As the cultivators from the county capital looked on with strange expressions, Third Elder Brother hurried out of the crowd, leaped up onto the dreadnaught, and kowtowed in front of Master Seventh.

“Master, it’s been years since you said it would be difficult for me to overcome the challenge of passion. Thus, I bound my hair with a hat that has the character ‘forbidden’ on it. As of today, my heart has been fully assessed. I’ve overcome the challenge of love. Therefore, I earnestly request that you let me back into your tutelage.”

Third Elder Brother’s voice was soft and reserved. After he finished speaking, he flashed a smile in Xu Qing’s direction. That said, his current demeanor, including his rather forced smile, made him seem a lot less impressive than in the past.

Meanwhile, the eight female disciples from the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society held their children as they followed Third Elder Brother. However, when they noticed the glares of the swordsages, they stopped short of boarding the dreadnaught.

“Eight? That’s it?” Master Seventh said coolly. “When you have ninety-nine, then you’ll be ready to return to me.”

Master Seventh flicked his sleeve, sending Third Elder Brother tumbling off of the dreadnaught.

Stopping in midair, Third Elder Brother sighed and, as everyone watched, once again kowtowed in the direction of the dreadnaught.

Then, Master Seventh invited the Swordsage Court grand elder, plus the patriarchs from the Church of Departure and the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society, to join him in the dreadnaught’s superstructure. There, they apprised Master Seventh of the various intelligence reports from their sects. The Swordsage Court grand elder also provided an update on the recovery work going on in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture.

Xu Qing stood by, occasionally looking at Third Elder Brother off in the distance.

Third Elder Brother remained in a kowtow. It was the same with his daoist partners.

The two sect patriarchs who were giving their reports to Master Seventh occasionally glanced at Xu Qing out of the corners of their eyes. Both of them were aware of Xu Qing’s status in Sea-Sealing County.

“Exalted Lieutenant Governor, as of now, the recovery and rebuilding in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture is about seventy percent complete. Everything should be done within half a month. Furthermore, the orders you gave regarding the remaining half of the experimental god body have been carried out.”

The grand elder from the Swordsage Court clasped hands and bowed, then looked at Xu Qing and smiled.

Xu Qing looked back respectfully. He had always felt a lot of admiration for this grand elder.

After another brief interchange with Master Seventh, the Swordsage Court grand elder and patriarch from the Church of Departure respectfully left.

The patriarch from the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society, who was the Junior Brother of Daoist Sima, hesitated briefly. Then he glanced at his Elder Brother. Daoist Sima looked back with no change in facial expression. Finally, the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society patriarch smiled wryly and clasped hands to Master Seventh.

“Exalted Lieutenant Governor, about Third Highness, he—”

“That’s your business,” Master Seventh said coolly. “I know I clashed with your Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society in the past, but you never told me that he committed such a grave error. It’s only natural for you to punish him.

“I might be the lieutenant governor now, but I can’t practice favoritism and engage in cronyism. Nor can I use my position to put pressure on others. Since my Third Sib made such a mistake, I’d say punishing him with eight daoist partners isn’t enough. Go for ninety-nine! That should teach him a lesson.”

The patriarch chuckled bitterly in his heart. He knew that his previous actions had aroused the displeasure of Master Seventh. That was why he’d had no choice but to bring Third Highness along. After all, Third Highness’s Master was now the lieutenant governor; if the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society got too stubborn, they would be courting disaster. All he could do was feed as many replenishing tonics as possible to Third Highness. However, that didn’t do much considering Third Highness had been almost completely drained out. Now, all he could do was grit his teeth and keep trying.

“Exalted Lieutenant Governor, our Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society doesn’t have enough holy daughters to—”

“That’s your problem. Remember, Third Sib’s punishment can only be handled by holy daughters with the proper position and bloodline. Now, see yourself out.”

Master Seventh’s face remained completely expressionless.

The patriarch seemed like he had more to say, but Master Seventh’s eyes were extremely cold, so he just sighed inwardly with regret. He almost couldn’t believe this was happening. How could he have ever guessed that, seemingly overnight, the sect leader of some random little sect that he’d never cared about would suddenly become the lieutenant governor. What was more, he had been keeping his cultivation base hidden so deeply no one knew how strong he really was. The patriarch knew he had to figure out a way to resolve the situation, otherwise the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society’s future in Sea-Sealing County would be uncertain.

The patriarch felt more anxious than ever, but he had no choice but to leave. As he passed by, his Elder Brother Daoist Sima said, “Don’t covet what belongs to others. Repay what needs to be repaid.”

The patriarch seemed to grow a lot older as he left the dreadnaught.

In a balcony on the dreadnaught’s superstructure, Master Seventh stood, saying nothing as they flew in the direction of the Eight Sect Coalition.

After enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, Xu Qing hesitantly said, “Master, about Third Elder Brother….”

“Forget about him!” Master Seventh said, snorting coldly. “Third Sib has always been a very deep thinker. However, all he cares about is profit. He’s extremely patient, but at the same time, unpredictable.

“Why do you think he went and provoked the holy daughters of the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society? Why do you think he made it seem like he was fleeing from marriage? He obviously knew the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society was aware of his true identity, and that they would track him down and apprehend him.

“He did everything specifically so the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society would apprehend him in the way he wanted.”

Although Xu Qing was the one who had spoken up, Master Seventh was obviously speaking to Daoist Sima as well.

