The courtyard fell so silent you could have heard a pin drop.
Only a faint breeze stirred, sending a few withered yellow leaves spinning lazily past the collapsed, unconscious forms of Su He and Li Miao.
[The Hundred Bones Resonance watched the scene unfold and felt a surge of pure, bone-deep satisfaction shoot straight from the base of its spine to the crown of its skull.]
[Was this not the classic tale-book scenario — where the villain's lackeys fail to defeat the protagonist, go wailing back to fetch reinforcements, and an elder comes storming in with all their might and authority, only for the protagonist to stand calm and unshaken, publicly humiliating them all over again and leaving them without a shred of dignity?]
[This further validated its theory that Gu Chengming was its destined golden-finger protagonist.]
[Hundred Bones Resonance Affection +3]
Gu Chengming listened to the excited muttering echoing through his mind, his expression remaining perfectly composed. He gave his wrist a light flick, spinning the wooden sword into an idle flourish, then reversed it behind his back.
"After you."
Elder Liu stood rooted to the spot, her chest heaving, her face a study in barely-controlled fury. Her eyes were locked onto her two useless disciples crumpled on the ground, her fingers trembling, knuckles white.
How could she not understand now exactly what had happened?
The first time, at the disciple market — she could have told herself it was a sneak attack, that Gu Chengming had been underhanded and shameless.
But this time?
Right in front of her eyes, with full preparation, her disciples had even moved first to open the distance — and what had it gotten them? They hadn't laid a finger on so much as the hem of his robe. Flat on the ground in under two breaths.
What did that tell her?
It told her the so-called "sneak attack" had been nothing but an excuse all along. It told her these two girls had simply been outclassed — beaten fair and square — and couldn't bring themselves to own up to it.
"Well, now..."
Ren Wencai chose his moment perfectly and broke the silence.
Hands clasped behind his back, he ambled over to Su He and Li Miao at a leisurely pace, bent down, made a great show of examining them, then straightened up and fixed Elder Liu with a look of exaggerated, heartfelt concern.
"Junior Sister Liu, it seems these two disciples of yours are indeed a little..."
He let the sentence hang, as though the words were simply too awkward to say aloud, and heaved a long sigh.
"They focus all their time on spell cultivation, but is their physical constitution perhaps a bit too fragile? How could they go down from such a light tap from this outer disciple of mine?"
Then, for effect, he turned on Gu Chengming with the weary, disappointed tone of a teacher at his wit's end.
"Gu Chengming! Really now!"
"I told you to exchange pointers, didn't I? How could you use so much force? What if you'd injured the two senior sisters? Stop dawdling and apologize to Elder Liu this instant!"
Gu Chengming played along without missing a beat, immediately cupping his hands in a respectful bow.
"Disciple acknowledges the fault. Next time I will absolutely mind my strength — handle with care, set down gently."
"You — you two — !"
Elder Liu was shaking with rage, jabbing a finger at the master and disciple duo trading perfectly synchronized lines, her mouth opening and closing without managing a single complete sentence.
Her temper was infamous — fiery, fierce, and ferociously protective of her own — but she hadn't climbed to the rank of Elder in Wenjian Sect without the most basic grasp of logic and self-awareness.
A loss was a loss.
And this was a loss so complete they hadn't even kept their dignity intact.
If she kept making a scene now, she wouldn't just be losing face for herself — she'd be losing it for all of Daoning Gate.
Elder Liu drew a deep breath and forced the rage back down.
"This matter was my mistake. I wronged innocent people."
"The fault lies with my own poor judgment. I offer my apologies."
With that, she swept her wide sleeve outward, scooping up the still-unconscious Su He and Li Miao from the ground.
She didn't have the face to linger a single second longer. Her feet blurred into motion; she transformed into a streak of escaping light, hauled her two burdens into the sky, and vanished over the horizon in the blink of an eye.
That departing silhouette, from any angle, was the very picture of a hasty, humiliated retreat.
"Safe travels, Junior Sister!"
Ren Wencai called cheerfully after the fading streak of light.
Only when it had disappeared entirely did he finally lower his gaze and turn around.
He looked at Gu Chengming, and the delight in his eyes was nearly impossible to contain.
This Liu An — in her usual arrogance, backed by Daoning Gate's numbers — had made a point of throwing obstacles in his way at nearly every sect assembly for years. Today's little performance had let him exhale every last drop of accumulated resentment in one glorious breath.
And moreover...
Ren Wencai's gaze swept over Gu Chengming, and a note of genuine appreciation entered his eyes.
That old drunk had gone all-in trying to poach this kid — even parting with his copy of the Immortal-Concealing Wine-Sword Formula as bait.
Ren Wencai had harbored real concern that young Gu might not be able to resist the temptation, actually switch his cultivation path, and end up getting lured away by that old sot in the end.
But as things stood now...
Faced with the temptation of a profound sword art, the boy had held firm. Unmoved by external things, his heart had not wavered.
Truly worthy of being a disciple of Huiyuan Gate.
Of course, he had absolutely no idea it was simply because Gu Chengming didn't have enough attribute points to practice it.
Ren Wencai smoothed the amusement from his face and settled back into his customary air of serene, unfathomable dignity.
He clasped his hands behind his back, gave a slight nod, and spoke in an unhurried tone.
"Mm. Well done."
"You upheld the sect's dignity without truly damaging a fellow disciple's foundation. The measure of force was... acceptable."
Gu Chengming lowered his head at once. "Many thanks for Elder's praise."
Ren Wencai studied Gu Chengming, and the more he looked, the more satisfied he felt — though inwardly, his thoughts had already moved on to calculation.
That old drunk had already given the boy a cultivation technique. If he, the legitimate elder, offered nothing in return, wouldn't that make him look petty and small-minded?
And what if, someday down the line, the kid thought things over and decided Hunyuan Sect had better benefits after all — and simply left?
No, that wouldn't do. He needed to dangle something sweet.
"Ahem."
Ren Wencai cleared his throat. His palm turned over, and a thin, yellowed booklet materialized in his hand.
"Your performance today was adequate. I can also see that while your swordwork is fast, the transitions between your forms lack a certain force — you're relying purely on technique to win."
"This volume, 'Flowing Light, Sword Shadows', is something I acquired in my wandering years. It's nothing so grand as a peerless divine art, but what it lacks in raw power it makes up for in agility and versatility — it specializes entirely in the doctrine of speed."
"Take it and study it well. Don't let this old man's goodwill go to waste."
With that, the booklet drifted down and settled lightly into Gu Chengming's hands.
Gu Chengming felt a stir in his heart.
"Many thanks for Elder's gift of this technique!"
Ren Wencai gave a satisfied nod.
Then his gaze shifted to Jiang Lu, standing to the side.
Rewarding only Gu Chengming wouldn't be entirely fair — and it wasn't good for unity among fellow disciples either.
A generous elder spreads his grace evenly, after all.
"Jiang Lu, you didn't raise your hand today, but reporting the situation promptly was a contribution in its own right."
Ren Wencai flicked his fingers casually, sending two small, exquisitely crafted porcelain vials arcing toward Jiang Lu.
The latter fumbled slightly but managed to catch them, and offered a hasty word of thanks.
Inwardly, he finally understood why his master had repeatedly told him to spend more time around Senior Brother Gu.
In a roundabout way, he supposed, he'd ridden along on someone else's coattails today.
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