Chapter 723: So you finally want to make a move (2/2)

“Aside from master’s internal energy, nothing else is capable of helping this disciple, is it?” Long Feiye asked back.

That’s true!

Only an eighth rank master like the sword sect master would be capable of helping a fifth rank reach seventh rank. In other words, Long Feiye had managed it all by himself. The old man looked at him, stunned, then revealed a helpless, forced smile. “Fortune fools with man! Fortune fools with man, ah!”

“Why do you say that, master?” Long Feiye felt a bit uneasy.

“Master thought you were injured, so I sentenced you to the Abstinence Courtyard as a way to treat your wounds without Cang Qiuzi suspecting,” the sword sect master sighed. “I never thought that you…hehe. Aye…so be it!”

The sword sect master took Long Feiye’s hand and tested his reserves with two fingers. Afterwards, he sighed. “Beginning stage of the seventh level isn’t enough to defeat Cang Qiuzi. He’s in the seventh level’s middle stage now. Your master can’t help you, either.”

The Nirvana Heart Arts divided each level into beginning, middle and later stages. The difference between each division was vast, and it took some people entire lifetimes to bridge the gaps. Long Feiye didn’t consider that an issue and only looked at his master with a complicated gaze. “Master, are you finally making a move after fostering a tiger for all these years?”

Because master had neglected to manage affairs over the past few years, Cang Qiuzi had seized the chance to win over the two Depositories and Courtyards along with various other factions within the martial arts circles. His power and influence grew by the day. Long Feiye could tell that his master dreaded pushing Cang Qiuzi too far, because that would only lead to internal strife within the sect. Moreover, he knew that master had sentenced him to the Abstinence Courtyard on purpose, but now he knew for certain that the man was going to move against Cang Qiuzi for real.

The sword sect master lowered his head to drink his tea, casting the room into silence. All was still but for the trailing tendrils of incense rising into the air. Long Feiye waited patiently without asking questions. Judging from his intuition, the situation at Celestial Mountain must be more dire than he imagined. Why else would master have been so silent and forgiving of Cang Qiuzi today?

A long time later, the sword sect master revealed a shocking secret. “Cang Qiuzi has been meeting frequently with members of the Heretical Sword Sect. If there’s disorder within our ranks, he’ll seize the chance to open the sect to them!”

“What nerve!” Long Feiye said coldly.

The Heretical Sword Sect was one of Celestial Mountain’s branch factions, but they had been expelled over a century ago for cultivating taboo sword arts without authorization. Even now, they existed as Celestial Mountain’s enemies and were part of the negative powers in the martial arts circles. Members of the Heretical Sword Sect were cold and emotionless, a fierce and bloodthirsty sort. Once Cang Qiuzi led them up here, the peace of Celestial Mountain would turn into a reign of terror and a rain of blood.

The sword sect master didn’t care how Cang Qiuzi fooled about within the sect’s own ranks. As the foremost sect of the martial arts circles with the strongest fighters, it was only natural for its members to vie for fame and power. As long as Cang Qiuzi didn’t go too far, he could open one eye and close the other. But Cang Qiuzi now had the gall to bring members of an evil sect into their grounds. That was something he simply couldn’t ignore.

“Master, how are you planning to help this disciple face Cang Qiuzi?” Long Feiye probed.

“Originally, master meant to send you to the Abstinence Courtyard so I could treat you and give you my internal energy. That would have helped you break all the way through to the seventh level’s later stage. But now…” he was helpless.

The fact that his disciple had miraculously broken through two levels should have been a cause for celebration, but he wasn’t glad at all. If Long Feiye was still sixth rank, he could boost him with his inner energy and sent him to the seventh level’s later stage all the same. That would be enough to overwhelm Cang Qiuzi at the mid stage. However, Long Feiye had broken through seventh rank himself, a stage that rendered him incapable of accepting interference or inner energy from external forces. His master couldn’t give him a whit of internal energy. If Long Feiye fought Cang Qiuzi as he was now, he’d lose for certain!

Long Feiye looked at his master without a word. By now, he’d finally understood the old man’s plans. Once master gave him his internal energy to break through levels, master would have dropped at least a level of his own, losing his status as the martial arts circle’s number one power. In truth, his master was more than capable of killing Cang Qiuzi. But if Cang Qiuzi died just like that, the Heretical Sword Sect would have more excuses to seize Celestial Mountain by force; the Lockheart Courtyard disciples would have more reasons to rise up and rebel; the elders of the Sword and Scripture Depository would have more ways to denounce him for the murder. No internal strife had ever plagued Celestial Mountain Sword Sect since its founding, much less ugly scandals like these. Master didn’t want to see such things pass, so he would rather sacrifice his own inner energy to have Long Feiye participate in the ranking matches. Aside from the sect head, any member of Celestial Mountain Sword Sect was qualified to compete. They would be responsible for their own lives upon entry. Thus, even if Long Feiye killed Cang Qiuzi in a match there, no one would object.

Once he did, master would hand over the position of clan head to him and let him inherit everything naturally. Who would dare to complain then? The sword sect master knew that he had lost his disciples’ hearts, so his original plan was to push Long Feiye forward with the fairest method possible to wrest Celestial Mountain from its precarious position.

Long Feiye understood all this. It also happened to coincide with his own goals. Using the ranking matches he could 1) kill Cang Qiuzi, 2) stabilize the ambitions of varying factions, and 3) awe the disciples of the two Depositories and Courtyards. A fair bout was the most sensible path to take for victory. He didn’t have time to waste here either, since he belonged to the imperial courts, not the jianghu.

Rising to his feet, Long Feiye cupped his hands and declared, “Master, you can help this disciple. Please undo the Lustbite Seal. Once the ranking matches commence, this disciple will only allow victory, not defeat!”

The Lustbite Seal…

Greatly alarmed, the sword sect master exclaimed, “Impossible, you’re simply seeking death!”