Chapter 814 Cannot Agree

Xiahou Kaiyuan disembarked from the warship and headed straight for Xu Luo. His face was solemn and his pace hurried, causing those who wanted to approach and pay their respects to freeze in place, not daring to step forward.

“What’s wrong with the Sect Leader? Did something happen?”

“It should be the aftermath of the ruins, right?”

“I heard that Senior Brother Luo displayed immense divine might at the ruins, slaying many geniuses. He even killed a Jiuzhou Seed.”

“Yeah, the Jiuzhou Seed from Blazing Flame Province tried to take advantage of his vulnerability to attack Senior Brother Luo, but ended up being slain by him instead. Serves him right!”

“Exactly, serves him right!”

“It’s not like the scum from Blazing Flame Province have been at odds with our Celestial Brilliance for just a day or two. This time, they finally got a taste of being crushed!”

“Senior Brother Luo is amazing!”

If the entire Celestial Brilliance now had a highly favorable impression of Xu Luo, then here in the Medicine Garden, you wouldn’t hear a single bad word about him! All the disciples of the Medicine Garden, including the higher-ups, considered Xu Luo to be their pride. If anyone dared to speak ill of him, Xu Luo wouldn’t even need to step forward himself; the people of the Medicine Garden would drown that person in spit.

Upon seeing Xiahou Kaiyuan, Xu Luo bowed respectfully. “Xu Luo greets the Sect Leader!”

“There’s no need for formalities.” Upon seeing Xu Luo, a hint of a smile finally appeared on Xiahou Kaiyuan’s stern face.

“May I ask why the Sect Leader has come in such a hurry?” Xu Luo asked.

Because Yu Tianying and the others had received timely treatment, their injuries had stabilized. Xie Wanrou and Jiang Botao were also escorting Yu Tianjie and the rest on their journey back; they were expected to arrive home in another day or two. Currently, the only thing on the agenda should be the Xi Hezhou grand competition.

The Xi Hezhou grand competition was, of course, a prelude to the upcoming Peak of Jiuzhou. The Peak of Jiuzhou… was the true greatest event in all of Jiuzhou! It gathered almost all the top-tier geniuses in the realm. It was a stage for the most elite young powerhouses to showcase their abilities; the mediocre would never appear there! Even someone like Xu Luo, who had experienced so much, couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement at the thought of the Peak of Jiuzhou.

“It’s nothing major, I just came to see you,” Xiahou Kaiyuan said with a smile as he looked at Xu Luo. “This time… you’ve performed a great merit! Not only did you protect your fellow sect members, but you also made the name of our Celestial Brilliance renowned throughout Jiuzhou!”

Xu Luo chuckled lightly. “It was what I ought to do.”

“There is no need for false modesty. What you did is exactly what everyone in Celestial Brilliance wished they could do!” As Xiahou Kaiyuan looked at Xu Luo, he grew fonder of him by the second. He couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret. Had he known this young man was such a monstrous genius, he would have snatched him from Yuwen ji regardless of the cost.

Even though Jin Ming had been his disciple and was expelled from Celestial Brilliance because of Xu Luo, ultimately dying at his hands, Xiahou Kaiyuan didn’t blame Xu Luo for it. He didn’t harbor even the slightest grudge in his heart. If he were a selfish and self-serving person, he naturally wouldn’t have a good impression of Xu Luo. But as the Heavenly Brilliance Sect Master, Xiahou Kaiyuan had always been broad-minded, fair, and strict. The things Jin Ming had done doomed him to a bad end. If he had any thoughts on the matter, Xiahou Kaiyuan only felt that he had been a poor judge of character, but he never resented Xu Luo for embarrassing him.

“So, you are truly outstanding!” Xiahou Kaiyuan looked at Xu Luo and said earnestly.

Xu Luo smiled faintly. This was just his nature; since Celestial Brilliance treated him as one of their own, he would treat Celestial Brilliance as his home. If anyone dared to bully his family, he would fight them to the death. However, Xu Luo could sense that the Sect Leader had come this time with something to say, but seemed to be in a difficult position.

“Sect Leader, you sought me out today because you have something to tell me, right? Please, just say it. There’s no need for any reservations,” Xu Luo offered thoughtfully. If not for Xiahou Kaiyuan’s magnanimity, obtaining the Soul Scripture would have required an enormous amount of effort. In a way, Xiahou Kaiyuan could be considered a benefactor to him and Su Qianqian.

Xiahou Kaiyuan sighed and looked at Xu Luo with a troubled expression. “Sigh, it’s like this… Although you made a name for Celestial Brilliance this time, you also… offended many people!

“While our Celestial Brilliance fears nothing, out of concern for your safety… we do not wish for you to participate in this upcoming Peak of Jiuzhou.

“This is a difficult decision. The Elder Council argued about it for a long time, and even now, opinions aren’t entirely unified. I came here today to hear your thoughts.

“But… before I listen to your thoughts, I want to share mine with you first.

“I have participated in the Peak of Jiuzhou. Though I didn’t achieve a high ranking, that experience benefited me immensely!

“It’s safe to say that there isn’t a single human Cultivator in Jiuzhou who doesn’t wish to participate in the Peak of Jiuzhou!

“Even though it is brutal and the mortality rate is incredibly high, if one manages to walk out of the battlefield of the Peak of Jiuzhou alive, the rewards… are unimaginably abundant!

