Chapter 67
The blade shot directly toward Wuming and Wei Zhi at terrifying speed. Both tilted their heads instantly in opposite directions at the exact same moment. The sword passed perfectly between their faces without touching even a strand of hair before stabbing into the wooden pillar behind them.
Their reflexes were insane.
Weiyang immediately turned around in horror before exhaling deeply in relief seeing them unharmed. Then he hurried toward them while panting slightly. "What took you guys so long?"
Wuming replied calmly, "I was with my mother."
Weiyang nodded quickly. "Next time pay my respects to her for me."
"Do it yourself."
Weiyang stopped walking for a second before clicking his tongue. "What an ass."
Wei Zhi burst out laughing immediately. "You reap what you sow." She pointed at Weiyang while laughing harder. "Didn't Wuming call you an asshole two days ago after you kept pestering him for a hangout?"
Wuming looked at Weiyang blankly. "You were a damn asshole then."
Weiyang pointed back at him dramatically. "You're the biggest ass I've ever seen!"
Then he awkwardly stopped midway trying to think of another insult but failing miserably since most of those strange modern slangs came from Wuming himself.
The clash between Wuming and Weiyang continued across the training grounds. Sparks burst repeatedly whenever sword met polearm while cold wind swept around the open courtyard. Weiyang grinned recklessly while attacking head-on whereas Wuming remained calm, deflecting each strike with terrifying precision.
Then suddenly—
Elder Gu's eyes shifted past the two boys.
Wei Zhi, who stood beside him pouring tea quietly, noticed the change in his expression and instinctively turned her head too.
Someone had arrived.
Elder Jiu.
And beside him—
Xuan Ming.
Wuming and Weiyang were still fighting when Elder Gu finally spoke firmly, "Boys."
Both reacted instantly.
The sword and polearm stopped mid-motion before the two separated naturally, sliding several meters apart while maintaining their stances. The distance between them stretched nearly four meters as the training grounds fell silent again.
Wuming's golden eyes shifted toward the newcomers.
So this is Elder Jiu?
The so-called second-best elder of the clan.
Wuming observed the old man carefully and thought blankly—
What a disappointment.
The man didn't look sophisticated. Nor elegant. Nor even dignified enough to resemble a respected elder. Instead he looked like an arrogant old geezer wearing authority on his sleeves while lifting his nose too high for someone so unimpressive.
Elder Jiu walked directly between Wuming and Weiyang while clicking his tongue repeatedly.
"Tch tch."
Then he looked toward Elder Gu dramatically. "Elder Gu… haven't you thought about teaching these boys some manners?"
Elder Gu remained seated calmly, completely composed as he drank the tea Wei Zhi had brewed for him earlier. He didn't even bother responding immediately.
Wei Zhi bowed politely out of habit toward Elder Jiu.
Wuming immediately looked at her.
"Why bow," he said coldly, "to a man who isn't worthy enough, Wei Zhi?"
The entire courtyard went silent for a second.
Weiyang's eye twitched instantly.
That geezer is getting on my nerves, I swear…!
Xuan Ming quietly stood behind Elder Jiu watching the situation unfold while Elder Gu slowly lowered his teacup at last, already understanding that peace within these grounds had officially ended the moment Elder Jiu stepped inside.
Elder Jiu took the cup Wei zhi had just poured for Elder Gu. The old man did not even drink from it. Instead, he slammed it onto the wooden table with enough force for the porcelain to shatter into sharp white shards. The sound echoed across the late-night training grounds. One of the broken pieces spun through the air toward Wuming's throat without warning.
But Wuming disappeared.
Not stepped away. Not dodged normally.
Vanished.
His figure flickered in a sharp zig-zag across the grounds exactly like fragmented lightning splitting through darkness. Every movement left behind a faint afterimage before his body reappeared somewhere else entirely. To the others, it looked less like speed and more like teleportation. The shard cut through empty air and shot straight into the bushes behind him.
