Chapter 238: Confrontation in the Hall

After returning to the mountain gate, Su Che went straight to the sect leader Tian Feng. He knew that Tian Wu Zun must have gone to complain, and of course he couldn’t let him speak recklessly.

It was just a confrontation—who was afraid of whom?

That day, in the sect leader’s grand hall, only the supreme sect leader and the two supreme elders, Qing Xuan Shi Zu, were present; Tian Wu Zun sat on the lower seat on the right side.

When Su Che entered, none of the three spoke. Clearly, Tian Wu Zun had already said everything that needed to be said.

After offering his respects, Su Che sat down on the lower seat on the other side, facing Tian Wu Zun from less than fifty feet away.

“Xuan Ji Peak truly produces many talented people.”

The supreme sect leader looked at Su Che with his usual kind and gentle expression. “Tian Yu, does Yu Qing have a bone age of thirty?”

Seeing the amiable attitude from his sect master uncle, Tian Wu Zun’s heart skipped a beat. “I just spoke ill of Su Che, yet my sect master uncle still treats me like this. Could it be that he truly values this boy so much?”

Although these supreme elders of the main peaks held high status, they still couldn’t access the most core and important secrets of the sect. Just like Tian Lu Zun back then, their understanding of the chief true inheritance was only superficial.

Su Che replied, “Elder Shi Zu, Yu Qing’s bone age is exactly thirty. His true strength is likely no weaker than mine, and he also holds great secrets. It’s just that he bears heavy calamities and has deep hidden circumstances.”

The supreme sect leader turned to Qing Xuan Shi Zu and said, “Reaching the Golden Dan stage at thirty is extremely rare in the sect’s history.”

Qing Xuan the great elder nodded in agreement and then asked Su Che, “Tian Yu, you say Yu Qing’s true strength is no weaker than yours. Is there any exaggeration in that?”

“None at all,” Su Che replied truthfully. “It’s precisely because our strengths are comparable and we work well together that we were able to jointly injure a powerful figure like Uncle Tian Wu.”

At these words, Tian Wu Zun on the other side couldn’t help but look embarrassed. He also hadn’t expected Su Che to boldly admit to having injured him.

So, he quickly bowed to the supreme sect leader and Qing Xuan the great elder and said, “Uncle Sect Master, Master, Yu Qing has already gone mad. He can amplify his potential tenfold, which is why he possesses such strength.”

Su Che’s mind stirred. Now he realized that Qing Xuan Shi Zu was actually Tian Wu Zun’s master. This relationship was rather unfavorable for him.

It wasn’t strange for a master to defend his disciple.

“Gone mad?”

Even so, Su Che showed no fear at all. With a cold sneer, he said, “Can someone possessed by evil still distinguish between friend and foe? Can they still join forces with me to fight against the enemy? If he’s truly possessed, I should be the one to be attacked by him… Grandmaster Tianwu, don’t forget—you’re also over three hundred years old. Don’t say you don’t even have this much judgment.”
What he meant was: Have you lived to such a state that you’re no better than a pig or dog?
Grandmaster Tianwu was extremely cunning. Hearing this, he remained unangrued and retorted, “Where is Yu Qing? Have him come here, and everything will become clear. The intensity of that demonic seed in him is something I’ve only seen once in my life.”
“He still has matters to attend to and won’t return to the sect for another two or three years,” Su Che replied calmly.
“As I thought!”
Grandmaster Tianwu was pleased upon hearing this. “I guessed he would flee! Originally, I didn’t intend to kill him. I just wanted to bring him back to the sect to completely resolve this demonic calamity—that would truly be saving him.”
“But you, disciple Tianyu, created all sorts of obstacles and hindrances, ignoring my good intentions. Instead, you took advantage of my trust in you and my lack of defenses to launch a surprise attack first. That’s why I was hurt by your collusion. Disciple Tianyu, can you really say you have a clear conscience about such actions?”
His words were righteous and justified. Su Che had to admit that, at his age, he hadn’t indeed lived down to the level of a dog.
Su Che wasn’t in a hurry. Shaking his head with a smile, he said, “I don’t want to argue with you. That will only make things more chaotic. I just want to explain the whole story—what’s right and what’s wrong. The two grandmasters will surely make a decision.”
“That’s exactly right,” nodded the Supreme Patriarch. “Tianyu, explain it in detail.”
So, Su Che began recounting everything about Senior Brother Yu Qing, starting from the hardships at Taiyi Gate and continuing up to what had just happened. Everything he said was the truth, without any exaggeration.
“The calamity is so severe…”
Elder Qingxuan shook his head slowly. “It’s either a great disaster or a great achievement!”
“Grandmaster…” Grandmaster Tianwu’s expression changed again. He could clearly hear the evident emotion and sympathy in his grandmaster’s tone.
Elder Qingxuan waved his hand, signaling him not to speak.
“Yes, Grandmaster Qingxuan,” Su Che nodded in response. “I think Yu Qing doesn’t want to return to the sect because he has his own difficulties, and also because he doesn’t want to drag others into his calamity.”
Both the Supreme Patriarch and Elder Qingxuan nodded, agreeing with Su Che’s judgment.

