SWNOVELXO Chapter 245: Calm Before the Storm!
After the main ceremony wrapped up, everyone decided to relax in the city before hitting the road. Kids were running around playing heavenly dao ball and other games, taking advantage of the sunset to have some fun and get dirty before hitting the showers.
Meanwhile, some sect elders from different groups gathered at a restaurant to eat and talk about the ceremony. Most had positive things to say, while others were just blown away by it all.
"The Fate Defying Elder looked so ravishing! If I wasn't a man, I'm afraid even I would've been charmed by his looks!"
"The fact that he's only been a disciple of the Dragon Blossom Sect for a little less than a year says a lot about his talent too!"
"Anyway, I've heard some unpleasant stories about this Yang Wei. Some folks say he's an arrogant bastard who bullied and sexually harassed one of the top Pill Masters in Tiancheng City, then after that he stirred up trouble around town. There's even talk about him getting caught once, supposedly choking a woman while spanking her.
Or even how he doesn't let his fellow star disciples gain equal share of monthly cultivation resources. But then again, there are others who praise his kindness and all the help he's given, like apparently helping out a family in the Red Lantern Village....."
"Oooo, I heard that one! There was a bridge made over the Thousand Monster Forest in his honor. Wasn't it call the Great Yang Bridge?"
"Well, impressive men like him are always going to attract jealousy. Come to think of it, I've heard some sketchy stuff about him too. But those tales are probably just gossip."
Nobody had any complaints though, because seeing the Fate Defying Elder was more than enough to satisfy them.
Over at the pagoda set up for the harmony elders to chill, everyone seemed to be having a blast.
Mu Zhihao was there, happily playing the flute.
His daughter, Mu Lingxi, sitting nearby with her long legs crossed, looked at him and grinned, "I didn't know you had a talent for the flute, Father."
He paused his playing and chuckled, "There's a lot you don't know about this old man, Lingxi."
Just then, Mu Zhong walked in with some tea, serving his father first with a warm smile.
"Oh?" Mu Zhihao raised an eyebrow, "I had thought you were off to see Meiyan."
Mu Zhong nodded, "Indeed, I initially was, but now that she's miraculously healing from her spirit wounds and getting her cultivation base back, I figured she'd want me to relax with my sect brothers and sisters and not stress too much."
Mu Lingxi nodded in agreement, "True, Big Sis Meiyan's considerate like that."
With a nod, Mu Zhong served Mu Lingxi some tea and then proceeded further down the hall, where he handed Mu Lin her own cup of tea. "Oh? Thank you, Older Brother," said Mu Lin as she settled comfortably into her chair. Mu Zhong smiled, holding the tray of tea cups in one hand so he could gently pat Mu Lin on the head. Read new chapters at empire
Seated on the floor just beside Mu Lin was Yang Wei, who seemed to be playing with a ball of fire in front of his pet celestial dragon, Tianyi.
The look of amazement in Tianyi's eyes was priceless as he saw his master conjure fire in the form of a ball. The little dragon's eyes sparkled like diamonds as it amazedly uttered, "Raaaaawwwrr..."
He Dongmei, who was carrying Tianyi in her lap, didn't seem too impressed by it, only because she'd seen her Senior Brother do far more impressive things than conjuring a ball of fire.
But of course, she knew it was the smaller things that captivated Tianyi, so she supported him by holding the little dragon close to the fire, which made him giggle, and in turn, made Yang Wei and He Dongmei giggle as well.
Initially, Mu Zhong wanted to serve them some tea as well, but when he saw the fun they were having, he didn't want to interrupt, so he simply smiled and walked over to the next place.
He served Huo Yue, Sun Yurong, Sun Yujing, Deng Rulan, and Hu Meizhen some tea next.
Since these beautiful ladies were all seated around the same table, it made it easier for him to distribute the hot cups of tea.
Sun Yujing smiled and graciously accepted the cup of tea, "Ooo, thank you."
Deng Rulan took hers, and she and Mu Zhong exchanged a small, almost flirtatious glance. "A man who can serve is always an attractive sight," she said softly.
Mu Zhong smiled in return and replied, "Well, a man like me only does it well because it's in the presence of such beautiful women."
Sun Yurong adjusted her hair and teased, "Ooo, be careful, older women like me shouldn't be your source of attraction, young man."
Sun Yujing folded her arms and chimed in, "And yet you're rumored to be the most beautiful woman in Linwu Kingdom. I'm your daughter, much younger than you, and even I can't seem to match your supposedly heavenly beauty."
Sun Yurong dramatically faked a blush and swayed her waist side-to-side on the chair, "Be careful, sweetie, I might get a big head if you say that."
The women shared a laugh, while Huo Yue observed them, scanning the room to see if her aunt was joining them, though she suspected she wouldn't, likely celebrating with Elder Qian and Guo Xiaomei. "As expected," Huo Yue sighed, shrugging shortly after.
Hu Meizhen desperately wrapped her arms around Deng Rulan and buried her face into Deng Rulan's shoulder, mumbling, "Don't let him charm you with his looks, Big Sis Deng!"
It elicited more laughter from everyone, and Mu Zhong simply walked over to the next group of people, consisting of Jin Tianyu, Huo Zhenwei, and Pan Huan.
Pan Huan was feeding Huo Zhenwei, while Jin Tianyu watched them with a smile on his face, though he felt a little guilty. Huo Zhenwei wasn't the smoothest around women, and the idea of him being so close to one, let alone being fed by her, made him want to cringe.