“Fame, status, various divine materials, all kinds of Holy Medicine… Essentially, as long as you survive the battlefield of the Peak of Jiuzhou, you can have all of these things!

“So… from this perspective, I have no reason to stop you. In fact, at first… I was even hoping to persuade you to participate.

“Because I firmly believe that once you step onto the battlefield of the Peak of Jiuzhou, you will definitely display astonishing strength.

“I am also looking forward to seeing what kind of results you’d bring back.

“However… I find it hard to even convince myself to stop you from joining the Peak of Jiuzhou, but I… simply must,” Xiahou Kaiyuan finished, a bitter smile surfacing on his face.

Xu Luo looked at Xiahou Kaiyuan and said, “Sect Leader, please speak your mind freely.”

“The thing is, this time, you have thoroughly offended the Jin Family and the people of Blazing Flame Province to the core. Given the chance, they… will definitely not let you off.

“The Jin Family isn’t much of a concern. Although they have a few reclusive ancestors with profound strength, those ancestors won’t end their seclusion just for a young man like you.

“Taking a step back, even if those ancestors threw away their pride entirely and came out to kill you, our Celestial Brilliance isn’t to be trifled with!

“But Blazing Flame Province is different. It is a place so united that it’s terrifying!

“Although they also have families and sects that fight among themselves normally, as soon as they leave Blazing Flame Province, they unite closely and… face outsiders as one!

“Most importantly, the experts of Blazing Flame Province have never had any sense of morality. In fact, you should have witnessed this for yourself this time,” Xiahou Kaiyuan said, his brows furrowing.

Xu Luo nodded. Indeed, he had already witnessed the utter lack of morality from the experts of Blazing Flame Province. A Celestial Venerable Ancestor had directly split off a spiritual body to enter the ruins and slaughter indiscriminately, disregarding his status to attack the younger generation, completely uncaring of how the outside world viewed them. If Lan hadn’t been by his side, he probably would have fallen victim to their vicious hands long ago.

With these thoughts in mind, Xu Luo looked at Xiahou Kaiyuan and asked, “Do you mean… those experts from Blazing Flame Province might make a move against me?”

Xiahou Kaiyuan nodded. “It’s not a possibility; they will definitely make a move against you!

“According to the news sent back by our people in Blazing Flame Province, they are absolutely furious over the loss of a Jiuzhou Seed this time. They harbor a deep-seated hatred for you, the one who slew that Jiuzhou Seed. Already, three or four old monsters at the Celestial Venerable Realm have decided to act against you!

“As long as you leave Celestial Brilliance, it’s safe to say… you won’t be safe anywhere.

“Our Celestial Brilliance is a Supreme Great Sect of Xi Hezhou with incomparably profound foundations. The problem is, many of our ancestors are not currently in the sect. They… have all gone to the forbidden zones of the Divine Domain to explore the unknown. On one hand, they seek their own breakthroughs; on the other, they are searching for various treasures for the sect.

“As for the ancestors remaining in the sect, almost all of them are in seclusion. This time, I had to brazenly beg Shen Ru and the other three ancestors to make an exception and end their seclusion to protect you young people.

“But if it’s just you alone, it would be very difficult for me to convince those ancestors to stay by your side and protect you…

“After all… their status is not that of a Guardian, and our Celestial Brilliance is not a Holy Land,” Xiahou Kaiyuan explained with a bitter smile.

Hearing this, Xu Luo already understood. He was deeply moved by Xiahou Kaiyuan’s well-intentioned efforts. Obviously, the Sect Leader viewed him as a hot-blooded young man, and a young person’s mindset was undoubtedly vastly different from an elder’s. If these words were spoken to an elder, they would easily accept them and make the correct choice after weighing the pros and cons. But for a young person, especially a young heaven-chosen, accepting Xiahou Kaiyuan’s good intentions would indeed be quite difficult.

However, Xu Luo was no ordinary young man. His experiences were far richer than those of many older figures. Therefore, Xu Luo immediately grasped Xiahou Kaiyuan’s good intentions. Understanding them was one thing, but Xu Luo had no intention of following Xiahou Kaiyuan’s wishes.

This had nothing to do with youth! Rather, it was because he currently possessed a massive trump card!

Lan!

Although Lan would leave sooner or later to enter that mysterious forbidden zone, she wouldn’t do so right now. Especially since Xu Luo wanted to use this grand event, the Peak of Jiuzhou, to find his brothers! Xu Luo had an intuition that he would definitely encounter them at the Peak of Jiuzhou! This was an event he absolutely could not miss. If he missed it, he would regret it for the rest of his life!

With these thoughts in mind, Xu Luo looked up at Xiahou Kaiyuan and said, “Sect Leader, I completely understand your good intentions. You want me to stay in the sect and cultivate diligently. I estimate that in just a few decades, I would achieve great mastery and fully possess the ability to protect myself!

“By then, the world would be my oyster, and I would be truly free.”

Xiahou Kaiyuan nodded with a gratified expression, pleased by Xu Luo’s maturity. However, Xu Luo’s next words plunged him into absolute silence.

“But… I cannot agree to your request!

“Because, if I were to make such a choice, it would be equivalent to abandoning my Dao heart, and I… walk the path of Heart as Proof of Dao!

“Once I abandon my Dao heart, it would mean… I am abandoning my own… future!” Xu Luo said resolutely.