Young Noble Be Monster Slaying

Chapter 639: A Minor Arrangement

Feng Chaoyang left in a rather awkward state.

...

When Feng Chaoyang saw Chu Liang, his pupils trembled momentarily. As the youngest Cavalry Commander[1]of the Celestial King Sect, he didn't believe in superstitions like ghosts, but in that first instant, he did scrutinize closely to see if it was an illusion.

After all, Jiang Yuebai was skilled in creating illusions—maybe she had conjured up a fake Chu Liang to trick him.

But when he focused his divine sense to examine further, it became clear that Chu Liang was indeed standing there, alive and real.

A broad smile lit up Feng Chaoyang's face as he exclaimed, "You're actually alive!"

"I hope that smile isn't just for show," Chu Liang replied with a chuckle.

"You underestimate me," Feng Chaoyang said, patting his chest confidently. "Even if we're love rivals, I wouldn't hold a grudge. Six years ago, I decided that in this world, only you and I are true heroes. That belief hasn't changed."

"That's quite the compliment you've given yourself," Chu Liang sneered as he walked over to stand beside Jiang Yuebai.

"What?" Feng Chaoyang raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying I'm not worthy of being called a hero alongside you?"

"I meant the part about being my love rival," Chu Liang said ruthlessly. "From the very start, you've barely been a pebble on the road of Jiang Yuebai and me falling in love... Honestly, you're not even a pebble. At best, you're a decorative potted plant along the way."

"You..." Feng Chaoyang's chest rose and fell with frustration as he raised a finger, only to let it drop. "Fine, since it's been so many years since we last met, I'll let it slide."

"I won't hold it against you either," Chu Liang replied calmly. "So, why are you here?"

Feng Chaoyang glanced around warily before answering, "We got word that Thunderbolt Stronghold might be planning to come here to collect tamed beasts. We arrived early to set up an ambush."

"Oh?" Chu Liang raised an eyebrow and glanced at Jiang Yuebai.

Jiang Yuebai said, "A lot has happened over the years, some of which you don't know about."

With that, she briefly explained to Chu Liang the ongoing tensions and conflicts between the Celestial King Sect and Thunderbolt Stronghold.

Chu Liang only knew that Feng Chaoyang and Wei Tiandi of Thunderbolt Stronghold had a long-standing grudge, which had once escalated into a fierce, earth-shaking battle.

What he hadn't known, however, was how deeply that enmity had grown since then.

The Celestial King Sect was based in the Western Continent of the Yu Dynasty, while Thunderbolt Stronghold operated in Jiangnan. Since the two sects were geographically distant and their spheres of influence rarely overlapped, they seldom crossed paths. However, four years ago, an event of significant consequence changed that.

Du Wuhen from Thunderbolt Stronghold had a chance encounter with a disciple of the Celestial King Sect in a hidden realm. During the fight, he accidentally killed the disciple.

The Celestial King Sect was part of the Divine Nine, while Thunderbolt Stronghold belonged to the Terrestrial Ten. No matter how domineering the Thunderbolt Stronghold was with the other sects in the Terrestrial Ten, it remained a faction ranked below the sects in the Divine Nine.

Whenever conflicts arose between the disciples, the elders from both sects would usually turn a blind eye. After all, young people tend to be hot-headed, and these clashes often led to back-and-forth retaliation without escalating further.

However, with a murder involved, the situation escalated beyond mere squabbles, turning into a serious conflict.

The Celestial King Sect immediately responded with fury.

Within their sect, aside from the younger generation of disciples, the senior members were given titles based on their positions in the General's Supreme Constellation Disc.

Apart from the rank of King in the Purple Forbidden Palace[2], held by the sect leader, the second-ranking position, Heavenly Strategist[3], led dozens of members at the rank of General in a devastating campaign against Thunderbolt Stronghold, overwhelming their defenses with sheer force. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Thunderbolt Stronghold, despite being one of the top factions within the Terrestrial Ten, lasted less than an hour under the Celestial King Sect's relentless attack. The assault ended with their mountain gates breached, leaving two elders and over a dozen disciples dead.

It had been years since sects in the world of immortality cultivation clashed in open battle, and this battle served as a sharp reminder of the immense gap in power between the Divine Nine and the Terrestrial Ten.

Typically, this would be the time for geographically close sects in the Divine Nine to step in and mediate.

Among the Divine Nine, aside from the Heavenly Cloud Monastery, which was located high in the sky, the other eight sects were distributed evenly across the four regions.

The Eastern Regions were home to the Penglai Supreme Sect and the Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals; the Southern Regions housed the Great Astral Sect and the Mount Shu Sect; the Western Regions were overseen by the Celestial King Sect and the Celestial Pivot Pavilion; and the Northern Regions were the domain of the Greater-Yin Cult and the Endless Sword Sect.