Silence.
Then Wuming appeared again a few meters away, standing calmly with one hand inside his sleeve as if nothing had happened. His black robes shifted lightly in the night wind while his pale eyes rested on Elder Jiu without fear.
"Respect," Wuming said evenly, "is earned through charisma, elegance, intelligence, wit and heroics of one's own self. It is not something demanded from others, dear elder."
Ming, standing nearby, almost smiled. He knew exactly what Wuming had done. The boy had avoided the attack without humiliating the elder directly while still returning the insult twice as hard. Even Elder Jiu paused slightly.
Hm.
The old man narrowed his eyes. Sharp tongue. Cold temperament. Doesn't respect those he deems unworthy. Just like little Lady Yin Fu. Perhaps I truly should change my appearance.
Elder Jiu looked nothing like the dignified clan elder people imagined. His grey hanfu looked shabby, loose and wrinkled with faded cloud patterns stitched onto it. He looked more like a wandering drunk scholar than one of the strongest elders of the Xuan Clan.
Meanwhile Wuming stood opposite him dressed neatly in dark robes, posture straight and calm.
Weiyang clicked his tongue loudly. "What kind of elder demands respect instead of earning it, old man?"
Elder Jiu's eyes sharpened instantly. "You dare mock me, insolent child?"
The next second his qi exploded outward.
BOOM.
The pressure descended like a mountain. The ground beneath them cracked violently as spiderweb fractures spread through the stone training grounds. The table beside Elder Gu shattered apart from the sheer force alone. Even the air became heavy.
Yet none of the three children moved.
Wei Zhi stood beside Elder Gu quietly holding the teapot, silver hair fluttering softly. Weiyang stared directly back at the elder with fierce blue eyes, refusing to lower his head. Wuming remained beside him completely unaffected, expression unreadable.
Elder Jiu slowly noticed it.
Not one of them had bent.
Interesting.
Wuming spoke calmly into the pressure-filled silence. "It would be rather unfair if a High Venerable of righteousness fought children with no cultivation. It would not insult us, Elder Jiu. It would insult you. Rather, it would be our honor to take on the High Venerable of the Xuan Clan."
The old man looked at him carefully.
Threat and advice hidden in the same sentence.
"You're a sharp boy," Elder Jiu said slowly. "Since you've thought this far ahead, what is your solution?"
Wuming answered immediately. "Let your students fight Elder Gu's students. One against one."
A crooked smile stretched across Elder Jiu's face. "I have three students," he said wickedly. "And all three will fight."
Wuming smiled back just as coldly. "As you wish, Elder Jiu."
Wei Zhi lowered her head slightly, hiding her smile behind the teacup.
What a troublesome old fox, Wuming thought lazily. And now I have to put on an act.
Inside, however, he wasn't smiling at all. His mind had already begun calculating outcomes, injuries, advantages and weaknesses.
Elder Jiu finally looked toward Elder Gu. "Do you agree?"
Before Elder Gu could answer, Wuming spoke first.
"Let us have the sparring, Master."
Elder Gu sat there calmly sipping tea despite the destroyed grounds around him. His old eyes rested on Wuming for a few seconds before he smiled faintly.
"Since you've come this far into the negotiation," he said, "deal with him till the end, boy."
Wuming only shrugged lightly.
"As you wish."
He stood there loosely afterward, shoulders relaxed, one leg slightly forward, arms stretched outward casually like he welcomed the chaos itself. Under the moonlight his dark robes swayed slowly while his silver-black hair shifted across his face. His posture looked open and harmless, yet everyone present felt an uncomfortable pressure from him.
Ming suddenly laughed lightly. "It seems you enjoy fulfilling other people's wishes."
Wuming tilted his head back slightly and looked toward the dark night sky above the training grounds.
"Yes," he answered softly. "Why not?"
The wind passed through the silent grounds.
Then he smiled faintly.
"I want to fulfill others' wishes."
