After that drunken talk with Black Martial Uncle, Wang Lu woke up the next day with a splitting headache.
On the swarthy face of his Martial Uncle, or rather the-one-who's-content-with-what-one-is Martial Uncle, always hung an optimistic and full of life smile. Moreover, whenever he mentioned his Fifth Martial Sister, he would undoubtedly show a devout and pious look, but Wang Lu was still unable to have a positive impression of his Master.
However, that drunk talk had more or less still left some shadows in Wang Lu's mind. Sometimes later, although Wang Lu himself was still very resistant, but from time to time when he recalled the various details of his Master's life in the past two years, he tried to find evidence that she was a good person.
Frankly, Wang Wu was absolutely not a bad person. At least in everything that she had done, there was never a sign that what she did was a wicked thing. But beyond that, her greediness, severe lack of moral integrity, and no lower limit on how low she could be; these characteristics were far from the model Senior Sister that was in the eyes of Martial Uncle Ao Guanhai; they were simply two people with completely opposite characters.
Then what exactly did his Master do that left such a lasting impression in Martial Uncle Ao Guanhai? This foreigner Elder, despite his simple, honest, and upright character, was not a fool—how could someone with a foreigner identity become one of the Elders of the Spirit Sword Sect if he was stupid?
Although this Martial Uncle Guanhai said that he received the grace of Wang Lu's master when he was young, but one hundred years later, any amount of kindness would fade away with time, so there was no way this was the reason Martial Uncle still put her in esteemed regard. Not to mention when she was refining her Non-Phase Sword, Black Martial Uncle even provided her with elixirs like they were just water; no matter how great her previous kindness to him was, it should've been paid in full then. However, he acted as if he still owed her something… From this, it was clear that his idiot Master had duped him… Oh, wrong. Her communication skill should be outstanding.
If he could learn her trick, then he could put the Sect Leader, Rewarder Elder, Disciplinary Elder, and so on under his "skirt", then in the future, wouldn't the Spirit Sword Sect be his?
With these miscellaneous fantasies in mind, Wang Lu walked toward the Misty Peak cafeteria.
This was not his first choice, however, because he ruthlessly ate three days worth of grain at the Ru Family Inn a few days ago, Little Ling'Er temporarily blacklisted Wang Lu from her inn. The more hateful thing was that, she even put a sign on the front door, which read: Wang Lu and Pigs are not allowed to enter!
Wang Lu was obviously upset. "If she doesn't want to let me in, so be it. Why would she drag Wen Bao into this!?"
Having lost the source of delicious free meal, Wang Lu could only go to the Misty Peak cafeteria to feel the life philosophy of a Western Gourmet Chef. Followed that "Thirteen Grand Guardians Looking Up At The Starry Sky", this blonde gourmand invented a dish named Rock in the Sword. According to Wang Lu's observation, it was just a frozen hard fish inserted straight in the pancake.
Do you f*cking know anything else besides fish and pancake!?
While he chose the edge of the pancake to eat, Wang Lu would always swallow it with a little bit of water. Wang Lu thought that his day was really going too far… He could not help but feel hatred toward his unscrupulous Master who bought him the long term meal ticket in the Misty Peak cafeteria, thinking that, "Can't you just give me the money so that I could buy the meal ticket at the Carefree Peak cafeteria instead of this!?"
However, halfway through his meal, Wang Lu suddenly found out that there was no sound around him; the silence was deafening—although the Misty Peak cafeteria has never been popular, but because of various reasons, there would always be a few individuals in the cafeteria at lunch time. However, why was he alone left there?
Could it be the others were too shocked by this Rock in the Sword?
After thinking about it, Wang Lu could not help but ask aloud, "Where are the others?"
Then he heard a clear voice of a woman. "All of them went to the Four Divisions Peak about an hour ago."
Wang Lu turned his head and saw the Western Gourmet Chef standing at the kitchen entrance with a helpless look. Obviously, she was quite sad at the deserted cafeteria.