Sects within the Divine Nine that were geographically close often formed stronger connections and collaborated to maintain order and stability in their regions. However, despite Thunderbolt Stronghold being located in the Southern Regions, its ties with the two Divine Nine sects in the area were notably weak.

First, the Great Astral Sect had close ties with the Celestial King Sect and naturally wouldn't step in to mediate.

As for the Mount Shu Sect...

It was already generous of them not to exploit Thunderbolt Stronghold's crisis to add insult to injury.

After all, Thunderbolt Stronghold had schemed against Mount Shu for years, taking advantage of them and causing harm. Now, in their time of need, could they seriously expect aid from the very sect they had wronged?

Where in the world would such good fortune exist?

Moreover, even if the Mount Shu Sect were willing to help, they lacked the capability to do so. Among the Divine Nine, the Mount Shu Sect was perhaps the only sect without absolute confidence to intervene in a battle.

It couldn't be helped—without a legendary artifact to their name, their words carried little weight.

As Thunderbolt Stronghold teetered on the edge of destruction due to Du Wuhen's reckless actions, it was Penglai Supreme Sect from the Eastern Regions that finally stepped in. Leveraging its status as the leader of the righteous path, the Penglai Supreme Sect forcibly stopped the Celestial King Sect.

The Celestial King Sect had long been at odds with Penglai Supreme Sect, and by their nature, they would have clashed with Penglai as well. However, Penglai was not an easy target like Thunderbolt Stronghold.

As the forces of the Penglai Supreme Sect crossed the sea, it seemed that a war between two sects in the Divine Nine was bound to happen.

At this point, other major factions could no longer remain on the sidelines.

A mediation team, composed of members from the Imperial Supervisory Bureau and representatives from other sects within the Divine Nine, arrived at the scene using the Shattering the Void technique. They immediately called for a peaceful resolution to the escalating conflict.

At this point, the Thunderbolt Stronghold finally understood their position. Despite their dominance within the Terrestrial Ten, they were still not seen as equals to the Divine Nine. No one was taking them seriously and they meekly accepted their punishment and submitted to the terms imposed upon them.

However, Penglai Supreme Sect remained committed to protecting them and refused to back down.

Their reasoning was straightforward:

"If you were bullied before I intervened, it could be overlooked. But if I stepped in to protect you and you were still bullied, that would render my intervention meaningless.

At that point, it's not just your reputation at stake—it's mine as well."

Thus, under Penglai's unwavering protection, Thunderbolt Stronghold, though battered and with significant casualties, escaped further punishment. The culprit, Du Wuhen, was only sentenced to three years of imprisonment in the Thunderbolt Stronghold.

The Thunderbolt Stronghold insisted that the killing had been an accident.

The Celestial King Sect had already taken their revenge by killing many members of Thunderbolt Stronghold, which had somewhat assuaged their anger. And so, the Celestial King Sect, despite their reluctance, had no choice but to accept this ending.

In the end, the matter was resolved.

Both sides agreed to let bygones be bygones and move forward.

Following the incident, Thunderbolt Stronghold, once a dominant force, adopted a low profile, while the Celestial King Sect chose not to pursue the matter further. Three years passed swiftly, and Du Wuhen's sentence came to an end.

However, Du Wuhen didn't dare leave the safety of Thunderbolt Stronghold right away. It wasn't until another year had passed that the Celestial King Sect caught wind of him finally venturing out for an errand.

And the destination was the Cliffhold Bastion.

The Celestial King Sect hadn't pursued the matter further with the other members of the Thunderbolt Stronghold, but they still remembered what Du Wuhen had done. However, this was not something that the elders could intervene. The younger ones had to step in and handle it themselves.

Feng Chaoyang, having been assigned the title of Cavalry Officer and becoming a mid-level leader in the Celestial King Sect, naturally took on the responsibility and led his team to the Cliffhold Bastion.

"I see..." Chu Liang nodded lightly.

Back then, he had crossed paths with the three brothers of Thunderbolt Stronghold, but it was purely in fair competition. There was no bad blood between them, and on one occasion, Huang Ling'er had even saved his life.

Now, seeing those familiar peers—once promising young talents of their generation—turned into mortal enemies, Chu Liang couldn't help but feel a tinge of emotion.

After the Assembly of Immortal Sects, the young disciples began carving out their own paths, stepping into adulthood and shouldering greater responsibilities independently. Even Lackey A and Lackey B had made remarkable progress. Naturally, the prodigies of that generation now carried even heavier burdens.

Conflicts like these were only bound to grow more frequent as they stepped into their roles.

