The Selfless Character
“Yes, Ku Mu spent months avoiding me, while I wrestled with what was right and wrong. Frankly, I didn’t want to lose the opportunity. I admit to being selfish and hesitant. When he finally told me he learnt Pill Heart Style, I was as shocked as I was remorseful. It was my selfishness that cost Pill Cauldron Sect a remarkable alchemist. Had it not been for me, he would’ve been an eighth tier alchemist long ago.
“He argued a man with a stutter had no place being a patriarch of any sect. I knew he could overcome his stutter with formations. He then had a quarrel with Uncle Yuan De and left the sect. Only I knew that the unreasonable outburst was put on solely for my sake.”
Mu Yu mused, Bloody hell, Dad. I always thought you didn’t hide your stuttering from Miao Yuyan as you wanted to display your genuine self. I bet it was merely to hide the secret between you and Daoist Yun Dan since Secular World Sect and Pill Cauldron Sect are close. You threw away the chance to obtain prestige and spent a good chunk of your life eating crap from people. People like to talk about success making the man, yet I doubt there are many others willing to sacrifice as much as you did. I’m going to give you the opportunity to experience life on the other side of the fence for sure.
“When he brought you back a few years ago, I didn’t know how to feel when I rushed to see him. I couldn’t believe I was relieved to see him without his cultivation. I know you might be angry, but I want to be honest.”
No wonder why he came to see Dad instead of the other way around when we arrived. Dad must’ve demanded Daoist Yun Dan allow me to go to Second Heaven in return for keeping the matter secret. I was thinking why a mere letter was enough for him to let me go.
“Yet you had to give us grief when we asked to go to Second Heaven instead of just letting us go? Screw you!” Xiaoshuai cursed.
“I did not want to make things hard for you. I merely wanted to see how impressive the young man who turned Floating Celestial Island on its head and won Junior Brother Ku Mu’s approval. I would have pulled some strings to give Mu Yu the slot even if Mu Yu failed. In the end, though, Mu Yu exceeded my expectations.”
“Yeah, yeah, Daoist Bullcrap Artist,” Xiaoshuai insulted.
“He’s not lying. I know my own limits. Had he not allowed me to skip the second round, which was the alchemy round, I wouldn’t have placed.”
“It was Old Yuan De who modified the rules to force you into completing the incomplete pill,” Xiaoshuai impugned.
Daoist Yuan Hua elucidated, “It wasn’t actually Junior Brother Yuan De who suggested it but Yun Dan who suggested the idea to us. Brother Yuan De actually doesn’t care about the event. He was the one who fervently wanted to alter the rules after hearing Yun Dan’s suggestion. He couldn’t have changed the rules without Yun Dan’s approval.”
“Shi Dengtian never would’ve had the chance to harm Junior Brother Ku Mu if Junior Brother Ku Mu kept going with alchemy. My selfishness is the root of it all. I’m sorry,” Daoist Yun Dan sincerely conveyed.
“You are wrong, but you are not wrong for what you think. Your mistake is misjudging how great he is. He already reached Apotheosis Realm thirty-four years ago.”
Daoist Yun Dan flopped into his chair, stammering, “I… I… I almost ruined our sect with my selfishness?”
Daoist Yuan Hua blankly muttered, “Then… Then… Why did he…”
“Because he got hurt during a dangerous job. It eventually reached a point where it plagued him so badly that he had to erase his cultivation,” Mu Yu answered.
Xiaoshuai questioned, “Why do you not know when even the likes of Gui Ximing knew?”
“He didn’t; nobody from Ghost Gate knew. That would explain why Dad hid his cultivation when he robbed Walk-in Heart Genesis, lest Bai Jie blackmail him with Pill Cauldron Sect,” responded Mu Yu, piecing the puzzle together as he recounted history.
Daoists Yun Dan and Yuan Hua had no idea what the duo were talking about. Nonetheless, Daoist Yun Dan lamented, “I have done nothing but sinned.”
“There is no need to loathe yourself, Patriarch. Things are more complex than they appear. My dad had his own path to walk.”
“Mu Yu, I don’t want to make the same mistake I made decades ago. I’d like to ask you to succeed my seat as that is the only way our sect can continue standing.”
“Like Dad, I fail as an alchemist.”
“Pill Cauldron Sect rightfully belongs to Junior Brother Ku Mu, so it is only right to impart it to you. Nobody will oppose the decision for you saved our sect.”
Daoist Yuan Hua added, “Mu Yu, we have deliberated thoroughly before bringing this up with you. After these losses, you are the only one who can keep us afloat.”
“Pill Cauldron Sect will survive under your leadership. It is only a matter of time before you recover from this.”
“No, the first requirement to becoming one of the top sects is having an Ascension Realm cultivator. That is what separates an ordinary sect from one of the top sects. All three of our Ascension Realm cultivators have met with mishap, and it will only be a matter of time before it spreads to the rest of the world. It is impossible for us to compete with the eight great sects without an Ascension Realm cultivator irrespective of how prestigious our status as alchemists may be,” explained Daoist Yuan Hua.
“There’s no point trying to elevate Pill Cauldron Sect again; it is not the right time for it.”
“What… do you mean?” queried Daoist Yun Dan.
Previous Chapter l Next Chapter
