thefictionvixens Page 338
Page 338
"alright!!"
Linghu Chong couldn't help but shout.
The other disciples stopped talking and all looked at Linghu Chong.
"Master said that Junior Brother needs to rest after traveling all the way to Mount Emei. If you have any questions, please wait until he has rested."
Hearing Linghu Chong's words, the disciples, though curious, held back and watched as Linghu Chong led Jiang Ning away.
"Senior brother, it's so good to see you're still alive!"
Lin Pingzhi silently watched Jiang Ning's retreating figure, and couldn't help but clench his fists.
He vowed to practice diligently and catch up with Jiang Ning.
"Junior brother, you should rest well. If any other junior brothers or fellow disciples from other sects come looking for you, I will keep them away from outside."
Linghu Chong led Jiang Ning to a guest room and then said...
"Thank you, senior brother."
Jiang Ning smiled.
Linghu Chong waved his hand: "This is nothing. Your return is the greatest joy. Alright, you should rest."
After saying that, Linghu Chong left.
Jiang Ning watched Linghu Chong's departing figure before going inside and closing the door.
Jiang Ning placed the Zhenwu Sword, wrapped in cloth, on the table, then lay down on the bed with his eyes closed.
He didn't sleep; he just closed his eyes to rest.
As night fell, there was a knock on Jiang Ning's door.
"Ning'er, are you still resting?"
It was Ning Zhongze's voice.
Jiang Ning opened his eyes, got up, and opened the door, where he saw Ning Zhongze standing.
"I've rested enough, Master's wife. Did Master call me over?"
Ning Zhongze nodded: "Yes, come with me."
Jiang Ning closed the door and followed Ning Zhongze. Before long, they arrived at a side hall of a golden-roofed temple.
The door to the side hall was open, and Jiang Ning could see that there were quite a few people sitting inside.
Yue Buqun... Feng Buping... Tianmen Daoist... Dingxian Shitai... Dingyi, Dingjing... Master Mo Da... Qingzhu Shitai and other masters from the Emei Sect were all present.
"Master, Senior Uncle Tianmen, Senior Uncle Dingxian, Senior Uncle Mo, Senior Qingzhu."
Jiang Ning bowed to everyone after entering.
“Amitabha, my nephew Jiang, the news of your death has been circulating in the martial arts world. Everyone felt sorry for you. Our righteous path has lost a chivalrous figure who rid the people of evil. Now that we see you return safely, we are so fortunate.”
Master Qingzhu stood up and smiled at Jiang Ning.
They all knew about Jiang Ning's death, but Yue Buqun had told them during the day that Jiang Ning was still alive.
At this moment, not only did Abbess Qingzhu stand up, but Mr. Mo and the others also rose to congratulate Jiang Ning.
They are all Jiang Ning's elders, so there's no need for such formality. However, Jiang Ning is different from the other juniors; he is the third-best martial artist in the righteous path, possessing extremely high martial arts skills, and thus deserves the respect due to him.
"Alright, Ning'er, you've come at the right time. Now your master is about to discuss important matters with your senior masters. Please sit down and listen in."
Yue Buqun spoke.
No one objected to Yue Buqun's words.
Next, they discussed important matters concerning the future of several factions. Those present were all high-ranking members of their respective factions. Logically, second-generation disciples should not be present, but Jiang Ning was an exception.
Although Jiang Ning is a second-generation descendant, his martial arts skills are second only to Yue Buqun among everyone. In fact, it is now a question mark whether Yue Buqun or Jiang Ning, master and disciple, is stronger.
Jiang Ning is destined to be a powerful figure in the future of the Huashan Sect, and none of the people present had any objections to this.
"Everyone, please sit down."
Master Qingzhu then spoke up, and after everyone was seated, she said, "What I want to discuss with everyone tonight is the question of who will be the leader of the alliance after the Five Sects Alliance is announced at the Emei Sect's succession ceremony in January."
After Master Qingzhu said this, everyone fell silent, and no one spoke.
After a while, Mr. Mo glanced at everyone's expressions and spoke first.
"What suggestions does Abbess Qingzhu have in mind?"
