Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 164 We disciples should prioritize chivalry.
In fact, within a few days of Zhang Chengdao's first court assembly, many aggrieved parties began to arrive at the White Stone Immortal Sect.

These people have all come to demand swords!
Among them, the people from Taiyue Sword Sect were the first to arrive because they were relatively close. They entered Xiao Kingdom from Hukou Pass, followed the Daxing Mountains northward, and it wasn't far to reach Baishi Mountain.

Back then, after the incident involving the Mingjing National Preceptor in Jingzhao Prefecture, outsiders were still unaware of the inside story. Qu Zhiweng, the leader of the Taiyue Sword Sect, still led his disciples to Jingzhao Prefecture, only to find that they couldn't even get through the city gates!

"What?! The Emperor has passed away?!"

When Qu Zhiweng heard the news from Ding Yi, the Imperial Guard who was preventing everyone from entering the city, he subconsciously plucked out several hairs from his beard.

"That imperial advisor was a wicked monk who rebelled and killed the emperor and the former imperial advisor. Fortunately, the White Stone Immortal discovered it in time, thus saving the people of the capital!"

The soldier's face was full of gratitude and lingering fear as he said, "To be honest, Master Qu, all of our Imperial Guard generals have perished. As far as I know, more than a thousand people died in the entire Imperial Guard! Even more died in the palace! I heard that apart from the Crown Prince, there wasn't a single survivor!"

As Qu Zhiweng was the undisputed leader of the number one sect in Zhou Kingdom, the Imperial Guards treated him with great respect. Although they were ordered not to allow anyone to enter or leave the city gates, they still revealed all the information they knew: "That evil monk used some kind of sorcery to kill people first, and then he could control the corpses, making them look no different from living people. It was terrifying!"

Qu Zhiweng stared wide-eyed, feeling as if he couldn't keep up with the current state of the martial arts world. What kind of strange sorcery was this?!
He frowned and pressed on, "Such evil magic exists? Could the thunder and lightning earlier have been the duel between Immortal White Stone and Grand Preceptor Mingjing?"

"That's exactly right!"

The soldier slapped his thigh and said with a face full of reverence, "Sect Leader Qu, you didn't see that. Back then, Immortal Baishi was a true immortal. Thunder and clouds all obeyed his commands! Even the Old Dragon King was invited by Immortal Baishi!"

The more the soldier spoke, the more excited he became, his words flying: "I saw it clearly! The White Stone Immortal commanded the Thunder God and Lightning Goddess to shatter some darkness! That Thunder God is called 'Zaxiu,' and the Lightning Goddess is called 'Moon Poison,' they're incredibly powerful!"

"Miscellaneous rest? Lunar poison?"

Qu Zhiweng was wondering why there were such names when another Imperial Guard soldier next to him retorted, "You're wrong! The Goddess of Lightning is called 'Praise Jade,' and the God of Thunder is called 'Thunder!'"

Qu Zhiweng grew increasingly puzzled, but then the two soldiers started arguing—

"You're wrong! Who has the surname 'Zan'?"

"Could there be someone with the surname 'Za'?"

"Immortals might not even have surnames!"

"Isn't that Immortal Bai Shi's surname Zhang? He's even from the same family as me!"

"Dream on! You're nothing but a sheep dung ball painted with gold paint; no matter how hard you try, you'll never become a gold nugget!"

Qu Zhiweng, having grown annoyed by the two arguing, quickly stopped them and asked about the important matter: "Gentlemen, please stop arguing. Since the White Stone Immortal has intervened, surely the Mirror-like National Preceptor should have been brought to justice? Why won't you let us into the city?"

The soldier who had spoken with Qu Zhiweng earlier nodded and replied, "He's dead, not even ashes left, completely dead! But the old man Baishi Xianren is currently handling various matters within the city, and for the sake of convenience, he's temporarily barring entry. Sect Leader Qu, why don't you stay overnight in a nearby town? Perhaps you can enter tomorrow!"

Seeing that they could not enter the city, Qu Zhiweng had no choice but to lead his disciples away to discuss the matter. He actually wanted to avoid the soldiers guarding the city and leap over the city walls. Although the city walls of Jingzhao Prefecture were high, they were still difficult to stop martial artists with cultivation levels of the fifth rank or above.

But the idea had barely crossed his mind when Qu Zhiweng suppressed it.

If the Mingjing National Preceptor mentioned by the soldiers is a demon, one that can wreak havoc and kill thousands of people, harm the royal family of a country, and even the former National Preceptor Li Zongshi could not escape, then just how powerful is the White Stone Immortal who can easily kill this demon Mingjing National Preceptor?
With my limited skills, scaling the city wall is a minor matter, but if I'm killed as an accomplice of evil, where can I go to seek justice?

If only they hadn't rushed, they wouldn't have taken a break. If they had taken a longer route, they might still be in Jinyang by now. By the time they reached Jingzhao Prefecture, everything would have been settled, and they wouldn't be in such a state of confusion.

With the Imperial Preceptor dead, the Martial Arts Tournament is definitely not going to take place.

At this juncture, it's best not to go to the Jingzhao Prefecture. Even if you did go, there's nothing important to do there, and you'd only cause trouble!

or……

"Master, why don't we go directly to the White Stone Immortal Sect?"

It is unknown which disciple had the same idea as Qu Zhiweng.

"Yes, Master, we must get back your Taiyue Sword and my senior brother's precious sword. Besides, didn't that Immortal Baishi say he would offer some small gift as an apology?"

The youngest disciple had not yet formally entered the martial world. He always felt a sense of unreality in the fragmented stories told by his senior brothers and sisters, so he did not have much reverence for the title "White Stone Immortal". He even had no concept of the dark clouds and flashing lightning that he had seen over Jingzhao Prefecture from afar on the road.

Therefore, the young disciple spoke with some disdain, and even expressed his indignation at his sect leader having his Taiyue Sword taken away: "If you ask me, he should apologize severely! How can you take something without asking? It's one thing for my senior brother to have that sword called 'Great Hero,' but Master's sword is the Taiyue Sword! It's unique in the world! He just took it and used it, that's theft!"

Qu Zhiweng glanced silently at the young disciple he had brought out on a whim to broaden his horizons, his expression complex.

Although I am very pleased with my little disciple's filial piety, how come this silly child is so stupid that he can't figure out that his own Taiyue Sword Sect has no room to refuse?

The White Stone Immortal Sect members are immortals!

The White Stone Immortal was a true immortal!
Their Taiyue Sword Sect is just an ordinary sect. The number of disciples is not even comparable to the neighboring Jade Void Sect and Sword Casting Manor, let alone those immortal sects!

"Alright, show some respect to the immortals," Qu Zhiweng stroked his beard and admonished his young disciple, "If what the soldiers guarding the city gate said is true, then the White Stone Immortal's act of taking the sword was probably out of necessity. The Taiyue Sword was able to help the White Stone Immortal slay demons and quell the chaos in Jingzhao Prefecture, which is why it is worthy of its reputation as one of the world's divine weapons!"

The young disciple scratched his head and replied in confusion, "Master is right. We disciples of the Taiyue Sword Sect should prioritize chivalry, and slaying demons and evil spirits is naturally a top priority."

Even so, the sect leader's attitude still seemed strange.

……

(End of this chapter)