Chapter 330 – The Battle for Cloudwisp Island (1/2)

Tap, tap, tap. A cane struck the ground again and again. An old man of advanced age walked in with a hunched back with the support of a young man. His face had already waned to a rather horrifying extent. Only his eyes still seemed to shine.

Li Qingshan had never seen a person so frail from old age. He believed that if it were not for his peak Foundation Establishment cultivation, he would have been reduced to a pile of buried bones a long time ago.

“I’m Chu Shidao. Greetings to you all.” Chu Shidao pushed aside the young man and released his cane, bowing to everyone.

Everyone stood up and bowed back. Even earth elder Huang was no longer able to take advantage of his seniority. He placed down his pipe and said to Liu Zhangqing, “You’ve actually invited great master Chu here. Are you planning on having great master Chu take over as a school leader?”

Chu Shidao was not an individual obscure to the public. He possessed great renown throughout the entire Ruyi commandery. There was not a single person who would not gasp in admiration over his painting ability. It was an extremely great honour to be in possession of one of his paintings. However, it was rumored that he was close to the end of his life now, and he had stopped painting already, retiring from public view as a hermit. They never expected him to actually appear here.

“I’ll be honest with you all. My life is already close to its end, so I’m afraid I can’t occupy the position of school leader for very long. By then, my little disciple will take over. Danqing, why don’t you bow to the various seniors?”

Only then did the school leaders find out that Chu Shidao had come here to guide the delicate young man beside him. He only seemed to be seventeen or eighteen years old, but his cultivation had already reached the tenth layer. He was definitely worthy of being evaluated as a “genius”.

They had heard quite a long time ago that Chu Shidao had accepted his final disciple. He had vanished for an entire decade in order to teach this disciple of his. Now that they saw him today, it turned out to be true.

There were no objections. If a person like him was willing to join the Academy of the Hundred Schools of the Clear River prefecture and establish a school of Painting, it would be the academy’s honour. And, they had heard that he had many indirect disciples, who could make up for the academy’s loss of strength.

They added a seat below Liu Chuanfeng. This was probably the one and only time Liu Chuanfeng would have the upper hand.

However, the ownership of Cloudwisp island would not be decided so easily.

The various school leaders began to differ slightly in opinion too, but obviously not because of the useless Liu Chuanfeng. Instead, it was because of Li Qingshan who stood behind him.

Li Qingshan had mocked himself over what he had gone through this time, but in the eyes of the school leaders, he was a true genius with a brilliant future ahead of him. There was nothing they could complain about over both his cultivation speed and strength in battle. He had even been personally summoned by her yesterday. They could not oppress or neglect someone like him without proper thought.

Liu Zhangqing began to show signs of anger. “This is not all. You know exactly what those dirty works of yours you wrote in the past entail.”

The One Thought master said, “I’m afraid that would be an inappropriate reason. Although we have always disagreed with school leader Liu’s actions, not only has he stopped writing those obscene books in the past half a year, but he has recalled them all and destroyed them too, which only demonstrates his change. Regular people aren’t sages. Everyone makes mistakes. There is nothing better than changing for the better after a mistake. Please reconsider, school leader Liu!”

Liu Chuanfeng was strangely touched. “Thank you for speaking for me, master.” Right now, no one cherished his pen name of the Master of Wind and Moon more than him. After understanding the true path of the school of Novels, he had recalled all those books with complete willingness.

The One Thought master glanced at Xiao An. “This was all your own work.”

“This lowly daoist also feels that master Chu shouldn’t be in such a hurry to usurp another’s island!” The slovenly daoist priest spoke too, agreeing with the One Thought master for once. You already have a foot in the grave, yet you still want to flaunt about in our academy? How despicable.

To Liu Zhangqing’s surprise, even Wang Pushi and Han Anjun objected. Out of the five major schools, actually four of them disagreed with him.

No matter how much renown Chu Shidao had, no matter how high his cultivation was, he was still an “outsider”. If he wanted to usurp someone the moment he arrived in the academy, then it was extremely easy for others to repulse him.

Li Qingshan’s relationship with them played an extremely subtle role too. Ever since he joined the school of Novels, combined with Liu Chuanfeng’s own hard work, the opinion on the school of Novels had indeed been changing bit by bit unknowingly. Although it was still a pile of mud, at least it was worth supporting. Otherwise, who in their right state of mind would speak for a person who wrote smut?

Chu Shidao said, “Forgive my ignorance, but since when could a Qi Practitioner hold the position of school leader? And since when could a school possess a single disciple?”

Liu Chuanfeng was speechless. Cultivation would always be the most important standard for measuring a cultivator. This also happened to be his greatest flaw.

“I’ll be able to undergo the heavenly tribulation before long.”

Chu Shidao said, “And before long, I’ll depart from this world too. I’ve heard about the wonders of the school of Novels for a very long time now, about how you can turn make-believe into reality. That just happens to be what my school of Painting is capable of too. Why don’t we compete against one another and use that to decide the ownership of Cloudwisp island?”

Why would Liu Chuanfeng be bold enough to compete against a Foundation Establishment cultivator? He wanted to shirk away from the request.

“I won’t harass you just because you’re weaker. It’s not a good idea for school leaders to clash too.” Chu Shidao’s gaze suddenly turned towards Li Qingshan. “This must be your disciple!”

“I’m Li Qingshan. Greetings, great master Chu.”

“I’ve long heard about how you’re good with battles, and your abilities as a Body Practitioner are startling. Are you bold enough to compete against my disciple?”