Mr. Mo Da's choice of words is very apt.
Since Abbess Qingzhu has said this, it means she has her own ideas, so they should first listen to what Abbess Qingzhu's ideas are.
In fact, from the perspective of the three factions, whether it was him, Tianmen Daoren, or Dingxian Shitai, they all supported Yue Buqun as the leader of the alliance. After all, Yue Buqun's martial arts skills were very high, the Huashan Sect had a century-old friendship with the three factions, he was upright, and had a high reputation in the martial arts world, making him the best candidate to be the leader of the alliance.
But they also had to consider the ideas of the Emei Sect.
Although we don't know exactly how high Qingzhu's martial arts skills are, they are probably a notch weaker than Yue Buqun's.
The leader of the alliance has always been someone with high martial arts skills, but the Emei Sect is very strong overall, ranking first among the five sects, which is something they have to take into consideration.
Otherwise, if they were to elect Yue Buqun as the leader of the alliance, it might make the Emei Sect think that the four sects were excluding her Emei Sect as a whole.
"Why don't I, Yue, first share my thoughts?"
Yue Buqun spoke at this moment.
Master Qingzhu originally wanted to say something, but she also said, "Sect Leader Yue, please speak."
Yue Buqun looked at everyone and said, "As you all know, this is a major event for our Five Factions Alliance. The position of Alliance Leader is of paramount importance and must be carefully considered."
Yue Buqun's words were mature and prudent, but they were all old clichés and contained little substance.
However, everyone nodded in agreement, because what Yue Buqun was about to say was the real deal.
"This is what I think: Abbess Qingzhu is highly skilled in martial arts, and the Emei Sect is a major sect in the martial arts world. Its reputation and strength are beyond question. Therefore, I recommend Abbess Qingzhu to serve as the leader of the alliance."
No one expected Yue Buqun to say that, but Abbess Dingxian was the first to react.
"Amitabha."
Master Dingxian said, "This humble nun agrees with Sect Leader Yue's words and also believes that Master Qingzhu is the best candidate to be the leader of the alliance."
Yue Buqun and Abbess Dingxian both expressed their opinions, and Daoist Tianmen and Master Mo Da also expressed their support.
"This old man/this humble Taoist also agrees with Abbess Qingzhu taking the position of leader of the alliance."
Master Qingzhu didn't expect that this matter would have a result so soon after it was brought up, and that she would be unanimously elected as the leader of the alliance.
"No!"
To everyone's surprise, Abbess Qingzhu refused.
"I believe I am not capable enough to serve as the leader of the alliance. In my opinion, I would like to recommend Sect Leader Yue to be the leader of the alliance."
Chapter 451: Heroine
Upon hearing Master Qingzhu's words, all the factions were shocked, as none of them expected that Master Qingzhu would actually decline the position of alliance leader.
Only the masters of the Emei Sect were not surprised.
It seems that they have reached a consensus within Emei.
"Master, I..."
Just as Yue Buqun, who had been recommended by Abbess Qingzhu, was about to stand up to decline, Abbess Qingzhu spoke to him first.
"Sect Leader Yue, please let me finish."
Yue Buqun stopped moving and sat back down.
At this moment, Abbess Qingzhu stood up and came to the center of the crowd, her eyes scanning everyone.
He spoke slowly after a moment.
"I imagine everyone is wondering why I would recommend Sect Leader Yue to be the leader of the alliance."
Master Mo and the other sect leaders, including Tianmen Daoren, exchanged glances.
They were indeed very confused.
Master Qingzhu took in everyone's expressions and said, "I have three reasons for recommending Sect Leader Yue as the leader of the alliance."
At this moment, an Emei master took a piece of paper and spread it in the center of the crowd.
It was clearly the location of various factions and the Sun Moon Cult.
"Everyone, please take a look."
Master Qingzhu pointed to Pingding Prefecture, where Blackwood Cliff was located.
"The headquarters of the Demonic Cult is located in Pingding Prefecture, Hebei, while our five factions are located in five different places."
Seeing this, no one spoke, and they continued to wait for Abbess Qingzhu to continue.
