Martial Cultivator

Morning arrived, and the morning glow began to rise.

The morning glow at Infatuation Daoist Temple was hailed as a peerless sight in the world, and such praise was certainly not undeserved.

Many disciples newly arrived at the mountain often could not resist the allure of that morning glow. They would sneak away from morning lessons just to catch a glimpse. The former temple master had always been of a leisurely temperament, and for things like this, he had always turned a blind eye to it. With the upper ranks setting such an example, it naturally led to the rest of the daoists within the temple caring little if a disciple skipped morning class once or twice.

However, after the former Chief Enforcer, now the Temple Master, Daoist Yinli, took over, the atmosphere on the mountain grew increasingly strict. Few disciples still dared to skip morning class to admire the dawn.

During this period, the atmosphere within Infatuation Daoist Temple had grown tense.

The reason was simple: some days ago, the number one daoist genius of this generation, Yun Jianyue, had escaped from the Soul Locking Prison.

This leading figure among the younger generation had once been highly regarded by the previous temple master. But in the end, he attempted to assassinate the new temple master. The fact that he had not been killed on the spot but merely imprisoned in the Soul Locking Prison was already an extraordinary mercy. Who could have expected that this young man had broken out rather than repenting.

The daoists who learned of this matter quickly discovered that Yun Jianyue had been released by none other than Yu Lu. What puzzled them was that they could not even guess Yu Lu’s motive. After all, he had long been considered the Temple Master’s most loyal attendant, why would he do such a thing?

It must be remembered that Yun Jianyue had once tried to kill the Temple Master. By all logic, Yu Lu should have wanted him locked away forever, never to see the light of day again.

Though Yu Lu’s motives remained unclear, once his involvement was uncovered, they naturally moved to capture him. Fortunately, he did not resist much and was promptly sent into the Soul Locking Prison himself.

As for how to deal with him, not even Daoist Shouyi, currently acting as the mountain’s overseer, dared make such a decision lightly. After all, Yu Lu was still Daoist Yinli’s personal attendant. How he would be dealt with could only be decided upon Daoist Yinli’s return.

But at present, Daoist Yinli was not on the mountain, so all they could do was keep Yu Lu imprisoned for now.

......

......

Daoist Shouyi had been feeling somewhat irritable these past few days. As a follower of Daoist Yinli, he had vaguely begun to understand certain things, but he was reluctant to believe them.

Though he was a follower of Daoist Yinli, he truly did not wish to see Yun Jianyue die by Daoist Yinli’s hand. A daoist genius like him, so what if they stood on opposite sides of the river?

After all, Yun Jianyue was the future of the Infatuation Daoist Temple; a symbol of the Infatuation Daoist Temple’s legacy. With him, even if nothing else could be guaranteed, it was likely that the Infatuation Daoist Temple would remain the leader of Daoism for the next hundred years. But if he were to die, even if the sect still had talented disciples, who could possibly fill the void left by Yun Jianyue?

The more he thought about it, the heavier Daoist Shouyi’s heart became.

”Howl...”

A bell tolled in the distance, its sound spreading throughout the mountain.

The bell forcibly pulled Daoist Shouyi’s thoughts back. He looked up and saw a disciple quickly approaching.

“Martial Master Shouyi, Senior Brother Yun has returned to the mountain!”

The disciple looked at Daoist Shouyi with some excitement, but then remembered that Senior Brother Yun was now a fugitive and forcibly suppressed his joy.

“Nonsense. For a fugitive to return to the mountain, what need is there to toll the bell and announce it?”

Daoist Shouyi was somewhat angry. As the one in charge of the mountain’s Disciplinary Hall, he valued rules above all else.

“The bell... it was struck by Senior Brother Yun himself. He’s now standing in front of the great hall, saying he wants to... reveal a great secret to all the elders.” ṙἈꞐƟꞖЁ𝘴

The disciple knew this matter was far from ordinary, which was why he had rushed over to inform Daoist Shouyi.

