watched him. Ever since Ye Futian had been in his mind, he had seemed different than before. His modest demeanor had gradually disappeared, and now there was an overpowering will about him.
Perhaps his true self was finally showing.
His figure flashed, and Wan Shouyi was soon riding on his sword. “When you played your music, I could feel the true will of swordsmanship. It seemed like the true final strike of the Fleeting Divine Sword,” he said.
“The music comes from the same root as the Fleeting Divine Sword,” answered Ye Futian.
“But I could only feel the will. It is difficult to use the true Fleeting Divine Sword.” Wan Shouyi seemed regretful. “Otherwise, when I create my Divine Wheel of Swordsmanship, every time I strike, it will be with a Fleeting Divine Sword.”
The Divine Wheel of the Great Path could directly connect heaven and earth. All of the Divine Great Wheels that cultivators created were different from one another. They had different strengths and weaknesses, and they even had different numbers of them.
Wan Shouyi’s entire mind was set upon seeking the Way of swordsmanship. He naturally wanted nothing more than to create a giant Divine Wheel of Swordsmanship!