"Although the Emei Sect had never formed an alliance with the other sects before, it knew that the other sects had once formed the Five Mountains Sword Sect with the Songshan Sect in order to deal with the Demonic Sect. The position of the five sects is of great importance."
"The Hengshan Sect is in Shanxi, the Taishan Sect is in Shandong, the Huashan Sect is in Shaanxi, the Songshan Sect is in Henan, the Hengshan Sect is in Hunan, and Black Cliff is right in the middle of your five sects."
While pointing to the location, Abbess Qingzhu said, "I think that when the former leader of Huashan Sect formed an alliance with various sects, he took this into consideration. He formed a life-and-death alliance with various sects to lock down the Demonic Sect in Pingding Prefecture and prevent the Demonic Sect from making any progress."
Master Qingzhu looked at Yue Buqun.
Yue Buqun nodded: "That's right."
That's exactly what the former leader of the Huashan Sect thought, but now...
Not to mention being locked down, their factions are far inferior to the Sun Moon Sect, whose influence is now widespread.
Master Qingzhu continued, "However, our Emei Sect is located in Sichuan, which is far from the Central Plains. If the Demonic Sect makes any unusual moves, our Emei Sect may not be able to find out in time. That is one reason."
"Second."
Master Qingzhu held up her second finger. "That concerns who is qualified to be the leader of the alliance."
No one spoke at this point, waiting for Abbess Qingzhu to continue.
"In the martial arts world, various sects or alliances do not have requirements for the position of sect leader or alliance leader, but the most important point is to determine it based on martial arts skills. Whoever has the highest martial arts skills will become the sect leader."
Master Qingzhu calmly said, "Although I am not being modest, I believe that my martial arts skills are not bad, but they are not as good as those of Headmaster Yue. I suppose that the martial arts skills of all the heads present are not as good as those of Headmaster Yue."
"If you all disregard this point and insist on making me the leader of the alliance, then I would like to ask you all, if when it comes time to change the leader in the future, the outcome is not determined by martial arts prowess, then what will be the determining factor? Will the younger generations of each sect still respect my Emei sect?"
No one expected Master Qingzhu to be so blunt, and they all fell silent.
Yue Buqun did not humbly say that his martial arts were inferior to Master Qingzhu's at this moment, because if he had said that, the alliance would not have been formed.
Seeing that no one spoke, Abbess Qingzhu continued with her third point.
"This humble nun believes that Sect Leader Yue is humble and polite, and his martial arts skills are unfathomable. Whether in terms of martial arts or ability, he is the best among those present and the most suitable candidate to serve as the leader of the alliance."
"Why do you all ignore these things and elect this nun as the leader of the alliance?"
Master Mo, Daoist Tianmen, and the others had remained silent until now, and they were even more speechless in the face of Abbess Qingzhu's question.
Abbess Qingzhu was naturally not trying to embarrass the leaders of the various sects, and then continued.
“I know that you all recommend me as the leader because you are afraid that my Emei sect might have some ideas. After all, the overall strength of my Emei sect is the strongest among all sects. You are worried that if you recommend Master Yue as the leader, my Emei sect and I will think that the four sects of Huashan, Hengshan, Taishan and Hengshan are working together to deal with my Emei sect, and thus become dissatisfied.”
"You all mean well, and you didn't want my Emei Sect to harbor any resentment, so you said these words. I and the Emei Sect appreciate your kindness."
Master Qingzhu spoke without any reservations, appearing quite frank.
Everyone seemed a little embarrassed.
That's exactly what they think.
"but!"
Abbess Qingzhu's expression turned solemn: "Our five-faction alliance is not for power struggles, but rather we all share a common goal: to destroy the Demonic Sect!"
At this point, Abbess Qingzhu's voice rose and her eyes shone brightly.
“A hundred years ago, my sect’s third-generation patriarch, Abbess Miejue, was an enemy of the Ming Cult. She vowed to eliminate all evil and heretical sects in the world and to exterminate them completely.”
"The Ming Cult of yesteryear no longer exists, but a more ruthless Sun Moon Cult has risen."