Daoist Sima didn’t say anything.

Xu Qing stood there thoughtfully. His Master’s words had touched on some very important information. And that was… Third Elder Brother’s true identity.

Seeing Xu Qing puzzling over that, Master Seventh continued speaking.

“Emperor-Receiving Prefecture was never very special until ten thousand years ago when the Ghost Emperor passed away into meditation here. As the body nourished the lands of this prefecture, the three spiritual souls became the Three Spirits, and the seven physical souls became the Seven Fiends. The Ghost Emperor’s blood fed all living beings, and his core teachings and doctrines allowed numerous sects to rise to prominence. That’s why Emperor-Receiving Prefecture changed.

“The Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society possesses more of those core teachings and doctrines than anyone else, especially the will domain. They, a once tiny sect, eventually became the number one organization in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture.

“The reason is that the year the Ghost Emperor passed away into meditation, a child was born into the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society. He was born out of a convergence of the Ghost Emperor’s blood, and he led the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society in their rise to prominence. Though he eventually perished, he left behind children.

“Members of that bloodline were considered direct descendants of the Ghost Emperor, and each generation served as leaders in the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society. However, over time, the bloodline became diluted, and eventually, those people lost their position of prominence. That said, members with strong blood would occasionally appear. Your Third Elder Brother is one such person. He has the strongest blood of the Ghost Emperor in this generation.

“Thirty years ago when Third Elder Brother was born, and they realized how strong his blood was, the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society tried to refine him into a treasure. That was when he was only a teenager. His allies managed to sneak him out, and later, he became my apprentice.

“That said, he always had a desire to get revenge for what happened. And thus, thanks to his careful planning and preparations, he managed to return to the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society. .𝒎

“He doesn’t fear death. You see, he might seem human, but in reality, he isn’t a human at all. And he has an innate bloodline ability that, after death, allows him to reawaken in any descendant he chooses. That said, it’s hard for him to recover his consciousness when that happens. That’s why he spent so many licentious years out on the Forbidden Sea. At this point, I doubt even he knows how many descendants he has.

“The reason is to give all of his ancestors a chance to reawaken as well, all for the purpose of ultimately destroying the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society. He’ll likely experience an ancestral reawakening at some point, which is why he has the character ‘forbidden’ on his hat. That said, my cultivation base has its limits, so I’m not sure if the hat I created will work forever.

“In any case, the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society knows all of this. Presumably, the reason they’re keeping him under house arrest and constantly delivering daoist partners to him is that they have another way of refining that bloodline. In the final analysis, though, it’s still a betrayal. If he wasn’t my apprentice, I wouldn’t bother interfering. But he is my apprentice, so things are different.

“If the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society wants to smooth things out, they’ll have to figure out how to do so on their own. All I can say is that when an apprentice kowtows to me, they earn my protection. And if anyone dares to harm my apprentice, I’ll wipe out their entire sect or clan.”

Xu Qing was understandably shaken by all of this information. Third Elder Brother had an innate ability that was very similar to the parasitization technique of the Grueglooms. Except, it was even more nefarious.

Daoist Sima didn’t seem surprised at all by what he was hearing. As a former patriarch of the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society, he’d known such details for a long time. After a moment of thought, he clasped hands. “Lieutenant Governor, my Junior Brother is at fault in all this. I’ll make sure he provides satisfactory compensation.”

Master Seventh didn’t respond. Xu Qing also maintained silence. This was a matter that surpassed him, and there was no need for him to provide input.

***

The next day, the dreadnaught passed over the Supreme Arbiter Salvation Mountains, then followed the Everlasting Immortal Profundity River until the Eight Sect Coalition appeared.

The bells tolled twenty-one times, which was the highest level of honor, and indicated the greatest tribute that could be offered by the Eight Sect Coalition. 1

As the bells rang, the president and patriarchs of the Eight Sect Coalition all came out to receive the guests. Sir Bloodsmelter and Plumdark were among them. Sir Bloodsmelter looked very pleased, while Plumdark’s expression was soft and gentle. The other patriarchs were all behaving similarly. Only the patriarch of the Soaring Cloud Sword Sect looked a bit desolate. The president’s expression was neutral, and he didn’t betray either happiness or anger. When he caught sight of the dreadnaught, his eyes glittered with mixed emotions. However, they faded quickly as he bowed respectfully to the dreadnaught. Everyone else bowed deeply at the waist.

The megacity was decorated with lanterns and colored banners. Countless disciples present all looked very excited, especially those from Seven Blood Eyes, who seemed exceptionally proud.

“We offer respectful greetings, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary-General Xu.”

As the coalition echoed with expressions of greeting, Sir Bloodsmelter laughed heartily.

Master Seventh shoved aside thoughts of his third apprentice. Smiling, he led Xu Qing off the dreadnaught and into the Eight Sect Coalition.

Xu Qing was moved by the sight of so many familiar faces. That was especially true when he looked at Plumdark and thought back to the lamp from Forbidden by the Immortal. Plumdark was looking at him with the same gentle smile she always had.

1. In chapter 379, Sir Bloodsmelter mentioned that the bells would never toll more than twenty-one times. As far as I’m aware, this isn’t anything related to Chinese history or culture, but rather, correlates to a twenty-one gun salute. ?

𝑖.𝘤ℴ𝘮