Seeing the reactions of the two elders, Tianwu, who was sitting aside, grew worried: It seemed he had done something foolish today.
With the situation as it was, he could hardly fail to realize that in the eyes of the two elders, Su Che’s importance far exceeded his own as a Peak Honored One.
They had absolute trust in him without reason, absolute protection without reason… It was very likely that even if he really made a grave mistake, they would find ways to make amends for him and cover it up…
Since Tianwu was a disciple of Grand Elder Qingxuan, the Supreme Patriarch must have secretly communicated with Grand Elder Qingxuan before making a decision.
There was a brief silence in the hall, after which the Supreme Patriarch said, “Today’s incident was likely due to Tianwu’s improper handling.”
Tianwu was slightly stunned but dared not argue. He could only bow his head and respond, “Yes, Uncle Patriarch.”
The Supreme Patriarch continued calmly, “Although Yu Qing has seeds of evil within him, it is not his true nature. His willingness to risk his life and use the heavenly calamity to dispel the evil calamity shows that he wants to fight against fate and refuses to fall into the path of evil. As a teacher, we should give him this chance to resist and do everything possible to help him overcome the calamity. What do you think, Tianwu?”
The Supreme Patriarch saw through Tianwu’s thoughts clearly, but since he was also a Peak Honored One, he still wanted to preserve some face for him and couldn’t speak too harshly.
“Yes, Uncle Patriarch,” Tianwu replied hastily. “Now that I think about it, I indeed acted excessively and handled things improperly.”
At this moment, Su Che guessed secretly, “Next, Uncle Patriarch might scold me a bit as well for injuring Tianwu and make me apologize to him.”
“That’s likely,” Lao He thought the same way. “Scolding each person a bit will downplay the big issues and make the small ones disappear.”
“If I have to apologize, so be it. Verbal apologies are harmless; it doesn’t matter.”
Unexpectedly, this time Su Che and Lao He were wrong. After that, Uncle Patriarch and Grand Elder Qingxuan never mentioned the matter of injuring someone again, and Tianwu was sent away.
It was then that Su Che truly understood how much the elders favored him—to an extreme degree…
After Tianwu left dejectedly, the Supreme Patriarch asked Su Che in detail about some matters related to Yu Qing.
After a long while, Grand Elder Qingxuan asked again, “Tianyu, do you think Yu Qing could ultimately win if he were to establish a Hundred Battles Arena?”

“The chances are high,” Su Che replied honestly. “Judging by my intuition as a disciple, if we fought each other, the outcome would be uncertain.”
Upon hearing this, the Supreme Patriarch and Elder Qingxuan exchanged a serious glance, seemingly not pleased but rather worried about this situation.
“What? Isn’t it good to have many talented people in the sect?” Su Che wondered.
After a moment of silence, Elder Qingxuan said earnestly, “Tianyu, I must remind you that having two tigers from the same mountain isn’t necessarily a good thing. I believe that even if Yu Qing fails to overcome his demonic trials, he won’t become a mindless possessed being. Instead…”
He paused briefly before continuing, “It’s very likely he will become your lifelong enemy and the most troublesome opponent you’ll ever face.”
“Huh?”
Su Che was stunned by these words and couldn’t accept such a notion for a moment. How could he and Senior Yu Qing become lifelong enemies? That was absolutely impossible!
Seeing Su Che’s surprised expression, the Supreme Patriarch said gently, “Of course, this is just our concern. It doesn’t mean it’s inevitable. Everything depends on human effort; anything can be changed. We’re just reminding you to always be aware of his state when dealing with him, and take precautions if anything seems off.”
“The most important thing is…” Elder Qingxuan added, “your greatest secret must never be known to him.”
Su Che nodded blankly. Though he still found it hard to accept these words, he knew that whatever the two elders said must hold some truth.
“My greatest secret… must never be known to him…”
These words deeply touched Su Che. His greatest secret was the Immortal Prison, and it absolutely couldn’t be revealed to Senior Yu Qing. Of course, it couldn’t be revealed to anyone else either.
“Those at the peak have almost no forces in the world to restrain them, except fate.”
Elder Qingxuan’s words lingered in the hall, “So, fate will arrange them as opponents, forcing them to restrain and counter each other… Perhaps, long ago, they were once close brothers, or even companions who stayed together for thousands of years…”
After leaving the Patriarchal Hall and returning to his own Xuanyu Peak, Su Che stood atop the mountain and finally took a deep breath.
“If I become a lifelong enemy of Senior Yu Qing, that would be too… too what.”

Lao Hei laughed and said, “Master, I think it’s better to let Yu Qing deal with this problem. After all, it’s he who’s facing so many hardships.”
“That sounds heartless,” Su Che thought to himself. “I should punch you a few times.”
“Sure!”
Lao Hei controlled his Asura demon body and eagerly jumped out of the Immortal Prison.
It’s just a demon body; even if it’s broken, it doesn’t hurt.