This Western Gourmet Chef was unlike your average chef; she has neither big head, thick neck, nor fat belly, but rather a petite figure with a beautiful face of a blooming young girl. She looked about thirteen or fourteen years old, but her pair of deep green eyes did not belong to the vicissitudes of such an age.
This chef was not an ordinary chef; having travelled from the Western Continent, this girl obviously has a lot of stories, which could be seen in a single point: Even though she caused a lot of grievances for the disciples at the Misty Peak Cafeteria, the Elders never heed the disciples' call to fire her from her job; one could see from this that her life experience was not ordinary. However, Wang Lu had never inquired about this gossip. In the words of a professional adventurer...
If it wasn't a mission, no need to ask for its information; if it wouldn't trigger a storyline, no need to move forward.
Thus, he just asked about the topic, "Why would they go to the Four Divisions Peak?"
"It seems like the Fifth Elder has just returned."
Wang Lu was shocked, thinking, "Master has returned to the mountain? That's fast!"
Then another question arose in his mind. That fellow was able to attract a lot of onlookers when she returned to the mountain, was her popularity really that good? If she was Hua Yun, that would be quite logical.
The young chef continued, "It seems like she caused some kind of a disaster and was chased by people to this mountain."
Puff! As expected!
Although this was something that had long been expected, out of humanitarian concern, Wang Lu feebly asked, "... What did she do? Did she impregnate a local princess and thus forced to marry the girl by the girl's father?"
The young maiden chef shook her head. "I am not that clear either. From what people said when they ate here, it seems like the Fifth Elder is being interrogated or something by the Heavenly Sword Hall Elders…"
"Oh, this is great news."
Wang Lu said, then he cut a piece of the cake and prepared the water to push it down his throat; he wanted to finish it so that he could see the interrogation at the Four Divisions Peak.
However, after providing the clue, the young maiden chef didn't immediately go back to the kitchen. Instead, she frowned and said, "I remember that you're the Fifth Elder's disciple, right? Your Master is in trouble, don't you worry about her?"
Wang Lu thought for a moment. "My only worry is that the Elders would give her a leeway because they saw her as their own Martial Sister… If they can take this opportunity to correct her twisted character, and help her reshape her personality, presumably the moral character of the entire Immortal Cultivation World, on average, would be greatly improved."
This young foreign chef struggled to understand these long sentences. It had taken a while before she got the essence, and her delicate eyebrows frowned. "You really hate your Master?"
Wang Lu seriously thought for a moment. "From a personal point of view, I greatly admire her shamelessness. But as a social person, taking into account of the moral standard of the general populace, I would've to steadfastly despise her."
"... Sorry, I don't quite get it." Calmness and sincerity exuded out of the young girl's deep green eyes. "But I think that there is a serious misunderstanding between you and your Master. I used to meet several times with Wang Wu; she is a true swordsman who has an iron will and character. This kind of people is definitely not a bad person."
Wang Lu was rooted on the spot, thinking, "Did this foreign chef eat her own food and thus became delirious? Or does she have the same nearsighted problem like the Sect Leader? True swordsman? Iron will and character? Who in hell said this?"
The young girl explained further, "I once… em, in short, I once worked with many outstanding knights, so I know how to read a person's character. Believe me, your Master is an outstanding cultivator."
Wang Lu sighed and thought.
"You couldn't even tell the difference between a soy sauce and vinegar, yet you have the nerve to say that?"
That being said...
When Wang Lu left the Misty Peak for the Four Divisions Peak, the number of doubts in his heart couldn't help but increase.
If only that green-eyed chef said that, Wang Lu would just consider her as retarded, but combined with the arguments from the Seventh Elder, Wang Lu could not help but hesitate; he thought, "Is it possible that that fellow has a good character? Hmm, if I have the opportunity, I need to carefully observe her. But for now, I am just going to see the lively scene at the Four Divisions Peak."