His eyes darkened afterward.
"I will become the deliverer of others' pain… and wishes."
Nobody replied.
Not because they did not hear him.
But because none of them could understand whether the boy before them was joking, warning them… or simply stating the inevitable truth.
Elder Jiu narrowed his eyes before letting out a low chuckle. "Well done then. Tell me, Wuming… who will represent your side?"
The night wind moved through the training grounds, carrying the smell of broken earth and scattered tea leaves. The pressure from moments ago still lingered faintly in the air like invisible smoke. Wuming stood calmly beneath the lantern light, one hand resting behind his back while the other lazily adjusted the sleeve of his dark robes. His silver eyes shifted toward the three figures standing near Elder Jiu.
"I assume your three students are Xuan Ming, Xuan Kai, and Ning?" he asked casually.
Elder Jiu smirked. "Correct."
Wuming nodded once before speaking without hesitation. "Then Elder Gu's students will be me, Weiyang… and Wei Zhi."
Silence fell instantly.
Weiyang blinked and immediately looked toward Elder Gu. The old man merely sat there peacefully as if none of this concerned him, calmly lifting the fresh cup of tea Wei Zhi had prepared moments ago. Steam curled around his wrinkled face while his eyes remained half-lidded in amusement.
Wei Zhi herself looked at Wuming quietly. He was smiling nonchalantly, but his expression was unreadable. Too unreadable. The kind of expression that meant he had already thought ten steps ahead.
Elder Jiu suddenly scoffed. "She's a servant."
Wuming answered before anyone else could speak. "She is indeed. But she is also my closest friend… and one of Elder Gu's students."
His voice was calm. Too calm. Like he was placing pieces onto a board one by one.
Then he turned slightly, glancing behind him toward Wei Zhi. Their eyes met for only a second. A tiny glint appeared within hers. Understanding. Confirmation.
Wuming immediately looked back at Elder Gu. "Is Wei Zhi not your student?" he asked lightly. "Do you not debate philosophy with her? Do you not teach her philosophy, Master Gu?"
Elder Gu slowly raised his eyes from the tea cup. Clear. Quiet. Ancient.
Before he could answer, Wei Zhi stepped away from his side. Her robes fluttered softly against the cracked ground as she walked forward and bowed respectfully with clasped hands.
"Master," she said calmly, "let me prove myself. As your debate partner… and your student."
Weiyang's eyes widened slightly.
Elder Jiu clicked his tongue.
Ming, however, immediately understood what Wuming had done. The boy had cornered the situation perfectly. If Elder Gu denied her now, it would mean denying his own teachings and companionship with Wei Zhi. If he accepted, then Elder Jiu could no longer dismiss her as merely a servant.
A soft laugh escaped Elder Gu. Not loud. But genuine.
"What a clever move," he thought. "Wuming orchestrated this from the moment he spoke."
Then his gaze shifted toward Weiyang, who seemed to finally be piecing together Wuming's way of controlling conversations and pushing people exactly where he wanted them to go.
Elder Gu finally nodded. "Fine."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Elder Jiu's lips curled upward wickedly. "Then the sparring shall be decided."
He pointed one finger forward. "Wuming will spar with Ming."
Another finger. "Wei Zhi will spar with Ning."
And finally—
"Weiyang… will spar with Kai."
The lantern flames flickered violently as if reacting to the names themselves.
Weiyang grinned excitedly and cracked his knuckles. Wei Zhi quietly exhaled while adjusting her sleeves. Wuming simply stood there beneath the moonlight, expression calm and detached, as though none of this truly mattered to him.
But inside his head, he was already calculating everything.
Wuming thought this way I will be able to know if Ming has opened Excusatio and how many Inevitas he possesses. It will be interesting if he truly has it. I will finally be able to see how it feels to fight against Excusatio in an actual battle. At that point it will not be a battle between us anymore, but a battle between two wills clashing through Excusatio itself.
End of 67