......

......

In front of the great hall of the Infatuation Daoist Temple, many disciples from the mountain soon gathered. Countless daoists rushed over, and upon seeing Yun Jianyue, who had escaped from the Soul Locking Prison, they all widened their eyes in shock.

Some disciples who had a fairly good relationship with Yun Jianyue looked at this Senior Brother Yun, their eyes filled with confusion: Senior Brother, since you already escaped, why did you return?

There were also some older daoists whose expressions grew complicated as they looked at Yun Jianyue. They had once held a great deal of affection for this young man. But Yun Jianyue’s escape and return had now almost completely severed any path of retreat for him. From this day on, he was all but destined to have no place left within the Infatuation Daoist Temple.

“Yun Jianyue, how dare you act so brazenly!”

A voice suddenly rang out from within the crowd. A young daoist disciple stared at Yun Jianyue with an ugly expression, he was one of Daoist Yinli’s followers.

“You attempted to assassinate the Temple Master that day. The Temple Master showed great magnanimity and spared your life, merely ordering you to reflect in the Soul Locking Prison for ten years. But now it’s only been a short while, and you actually dared to escape? Do you hold no regard for the temple’s rules at all?!”

The moment that young disciple spoke, many others immediately echoed him. Though quite a few remained on Yun Jianyue’s side, none of them said a word at this moment.

At this point, there was nothing they could say that would change anything.

“Yun Jianyue, at least you still have a shred of humanity and know to repent, but you’ve already committed a grave offense. Even if you manage to survive by sheer luck, I fear you’ll have no choice but to spend the rest of your life in the Soul Locking Prison!”

Someone else shouted loudly.

Among the crowd, many younger disciples wore looks of regret on their faces. No one wished to see their Senior Brother Yun end up like this.

But no matter how much they regretted it, the deed was done. What more could they say?

Yun Jianyue remained silent, completely ignoring these words. He simply stared off into the distance - he was waiting for someone.

Before long, Ye Zhihua arrived from afar.

The moment this daoist prodigy saw Yun Jianyue, the stone that had been weighing on her heart finally dropped. However, she still said nothing, she simply stood at a distance, quietly watching.

The crowd was noisy until someone suddenly yelled out that Martial Uncle Shouyi had arrived. Only then, did everyone quiet down, turning to look at the Disciplinary Hall’s daoist, who was currently in charge of the mountain’s affairs.

Daoist Shouyi made his way through the crowd and stopped in front of Yun Jianyue. He looked at this man, one of the Twin Pillars of Daoism, and was silent for a moment. Then, he finally asked, “What do you want, Yun Jianyue?”

He naturally understood that since Yun Jianyue had left the Soul Locking Prison, he would not return without a reason. If he had nothing to say, why would he go through all this trouble?

Yun Jianyue had been waiting for him. Seeing that he had finally spoken, he said calmly, “Martial Uncle Shouyi, this disciple left the Soul Locking Prison out of desperation. There is a matter that still lacks an answer, and this disciple had no choice but to investigate it myself.”

Daoist Shouyi frowned. “What matter?”

Yun Jianyue replied calmly, “Who was it that killed the Temple Master?”

As soon as he said this, countless gazes in the crowd fell on Yun Jianyue. Everyone on the mountain looked at him with anticipation.

Of course, they all knew which Temple Master he meant. They were also just as curious about the true cause of that Temple Master’s death.

Now that Yun Jianyue had spoken, it was clear he had found some answers. Naturally, they were all eager to hear them.

Hearing the rising commotion around him, Daoist Shouyi frowned slightly. He released a bit of pressure to silence the crowd, then asked, “You’ve found the answer?”

Yun Jianyue did not waste any words. Since he had rung the bell to summon the disciples of the mountain, he naturally intended to reveal the truth.

“The Temple Master was killed by the Chief Enforcer.”

A simple sentence, but it was like a massive stone thrown into a tranquil lake, instantly stirring waves that reached the heavens!

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