But since it had nothing to do with him, Chu Liang merely sighed and said, "Just try not to cause too much commotion. I have some matters to attend to at the Lei Family, so don't disrupt my work."

"I'll try my best," Feng Chaoyang replied.

"Then let's finish our tasks and meet again another day," Chu Liang said, then added, "Come visit Mount Shu when you have time. I will treat all of you to a meal."

"Alright." Feng Chaoyang nodded. Watching Jiang Yuebai and Chu Liang prepare to leave, he suddenly called out, "Hey?"

"Hmm?" Chu Liang turned back to look at him.

Feng Chaoyang hesitated for a moment before saying, "If you have time, you should visit the Great Astral Sect. They've been searching everywhere for you these past years, putting in as much effort as Mount Shu. They'll be thrilled to know you're back."

My brothers from the Great Astral Sect...

Chu Liang felt a warmth in his heart and immediately smiled. "I will."

With that, he and Jiang Yuebai flew away side by side, their figures gradually disappearing into the night sky.

Feng Chaoyang watched their retreating silhouettes and, for some reason, found the night wind unusually chilly.

Even surrounded by more than a dozen fellow disciples, an inexplicable sense of loneliness crept over him.

...

The next day, the Fifth Young Master brought along two other youths to the enclosure.

Unlike the clumsy Rampaging Devil Bull, the Fierce Draconic Colt, which already had such a high cultivation level in its youth, could potentially reach the peak of the sixth realm or even the seventh realm as an adult. It was an exceedingly rare asset within the Lei Family.

The head of the Lei Family had entrusted the Fierce Draconic Colt to Lei Hou early on, and now that the creature was properly tamed, Lei Hou naturally wanted to flaunt his achievement.

Chu Liang had already done his homework and found out that the Lei Family had three children born around the time they relocated to the Cliffhold Bastion: Fourth Young Lady Lei Guan, Fifth Young Master Lei Hou, and Sixth Young Master Lei Pi.

Being close in age, the three spent much of their time together, forming a tight-knit bond. And today, Lei Hou only invited them.

Over the years, the details had become hazy, but one thing was certain: one of these three carried the piece of the Divine Ruins' scroll tattooed on their back.

When Steward Wang escorted the young masters and young lady to the enclosure, he saw Chu Liang already standing there respectfully, greeting them with a smile.

The Fierce Draconic Colt stood obediently within the garden, already outfitted with full armor and a saddle, stretching its four hooves in preparation.

"You've done well," Lei Hou praised.

"Where did all of this come from?" Steward Wang asked, his face filled with confusion.

This kid had never asked him for money. Did he spend his own money?

"Yesterday, when Steward Wang was injured and went to rest in the afternoon, I took the opportunity to make some minor arrangements," Chu Liang replied with a smile.

"Heh, not bad," Lei Pi, who bore some resemblance to Lei Hou but was leaner and more refined in appearance, said. Looking at the Fierce Draconic Colt, he voiced some concern, "But riding it still seems dangerous."

"It'll be fine," Lei Hou replied. "We'll just do a small tour around the garden to test it out."

At this, Chu Liang stepped forward, opened the enclosure gate, and gestured toward the area. "Young masters and miss, I've prepared a three-loop track within the garden, designed with varying terrains and obstacles to provide an exceptional test riding experience."

Following his gesture, they saw that a winding path had indeed been created within the garden. Space in the garden was limited, so this maximized the length of the track. Along the flat road were rocky outcrops, dense forests, cascading waterfalls, and flaming iron pillars at intervals.

"You've put in quite the effort," Fourth Young Lady Lei Guan said, clapping her hands in admiration.

She was the tallest of the three siblings, with a slender, graceful figure. Her long hair was tied up, and her fitted outfit exuded a heroic charm.

The three siblings, unaware of the details, simply assumed their subordinate had been particularly thoughtful.

Steward Wang, however, was stunned.

Normally, constructing something like this would take at least ten days, require dozens of workers, and cost a thousand or so taels of silver—and that was just the actual expense; the reported cost would have been double.

But how long had it been?

He asked in shock, "When did you do this?"

Chu Liang replied with a smile, "Yesterday afternoon, when Steward Wang went to rest, I took the opportunity to make some minor arrangements."

1. A title in the General's Supreme Constellation Disc. ☜

2. This title is associated with the Purple Forbidden Enclosure in traditional Chinese astronomy, linked to the North Star and the palace of the Great Emperor of Heaven in Daoism. Reference Link. ☜

3. 天策 (Tian Ce) refers to a star in Chinese astronomy associated with Fu Yue, a prime minister during the Shang Dynasty. After his death, Fu Yue was mythologically said to have ascended to the heavens and become linked with the Tian Ce Star, symbolizing guidance and strategy, hence the translation of this ranking as Heavenly Strategist. ☜

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