Chapter 373 - 205: Reversal, Mountain Guardian

Chapter 373: Chapter 205: Reversal, Mountain Guardian

After hearing Wang Xiaohu’s words, the many disciples present looked at one another. Then, one of them stepped forward and asked,

"What do you want to say?"

A look of reminiscence and relief appeared on Wang Xiaohu’s aged face as he said,

"What I want to say is that everyone has their own destiny and way of life. Ordinary people like us, no matter what happens in this world, are ultimately just one of the common masses. Those brilliant and spectacular lives are fated to be beyond our reach."

"The best choice is to accept your ordinariness and continue living an ordinary life. Wanting too much will only bring you suffering."

As Wang Xiaohu spoke, his gaze flickered. He remembered how his own desire for a life that wasn’t meant for him had made the latter half of his existence so miserable.

’It wasn’t until I had grown truly old, with no ambitions left in my heart, that I finally had an epiphany. People really shouldn’t overthink things. If something doesn’t belong to you, you shouldn’t even think about it.’

’When you have no ambitions left in your heart, you can live a life of ease.’

It was because he understood this truth that he stepped forward to say these words today, seeing his fellow disciples so agitated, indignant, and consumed by the Resentful Qi in their hearts.

Because he had walked this path himself, he hoped these juniors wouldn’t end up like him, living out the latter halves of their lives in misery.

Of course, as someone who had been through it all, he also knew that people consumed by Resentful Qi were not so easily persuaded—just as he himself had once been.

Therefore, he was already prepared to debate them properly after they inevitably refuted him.

He wasn’t confident he could persuade them, but for the sake of helping these disciples live the latter halves of their lives with more ease, he decided to go all out.

He had to do everything in his power to convince them, lest they make a terrible mistake.

This thought flashed through Wang Xiaohu’s mind. He, who already had one foot in the grave and held no attachment to this world, felt a rare surge of passion, as if he were young again.

’I’m ready. I will use what’s left of my life for this final debate.’

He looked at the disciples before him with a resolute gaze. A fighting spirit that had long since faded now surged within him. ’Bring it on,’ he roared silently in his heart.

However, to his complete surprise, the disciples showed none of the agitated reaction he had anticipated after hearing his words.

They seemed perfectly calm, their faces tinged with bewilderment.

"Is that all you wanted to say?" a disciple asked, stepping forward and giving him an odd look.

Wang Xiaohu found their reaction strange; it was not what he had expected.

He nodded slightly, cleared his throat, and replied, "Yes."

"Pfft." The disciple who had just spoken snorted with laughter. "Who doesn’t understand a simple principle like that?"

He then sized up Wang Xiaohu with a suspicious gaze and added with a strange expression,

"Looking at your age, don’t tell me that’s the great epiphany of your entire life. If it is, well... your epiphany isn’t all that impressive."

As soon as he finished, another disciple stepped forward, a slight smile on his face. "Esteemed senior," he said, "I know you’re probably worried we’ll make a mistake, but I think you’ve misunderstood something."

"We reported our plan to vent our emotions here to the Sect, and the Sect approved it. In fact, Sect Leader Yue and the Qing Xuan Peak Master even apologized to us beforehand. They said the Sect had no other choice and couldn’t take us with them into the future. That’s why they told us we could let loose and curse them out today, to vent all the Resentful Qi and dissatisfaction in our hearts."

"Sect Leader Yue said we could curse anyone in the Sect, from top to bottom, including herself."

The moment he finished speaking, another person stepped up to add, "That’s not quite right. Sect Leader Yue said we’re not allowed to curse that Senior Shennong, the one who developed the high-yield Spirit Rice and wishes to remain anonymous."

As soon as that person spoke, the other disciple who had been talking before immediately rolled his eyes and said irritably,

"Are you an idiot? Why would we curse Senior Shennong for no reason? My family even has an Eternal Life Token for him at home! If I cursed Senior Shennong, would I even be human? How could I face the folks back home in the future?"

"You were the one who wasn’t precise. I was just giving you a friendly reminder."

"I don’t need you to remind me of that! Any person with a brain knows you don’t curse Senior Shennong."

The two of them bickered amongst themselves, leaving Wang Xiaohu standing off to the side, completely dumbfounded. His mouth hung open, and after a long, stunned silence, he finally managed to stammer in disbelief,

"You... reported it to the Sect?"

"Why?" He stood there, frozen, suddenly feeling like he no longer understood the world.

He had assumed so many people had gathered here to angrily criticize the Sect, to cause a scene.

But now they were telling him they had reported it to the Sect beforehand. Even more bizarrely, the Sect had actually agreed and told them to curse as much as they wanted.

’How could such a thing be possible?’

Hearing Wang Xiaohu’s question, the Cultivator who had first explained the situation to him replied with a hint of exasperation,

"What else would it be for? To avoid any misunderstandings with the Sect, of course! Otherwise, what would happen if the Sect saw so many of us gathered here venting our frustrations and thought we were trying to stir up trouble?"