"You have to eat more, Zhen! How else will you be able to take your medicine!"
Pan Huan warned him, her expression slightly stern.
Huo Zhenwei tried to protest, "Uhh, Huan, I'm really fine, you don't need to─" But before he could finish, Pan Huan elbowed him in the sternum, causing him to gasp in pain.
She took advantage of his open mouth and quickly shoved some rice balls into it. Before he could even complain, she covered his mouth with her hand, leaving him mumbling unintelligibly.
Jin Tianyu couldn't help but laugh at the scene and commented, "It's a little funny how you guys make such a great couple."
Huo Zhenwei and Pan Huan both blushed and turned their attention to Jin Tianyu, but he interpreted their reaction as offense and mimicked zipping his lips shut.
Quietly, Mu Zhong placed three cups of calming tea for them and then moved on to the next person.
Wu Fengtian got a bit frustrated and clicked his tongue as he glanced at Mu Zhong. He waved his paintbrush in the air and said, "Senior Brother Mu, could you please stop walking around for a second? I'm trying to capture the moment!"
Everyone looked at Wu Fengtian with confusion written on their faces.
Huo Yue raised an eyebrow and asked, "What... do you mean?"
Wu Fengtian sighed and dipped his paintbrush back into the ink bottle. Then, he lifted the scroll he was painting on and turned it to them so they could all see.
Yang Wei raised an eyebrow as he examined the painting, "Uh, why's my head on the ground... and I'm not bald!"
Wu Fengtian looked at the painting again and let out a heavy sigh, "That's not your head, that's Tianyi!"
At the mention of his name, Tianyi stared at the picture and growled, clearly unhappy with how Wu Fengtian had depicted him──making him look like a chubby ball with wings. He Dongmei stood up from the floor, and the little dragon flew beside her. She inspected the painting closely, stroking her chin as she scrutinized it, and then replied, "Umh, why don't I have a face?
I look like an unfinished doodle. And you... gave me Tianyi's horns?"
Wu Fengtian sighed and covered his face with his hand in disappointment, "Tch, obviously those aren't horns, those are your glasses. No artistic taste, tsk."
He Dongmei frowned, and even Tianyi started growling as if he wanted to devour Wu Fengtian whole. However, Wu Fengtian remained stubborn and challenged, "Come on, fingerless dragon, let's see you try and paint something better..."
Mu Zhihao, peacefully playing his flute, perked up when he noticed himself on the painting. He stood up from his chair, dropping his flute on the table, and marched over to where Wu Fengtian was seated.
Wu Fengtian trembled with fear as the Nascent Soul expert approached him, but instead of meeting a gruesome fate, Mu Zhihao snatched the painting from Wu Fengtian's hands and examined it with a grin, "Hmm, I look so muscular, hehe!"
Mu Lingxi, intrigued, floated off her seat toward the scene. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully as she observed the painting, "You don't even have a face, Father, just a pipe sticking out of your head."
Mu Zhihao shook his head, chuckling, "You can't appreciate his artistic vision at all! Can't you see that pipe is the flute I'm playing? Never mind that, check out those muscles──it's like he knows I'm a total hunk, bahahaha!"
Mu Lingxi grimaced when she saw her own portrayal, "And I look like there's no difference between my body and the chair!" She angrily pounded her fist on the table, causing Wu Fengtian to shake even more.
Huo Yue chuckled, "I don't even want to see what I look like."
"Agreed," Sun Yurong concurred.
Growing weary of the commotion, Yang Wei stood up and stretched before heading out of the large hall to the grand balcony. Mu Lin watched him leave with mild curiosity but remained seated, uninterested in the painting that everyone, except Mu Zhihao, seemed to despise.
"Why are my breasts so big! One of them looks like it's bigger than my head!"
"Uh, Miss Yujing, that's how big they are... everything I painted there is the truth."
"Even my breasts are too big too, and you made me look an idiot!"
"Uhhh, you're the one everyone in the sect calls fat-chested airhead. Not my words, theirs..."
Yang Wei stood calmly on the balcony, hands behind his back, surveying the world spread out before him.
"He's coming..."
Suddenly, a strange sign appeared in the sky! Golden light flooded out, flickering like bolts of lightning.
Then, a massive rift appeared higher up, so powerful that even the mountains seemed to bow before it!
The sky itself seemed to collapse, and intense pressure descended on everyone and everything in the Linwu Kingdom. From Immortal cultivators to Mortal cultivators, all were brought to their knees, feeling like ants beneath this heavenly presence.
The pressure extended beyond the kingdom, causing the entire Northern Continent to tremble. People going about their daily lives felt as if they were about to die, bowing in trembling submission to the celestial might crushing down on them.
Amidst the trembling, not a sound could be heard.
It felt as if creation itself was trying to glorify this existence.
The patriarchs of various sects struggled to raise their heads, trembling as they faced the descending Heavenly Emissary, Zou Fang! His presence seemed capable of crushing both heaven and earth, leaving nothing safe in his wake.
The only one still standing was Yang Wei, though even he struggled not to kowtow.
With a gentle voice that boomed enough to shake the sun in the sky, Zou Fang spoke. . .
"I, the Heavenly Emissary, have come to pass news to the Azure Tree. I shall now announce the news you have all been waiting for... the genesis of the Sect Resource-Allocation Trial."