Along the way to the Four Divisions Peak, from time to time, he would see several groups of Senior Disciples from various Peaks gossiping while they rushed to the scene. However, Wang Lu didn't actually try to rush. Instead, as he walked, he overheard all kinds of hearsays.
As he listened to these rumors, Wang Lu couldn't help but frown.
One fifteen years old Carefree Peak disciple asked, "I heard that the Fifth Elder had offended someone?"
A Carefree Peak Senior Disciple on his side obviously has more gossip channels. "Yeah, reportedly, it's a Sect Leader of a big Sect."
"... Fifth Elder, I am not quite familiar with her. Senior Brother, you know more than me; what kind of person is she actually?"
That senior disciple hesitated, and then whispered, "I don't know that much either, but, it is said that among the Elders in the Heavenly Sword Hall, except for the Seventh Elder, the other Elders deeply abhor her."
The younger disciple was a bit surprised. "Deeply abhor her? It wouldn't be that serious, would it?"
"Oh, it seems like it isn't that serious, after all, it is said that a hundred years ago, the current ten Elders survived a catastrophe, so of course they have some feelings for each other. However, as far as I know, the Second and Third Elder always tried to accuse the Fifth Elder of misconduct, hoping that she would be expelled from the Heavenly Sword Hall."
"Is that true?" The younger disciple was stunned. "Is it because of Cultivation? I heard that out of the ten Elders, she is the only one who is still in the Jindan Stage!"
Then the senior disciples hesitantly said, "But I also heard that she is a well-known master of defense."
The senior disciple loudly hissed. "So what if she's the master of defense? She is still a Jindan Stage cultivator; no matter how good her defense is, can she block a strike from a Yuanying Stage cultivator? She's probably just tooting her horn, otherwise, how could the Elders have mixed feelings about her? Right now, even among the Inner Sect's disciples, there are some that have reached the Jindan Stage; how could she have the qualification as an Elder?"
The younger disciple froze for a moment. "Senior Brother, what you said is not absolute. Master often says that cultivation level is not absolute; in the Immortal Cultivation World, people who could challenge a stage higher than them have appeared before…"
The senior disciple shook his head. "Cultivators with natural spirit root vs cultivators with man-made spirit root; Ancient sect vs. common sect; Heavenly Spirit Root vs Five Elements Spirit Root; all of these fight could indeed result in cultivators being able to defeat other cultivators with higher cultivation level. However, a cultivator in our sect could not possibly defeat another higher level cultivator in our sect because as an ancient sect, we have top-notch cultivation methods, and our Spirit Sword Sect is very picky about the talents of their disciples. Let me ask you, can you beat those Xudan Stage senior disciples?"
"Em… Indeed there is no hope."
"Therefore, there is no Heavenly Sword Elder that could defeat another Elder whose cultivation level is higher than them. Moreover, it's not just cultivation level… it seems like there is a bit of a problem with the character; the other Elders also frequently wander out, but only she would regularly cause trouble. In addition, only she was formally impeached by the Third Elder—although the Third Elder was a stickler to the rules, but when handing out punishment, he would always give many leeways."
The young disciple was suddenly at a loss for words; after a while, he said, "Then, Senior Brother, what do you think would happen this time?"
"How would I know? Aren't we also going to the Four Divisions Peak to take a look? However, it looks like it won't end well…"
These two disciples were rushing to the Four Divisions Peak on flying swords, so they didn't realize that the content of their conversation had traveled down to Wang Lu who was walking below them.
Upon hearing their conversation, Wang Lu became somewhat upset; in spite of himself also seeing his Master as not pleasing to the eye, but… both of them were residents of the Non-Phase Peak. As such, if one of them suffered, both of them would eventually suffer. If the Fifth Elder lost her position, how would Wang Lu's fortune be any good?
Therefore… although the view of the Seventh Elder and the foreign chef were in the minority, subjectively, he would rather believe those two's argument.
Master, please be a good person!