Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

Chapter 435 Going down the mountain

Han Ge stared blankly at the masked man's appearance, still unable to recover. How could this mysterious expert with his hood covering his face be... how could he be his unpopular junior brother, Zhu Wuji?

He turned his head again to look at his master's expression.

Seeing the caution and uncertainty in Master's eyes, as if a thousand words were unspoken, I suddenly understood—

Master knows this person is Zhu Wuji!

He knew it a long time ago!

No wonder the man in black dared not speak to him; no wonder his master warned him not to be arrogant after he deliberately provoked him that day.

So it turns out that his master already knew about Zhu Wuji's talent in swordsmanship?

This is precisely why Zhu Wuyao revealed his true colors in public.

Regardless of whether she's at the bottom of the class or not, as long as she makes it into the top ten, those with ulterior motives will naturally come to investigate her identity. "Zhu Wuji" has never had a good reputation and has never shown any talent in swordsmanship.

If the disciples of Qingyun Sect knew that Da Xue was Zhu Wuji, who knows what kind of speculations it would lead them to.

But to reveal his identity in front of Elder Liao in public was to tell everyone—

Elder Liao had long known about Zhu Wuji's talent.

It's not something that can be achieved overnight.

In front of everyone, she brought up Elder Liao, her mentor, to endorse her.

Elder Liao never expected that Zhu Wuji would actually acknowledge him in public.

He also suddenly suggested that he "go down the mountain to travel".

My mind went blank for a moment.

But his instinct to guide Zhu Wuji onto the right path made him put on a stern face and blurt out:

"You've finally made some progress in your swordsmanship. Instead of striking while the iron is hot and consolidating your skills, why are you coming down the mountain now? Could it be that your old habits have relapsed?"

"Stay on Pinglan Mountain and I will teach you swordsmanship."

Zhu Wuyao then said:

"Some time ago, my master often came to the courtyard to give me guidance, which is why my swordsmanship has improved so rapidly."

"Today I entered the Sword Trial Realm hoping to achieve a good ranking to repay my master's kindness, but I didn't expect to only get sixth place. My cultivation level has loosened up, and I came down the mountain to find an opportunity to break through."

He didn't miss a single important point.

Elder Liao often gave guidance, which helped Zhu Wuji improve; his arrogance and unwillingness to accept defeat, even after achieving sixth place, was in line with Zhu Wuji's temperament; it was also pointed out that his realm was loosening, which could pave the way for his cultivation to improve when he returned to Qingyun Sect.

Han Ge glanced at Zhu Wuji, then at Elder Liao.

A strange sense of being deceived welled up inside me.

He knew that Zhu Wuji's trip to Tongzhou had angered his master, and that was why he had been confined to his quarters.

Little did they know that their master often visited Zhu Wuji's courtyard and gave him special tutoring!

Moreover, judging from his tone, his cultivation level is loosening. Perhaps in the beginning, his master confined Zhu Wuji to his realm so that Zhu Wuji could break through.

Recalling that day when he smugly spoke ill of the masked man in front of his master, Han Ge's face flushed red. He felt as if his shameful behavior had been seen by his junior brother, whom he had always looked down upon, and he was filled with shame and anger.

Even someone with a good temper would feel embarrassed.

Moreover, Han Ge has always been arrogant.

He wouldn't stoop to tripping up Zhu Wuji because of his own dishonesty; he was just worried that if they met every day on Pinglan Mountain, he would have to wear a mask to face him!

Now that I've heard Zhu Wuji is going down the mountain to travel, I think it's perfect; it'll allow him to calm down...

Thinking of this, Han Ge took the initiative to persuade Zhu Wuji:

“Master, it is a good thing that Junior Brother Zhu has a desire to learn. His swordsmanship has improved after his trip to Tongzhou, which shows that Junior Brother Zhu should travel the world.”

"If we hold him back now, it might delay my junior brother's breakthrough."

Let's hurry down the mountain...

Han Ge prayed silently in his heart.

If Zhu Wuji goes down the mountain, he will come to the Sword Testing Platform day and night to climb the rankings, determined to surpass his junior brother's ranking before Zhu Wuji returns!

There was another reason behind it—Han Ge felt ashamed when he recalled the past. Now that he had fulfilled Zhu Wuji's wish to travel down the mountain, he could also consider it a favor to Zhu Wuji. This made Han Ge feel that he had morally regained his dignity.

Zhu Wuyao had his eye on this very opportunity!

She originally intended to find another reason to go down the mountain in order to avoid Elder Liao's "earnest teachings".

As soon as they stepped off the sword-testing platform, they saw Elder Liao standing with Han Ge. The latter was an arrogant man who cared a lot about his reputation. Upon seeing that the masked man was Zhu Wuji, he would definitely help facilitate the trip down the mountain.

Zhu Wuyao then made a decisive move and revealed his identity in front of everyone.

Elder Liao's expression was complicated. He didn't know what to say, but Han Ge's words had touched his heart.

Ultimately, Zhu Wuji's progress had little to do with his role as master, a fact that always frustrated Elder Liao, who was constantly tempted to teach Zhu Wuji something.

But what if we delay him...?

The reason why Zhu Wuji did not make any progress before might be because he used the wrong method.

If they continue to obstruct him today, ostensibly to correct Zhu Wuji's character, Elder Liao will inevitably have some ulterior motives—

He hoped that he could polish this piece of jade, Zhu Wuji, to its full glory.

With a long sigh, Elder Liao finally wavered and said:

“Let’s go back to Pinglan Mountain and talk about it.”

"Yes."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Zhu Wuyao eventually left the mountain gate.

She had a firm grasp on Elder Liao's weaknesses and recognized him as a rare good person in the cultivation world.

Even if he has selfish motives, he would never do anything to harm his disciple's interests as long as it benefits him.

Previously, the reason why they were unwilling to let people go down the mountain was partly because Zhu Wuji's cultivation was not high enough and his skills were not yet ready, and partly because they were worried that they would help their disciple and harm innocent people.

On Pinglan Mountain, the two made a pact.

One must not harm innocent civilians or oppress the weak, nor reveal one's identity as a cultivator to amass wealth for laypeople.

The last rule is that if you are forced to use your spiritual power, whether for combat, breaking through realms, or protecting others, you must immediately return to the Qingyun Sect after using your cultivation.

Elder Liao's distrust of Zhu Wuji was now plain to see.

They even handed Zhu Wuji a rope, telling him to tie it around his wrist, and said:

"If you take this item away, or if you use your spiritual power, the wick of this lamp will immediately go out. If you want to go down the mountain to seek opportunities, it would seem that I am heartless to stop you. But if you act recklessly and do not return within half a day after this lamp goes out, I will personally go down the mountain to capture you!"

Zhu Wuyao frowned slightly; this way of being controlled by others made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

It's really the Star-Picking Tower; we're used to this method.

This made her feel disgusted from the bottom of her heart as soon as she realized that she was being manipulated, and she couldn't stand the slightest restraint, becoming extremely irritable.

But when he met Elder Liao's gaze, Zhu Wuyao held back and said nothing.

He took the straw rope and silently tied it around his wrist.

Elder Liao was not only worried about Zhu Wuji harming others, but also about Zhu Wuji encountering danger.

If Zhu Wuji uses his spiritual power to harm people, Elder Liao will naturally go and capture him.

However, if Zhu Wuji were to encounter danger and the straw rope came loose, Elder Liao would also notice, and he would personally go down the mountain to rescue him.

For this reason, Zhu Wuyao endured it.